Weekly Weed Archive

Week Nine

July 11, 2012

Photo by Abe Fawson

News from the Farm:

We did week 7 and week 8 for the farm pick up was 3 days later because of the 4th of July. Not enough time to write a news letter or remember to take a photo that day. I hope you all got along without news,a list of what was in your basket or what to do with it? As the season moves along so does the work. Days will become shorter starting this Sunday and we will begin planting for Fall and Winter harvest. If there is something you want to eat and us to grow please tell us NOW.
We love being your personal farmer.
Welcome new Share Holders. We start a 12 week share today offering the best of Summer. Remember to read and sign the member agreement form.No shares September 12th at the farm .They will be Saturday the 15th, 3 to 5

What’s In Your Basket This Week?

If it is not a “new item” then I have already written about it in one of the previous news letters this season.

  • Lettuce
  • Stir Fry Mix
  • Tokyo Bekana
  • Sorrel
  • Beets
  • Chamomile (dry it)
  • Tomatoes
New Items
  • Eggplant,Rosa Bianca & Ping Tung
  • Peppers,Italian sweet and hot
  • Purslane
  • Black Radishes
  • Black Radish Tops

Fruit Share:

All local all organic and mostly picked by us
  • Plums
  • Apricots
  • Cantaloupe,Sterling
  • Cherries

Cheese Share:

  • Jack Cheese, still have not had the same cheese twice this season

  What is new and what to do with it:

Obviously a great week for  Asian flavors.
Eggplant, You had 2 to choose from this week both have no bitterness. This is my favorite vegetable and can be the meat of a vegetarian/vegan diet. It is very versatile—eggplant slices are sturdy enough for the grill ,or for a “meaty” vegetarian sandwich, and chunks of eggplant can be roasted and pureed into a silky, smooth dip. Most familiar served up breaded and fried and covered in melted cheese. You can keep on the counter for a couple of days  or store in an open plastic bag in the fridge. Or try the following recipe

Grilled Eggplant In Oil

1 medium eggplant, sliced about 1/4″ thick
sea salt
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1 t. white wine vinegar

  1. Layer the eggplant in a colander, topping each layer generously with salt.  Leave for 30 minutes to extract water out.
  2. Rinse eggplant under cold water and pat dry.
  3. Heat on the grill  until hot or brolier pan .   Brush each side of the eggplant with olive oil.  Grill each side of the slices about 3 minutes and set aside to cool.
  4. Heat oil, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning in a saucepan for about 2 minutes.  Lower heat and add vinegar (careful it will splatter).  Add the eggplant slices to the mixture and bring up to a boil.  Turn off heat and let cool in the pan.
  5. Loosely pack eggplant slices in a sterilized jar and pour the marinade over it to cover.  With knife gently move vegetables around to remove air pockets.
  6. Top jar and store in refrigerator for one week before enjoying.  Add additional olive oil as needed to keep eggplant covered.  Last 1 month in fridge.

These have a delicious rich taste and the texture of the eggplant is creamy.  They would be great in a salad, on a sandwich, pizza, or just straight up.

Peppers, These are just the begining. Grill the Italian Sweets. Dice up the hot one with your tomatoes.

PURSLANE! I know,I know, we think you will eat anything. Even our most experienced and longest members of the farm  called today asking”WHAT do I do with  this?” I decided if you can not help weed you can at least help eat them. When I went to my Dads on the 4 th of July my best friend who has a CSA because of us wanted to share this and said “Not only is it edible, crunchy and  not spicy, it is packed with vitamins, minerals, and even Omega 3. Our Share Holders love this and it sells to chefs for $7 a lb!”

With purslane  the preference is in eating fresh young plants, and especially young leaves and tender stem tips.  Use purslane in salads or on sandwiches instead of lettuce or pickles.  Purslane can also be cooked , steamed, stir-fried or pureed. It tends to get a bit slimy if overcooked. It can be substituted for spinach in recipes.

Tomato, Cucumber, Purslane Salad Recipe

Especially good served with grilled seafood.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 large cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeds removed and discarded, then chopped
  • 1 medium tomato, chopped
  • 1 bunch purslane, thick stems removed, leaves chopped, resulting in about 1/2 cup chopped purslane
  • 1 minced seeded hot chile pepper
  • 2-3 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a serving bowl. Salt to taste.

Tomato, Cucumber, Purslane Salad
Black Radish,  Cut into  slices and sautée in a little butter, sprinkling salt and black pepper over the slices, turning them over as they cook until they are tender  with brown spots,

image-sauteed-black-radish

cut into matchsticks and combine with grated carrot and a vinaigrette dressing.
A traditional cough remedy made from black radishes. Grate a black radish, mix it with honey, cover, and let it sit for several hours. The grated radish will release juice. Eat the whole goopy mess or squeeze out the honeyed juice.

Radish Tops,  Instead of tossing them directly into the compost bin, combine them with a bit of cheese and nuts and you’ve got yourself a spicy pesto perfect for spreading on toasted bread (top it with a fried egg at breakfast) or slathering over pasta or pizza.Separate the leaves from the radishes as soon as you can and make the pesto immediately.

Radish Top Pesto Recipe

 You’re working with an ounce of cheese and an ounce of nuts to a few handfuls of greens experiment!

  • A few handfuls of radish leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1 oz  aged, salty cheese, like pecorino romano, parmesan, grated
  • 1 oz  pine nuts, almonds, or walnuts
  • 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
  • lemon zest to taste
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Put everything in a food processor and blend until smooth, drizzling in olive oil to get the consistency you like. Taste for salt and pepper. Freeze in small packets, or store in the fridge for a week or so, with a layer of olive oil over the top.

Enjoy

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