CSA Week 4

Hello everyone,
Hope you're all faring well despite the heat wave. It's been a hot couple of days on the farm, but through copious amounts of water, Gatorade and some sneak-attack hose-spraying, we managed to harvest your veggies and stay decently hydrated. 
The weather hasn't been doing the spring crops any favors, but the heat-loving veggies are flourishing. The tomato plants are dark green, bushy, and growing like crazy. A lot of them are setting fruit already! I'm starting to get really excited about the first tomatoes- and zucchini and peas and beans and corn... I love my job.

Hey, it's strawberry time! We don't have strawberries at Lucky Moon, but there are places to pick your own or buy locally grown ones this time of year. A website I use to search for u-pick places is www.pickyourown.org. It's a bit slow sometimes, but it has numbers and addresses for places all over the US and quite a few in Madison and Onondaga counties. Click on this link to go to the Central New York page. Depending on your browser, you may have to scroll down. But Tre-G, Navarinos and lots of places in Baldwinsville offer u-pick berries. Could be a fun outing for the family with wonderfully sweet berries thrown into the bargain! Picking berries is one of my fondest memories of childhood. It's not really summer til you've had that strawberry right in the field, warm from the sun. I'm hoping to got picking this weekend myself and make some jam and freeze a bunch of berries for the winter.


Here's what's in your bags this week:
Salad lettuce
Arugula
Carrots (really nice and sweet ones!)
Spinach or a Spinach and Baby Swiss Chard mix- they work well cooked together or mixed into a salad

Here are some recipes to try:

Quinoa Risotto w/ Arugula & Parmesan, from the New Mayo Clinic cookbook
Serves 6 as a side, double to serve as the main dish


1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
2 1/4 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or broth
2 cups chopped arugula (~ 3 oz)
1 small carrot, shredded
1/2 cup thinly sliced shitake mushrooms
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper


In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and quinoa and cook about 1 minute, stirring occaisionally. Do not let the garlic brown. 


Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the quinoa is almost tender to the bite, but slightly heard in the center, about 12 minutes. The mixture will be brothy. Stir in the arugula, carrot and mushrooms and simmer until the quinoa grains have turned from white to translucent, about 2 minutes longer. 


Stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.


Carrot-Walnut Salad from Flat Belly Diet Cookbook
Makes 4 servings


1/2 cup golden raisins
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey
1/8 tsp salt
4 large carrots, grated
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsely


1) Soak the raisins in hot water for 20 minutes to plump them. Drain.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, lemon juice, honey and salt.
3) Combine the carrots, walnuts, parsely, raisins and dressing in a medium bowl and toss to coat.


All the best!
From Sarah, 
for Lucky Moon Farm