Week 11

Hello everyone,
We have nice heavy bags for you all this week! Full of lots and lots of great veggies-
Here's the breakdown:

Cucumbers
a little bit of salad mix
A whole assortment of summer squash
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Beans
a variety of Basils
Red Onions
Swiss Chard
Eggplant or Sweet Peppers
Note: Although some of the peppers are long, red and pointy, they aren't hot- they're actually a variety of sweet pepper, though not one you would recognize from the grocery store. I'll always let you know if we give you hot peppers! 

We include a variety of green zucchinis, a bright orange/yellow zucchini, a few different varieties of yellow summer squash including long ones with green bottoms, crookneck squash, and patty pan, or little scallop summer squash. They all cook up about the same and have similar flavors, so feel free to mix and match!

Here are a bunch of recipes, and especially with a focus on summer squash/zucchini, since you're getting a lot of it right now. But it's only for a short season, so enjoy it! Savor it! One of my favorite tastes of summer...

1st, one for Swiss Chard:

Swiss Chard with Chick Peas (aka Garbanzo beans) and Fresh Tomatoes from Allrecipes.com Serves 4
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot or small onion, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup chickpeas, drained
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch Swiss chard, rinsed and chopped
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 lemon, juiced

1) Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Stir in shallot/onion and scallions. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes until soft and fragrant. Stir in garbanzo beans, season with salt and pepper, and heat through.
2) Place chopped chard in the skillet, and cook until wilted. Add tomato slices, squeeze lemon juice over greens and heat through. Serve immediately.


Zucchini & Carrots with Walnuts
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 medium zucchini (or any summer squash)
2 large carrots, peeled
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

1)Toast the walnuts in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat (or in the oven- check your basic cookbook) stirring often, 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant. Tip out onto a plate and set aside. Wipe out the skillet.
2) Halve the zucchini lengthwise and cut the halves crosswise in two. Cut each piece into thin strips lengthwise. (I didn't write that- just copying from a recipe, I promise)
3) Use a vegetable peeler to cut long strips from the carrots (save the cores to use in another dish)
4) Heat the oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and sprinkle with the thyme, salt and pepper. Cook, tossing often, for 3 minutes or until nearly tender. Add the zucchini and cook, tossing, for another 3-4 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with the walnuts.


Zucchini Cakes w/ Chutney from Flat Belly Diet cookbook
4 servings
2 lbs shredded zucchini
6 scallions, thinly sliced (or onion)
1 egg
1 tsp ground fennel
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. grated Romano cheese
1/4 c. canola oil, divided
1/2 c. prepared or store-bought mango chutney

1) Place zucchini and scallions in a large, cold, non-stick skillet and set over medium-high heat. Cook, tossing frequently for 5 minutes or until the zucchini give off some, if any, liquid. Transfer to a colander and drain, pressing with the back of spoon to squeeze of extra water. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Allow to cool to room temp. Wipe out the skillet.
2) Wisk the egg, fennel, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add the flour and cheese to the zucchini mixture. Toss. Add the egg mixture and toss again.
3) Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat for about 1 minute, until sizzling. Place the zucchini mixture in 8 mounds in the pan (you may not fit all 8 at once). Flatten the mounds slightly with a spatula and cook for about 3 minutes or until well browned  on the bottom. Carefully turn the cakes over and cook, reducing heat if needed, until well browned and cooked through. Remove to a platter. Repeat with remaining oil and zucchini mixture.
4) Serve cakes with chutney on the side.

Zucchini Parmesan
Several good-sized summer squash (zucchini, yellow, patty pan, etc)
2 beaten eggs
2-2 1/2 cups Italian style bread crumbs
Olive oil cooking spray
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce

1) Preheat oven to 425 and spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.
2) Slice squash into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Dip slices in the beaten eggs, then coat with the bread crumbs and place on the cookie sheets. Spray tops with oil
3) Bake for 10 minutes, flip the slices over and bake another 10 minutes
4) Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray and spoon a small amount of sauce into the pan.
5) Alternate layers of squash, mozzarella, Parmesan and sauce. For the last layer, just use sauce and top with Parmesan.
6) Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake fore 10 more minutes. 



I'd love love love to hear what you're doing with your vegetables! Don't worry about sending a whole recipe, just send me a note with a few things you've done that you particularly liked-
my email is sarah_ziegi@yahoo.com

Thanks and enjoy summer to the last drop!
Sarah
for  Lucky Moon Farm 

Week 10 and it's hot again...

So I'm getting a little punchy with the silly little rhymes... but indulge me :>)

Hi everyone,
August already! It's hard to believe- but we're right in the thick of summer, and I'm loving every hot, sweaty minute of it. Nothing is quite as satisfying as harvesting and packing a CSA at the peak of the season after working hard for months to get all these different vegetables to the stage where it's good to eat them. We've had to coax them along, but now we're reaping the benefits, literally.

Your bags are beautiful this week- so beautiful we took a few pictures (see below)
Salad mix
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes (all colors are ripe and ready to eat; green included!)
Beans- green, yellow and purple
Carrots
Summer Squash, many variteties
Onions
Garlic
Peppers- green or purple (both are ready to eat, and taste like a typical green pepper)
Some people got an eggplant- we're keeping track and everyone will get one as they ripen.

So pretty! And tasty, to boot. :>)

I've decided this is the year of the purple veggies. We have these nifty Purple Royalty beans, purple lettuces, gorgeous purple peppers (called "Islander"), some incredible purple eggplants of various hues and a new purple-y/black plum tomato called "Indigo Rose." They taste kind of like a plum, too. It's making me want to paint rooms in my house a deep, luscious purple; I'm in love with the color right now.

I don't have any particular recipes to post right now, but just about anything you make with these vegetables will be delicious. Two things I've been enjoying lately are zucchini and yellow summer squash sliced in long strips, grilled, and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Very satisfying.

And I've made this meal a few times lately: Couscous with garden veggies and garbanzo beans

Saute some garlic and onion in a skillet, add the veggies of your choice, in the order of what takes the longest to cook to the shortest. I use some combination of sliced beans, diced pepper, zucchini, roasted eggplant (it does help to roast this separately before adding it to the mix) and cherry tomatoes. Be sure to use some garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) because they really add to the flavor. Some coriander, oregano, a dash of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, and it's tasting really good. At this point, or somewhere before adding the roasted eggplant and tomatoes, I put in 1 1/4 cups water, bring to a simmer, and add 1 cup of couscous (and now add the eggplant and tomatoes), cover, remove from the heat, and allow to set for 5 minutes or so. Take off the lid, and voila! A beautiful, healthy couscous with garbanzo beans and veggies.

That's all for now-
Have a great week!
Sarah VanNorstrand
for Lucky Moon Farm

Week 9, Rain or Shine

Hello again,
Another week, another bag of beautiful veggies. And the exciting news on the block is that you've got your first round of tomatoes!  Only a few to start with, but plenty more are coming.
We've had lots more dry, sunny weather, but it looks like tomorrow might be pretty stormy. But the CSA always goes on, rain or shine. And honestly, as long as it doesn't hail, we'll take any rain we can get. (please don't hail!)



Here's what's in the bags:

Salad mix
Scallions
Beets w/ greens
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Basil Bouquet (lemon, cinnamon, sweet and purple basils)
Summer Squash
Beans (green, yellow and purple- they all cook and taste about the same, but they're oh so pretty!)

Here's a recipe recommended by another CSA member:

Balsamic Glazed Baby Beets – Roots and Greens

from Frog Star Farm

I love this balsamic beet recipe. The greens cook over the roots, just like they grew in the garden. I serve it chilled as a light, summer side or as a small plate with wine on the patio.

Greens over roots, just like they grew

ingredients

• 10-14 Baby beets with greens attached
• 1 small white onion
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 sprigs fresh tarragon or thyme
• salt
• pepper

method

Rinse and scrub the beets under cold water. Remove the greens, cut the beets to bite size and corsley chop the greens. Julienee the onion into 1/4″ pieces. Using a pan with a lid, arrange the beets and onion into a single flat layer. Sprinkle EVO and balsamic on top. Add herb sprigs, a pinch of salt and enough water to cover. Bring pot to a boil, then add the lid and reduce to a simmer. Cook the beets for 15-20 minutes or until they are right on the verge of being properly tender. Add the greens to the pan, cover and cook for three more minutes. Fold everything together, reduce the liquid to a glaze (it should evenly coat the back of a spoon) and season to taste.
Cooking time (duration): 40

Here's another one for Roasted Beet Risotto w/ Goat Cheese 

All the best,
Sarah VanNorstrand 
for Lucky Moon Farm

Week 8, and the heat is on!

Hello everyone,
Hope you're doing well this week and are keeping cool as best you can. More of the same, in the weather department, I'm afraid. But we keep on going and keep our hopes up for rain.

Your bags this week:
White onions
Salad Mix
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Arugula (due to the heat, it's gotten pretty spicy!)
Summer squash
Sugar snap peas
Snow peas (regular shares)
Green, Yellow and Purple Beans (large shares only, this week, but there will be beans for everyone next week!)

Due to the heat and drought, veggies aren't coming on with their usual vigor, so we have to play around with who gets what between the regular and large shares. But don't worry! If you didn't get it this week, you'll get it next week. We'll make sure everyone gets their fair share!

Just an aside: everyone this week got one zucchini and one summer squash, but some of the zucchinis (and they're one of my favorite varieties, called Sebring) is a bright saffron yellow, though you might have thought they were another kind of yellow summer squash. But all the squash in the picture below are zucchinis, and the yellow one pictured is most likely Sebring:

Here are two links to arugula recipes as recommended by one the CSA members. Check them out here:
Mediterranean Barley w/ Chickpeas and Arugula
Arugula Pesto Recipe

And here's one from my beloved Joy of Cooking

Creamy Pasta w/ Chard and Tomatoes

1) Heat in a large saucepan over medium-high heat
       1 Tablespoon olive oil
-add and cook, stirring occaisionally, until soft and golden, 2 to 3 minutes
       1/4 cup chopped onions
       2 garlic cloves, minced
       1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2) Add and cook, stirring occaisionally, until most of the liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes
      2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped, or 1 cup chopped drained canned tomatoes
3) Add and cook, stirring until chard has wilted, about 2 minutes
      1 bunch chard (~ 1 lb) trimmed and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch strips
4) Add and cook 2 minutes or until bubbling, then remove from heat
      3/4 cup heavy cream
      salt and black pepper to taste
 5) cook 8 oz fettuccine or egg noodles, when ready, drain, then toss with sauce, adding
      3/4 cup grated parmesan, about 3 oz

Enjoy!

Sarah VanNorstrand
on behalf of Lucky Moon Farm

Week 7 and it's hot, hot, hot!

Hello again,
Hope you all are finding fun and effective ways to beat the heat. This summer is shaping up to be quite the scorcher. We just made some milkshakes with vanilla ice cream and a dollop of Nutella. Pretty decadent, but oh so good.

Everything's thirsty, and a nice, grey, rainy day would be a real blessing right now. The irrigation is running every day at the farm right now, and luckily they have a nice, deep, strong well which is making it possible to keep things growing.

Your bags this week:
Red pearl onions
Salad mix
Snow peas
Sugar snap peas
Basil bouquet (w/ possibly lemon, cinnamon, red and/or speckled basil)
Beet greens

Cinnamon Basil

Andrew (my husband) and I had some of the basil the other night. I made up some fresh pesto (super easy with a simple food processor) while he carmalized some onions with a (tofu) Italian sausage. We tossed it all with spaghetti, and it was really good. I make pesto with basil leaves, olive oil, walnuts (a poor man's pine nuts :>) garlic and Parmesan cheese. Actually, we didn't have any Parmesan, and it was good without it, too. 

If you're not sure what to do with beet greens, you can treat them like spinach or Swiss chard or any of the other greens. It is also nice mixed in with salads or cooked up lightly (less cooking is more with greens) with some red wine vinegar or vinaigrette splashed on top.

One more word- the heat these days is especially bad for delicate vegetables after they've been harvested. We work very, very hard to cut the veggies as quickly as possible, rush them to a sink of cold water to cool them off and revive any ones that succumbed to wilting, spin them, weigh them, pack them in bags and then run them down to the walk-in cooler before they have any second thoughts. When you pick them up, we pass the baton to you, so the sooner you can get them home and into the fridge, the nicer your veggies will be when you're ready to eat them. 

Thanks for taking part and for experiencing this season with us. With farming, you never know what might happen and it's great to have customers who are willing to ride the ups and downs with us.

Be well and keep cool!

Sarah VanNorstrand
for Lucky Moon Farm

Week 6, Happy 4th of July!

Hi everyone
Hope you all had a really nice 4th of July, with friends and family and good food!
Things are very dry at the farm and we'd love some rain, but Sue and Claude are working hard to keep everything irrigated that can be.

Your bags this week include:
Some lovely carrots (Nelson, one of my favorite varieties!)
Salad Mix with swiss chard and asian greens
Arugula
Snow peas
Sugar Snap Peas
Garlic (it's ready surprisingly early, but we're going with it :>)

a pretty bagful!

baby swiss chard

Peppers in their very own pepper sauna! They love it!

 Here are some recipes to try:
Sauteed Spinach w/ Roasted Garlic, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Feta
-Kelli Johnson
 ~10 oz spinach
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 c. sherry
1/4 c. lemon juice
5 Tbsp butter
1/2 c. feta
salt & pepper to taste

1) Over medium heat, saute garlic and onions in olive oil until golden brown.
2) Add sun-dried tomatoes. Add sherry and lemon juice and reduce by a third (~ 3 mins).
3) Add butter and toss until it melts. Add spinach. Cover and stir occasionally until spinach is slightly wilted and warm (~ 3 mins).
4) Add feta and cook briefly until slightly melted, ~ 30 seconds. Add salt and pepper to taste

Potato, Red Onion, Arugula and Brie Pizza
-"From the Earth to the Table" cook book
Makes enough topping for one 14 inch pizza or two 8-10 inch pizzas

Pizza dough, either homemade or dough from the store (check in the section with the cheese)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 c. sliced red onions
salt and pepper
12 oz red potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
6 oz Brie, thinly sliced
1 c. loosely packed arugula leaves
1 medium red bell pepper, charred, peeled and finely chopped

1) Prepare pizza dough. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a deep, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olice oil and saute the onions until crisp-tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
2) In a medium sauce pan, blanch the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water until crisp-tender, ~ 3 mins. Cool in ice water to stop cooking, drain and pat dry.
3) Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the dough. Layer the potatoes evenly on top, followed by the onions and slices of Brie. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4) Bake the pizza for 12 to 15 minutes on the top rack. Scatter the arugula and red pepper on top and serve immediately. 


-I listed these a couple of weeks ago, but they're pertinent again this week-

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

1) 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. 
2) 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. 
3) 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.




That's it for now-
Be well!
Sarah VanNorstrand
for Lucky Moon Farm