Week 13, but it's not unlucky at Lucky Moon!

Hello,
Another week, another bag of lovely veggies.

I wish I was able to get this out sooner and that I wrote it not quite so late a night so I could be more coherent, but so it goes.

So it's late Thursday night, and you've probably figured out most of the veggies in your bags, but here's a list in case:
Broccoli
Summer Squash
Sweet Pepper (some are pointy and red, but they're still sweet!)
Cucumbers (this is probably it for the cucs- they've been hit with disease and didn't like the dry summer)
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Onions
Beans
Dill (good with fish, meat, soups, pickles, salads, couscous, quinoa, etc)
Carrots: white, orange and purple-striped ("White Satin, Shin Kuroda and Purple Haze" to be exact)

It's best to keep the broccoli, carrots, summer squash, cucs, beans and dill (and the pepper, if you're not going to use it right away) in the fridge, inside a tied plastic bag, preferably with a piece of paper towel in there with it to absorb extra moisture. We send stuff home to you with as little packaging as possible to save resources, but it's great if you can empty out those mesh bags at home and put the veggies that need it into a plastic bag and into the fridge as soon as possible. Your food will taste a lot better if you can take these little steps to create their ideal storage environment.
The tomatoes and onions are probably happiest on a counter top out of direct sun until you can use them.

Just a note that the garlic is really beautiful this year, and though you'll be getting more garlic through the CSA, Sue has some braided up for sale, and they look really nice. They make great gifts, and they're useful and delicious! Hard to beat that combination....

Thanks for supporting your local farms! We appreciate you-

Sarah VanNorstrand,
for Lucky Moon Farm

Week 12 Bounty

 Hi everyone,
So we're getting rain! Wahoo! It's such a relief at the farm- there's nothing like waking up in the morning to the delicious sound of a good, steady rain. The vegetables are really soaking it up, greening up, and putting out new growth. It's great!
Of course, not all the damage can be undone; for many of the crops, they needed rain at a certain period of their growth to bulk up, and they didn't get it. Crops like onions and potatoes were especially effected.  But luckily there are lots of other good things to go around.

For instance, your bags this week:
Broccoli
Eggplant
Sweet Bell Pepper
Hot Peppers (all mild-medium intensity)
Cucumbers
Summer Squash
Beans
Cilantro
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes

Lots of lovely veggies! And so many meal options-

Also, we've been spending a few of the wet, rainy days cleaning and braiding up the garlic that's been drying since mid-July. Sue makes some really beautiful 10-bulb braids and has them for sale at the farm right now for $16. The garlic is really top-quality, and the braids make excellent presents. I give a few away at Christmas, and I'm planning on using a braid as part of a wedding present for some friends of mine this weekend. Useful and aesthetically pleasing! I can also bring braids back to Manlius if anyone who picks up at my house is interested in buying one. Send me an email if you're interested: sarah_ziegi at yahoo dot com.

Sue's look nicer than this, but it was the closest I could find in a stock photo...

One CSA member told me that they're using their eggplant to make Baba Ganoush- (don't quote me on that spelling) but it's a super tasty Mediterranean dip or spread and it's awesome with pita. I'm sure there are tons of recipes online, but I'll let you do your own browsing.

Here's an interesting recipe- I haven't tried it, but if you're feeling adventurous:

Fresh Tomato Popover Pie- Kristen Byers
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
3 Tbsp oil, divided
2 medium tomatoes
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
2 tsp basil
2 C. shredded mozzarella (8 oz)
1/4 C. Parmesan
1 1/4 C. sliced mushrooms

To prepare crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat an ovenproof 8" skillet in the oven for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix flour, milk and eggs until well blended. Remove skillet from the oven and add 1 Tbsp oil. Pour batter into skillet and bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 10 minutes more. Remove skillet from the oven and set aside. Crust should be puffed golden, then fall slightly as it cools.

To prepare filling:
Core and cut tomatoes into 1/4" slices, set aside.
In another large skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbsp of oil until hot. Add zucchini and cook until sightly softened, 1 - 2 minutes. Push to one side of skillet. Add mushrooms, then sprinkle veggies with basil and cook for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring frequently but still keeping mushrooms and zucchini separated. Remove from heat.

To assemble: preheat broiler
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the crust. Line the edge of the crust with tomato slices, overlapping slightly. Arrange zucchini and mushrooms in center of popover. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Broil 3 - 4 " from the heat for 1 - 2 minutes. Makes 4 -6 servings. 


All the best,
Sarah VanNorstrand
for Lucky Moon Farm

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