Featherstone
Fruits & Vegetables CSA
  Locally and organically-grown produce
(507) 452-4244         
July 20, 2005

In the Box This Week:

  • Potatoes: Variety of Blue, Red, Pink, White and Red
  • Sweet Corn
  • Leeks
  • Green Beans
  • Tomatoes
  • Fresh Garlic
  • Hot Peppers

News from the Farm
By Sarah Libertus

 

Jamie and Saul cleaning the garlic

We are doing great. The cucumbers were our only real casualty from the drought. Big scary skies last night (tornado in the neighboring town), but everything seems fine and no one was hurt. We had to chainsaw down a tree off the road to get to the peppers. Very exciting. Must run off and pick corn and there is no more room for stories. More next week…

Varieties
By Sarah Libertus

Due to the nature of farming, the produce in the box may change with the weather. Please feel free to contact me if you need any additional assistance with what is in your box.

Sweet Corn- The raccoons have been trying to eat our sweet corn since the first kernel showed up, but I think that we may have talked them out of it. This is a sweet bi-color type. These were just picked, so eat these right away as the sweetness will diminish with age. If you must wait, keep the ears in the refrigerator with the husks on. I steam my corn- an inch of salted water on the bottom of a big pot, bring to a boil, throw in the corn, cover and cook until warm about 4-5 minutes, but then again I also like it raw.
Leeks- Leeks are the mellow cousin in the onion family, with a smooth sweet taste. Cook them up with beans Store loosely in plastic in the refrigerator and they should keep for months. If you have never used them before, cut off the tough green ends (not all the green as much of it is edible and tasty), slice in half and wash thoroughly. Then thinly slice and use as you would onions. Try sautéing leeks in olive oil with tarragon and salt and pepper to taste (the longer you cook them the sweeter they will become). Do not let them brown. I love leeks. Let me know if you don’t and we can duke it out later.
Green Beans- These are the same variety as before, but our second planting. We are not getting as many beans, I think due to the dry weather we had while the plants were growing. Beans like to stay dry and 55 degrees.
Tomatoes- I guess I lied about the tomatoes, but hopefully you will all forgive me for another week. Our hothouse plants are producing more than we thought and that’s a good thing. The majority of these have “yellow shoulders”: the pretty yellow coloring near the stems. The “shoulders” are due to stress. This year it is heat stress. The shoulders are edible they just don’t have much taste (akin to a green tomato). Cut away the shoulders and the rest of the flesh is fine.

Quick tomato sauce for the freezer: mince two cloves of garlic into food processor, add 1 bulb of onion and mince, add tomatoes, any herb and salt and pepper to taste. (This can also be chopped by hand and the tomatoes pureed in a blender). Put into Ziploc baggies and store on a flat pan in the freezer. The sauce will then freeze in a thin, easy to maneuver shape. This sauce may be more watery than the traditional canning method, but it is uncooked and so it can be cooked down later. And when you de-frost it months from now you can still have that great fresh tomato taste of summer (without the extensive labor of canning).

Fresh Garlic- This is the first batch picked of fully ripe garlic. Use as you would cured garlic, keep dry, but store in the refrigerator to last longer. We will be hanging this garlic in the barn and curing it for the Fall boxes.
Hot Peppers- We have three varieties of hot peppers (call it our Southern Spirit): long cayenne (the long skinny ones, jalapeno (the fat short ones) and Serrano (a little skinnier than the jalapenos, but shorter than the long cayenne). All three have heat now although they will be hotter as they are allowed to stay on the plant loner to color. These freeze beautifully. Chop and freeze into appropriate amounts.

The Recipes
Cassoulet is just a French word for casserole. It has an emphasis on mixed meats and beans. This is my variation. It is a little less futsy than most.
CASSOULET
2-4 leeks, cleaned, halved and chopped into fine half moons
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
1 teaspoon of dried thyme (use more if fresh)
1 small apple: cored and cubed
2- 15 oz cans of cannelloni beans, drained
1 pound of spicy sausage (andoulie, Cajun, spicy Italian) plus any other meat you would like. I have added goat, deer, chicken and buffalo and they all taste good. This is supposed to have a couple meats, but it tastes good with only one and even with none.
2 cups of tomatoes, diced
1 cup of red wine
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups of French bread (although any crusty bread will work) cut into half inch cubes
Sauté the leeks in the butter (or oil) in a frying pan on medium high heat until soft (about 7 minutes). Add the thyme and garlic to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes. Transfer leek mixture into a large pot (or crock pot). Brown meat in frying pan. Pour off grease. Add to the leek mixture. Combine the rest of the ingredients (except the bread) and cook slowly for two hours with lid on. Add water (or stock) to get a consistency that you desire (I like it thick). I think that this dish improves with the longer that you cook it. 10 minutes before you serve it, toss bread cubes lightly in olive oil, salt and pepper and put on top of the cassoulet. Place pot under broiler for 1 minute (watch closely so that it browns- not burns). Take out and serve in wooden bowls (wooden bowls are not necessary, but it does make you feel more authentic). Season with additional salt if necessary.
Makes 6 servings.
This is in response to your requests for more eggplant recipes. This one is from my favorite cookbook How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. If you don’t have any eggplant left, substitute green beans which are wonderful with curry.

CURRIED EGGPLANT WITH POTATOES
2 pounds of eggplant, cut into half inch cubes
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
half teaspoon cayenne
half teaspoon ground tumeric
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons butter
3 large tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded and chopped
5 medium potatoes, cut into half inch cubes
Ground pepper to taste
1 cup of water
2 Tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice
Minced cilantro leaves for garish
Yogurt for garnish
Combine oil and mustard seed into a deep skillet, cook on medium until the mustard seeds pop (about 2 minutes). Add ginger, garlic and butter and cook until garlic is soft (about 5 minutes). Add tomatoes, water, potatoes, eggplant, salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium low, cover and cook for 30 minutes (stirring once or twice). Remove cover and cook until the eggplant and potatoes are tender. Stir in lime juice, garnish and serve.