Helsing Junction Farm Newsletter Archive

August 25-27, 2009

Greetings from Helsing Junction Farm!

We had over 400 visitors this weekend!

What a wonderful weekend we had here, lolling about on hay bales and listening to some homegrown music.  Our 5th annual music festival was filled with amazing artists, good food and friendly people; there is something so magical about listening to live music under the stars.  We really appreciated all of the hard work and overtime Jade, Sue’s son and his gang of volunteers put into making this music fest a success.  By day 3 we were already talking about next year which seems like a good sign that fun was had by all!  

It’s hard to believe that it is week 11 in the delivery schedule and that there are only 7 weeks left of CSA delivery after this week.  For those of you who missed the info in the previous week’s newsletter, the last days of CSA delivery are October 13-15.  We always reach the point each year where we go from worrying about having enough in the CSA boxes to having too much to be able to cram in there.  We are going to have summer produce like corn and beans through most of September (weather depending) with fall’s produce such as winter squash and leeks joining in the fray and continuing on through the last delivery in October.  There will be corn for Tuesday’s large boxes, Thursday’s boxes and then for next Tuesday’s smalls as well.  

Certain annual occurrences in tandem seem to announce the change in seasons.  As the first orange yellow sunflowers unfold from their green cocoons, the yellow school bus starts rumbling up and down the road and the first leaves drift from the trees.  The many ancient apple and plum trees around the valley are ringed with fallen fruit and evidence of the creatures that have been enjoying their bounty.  We move silently through the chilly morning fog, forgetting that we need to start later than 6 am as it is still dark out now.  Warm sweatshirts, a comfort in the early morning cold are ripped off in haste as the sun unfurls.  September is the time of year when the plants all seem to realize that there is not much longer now and the pace seems to pick up in the race to produce seed.  As farmers, we too begin to shift into a different gear.  Once again we watch the weather trying to gauge when to plant cover crop seed or harvest onions.  We have about 15 acres under cultivation now, as opposed to the 30 we had planted in spring (all that food is in our bellies now!), so watering and weeding is much easier and we don’t have the constant nagging feeling that we are always running behind.  Now there is time to contemplate the seasons as they affect all of us, human, plant and animal alike. As farmers we relish the cross over to fall for both the stress relief (what’s done is done) and for the fact that there are new foods to eat and new tasks that relieve the boredom we were just starting to feel.  For us, early fall always brings a kind of enjoyable melancholy that contains both dread of winter and enjoyment of its gifts.  What are the seasons and seasonal eating, but a pleasantly safe combination of repetition and novelty.  What is new becomes old and so on, the seasons flowing by in a constant, spinning circle of light and dark.  Light, in which to work as hard as you can and dark for integration and reflection.   

There are German Butterball potatoes in your boxes today.  We went to a potato tasting at a conference in Portland last winter, and they were hands down the favorite in the room for their pleasant potato taste and amazing texture.  We have never eaten them as new potatoes, but we are sure they will be good.  The potatoes are coming along nicely.  We are going to mow the potato vines soon, and then the potatoes will sit in the ground for 2 weeks while their skins set.  After that we hitch up our potato digger to the tractor and harvest them.  The potato digger is a large conveyor belt that goes underground and pops the potatoes onto the surface of the soil.  Then we walk through the field sorting the potatoes, picking up the good ones and putting them into mesh bags for storage.  We have to pick up the bad ones too, as they will re-grow.  We always use last year’s potato ground to plant our garlic, so we will be tilling it up and replanting it soon.  We will have 2 kinds of fingerling potatoes this year, Austrian Crescent which we grew last year and Ozette, a variety that was introduced to Northwest Costal Tribes by Spanish Explorers in the 1700’s.  This year we grew a russet as well, something we haven’t grown for a long time, so of course we are really excited to eat them.  There will also be more of the yellow Maris Pipers and the all-purple.  It seems the tide has turned on all-purple potatoes and they are gaining the following they deserve.  Did you know they contain more anti-oxidants than blueberries?  We have found the trick to success when cooking with them is to roast them until crispy which really seems to improve their texture, though Sue likes to make mashed potatoes with them, which are a very electric lavender!  A member wrote us a nice e-mail saying that “this summer in our house we’ve been encouraging the kids to count the number of colors present in each meal as a way to ensure we are eating a wonderful variety of foods.  Last Friday night set a record- the bounty we used from our Thursday box created a dinner with 11 colors in it!”   

Here is the delivery schedule for the 2 pounds of basil that comes with your bulk share:
We delivered:
Thursday August 20th to:  Allrecipes, Beacon Hill, Belltown, Capitol Hill, East Olympia, Georgetown and Queen Anne

To be delivered:
Wednesday August 26th to:  Alberta, Centralia, Hawthorne and MLK
Thursday August 27th to:  Ravenna, Seward Park, West Olympia, West Seattle and WSNMC
Tuesday September 1st to:  Ballard, Bellevue, Crown Hill, the Farm and Fremont
Tuesday September 8th to:  Green Lake, Kirkland, Phinney Ridge, Shoreline, Tacoma and Wallingford

Your Bulk Share/basil will be delivered to your regular drop site.  On the appointed day, there will be a box with plastic bags filled with 2 pounds of basil.  Please take 1 bag per bulk share.  To determine whether or not you have a Bulk Share, please look on the sign-in sheet at the drop site under the category “Bulk Share.”  If there is a “yes” in the bulk share column next to your name you are slated to receive a Bulk Share.  If we have made a mistake and you are supposed to receive a Bulk Share but have not, please contact us and we will make sure you get one.  If you need to reschedule the date you receive the bulk basil, please let us know and we can make other arrangements.  The 10# of potatoes that come with your bulk share will be delivered in September; we will provide you with the exact date via the newsletter, and the Storage Share will be delivered in October.

This Week's Shares

Recipes

Linguine with Summer Squash, Fresh Corn, Roma Beans and Lots of Garlic:
-Dice up 4-6 pieces of thick cut bacon and sauté until just crisp.
-Remove bacon from pan and set aside.
-Dice into large chunks; 1 onion, 2-3 summer squash and a large handful of Roma beans.
-Remove some or all of the bacon grease and sauté vegetables until just tender.  
-Cut the kernels off of 1-2 ears of corn (optional) and add to the pan.
-Meanwhile, cook 1 pound of linguine according to package directions.  Drain and return to pot.
-Squeeze 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic through a garlic press and toss with the hot pasta, adding some salt, freshly ground black pepper and a splash of olive oil. 
-Add the vegetables and bacon and toss again.
-Serve warm with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of finely chopped dill, basil or parsley.

Linguine with Prosciutto, Radicchio, Blue Cheese and Figs:
-Cook 1 pound of linguine according to package directions.  Drain and return to pot.
-Heat 3 TBS olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
-Add 1 thinly slice treviso radicchio, 4 ounces sliced prosciutto, ¾ cup sliced stemmed dried black Mission figs and sauté until radicchio is just wilted, about 2 minutes.
-Add ¾ cup crumbled blue cheese and ¼ cup finely chopped parsley.
-Season pasta lightly with salt and pepper, then toss gently and serve.

Golden Beet Soup:
-Peel and cube 1 bunch of golden beets. 
-Chop up 1 onion.
-Mince up 4 TBS of fresh ginger and zest 1 lemon.
-Melt 2 TBS butter with 2 TBS olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
-Add the beets and onions to the butter along with the ginger and the lemon peel. 
-Cover and cook 15 minutes.
-Add 4 cups of broth and bring to a boil.  
-Cover, reduce heat and simmer until beet are very tender, about ½ hour.
-Remove from heat and let stand 20 minutes. 
-Puree soup in blender until smooth.
-Return to pot, add 1 TBS fresh lemon juice and thin with more broth if desired. 
-Season with salt and pepper.
-Slice up 1 cup of beet greens.  Microwave the greens 1 minute to wilt.
-Place in blender and add ¾ cup soup.  Puree until greens are smooth.
-Ladle soup into bowls, then drizzle with greens puree and serve.

Penne with Kalamata Olives, Feta and Rainbow Chard:
-Mix ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley or chives with 1 tsp lemon zest and 1 clove of finely minced garlic.  Set aside.
-Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  
-Chop up 1 bunch of rainbow chard stems and all.
-Add chard and cook for 3-4 minutes.
-Skim out chard and drain in a colander.  
-Return water to a boil and add 12 ounces penne and cook according to package directions until just tender.
-Drain off water reserving ¾ cup of the pasta water.  
-Return pasta to pot, add chard and 3 TBS olive oil and toss.
-Stir in ½ cup coarsely chopped Kalamata olives and ½ cup crumbled feta.
-Add enough reserved pasta water to moisten.  Season with salt and pepper.
-Transfer to a bowl and drizzle with 2 more TBS olive oil, sprinkle with the parsley/chive mixture and serve.

Carrot and Squash Cashew Curry:
-Heat a large deep skillet or Dutch oven.  
-Add 1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil, 1 TBS finely minced ginger, 1 tsp mustard seeds, and 1 tsp dill seeds and sauté over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the seeds begin to pop.
-Add 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsp salt and 1 bunch of carrots, thinly sliced.
-Sauté for 5 minutes, and then add 2 cups orange juice, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, 1 thinly sliced onion and 2-3 sliced summer squash.
-Cover, turn the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.
-Just before serving, stir in 1 cup yogurt and ½ cup toasted cashews.   
-Sprinkle with finely chopped cilantro or dill and serve with rice.

Roasted Potatoes with Flat Leaf Parsley:
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
-Halve 5 potatoes the long way and season the potatoes with salt.
-Melt 4 TBS butter.  Pour the butter in a large baking pan.
-Take some whole parsley leaves off of a bunch of parsley.
-Put a whole parsley leaf or 2 on the bottom of each potato before you put it cut side down in the pan.
-Sprinkle the potatoes with some more salt. 
-Roast for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots with Onions and Herbs:
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  
-Cut 1½ pounds of potatoes into ¾ inch pieces.
-Peel 1 bunch of carrots and cut into 2 inch chunks.
-Halve 1 onion and then cut into 8ths.  
-Combine vegetables in a large bowl then add 3 TBS olive oil and toss to coat.
-Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss again then transfer to a large roasting pan or baking sheet.
-Roast until vegetables are almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.
-Put 3-5 cloves of garlic through a press and then add to the vegetables, stir well and continue roasting about 5 minutes more.   
-Transfer potatoes to a bowl and add a large handful of any or all of the following, chopped basil, parsley, dill or cilantro.

Tabbouleh:
-Add ½ cup coarse bulgur to a medium sized bowl.  
-Add ¼ tsp salt and 1 cup boiling water. 
-Cover and let stand until tender, about 25 minutes.
-Drain in a sieve, pressing to remove excess liquid.
-Toss bulgur with ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper.  
-Add 1 bunch of finely chopped flat leaf parsley (we like to use a food processor to chop it really well).
-Then add 2 medium chopped tomatoes, 1 peeled and seeded chopped cucumber, ¼ cup finely chopped sweet onion, 1 clove chopped garlic, 3 TBS extra-virgin olive oil and the zest and juice from 1 freshly squeezed lemon.
-Toss well and taste for salt.  Serve chilled.

Roasted Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa:
-Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
-In a large glass baking dish toss together 1 pound of tomatillos (husks removed), ½ onion cut into thirds, 3 whole cloves of garlic, 2 seeded and halved Serrano chilies and 1 TBS olive oil. 
-Roast about 1 hour.
-Transfer the vegetables to a food processor and add 1 tsp salt and ½ bunch of chopped cilantro, stems and all.
-Puree until almost smooth and transfer to a bowl.  
-Add ½ finely chopped onion, the other half of the cilantro bunch finely chopped stems and all and the kernels from 1 ear of sweet corn (optional).  
-Let cool and add 1-2 chopped avocados.  Serve at room temperature.

Fresh Sweet Corn, Cucumber, Sweet Onion and Tomato Salad with Blue Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette.
Bacon or chicken would also be great in this salad.
-Cut 1 lettuce into 1-inch strips then wash and spin dry.    
-Take the kernels off of 2 ears of raw sweet corn.
-Cut 1-2 cucumbers in half, scrape out the seeds and dice into half moon shaped pieces.
-Finely chop ½ a sweet onion and half a pint of Sungold cherry tomatoes or some chopped slicing tomatoes.
-Top the lettuce with all of the above.
For the dressing: 
-In a jar with a tight fitting lid combine ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup Balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp stone ground mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper. 
-Shake well, then dress the salad and toss.
-Top with ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese.

Short-Term Cucumber and Sweet Onion Pickles:
From Local Flavors by Deborah Madison.
-Mix 2/3 cup white wine vinegar with 1/3 cup sugar and pinch of salt.  
-Set aside and stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.
-Thinly slice 1 sweet onion into rounds.  
-Thinly slice 2 cucumbers into rounds, leaving the skins on.
-Put the onions and cucumbers in a glass jar and add 1 tsp whole mixed peppercorns and 1 TBS chopped dill.
-Add 3 TBS olive oil to the vinegar and stir well. 
-Add the liquid to the onions and cucumbers.
-Chill for at least 1 day before serving-they’ll keep for up to 1 week.

Helsing Junction Farm
12013 Independence Road, Rochester, WA 98579 | (360)273-2033
helsingfarm@msn.com | www.helsingfarmcsa.com

To unsubscribe ##subscriber_email## from this mailing list, please click the link below.
##list_unsubscribe_link##