Utah Farmshare

From Jess in Salt Lake City:

Our CSA share has turned from mostly lettuce to mostly not-lettuce, which is great for us AND makes for a much better photo. So here's a picture of this week's share--various squashes/zucchini, beets, apricots, raspberries, green beans, garlic, cabbage, broccoli, chard, and kolrabi. Not pictured are mesclun mix and spinach. We used some of the cabbage last night in great shrimp tacos, and have almost eaten all the apricots already!

Compost

Composting is fun and an easy way to enrich garden soils by putting kitchen scraps and yard waste to good use.  You can create a compost pile or invest in a bin to disguise and protect your compost from too much sun or rain.  The microorganisms do all the work, but I've found you can get faster results by following a few guidelines.  

Size.  The recommended size for a home compost pile is no smaller than 3 ft X 3 ft X 3 ft, and no larger than 5 ft X 5 ft X 5 ft.

Moisture Content.  To work effectively, compost piles should be about as wet as a squeezed out sponge.  If yours is outdoors in a pile rather than a bin, you will probably need to water it with a spray from the hose every few days.   

Biodegradables.  The correct mix of raw materials is one in which 'greens' are mixed with more fibrous ‘browns’ at the rate of four parts (by volume) of ‘greens’ to one of ‘browns’. Too many greens, especially grass clippings, can lead to a smelly, slimy mess which will take a year to compost.  

'Greens'

grass clippings

leafy hedge clippings

green weeds

vegetable trimmings

seaweed

fresh horse or farmyard manure

'Browns'

straw

dry grass or hay

shredded prunings

dead leaves

sawdust or shavings

A small amount of soil mixed into the heap will add soil microbes and contribute to the composting.

Beet Recipes

Think of beets as red spinach, asserts a recent NY Times article on some of the healthiest foods you probably aren't eating. I've always been wary of beets, but thought I'd give them a try. Here are some recipes I've found:

SIMPLE BEET SALAD WITH ONIONS

Grate scrubbed beets or cut into julienne; toss with chopped green onions and a vinaigrette you make or from a bottle in your fridge. Add toasted nuts and/or a sharp cheese (blue, Parmesan, feta). Serve alone or with lettuce.

GRATED SAUTEED BEETS

4 medium beets
4 tbsp. butter
Fresh lemon juice
Salt & freshly ground pepper
Chopped fresh dill or parsley

Wash, peel, and coarsely grate beets. In a covered frying pan, melt butter, add beets, and stir to coat with butter, then sprinkle with lemon juice to taste. Cover and cook over medium to low heat for approximately 10 minutes, checking occasionally to see that the beets don't burn. (You could add a few spoonfuls of stock or water to prevent sticking.) Cook just until tender, then season with salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice if needed. Sprinkle with dill or parsley. Serves 4.

Note: Grate other vegetables, such as cabbage, carrots, and parsnips, cook separately, and arrange in mounds on a vegetable platter.

Victory Garden Cookbook, Marian Morash

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/

Salad days

Summer is the best time for crisp and fresh salad greens, though perhaps we can have too much of them. Try this recipe if you are looking for something different. I have not tried it myself, but I have not been disappointed with the recipes from Stonewall Kitchen’s Harvest cookbook:

English Pea and Lettuce Soup with Chive Cream

For the pea broth (or substitute 5-6 cups of vegetable broth):
2 lbs English or shelling peas, pods rinsed
1 large onion coarsely chopped
6 black peppercorns
Sea salt to taste
1 c. chopped fresh chives

For the soup:
1 Tbs unsalted butter
1 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
½ c. chopped fresh chives
Sea salt to taste
Black pepper
3 c. packed tender green lettuce leaves (such as butterhead or leaf lettuce)

For the chive cream:
¾ c. heavy cream
½ c. packed chopped chives


1. If making the broth: Shell peas and set aside for later. (You should have 2 cups.) Put the pods in a large pot and cover with 8 cups cold water. Add onion, peppercorns, salt, and chives and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Remove lid and simmer 15-20 more minutes. Season to taste. Strain the broth: you should have 5-6 cups.

2. To make the soup: In a large soup pot, heat the butter and oil over low heat. Add the onion, chives, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Stir in the lettuce and cook for 2 minutes or until just wilted. Add the shelled peas and cook for 1 minute. Add 5 cups of pea broth and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Meanwhile, make the chive cream: In a small saucepan, combine the cream and chives. Place over low heat for 5 minutes to infuse the cream with the chive flavor. Remove from heat and let cool.

4. Working in batches, puree the soup and return to the soup pot. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper. Heat on low. Puree the cream and chives until it is the palest green color. Warm the chive cream in a saucepan. To serve, swirl 1-2 tsp of hot cream into each bowl of soup.

July farmer's market meals

July is a lovely month as the first tomatoes are ready for eating! Here are our meals for the week, inspired by Deborah Madison’s cookbook, Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmer’s Markets.

• Tomato and fresh mozzarella sandwiches on ciabatta
• Farm fresh egg salad sandwiches with homemade mayo
• Lasagne with chard, ricotta, and walnuts
• Braised broccoli with olives and pasta