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What to expect with this week's CSA share.
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Lexington Community Farm
52 Lowell Street, Lexington, MA
Week of July 8, 2015 (Week #5)

In This Issue

What's In Your Share This Week

In the Farm Stand

 

      Certified Organic from Picadilly Farm

Pick Your Own Crops This Week

  • Broccoli raab
  • Choice of basil or mint
  • Choice of dill flower, cilantro, sage, or parsley
  • Nasturtium leaves and flowers
We do our best to predict what will be available but the CSA newsletter hits the press before the week's harvest begins.  That means that sometimes you'll see vegetables at the stand that aren't on the list, and sometimes vegetables on the list are not actually ready for harvest.

Additional storage and preparation tips plus many recipe ideas can be found on the LexFarm website.

Notes from the Field

July is here and our tomato plants are boasting green tomatoes, our cucumbers and eggplants are flowering, and immature fruits are hanging from our pepper plants.  The heat means our plants (and weeds) are growing fast.  We can barely stake and tie up our tomatoes fast enough, and the leafy growth on our eggplant is beginning to recover from the hungry spring flea beetles.  We are irrigating, irrigating, irrigating to help our fruits size up and keep plants’ roots wet during the long, sunny days.  

Much of the farm has been prepped for our summer cover crop, buckwheat.  The rye and vetch from the spring have been turned into the soil, and we are waiting for stretch of wet weather to sow the buckwheat seed.  Stay on the lookout for the green carpet of buckwheat that will soon cover the side of the farm closest to the reservoir and produce small white flowers in September before it too is turned into the soil.

- Tim Hines, Lexington Community Farm

Featured Vegetable: Beets

All About Beets


When you bring your beets home, cut off the greens, about one inch from the root. You can consider the greens a bonus vegetable! Greens can be wrapped loosely in a damp paper towel and stored in a bag or container. Even if you are going to discard the greens, for best results, store the roots without their greens. Beets can be stored loose in the crisper drawer.

If you can't use them right away, beets are good keepers. They will store in the refrigerator for at least a month.

Of course, you can eat beets raw, but my favorite way to prepare beets is to roast them. For one thing, roasting concentrates the flavors, making them extra sweet. For another thing, you don't have to peel them before you cook them.

To roast, gently scrub the beets with a brush to remove most of the dirt. Place the beets in a baking dish, add about 1/2 inch of water to the bottom of the pan, and cover with foil. Roast the beets in a preheated 400F oven for 45-60 minutes, until they're tender when tested with a skewer. Once the beets are cooked and slightly cooled, you can slide the skin off with your fingers. (Some people complain their fingers get stained. This never happens to me, but if you are concerned, you can wear gloves, though not your housecleaning gloves, or work through a plastic bag.) You also store cooked (peeled or unpeeled) in the refrigerator for a few days before you use them.

You could also boil or steam whole beets. Again, you can peel them after cooking, if you wish, unless the recipe asks you to start with raw diced beets before cooking.

Beets can come in many colors. Typically, we see the dark red ones, but you might also see golden beets and chioggia beets (sometimes called candy cane beets). When adding red beets in a dish with a variety of ingredients, add them last because their color tends to run and stain the other ingredients if they sit together for a long time. Because of their lighter color, golden and chioggia beets don't tend to stain.  

- Betsy Pollack

Recipe: Beet Risotto


I have been making this recipe from Deborah Madison's "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" when I have an abundance of beets and greens, and I love its shocking pink color. I usually double the recipe and use a food processor to grate the beets. This is a nice way to make use of both the root and the greens of the beets, and the stock is a great use of many vegetables we get from the CSA.  I froze some of this risotto last summer and thought that it still tasted good after freezing. I really enjoyed the taste of summer during our recent winter.

5½ -6½ cups vegetable stock, including beet or chard stems (see below)
3 Tablespoons butter or butter/olive oil mixture
½ cup finely diced onion
1½ cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped basil (or 1 Tablespoon dried)
2-3 medium beets, scrubbed (or peeled) and grated (about 2 cups)
2-3 cups greens (beet, chard, kale or spinach) - stems removed, finely chopped
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
½ cup freshly ground Parmesan cheese, or more to taste, plus more for sprinkling on the finished dish
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Have the stock simmering (in a separate pot) on the stove. Heat the butter/olive oil in a big, wide pot. Add the onion, and cook over medium heat for about three minutes, stirring frequently. Add the rice, stir to coat it well, and cook it, stirring constantly, for one minute.

Add the wine and simmer until it’s absorbed, then stir in the basil, the grated beets, the chopped greens, and half of the parsley. (If you are using spinach and beet greens as the greens, these can be added later - when there is one cup of stock remaining). Add two cups stock, cover, and cook at a rapid simmer until the stock is absorbed. Begin adding the remaining stock ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until each addition is absorbed before adding the next. When the risotto is nearly done, season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the lemon juice and zest. Remove from the heat and stir in Parmesan cheese. Serve dusted with the cheese and the remaining parsley.
 
Vegetable Stock

Here's one vegetable stock recipe, though the variations are numerous. I often double this recipe so I can freeze some of it.

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
2 large carrots
2 celery ribs, including leaves
1 bunch scallions, including half the greens
1 cup beet or chard stems
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
8 parsley branches
6 thyme sprigs or ½ teaspoon dried
2 bay leaves
Salt

Scrub the vegetables and chop them roughly into 1-inch chunks. Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the vegetables and herbs, and cook over high heat 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. The more color they get, the richer the flavor of the stock. Add 2 teaspoon salt and 2 quarts cold water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes. Strain. The stock can also be frozen after it cools.
 

Julia Thompson lives in East Lexington with her husband and two young daughters. They have been CSA members with LexFarm (and formerly with Busa Farm) for several years and love to eat locally. Julia enjoys cultivating their home garden and loves to see her girls learn about farming and gardening. Julia works part-time as an occupational therapist and hopes to gradually increase her volunteer time with LexFarm.

More Ideas for Beets


Start your meal with a bowl of shocking pink beet hummus!
 
Before strawberries go out of season, add them to beets in this salad.
 
Many people prepare their beets by roasting, steaming, or boiling.  For something different, why not try them smoked or roasted until they are charred?
 
Roasted beets add a sweet, earthy flavor to any salad.  Some possibilities include combining the beets with their greens and farro, tossing with wild rice, chicken and kale, or topping with flash-pickled radishes and chard stems.
 
Beets can color pasta dough for beet ravioli filled with goat cheese.  Or you can stuff ravioli with this beet, potato and poppy seed filling.
 
Top farfalle pasta or rice noodles with golden beets and their greens.
 
Make a rustic savory tart filled with beets.
 
This casserole is like a macaroni-and-cheese, with beets and their greens used instead of pasta.
 
Braise lentils with beets and beet juice.
 
Puree beets with yogurt to marinate chunks of chicken for these chicken tikka kebabs.
 
To extend the season, pickle beets with onion, fresh ginger, and other spices.
 
The New York Times offers this roundup of ideas for beets and their greens.  Here are even more ideas from Bon Appetit and Huffington Post.

And, of course, the LexFarm website has more ideas for beets.
 
Compiled by Jackie Starr & Betsy Pollack

New: Swap Box

This week, we're adding a swap box to the CSA distribution area. Each shareholder can exchange an item for any other item left in the swap box. Exchanges will be limited by what shareholders choose to leave in the swap box.

Logistics


If you are unable to pick up your share on your assigned day, we have set up a Google group to help you find someone to swap with when you are planning ahead. So far, it seems like the group is working smoothly to arrange swaps.  Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that you will find a swap.  If you did not receive your invitation to the Google Group or are having trouble joining, send email to csa@lexfarm.org for assistance.

You are always welcome to send someone else to pick up your share for you.  This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce a neighbor, friend, or co-worker to the farm.  If you don't pick up your share, the food will not go to waste.  Our volunteer food access team will deliver unclaimed produce to area food pantries.

If someone else is picking up your share, whether it's a shareholder swap or you're just sending someone in your stead, they should check in under your name.  We don't update the weekly sign in sheets based on swaps or alternates.

If another member of your household wants to receive their own copy of the weekly newsletter, just let us know.

Farm Stand Open to Public


We hope you're enjoying the new variety of locally produced foods at the farm stand.  The farm stand is open to the public, so tell all your friends to stop by!

Farm Stand Hours:
Wednesdays-Fridays: 3-7 pm
Saturdays:  9 am - 4 pm
Sundays:  11 am - 4 pm
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or to add another member of your household to the mailing list for this weekly CSA newsletter, send an email to csa@lexfarm.org.

Staff

Tim Hines
Farm Manager

Jaclyn Fishman
Farm Stand Manager


 

LexFarm Board of Directors

Allison Guerette, President
Carolyn Goldstein, Vice President
Ralph Clifford, Treasurer
Amanda Maltais, Clerk
 
Susan Amsel
Mark Gabrenya
Marcia Gens
Whitney Kakos
Linda Levin
Susan Schiffer
Mary Rose Scozzafava
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Visit LexFarm.org
Copyright © 2015 Lexington Community Farm Coalition, Inc., All rights reserved.


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