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Lexington Community Farm
52 Lowell Street, Lexington, MA
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Week of September 9, 2015 (Week #14)
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What's In Your Share This Week
In the Farm Stand
Pick Your Own Crops This Week
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.
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Notes from the Field
The days are getting shorter, and nights are getting colder, but our summer crops are hanging in there. Our fall greens are planted, and we will ride our summer fruits a little longer into September while we watch the fall crops size up. We covered our watermelon to keep them warm during a 50 degree night last week, and we hope our squash ripen before the cold nights kill off their foliage. There is much harvesting to do. We've got more tomatoes than we know what to do with, and cucumbers, peppers, and eggplant continue to yield fruit. The weeds are slowing down, and its time to seed our fall cover crops. How will we fit it all in?! Stay tuned to hear how it goes.
- Tim Hines, Lexington Community Farm
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Featured Vegetable: Broccoli
All About Broccoli
Choosing:
Pick broccoli that feels heavy for its size, has firm florets and stalk, and with neither stalks nor florets exhibiting slimy spots. Any attached leaves should be vibrant in color and unwilted. The florets ideally are tight, compact, uniformly colored, dark green, and unbruised. The stalks also should be unbruised and are slightly lighter in color, with the cut-ends fresh and moist looking. Yellowing, opening, or blossoming of the florets is a sign of aging and indicates a stronger taste.
Storing:
Store broccoli unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator (I have read suggestions for either an open or tightly closed plastic bag). If bought very fresh or harvested at home, broccoli can keep up to 10 days, though it’s best to eat soon after it’s picked as the nutrients degrade quickly.
Partial heads of broccoli should be placed in a well-sealed container or plastic bag and refrigerated. Once broccoli has been cut, it is best to use it within a couple of days.
Best uses: Broccoli is best roasted, sautéed, or steamed. As with many cruciferous vegetables, longer cooking tends to bring out bitter or unpleasant tastes, and it likely also decreases nutrient content. Broccoli can also overpower preparations with mixed vegetables, such as soups and stews, and should be added in moderation and towards the end of cooking.
Separate the head into florets to encourage even cooking. Peel any thicker stems that have a fibrous outer layer to make them more tender. The cut florets and sliced stems can be blanched in boiling water until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Once removed from heat they will continue to cook. Serve immediately while hot, or plunge into ice cold water to arrest cooking before dressing cooked broccoli for salads.
How to freeze broccoli:
Complete instructions for freezing broccoli are given here and here. The principles and procedures are similar to those for other vegetables: freeze the very freshest, high-quality broccoli by cleaning it (by soaking in water or brine); blanching in salted, boiling water (for 2-3 minutes) or by steaming; plunging into ice water (to arrest cooking); and freezing.
Sources:
Real Simple
About Food
The World's Healthiest Foods
- Jackie Starr
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Recipe: Broccoli and Tempeh Stir Fry
 Broccoli is one of my favorite vegetables to add to any meal. It is hearty, healthy, and when cooked well, adds the perfect crunch to every bite.
This recipe is a weekly meal in our house. It's a good recipe to prep ahead of time for a quick and easy after-work meal. Also this is a basic recipe for stir-fry that certainly allows for mix & matching of vegetables and proteins.
You can get locally made tempeh at the LexFarm farm stand. The tempeh is from Hosta Hill Provisions, and it is unpasteurized and fresh-frozen, which gives it a fantastic texture and a rich, buttery flavor. It’s made in Housatonic, MA, and it is made from 100% organic GMO free soybeans!
Sauce:
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 T minced fresh garlic
1 T rice wine vinegar
1/8 t sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
1-2 tsp chili paste *for a kick (optional)
1.5 cups of rice
4 T of Coconut or vegetable oil, divided
1 t of sesame oil
1 T of minced Fresh Garlic
1 T of minced Fresh Ginger
1 small Onion, diced
1/3 cup of vegetable stock
3-4 stalks of broccoli, chopped into 1 inch pieces; peel and dice the stalk
1 package of store-bought tempeh (see note above)
2 T Soy Sauce
To make sauce, combine all sauce ingredients and mix with a fork. Set aside while making the rest of the dish. For a kick, add a 1-2 t of chili paste, more or less depending on your preference.
Make rice according to directions.
Heat 2 T coconut and sesame oil over medium high heat in sauté pan. Sauté garlic, ginger and onion until onion is translucent. Add broccoli and sauté for 2 minutes. Add stock and cover for 3 min. Take off cover and pour broccoli in bowl, set aside.
To cook Tempeh, slice Tempeh into 1 inch pieces. Heat 2 T of coconut oil in pan. Carefully place slices into pan and cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned, then turn and cook another 3-4 minutes. Once both sides are browned, add soy sauce and turn off heat.
Plate rice, broccoli mixture and tempeh; spoon sauce over the dish. Enjoy!
Amanda Maltais, an Arlington resident, currently serves as Clerk on the LexFarm Board of Directors as well as sits on several LexFarm Committees, including Education and Communications. She can often be found in the Learning Garden leading our "Dirt Play" and "Farm Hands" programs. Amanda enjoys spending time on the farm with her two young boys and teaching them all about where their food comes from.
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More Ideas for Broccoli
SALADS
Make this salad with Chinese broccoli topped with a sesame-Sriracha dressing. If you can’t find ponzu sauce at the store, make your own.
Toss broccoli and whatever fresh vegetables you have on hand into this quinoa salad.
Add sautéed broccoli to toasted barley for this salad.
Raw broccoli add crunch to tabbouleh.
SOUPS
Cook a pot of broccoli, lemon, and Parmesan soup. Maybe you’ll be inspired to make the accompanying semolina crackers too.
What about cream of broccoli soup made with cashew cream or with buttermilk and topped with spiced pepitas?
PLATES
Roast broccoli and shrimp for this fast and simple sheet pan dinner.
Toss roasted broccoli with a lemon-tahini sauce or a miso bagna cauda.
Combine roasted stems with charred florets for a variety of textures in one dish.
Top this mac-n-cheese with basil-broccoli crumbs.
Drizzle broccoli with this seriously-cheesy sauce.
Simmer broccoli in water until it’s tender and falling apart for Alice Waters' long-cooked broccoli.
Stir fry broccoli with chicken and mushrooms. Add bell pepper to the pan and maybe ramen or not. Or stir-fry unblanched regular broccoli with this black-bean sauce.
Try pad see ew with sautéed broccoli and rice noodles.
Broccoli Strascinati is one recipe for Italian contorni, vegetables that accompany meals in and around Rome. For this one, sauté broccoli with garlic and hot peppers.
Use this formula to make a broccoli quiche (or any other flavor). Perhaps add sun-dried tomato, and shallot, leek, or sweet onion with whatever herbs you like (parsley, basil, dill, thyme, marjoram….).
Stuff Indian flatbread with broccoli.
RECIPE ROUNDUPS
These collections from Food 52 and Bon Appetit provide more inspiration for preparing broccoli.
The LexFarm website also has additional ideas for broccoli.
Compiled by Jackie Starr & Betsy Pollack
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Making the Most of Your CSA Share
Dress a variety of vegetables with this salty-sweet miso dressing and toss with cooked tofu for a light meal or side dish.
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Logistics
| If your assigned pickup day is: |
You can now pick up on: |
You must arrange a swap to pickup on: |
| Wednesday |
Wednesday OR Thursday |
Friday or Saturday |
| Thursday |
Wednesday OR Thursday |
Friday or Saturday |
| Friday |
Friday OR Saturday |
Wednesday or Thursday |
| Saturday |
Friday OR Saturday |
Wednesday or Thursday |
CSA Distribution Hours:
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 3 pm - 7 pm
Saturday: 9 am - 1 pm
Note that scheduled distribution hours are NOT the same as the farm stand hours on Saturdays
Use our Google group to arrange swaps. 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.
If you do not find a swap, 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.
Have the swap or the friend check in under your name. 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, so you do not need to let us know.
If another member of your household wants to receive their own copy of the weekly newsletter, just let us know.
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Pick Your Own Supplies
Scissors and Clippers: Please remember to return any borrowed cutters to the hoop house before you leave the farm so others may use them. If any scissors or clippers accidentally came home with you, please return them on your next visit. Also, if you have any extra scissors or clippers that you'd like to donate to LexFarm for PYO, you can leave them in the hoop house with the PYO supplies or give them to Jaclyn in the farm stand.
Cardboard Containers: Please bring back and reuse or return any half-pint-, pint-, or quart-sized cardboard containers that you might have laying around the house from previous weeks' pick-your owns!
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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
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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.
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Staff
Tim Hines
Farm Manager
Jaclyn Fishman
Farm Stand Manager
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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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