Week Two, 2009

Greetings Friends and Members,
 
Welcome to Week 2 of the summer CSA season, and Happy Summer to you!  Is it just us or is it feeling a little bit like we live on the Scottish Highlands lately?  Not that we've been to the Scottish Highlands, but we imagine that maybe they're a lot like what we've been experiencing:  cool, breezy and wet. We're certainly ready for some warm and sunny days, and that's just what's in the forecast for later this week thankfully.  There's even talk of the upper 80's!  Won't that feel good!  In the fields things are starting to dry out and hopefully that trend will continue as we've got a lot of plants waiting to be transplanted.
 
At the farm this week- weather permitting- we're happy to announce that there will be strawberries for picking.  Here are a few guidelines:
1.  Be careful to only pick ripe berries.  (Sorry if this seems obvious, but we've seen some things over the years...)  Before you pick a berry look at the tip and make sure that it's nice and red.  If it's still white, leave it for later.
2.  Please watch where you're stepping and keep eager young pickers treading lightly as well.  Our rows are somewhat sprawling in places, but careful stepping will be rewarding for us all.  Also there are old rows of berries toward the hedgerow where surprisingly nice berries have been seen.
3.  Be mindful of the amount to pick for your share size.  Hopefully there will be plenty to go around for all, and if it looks like there are more at the end of the week we'll bump up the limits next week.
 
Things to look for in this week's share:
Lettuce, mesclun, bok choy, scallions, chard/kale/collard greens, garlic scapes, baby turnips/beets/kohlrabi, radishes
 
U-pick: strawberries, herbs, daisies and maybe some peas
 
See you soon!
D, E and e



This week's recipe:

 
SWISS CHARD (OR OTHER WARM GARDEN GREENS) CROSTATA 

TOPPING
1 / 3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 large shallot, thinly sliced

10 cups of greens, washed, trimmed and chopped: Swiss Chard, radish tops, spinach, fennel tops, wild asparagus, onion shoots, beet tops, pea leaves, sorrel, nettles, mustard greens and flowers.

Sea salt
1 / 2 cup feta cheese crumbled
1 / 4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat and soften garlic and shallots.  Add greens in batches to pan and cook until they just start to wilt.  Season with salt. 

CROSTATA DOUGH
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 / 2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1 / 2 cup ice water, more as needed
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

 Place flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.  Process dry mixture for 5 seconds.  Add the butter and process for about 30 seconds, until the mixture resembles medium sized crumbs.  With processor running, drizzle in the ice water and process for an additional 30 seconds, or until the mixture forms a ball, use additional water if necessary.  Cover the dough with plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and place dough on it.  Flour the dough lightly and cover with another piece of parchment.  Roll the dough out to form a 14” circle.  Remove the top piece of parchment .  Invert the dough onto an oiled baking sheet and remove the other piece of parchment.  Cover the dough with aluminum foil and prick with a fork.  Shape the foil into a 12 1/ 2” circle so that there is 1 1/ 2” border of dough.  Spread pie weights on the foil.  Fold the dough border over the foil border, making an edge for a round tart, pinching the dough every 2’ or so.  Whisk together the egg and milk and brush this on the dough’s edge.  Bake the crostata shell with the foil intact for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and pie weights and spread the wilted green mixture on top of the crostata.  Sprinkle with the feta and cayenne pepper.  Cover the entire crostata with foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes, or until pastry edges are nicely browned.  (SERVES 6)