August 26 or 29 CSA
Hey all! Sorry I haven’t made a blog entry the last 2 weeks. The rain gave us a bit of a break and we were planting all we could. The rains that began in mid-July and have persisted regularly since have greatly affected our ability to plant on schedule and so we are in a lull now and will be for a few weeks. The boxes will get a little redundant but will be good food and some will be things you can store if you don’t feel like eating them now. Potatoes will store best in your refrigerator. Onions and garlic can be stored in a corner of your kitchen that doesn’t get direct sun or in a cabinet. There will be no winter squash as it died in the WAY TO MUCH rain. Sweet potatoes will be coming early October.
This weeks’ share: 2 pounds sweet yellow and orange bell peppers, 2 pounds Yukon Gem potatoes, 1 bunch leeks, 1 celeriac, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 1 quart small plum tomatoes.
The plums and cherries are great oven roasted and then made into a sauce or salsa. They freeze well once roasted too. To roast them, I cut them in half, arrange on a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt, oregano, black pepper and olive oil then roast until somewhat browned and dry looking on the surface. In a hot oven (450 degrees) this takes 20-30 minutes. In a warm oven (250 degrees) in takes 2-3 hours.
I made a good soup last night with CSA box ingredients. Chop into thin circles the bunch of leeks and slowly saute in butter with thyme, salt and pepper until soft and somewhat browned. To the leeks add de-seeded and coarsley chopped bell peppers, peeled and diced celeriac, potatoes chopped into cubes. Stir all vegetables together and let saute for a few minutes. Add enough veggie or chicken stock to barely cover and let simmer until everything is soft. Send thru a food mill or food processor, return to pot and let simmer together for 15 minutes more. Serve with hot pepper relish or croutons.
Addiebelle, Anne, Aaron, and Cyril Grier
Gaining Ground Farm NC 