It is the final week in our summer CSA session! Next week begins the fall session. Current members can renew by bringing payment to today’s distribution.

This week we are harvesting:

• tomatoes and cherry tomatoes
• summer squash and zucchini
• eggplant
• cilantro, basil, parsley
• salad mix and braising mix
• melons
• green beans
• winter squash

This week we are harvesting:

• lambs-quarters and amaranth greens
• Salad Mix! baby lettuce, baby chard, arugula, mild and spicy baby mustard greens
• Green Beans
• basil, cilantro, curly & Italian parsley
• tomatoes and cherry tomatoes
• zucchini & summer squash
• cucumbers
• eggplant
• hot peppers

by Elizabeth Thompson

One of the many beautiful things about Community Supported Agriculture is the way that it opens the door to the world of agriculture, plants and their fruits to adults and children alike. Children are most expressive of the grounding and life that this experience imparts.  As a mother of two young children and a long time CSA employee and advocate, I have watch my own children and many others enjoy the their time on a farm that is a little their own.  As distribution manager at a CSA in New York, I watched children jump out of the confines of their seat belts each week and run towards the distribution center, looking often first for the cats that prowled the barn, then wandering among the produce with parents, asking about new vegetables, and then often taking to the fields to harvest with their own hands extra beans, cherry tomatoes, basil or flowers. When school groups came to the farm for tours, I had children tell me that they hated spinach only to then eagerly try a fresh spinach leaf they were able to pick themselves, declaring it delicious.  Or, pulling up carrots with such excitement that one would think they were upside down ice cream cones stuck in the soil!  Their excitement was palpable and they wanted to get their hands on every plant, picking and tasting for themselves. This phenomenon carries over into the kitchen, where children who are involved in preparing food or a meal are more likely to eat it with excitement and enjoyment, even if it contains some of children’s less popular vegetables.

These images are ones that I need reminding of as my oldest, now five, grows in independence and, hence, pickiness about what she will allow into her mouth.  As shareholders at the BioFarm we give our children the beautiful experience of obtaining their vegetables from a real farm, and add more blessings to this experience by involving them in the preparation of those vegetables in our home kitchens, the place where families used to gather and spend much quality time together. Families may involve children in baking sweet treats, but rarely involve them in preparing savory foods, something they are very capable of doing and enjoying with some supervision and a little instruction.  Even very young children can snap beans, tear lettuce, mash potatoes, cut with a cookie cutter or plastic knife, wash vegetables and mix with a spoon. Older children, especially if involved in the kitchen from a young age, can prepare many simple recipes by themselves and even invent some recipes themselves!  You may want to make a family recipe together, sharing family stories as you work, and, hence, preserving the heirloom recipe and stories.

Involving our children in our kitchens builds their self-confidence and creativity, encourages them to try new foods and teaches them cooking skills that will serve them throughout their lives.  I worked for a number of years with college students who were serving in a soup kitchen.  I was surprised at how many of these students did not know how to cook or even cut up vegetables.  In this age of convenience foods and busy life styles, cooking is a lost art and families cooking and eating together is a dying culture. In an increasingly fragmented world, this culture is worth preserving for the health of our relationships with each other, with our food and with our earth.

Below are a few recipes that are easy for kids to help prepare and enticing for them to eat.  There are numerous cookbooks for children, many available from the library, and countless online resources for kid-friendly kitchen fun.

The following recipes are from the cookbook, Kids Cook 1 – 2 – 3, Recipes for Young Chefs using only 3 Ingredients, by Rozanne Gold.

Grape Tomato Skewers with Pesto Dip

(You will need 8 long frilly toothpicks.)

8 cherry or grape tomatoes

¼ cup plain yogurt

1 tablespoon pesto

1. Wash the tomatoes and dry them with a paper towel. Spear each tomato with a toothpick.

Place on a plate

2. In a small bowl, mix yogurt and pesto thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Place in a small bowl and dunk the tomatoes.

Serves 1

Crunchy Fried Tomatoes

4 medium-size firm tomatoes  (red, yellow or green)

1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal

Vegetable oil for frying

1. Wash the tomatoes and dry well. Slice off the top and bottom ends.  Cut each tomato horizontally into 3 thick slices.

2. Place the cornmeal on a flat plate. Dredge both sides of each tomato slice in the cornmeal, pressing down lightly. Make sure the cut surfaces are thickly coated (sides will not get coated).

3. Heat ¼ inch of oil in a large skillet. When hot, carefully add the tomatoes in one layer – you may want some adult assistance here.

4. Cook over medium high heat for 2 minutes on each side, or until crispy and golden brown. Do

not overcook, as you want the tomatoes to retain their shape.  You may need to do this in two batches, adding oil as you go.

5. Drain the tomatoes on paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 4.

Green Beans Almondine

1 pound green beans

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons sliced almonds

1. Wash the beans and trim the ends.  Using a small, sharp knife cut the beans in thirds across the

width. You may also leave the beans whole.

2. Choose a saucepan large enough to hold the beans comfortably.  Add enough water to fill by two-thirds and bring the water to a boil with a teaspoon of salt.  Add the beans and cook for 3 – 4 minutes if you’ve cut them, and 5 – 6 minutes if you’ve left them whole. Drain them immediately into a colander. Pat dry with a paper towel.

3. Put the butter into a saucepan in which the beans were cooked and melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the almonds and cook just until they take on some color, about 2 minutes. Then add the drained beans and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook for about 2 minutes, tossing until the beans are coated with butter. Add freshly ground black pepper and serve. Serves 4 or more.

From Celebrating the Midwestern Table

By Amy Mandel

1 firm, slim medium eggplant, peeled and cut crosswise into ¼ inch thick slices (about 4 cups or 20 – 24 slices)

kosher salt

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

½ cups minced fresh basil

1 cup soft bread crumbs

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

2 large eggs

Vegetable oil, butter, or lard for frying

Lightly salt eggplant slices with kosher salt and place in a colander with a heavy pot on top to weight them down.  Let stand at least 30 minutes.  Rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.  Mix cream cheese and basil in small bowl until smooth. Combine bread crumbs, salt and cayenne on a sheet of waxed paper.  Crack eggs into a pie plate or shallow dish and froth with a fork.  Spread eggplant slices with herbed cream cheese, using about 2 teaspoons on smaller slices and slightly more on larger ones.  Make sandwiches with the slices.  Dip sandwiches first in beaten eggs, then in crumbs until well coated.  Heat oil to 1/8 inch depth in large skillet over medium heat.  When very hot, fry sandwiches, in batches without crowding, until crisp and golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.  Serve warm (not hot).  Sandwiches can be kept warm in preheated 225-degree oven while remaining sandwiches are cooked.  These are nice with a thick tomato sauce.

This week we are harvesting:

• Tomatoes – cherry, slicers, and paste tomatoes
• cucumbers
• eggplant
• hot peppers
• green beans – limited quantity this week, but many more next week
• summer squash
• baby greens mix
• cilantro
• a few melons
• basil
• sweet corn
• sweet potatoes
• seminole squash (winter squash)
• greens: chard lambs-quarters, amaranth greens

by Elizabeth Thompson

When Jennie told me that the season’s first winter squash is ready for our kitchens and imaginations, I was excited.  Winter squash has long been a favorite of mine – its versatility, its taste, its heralding of cozy Autumn memories – all make it a favorite in my kitchen and imagination.  Here are a couple of recipe to stir your imagination, put more than just your winter squash to use, and welcome a bit of Autumn into your kitchen, even if the air doesn’t yet have that Autumn lightness.  We can dream, knowing it is really just around the corner.

Both recipes were inspired by the blog 101cookbooks.com.

Adzuki Bean and Squash Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon (dried) coriander

2 teaspoons finely hot pepper

2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt

2 medium-large onions

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups butternut (or similar) squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice

5 – 6 cups water

5 whole, medium sized tomatoes, chopped

4 cups cooked or canned adzuki beans

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the cinnamon, coriander, chipotle and salt and saute for a minute or two – until aromatic. Add the onions and saute another 5 minutes or so, until they start to go translucent. Add the garlic and squash, stir well, and then add 5 cups of water. Increase the heat to bring to a boil, and once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for a few minutes, until the squash begins to soften – 5 – 10 minutes.

Bean Mole with Roast Winter Squash

1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) beans (you can use any, but cannellini, Great Northern or pinto are preferable)

~1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) winter squash

olive oil

~ 4 ounces fresh greens (like those amaranth leaves)

2 tablespoons butter

medium onion, chopped

2 – 4 jalapenos or chiles, halved, seeded, and chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 pound of fresh tomatoes (preferably plum), chopped, or 14-ounce can

2 teaspoons paprika

1 ounce of almonds, dark roasted and finely ground

2 ounces dark 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces

salt

Preheat oven to 350F

Cut the squash flesh into good-sized chunks, about 3/4-inch squares, place in a roasting pan and toss with olive oil. Roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes until caramelized on the outside but still firm. Reduce the oven temperature to 250F.  Alternately, you can brown the squash in a skillet.

Cut the greens into 3/4-inch slices. Melt the butter into an oven-proof casserole dish (pot) and fry the onion and jalapenos/chilies gently over a low to medium heat for 20-30 minutes, until caramelized. Add the garlic and fry for three minutes more. Add the tomatoes and paprika, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the ground almonds, chocolate, squash, beans, kale, and a teaspoon of salt. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Cover the casserole and put it in the oven to cook gently for 2 hours.

Serve with tortillas, polenta or mashed potatoes.

Serves 4

This week we are harvesting:

• the first sweet potatoes and winter squash of the season!
• hot peppers- jalapenos, anaheims (medium hot), and poblanos (good for stuffing)
• eggplant
• tomatoes
• a *few* okra
• cucumbers, some pickling, some slicers
• a *few* beets
• corn, some folks got it last week, those of you who didn’t will get some this week
• summer greens: lambs-quarters, amaranth greens, and chard
• basil
• onions & garlic

by Elizabeth Thompson

eakthompson@gmail.com

What will you, as a BioFarm member, soon have that no others in the Triangle area have?  An abundance of crops in all four seasons.  This is happening by bringing together the experience, creativity and innovation of our head farmer, Doug Jones, with a grant from the Tabacco Communities Reinvestment Fund which allowed us to purchase a number of high tunnels, or hoophouses, earlier this season.  High tunnels are unheated greenhouses that allow growers to extend their seasons by giving them a flexible means to protect crops from the elements.  High tunnels are most often used to give warm weather crops a jumpstart or extend their season by protecting them from the cold.  You may have noticed these high tunnels standing conspicuously in the fields this spring and summer, sheltering our summer squash and other plants.

Doug Jones has figured out a way to use our high tunnels all four seasons with some creative covers.  Currently we are experimenting with a summer shading system on one tunnel which includes a white fabric cover as an insect barrier and a black shade cloth on the south side of the tunnel to decrease the internal temperature.  In this tunnel we planted members of the cool-loving Brassica family: kale, turnips, senposai (Asian collards), and salad mustards.  In addition to simply disdaining the heat, Brassicas crops are susceptible to flea beetles when stressed by the heat.  So, the summer shade shelter provides cooling as well as protection from predation by flea beetles.

In the second high tunnel is currently planted other cool-weather loving vegetables that are not susceptible to pest pressure like the Brassicas are.  Carrots, beets, chard and lettuce are coming up underneath the shelter of a white plastic covered high tunnel.  The white plastic was donated to the farm by a local nursery and reflects the sun, keeping the internal temperature lower and giving these fall crops a head start.  In addition to these two high tunnels, Doug and the farm crew are cultivating some other areas of the farm to jump start fall crops, in places such as the shady area under the cedars.

Once the fall sets in and the days are sufficiently cool to ensure the health of the Brassicas, carrots and other cool-weather crops, the high tunnels will be moved to cover the peppers and eggplants currently basking in the glory of summer’s high heat.  When the weather cools, the peppers and eggplant will be shielded with clear plastic, creating a greenhouse effect and, hopefully, extending their season until Thanksgiving.

As the peppers and eggplant enjoy the heat of the clear plastic high tunnels, the open fields will be planted with cool weather crops such as the Brassicas (including broccoli), carrots, chard, beets, and lettuce.  When the weather becomes too cool to preserve the peppers in their high tunnel greenhouse, the tunnels, with the clear plastic, will be moved to cover these cool weather crops, extending their season until February.

In March the tunnels will be used, as they were this March, to protect spring and summer crops from the cold, jump-starting the season of beans, peas and other summer favorites.  In this way, the high tunnels are never sitting empty and out of use;  they are being rotated around the farm to provide season extension to crops that prefer cold and crops that prefer heat, increasing the bounty of our harvest.

This season a lot of work went into constructing and implementing the four-season high tunnel system, cutting into some of our cultivation and weeding time and decreasing the productivity of some of our crops.  However, our efforts should pay off in the coming seasons as our high tunnels enable us to increase the bounty of all four seasons.  This will be especially welcomied in the usually barren winter, but a blessing all year round.

Come check out the new high tunnel configurations, or take a look at them in the pictures below.

Happy Late Summer Bounty!

It’s another in-between week. We’re on the brink of peppers and eggplant taking off. We made our last harvest of green beans on our second planting; the third planting is still coming along. The case is the same for zucchini and squash.

So, this week we are harvesting:

• Tomatoes, still lots
• small harvests of the following: squash, eggplant, beets, green beans
• greens
• potatoes, onions, garlic from storage
• cucumbers
• basil

Find some fresh corn and enjoy this simple soup with the below bread recipe.  Add the vinaigrette to a salad or sautéed greens for a simple summer supper.

Potato – Corn Chowder

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 medium-size potato

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 small green bell pepper, seeded, halved and sliced

2 TBL butter

2 TBL sunflower or olive oil

3 cups stock or water

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 ¼ cups milk

7 ounces shelled edamame or 1 can (7 ounces) lima beans (optional)

1 lb corn kernels cut off of leftover corn on the cob

generous pinch dried sage

Put the onion, garlic, potato, celery, green pepper in a large saucepan with the oil and butter. Heat

the ingredients until sizzling, then turn down the heat to low and cover. Sweat the vegetables gently for about 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Pour in the stock or water, season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil.Turn down the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 15 min- utes.  Add the milk, beans, corn and sage and simmer again for 5 minutes. Check the seasonings and serve hot with some nice, crusty bread, such as the recipe that follows!

Zucchini Crown Bread

from The Complete Encyclopedia of Vegetables and Vegetarian Cooking by Roz Denny and Christine Ingram

1 pound zucchini, coarsely grated

salt

5 cups all purpose flour

2 packages active dry yeast

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

freshly ground black pepper

2 TBL olive oil

lukewarm water, to mix

milk, to glaze

sesame seeds for garnish

Place grated zucchini in colander and sprinkle with salt. Let drain for 30 minutes, then pat dry.

Mix the flour, yeast and Parmesan together and season with black pepper. Stir in the oil and zuc-

chini and add enough lukewarm water to give you a good firm dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth, then return it to the mixing bowl, cover it with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place. Meanwhile, grease and line a 9-inch round baking pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. When the dough has doubled in size, turn it out of the bowl, punch it down and knead it lightly. Break into eight balls, rolling each one and placing it in the baking pan.  They should fill up the pan. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let rise again until doubled and then bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly in pan before turning out to cool completely.

Garlic-Basil vinaigrette

3 large cloves garlic, peeled

6-8 fresh basil leaves, washed and patted dry

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons wine vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Smash the garlic with a heavy knife, and then smash it with the basil. Add the olive oil very slowly to make a fine paste. Add the vinegar and season with salt and pepper.