RECIPE: Butternut Squash Risotto

Contributed by member Laura Grund

Serves 4 to 6.

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 6 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 shallots, minced
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus sprigs for garnish
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cut squash into eighths; discard seeds. In a large pot filled with 1 inch of simmering water, steam squash on a steaming rack or in a bamboo steamer until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Scoop flesh from skin and mash lightly.

2. In a large saucepan, heat stock to a simmer. In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add oil and shallots; cook for 2 minutes. Add rice; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

3. Add wine to rice, and cook, stirring, until wine is nearly absorbed. Stir in a cup of stock and the squash; cook at a steady simmer until liquid is nearly absorbed. Continue stirring in stock, a ladleful at a time, until rice is creamy and firm but not hard in the center, 15 to 20 minutes. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Add chopped rosemary. Stir in remaining butter and most of the Parmesan. Serve immediately in shallow bowls garnished with the remaining cheese and rosemary sprigs.

RECIPE: Wilted Winter Greens & Black-Eyed Peas

Adapted from Eating Well In Season

Serves 4 Ingredients: 4 ounces dried black-eyed peas (2/3 cup)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 pound greens, such as collards, kale and/or escarole, trimmed, washed and sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-wide strips

½ tablespoon canola oil

1 ounce country ham or prosciutto, diced (about ¼ cup)

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar, or to taste

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Soak peas overnight in cold water. Drain the peas, rinse well and place in a large saucepan. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 45 minutes. Add salt. Let sit, covered, for ½ hour, then drain and rinse.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add ham (or prosciutto) and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Lower heat to medium; add the greens and cook, stirring constantly, until tender, 20 to 30 minutes, adding water as necessary to keep from sticking. Once greens are tender, add the reserved black-eyed peas and heat through.

3. Season with vinegar, salt and pepper and serve.

NOTE: This is really good with collard greens.

Contributed by Lisa Bretherick

RECIPE: Delicata Squash Stuffed with Curried Wild Rice

From Vegetarian Times Nov 2003

Serves 6

Ingredients:

3 delicata squash, halved and seeded

2 Tbs. butter or margarine

½ cup minced onion

2 tsp. curry powder

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped cashews

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and minced

1 cup cooked wild rice

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup mango chutney

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350^o F.

2. Place squash halves cut side down on baking sheet. Bake about 20 minutes, just until squash is not quite cooked through. Remove from oven, and set aside until second baking.

3. Heat butter in large saucepan over medium heat, and add onions. Sauté onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add curry, cayenne, black pepper and cinnamon, and toss well. Add raisins, cashews and apples, and continue cooking until apples are soft. Add rice, yogurt and chutney, and toss well.

4. Divide curried vegetables equally between squash halves. Bake squash 25 minutes, or until squash is tender and stuffing is heated through.

NOTE: To serve 4, make the full amount of curried rice; to serve 2, halve the curried rice ingredients. Any type of rice works – a wild rice blend such as Lundberg’s is especially good. Any extra rice can be served on its own as a side dish. Pecans or walnuts can be used in place of cashews.

Contributed by Lisa Bretherick

FARM NEWS 9.27.09

Hi Folks,
Pictured is our crew and friends and children on the harvest trailer behind the tractor. Pie pumpkins and winter squash are now in and out of the way of frosts! Also pictured is Baxter in his usual harvest bin pose while Bea tends the chicks in the portable chicken house....

This week on the farm we'll be planting cover crops, prepping ground for garlic planting, spreading compost, harvesting. Our apprentices will be heading over to Debra Tyler's farm on Monday to learn about micro dairying, raw milk, pastures, etc., with other apprentices from neighboring farms.

Here's the harvest for the week:

Onions
Peppers
Hot Peppers
Potatoes
Celery
Leeks
Winter Squash/ Pumpkins
Chard
Mustard Greens
Salad Mix/Arugula
Turnips
Broccoli (If warm weather persists!)
Collards

Enjoy!
Your Farmers,
Dan, Tracy, B+B

Apple and Pear Sauce with Ginger

Don't know what to do with all those apples and pears, make this sauce in your slow cooker and eat it with your breakfast, or with some of your favorite meat. You can easily make it all apple or all pear, as you wish. The ginger adds a nice heat, but feel free to omit it if you're serving it to little ones. (I didn't use the sugar or the butter and mine came out just fine.)

From Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients:

6 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered

6 firm pears, peeled, cored, and quartered

1/4 cup sugar or honey (optional)

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 chunk fresh ginger, about 3 inches long, peeled and minced

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Procedure:

1. Combine all ingredients but butter in the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the fruit is extremely tender and falling apart, on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or low for 5 to 6 hours.

2. Beat to make a coarse mash or use a handheld immersion blender for a smoother sauce. Stir in the butter. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve cold. The fruit sauce will keep, tightly covered, for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Braised Leeks

One of my favorite ways to eat leeks is to braise them. Here's a quick and dirty recipe from epicurious.com. If you want to add some depth of flavor, grill the leeks instead of sauteing them, and then braise.

• Serves 2
• 
  
• Ingredients:
• 4 small or medium leeks, tough outer leaves discarded and leeks trimmed to about 7 inches long and cut lengthwise into quarters or eighths
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or olive oil)
• 1/4 cup chicken broth (or vegetable stock)
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

Procedure:

In a shallow dish soak leeks in cold water to cover 15 minutes, rubbing occasionally to remove any grit. In a heavy skillet melt butter over moderate heat. lift leeks out of the water and with water still clinging to them add to skillet. Cook leeks, stirring occasionally, five minutes and add broth and zest. Braise leeks, covered, 5 minutes, or until very tender, and season with salt and pepper.

Potato, Tomato & Onion Gratin

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced

sea salt & freshly ground pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

5 medium tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded & chopped*

1 tbsp sugar

3 lbs baking potatoes

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1.5 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, snipped

2 tsp fresh thyme

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over a high heat. When hot, reduce the heat to moderate and add the onions. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. In another large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil over moderately high heat. When hot, add the garlic and cook until tender, 1 or 2 minutes, careful not to burn. Add the tomatoes and cook until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Combine the onions and tomatoes, and continue cooking to thicken, about 10 minutes more. Taste for seasoning.

5. Meanwhile, peel, wash, and cut the potatoes into very thin slices (~3mm if using mandoline). Set aside about one quarter of the potatoes, which will be used as the topping. In a large bowl, combine the remaining potatoes with the tomatoes and onions and toss carefully to blend.

6. Rub the bottom of 9x13 inch baking dish with 1 tbsp of the butter. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish, smoothing it out with the back of a spoon. Add enough chicken stock to cover.

7. In a medium-size bowl, combine the reserved topping potatoes, the remaining 1 tbsp butter, and the parsley. Toss to coat evenly. Beginning at one end of the dish, place the buttered potatoes, one by one, in slightly overlapping rows on top of the tomato-covered potatoes, until the entire dish is covered with an even potato layer. Sprinkle with the thyme.

8. Place the dish in the centre of the oven and bake until the potatoes are soft, most of the liquid has been absorbed, and the top is golden, about 1.5 hours. Serve immediately.

Contributed by Stephanie Leonard

FARM NEWS 9.21.09

Hi Folks,

It's cover crop time! This and next week we'll be broadcasting rye, vetch, and clover over what was once tomato plants, garlic, cabbages, salad mix, and onions. These cover crops will grow through the fall, into early next summer. Some will get to grow even through next fall. We try to cover every last piece of ground with grasses and legumes for the purpose of soil building. Soil building means feeding and providing an environment for earthworms. What earthworms like is decaying straw, compost, leaves, and the like. What earthworms leave in the form of castings and tunnels is better tilth, better fertility. I've noticed more and more earthworms at the farm over the years and I'd like to think this is proof we're heading in the right direction!

Two pictures this week: Cows staring down the Daikon rows, Volunteers working in the early summer.

This week's harvest:
Salad mix/Arugula
Blonde Spinach/Chard
Onions
Garlic
Potatoes
Peppers
Hot Peppers
Leeks
Thyme
Winter Squash

Bon Appetite!
Your farmer,
Dan

EVENT: ROOFTOP FARM VISIT

Visit a Rooftop Farm in NYC!

Rooftop Farms is a 6,000 square foot organic vegetable farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that serves the needs of its local community and restaurants. Learn how an imaginative idea transformed a defunct bagel factory into a bounty of vegetables.

Bring your family and join Annie Novak and Ben Flanner, founding farmers, for a sunset visit on Saturday, October 3rd from 5:00-6:00pm (a suggested donation of $5/pp is requested to help support the farm). Read more about Rooftop Farms at their website.

Please RSVP to Sas at Sastewar@gmail.com to join us!

RECIPE: Spicy Parmesan Green Beans and Kale

From foodnetwork.com

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/4 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered (about 14 mushrooms)
• 1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and slice into 1-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch kale (1/2 pound), rinsed, stemmed, and roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
• 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

Procedure:

Warm the olive oil in a large, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, green beans, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and continue cooking until the green beans are almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and the kale and continue cooking until the kale has wilted, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and the Parmesan cheese. Toss to coat and serve immediately.

Contributed by Julie Baron

RECIPE: Edamame Salad

From recipetips.com
Serves 6

Ingredients:

		1 tablespoon olive oil
		1 tablespoon butter
		10 ounces edamame, shelled (approximately 1 1/2 cups)
		1/2 sweet onion, chopped
		1 red bell pepper, chopped
		15 1/4 ounces (1 can) corn drained, or 1 ear of fresh sweet corn cut off the cob
		1 stalk celery, diced
		1 leek, sliced thin
		1 clove garlic, chopped
		1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
		1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
		1 tomato, diced
		salt and pepper to taste Procedure: Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. When butter has melted, add edamame and stir to coat. Add the onion and sauté for five minutes. Add the bell pepper, corn, celery, leek and garlic. Sauté for another 5-10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender crips, not mushy. Stir in the oregano and cayenne pepper. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Gently fold in tomatoes right before serving.

FARM NEWS 9.13.09

Whew! This past week was a tough one, what with Alissa out on vacation and Naf still out with a broken arm. Nothing makes you appreciate your crew like when they're gone! It was Cody and Dan, all harvest, all the time. We managed to have fun, I think, mostly because volunteers Ron, Kim, and Daryl keep coming by and rescuing us. My Dad helps out at the farmer's market, our neighbor Meg has been coming on harvest mornings to milk the cow- leaving us to just focus on bringing in the food. Naf even managed to come by with his broken wrist and hand weed some beets...

This week Alissa and Dan will be at the farm with Cody out on vacation. We're bound to have another week of challenge but here's hoping the fun continues.

Last week we managed to bring in all the onions from the field just ahead of the rain, and it looks like a record harvest! I've never seen such onion bounty...2009, the year of the Allium (garlic, leeks, onions.) The greenhouse is stuffed with onions. I think the onion is the most often eaten and versatile vegetable of all vegetables. And perhaps the hardest won as a grower. Nice to have a bumper crop to help fill the tomato void! I'm also considering calling 2009 the year of the sweet pepper, but it has a few weeks to prove itself yet.

Exciting news this week, another hundred chicks will be arriving in the mail, our goal being to revamp our layers for 2010. We'll start them on grass this fall and move them into the greenhouse for the winter. It just doesn't feel right around here without a sizeable layer flock (200 layers! 30 of which will be going to our neighbors at Camp Isabella.) Hopefully having access to more of our own layer manure will help us cut down on how much manure and protein we have to import from Fertrell and North Country Organics to grow our hungry veg crops. It would also be nice to have our own eggs for sale from the barn and at the farmers' market again.
Also, no more white leghorns. These gals crank out the eggs but tend to have low survival rates when it comes to predators and nasty weather. We're going with heavier, less efficient breeds with a greater sense of survival. I also have a hunch they eat more grass as they weren't bred to live in a box like the leghorns. This makes for healthier eggs- more grass and less corn. Our chosen varieties are the New Hampshire Red and Black Australorp. Hearty,tried and true. Basically heirloom chickens!

Pictured is Beatrice in the portable chicken hut with the New Hampshire Red chicks.
This week's harvest:
Beets
Celery
Leeks
Onions
Peppers
Winter Squash
Hot Peppers
Basil
Garlic
Edamame
Salad Mix/Arugula
Kale
Enjoy!
Your farmers,
Dan and Tracy, Bea and Baxter

RECIPE: Nectarine Golden Cake

• Active time:15 min
• Start to finish:1 1/2 hr

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon sugar, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 2 nectarines, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

a 9-inch springform pan

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Lightly butter springform pan.

· Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

· Beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in extracts. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined.

· Spread batter evenly in pan, then scatter nectarines over top. Stir together nutmeg and remaining 1/2 Tbsp sugar and sprinkle over top. Bake until cake is golden-brown and top is firm but tender when lightly touched (cake will rise over fruit), 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove side of pan and cool to warm.

RECIPE: Zucchini Fennel Slaw

Contributed by member Laura Grund

3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
3 tablespoons chopped chives
1 teaspoon grainy mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
¼ cup zucchini, coarsely grated
1/2 small fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced

Whisk together mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, chives, mustard, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add fennel and zucchini and lemon juice to mayonnaise mixture in medium bowl and toss to combine slaw.

ORDERING TOMATOES

Here is the real scoop. Please pay attention to all the details...

The price for ripe canning tomatoes- 25lb. box is $15 a box.

Available tomatoes;

-Roma Plum

-Field Tomato

-Yellow Carolina Gold

For a 20lb. box at $15;

Heirlooms (ripe)

Cherry Tomato Mix (red, yellow, orange)

Please note that these are not interchangeable or mixable. You get one kind of tomato per box unless otherwise indicated. Payments are to be made at the pickup by check only. Checks are to be made out to Chubby Bunny CSA-NYC.

You need to send your order information to Tracy at blinkentlg@hotmail.com by Saturday morning at 9 am. We realize this is very last minute for this week, but this offer will be available for the next couple of weeks until the tomatoes are gone.

Thanks and happy canning....

FARM NEWS 9.7.09

Labor Day on the farm is exactly what it sounds like. Labor. We won't be grilling or picnicing or taking a long weekend. We'll be working to bring in the harvest. We'll get our due in a few months when the farm is put to bed for the season.

While there is still plenty of need to tend to this years coming crops- hoeing, fertilizing beets, greens, turnips, etc. we are taking steps to get ready for next season as well. We'll be sorting the garlic for seed to be planted next month. We'll be spreading compost and planting cover crop. But of course we'll also be spending most of our time harvesting. We'll have to start bringing in the winter squash soon. New this week is the first of the winter squash, the sweet delicata. We did a taste test last week to see if they were ready i.e. sweet enough. These do not keep all that well so don't try hording them away for the winter. We should have plenty of butternut coming for you if you want to hang on to those for a while. Cut these in half and bake cut side down in the oven as you would acorn squash. Yum! Currently delicata is Baxter's favorite!
Here's the harvest:
carrots, potatoes, onions, peppers, eggplants, delicata, hot peppers, basil, dill, collards, garlic, lettuce

Know your squashes

As the fall/winter squashes begin to trickle into the CSA shares, here's a useful link that will help you get to know your squashes.

Happy cooking!

Eggplant and Pepper Ratatouille

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, sliced into 1/4″ rounds (works best with long, thin eggplants)

2 red bell peppers, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 zuchinni or yellow squash, sliced and quartered

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can chickpeas

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or 1-2 fresh hot peppers, finely chopped

1/2 tsp ground fennel

3 tbsp olive oil

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. To prepare eggplant: place sliced eggplant on a paper towel-lined surface and sprinkle with salt, wait 5 minute and pat dry moisture that has collected. Repeat on other side. This removes bitterness from the eggplant. To roast eggplant and peppers: combine eggplant, peppers and 2 tbsp olive oil in a large bowl. Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper (if using fresh hot peppers, cook them with garlic) and fennel in a small dish and gently stir into eggplant and peppers in 3 additions to allow for an even distribution. Place on a baking sheet or dish and roast for 20-30 minutes, flipping 1 or 2 times.

2. In large pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Cook onions until glassy. Add garlic (and fresh hot peppers if using) and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and zucchini or squash. Cook until tender. Add chickpeas until heated through. Combine roasted vegetables with onion tomato mixture. Serve over rice or couscous.

Contributed by Stephanie Leonard

RECIPE: Warm Delicata Squash Salad

From feelgoodeats.com

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 pounds delicata squash

sea salt

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces mixed greens

1 shallot, minced

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 slices bacon

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 cup roasted walnuts

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F

2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash cut side down on a cutting board and use a knife/peeler to remove the peel. Slice the squash width-wise into 3/4 inch thick wedges. Arrange on a baking sheet and season with a good pinch of sea salt and a splash of extra-virgin olive oil (2-3 tablespoons), mix so the ingredients are well combined. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, until tender and slightly browned.

3. Place the mixed greens in a medium mixing bowl. In a small bowl whisk together the red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and crank of fresh ground pepper.

4. Stack the bacon on top of each other and then slice into thin strips (lardons) about 3/8-inch wide. When the squash is just about done, heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon lardons and cook until the bacon browns a bit and is just crispy. Turn the heat to medium and add the minced shallots, cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the vinaigrette.

5. Use a spoon to pour the vinaigrette over the salad greens, being careful not to over dress the salad. Top with the roasted squash slices and garnish with blue cheese and walnuts. Serve while still warm.

Better Late than Never... Grill Night Pics