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Goldfinch Farm CSA
Goldfinch Farm Newsletters
| For Beth's Ramblings and Rants click here. |
Issue No. 4: Wks of July 20 & 27
GOLDFINCH FARM CSA NEWS
Farmers: Jon & Beth Weaver-Kreider * 252-3894
www.goldfinchfarm.com * screechowl@paonline.com
Farm Tidbits
* Last weekend, the Saturday crew harvested 3,000 heads of garlic. It’s in the barn now to cure for a few weeks, and then will start to
appear in your shares.
* We’ve discovered sparrow nests in the crops this year. The first we discovered is among the straw in the new strawberry patch, and the
three eggs hatched over the weekend. The second, in a Wapsipinicon Tomato bush, still has three blue eggs with brown specks.
* Last week, when we were beginning to get more desperate for a little rain, one of the filters to the irrigation system developed a sizeable
gash. In the several days that it took to replace the filter, Jon and the crew hand-watered the crops by filling buckets and taking them up the
hill in the truck.
* This fall, Central PA magazine will publish an article by Beth’s sister Valerie Weaver-Zercher on getting children to eat green leafies. We
haven’t been so successful in our own family (an occasional chorus of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” will sometimes get Ellis to eat a bit of
broccoli or zucchini), but she interviewed Jon for the article, so look for his name.
* Susquehanna Style magazine is featuring Goldfinch Farm and shareholder Katharine Fernback in its Sept/Oct issue this year. Katharine,
who barters a share with us in exchange for cooking us some meals and preserving some food for us throughout the summer, is a great
cook with a natural aesthetic sensibility. She cooked up a beautiful (and tasty) meal, and the folks from the magazine set it up on the picnic
table in the flower garden and took photos for the article. Then we got to eat it!
* About sweet corn: After several years of growing a small amount of sweet corn for shares, we realized that the amount of land and work it
takes to produce just a few ears per share is not worth it, so we won‘t be growing corn this year. The extra space will allow us to do better
crop rotations and grow more cover crops to enrich the soil. Dietz Produce (on 462 and in York Central Market) and Flinchbaugh’s (on
Ducktown Rd.) both have delicious sweet corn.
* I only realized after I put out the last newsletter that I had mis-typed Laura Whetstone’s food blog address on the previous newsletter.
She has great recipes on her site, and as a CSA member, she has good ideas for how to use the veggies. Here it is again: http://laura-
realgoodfood.blogspot.com/2009/06/csa-self-challenge.html.
On Tomatoes
We are trying several new varieties of heirloom tomatoes this year as always. They’re beginning to get ripe, and in a few weeks, the colors
in your tomato share will begin to shift from mostly red to a wider variety of blacks, purples, pinks, yellows, and even greens.
Heirloom tomatoes are an open-pollinated cultivar of tomato, often handed down in families and communities for generations.
My (Beth’s) new favorite is the Paul Robeson, a sweet and smoky black tomato named after the famous actor and singer. I can’t wait to
taste the Mr. Slabaugh, one that was handed down on the Slabaugh side of my family.
Garden Chowder
(adapted from Simply in Season)
In a big pot, melt 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add and sauté until tender:
1-2 carrots, finely chopped
1-2 c. green beans, chopped
1-2 med. zucchini, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh herbs, chopped
(basil and parsley in orig. recipe)
Stir 1/3 c. flour, ¾ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper into vegetables. Gradually stir in 3 c. water to make a smooth stock.
Add 3 bouillon (chicken or vegetable) cubes and 1 tsp. lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
Add:
2 c. tomatoes, chopped
1½ c. evaporated milk
2 c. corn
Return to boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes until corn is tender.
Just before serving, add 2 c. shredded cheddar and ¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Stir until melted. Add a pinch of sugar to taste
and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
Summer Slaw by Metta Barbour
Question: What to do with 2 handfuls of edible pod peas, 3 carrots and cilantro?
Answer: Make vegetable slaw. It’s easy and delicious.
I peeled the carrots and chopped them in the food processor with a handful of cilantro. I hand-chopped the peas, some green onion and a
little cabbage, then tossed all the veggies together with some left-over corn.
Slaw dressing is simple: I mix equal parts yogurt (or butter milk) and store-bought honey-mustard salad dressing. I recently heard an
interview with Sally Schneider, author of The Improvisational Cook on “The Splendid Table” radio program. Her recipe for classic creamy
summer coleslaw dressing is: sour cream, butter milk, cider vinegar, Worchester sauce, hot sauce and a pinch of sugar. This is good too.
More on Slaw
Metta used peas for her slaw, but now that the peas are over for the season (sigh), you can try other veggies. Perhaps steam a couple
green beans until crisp-tender. Add more cabbage. Dice some green pepper. Grate a little bit of beet into it. Maybe chop a little zucchini.
I tried looking up the term “slaw” on the internet, but every page I checked simply defined it as “coleslaw.” I guess what makes a non-
cabbage slaw a slaw is the finely shredded or grated veggies.
Our friend Alice Grace brought a delicious broccoli slaw to lunch at my sister’s house today. It was a little like those Napa Cabbage Salads
that were so popular a couple years ago, making use of Ramen noodles. In fact, she said her friends often use cabbage instead of
broccoli. You can easily adapt it to many different vegetables. Alice Grace got her recipe from a magazine years ago, and has adapted it
herself, and she suggested ways that I could adapt it for our shares. She wrote out her recipe for me from memory.
Alice Grace’s Slaw (adapted)
1½ c. finely shredded cabbage, or
broccoli stems, peeled and julienned
1 small carrot, coarsely grated
1 green pepper, finely chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1 c. slivered almonds, toasted
1 c. sunflower seeds
2 pkg. Ramen Noodles, broken into small
pieces
Mix all vegetable ingredients together. For the dressing, blend well together: 1 c. salad oil, 1/3 c. white vinegar, ½ c. sugar, and 1 package
of beef bouillon flavor from noodles. Pour over vegetables and marinate for 12-24 hours, stirring frequently. Top with a small can of
drained Mandarin Oranges to serve.
Alice Grace suggests doubling the recipe and using only three packages of noodles instead of four. To make it vegetarian, you could omit
the seasoning, or change it to a vegetable bouillon.