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Goldfinch Farm CSA
Goldfinch Farm Newsletters
| For Beth's Ramblings and Rants click here. |
Issue No. 4: 12 July 2010
GOLDFINCH FARM CSA NEWS
Farmers: Jon & Beth Weaver-Kreider * 252-3894
www.goldfinchfarm.com * weaverkreider@comcast.net
CSA Pick-up Hours: Goldfinch Farm Tues & Fri 2-7, Sat 9-12
Lancaster Friends Meeting Tues 3:00-6:00
East Chestnut St. Menno Fri 3:00-6:00
Oh, the Rain!
And such a lovely one, too, nearly a full inch after weeks of none, which had been compounded by heat to make us all want to curl in on
ourselves like the corn in the fields on Mt. Pisgah.
Not all inches of rain are equal, and this was one of the good ones. When you water your houseplants, you can dump a half cup of water
onto a dry plant and watch the water and potting soil go sliding over the edge onto your antique table, like the gully-washer thunderstorms
that send the top soil down the River to the Bay. Or you can pour the water in gently and slowly, so it goes deeply to the roots, as did the
long and gentle soaking rain of Saturday.
We're ready for the gully-washers, too. During our first year here, Jon would walk through the fields after every rain, placing flags here and
there to mark the places where water ran deepest during the storms. Then he dug swales, shallow trenches to divert the water where he
wanted it to go, and grew grass and weeds on the swales to hold onto the water as it rushed downhill.
The result of his hard work is that more water does get “caught” as it rushes by, and that less of the topsoil is carried away because it is
mostly diverted away from the field areas into grassy areas—we can see the difference: less water gushes over our driveway during the
worst storms and it is much less muddy.
As for keeping the crops moist when it's dry, when we plant most of our crops, we place irrigation tape or hose along the plants to receive
the water we pump up from the pond during regular irrigation. The pond is spring-fed, which keeps its level fairly constant during droughts,
and when the level does get low, we open up the pipe to the nearby stream and divert water into the pond.
Hopefully, the rains will continue fairly regularly throughout the rest of the season.
Green Beans
Tonight for supper, Farmer Jon steamed a mess of green beans until they were good and hot but still slightly crunchy, then he buttered
them up and tipped a little salt onto them. After such a tasty treat, I hesitate to consider recipes that might take them further from that fresh-
from-the-field flavor. But variety is good, especially when you're getting a lot of certain veggies. Here's a recipe for beans and potatoes
from Simply in Season. You can modify the amounts of potato and green beans depending on the amounts in the share, and probably
substitute leftover garlic scapes for the garlic.
3 Tbsp. Mustard oil or vegetable oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds (black if available)
4 cloves garlic (finely sliced)
Heat oil in medium frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add mustard seeds. As soon as mustard seeds begin to pop, add
garlic. Stir for a minute until garlic turns golden.
½ tsp. ground turmeric
1/8-¼ tsp. ground red pepper
¼ tsp. pepper
1 medium potato (quartered & thinly sliced)
Add and stir 1 minute.
4 cups green beans (whole or cut)
Add and stir until mixed. Salt to taste. Add small amounts of water to keep it from sticking and to allow it to steam. Cook until potatoes are
tender, stirring occasionally. When done, increase heat to evaporate remaining liquid.
Tomato Cucumber Salad
(This is based on Greek Tomato Salad in Simply in Season. You can vary the ingredients and proportions. It's a really nice cooling salad.)
2-4 tomatoes (a variety of colors and types), chopped
1 medium onion (minced)
1 green pepper (chopped)
1 cucumber (quartered, then sliced)
Combine in a dish. Then make a dressing in a shaker: fresh basil, mint or parsley (or other herbs), chopped; 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil; a
sprinkling of toasted sesame oil; 1-2 Tbsp. balsamic or other vinegar; minced garlic (1-2 cloves). Pour over veggies and toss. Garnish
with freshly shredded mozzarella, or crumbled feta cheese, Kalamata olives, or fresh herbs.
Create Your Own Casserole
With the summer veggies coming on soon, it's time again for the casserole outline. I've started saving the corn chip crumbs from the
bottom of the bag in the freezer for a casserole topping, though Farmer Jon accuses me of showing signs of hoarding behavior. This
recipe is based on one from Mennonite Country-Style Recipes.
Mix and match one or more items from each category, depending on the supplies on hand. Layer all the ingredients except the topping into
a greased 2-quart casserole, adding salt and other seasonings as desired. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes to heat it through. Sprinkle on
the topping of your choice, and bake until slightly browned, about 10 or 15 minutes longer.
Protein (1½ to 2 cups): We tend to treat this as an optional category and adjust the vegetable option upwards in response: chopped
canned ham, chopped cooked chicken or turkey, canned tuna or salmon, cheese (grated or cubed), frankfurters, cooked sausage, hard-
cooked eggs, cooked ground beef or turkey, your choice of vegetarian or vegan protein.
Sauce (1 can condensed soup and 1/3 c. liquid): I don't keep a lot of condensed soups around, so if I'm not using a cream soup, I
estimate a cup of other liquid, more or less: cream of celery soup and milk, cream of chicken soup and buttermilk, cream of potato soup
and sour cream, cream of mushroom soup and cream, tomato juice, cheddar cheese soup and vegetable juice, tomato soup and water,
chopped tomatoes.
Cooked Vegetables (1½ cups): I tend to use lots more than this amount, and I often mix several. This is a great place to put leftover
veggies: sauteed onions, green peppers and celery; cooked green beans; cooked peas; cooked carrots; cooked shredded cabbage;
cooked broccoli, chopped summer squash, cooked eggplant.
Cooked Starch (1½ to 2 cups): Noodles, macaroni, rotini, other pasta, spaghetti, rice, wild rice, potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes.
Topping (1/3 to ¾ cup): Crushed potato chips, fresh bread crumbs mixed with melted butter, french-fried onion rings, crushed cornflakes,
grated cheese, slightly crushed potato sticks, slivered almonds, cracker crumbs.
Diary of a Lazy Cook
I wanted to make a fairly quick meal last night, but something sort of new and exciting. We had some tomatoes left over from the day's pick-
up, so I decided I'd make the tomato pie recipe from the Pennsylvania Preferred recipe cards that we give out on the sign-in table at the
farm. Alas, we had no pie shells and no mayonnaise, and I was too lazy to pack up the boys and go buy the mayo or to make the mess of a
perfect pastry pie crust. And six tomatoes seemed like too many to me, and I never peel tomatoes. Plus, I wanted some other veggies in
there, like zucchini.
Here's the original recipe:
6 tomatoes
1 pie shell, unbaked, 9-inch
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ c. basil leaves, fresh, chopped
¾ c. mayonnaise
2 c. cheddar cheese
Peel the tomatoes and cut into thick slices. Cover the bottom of the pie crust with a layer of tomato slices. Sprinkle half of the salt, pepper
and basil leaves on top. Make one more layer of tomato slices and sprinkle with remaining salt, pepper and basil leaves. Top with tomato
slices. Mix the mayonnaise and cheese and spread over the top. Bake 40 minutes at 375.
Here is what I did. I made the Mix-in-Pan crust from Mennonite Country-Style Recipes. Measure right into your pie pan: 1½ c. flour, ½ tsp.
salt, ½ c. oil, 2 Tbsp. milk, 1 Tbsp. sugar. Toss with a fork until crumbly and press into shape in the pan. I used whole wheat pastry flour.
I used only three or four tomatoes, and substituted a layer of thinly-sliced zucchini in the middle. I already had a mixture of chopped fresh
herbs in the fridge (basil, dill and cilantro), so I used that for the basil.
For the topping, I mixed two beaten eggs with a little cream cheese, some yogurt, and shredded cheddar cheese until I had a little over
2 c. I poured that on top.
I baked it like a quiche for 15 minutes at 425, lowered the heat to 350, and baked it another 20 minutes.
It was really delicious, though I will tweak it a little next time. I'd probably use only one egg, mix that with yogurt, and pour that over the
vegetables. Then I'd mix my cheeses with a little more yogurt and spread that over top. I think I'd bake it at 375 for 35-40 minutes. And I'd
add sauteed shiitakes. And a little garlic. And sauteed onion. Perhaps change it up sometime with a little cooked sausage.
Critter Watch
The monarchs are flitting purposefully through the little milkweed patch we've dubbed The Monarch Sanctuary, along with a crew of tiger
swallowtails and a host of other pollinators. And daily for the past two weeks we hear the frequent calling of fledgling red-tailed hawks
learning to hunt here in the hollow.