Homemade salsa - ¡Olé!

Nothing like fresh salsa

Our first frost is due in just 36 hours here on the farm and that means we have been in the garden picking all the last tomatoes, peppers and anything you can imagine that’s left.  An that’s a LOT of tomatoes to be sure.  We have been making delicious sauce, stewed tomatoes and salsa for a few months now…  and will use this final harvest for a big batch of extra hot salsa.

So how do we make homemade salsa - it’s actually really easy!

• We start with a really big pot on the stove and to that add all sorts of tomatoes cut up into quarters.  We add skins, seeds, the works.  Lots of different varieties of tomatoes make for more subtle flavors in the salsa.
• Next we add the flavor and heat.  That’s lot’s of peppers and onions in big chunks like the picture above.  Again, variety is the spice of life.
• Finally garlic.  LOTS of garlic.  Cloves and cloves of garlic.  Right into the pot without wasting time chopping them.
• Turn the pot on low and let the mixture cook down.  The volume should reduce to about half.  At this point we use a hand held immersion blender and use that to make the entire pot the same consistency.  No lumps at all.
• Continue to cook the pot down until it’s like very runny ketchup.  (If you like thicker salsa - keep cooking, thinner, stop earlier)
• Next take the juice of 6-7 fresh limes or the equivalent lime juice and add to the sauce.
• Now take your best tomatoes and chop into small pieces and add them to the mixture stiring them in until you have almost doubled the mixture again.  You can also add chopped onion and peppers at this stage if you would like them as chunks when you are dipping later.
• Now is also when you can add other spices or cilantro as well.
• Make sure you taste the salsa and get it where you like it in terms of heat.
• Add the salsa to 1quart jars and can for 15 minutes at 11psi of pressure in a pressure canner.

That’s it - super simple.  And some of the best salsa you can expect to have.

Your share of summer (in a box)

The extreme weather continues this summer... in 2 days this weekend we made up the deficit of rain that was missing for the last 2 months!  Included in that was hail, extreme winds and torrential rains.  Still - we are producing some very yummy veggies.  So the question is - whats' in the box.

A box of veggie goodness

-Tomatoes - same a last week mix of several varieties including cherry tomatoes.  You will see one odd-shaped, kinda of ugly tomato with some cracks.  That is an heirloom variety known as piriform.  It has a good taste and is a type you don't come cross very often!

-Cucumber- we experimented with growing cucumbers in the new greenhouse this year and they are still producing even though the ones in the garden are pretty much done .  This has been a long season for cucumbers. Not sure what else to do with cukes?  Have you tried making some cucumber soup?  Look up a recipe online!

-Kale- It's not just a garnish!!  Fresh kale salad with a vinagrette dressing is delicious but this kale is also excellent in soups and stews.  It's a great and tasty way to sneak extra vitamins into many dishes, even in pasta dishes!

-Beets- a mix of golden beets and bull's blood beets.  Do you know that many people (and our pigs) love to eat beet greens as well?  Check out this recipe- we're planning to try it out this week: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Farfalle-with-Golden-Beets-Beet-Greens-and-Pine-Nuts-351260

-Garlic- This week you're receiving a different variety of garlic known as Canadian hardneck.  It's a very hardy, smaller bulb with a STRONG flavor.  Have you ever made bruschetta?  Try this simple recipe using your tomatoes and garlic:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/double-tomato-bruschetta/detail.aspx

-Peppers- more green pepper and hot banana pepper.

-Cabbage- This is one of the vegetables that has done well with the ups and downs of this crazy summer weather. You'll see some marks on the surface of the cabbage from the two hail storms we've had recently!!  Have you made the slaw recipe listed in last week's post?  If not, be sure to give it a try!

-Zucchini- This is a vegetable that hasn't done as well this past summer.  Normally, there is an overload of zucchini so everyone gets sick of it but we've actually found ourselves out in the garden searching for some more!

-Beans- more green beans.  You'll notice a few with some pink/red coloring. We just started picking one of our new heirloom (and Ark of Taste) varieties called Cherokee trail of tears.  Check out some info here: http://www.seedsavers.org/Details.aspx?itemNo=36.   Blanch and freeze your share of beans if you need a break from them this week.   They taste so good when we're wishing for fresh veggies in the middle of winter.

-Herb bundle- this week you're getting an assortment of basil, parsley and rosemary.  Rosemary is an excellent seasoning for chicken.  Find one of the many Rosemary Chicken recipes online and use one of your Chicken Thistle chickens and this rosemary to make a delicious meal!  Have no need for these herbs this week?  Hang the rosemary to dry it.  Chop the parsley and place it in an ice cube tray with a little water.  Add a cube or two to soups and sauces you make this winter!

First share of August

It's kinda hard to imagine this fact - but this COULD be the last full month of the CSA depending on what the fall does and how the crops sustain into late September.  But before we start to think about frost and freeze - let's enjoy the bounty of this peak summer share!  So, what's in the box?

Color and cabbage - galore!

Tomatoes- several varieties are included this week.  Some boxes will contain the first of our heirloom tomatoes that are ripening called Cherokee purple (shaped longer than round with a subtle green top).  Your box also includes some sweet cherry tomatoes!  Use your mix of tomatoes, along with the pepper and cucumber in the recipe suggestions below.

Cucumbers- Regular green cucumber and a round yellow one called a lemon cucumber.  Some people use these lemon cucumbers to make pickles and many use them just like any old cucumber.  They give a nice look to a salad or veggie platter because of their color.

Beans- You'll see two varieties of beans.  The purple beans are a more slender and tender variety known as filet beans.  They are so tender we love to eat them raw with a veggie dip or in a salad.  You can also cook them but they turn green when cooked! The green beans in the box are a standard variety known as Fortex and they're delicious too.

Peppers- You now have more of the same varieties of peppers you've received in previous weeks- sweet green peppers, sweet antohi romanian pepper (ivory-colored), darker green ancho pepper,and yellow hot banana peppers.

Cabbage- This variety of cabbage is a small-headed cabbage known as Gonzales.

Beets- There are three varieties of beets in this week's share: very sweet golden beets, long cylindra beets, and round standard beets.  Like the turnip last week, many people arent sure if they like beets.  Don't say that without trying these garden fresh beets.  Kellis favorite way to prepare them is just as described for the turnip last week- peeled, chopped, tossed with olive oil and roasted in the oven- with turnip!  Andy loves the beets peeled, boiled and then tossed with some salt and butter.

Lettuce- two small bunches of heirloom lettuce are included - tennis ball lettuce and speckled lettuce.  Both have a great flavor.

Summer squash - you might find a few varieties tucked away in here.  This year has been a challenge between the heat, the drought and then the hail - we are not smothering people with these guys like last year!

This weeks recipe is simple:
One recipe- three ways!  Start with this recipe from the farm girl fare site. http://www.farmgirlfare.com/2008/10/less-fuss-more-flavor-quick-easy.html
I subsituted one green pepper for the two red peppers since the red peppers aren't ripe yet.  Mix the chopped ingredients and use in one of three ways:
1.  Simply serve the ingredients as a standalone salad without blending.
2.  Or take those mixed ingredients and add to some cooked pasta along with some feta cheese for a great summer pasta salad.
3.  Or place the mix of ingredients in the blender to make the gazpacho in the recipe.
We tried all three of these this past week and all were excellent!

Lettuce Celebrate the 4th of July

With an eye on the 4th - we thought this third share (which was going to be the first share, by the way and 3+1=4) should be dedicated to making your 4th of July celebrations easy and healthy.  So here's to our hero of the holiday!  The Admiral of the Angiosperms...  The epitome of Eudicots!  We pledge our allegiance to you -  Lactuca sativa. We Salute Salad!

Flavor Fireworks!

As Spring quickly fades into summer - the Spring Raab is still producing - so there's more leaves and florets for you to experiment with in this share.  We are going to join the taste testing this week with a variation (using milk and cheese) of this recipe here.

Grilled garlic scape toast and local grass fed porkchops

More green curly things - those yummy garlic scapes.  This week they come from a faster maturing variety of garlic so you will want to trim off the tougher sections of the straight part of the stalk...  unless you are looking for extra fiber.  This week we made a simple spread, put it on some fresh bread and quickly crisped things up on the grill.  The super simple less than 5 minute recipe is below.

The round red things are NOT tomatoes - they are radishes.  Champion to be specific.  Mmm - these are fresh, crispy and AWESOME!  Add them to a salad, eta them whole with a little salt or follow our super simple recipe below for radish sandwiches and be the talk of the 4th of July party (with almost no work!)

The centerpiece of the share might be the 3 tremendous heads of lettuce: a red leaf, a Butter Head, and a tennis ball (that's lettuce - not a real ball).  You will notice a very distinct flavor and texture between the 3 different varieties.  Enjoy in seclusion - or mixed...  but I do have to say for a very special treat make sure you try the Tennis Ball variety (light green color) by itself.  It has VERY delicate leaves and is something special to enjoy.  There's a reason why you have never seen a lettuce quite like this in the industrial food chain on your grocers shelves - recognize and savor this first Ark of Taste offering in the CSA this year. (Ark of Taste definition)

In a fitting tribute to Americas original pre-super her0, there's a bag of the dark green leaves - it's Spinach.  The variety is Tyee.  Serve it with a little Olive Oyl and say it with me - "I yam what I yam, and that's all what I yam".

This week also brings a greens mix- similar to last weeks Ovations mix but with tatsoi and mizuna added in as well (hey - celebrating the 4th as a melting pot!).  Mix this into your fresh salad or serve some grilled salmon on bed of wilted greens, heck, even grill the greens and put them in a pita!

Bok choy - this is the last of the bok choy for this spring - enjoy now or blanch and freeze to use in soup this winter. (Freezing directions: place bok choy in boiling water for 1-2 minutes- plunge into ice water to cool- wring out excess water and lay leaves flat to dry for an hour.  Place in a freezer bag or vacuum seal bag and place in freezer).

This weeks farm fresh recipes are SIMPLE and quick to you can enjoy the holiday without spending it in the kitchen.

Recipe: Garlic Scape Toast

Start to finish - under 5 minutes.  Go start the grill.  Grab some scapes and chop them up in a food processor our really fine on a cutting board.  To the food processor add some of your best olive oil (as much or as little as you like) - let's say 1-2T.  Add some fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt to taste. (Add anything else you want - like parmesan cheese, pine nuts, oregano, whatever).  Process into chunky paste.  From a fresh loaf of bread cut slices 1/2" - 1" thick.  Slather topside with scape spread/paste.  Place bread on hot grill spread facing up until bottom start to brown.  Then flip and grill until spread starts to char.  Make sure not to loose the spread into the grill when removing.  Serve hot.

Recipe: Radish sandwiches

Get yourself a loaf of fresh baguette bread (or bake your own).  You will need some salt and some good unsalted butter (organic or grass fed is best) and you might as well get one of these too.  Cut the bread into small slices about 1/2? thick, spread the butter on there, sprinkle with salt and top with several thin slices of radish.  Enjoy.

From upper left (clockwise): Radishes, Raab, Tennisball, Red Leaf, Butterhead, Mixed greens, bok choi, Garlic Scapes, Spinach

All Good Things...

For every thing there is a season and for this, the first year of the Chicken Thistle Farm CSA - this share marks the end of our season.  We have sincerely enjoyed the work and privilege of providing so many with local food produced the way nature intended it.  Now enough sappiness - what's in the box?!

In the box this week (and you get to recycle the box) there are:

The last of the tomatoes...  and we mean the LAST.  Ask Kelli about the squishy gross ones she had the dig through to find the last gems from summer.

One final green bell pepper - sort of an "ode to peppers past"

Garlic- 2 varieties.  There's a Canadian Stiff neck (excellent flavor) and a NY White soft neck...  You are challenged to figure out which is which (if you can't - don't email us - we will laugh...  it's THAT easy).  The soft neck is really good for roasting and spreading on bread.

Sweet potato  - this is our first year growing sweet potatoes and we'll definitely grow more of them next year.  We learned a few things.

Yukon gold potatoes - these are very starchy and golden inside...  mashed, smashed or fried...  these guys = potato win!

Carrots - several varieties- petite and sweet(small ones), Sweet Nantes (larger orange), Luna (White ones!), and Purple Haze (purple ones).  Each one tastes different...  and if you find this surprising - impress your friends and tell them you had 4 different varieties AND you visited the carrot museum!

Sage- broad, blueish leaves - great spice for chicken and with certain fall vegetable gratins

Lemon grass (grass-like) and lemon verbena (dark green leaves)- squeeze each of these and smell the lemon scent!  You can use these to make a relaxing herbal tea by steeping equal amounts of both herbs in near boiling water for 20-30 minutes or longer depending on your desired strength.  Or you can use the lemon grass in all sorts of great asian cooking.

-Gourds - these are NOT edible but they will be a great addition to your fall decorations.  You'll see some mini-pumpkins and long, multi-colored gourds!

And as for the final recipe - well we recommend using this share and a Chicken Thistle Farm chicken to warm the house this weekend and celebrate the season of plenty we all shared in.

Special Sunday Roast Chicken   http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Special-Sunday-Roast-Chicken-351257

(and finally - to the first comment that seeks out the meaning of posts title - who knows the trek these two farmers have taken - who knows the producers of their food well enough that you know why we boldly chose that tile for our last share...  there might just be something extra awaiting for you...  undiscovered)