HENRY’S CSA

Food & Farm Notes
Week 6

July 1, 2008

 

In Your Share, some combination of . . .

Lettuce (2 heads)

Beet

Onions (Red, Yellow, and White)

Garlic

Sugar Snap Peas

Snow Peas

Broccoli

Cabbage

Chard

Daikon

Japanese Turnips

 

Depending on how many of each thing Henry is able to harvest in the morning, a number of these will be choices (e.g. you take Broccoli OR Cabbage, Daikon OR Turnips . . . just be sure and look at the signs!

 

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1. The first thing I need to do this week is apologize for the extra email you got on Friday. It was meant for the Evanston market customers, but I hit the wrong button and it got sent to the CSA list and once you hit the button there’s no way of stopping things!

 

2. The second thing I have to do is announce is that because of the cool, wet spring and early summer Henry says the garlic is not quite ready to harvest. If you’ve already carved out time to come to the farm this week, you’re still welcome. And don’t worry, Henry will find something else for you to do. But if you want to harvest garlic, please come next Monday July 7 or Wednesday July 9. You can come any time between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. and stay as long as you like. Directions are at the end of this email, and also under the Steingraber announcement in the News Flash section of Henry’s website.

 

3. Speaking of Sandra Steingraber, we are finalizing plans and need to know how many people to expect. If you are planning to come, please go to www.henrysfarm.com and register. Simply click on the RSVP here line under the News Flash in the upper right hand corner of the home page, and submit your name and the number of people in your group. This will really help us get everything ready for the day.

 

Sandra commands quite good speaking fees, but because she is in Illinois anyway to film the documentary of her book Living Downstream, she is giving this talk for free. (For a preview of the documentary, see  http://www.theppcinc.com/projects/livingdownstream/index.html) If you’ve heard Sandra speak before, you know what a powerful speaker she is and how much you learn from her talks. If you have never heard her before, this is an incredible opportunity. Please join us for Sandra’s Special Talk at Henry’s Farm, Sat., July 12, at 6:30 p.m.

 

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Farm Notes -- Green and Greener

 

The sun and rain have done their magic and everything--weeds and vegetables alike--is now growing like mad. It has been a bumper year for peas, so you will be able to enjoy the sugar snaps and snow peas again this week, when in a normal July they’d be long gone. The lettuce heads are getting big and bouncy--perfect for a Fourth of July salad -- and the onions are bulking up nicely. Enjoy the bounty!

 

 

Food Notes -- Daikon, Swiss Chard

 

In addition to my simple recipe suggestions, this year we will have some great additional suggestions from a pro. Amber Pawula is a new CSA member and a terrific chef. Amber grew up in the Peoria area where her parents were in the restaurant biz, first at the Strawberry patch in Princeton and then Stephanie’s in Peoria.  Her mother grew up on a farm, and she has fond memories of picking strawberries and asparagus with her grandmother.  

 

In 1997, Amber moved to Chicago to study physical anthropology at the University of Chicago, but decided not to go into academia. While trying to figure out what to do with herself, she found she spent most of her time learning new cooking techniques and experimenting with new ingredients. Finally it dawned on her that maybe she should just do that for a living.  Her father (Chef John Pawula, who you may have seen on Chef John's Kitchen segments on NBC in the 90's) passed away in 2004, and so she returned to run the family restaurant after completing a culinary degree from Kendall College in 2006.

 

Now you can find her 7 days a week, cooking up delicious food with the best seasonal ingredients she can find, at Chef John's Wine Bar and Grill in Dunlap, IL. And you can find some of recipes right here in Henry’s CSA Food & Farm Notes.

 

Chard is actually a type of beet that is grown for its large leaf stalks and leaves. It is low in calories and a good source of vitamins A and C. Chard can be prepared like spinach or beet greens - cooking with only the water that clings to them following washing. A bit of sautéed garlic or onion enhances the delicate flavor. And don’t be afraid of the stems, they are just as tender, mild, and delicious as the leaves.

 

Amber’s Chard Tacos

Rinse and tear chard leaves.  Slice a clove of garlic thinly and sweat in about 2 tbsp olive oil. When garlic is translucent, add chard and saute over low/medium heat until wilted. Add juice of 1/2 lime, salt, & pepper to taste.  If you like, you can also saute the chard in with cooked chorizo or taco meat.  Serve with whatever taco fixin's you prefer.

 

And for Chard’s relatives, the beets, here is . .

 

Amber’s Roasted Beet & Orange Salad

Roast beets at 400 F until tender (depends on size of beet).  Cool beets, and peel away skin under running water. Cut oranges into skinless sections (supremes) or use canned oranges.  Toss orange segments and beets with walnuts and crumbled goat cheese, as well as a splash of blood orange vinegar and walnut oil, or a reduction of orange juice and walnut oil, salt and pepper.

 

Daikon

The Japanese name of this vegetable (dai = large or great; kon = root) reveals the obvious: this is a large radish. But the more radish, the more you can do with it. The Daikon this year are milder than usual, again because of the cool, wet spring. Raw daikon can be grated, slivered, diced, or sliced to add its crunch and zip to relishes and salads. For salads, thin-sliced daikon is especially good with carrot and sesame (seeds and/or oil). Stir-fried daikon slices, strips, or cubes are sweet and mild. Chunks of daikon boiled briefly in miso or another broth make a mild and delicious soup.

 

For an extremely refreshing summer salad, try Mrs. Takayasu’s wonderful Daikon and Lemon Salad. Thinly slice half moons of equal amounts of lemon and daikon. Add sugar to taste. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Eat the lemon and daikon and drink the liquid!

 

Mrs. Takayasu’s Daikon and Lemon Salad

2 lemons

1 medium daikon (peeled)

½ pound sugar

 

Cut lemons and daikon in half lengthwise and then cut into 1/8^th inch half-moon shaped slices. Mix lemon and daikon slices together with the sugar and let set for 1 to 2 days before eating. Can be stored in refrigerator for a week or two. Some CSA members have added raisins and apples to this salad with great results. Improvise!

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Remember to sign up to register for Sandra Steingraber’s Talk on July 12 at www.henrysfarm.com.

 

Directions to Henry’s Farm for the Garlic Harvest and/or Sandra Steingraber Talk.

Henry's  Farm is located midway between Peoria and Bloomington, a few miles north of the Goodfield exit.  It exists in a magical Edenic place that is not MapQuestable.  Here are directions:

• From Highway 150 or Interstate 74, take the Goodfield Exit and drive north (toward Eureka) 2 miles on Hwy 117.
• Turn east on 475 N (the road only goes to the East) and go one mile to the T junction, which is Grimm Road (aka 1500E).
• Turn right (you're going back south now) and go about 3/4 mile.
• Turn left (again, the road only goes to the East) onto 400N. Go down the big hill and up the big hill. You'll pass a lane with a mailbox, and a small blue sign that says 1554. Continue slowly up to the crest of the hill and turn left into the next lane (no mailbox, but a small blue sign that says 1566).
• Someone will be there to direct you to park in the pasture area to your left.  Then continue walking down the lane where there will be a small table with information and someone to direct you to the bottomland where the main part of Henry's Farm is, and where Sandra will speak.

You may come at 5:30 to eat your picnic dinner and to socialize with other local farmers and consumers, and with the vegetables themselves in the field.
Or you may come at 6:30 for Sandra's talk.
In either case, remember to bring your own blankets and/or lawn chairs to sit on.  Also please bring your own plates, napkins, beverages and cups if you are picnicing.  Bug spray too, if you are sensitive.
Any questions, call Terra at 847-338-1861.