Kale Soup

Thanks to Gail Farfel for sending this in.

Kale Soup with Soy and Lime (from Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything)


2T Peanut oil
1 c minced onion
2T minced garlic
4 cups broth, preferably warmed (I use beef, but you could use chicken or vegetable)
1T soy sauce
Salt to taste
3c. roughly chopped kale leaves

fresh minced jalapeno chile and lime wedges to serve with hot soup

Saute onion in peanut oil until golden brown. Add garlic and cook 1min, then add broth. Bring to boil, then turn to simmer and add soy sauce. Add salt to taste.

Add Kale to broth and cook until tender (3 to 10 min, your preference). Correct seasoning and enjoy.

Serve with jalapeno and lime wedges

Fresh Tomato Sauce Recipe

Here's a very simple and quick recipe for tomato sauce:

This sauce is best made with very ripe tomatoes. If you wish, you may peel the tomatoes before chopping. Simply cut an "x" in the bottom of each tomato and plunge the tomato into boiling water for 30 seconds and remove. The skins will come off easily.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

3 cups chopped ripe tomatoes (about 2 pounds)

One 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano, or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups hot water or vegetable stock

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 bay leaf

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, uncovered, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, and dried basil and oregano, if using, and cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the water or stock, wine, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil, stirring to blend.
Reduce heat to low, season with salt and pepper, and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the desired consistency is reached. If using fresh basil and oregano, stir in at this time. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
If not using immediately, transfer to a container and allow to cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Makes about 4 cups.

Source: InnerSelf

Corn

It is best to consume the corn you get in your share within a couple days of getting it. Make sure you put it in the fridge as soon as possible. 

Some ears might have a worm, just take it out and cut the part off and you're set. That's just a fact of life when growing corn organically. 

More Recipes

Thanks again to Tamara and Katie for sending these in! 

From Tamara:

Pasta with marinated tomatoes and goat cheese

FOR EACH SERVING, add the following ingredients:

-equivalent of one extra-large tomato (sliced extra thin or chopped; or use roasted tomatoes, or a combination of both)
-1-2 cloves garlic, chopped finely or mooshed
-2-3 Tbsp good olive oil (or more if you like to dip bread in the sauce afterward)
-1 tsp capers
-Handful of fresh basil leaves, torn or chiffinade
-2-4 oz dried pasta (I used spirals, but the recipe calls for farfalle, rotelle or penne)
-Salt & pepper
-1/4 of a medium onion chopped
-2-3 oz goat cheese

Put your water on to boil for the pasta, then chop and mix all the ingredients except the cheese.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and spread the cheese on it so it melts (or almost melts).

Quickly add the marinated tomato mixture and toss to serve.

You can also do this with feta cheese, in which case you don’t have to melt it on the pasta; in fact the feta is nice even with cold pasta.

From Katie:

Here's an elegantly simple recipe for French Potato Salad from Julia Child's The Way to Cook. This is perfect for summer meals and potlucks as it is lovely served at room temperature.
 
First you cook the potatoes and then you make the salad. Julia likes to slice the potatoes, and here’s what she says about it “ The easiest way to achieve cooked sliced potatoes is to slice them first before simmering them. You will of course get criticisms from those worthies who say if you don’t cook them whole you’re throwing away the best parts, or you’re losing nutrients and/ you’re wasting this or that, etc., none of which I believe” (Julia Child, 361). I’ll leave it to you to decide—I usually leave the skin on, which I’m sure would horrify her, but—whatever—I do like how easy it is to cook the potatoes this way.
 
You need 1 ½ pounds warm sliced cooked potatoes (instructions follow)
2 Tbs finely minced shallots or scallions
Salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup chicken stock or potato cooking water
1 ½ Tbs wine vinegar 

2-3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
2-3 Tbs light olive oil. (optional)—I like it much better with the olive oil
 
Basically you need to cook the potatoes within ½ hour of peeling and slicing them (if you do this)—and as you do it, you need to put them in cold water. Put them in a pan and cover with cold water and 1 to 1 1/1/2 tsp salt per quart of water. In Julia’s words, “Bring to a simmer, and simmer 2-3 minutes, or until the potatoes are just tender—keep testing by eating a slice to be sure. Crunchily undercooked potatoes are dreadful, and overcooked potato slices will disintegrate.” Drain out the cooking water, saving some for the salad and using the rest for soup if you wish. Cover the pan and set aside for 3-5 minutes (but no longer than 5), to allow the slices to firm up. Then uncover the potatoes and plan to season them while warm.
 
Turn the warm potatoes into a bowl and toss gently with 2 Tbs shallots or scallions, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, stock or cooking water, vinegar and parsley. Let steep 10 minutes or so, tossing gently several times. Then correct seasoning, toss with the optional oil, and the potatoes are ready for serving.

Recipes

Thanks to Tamara and Katie for sending these in.

From Katie:

Here's a seasonal pasta recipe that makes use of the beautiful zucchini and tomatoes from this week's harvest. It's from The Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library--Pasta.
"Spaghetti al Pomodoro in Insalata" (Spaghetti with Summer Garden Puree).
  
 10 oz. ripe tomatoes, peeled and halved (I'm too lazy to peel them, so I skip this step, and I think it comes out fine--and anyway there are nutrients in the skin)

 salt
 1 zucchini
 1 1/4 lb spaghetti
 1/2 stalk celery, trimmed and cut crosswise into slices 3/4 inch thick
 handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
 freshly ground pepper
 
Sprinkle the tomato halves with a little salt. Place them cut side down in a colander for about 1 hours, to drain off excess juice. (I skip this step for small tomatoes like ours).

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the green skin from the zucchini and set it aside. The zucchini itself can be saved or used in a soup (or zucchini bread/ cake--I've heard that our fellow CSA member AnneMarie makes delectable zucchini cake).
 
Cook the pasta to al dente.
 
Meanwhile in a blender or food processor, combine the tomatoes, celery, zucchini skins, parsely, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Process until smooth and creamy.
 
Drain the pasta and arrange it on a platter. Pour the sauce over the top and toss well. This dish may be served immediately or at room temperature.
 
Serves 6.

From Tamara:

Provencal Vegetable Gratin 

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for dish
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
5 to 6 medium plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
2 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
2 medium yellow summer squash, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 7 by 11-inch baking dish with olive oil.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add onions, garlic and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until completely softened and cooked but not browned. Stir in the basil and thyme. Spread on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Toss the sliced vegetables with the remaining olive oil and salt, and pepper. With the long side of the baking dish facing you, alternate the sliced vegetables in compact upright rows on top of the onion mixture.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until the vegetables are softened, about 30 to 35 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Continue baking until cheese begins to brown, about 20 minutes or so. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Mid season update...

We hope you are all enjoying your shares this far. The weather has been good and we haven't had to water the crops yet. We had some really hot and muggy days in July but the weather in August has been perfect.

The pests have only gotten stronger; particularly the woodchuck. Damage has been much more than we had anticipated. Despite the challenge of dealing with crop damage, we are thankfully that we have been able to get decent harvests so far.

Volunteers are needed. Please let us know if you would like to volunteer for a day (or even half a day), it will be much appreciated !

Thanks for your support!

Incredible Kale Recipes

Submitted by CSA members John and Josephine Adams. You will be thanking them after you make the delicious Portuguese Kale Soup!

Portuguese Kale Soup

1 lb kale
1 lb potatoes
1 lb smoked sausage (I used turkey sausage)
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped carrots
2 tsp chopped garlic
2 Tb olive oil
2 Tb butter
2 qt chicken, beef or pork broth
3 lb peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cup kidney beans
salt and freshly ground pepper

Strip the leaves from washed kale, and cut diagonally into wide slices. You should end up with 6-8 cups of lightly packed kale. Wash, peel, and chop potatoes, and keep in cold water. Prick sausage; blanch in boiling water for 5-10 minutes to release fat. Drain; cut into 1/2 inch slices; set aside. In a large saucepan, saute onions, carrots and garlic in oil and butter, cooking until softened, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and broth, and simmer, partially covered for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. Mash the potatoes against the side of the pot (or puree with some of the broth and return to the pot). Stir in tomatoes and kidney beans, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the kale and sausage, cook 5-10 minutes longer, and season to taste. (Serves 6-8).

P.S: I skipped the tomatoes and kidney beans to be kid-friendly, and it tasted fine.


Kale Chips

Wash and remove hard center rib from kale. Place large bunch of kale leaves in a big plastic bag and add 1 Tb olive oil. Shake the bag evenly to distribute a very thin layer of olive oil to both sides of the leaves.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 4 minutes on each side. Sprinkle salt to taste.

Leaves will turn very dark green/brown, but taste great!