“This magical, marvelous food on our plate, this sustenance we absorb, has a story to tell. It has a journey. It leaves a footprint. It leaves a legacy. To eat with reckless abandon, without conscience, without knowledge; folks, this ain’t normal.” – Joel Salatin Yellow Squash, COG, Milliberger 1 pound Calabacitas, ORG, Antonio Garcia, Alamosa 1 pound Mixed Greens, COG, Ring a Ding Farms, Howard 0.5 pound Tomatoes, Graber's Produce, Alamosa 1 pound Cucumber, Ab Yoder Family Farm, Alamosa 1 cuke Beets, COG, White Mountain Farm, Mosca 1 bunch Grilling Onion, COG, WMF 1 bunch Cherries, Conner Orchards, Hotchkiss, CO 1 pound Purple Carrots, Hobbs Family Farm, Boone, CO 1 pound From Megumi's Kitchen: Cucumbers are great…. Mediterranean Salad (diced cukes, tomomatos, onions, crumbled feta cheese, olive, lemon juice, oregano, parsley, & salt…olive oil optional) is an easy way to eat a lot. If you have fresh dill, don’t forget thinly sliced cucumber with yogurt and dill dressing. Thinly sliced cucumbers are great on sandwiches and bagels too. I think many CSA members would do things like these anyways. So below are some that may be a little different. ---- Simplified Cucumber & Ginger fried/baked wanton --- 1) julienne cucumber (match size) and ginger (thinner and shorter) 2) season with generous salt and pepper. add a little mayonnaise, mix well and drain liquid 3) place the cucumber mix in the center of wanton wrap, wet the edges with water, fold the wrap in half. 4) in a frying pan, head oil. when the oil is hot, place the wantons, fry them crisp on both sides. (optional bake in the oven at 350 for a few minutes) 5) serve with mustard — Cooked cucumber with easy Thai style peanut sauce -- This peanut sauce can be served with many things including spring roles, satay, baked tofu, and Vietnamese style sandwiches. Here, it is served with seared cucumber sticks. Cucumber sticks were coated lightly with corn starch before searing to avoid oil from splashing. peanut sauce 1 can of coconut milk approx 1/4 cup of thai curry paste (green or red) 3/4 cup unsweetened peanut butter salt approx 1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1) put everything into a pot and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat, stir constantly, add water if desired 2) let it simmer for 3-5 minutes over low heat 3) taste and adjust the amount of curry, sugar, vinegar and salt to your liking 4) take it off the heat and let it cool till room temperature — Japanese style cucumber seaweed(wakame) salad (sunomono) Some of you might have had this “salad” at a Japanese restaurant. It is surprisingly easy to make… though I must admit it is best if you can get skinny cucumber like the one used for pickles. - thinly slice the cucumber, salt lightly, set aside - reconstitute dried wakame, wash off excess salt and dirt, drain and cut in small pieces - in a small bowl, combine rice vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt… taste it and add more sugar if you prefer. at this point it is probably quite strong tasting. - mix in cucumber and wakame (thinly julienned ginger, optional), chill it in the refrigerator for 30 mins or longer
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“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart.” -Cesar Chavez Well, attitude and perspective. These things govern our days. Its amazing how everything that can go wrong does go wrong and its still okay. Its fine. There's always something to be humorous about, even if its the absurdity at hand. There's some small and large beauty to bring humility and awe. Colorado Peach season is right around the corner. We will include some in the boxes but if you want to get a case look for it in the market. Wednesday 4 pm deadline. Coolers, boxes, and clamshells....send 'em back! Here's the box: Fava Beans, COG, White Mountain Farm, Mosca, CO 1 pound Spring Mix Heads, Brightwater Farms, Monte Vista, CO 1 clamshell Sweet Baby Lettuce Mix, Ring a Ding Farms, Howard, CO 1 clamshell White Onions, COG, WMF 1 bunch Living Green Kale, Brightwater Farms 1 plant Cucumber, Ab Yoder Family Farm, Alamosa, CO 1 cuke Taos Mountain Energy Bar 1 Bar Fava Beans are one of the oldest domesticated crops going back 8000 years in the Middle East and Europe. Fava comes from the Italian Fava meaning "broad bean," which is how they are know in most other parts of the world. Their cultivation in the San Luis Valley goes back to the Spanish settlers in the 17th and 18th centuries and those heirloom seeds are still cultivated around San Luis by members of the Rio Culebra Agricultural Cooperative. You can buy dried Haba Beans, as they call them, from the CSA market from Rio Culebra. They are a standard at White Mountain Farm not only because it is a nice crop that grows well here, but also because it is a legume. Legumes, from the Family Fabaceae, have a peculiar relationship with a bacterium Rhizobium in which the bacteria colonizes the root systems of the plant and fixes atmospheric nitrogen (80% of the air we breathe) in nodules that the plants and soil can use. This is soil-food-web alchemy at its best, and its only Legumes that attract this Rhizobium. In organic agriculture, this is used in rotation of crops, as crops that are planted in soils that had legumes will benefit from this assimilable nitrogen. Below is a photo of White Mountain's Paul New displaying his Fava's nitrogen nodules. From Megumi's Kitchen: On Fava Beans.... "I like to eat fave beans simple… like throw them on the grill with the outer shell on, or take out only the outer shell and boil the beans in salt water. Peel the skin as you eat." But if you “insist" on doing something, here are some ideas…. Fava bean soup: 1. Shell the fava beans from the outer pods, boil the beans (skin on) in salt water till some skin starts to break, drain, chill, and take off the skin. set aside. 2. slice onion thin, sauté it in butter on low heat till translucent. salt and pepper (white pepper if you have some) for taste. add a few spoons full of flour. keep mixing well on low heat. little by little add milk while keeping it on low heat and mixing continuously. 3. let the onion/white cream cool a bit. place it in a food processor/blender and puree till smooth. 4. add fave beans and run the processor till the mixture is smooth. add more milk to achieve desirable thickness. 5. put it back in a pan, heat on low till it is throughly cooked. taste and add salt & white pepper to your liking. serve chilled or warm This is fava beans and kimchi stir fry. It’s good with some pork too.
Greetings Folks, Well, since Mercury only appears to go backwards based on our perspective from Earth, I can't rightfully blame Mercury retrograde for the mercurial issues that visited food hub operations this week. Our primary refrigerated truck went down on Thursday and then my truck went down on Friday. Fortunately, it can always be worse! A big shout out to our CSA working shareholders: Alex DeCarli, Byron WIlliams, and new this week Eric Havelock-Bailie. And a major kudos goes out to Valley Roots' own Dave Swain who worked a hard 16 hour shift and then had to sleep, or try to sleep, in the truck in a Fairplay parking lot as all the hotels were booked. The ability to stay the course, keep a sense of humor, and still provide good customer service and a love of food is a rare treasure that the Valley Roots community is blessed with. Thanks Dave! Here's the box: Portabella Mushrooms, Colorado Mushroom Farm, Alamosa, CO 2 caps Quinoa Greens, White Mountain Farm, Mosca, CO 1 bunch Quinoa, WMF 1 pound Garlic Scapes, Absmeier High Altitude Garlic, Alamosa 1 bunch Turnips, COG, WMF 1 Bunch Cilantro, COG, WMF 1 bunch Russet Potatoes, COG, White Rock Specialties, Mosca, CO. 5 lbs Red Onions, COG, WMF 1 bunch Easter Egg Radishes, COG, WMF 1 bunch Arugula, COG, Ring a Ding Farms, Howard, CO 1 clamshell Greens Mix, RAD 1 pound Basil, Brightwater Farms, Monte Vitsa, CO 0.50 plant The quinoa greens may be a new one for folks. As you know, and can enjoy this week, White Mountain Farm has been a pioneer in North American quinoa agriculture. Indigenous to the Andes of South America, quinoa is a member of the Goosefoot genus Chenopodiaceae. Also in this family is the familiar backyard but nutritionally edible weed, Lamb's Quarter, as well as the stalwart staples, Spinach and Beets. Quinoa seeds contain essential amino acids such as lysine and decent quantities of calcium, phosphorus, iron, and protein. The greens may be used like any hearty greens: steamed, sauteed, or stir fried. Also, in the box this week was a generous portion of garlic scapes. Garlic is a special food crop and the scapes are a way to not only get two crops out of one, but also encourage healthy bulb development for our winter garlic stores. Below are some recipes using garlic scapes. From Megumi's Kitchen: Garlic Scape Buns -mince garlic scapes and cilantro -sprinkle garlic scares, cilantro, salt, and shredded cheese on to of a dough sheet of your choice -roll it up and cut them -place the dough face up on greased cookie sheet. -bake 10-13 minutes at 375F -serve with Chinese mustard, soy sauce, and/or ketchup Korean style Pajeon (savory flat pancake)
pajeon— you can make it with various veggies, including carrots, green onions, kimchi, and garlic scapes, too! 1) cut the garlic scapes so that they can be laid flat on the pan 2) sear them in oil till the garlic turns bright green, salt to taste, 3) mix flour with water and a pinch of salt to make runny batter (much thinner than American pancake)---eggs optional— pour the batter over the garlic just barely coving them 4) fry both sides till slightly crisp serve with Gochujang = Korean spicy miso Gochujan can be bought at a store or made easily at home 1) mix equal portion of miso and water, add 1/3 of sugar. cook on low (to mid) heat while mixing constantly. 2) when the mixture is cooked down to a desired consistency, take it off the heat and add chili powder to your liking 3) season with small amount of sake (rice wine), vinegar, and salt "I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals, and other branches of a husbandman's cares." -George Washington
This week we have an opportunity to experience the season's first root crops and fresh garlic from Hobbs Family Farm. Dan Hobbs is not only a remarkable organic farmer near Pueblo, but also works for the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, is a founding member of Arkansas Organic Valley Growers (AVOG), and has been a tremendous force for the inception of the Valley Roots Food Hub. He is a great example that its is possible to have a regular job AND be a farmer! Together with our partner food hubs including AVOG, High Plains Food Coop, and Southwest Farm Fresh, were are launching the Colorado Food Hub Network. This is re-writing the food system where Colorado Local is the standard. Diverse, fresh, efficient. Here's the box: High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Non-GMO, Colorado Mills, Lamar, CO 1 bottle This is a special product at Valley Roots. I have a letter from the National Sunflower Board that says sunflowers have had ZERO trans-genetic tampering. That means that you can be sure your sunflower oil hasn't been infected by GMO genetics. Colorado Mills says: "CM Sunflower Oil is naturally extracted from high oleic sunflower seeds in Southeastern Colorado. This is a totally Colorado product, from processing to label. This oil is perfect for sautéing, frying, baking, and making your favorite salad or dipping oil. The all-natural extraction process uses NO solvents in removing the oil from the seeds, only the pressing process. We also do not winterize our oil after refining, which is why you will notice a small amount of sunflower wax in the bottom of the bottle. This leaves the oil in its more natural state and does not affect the cooking quality of the oil. There are 3 types of common fat in a diet. Monounsaturated (Oleic) fats are essential in a balanced diet while large amounts of Polyunsaturated (Non-Oleic) and Saturated fats should be avoided. Linolenic Polyunsaturated Fats can become unstable when heated over a period of time, producing trans-fats." Living Green Kale Plant, Brightwater Farms, Monte Vista, CO. 1 Plant Organic Tieton Sweet Cherries, Black Bear Orchards, Palisade, CO. 2 lbs Spicy Mesclun Mix, COG, Ring a Ding Farms, Howard, CO 1 1/2 lb bag Tomato, Beefsteak. Graber's Produce, Alamosa, CO 3 lbs Red Radish, COG, White Mountain Farm, Mosca. 1 bunch Baby Purple Carrots,COG, Hobbs Family Farm, Boone, CO 1 bunch Baby Red Beets, COG, Hobbs Family Farm 1 bunch Fresh Garlic, COG, Hobbs Family Farm 2 heads Grilling onions and portabellas are on the horizon! Yes, potatoes are done until the new crop comes in. We have 8 shares still available for this season's CSA! THIS WEEK WILL BE THE LAST WEEK TO SIGN UP. We also could use 1 more Working CSA Shareholder. Late subscribers will get credits in the market, stay tuned. COOLERS, BOXES, CLAMSHELLS: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Send them back with your box! Happy 4th! Independence means local food! |
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