CSA 9/9/2016: Apples, Plums, and Watermelon Radishes

"The purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows."  -Moffat School Marquee

End of the season CSA BBQ Potluck this Thursday 6 pm at the Hub in Mosca, 5401 Terry St Mosca, Co 81146.  Come join us, meet your box-builders, and share your favorite recipes!

Also, join the San Luis Valley Local Food Coalition and community at the annual Soiree event: Local!  Sunday, September 25th from 11:30 AM until 5PM at the Rio Grande Farm Park for an AMAZING afternoon of local food, local live music, local artists, and family fun activities. Entry is only $5 per person (children under 4 are free). Activities include a Farm to Table 5K, hay ride, pony rides, petting zoo, face paining, and other games!
 
Buy your tickets and festival bucks for items at the food, drink, art, and activity booths here. You can purchase tickets at the event as well.

The San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition hopes to see you all there for this great celebration.

We also still need VOLUNTEERS! If you are interested in helping set up, clean up, or work the tables please contact Amber at [email protected] or 608-295-3424.

Lastly, Wednesday 4 pm deadline for a la carte orders from the CSA Market.

Here's the box:

Apples, Early Jonathan "Akane," Conner Orchards, Hotchkiss, CO    2 pounds
Plums, Blood, Conner Orchards                                                 1.5 pounds
Peaches, COG, Black Bear Orchards, Palisade                              1.5 pounds
Beans, French and/or Yellow, COG, WMF                                0.5 pounds
Mushrooms, Crimini, Colorado Mushroom Farm                              8 oz
Onions, White/Yellow, COG, White Mountain Farm, Mosca           1 bunch
Radish, Watermelon, COG, WMF                                              1 bunch
Lettuce, Sweet Baby, COG, Ring a Ding Farms, Howard, CO        0.5 pound
Watermelon/Cantaloupe, COG, Hirakata Farms, Rocky Ford, CO     1 melon

---

From Megumi's Kitchen 
--- Three bean salad a la SLV ---
The yellow beans in the box inspired us to make three bean salad.  But we did not have kidney bean... oh no! Or is it a "oh yes"? It is an opportunity to try San Luis Valley version of the all American three bean salad. With the Anasazi beans from Dave Creek Bean Company and pinto beans from J-Cabz Farm, both of which we bought in bulk from the Hub, here we are the Three Bean Salad a la SLV.

- Soak Anasazi beans, Pinto beans, and Garbanzo beans over night. (about 1/4 cup each).
- Cook beans in salt water until firm outside but soft inside.  (I cooked each kind separately.)  Set them aside
- Boil yellow and green beans in salt water. Cut in 1/2 inches long. Set them aside. 
- Chop 1 small purple (or young white) onion. Set aide.
- Make your basic salad dressing with Colorado Mills Sunflower oil (or other nice olive or salad oil), apple cider vinegar, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper. (or use your favorite store bought Italian dressing)
- Mix all the beans, onion, and the dressing.  Taste and add any seasoning to your liking.
​
This salad would be really nice with Fava beans too.... too bad we have to wait until next season.  :-)

—— Plum Tart German style—--
While I was in Germany as an exchange student, I used to sit in the kitchen admiring how my hall-mates baked fresh fruit torte.  They would take any fruit in season and made torte as easily as making scramble eggs.  As advanced as their technology, Germans seemed to have handed down good old home-cooking tradition to the younger generations.  For someone who grew up in Tokyo believing desserts were too difficult to made at home, it was eye-opening.
Years later, when I lived in Seattle, the house I was renting had a plum tree in the back yard. Reminiscing my days in Germany, I re-created a plum tart recipe from my memory.  
Finding plums in our CSA box this week brought it all back to me in my SLV kitchen!
- Per-bake pie/pastry/quiche crust of your choice
- In the mean time make custard. you will need:
    2 egg yolks
    4 tablespoons sugar    1 tablespoon flour
    1 tablespoon cornstarch
    1 cup + milk
    1 tablespoon butter
    Vanilla essence
    whiskey/brandy/rum (optional)
    Combine egg your, sugar, flour and cornstarch in a bowl. add about 1 tablespoon of milk. mix well. set aside.
    Heat the rest of the milk, when cooked, add it to the egg mixture mixing constantly.
    Let it run through strainer, and put it back on low to-mid heat. cook until desired consistency
    Take off the heat and mix in butter, vanilla essence and whiskey    
- wash and halve the plum taking the seed away
- in the crust, pour custard and place plum halves cut side up.  sprinkle a little sugar and crushed almond. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes.
​

Germans would have it with fresh whip cream :))  And here is the "original German plum torte" recipe from NYT.

—— Watermelon radish soup —--
I thought the root vegetable we found this week in the box was turnip and started making soup.  Whoops!  Had I known it was watermelon radish, I would had marinated it and served with salad. It is soooooo beautiful!  But my cooking was already in motion; it was too late for me to change the course. The result was beautiful soft pink soup with nice flavor. The original recipe was taken from a website and, as always, adapted it to the reality of my kitchen. While it was good as it was, I am already thinking about adding beets to increase the intensity of pink. Also adding a little bit of lemon juice when you serve would take away bitterness if you prefer. 

- slice 2-3 small onion into very thin wedges
- cube 3 small potatoes
- cube turnip/watermelon radish
- in the bottom of a pot, pour 3-5 table spoons of olive oil and sprinkle salt
- add a layer of onion, potatoes, and then radish
- place 2 sticks of fresh rosemary, and sprinkle some ground nutmeg
- without adding water, cook it on low heat for 30-40 minutes or until everything is soft. good aroma should be coming from the pot by then
- blend the cooked veggies in a blender adding water, veggie broth, or milk as needed
- place pureed veggies back in the pot and cook throughly.  season with salt and other spices to your liking