Blog

This Week from Harmony Valley Farm

You'll notice that the list of what's in our Harmony Valley Farmshare is getting longer. I should also point out how amazingly good the food is. And despite the fact that I have shamefully tossed out my amaranth each week, I'm happy we got it again - just in time (again) to try out that amaranth and goat cheese pizza recipe I've been talking about from Amy Boland's site (see our picture below - it was delicious). My wife wonders when enough is enough, but even she gave me grief for not picking up a few more eggplants from last week's "choice" box. Darling, I said, I'm not getting more food from the choice box until we eat the food we already have! That said, this week's choice is cauliflower, which my family can't get enough of. Here's a list of what's in this week's CSA box, with descriptions and a photo from Harmony Valley:

  • Yellow onions: Storage onions for fall and winter are best kept in a cool, dry, dark place if possible.
  • Italian garlic: Add garlic to cooking rice, polenta, and mashed potatoes.
  • Green beans: Steam until tender (or to your liking), then toss with butter and chopped fresh herbs
  • Edamame: Try adding cooked, cooled, shelled Edamame to tossed salads, potato salads, and pasta salads, or whatever other kind of salad you might dream up.
  • Sweet corn: To grill corn on the cob, peel back (but do not remove) husks, remove silk, and if desired, rub ears with butter or olive oil and salt. Replace husks and secure by tying with an extra strip of husk or string. Soak ears in a large bowl of water 15 minutes, then cook on a medium-hot grill, turning occasionally, about 15 minutes.
  • Tomato variety bag: You'll have a mix that could include Carolina Gold (yellow), a variety of black tomatoes, Copia (striped heirloom type), Rose (pink heirloom type) and some red slicing tomatoes.
  • Grape tomatoes: Grape tomatoes make a mighty fine snack, or you can halve them and add them to cooked dishes like omelettes, sautéed squash or greens.
  • Carrots: Add grated carrot to your baking. Carrot cake, carrot muffin, carrot cookie...
  • Squash: Mix grated summer squash with cornmeal batter and fry into little pancakes.
  • Cucumbers: Pair cool cucumbers with a variety of seafood dishes. If you are having a party anytime soon, try serving shrimp cocktail hors d' oeuvres on cucumber slices or in hollowed out cucumber "cups".
  • Watermelon: Who needs a beverage when you have tasty, juicy watermelon?
  • Melon: How about some sliced brie and crisp sauvignon blanc? With your melon, of course. Take it on a summer picnic or have a little party. Sarah's Choice: Pale fleshed cantaloupe with very sweet flavor. Butterscotch or French Orange: Slightly smaller than Sarah's choice; butterscotch has green flesh and French Orange has a deep orange flesh.
  • Poblano peppers
  • Jalapeños: The heat varies slightly from one pepper to the next, so give each one a little taste before putting the entire pepper into a dish. If you wish to decrease the heat, remove the seeds.
  • Bell pepper: Sauté peppers and onions with sliced sausages and toss with cooked beans for a quick dinner.
  • Amaranth: Sauté with onions, garlic, and a small splash of tamari.
  • Salad Mix: Shake things up by adding different textures to your salad. For crunch, try toasted nuts, wasabi peas, croutons, chow mein noodles, etc......
  • Eggplant: Cut thick "patties" of eggplant and bake or grill until tender, and serve as a vegetarian sandwich with tomato, salad mix, and soft cheese or hummus on a burger bun.
  • Choice: Cauliflower

Our amaranth pizzaOur amaranth pizzaMy friends at Harmony Valley also included a few recipe links in this week's newsletter, including a few to posts right here on this site. Thanks Terri and Harmony Valley!

Recipes:

Top