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BUG Farms CSA Week 6 (B) Newsletter

Posted 6/20/2012 8:09pm by Sharon Leopardi.

Hi BUGgy Friends!

Happy Summer Solstice! I hope you are enjoying all 15 hours and 5 minutes of this glorious beginning of summer day! We have been celebrating it by harvesting and getting all of your CSA shares together. I also made a special lunch for the guys with lots of the veggies you will be seeing in your shares this week, I will share some of the recipes and ideas below. Speaking of which, lets get on to the good stuff!

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CSA Week 6 (B)

1 bag microgreens

1 bag Brassica Mix

1 bunch Purplette Onions

1 bunch Collards or Kale

1 bunch Dill

1 bunch Radish or Turnips

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Bean Share: Dapple Grey

The name, Dapple Grey, most likely comes from the mottled grey coat of a cowboy's horse. A filling legume that turns pale tan and creamy when cooked, Dapple Grey heirlooms are ideal for soups.

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Grain Share:

Half Shares: Buckwheat Flour

Full Shares: Brown Rice

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Recipes and Cooking Tips!

Purplette Onions: We are way excited about these little onion cuties! The small bulbs are really nice roasted in the oven, or you can chop them in thin slices on top of a salad. I used them to make a tasty dill pesto, which you can see the recipe for below. These have such an amazing flavor, and they're just so darn cute! Be sure to use up the green tops like green onions too.

Sharon's Dill Pesto I made this up yesterday and mixed it into bowls of bean and greens soup. Try making up a pot of Dapple Grey Beans, Brown Rice and collard/kale greens soup, and put a dollop of this tasty Dill Pesto, and you will have yourself a lovely CSA-full meal!

1 bunch Dill, chopped coarsely stalks and all
2-3 Purplette Onions, chopped coarsely greens and bulbs
1/3 c Almonds, soaked overnight and skins peeled off (or substitue sunflower seeds)
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil/Sunflower Oil/Whatever Oil you have that isn't too strong in flavor
1-2 Tbsp Lime Juice, more if you like
1 tsp Salt, to taste

Put everything in a food processor or blender and blend until as coarse or smooth as you like, add any additional ingredients to taste, you could also throw in some kale/collards/radish greens/turnip greens into the mix and I bet it would be tasty too!

Sharon's Daily Beans, Grains, and Greens Soup I make a variation of this at least a couple of times a week for farm lunches. Once you get in a rythym of this it is easy to adapt using whatever ingredients you have on hand, you can use this as a guide and change up any part of it to suit your liking. For example, sometimes if I didn't think ahead to start the dry beans soon enough, I just substitute some kind of lentil for the dry beans since they cook up nice and quick. I usually serve this with an easy quick bread (scone, cornbread, toast) and a dollop of a pesto or chutney for extra flavor and fanciness : )

2 c cooked beans or dry lentils(use your grain share beans!, I usually have a crock pot of dry beans cooked ahead so it is easy to make this quickly)
1-2 c uncooked whole grain- rice, quinoa, amaranth, rye berries, pearled barley, etc
1-2 onions chopped coarsely
1-2 c chopped sturdy veggies (carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, lovage stalks, beets, etc)
1/3 c ghee or cooking oil of choice
1-5 cloves garlic minced
1-6 tsp Spices ( try Coriander, Cumin, Fennel, Turmeric or Oregano, Bay, Thyme, Dill, Marjoram)
1 bunch or 1/3-1 lb of Sturdy Greens (Kale, Chard, Collards, Turnip Greens, Radish Greens, Beet Greens, Lovage Leaves, Brassica Mix, etc)
Salt to taste
Lime Juice, Lemon Juice, Vinegar to taste if desired

I usually start by adding the spices to the ghee/oil and sauteeing them a bit in your soup pot to help release the flavors, then I add the onion and chopped sturdy veggies to soften them. I then add the dry, uncooked grains and sautee them for a bit with the spices and veggies, maybe 1-2 minutes. Add the cooked beans or dry lentils, then cover everything with water so that it completely covers everything. I usually add water throughout the cooking process as it is needed, don't let anything stick to the bottom of your pot. Let simmer for as long as it takes to cook the grains (and lentils) completely, between 20 min- 1 hour. Then add the hearty greens and salt and/or vinegar/lime/lemon to taste to the pot and let them cook lightly for a couple of minutes. Then serve! I sometimes add a spoonful of pesto to each bowl to taste, and serve with Dill Scones (see below recipe : )

Sharon's Easy Dill Scones I make some variation of these fairly often, they are quick to make and tasty!

2 c flour (try using a mix of flours from your grain share, but at least 1 c of wheat flour)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 c plain yogurt or kefir or milk, more or less to get right consistency

1/2 c grated cheese (optional but tasty!)

Handful fresh dill, chopped finely, including stems

Handful fresh purplette onion greens, chopped finely

Mix together the dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls, then combine together until just mixed. Drop spoonfuls on a baking sheet and bake at 350 deg until the tops and bottoms start to brown, around 12-15 minutes. Serve hot!

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Ok, that's it for this week! I hope you enjoy your veggies this week and let me know if you have any questions.

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