Week 22 (B) BUG Farms CSA Newsletter
Halloweenish and Samhainesque Greetings to all of you!
Well, were on the home stretch here with the BUG Farms deliveries, and the weather is turning wintersome these days. We had a lovely time planting our first BUG Farms garlic crop last friday on a lovely sunny day. We bought 5 lbs of seed stock garlic from your farmer friend Dave Baldwin who farms down in Sandy. He gave us the variety Incheillium Red, which is the longest storing hardneck variety out there. We are starting small because seed is quite expensive, we spent close to $100 for the seed stock. Garlic is a long term crop that you continually build up year after year by selecting your fattest cloves to save for seed each season. Garlic takes 9 months from planting to maturity(like a baby!) so we will be sharing with you the first of our garlic next July. Some good things to look forward to : )
As for this week, we have the last of our hot peppers and pepperoncini's to pass out to you all. There will be radishes for everyone, I will include an adapted recipe based on what chef Ethan Lappe of Caffe Niche had us try last week when we delivered some of our radishes to them. He had them sliced paper thin on a lightly toasted piece of french style bread served with warm butter and sprinkled with Hawaiian black salt. It was the tastiest radish dish I've ever had! Our beet bunches are a bit smaller this week, the beds are starting to get thinned out, and the fall crop is still filling out.
Next week, November 2, will be the LAST CSA DELIVERY for the season. We will be delivering to everyone, to BOTH A and B half shares. We will (hopefully) go out with a bang divvying all of the long storage crops as well as the root veggies and greens. Park City deliveries are included, you will still get your delivery on Friday November 3 : ) I will also try to compile a season summary in next week's email, so stay tuned for that too!
Now here's your share this week:
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Week 22 (B) Share
1 bag Microgreens
1 bunch Beets
1 bunch Swiss Chard
1 bag Baby Red Russian Kale (tender enough for a salad)
1 bunch Radishes (Purple Plum, Pink Beauty, or French Breakfast)
Pepers (Serrano, Jalapeno, Anaheim, or Pepperoncini
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Caffe Niche-esque Radish Toasty Heaven (adapted from a what Ethan Lappe made at Caffe Niche for me last week!)
For 4 slices of toast
- 1-2 medium radishes, sliced paper thin
- 1 Tbsp butter, melted
- 4 slices of good french-style bread, something crusty but soft with a good crumb, toasted lightly
- 1/2 tsp Hawaiian Black Salt, or another fancy salt
Sharon's Tasty Baby Kale Salad (I made this tonight for dinner!)
Combine in Salad Bowl:- 1 Bag Baby Kale
- 1 handful microgreens
- 1 small beet, grated raw
- Sunflower seeds or other nuts, toasted
- 2 oz crumbled Feta(Drake Farms has a tasty goat feta that I used)
Shake together in mason jar for dressing:
- 1-2 Tbsp good Olive Oil
- 1-2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp granulated kelp
- 1 tsp flax oil
- 1 tsp Bragg's Organic Sprinkle Herb mix
- Salt to taste
This luxurious pizza is topped with tender caramelized onions spread over a creamy mixture of ricotta, Parmesan cheese and chopped Swiss chard
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 pounds onions, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 pound chard, stemmed, leaves washed
1 14-inch pizza crust (1/2 batch pizza dough)
3/4 cup ricotta (6 ounces)
2 ounces Parmesan, grated (1/2 cup, tightly packed)
1 egg yolk
1. Thirty minutes before baking the pizza, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet. Add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until tender and just beginning to color, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme, garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook another 10 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are golden brown and very sweet and soft. Remove from the heat.
2. While the onions are cooking, stem and wash the chard leaves, and bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the chard. Blanch for one to two minutes, just until the leaves are tender, and transfer to the ice water. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Alternatively, steam the chard for two to three minutes until wilted, and rinse with cold water. Chop the chard medium-fine.
3. Roll out the dough, oil a 14-inch pizza pan and dust with cornmeal or semolina. Place the dough on the pan.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, egg yolk, Parmesan and chard. Spread over the pizza dough in an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border around the rim. Spread the onions over the ricotta mixture.
5. Place in the hot oven, and bake 10 to 15 minutes until the crust and bits of the onion are nicely browned. Remove from the heat, and serve hot or warm.
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Well, until next (and last!) week,
Sharon
