2015 Summer Harvest CSA Share Week #8

Fresh from our awesome Chefs!  Tips and recipes for your CSA share.

Did you know that in addition to our farm share CSA boxes, Penn’s Corner delivers produce, eggs, beef and pork to restaurants in Pittsburgh?  We work with many talented chefs and want to share their wisdom, tricks, and recipes with you!

We know it can be daunting to think of ways to use your greens and veggies so last week we packed up our CSA share and met up with chef Justin Lubecki in the Franktuary kitchen.   He generously gave us helpful tips for getting through a CSA box and a few recipes that we’ll be sharing with you this week and next.  Don’t miss the sweet corn ice cream recipe!

Justin’s recommendations for getting through your CSA share:

1. Roast all of the thick vegetables and braise all of the greens.  It’s a relatively quick process (30 minutes) and it prolongs the life of your produce.  Your produce becomes conveniently ready to use and slows the process of going bad.
2. Quite often the ingredients that are in season tend to taste great together so you can be a little fearless when combining your share.  Think:  beets and kohlrabi or kale, carrots, zucchini and onion.
3. Appreciate eating vegetables in season and the particular character of their variety. Treat them all with just oil, salt, pepper, and a little vinegar, in this case lemon, to bring out their natural flavors and not mask them under heavy seasoning.

Roasted beet salad

Justin’s mom instilled the benefits of eating seasonally in him as a child which has carried over to his work preparing food.  She loves beets and so does he!  A refreshing preparation option that’s suited well for a summer evening is to combine warm roasted elements with cool fresh lettuce.  We really think you’ll enjoy this beet salad recipe!

CSA veggies:

• tricolored beets, greens removed, sliced thin
• kohlrabi, sliced slightly thicker than beets
• head lettuce

 

Instructions:

• Keeping beets and kohlrabi separate, toss with a Tbs olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper.
• Roast at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of the cut. They should be cooked with some possible color on the outside but still have a fresh bite in the center.
• After taking out the roasted vegetables toss in a bowl with tsp lemon juice, or squeeze it straight from the lemon!
• Wash and cut lettuce to desired size.
• Top with beets and kohlrabi.
• Add any pickled vegetables you might have, toasted nuts, and soft cheese like goat cheese if you desire.
• Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, another squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper

Sweet Corn Ice Cream and Blueberry Syrup

This picture does not do the ice cream justice!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2c milk
• 1c heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 2-3 ears of corn, shucked and kernels cut away from the cob
• 1/2c sugar
• pinch salt

Instructions:

• Place milk, heavy cream,  and corn kernels in a small pot and bring to a simmer for 10min.
• Remove from heat and strain out kernels.
• Whisk egg yolks and 1/2c sugar together in a bowl.
• Whisk egg mixture gradually into hot mixture until well combined.
• Return the hot mixture to low heat for 1 minute until the custard coats the back of a spoon.
• Strain through a fine sieve.
• Cool custard thoroughly before following manufacturer’s directions with your ice cream machine.

If you don’t have an ice cream machine, this mixture works well as sweet corn nog. Add a splash of corn whiskey!

Blueberry Sauce Instructions:

 

• Heat a handful of blueberries, 1/4c sugar, 1/4c water, and a pinch of salt in a small pan over medium heat.
• Stir occasionally.
• Cook until the blueberries have broken down and you have a nice thick syrup.
• Cool before adding to your ice cream.

If you enjoy fresh local produce (we know you do!), kind and friendly people, thoughtful libations, and delicious food, stop in and say hello to Justin and the team at Franktuary!

Thank you to Justin for sharing his tips and recipes!

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST 

A Route	Z Route
peaches, Dawson’s Orchards	peaches or plums, Kistaco Farm
heirloom tomatoes, Weeping Willow Farm	garlic bulbs, Blue Goose Farm (CNG) ***some  members will receive applesauce in place of the garlic***  Due to the amount of rain we received this season, the garlic does not look as we had hoped.  Please refrigerate and use it quickly.
green tomatoes, Nu Way Farm ***some members will receive tomatillo salsa in place of the green tomatoes***	green tomatoes, Nu Way Farm
green kale, Clarion River Organics (OG)	chard, Blue Goose Farm (CNG)
carrots, River View Farm	green beans, Nu Way Farm
zucchini, Weeping Willow or Blue Goose (CNG)	carmen and hungarian peppers, Weepng Willow Farm
candy onions, Crighton Farm	spaghetti squash, CRO ***some members will receive tomatillo salsa in place of squash***
bibb lettuce, Nu Way Farm	leeks or lettuce, Blue Goose Farm or River View Farm

OG = Certified Organic, CNG = Certified Naturally Grown

Click HERE to check your delivery route

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Peaches

Grower:  Dawson’s Orchards or Kistaco

Store:  Place them on the counter until they reach your desired ripeness.  After they ripen, store them in the refrigerator.

Recipe:  grilled balsamic peaches  how to freeze peaches  grilled pork chops and spicy grilled peaches  peach tea

 

 

Heirloom Tomatoes

Grower:  Weeping Willow Farm 

Store: On the counter top.  Storing tomatoes below 41 degrees can make them mushy.

Recipe:  15 gorgeous heirloom tomato recipes

 

 

Green Tomatoes

Grower:  Nu Way Farm

Store: Avoid putting tomatoes in the refrigerator 

Recipe: fried green tomato grilled cheese  spicy green tomato BLT

 

 

Green Kale

Grower: Clarion River Organics

Store:  how to store leafy greens

Recipe: kale and quinoa salad

 

Carrots

Grower:  River View Farm 

Store: Keep in a plastic bag in your refrigerator.

Recipe: spicy thai kale and carrot salad  asian kale salad with peanut dressing  beet and carrot bake

 

Zucchini

Grower: Weeping Willow or Blue Goose Farm

Store: keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator

Recipe: chicken and tomato stuffed zucchini

 

 

Bibb Lettuce

Growers:  Nu Way Farm

Store: Wash, dry (in a salad spinner), wrap in paper towel or cloth and store in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.

Recipe:  http://addapinch.com/cooking/chicken-fajita-lettuce-wraps-recipe/

 

Methley Plums

Grower:  Kistaco Farm”

Store: 

Recipe: summer fruit crostata 

 

Garlic Bulbs

Grower: Blue Goose Farm

Store: Keep in a cool dry place.  Garlic does best at 60 degrees F.  Due to the significant amount of rain we received this year, the garlic doesn’t look is good as we would like.  Please refrigerate it and use quickly.

Recipe:  how to roast garlic

 

 

Chard 

Grower: Blue Goose Farm

Store: Keep in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

Recipe: garlicky swiss chard and chick peas

 

 

Green Beans

Grower: Nu Way Farm

Store: In a plastic bag in the refrigerator

Recipe: garlic lemon green beans

 

Carmen Peppers  

Grower: Weeping Willow Farm

Store:  In a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Recipe: grilled barbecue vegetables in foil

 

 

Sweet Hungarian Peppers

Grower:  Weeping Willow Farm

Store:  In a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Recipe:  veggie chorizo stuffed peppers  oven roasted sweet peppers

 

Spaghetti Squash

Grower:  Clarion River Organics

Store:  At room temperature.  After cutting, wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator.

Preparation:   how to cook spaghetti squash  

Recipe:  spaghetti squash caprese bake

 

Candy Onions

Grower: Crighton Farm

Store:  In a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

 

 

 

Leeks

Grower: Blue Goose Farm

Store:  Fresh leeks should be stored unwashed and untrimmed in the refrigerator where they will keep fresh for between one and two weeks.  Wrapping them loosely in plastic bag will help them retain moisture.

Recipe:  buttered leeks  braised leeks