Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Week 7 Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA

Week 7 Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA


Well it is week 7 and this is the moment I have been waiting for - the first tomatoes of the season!  They are big beautiful red & orange slicing tomatoes.  Oddly, we had 3 shareholders not pick up their share without a heads up... but lucky for me a got a few extra tomatoes & string beans out of it.  The rest of the box contained:

2 lemon cucumbers – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics
1 head green cabbage – certified organic – Green Valley Organics
4 green zucchini – certified organic – Bellview and Rolling Ridge Organics
1 bag red and yellow slicing tomatoes – certified organic – Green Valley Organics
1 bag pickling cucumbers – certified organic – Meadow Brook Organics
1 bag mini-white cucumbers – transitional – Liberty Branch Farm

I also  bought some mint to make some mint iced tea and this drink a friend posted a link to.

It was a long hot day at the CSA pick up site.  I enjoyed the moments I had in the big walk-in fridge.  Today in Philly we hit 102 degrees Fahrenheit.  The whole day I was dreading schlepping all my stuff home from the market.  By time I got home I was schvitzing so bad I was dripping.  It doesn't help matters that I am having air conditioning issues the last couple days.
Today's Yiddish lesson is a two-fer - SCHLEPPING & SCHVITZING.  Schlepping is to lug or carry something, usually heavy, awkward, and/or laborious.  Schvitzing is sweating.  You can also go for a schvitz in a steam room.
Tomorrow I'll be putting up more pickles!  I've got lots and lots of pickles pickling.  In the couple weeks I'll have reports on all the different pickles I am making.  I am experiment with lots of different herbs, spices, and peppers.  Good thing I found those canning jars on sale this holiday weekend when I was shopping with my mom.  I am going to fill them up fast and may need more soon.

Ess Eppis!

Week 6 Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA

Week 6 Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA

Sorry for slacking... here is last week CSA goodies:

1 bag red-gold potatoes – certified organic – Millwood Springs Organics – 2 lbs
2 green slicing cucumbers – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics
1 bunch cippolini onions – transitional – Liberty Branch Farm
1 bunch Detroit red beets – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
2 yellow straight-neck squash – certified organic – Goshen View Organics
1 bunch spring onions – certified organic – Healthy Harvest
2 hearts Romaine lettuce – certified organic – Riverview Organics

June 26th, Hillside Organics hosted the first of many picnics for the CSA share holders.  It's a really great time to head out to the country, meet the farmers & their families, see where our food is coming from, & eat LOTS of great food.  The picnics are always a potluck.  All the CSA members bring something homemade and yummy.  You could easily tell that delivery everyone received the week of the picnic contained generous amounts of potatoes & kale.

I took a family friend's kid with me to the farm.  We had a sleep over the night before and made a batch of homemade granola bars with raisins, cashews, & almonds for the picnic.  The recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Thick Chewy Granola Bars.

Picnic Granola Bars

2 cups rolled oats - not instant - 1/3 cup reserved.
1/2 cup raw or turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon - I am not a big cinnamon person, if you prefer more go for it.
15 ounces mixed dried fruit & nuts - rough chop nuts and larger dried fruit like apricots or dates
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup raw honey - locally produced from the farmer's market
2 tablespoons maple syrup - I have a bottle of locally made organic labeled "dark amber grade A".
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Using parchment paper, line an 8x8 cake pan so it goes across the bottom and up on only 2 sides - leaving two sides uncovered.  Leave the ends of the paper longer than the edge of the pan so you can use it to lift the finished granola out.  Give the pan and the paper a quick spray of non-stick baking spray.
Put the reserved 1/3 cup of rolled oats into a food processor and process till flour-like, approximately 1 minute.  Add to the remaining oats in a large mixing bowl.  Add  sugar, salt, cinnamon, and fruit & nuts to mixing bowl.
Melt butter & raw honey slowly over low heat - do not let it bubble.  Remove from heat and add maple syrup, vanilla, & water.  Whisk together and then pour over oat mixture.  Stir together well so that all the oats and other dry ingredients are are coated with the butter/honey mixture.
Pour mixture into the prepared pan.  Using another piece of parchment paper or wax paper on top of the granola, press down firmly.  Press it down evenly across the whole pan and be sure to make sure it is nice and compacted down.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges brown.  Let it cool in the pan for one hour, then use the parchment paper to lift the granola bar onto a wire rack to continue to cool for at least 5-6 hours before cutting.

Because these granola bars do not use any corn syrup (I just couldn't bring myself to add something so overly processed like corn syrup into something homemade & healthy), they will be more crumbly than bars made with it.  I originally made these with "regular" honey, but the raw honey seems to help the bars stick together and they are less crumbly - although both ways tasted great so if you don't have raw honey on hand, don't let that stop you from making these.  They make a great nosh to keep in the house.
Yiddish lesson #2, NOSH.  A nosh is a snack or something to nibble on, but not a full meal.  If someone says they are noshy, it means they are hungry but just for a little (or bissell) of food.

Ess Eppis!