Hi everyone,
We have some sad news to share. Alex, the owner of Belli’s, is planning to move out of the state later this month so the upcoming future for Belli’s is up in the air at the moment. Belli’s is still open and hasn’t announced an exact closing date yet while they seek potential new ownership (so stop by while you still can). However, since they will be closed this Sunday, and Lisa and I will be out of town the following pick-up Sunday (more on that in the future), we will plan to deliver shares for the remainder of the season. If there is any issues with this, just send us a message at csaclub@gardmo.com or (630)391-1245.
Lots of tasty stuff in the shares this week. It’s always interesting how the summer is bookended with the same veggies. Similar to the spring, we’ll start to see more leafy greens, radishes, turnips and root vegetables. Keep in mind that the root vegetables, squashes, apples will last for quite a while so don’t be afraid to stash away some produce as we come up towards the end of the season.
Enjoy the veggies!
-Ben
Beets from your last share.
Beets pickled and canned with baking spices, Tinyshop vinegar, and Michigan beet sugar.
Again, I am probably misnaming something. Green Goddess is a classic dressing dating back to the 1920’s. It’s typically made with parsley and tarragon, but we opt to use a larger mix of herbs from Smit’s Farm in Chicago Heights. With a base of Phoenix Bean Soft Tofu, this vegan dressing is great for heartier greens, cabbage or just as a dip for veggies.
Honeygold was developed at the University of Minnesota, and is a descendent of Golden Delicious bred for cold hardiness. It’s a firm with golden-green skin and is sweet with floral notes, like honey or rose.
In comparison, the Empires have more of the classic brown apple notes (like apple cider or the soda Manzanita Sol) also with more tartness. Empire is cross between Red Delicious and McIntosh, bred at Cornell University in upstate New York.
We love winter squashes for eating, but also because they make great fall décor. Find a nice place in your dining room, kitchen, or living room to gradually build up winter squashes through the end of the season. Then when you have a hankering for some squash (or because there’s nothing else in the fridge) go grab a squash from your beautiful centerpiece. Just check the squashes occasionally to make sure no soft spots are developing, and if they aren’t, they’ll keep for months (just use them right away if they are).
We went ahead and cut these into sticks similar in shape to baby carrots. This way they are ready for easy snacking or are a simple cut away from diced. 70% of all carrots sold in the US are baby carrots. That fact was one the inspirations for Gard Mo; we think that it demonstrates the convivence problem that makes eating local food difficult for most people. We hope to solve that problem.
Another doubling of sweet potato varieties. Last time, Lisa and I simply baked (375F for ~1hr) one of the each of the sweet potatoes to taste against each other. Unfortunatly, we can really only ever do this after sending out the newsletter and via research the descriptions of the varieties online are uninspiring so you all will have to just taste them to determine the differences yourselves.
The Bayou Belles are the purplish-red, ones and the Beauregards are the brick-orange ones.
What corn is to summer, brussels sprouts are to fall. Simply halved and roasted, these are a treat.
A little bit of a surprise this late in the season, and you can tell these are late season. A little larger and tougher, we would definitely slicing before cooking to compensate.
An interesting consequence of the way we have CSA Club setup is that this is the first time you all (B group) have received bell peppers while A group got them three shares in a row.
On the flip side of the bell peppers going to A group, they haven’t received any shallots, while this is the third time B group has. I’d make that trade.
These are my favorite. Raw they have a slight crunch and a funky flavor between a radish and horseradish (mild though). When cooked, the texture softens to creamy adjacent and the flavor mellows out. Try braising whole for the veggie equivalent of a pot roast.
Swiss chard always reminds me of spinach. There’s a fun mix of different colored chard here, some a deep red-orange color. Its has a mild, earthy flavor, with a slightly more hardy bite than lettuces. Give a quick chop and use for salads or sauté, just as you would spinach.
I often worry about the name I attach to things. This is by no means an authentic curry paste. Ginger, Bird’s Eye Chiles, and Cilantro (all from Nichols Farm), is ground with carrot tops and celery leaves from CSA Club shares. Use to make a curry, as a marinade for chicken, or as a spread on a roasted veggie sandwich.
Another round of stock from CSA Club scraps. Use for soup, sauce, braises, rice pilaf or anywhere stock or water is called for.
Cahokia Rice, McLure,IL
Bet you didn’t know rice grows in Illinois. Grown in southern Illinois, not only is the rice sustainable, it’s also a high protein rice. But most importantly, its delicious.
