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Planning For Gray

Imagine yourself sitting inside this winter, watching the rain drops race one another down the windowpane. The constant drizzle and gray days have come and you now wonder if you’ll remember what the sun looks like or if you’ll ever see it again. The thought of roasting another root vegetable is too much to bare. You dream of drinking cold lemonade on bright green grass, where a sudden shock of cold spray from the sprinkler refreshes and quenches under the heat of the sun. For some reason, the drizzly rain of our winter is nothing like the welcome sprinkler in the summer.

I want you to really think about your future self, sluggishly meandering through those long gray months, when you long for a taste of summer – one of the tastes that we presently have in abundance.

The saying is true: “Live in the moment.” Eat raspberries right off the vine. Bite into a peach so juicy you are forced to eat it over the sink. Pluck peas off the vine. Eat a tomato that has fully ripened on the plant with just a whisper of salt. These are the summer moments you will cling to when the sun fades. Preserve these moments. Soak up as much of our northwest sun as you possibly can. Eat a sweet, juicy apricot now and freeze the rest in order to attain a taste of summer in the winter. Stock up on this bounty, then can it, jam it, pickle it, or freeze it. Your future self will thank you.

Recently, I spotted a 20-pound box of apricots. I had to have it. My husband, ever the realist, pointed out that this is a very busy week and we are leaving on vacation next week. Would I have the time to deal with 20 pounds of fruit? Valid question. But these are apricots – fresh, sweet, local apricots. They might not be around by the time we return from our week-long trip. In my mind there was no option.

I immediately set out to work and a mere two days, pounds of jam, bags of frozen fruit, and three tarts later, I paraded an empty box in front of him.

With a freezer full of rhubarb, strawberries, apricots, and jam I anticipate the cold, gray mornings! I’ll be there, hot coffee in hand, with a slice of butter wheat toast slathered with apricot jam.

by Ashley Rodriguez

Chef, food blogger, and full-time mom. Read more of her writings at www.notwithoutsalt.com

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Mango & Avocado Salad

Ingredients

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and cut into 3/4″ spears

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and also cut into 3/4″ spears

3 or 4 big handfuls of leaf lettuce

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon lime zest

2 tablespoons lime juice

4 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons yogurt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2  teaspoon ground cayenne

1 or 2 turns of pepper

Directions

Place the greens in a serving bowl.

Whisk together the shallot, lime juice and zest, and olive oil.

Once the dressing is emulsified, whisk in the yogurt, cayenne, and salt.

Pour half the dressing over the greens and mix with your hands.

Arrange the mango and avocado in an alternating circle on top, and drizzle with the remaining dressing.

Finish with a turn or two of pepper and serve.

Serve up, and enjoy!

*Recipe taken from Gojee.com

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Lazy Summer Lasagna

Ingredients

  • Fresh pasta sheets, cut into eight 5” squares (note: you can use store-bought lasagna, cooked, cooled slightly, and cut into 5” lengths)
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 small zucchini, sliced thin
  • 1 small yellow squash (or more zucchini), sliced thin
  • 2 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta
  • 3 tablespoons chopped, summer savory (or oregano)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped, basil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tomato, sliced thin

Directions

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta sheets, two at the time (to prevent sticking), 3-5 minutes until al dente. Transfer, with tongs, to a plate.
  • In a sauté pan, add oil over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic and onions, and cook 5-7 minutes until golden brown, stirring frequently to prevent them from burning. Transfer garlic and onion to a medium bowl, and set aside. In the same sauté pan, add zucchini and summer squash, and cook 6-8 minutes, stirring, until translucent.
  • Add ricotta, summer savory, basil, salt and pepper to the bowl with garlic and onion. Stir well and season to taste.
  • To assemble, place one pasta sheet on a plate. Spread with ricotta-herb mixture. Top with zucchini, summer squash and tomato slices. Finish with an additional pasta sheet, if desired. Season to taste with additional herbs, salt and pepper. Repeat to make a total of four lasagnas.


From www.fresh365online.com

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Fresh This Week Tips – July 26, 2011

KIWIS

STORE: Place unripe kiwis in a paper bag with an apple, pear or banana at room temperature for a few days. These fruits give off ethylene gas, which helps accelerate ripening.

USE: Packed with more vitamin C than an equivalent amount of orange, the bright green flesh of the kiwifruit speckled with tiny black seeds adds a tropical flair to any fruit salad. Of course, kiwis are also delicious eaten straight out of their skin.

PREP: Wash the kiwi and dry lightly with a paper towel. Cut the kiwi in half so that you have two oval kiwi halves. Hold one kiwi half in your hand and slip the tip of a metal serving spoon just under the kiwi skin. Slide the spoon along the curve of the kiwi to separate the kiwi fruit from the skin. Slice the kiwi half into 1/4-inch slices.

PEACHES

STORE: Even firm, unripe peaches are delicate, so handle them carefully to avoid bruising. Ripen hard fruits at room temperature, stem-side down, until the flesh feels soft when pressed and they begin to emit a subtle fragrance. Refrigerate peaches only after they’ve ripened, which can prolong freshness for up to 5 days.

USE: Try grilling or roasting peaches for an excellent accompaniment to pork, fish, and chicken.

PREP: If baking, look for freestone peaches, whose pits are easier to remove. To slice, cut through to the pit all the way around the seam, twisting each half to dislodge the stone. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice can prevent sliced fruit from browning. To remove the fuzzy skins before baking, submerge whole fruits in boiling water for 10 seconds, then slip off the skins.

ZUCCHINI:

STORE: Refrigerate, unwashed, in a plastic bag for up to 5 days.

USE: A component of ratatouille, zucchini is also good grilled, roasted, steamed, pan-fried, or raw. It also adds a boost to sweet breads and muffins.

PREP: Wash zucchini by gently rubbing them under cool water. Slice off both ends of the zucchini. Cut them into rounds, spears or half moons.

Start your morning off right with this interesting recipe, courtesy of Gojee.com, for Zucchini Pancakes.

RECIPE: ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed

PROCEDURE:

  • Shred the zucchini and onion on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor with the shredding disk. Place the shredded vegetables in a colander in the sink and sprinkle with the salt. Toss to combine. Let drain for 30 minutes, then pick up by the handful and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Place on a kitchen towel or double layer of paper towels.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, garlic, cheese, herbs, lemon zest, and pepper. Beat well with a fork. Add the drained zucchini mixture and mix together. Sprinkle the flour and baking powder on top and mix with a fork just until well combined.
  • Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a wide, heavy pan. When the oil is hot, drop the batter into the pan by heaping tablespoonful. Cook for about three minutes on the first side, until nicely browned. Flip and cook for about two minutes more. Place the cooked pancakes on a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with the remaining oil and batter. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, sour cream, tzatziki or applesauce.

Enjoy!

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Bitter, Short, and Ugly

No, the title has nothing to do with my personal description—ummm, I’m not bitter :). It has to do with some of the challenges we faced last week in our effort to bring you the freshest quality organic produce available.

Our goal at Klesick Family Farm is to deliver a box of produce that will “Wow!” our customers and leave them with the feeling that we have served them the way we ourselves would want to be served. Tristan working the crops in his field, Marty coordinating with our suppliers and planning the produce for the week, Mike and Brenda processing hundreds of customer orders, our warehouse crew quickly hand packing a multitude of boxes, and our delivery guys scurrying throughout our region to place a box of good at your doorstep, all have one goal—to serve our customers with perfection.

Now, of course, this perfection of service sometimes gets a bit of interference from Mother Nature and human fingers. Last week, for example, the baby leaf lettuce we planned on using from our farm was bitter so we had to change to regular lettuce. We ended up short on the russet potatoes because we were accidentally sent a few cases of a different type of potato. We also had to cancel many orders for fresh raspberries because, although scrumptious, they arrived partially juiced.

These last minute hiccups usually require us to adjust your order or change what we had planned for your box of produce. We feel badly when these things happen because we know at times they may inconvenience you. But because we will never intentionally send you a wrong or bad product, sometimes we do end up having to make changes in order to serve you well. If we end up having to change an item(s) in your box from what we had originally planned, please know that you are always receiving the same value.

You are why we are in business and to serve you well is our goal. We appreciate your understanding when changes happen as we work to bring you the freshest quality organic produce available.

Wishing you all the best,

Jim Coleman

Office Manager

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Fresh This Week Tips – July 19, 2011

FENNEL:

STORE: Store fresh fennel in the refrigerator crisper, where it should keep fresh for about four days. However, it is best to consume fennel soon after purchase since as it ages, it tends to gradually lose its flavor.

USE: The stalks of the fennel can be used for soups, stocks and stews, while the leaves can be used as an herb seasoning. Try using Fennel to make an antipasto salad, with fish, onion soup or add it to a vegetable side like green beans for some extra flavor.

PREP: The three different parts of fennel—the base, stalks and leaves—can all be used in cooking. Cut the stalks away from the bulb at the place where they meet. If you are not going to be using the intact bulb in a recipe, then first cut it in half, remove the base, and then rinse it with water before proceeding to cut it further. The best way to slice it is to do so vertically through the bulb.

RAINBOW CHARD:

STORE: Do not wash rainbow chard before storing it because exposure to water can encourage spoilage. Place chard in a plastic storage bag and wrap the bag tightly around it, squeezing out as much of the air from the bag as possible. Place in refrigerator where it will keep fresh for up to 5 days. If you have large batches of chard, you can also blanch the leaves and then freeze them.

USE: Great in salads, chard can also be cooked. If you’re looking to cook your chard, one of the best ways to bring out the sweetest flavors is by boiling it for at least 3 minutes, but be sure to discard the water once it is fully cooked. This ingredient makes a great addition to many Italian dishes or breakfast frittatas.

PREP: Rinse chard under cold running water. Remove any area of the leaves that may be brown, slimy, or have holes. Stack the leaves and slice into 1-inch slices until you reach the stems. Cut stems into 1/2-inch slices discarding the bottom 1 inch portion.

CELERY:

STORE: To store celery, place it in a sealed container or wrap it in a plastic bag or damp cloth and store it in the refrigerator. If you are storing cut or peeled celery, ensure that it is dry and free from water residue, as this can drain some of its nutrients.

USE: There are many great ways to use celery both as a delicious snack and in a meal. Consider adding chopped celery to your favorite tuna fish or chicken salad recipe or include celery leaves in a salad. Try braising chopped celery, radicchio and onions and serve topped with walnuts and your favorite soft cheese.

PREP: To clean celery cut off the base and leaves, then wash the leaves and stalks under running water. Cut the stalks into pieces of desired length. If the outside of the celery stalk has fibrous strings, remove them by making a thin cut into one end of the stalk and peeling away the fibers.

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Feathered Friends & Farming

As I sit to write this newsletter, I have to stop and marvel at a pair of hummingbirds. I wonder at how fast those wings beat to stay stationary in one place (up to 80 times per second with the smallest species). Talk about amazing creatures! This year we have had an explosion of feathered friends. Multiple species are now calling this place home. The other day, when I was mowing some hay, I had a bald eagle land not more than 15 feet from me. Shoot, around here, those birds are about as domesticated as my chickens. I think my favorite neighborly bird is the American gold finch—what a striking color contrast to the green backdrop of the apple trees.

Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as I set up my irrigation it rains and, boy, did it ever! I will have to try that trick more often. The rain is both a blessing and curse. For many of my friends, it means they are unable to make hay and they have hundreds of acres to put up. We have been fortunate this year and  been able to get our most “pressing” hay fields cut, tedded, raked and baled between rain storms. If you need hay this year, talk with your farmer and let them know you are interested, it looks like it is going to be a tight year.

This week we are finally harvesting lettuce and spinach. With this cold season, things are not coming (growing) quickly, but now we get to harvest. YEAH!  On the flip side, the weeds are loving life and living large, so this week I am bringing a big crew to weed the carrots, basil and beets. The beautiful thing about the rain is that it makes weeding a ton easier. When the ground is dry, it is almost impossible to pull the weeds and get their roots, but with this rain the roots will come easier.  Conversely, so will the roots of the carrots and basil, so the crew will have to be slow and steady. And the last blessing about weeding and the rain is that the dirt clods will be easier on our knees, much appreciated after a few hours of crawling around.

Farming is so much about managing the weather you get. Hopefully we will get some sunshine to go with this moisture and the crops will really start to come (grow).

I hope you have our farm day on your calendar. For this year’s event (August 20th) we are adding music. I have several friends coming to play and if you have a fiddle, violin, guitar, banjo or djembe, bring it along and maybe you can getting in on the jamming. As always, our farm day is a blast—part old fashioned picnic, part educational and part historical.

Farming really slow food this year!

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Fresh This Week Tips, July 12, 2011

GREEN BELL PEPPERS:

STORE: Proper storage can extend their useful life, preserve their nutritional value and help retain their flavor. Store green bell peppers for short-term use by refrigerating them in the produce drawer of your refrigerator. With proper refrigeration, a healthy bell pepper should last from three to five days in the refrigerator.

USE: Whether you eat them raw, roasted, or cooked, green peppers add a flavorful punch to any dish. Enjoy crunchy strips of raw bell peppers in your next vegetable platter, add soft pieces of roasted pepper to salads or sandwiches, or add them to stir-fries, soups and stews. Cooking green peppers in any form will be sure to bring out their sweetness.

PREP: When it comes to preparing bell peppers, first wash and dry them. Then, remove the stem by cutting around it in a circle. This gets rid of most of the seeds. When you look inside, you’ll see the white “ribs”; slice down the ribs, so that you have three or four pieces of pepper.

YELLOW SUMMER SQUASH:

STORE: It can be kept in the fridge for up to one week. When you’re ready to use it, wash the squash, then slice both ends off.

USE: Whether creating a delicious salad, grilling vegetables, or sautéing them for an extra touch, summer squash is a beautiful, simple, and easy addition to any summer dish.

PREP: To prepare squash, start by washing it off and drying it. Then, when you’re ready to use it, slice both ends off and cut it into the size pieces you need for whatever dish you are preparing.

BEETS:

STORE: Place beets unwashed in a cool place, like the refrigerator crisper, in a plastic bag where they will keep for two to four weeks. To increase storage life, remove the greens, but be sure to leave at least an inch of the stem. Use gloves to prevent staining if that’s a concern.

USE: Beets make a great addition to sweeter summertime dishes. Whether you make them in a glaze, roast them for a refreshing salad, slow cook with a delicious roast, or sauté them with greens, beets add a beautiful color and flavor to almost any meal.

PREP: Wash the beets whole, and trim to one inch from the stem to minimize bleeding before placing on a baking sheet. After cooking, trim off about 1/4 inch of the beet roots. Then rub off the skins, which should slip off easily after cooking.

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Childhood Memories

There is little that is more satisfying than when you come across a taste from your childhood. A bite of apricot pie transports me to the kitchen of my childhood home. In that memory, I stand tugging at my mom’s apron strings waiting for her to give me a job, as I so desperately wanted to be a part of the pie-making process. A steaming bowl of rice pudding, or as we called it “milk rice,” warms my body and my soul. We would eat it for dinner – it was rice, after all – simmered in milk, a little sugar, and vanilla extract. Even macaroni and cheese from the blue box carries with it some sort of sentimentality, as it was one of the first things I learned how to “cook.” My brother liked to add hot dogs to his. I liked mine straight up.

My brother also liked creamed corn. I think he and I were the only ones in the family who did. It slid out of the can into a pot to be gently warmed on the stove. When it hit your plate it slowly invaded everything around it, so nearly every bite, be it steak or steamed broccoli, also carried with it a taste of creamed corn. It was oddly sweet and smooth, but with enough corn texture to keep you interested and to subtly remind you that you are, indeed, eating a vegetable.

I think of these taste memories often as I prepare food for my three children. What food will cause them to stumble back into these days of LEGOs and grass stains? Will they fondly remember our family meals, hectic as they are in these young years, and carry on the tradition of home cooking with their own families?
One thing I know for sure, they will have creamed corn, although I doubt they will ever know that it also comes in canned form. Homemade creamed corn uses the sweetness gleaned from the sun to improve upon the flavor instead of white sugar. My version is also flecked with little green strands of fresh basil, providing a soft anise bite and a flavor that is unequivocally “summer.” Someday I hope my children will resist pulling out those little green strands, but as for the corn, they always go for seconds.

by Ashley Rodriguez

Chef, food blogger, and full-time mom. Read more of her writings at www.notwithoutsalt.com

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Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Recently, I gave a talk on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Sometimes GMOs are referred to as Genetically Engineered (GE) foods or more boldly labeled as Frankenfoods. GMOs have been on the market since 1996. Remember the famous Starlink corn that found its way into corn chips and caused a huge uproar? Why is the whole GMO debate so intense? After all, GMOs help farmers grow more food (supposedly), farm more acreage (definitely), and use less labor (absolutely true).  Ironically, not a single GMO has been developed to increase nutritional content in crops being grown.

GMOs are developed by chemical companies who profit from selling the seeds that are Genetically Modified and also the chemical they are resistant to. There are two primary types of GMOs on the market: those that are resistant to herbicides (the most popular herbicide is Round Up or Glyphosphate) and those that actually have a pesticide placed in the plant (Bt or bacillus theringensis is pretty common). And, of course, there is the combination of both.

In America we spend approximately 15% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care. Americans don’t live as long as other “developed” nations like Japan, England and Switzerland who spend upwards of 8% of their GDP on health care. We have a higher infant mortality rate as well. And if you factor in that about 30% of our population is obese, one could conclude that Americans spend a lot of money on health and don’t get very good results!

So what is the rub? I think America’s health problems are directly associated with its food and farm policies.  Presently, I believe Americans are a part of a large experiment. The USDA wrongly assumes that just because GMO corn or soybeans look like non-GMO corn and soybeans everything is okay! Of course, the chemical companies developing these products control the testing and the reporting. And to no one’s surprise, all is well and a few of us radical organic environmental types are out to lunch.

There is no way on earth that any corn or soybean is ever going to naturally become a pesticide or herbicide host. It is against the laws of nature! Sure some seeds may be able to tolerate an herbicide application, but there is no way that an application of an herbicide transfers into the seed and becomes a part of its DNA. That only happens in a laboratory. Hence, the name Frankenfoods. Sadly, GMOs are in the mainstream food supply and Americans are now a part of the experiment that will take a few generations to tabulate the results.  However, I believe we are beginning to see the results in our nation’s health now.

The only solution to stop this foolishness and this human experiment is labeling. Every person should have the right to full and honest disclosure about how their food is grown. Has it been irradiated (I’ll save this topic for another newsletter) or has it been corrupted by a GMO? If 5% of Americans, about 15 million consumers, would stop buying foods that have GMO ingredients in them, these multinational companies would take notice and respond to the consumers. Why? For the simple reason that these companies are driven by profits, and diminishing sales speak loudly!

Thankfully, vegetables and fruits are easier than processed boxed foods, since most of the GMOs have been developed for corn, soy, cotton and canola. Read your labels carefully and only buy those foods that are organic or non-GMO certified.