CSA shares this week

I’d like to offer our sincere thank you to the members that in the past week have been contacting us with words of praise and expressions of thanks for the CSA experience.  Most weeks we’ll get an email or two from members telling us how participating in the CSA has helped them or benefited their family in some way but this past week the huge number of contacts received and discussions held has been overwhelming. Your feedback encourages us, guides us and inspires us.  We especially enjoy the stories of kids that now eat their vegetables because they’re from their farm.  Kathleen and I believe that if children eat well when they’re little they are far more inclined to return to eating well after they have strayed from good food during the teen years that are almost always filled with junk foods, soda and fast food (yikes!)  We’ve experienced this with our own daughter and now at 23 she’s returning to good food and even asked for our help with planting a large backyard garden this spring; needless to say we are thrilled by her interest. 

Kathleen’s brother Martin and his family are visiting this week, they live in NJ.  His daughter Katie is 9 years old and their son, Matthew is 6.  Katie seems to be quite interested in helping on the farm and was planting cabbage and late season peppers within a few hours of arriving.  Kids and farming have a lot in common.  Farming is all about the future, kids are all about the future.  Both require faith that tomorrow will be a better day and is sure to be filled with wonderful things, exciting experiences and abundance.

On behalf of Kathleen and myself I say “thank you” to you for helping us make our dream of Balanced Harvest Farm & CSA come true.  Your financial support makes Balanced Harvest Farm possible; your words of thanks and encouragement keep us motivated; your commitment to good food makes us proud to grow your food, and our personal interactions with you warm our hearts. 

I’m proud to be your farmer,

Todd

How to care for your produce

Remember to refresh your vegetables as soon as you get them home.  Refreshing is placing them in cool or cold water and allowing them to soak for 15-20 minutes. Tip: If you re-cut the stems of your squash before soaking, you will extend its storage life. (This will also perk up your squash if you’ve left your squash in the car awhile before getting to your kitchen.) After your veggies have been soaked, shake off the excess water and place them in a plastic bag and DO NOT close the bag tightly.  Leaving the bag open a bit allows the vegetables to breathe and the moisture to circulate.  This reduces the chance that they will become slimy.  Refreshing applies to most of your share items EXCEPT the shallots & potatoes.

What to expect in your share this week

Here’s what we anticipate the shares will contain this week although your share may vary slightly:

Baby heirloom Green Mountain or Fingerling potatoes, Chioggia Beets, Lettuce Mix, Squash (yellow, Cocozelle, patty pan), Cucumbers, Shallots, Celery - great flavor use the leaves and stalks. Chop finely and use in cooking (may also be used raw but might be a little tough at this stage).

Note: Your baby potatoes will need to be refrigerated at home because they are fresh not “cured” for storage and will spoil rapidly if left at room temperature. The shallots are partially dry but still should be kept in fridge also.

Reminder: Please return your box each week in exchange for your next share. 

Share Pick-up Arrangements

If you need to designate someone other than yourself to pick up your share, please notify us at least 24 hours in advance of the person’s name who will be receiving your share. 

If you’ll be unavailable to pick up your share at your designated date & time you may pre-arrange to pick up at one of our other locations.  Please notify us 1 week in advance of your desired pick up location. You can contact us by phone at (317) 815-9863 or by email at BalancedHarvest@hotmail.com.

Shares that are not picked up at designated date and time will be donated or composted.

Recipes

Stuffed Squash Boats

1 large squash

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 Tblsp. olive oil

3/4 lb. very lean ground beef or turkey

1 garlic clove, chopped

3/4 cup cooked rice

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

3/4 cup coarsely grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup vegetable broth

Salt & freshly ground pepper

1 cup dry white wine

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut stem and flower end off squash. Cut squash in half lengthwise, Using spoon scoop out and discard seeds. Remove most of the squash flesh leaving an even 1/2 inch of flesh attached to the skin. Chop removed flesh and set aside.

Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan and saute chopped onions and peppers until softened; remove to large mixing bowl. Add ground meat to hot pan and cook until starting to brown. When meat is about half cooked add garlic and reserved chopped squash flesh, and continue to cook until meat is well browned, breaking it into small pieces. Remove mixture to a large bowl.

Add cooked rice, chopped basil, parmesan cheese, and vegetable broth to meat and vegetable mixture, and gently combine. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Choose a baking dish just large enough to hold the squash. Stuff squash with meat/rice mixture, mounding it up, until all stuffing is used.

Put squash halves into baking dish close together so they hold each other stuffing-side up. Carefully pour wine around base of squash. Bake until squash is tender-crisp, and filling is hot and slightly browned, about 45 mins. Serve hot.

Squash Cake

4 eggs

¾  c oil

2 c sugar

3 tsp vanilla

3 c flour

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

2 c shredded zucchini

1 (8oz) can crushed pineapple

1 c chopped walnuts

1 c raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat eggs, oil sugar and vanilla until thick. Beat in remaining ingredients.

Bake in 9x5x3 loaf pan for 1 hour.

Please check “Great Resources” on our website for more recipes.