Week #7 - 2015 FFF CSA - What's in the Box! - It's Salsa Time!

There are several ways to make salsa but generally, there is the fresh, uncooked salsa or the cooked version. Decision about which method is for you, depend upon whether you are planning on eating this right away and/or if you want to be able to store the salsa for later use.

If fresh is your pleasure, then salsa is easypeasy!

Simply cut/dice fresh tomatoes, add chopped garlic and onion along with lime juice and/or a little bit of apple cider vinegar. Add cumin, minced hot peppers to your taste preference and plenty of fresh cilantro and you have a wonderful refreshing explosion in your mouth. For those of you who want a recipe to follow (I admit I never do...) I've linked to one here that will give you some ideas of ratios and amounts. 

If you want to cook and can salsa for winter consumption, then set aside some time... but the effort is worth it! As mentioned, I'm terrible at following recipes but here is a good primer on what is involved and a suggested recipe. It walks you through how to can the salsa as well, if you are not familiar with that. 

Some tips on veggie storage:

Don't keep tomatoes in the fridge. Flavour is best when kept on the counter at room temperature. We have provided you tomatoes that range from ready to eat to those that will take a few days to ripen so they last the whole week!

There are two major categories of squash - summer and winter. The scallop squash that you have received over the last couple of weeks is a summer squash and should be stored in the refrigerator and used within one to two weeks (sooner if not stored in fridge). Winter squash which will be coming such as butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash not to mention pumpkins will store much longer (weeks, even months).

In the CSA boxes this week, we've tucked in a special treat. A sample of our new Green Veggie Powder has been placed in every box for our shareholders to try! 

This powder is made with greens that may have ripped or have holes in them and are thus not included in boxes or lettuce, spinach or broccoli that has bolted or flowered. Items that are less than perfect but still nutritious and healthy. 

Last winter we experimented ourselves with dehydrating these greens and then tucked them into our smoothies, stews and sauces all winter to help keep us healthy when getting fresh greens is challenging. As we've talked about this with others, many have encouraged us to share and market the powder so... our shareholders are the first recipients of a sample bag of green goodness! Let us know what you think! Is this something you would be interested in? Your comments are appreciated! 

So in summary... What's in the Box this week?

• Lettuce (mixed greens in bag)
• Zucchini
• Scallop Squash (Pattypan)
• Carrots
• Peas - full shares only 
• Beans - full shares only
• Potatoes
• Kale
• Swiss Chard
• Tomatoes
• Peppers 
• Beets 
• Onions
• Green Veggie Powder (New)
• Herbs in the red cup: 
• Oregano
• Chives
• Parsley
• Cilantro
• Basil 

Notes to our CSA Share holders: 

We pick the vegetables within 24 hours of the box being delivered. We do rinse the produce but it would be important to wash all vegetables before you eat them. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer.

Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (pails, cups, bags etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 

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Never ending bounty!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 21

You know you are spoiled when you have the opportunity to get tired of fresh produce directly from the garden. 

At this time of year we still have squash, onions, potatoes and even a few wrinkly tomatoes left from last fall's harvest.

Oh and a tremendous amount of tomatillos that I'm trying to forget about... We had such a bumper crop of tomatillos that I've run out of things to make with them. 

While I whine... it is always an incredible wonder to get a taste of summer in the middle of the cold winter months.

P.S. Anyone want some #$%! tomatillos?!  

Week #6 - FFF CSA - Extending the harvest

Whether you are a CSA share holder or just have your own garden from which you harvest your own vegetables, you will sometimes get into situations where you have too much of one thing or not enough time to cook or use something right away. Today's blog is going to be focused on some tricks and ideas you can do so that that lovely produce doesn't go to waste and in fact you can extend your season of enjoying them all into the winter months.

Drying

While nothing beats fresh herbs sometimes you just can't use them in time. Instead consider drying them either by hanging them in a cool, dry place (upside down) or drying on very low heat on a cookie sheet in the oven. Once they are fully dry, you can crumble and re-fill those spice jars with the intense flavours of fresh dried herbs. You can also dehydrate or dry other items such as tomatoes, melons, berries, etc.

Freezing

Our CSA shareholders have been getting loads of fresh beans. If you are actually tired of beans or want to save them for later - freeze them! Wash and trim the ends and cut to the desired length, then blanch them (dip in boiling water) for 3 minutes.  Blanching is an important step as otherwise the beans will lose color and nutrients after only 4-6 weeks in the freezer. Blanching stops enzyme action that causes them to lose freshness and flavor. (Note: each vegetable may have a different time period that it should be blanched for best results). Directly after blanching, immerse in or run under cold water to cool them quickly and stop them from cooking. Then you can freeze them knowing that they will last long into the next season.

You can freeze lots of other veggies - also after blanching - such as cauliflower, broccoli, peas, carrots, etc. As mentioned there are different time periods of suggested blanching so take a look at this link for the right time:  How long should I blanch?

Pickling

You can also pickle just about anything these days - beans, carrots, of course cucumbers are frequently pickled but I've even heard of pickled cauliflower, beets and onions. I am in no way an expert in pickling so I don't speak from first hand experience. There is a tonne of resources on the internet on recipes and how to guides for pickling... take a look and give it a try!



Storage

There are all kinds of tricks about storage and I will pass along only one today... produce bags! I am not in anyway employed by the company or paid for this endorsement... I've just used and like these bags. At most supermarkets you can pick up produce bags - usually in with all the other zip lock bags. These bags are plastic ziplock bags specially designed with holes that allow moisture out and therefore keep produce fresh much longer. We use them all the time and they do work! The other trick is to store your veggies uncut and unwashed - hence dry and only wash and cut once you are going to cook or prepare them.

OK.... What's in this week's box? Week #6 FFF CSA box holds the following treasures:

Lettuce
Kale
Herbs (Parsley, Basil, Chives, Cilantro, Oregano)
Carrots
Zucchini
Potatoes
Beans (yellow & green)
Turnip
Cucumber
Peppers (jalapeno or banana peppers - its a surprise)
Swiss Chard

So I want to go on record.... I'm sorry for complaining about the heat... I really am! Please tell the heat to come back! I'll be more grateful! I'm sure you all agree that its been a tad cool these past few weeks. Here's hoping we are not done with heat for the summer!

Our garden is growing well despite the cool temperatures. The frequent but not too heavy rains are helping! We have tonnes of tomatoes ripening on the vines and we are really excited about our watermelons that are growing so fast!

Anyway, that's all for now... take care until next time! Happy eating!

Fenez Follies CSA Week #3 – What’s in the box? and How to store your vegetables without plastic!

Yikes it’s hot out there. In this kind of weather, you learn to get up early and work in the early mornings and late evenings! Thank goodness the mosquitoes don’t like this heat as well!  Our pump is getting a workout, trying to keep up on the watering.

What’s in the box:

Carrots

Broccoli

Kale

Swiss Chard

Romaine Lettuce

Mixed Greens

Beets

Mixed Herbs (Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Parsley)

Peas (you can eat like snap peas – pod and all!)

Zucchini

This week’s focus? How to store/keep veggies?

We pick your vegetables within hours of dropping them off, so you can’t get much fresher and certainly eating them right away is one option of course! However, if you are hoping to keep some of that goodness for later, we thought we could share some tips for how to store these goodies (without using a lot of plastic). These tips come from the Berkley Farmer’s Market which prides itself on being a Zero Waste market. Check out the full document here, but we’ve provided the tips you need to store this week’s box below for your convenience:

Basil – is difficult to store well (so use it asap). Basil does not generally like to be cold or wet for that matter. The best method is a airtight container/jar loosely packed with a small damp piece of paper towel inside – left out on a cool counter.

Beets – cut the tops off to keep beets firm, (be sure to keep the greens) leaving any top on root vegetables draws moisture from the root, making them lose flavor and firmness. Beets should be washed and kept in and open container with a wet towel on top.

Beet greens – place in an airtight container with a little moisture.

Broccoli – place in an open container in the fridge or wrap in a damp towel before placing in the fridge.

Carrots – cut the tops off to keep them fresh longer. Place them in a closed container with plenty of moisture, either wrapped in a damp towel or dunk them in cold water every coupld of days if they’re stored that long.

Cauliflower – will last a while in a closed container in the fridge, but they say cauliflower has the best flavor the day it picked.

Greens – remove any bands, twist ties, etc. most greens must be kept in an air tight container with a damp cloth – to keep them from drying out. Kale and chard do well in a cup of water on the counter or fridge.

Herbs – a closed container in the fridge to keep up to a week. Any longer might encourage mold.

Lettuce – keep damp in an airtight container in the fridge.

Snap peas – refrigerate in an open container.

Zucchini – does fine for a few days if left on a cool counter, even after cut. Wrap in a cloth and refrigerate for longer storage.

Enjoy!