2013 week 3

Are you ready for some greens?  I hope so! This is salad season!

full share

Broccoli Rabe is a bitter green, very similar to mustard greens.  I love broccoli rabe cooked with lots of garlic!  I recommend blanching the rabe in boiling water to take the edge off the bitterness first then sauteing with olive oil and garlic.

Here is a link to a great Broccoli Rabe Recipe.


We are truckin' along at the farm and things are growing.  The packing house is getting spruced up and ready for kirby pickle packing.  First tomatoes are staked and have their first string now.

 The earliest corn is making ears!

 

Enjoy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

 Strawberry Spinach Salad.

A perfect combination. It makes a great side dish at any picnic. I must eat you.   Sluuuurrrrp!

It includes two Buzby crops: strawberries and spinach.

First we'll make the dressing.

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice.  Fresh would be best, but not necessary.  If using fresh lemons add 1/2 tsp of lemon zest.
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
1 teaspoon poppy seed.

Now for the salad part:

I like to use the smaller more delicate spinach leaves for salad and save the big, outer leaves to cook down like in my Spinach Egg Bake.

I filled my salad bowl with beautiful, tender leaves.  About 8 to 10 ounces. 

 Slice 1/2 of a cucumber.

 Add 1/4 of a small red onion, sliced

 Add 1 1/2 cups sliced strawberry

 

Toast 1/4 cup of sliced almonds and sprinkle on top of the salad

 

Add the dressing right before serving.

 Always a hit with my crowd.  Enjoy!

2013 week 1

Opening CSA Day here at the farm was a great success.

Half share

Here is some important information to keep your produce nice if you can't use it right away.

Strawberries. . .are very perishable.   This is not a problem in my home,  they disappear very quickly.   If you want to keep them more than a couple of days they should be kept in the refrigerator. They might last four or five days in the fridge.

Asparagus. . .when you bring asparagus home and you know you are not going to use it that day you should store it in your refrigerator in a bowl or mug with some water in the bottom.  The asparagus will slowly drink up the water.  Before cooking your asparagus it needs to be rinsed, the best way I have  found is to fill up a pitcher of water and put the asparagus in with the tips down. This way all the sand will sink to the bottom.  I follow the recipe on the tag to roast my asparagus.

Romaine and Pac Choi and any other greens that come from the CSA are SANDY!  They need to be thoroughly washed.  

--To wash I fill up a clean sink or big bowl with cold water and put the leaves in and gently swish.  --Then pat the leaves dry or dry them in your handy dandy salad spinner.  

--Next, wrap the lettuce leaves in some paper towel and store in a gallon size ziploc bag or other large container and store in the refrigerator.  

If you carefully wash, dry, and store your greens they will easily last the whole week, but if you just throw the whole head in the fridge crisper the lettuce will wilt and not be crisp.

Many of you were asking what to do with your Pac Choi.  Here is my favorite way to prepare it.  **Bonus it is quick and easy.

This is not an exact recipe, sorry to my peeps who like specific instructions.

To prep the bok choy cut the stalks from the leaves.  (The stalks take longer to cook).  Chop the stalks into large bite sized pieces.  Then chop the leaves into 1 inch pieces.  I also added some sliced red onion, but you could use sweet onion or green onions too.

Heat olive oil in saute pan on high.  Make sure it is good and hot then add the stalks and onion and saute for 1-2 minutes.  Then add in the leaves.  Like spinach, the leaves will wilt.  Then I added a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, a couple drops of toasted sesame oil and a few splashes of soy sauce.  Stir and cook just until greens have wilted.  It will only take1-2 more minutes.  YUM!

Word to the wise: I overdid it a little on the soy sauce,  that stuff is so potent, it only takes a little.

Enjoy!

CSA 2012 week 11

This weeks share includes: corn, green bell peppers, Sicilian eggplant, onions, heirloom tomatoes, PYO grape tomatoes, blueberries, watermelon and cantaloupe.

You can use Sicilian eggplant just as you would use your black globe eggplant.   Sicilian eggplant is great for eggplant Parmesan and is said to have slightly sweeter taste.
 Here is a link to my all time favorite eggplant recipe.

Tomato harvest is in full swing.  I LOVE it.  Here is my BLT I made for myself tonight.  That is one of the Big Beef tomatoes.  I had tomato juice running down to my elbows. YUM-O!

Also enjoying:

-Grilled Cheese with tomato
-Tomato Bruschetta
-Pico de gallo with our tomato, onion, and jalapeno
-Fried Eggplant with a slice of tomato on top
-Eat a tomato like an apple (Gram is famous for this one)

Enjoy!

Grilled Veggies with Herb Vinaigrette!

I'm getting the grilled fired up and ready for the 4th of July. 

What's not to love about fresh veggies cooked with the heat of the grill! And it keeps my kitchen cool on hot days.

Here is what I am grilling today. Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and Eggplant.  

But peppers, onions, and mushrooms  are excellent candidates for grilling.

Let's prep the veggies.

Cut the eggplant in to thick slices. I like to cut the veggies lengthwise.  Then I have less to handle and they don't fall through the grill grates as easy. 

Same with the zucchini and yellow squash.

Aren't they so pretty?

Put about a 1/4 cup of olive oil in a bowl and brush over both sides of vegetables lightly with the oil.

Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper.

These babies are ready for the grill.

Start with a clean grill on medium-high heat.  To prep the grill I like to put some olive oil on the grates.  Fold up a paper towel and dip it in the olive oil.

Rub the paper towel on the grates. This leaves a nice thin coat of oil on the grill and prevents the veggies from sticking.

On go the veggies.  Squash and eggplant usually take 8-10 minutes on the grill. Peppers take a little longer like 10-12 minutes.

But you really have to watch because it all depend on your grill and how thick your veggies are.  

LOVE the pretty grill marks!

 You just might live in Salem County if you turn around from the grill and see this going down the road.  That is one crazy big planter.

Back to the grill.

It took me a couple batches to get all the veggies cooked on the grill, but its okay.  The vegetables can be served warm or at room temperature.  

I really didn't want crunchy vegetables. So be conscious of how stiff the veggies feel when you pick them up.  

The challenge is grilling them to just the right point--gently charred on the outside and tender within, not pale and crunchy or blackened and mushy.

Now to take these veggies to the next level: THE SAUCE

For the dressing: 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.

3 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar, or balsamic vinegar.  What ever you fancy.

Add 2 cloves of garlic minced.

Grab some fresh basil and parsley

Add the chopped herbs.  Whisk together adding salt and pepper to taste.

Drizzle dressing over platter of veggies. Serve warm or room temperature.

Since I already had the grill warmed up, I threw a steak on for a perfect supper!

Yum Yum Yum.

CSA Share 2012: week 7

 Starting at top right and continuing clockwise.  Sweet Corn, beets, yellow squash, zucchini, string beans, carrots. 

I wish you all could have been there when Gail, Angie and I were pulling carrots this morning.  Pulling these beautiful carrots up from the earth could only be followed by great squeals of delight.  We were like giddy school girls, so excited with our harvest.

Beets!  I love them roasted.  Check out this recipe for Roasted Beets with Balsamic Glaze. It's my favorite beet recipe...... the orange, with the balsamic, and the beet. Ummmm, yeah, amazing.  And don't throw away the tops, you can cook the the beet greens just like you would, collards or kale. 

I would like to proudly announce the arrival of SWEET CORN to the CSA share this week.  Nothing tastes like summer like some corn!

We grow about 90 acres of corn every year.  It is all hand picked by an elite crew of specially trained guys.   Here at A.T. Buzby Farm, we are sweet corn snobs.  The lengths that we've gone to for this corn are remarkable. The corn that you are getting this week was started in the greenhouse and transplanted to the field, then covered with a mini-greenhouse. check it out here. It has been cultivated, irrigated and cared for. We harvest it at just the right time, when the flavor is at it's best and we harvest first thing in the morning, when the corn is the most turgid (crisp) and cool.  So I have some specific directions for you so that this extra special corn is cared for properly.

For the best flavor eat your corn as soon as possible.  I mean the same day you pick up.  If you can.

Although, if you can't eat your corn that night leave the husk on and store it in your refrigerator.  Refrigeration really helps to slow down the loss of the corns sweetness.  We have had many customers tell us that they leave their unshucked corn in the fridge for up to 7 days and it still tastes great!

To prepare your corn, husk and wash the corn.  Bring a big pot of water to boil.  Toss the ears in, cook for about 5 minutes.

What I normally end up doing is tossing the ears in the boiling water, bring it back to a boil, and then shutting the burner off.  Then I just let the corn sit in the water until we are ready to eat.  This works well for me because, I don't always know when Eric will come in for dinner.  This way the corn stays warm until I need it.

Corn is going to be a regular in the share for july and august.  If you ever have a week when you can't eat all the corn or it just isn't fitting into your meal plan. Freeze it!  It is so easy. Just cut the corn off the cob, stick it in a freezer bag, and toss it in the freezer. Done! If you're feeling extra ambitious, you can date the bag. Once you get used to eating this frozen corn, you will be ruined for all other frozen corn.

CSA Share week 6, 2012

Week six brings blueberries and string beans, along with romaine, zucchini, yellow squash, and pickles!!!  The blueberries are from "The Blueberry Capital of the World", Hammonton, NJ.  Everything else is straight from our farm.  I've got 2 fantastic recipes coming your way to help with the abundant squash harvest. 

We are busy bees at the farm. Today we planted the 2nd field of watermelon, planted more corn, pulled weeds in the peppers and onions, laid plastic for the 4th tomato field, picked, packed and shipped 400 bushels of pickles, and seeded the pumpkins.

Farm Tour

Thanks to everyone that came out to the farm tour this weekend.  It was a beautiful afternoon.

We had a great time meeting so many of you and sharing our farm with you!

Strawberries were enjoyed by all, especially this little sweetie!

Mounds of strawberries, cake, and whipped cream were eaten.

I had a couple requests from members for the cake recipe.  There were two kinds of cake.  Kentucky Butter cake, a moist cake covered in a buttery glaze AND  Sour Cream Pound Cake with a crisp crust hiding a moist center.

Kentucky Butter Cake (actually there is no butter in this recipe. . . it's all margarine)

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup margarine, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
Heat oven 325F.  Grease and flour tube cake pan.  Mix  all ingredients until moist.  Beat 3 minutes at medium speed.  Pour into pan.  Bake 60-70 minutes.  When the cake comes out of the oven poke a bunch of holes in the cake with a wooden skewer or fork.
In a small saucepan melt :
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup margarine
3 Tablespoons water
Take off the heat and add 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla.
Pour slowly over cake.  Let the cake cool completely before taking out of pan.

Sour Cream Pound Cake
1 cup butter
3 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
6 eggs
3 cups flour
Cream together butter and sugar; add next 4 ingredients and mix well.  Beat in 2 eggs at a time alternately with 1 cup flour at a time.  Beat well after each addition. Grease and flour tube pan. Bake  for 90 minutes at 325.

Enjoy!
Martie

Drip Irrigation Video

Farmer Eric shows us how to close drip tape in the corn field.

Spin the Spinach

 Step by Step instructions to care for your spinach.

 Cut the root off.

Then fill your sink with cold water.  Put the spinach in and give a swish with your hands.  The sand will sink to the bottom. 

Lift the leaves out of the water and put into your salad spinner.

Isn't that beautiful?

 While putting leaves into the salad spinner sort out the ones that don't look so hot.

Now pump that spinner.  All the water flings to the side and collects in the bottom.  If you don't have a salad spinner just dry the spinach as best you can with towels.

Then I lay out 3-4 paper towels and pile the spinach on top.  It takes a couple of batches in the spinner to get all the spinach dried.  

Roll up the paper towel. So you have paper towel all around the spinach. And carefully stuff into a gallon-sized ziploc.

Close the bag and keep in the fridge, it will last the whole week, no problem. 

I just love spinach!

Coming next a Spinach and Egg Recipe.