Hi Everyone, this is going to be a short email this week. I’m giving myself a break (eg: I don’t have time since Harvey only slept 45 minutes instead of 2 hours this afternoon) and giving you the option to broaden your perspectives either through reading or audio.
You probably don’t know that Erin, our super dedicated assistant manager, is also the Development Associate for The New Garden Society, a non-profit that brings garden education and therapy to incarcerated persons in the state of Massachusetts. She never asks for time off, but frequently tells me about staying up late writing grants, evening meetings in Boston, and about the afternoons once/month when she leads a workshop for students in the program.
A few weeks back I received their annual report in the mail and it brought me to tears. If you are interested in garden education, restorative justice, or are curious about the outside work of one of your farmers I strongly suggest reading this document:
THE NEW GARDEN SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT
Or, if you are interested, I listened to a Freakonomics Podcast during a long car ride this weekend that basically summed up my education as an undergrad. You can’t stop part way, because the first 20 minutes seems like propaganda itself.
HOW THE SUPERMARKET HELPED WIN THE COLD WAR
For those of you who just want to feel warm and fuzzy, well, here’s a few pictures, but I strongly suggest reading/listening to one or both of these.
What’s in the Share
GARLIC: We are giving you a large amount of garlic (1/2 lb small, 1 pound large) this is all the garlic you will get for a while, but use it as you like!. It will last on the counter until February at least, so no rush.
TOMATOES
CORN
LETTUCE/ARUGULA CHOICE
PINTS CHOICE: Cherry tomatoes, shishito peppers, mini sweet peppers, fairy tale eggplant, hot peppers
BIG CHOICE: Kale, Chard, Scallions, Radish, Fennel, Cucumber, Zucchini, Squash, Carrots, Fresh Onions, Green Peppers, Eggplant, Probably some ripe peppers, more lettuce
(below is a pic of last weeks small and large shares – yours would look different if you made different choices)
Jess’s Recipes
VERRILL FARM CORN AND TOMATO TART (USES ONION, CORN, TOMATOES, SCALLIONS)
My mom joined us for camping this past week and on the way home she helped me brainstorm recipes. She swears by this tart from Verrill Farm in Concord. They just had their annual Corn & Tomato Festival on Saturday which, if you’ve never been, is lots of fun and definitely worth checking out. Put a reminder in your calendar for next year!
SPAGHETTI WITH ZUCCHINI AND TOMATOES (USES ZUCCHINI, SQUASH, FENNEL, TOMATOES)
Loaded with roasted veggies, this pasta dish is summer in a bowl! ‘Nuff said.
CHARRED SCALLION PESTO PASTA (USES SCALLIONS, BASIL, PARSLEY, MINT)
Scallions for EVERYONE this week! My kids are addicted to the scallion pancakes that I listed in Week 4 of the Spring Share (you can find it by searching on the Upswing Farm website if you missed it) but I’m going to try to talk them into switching it up this week. I’m a sucker for a caramelized onion, no matter what variety!
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD
With school starting NEXT WEEK, I’m starting to think about quick and easy breakfast ideas. My daughter needs to be on the bus at 6:45 and I have a hard time convincing her to eat breakfast, especially with the anxiety that comes along with starting a new school year. It’s hard to resist this zucchini bread though! I use white whole wheat flour in place of the all-purpose flour and make them as muffins (just pour into muffin tins and decrease the cooking time to 30 min or so).
CAESAR KALE PASTA SALAD
No recipe needed! Grab a bunch of kale from the choice this week, chop it up into smallish pieces and toss it with 8 oz of cooled bow tie pasta. Add a splash of your favorite Caesar salad dressing and top it with crumble whole wheat pita chips and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Perfect for a hot summer night.
BABA GANOUSH (USES EGGPLANT AND PARSLEY)
I am not a lover of eggplant. BUT I never pass up getting eggplant when it comes around because I adore Baba Ganoush. Not only is it fun to say but it’s also delicious. If you’ve never tried it, you must. You char the eggplant (this recipe uses 3 but you can scale it down based on what you’ve got) which gives it an amazing smoky flavor and then puree it with tahini, garlic and lemon juice. Eat it with pita chips, tortilla chips or, for even more veggie goodness, dip cut up carrots, celery, peppers or cukes in it.
BLACK BEAN, FETA AND CUCUMBER SALAD (CUCUMBER, CORN, CILANTRO, SCALLIONS)
Talk about fast – you can have this one on the table in 15 minutes. So yummy and very versatile – great with peppers, tomatoes and celery too!
CHILLED ZUCCHINI SOUP WITH CHICKEN (USES ZUCCHINI, DILL, PARSLEY, SCALLIONS)
The heat is going to be cranking up again this week – perfect timing for a refreshing chilled soup. If you’re looking for another use for your scallions just swap one bunch for the 2 leeks in this recipe.
GARDEN VEG SALSA (USES TOMATOES, CUCUMBER, PEPPERS, ZUCCHINI, ONION, CILANTRO)
This one step catch-all recipe is genius for using up whatever you have leftover.
Upswing Farm 