August 1-5 Chatfield CSA e-news

Dear CSA shareholders,

We can hardly believe how fast this summer has been going! We are sad to say goodbye to one of our interns, DeJa Walker. She is a culinary arts professor at Johnson and Wales and will be teaching again soon. Thank you, DeJa, for all your hard work! We also hope everyone enjoyed last week’s beans! Our awesome CSA team harvested close to 400 pounds of purple, yellow and green beans. Harvesting that many pounds of anything takes a lot of love so please try to congratulate our staff when you see them on all of their hard work this summer!

this week's produce (August 1-5)

• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Salad Mix
• Beans
• Kale
• Chard
• Radishes
• Jalapenos
• Potatoes
• Beets
• Carrots
• Turnips
• Squash
• Basil
• Dill
• Thai Basil
• Peppers
• Parsley
• Cucumbers
• Arugula

 *Please note this is a tentative list and is subject to change    

cooking kohlrabi and other crazy things

Susan Evans will be providing a food demo on August 4th at Chatfield’s distribution from 4:30 – 5:30. She will be giving everyone a taste of some different pesto varieties that are easy to make at home with all the lush greens and herbs we’ve been harvesting. Susan will be serving Boursin cheese on crackers with the different pesto types. You’ll have to be the judge: do you prefer fresh herb pesto or arugula and olive pesto? Have a taste before you pick up your veggies.

cold soups – cucumbers, carrots or potatoes

In the heat of summer, no one wants to stand over a stove all day or have something boiling away in the kitchen raising the temperature of your home – yet soup is still a comforting thought and a great way to utilize fresh vegetables. The answer? Cold soup! There are plenty of different options depending on what you pick up at distribution for the week. Vichyssoise, the classic cold French soup is a fantastic option and uses any color of potatoes you will be picking up this week. We also will have carrots this week, which are great in a cold soup as well as spinach and cucumbers. So before you skip the potatoes or spinach, remember how nice a cold refreshing soup can be! Don’t be afraid to try one for the first time, it won’t be your last.

this week's recipe – two cold summer soups
from Susan Evans, Chrysalis Herbs

Cold Cucumber Dill Soup
3 cucumbers – peeled, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 cup plain yogurt – Greek is good, but any plain yogurt is fine.
2 Tbs lemon juice
3 scallions – chopped
3 Tbs fresh dill
1 Tbs fresh mint
1-2 cloves garlic minced
2 Tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
Chop the cucumber halves into chunks. Add everything but the stock and stir. Cover and let sit for an hour in the fridge to incorporate flavors. Then right before serving, puree in a blender with the stock, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold with a sprig of dill if you have extra.

Chilled Carrot Soup with Garden Herbs 
6 tablespoons olive oil
5 large carrots, thinly sliced
2 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp golden brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup orange juice or 1 generous Tbs orange juice concentrate
Chopped fresh chives and parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Yogurt for garnish (optional)
Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots and onions and sauté 4 minutes. Add thyme, brown sugar and nutmeg; sauté until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Add chicken broth. Cover pot; simmer until carrots are very soft, about 25 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to processor. Add 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Puree vegetables until smooth. Return puree to pot. Stir in orange juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill. Top with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream and sprinkle with chives and parsley.

farm topic – farm camp for kids

Friday marked the final day of our first farm camp. The experience was great for everyone involved.  The kids enjoyed being a part of a working farm – from harvesting fresh veggies for their snacks to collecting eggs, feeding goats, discovering frogs, making farm fresh biscuits and churning butter. Jim Sell, our official “real cowboy,” guided the children on a journey to the past; he stoked the wood fire oven and showed the kids what life was like before you could go to a grocery store and pick up some butter, or go to a drive-through for biscuits.

Jenny Thomas, our CSA grower, demonstrated how to harvest spinach and other fresh veggies - the kids could not get enough! While some kids dove right in, others were hesitant to pick up a chicken or pet a goat but throughout the week we saw the farm transformation taking place for many city kids! Check our website shortly for pictures documenting the two weeks of fun and learning on the farm. We thank all of our staff for helping the kids have a great and safe time. 
 
food safety note

Please note that although we have washed our produce once after harvesting it in the field, members should wash the produce at home again before eating. Our farm produce should be treated the same way as grocery store produce: always wash before eating! The best way to wash produce is by running it under cool water. Cleaning products are not necessary.