Maplewood Organics

We now arrange flowers for special events! If you're planning an event for this summer or fall or next summer or fall (mid July-September) please keep us in mind! We grow all of our own flowers organically and have very competitive prices! Our bouquets would be done in the style you're receiving in your share. Special requests can be made if booked early for next season! Spread the word!

2 pounds potatoes

3 summer squash

cherry tomatoes

5 slicing tomatoes

2 paste tomatoes

1 head cauliflower

1 pound beans

1 bag of lettuce mix

jalapeno peppers

tomatillos

basil

sage

1 flower bouquet

We're taking a break from kale and Swiss chard to let the plants recharge and grow some more. However, if you still want some, you may make a special request by Sunday night 10:00pm by emailing or calling, 868-5083.

You may also request mint, oregano, thyme, and parsley by the same deadline.

Trades will be available. Please do not trade out your herbs as they are really an extra added bonus.

We're leaving the rest of the peppers on the plant

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 9

August 10 and 13, 2009

__________________________________________________________________________________

Week 9

This week is our half-way mark. It’s hard to believe that there are only nine weeks left to our regular season CSA. New to everyone this week: jalapeno peppers, beets and cured garlic! Other exciting additions for our half share members this week: cauliflower and leeks. We won’t be offering potatoes for another 1-2 weeks. We’re allowing the skins to thinken up before we dig the whole lot. Remember to go to our Local Harvest website blog (

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M13345) to view your CSA contents for the upcoming week. You can also find our newsletters posted to that blog. If you want to look back at recipes, you can look there!

Farm update:
Hannah Gibbons is leaving us today to go back to New York, spend some time with her family and start her senior year in college. We’re going to miss her so much! If you haven’t followed her blog this summer, take some time to check it out now and catch up. Hannah has asked anyone who can, to leave her feedback on her blog. You can join Blogspot and leave comments right on her blog, or you can email her at the address she included in a recent entry. Thank you, Hannah for all your hard work and enthusiasm this summer! Good luck your senior year, and COME BACK TO VISIT!

Brian is back from a visit with family this week and will fill the third intern position now through the end of the season. He came back yesterday to help Eric and Maggie with Sunday’s harvest since the rest of us were still in Massachusetts at the NOFA Summer Conference.

Garden Progress

Our beets are getting nice and big. Ellyn really enjoys harvesting these. We picked a few for our NOFAvore celebration two weeks ago and now have enough for all of our members! Our garlic has dried in the greenhouse for a couple weeks now and is ready to be cleaned up and distributed. We’ll save out enough for ourselves to double our crop for next year. We have to save about 200 heads to be able to do that. If we double one more time when we plant in 2010, we might have enough! We’re just excited to be able to save enough of our own to grow so we don’t have to buy it in.

We’ll have tomatillos soon and more cherry and sungold tomatoes. Unfortunately, it’s been another bad corn year for us. I’ll do my best to buy in some local sweet corn so everyone can have a bit, but it’ll be a couple weeks yet. Please let me know in the meantime if you DO NOT want conventional sweet corn.

NOFA Summer Conference, Amherst, Massachusetts

The conference was great! We’ll be sharing tidbits with you over the coming weeks. One of the most interesting workshops I went to was about producing nutrient dense foods. It really got into soil science and the biological needs of plants. I learned how to monitor the soil and adjust for plant needs. I’m excited to get even more into the nitty-gritty to produce even better quality food for you and for my family!

Winter CSA – SOLD OUT

You may place your name on a waiting list for our winter CSA, which runs October through December. If someone cancels, you have a chance at a share in the order that you signed on. (The total cost to you is $140.)

Save the date: Saturday, September 12^th, 5:00-7:00pm – Annual CSA Member Cook-out

Recipes of the Week

Leek and potato pie

1 lb leeks

salt

1 1/2 lb potatoes

1 1/2 oz margarine or butter

1 oz plain flour

1/2 pint warm milk

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

freshly ground black pepper

2 oz Cheddar cheese, grated

margarine or butter, for greasing

1. Trim the leeks, discarding most of the dark green part. Slice thickly and wash under cold running water until completely clean. Cook in boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes or until almost tender. Drain thoroughly, reserving the stock.

2. At the same time, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 20 - 25 minutes or until tender. Drain.

3. While the vegetables are cooking, make the sauce: melt 25 g (1 oz) margarine gently in a small saucepan, sprinkle in the flour and stir over low heat for 2 minutes until straw-coloured. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the milk, then return to the heat and simmer, stirring, until thick and smooth. Measure out 150 ml (1/4 pint) of the leek stock; stir gradually into white sauce. Bring back to the boil, stirring constantly,

then add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Remove the pan from the heat.

4. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F) Gas 5.

5. Slice one-third of the potatoes, stir them gently into the leeks and turn into the base of a greased 1 /2 pint ovenproof dish. Pour on the sauce; carefully turn vegetables with a fork, to coat thoroughly.

6. Add remaining margarine and milk to the rest of the potatoes, season with pepper, then mash them until smooth. Beat in half the cheese with a wooden spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning.

7. Spread the mashed potato over the vegetables, then sprinkle on the rest of the cheese. Stand the dish on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown. Serve hot.

Other Ideas for Leeks:
-Add to an omlete with mushrooms
-Chop up and have with a baked potato
-Add them to a potato fritter

Mediterranean Beet and Yogurt Salad

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

4 medium size beets,

11/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, white wine vinegar, or cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste)

1/2 cup thick Greek style yogurt or drained yogurt

2 tablespoons minced dill

1. Roast the beets, peel and cut in wedges or slice into half-moons. Stir together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss with the warm beets and allow to marinate for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

2. Place the garlic in a mortar and pestle, add 1/8 teaspoon salt, and mash to a paste. Stir into the yogurt. Stir in half the dill. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain the beets and stir some of the marinade into the yogurt (to taste). Toss with the beets, or arrange the beets on a platter and drizzle the yogurt over the top. Sprinkle on the remaining dill, and serve.

Advance preparation:

The beets can be prepared and marinated 4 or 5 days ahead.

Variation: You may substitute chopped or slivered fresh mint for the dill.

roasted