May 22nd-23rd, 2012, Spring CSA newsletter 6 (sei)

Howdy Y’all!

 

Katherine from Le Tre Lune here.  Storms are a-brewin’ and have blown the power and the internet at the farm, so I’m sending you this email from my personal address.  If you have any questions about the CSA for this week, please direct your emails to our regular email address info@letrelune.org–we anticipate to have internet back by the morning!

 

In good food news from Le Tre Lune this week, we pulled all our onions out of the ground on Saturday with the help of a wonderful group of volunteers from my church.  This is an extremely satisfying action, to see an entire 1000 square foot field cleared of its contents in a matter of an hour.  The less satisfying part of onion harvest is the waiting we have to do now in order for the onions to cure.  Curing onions is the process of leaving onions in a airy, warm place to allow those shiny, protective scales to form on the outside of the onion.  Once the onions have cured for about 4 weeks in our greenhouse, they will keep in storage for up to 6 months!

 

Here’s what you can look forward to seeing this week:

 

Full Shares                             Half Shares

Summer squash                       Summer squash

Broccoli                                      Broccoli

Fennel                                         Kohlrabi

Cabbage                                      Spring Onions

Strawberries                             Strawberries

Lettuce

Swiss chard

Carrots

Dill

 

 

And a few recipes from our kitchen!

 

Thai Cashew Chicken Stew with Broccoli and Summer Squash

Ingredients

•                        1 tablespoon canola oil

•                        1 large yellow onion, chopped

•                        1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped

•                        3 tablespoons ketchup

•                        2 tablespoons oyster sauce

•                        1 tablespoon soy sauce

•                        1/3 cup chicken broth

•                        1 teaspoon white sugar

•                        1 teaspoon Thai garlic chile paste

•                        4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into bite-size pieces

•                        2 squash, chopped

•                        ½ pound broccoli, chopped

•                        8 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered

•                        1/2 cup unsalted cashew nuts

 

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion and yellow bell pepper until tender. Mix in the ketchup, oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken broth, sugar, and chile paste. Place the chicken, zucchini, squash, broccoli, and mushrooms in the skillet. Continue to cook and stir 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender and chicken juices run clear. Mix in the cashews just before serving.

 

 

Potato Fennel Gratin

Ingredients

•    2 small fennel bulbs

•    1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

•    2 tablespoons good olive oil

•    1 tablespoon unsalted butter

•    2 pounds russet potatoes (4 large potatoes)

•    2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

•    2 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese (1/2 pound)

•    1 teaspoon kosher salt

•    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter the inside of a 10-by-15-by-2-inch (10-cup) baking dish.

Remove the stalks from the fennel and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise. Remove the cores and thinly slice the bulbs crosswise, making approximately 4 cups of sliced fennel. Saute the fennel and onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until tender.

Peel the potatoes, then thinly slice them by hand or with a mandoline. Mix the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with 2 cups of cream, 2 cups of Gruyère, salt, and pepper. Add the sauteed fennel and onion and mix well.

Pour the potatoes into the baking dish. Press down to smooth the potatoes. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and 1/2 cup of Gruyère and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the top is browned and bubbly. Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve.

 

This is a pic of us harvesting onions!!!