This Week's Share--Tomatoes, Tomatoes and Tomatoes....

This week's share is just full of tomatoes--salad, paste, cherry, slicing and lots of colorful heirlooms.  It has been a while since we have had a really good tomato year, so I hope you all can enjoy the bounty.  Along with tomatoes, this week's share will also include sweet peppers, summer squash, eggplant and a few other items.  Next week the potatoes will return and the share will be slightly more diverse.  In the meantime we can celebrate that quintessential summer garden vegetable(fruit)--the amazing tomato.

Below are a bunch of links related to fully enjoying your tomato filled share:

-Tomatoes the Resilient Fruit from Food52

-Food52 8 Summery Tomato recipes

-Fine Cooking's Heirloom Tomato Guide

-Martha Stewart Tomato Recipes

Ratatouille Recipe/Video from Epicurious

Ratatouille's (from the movie) Ratatouille

Enjoy your tomatoes!

This Week's Share-Lots of Tomatoes, More Melons and Purslane

This week's share--like many of the farmers markets and backyard gardens--is full of tomatoes. Its been a fairly good tomato year and I am very thankful for that fact. I have included a link to Food52's best tomato recipe contest from back in 2009. 2009 was the dismal year of the tomato blight, the memory of which makes good tomato seasons all the more special. If you are swimming in tomatoes right now, I thought you would appreciate their (food52) listing of recipes.

This Week's Share Includes:
Potatoes (red and fingerling)
Carrots (purple and orange)
Melons (cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon)
Eggplant
Summer Squash (patti pan and zephyr)
Cucumbers
Tomatoes (slicing,salad and cherry)
Tomatillos
Purslane
Parsley

In honor of this past weekend's medicinal weed walk, I thought I would add the delicious and nutritious weed Purslane to the share(if you are going to harvest at home notice the warning about spurge, another common weed that looks a little like purslane but is poisonous). Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, purslance is a great addition to salads. Here is Praireland CSAs purslane page. Below is a picture of the salad I made for the medicinal weed walk potluck lunch this weekend. I used a recipe from Gourmet Magazine -parsley and purslane cherry tomato salad but added the DELICIOUS highland farm feta, which I think pairs perfectly with cherry tomatoes. Enjoy your tomatoes, enjoy your weeds.

Notes from Nikki--4 great recipes

A big thank you to Nikki, who despite her busy fall schedule has still managed to put together some amazing recipes made from recent share vegetables.
Potato Leek Soup

Admittedly, I do miss those summer nights of yore, but I also love cooking up a pot of soup on a chilly fall evening. The following recipe is for a very simple potato leek soup. I used bacon in the mix, but feel free to nix that. A glug of olive oil will also do. Also, I used the red-skinned potatoes from last week's share, un-peeled, but any variety of potatoes will work just fine, even a mixture. You can't really mess this soup up. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/3 lb of bacon, diced
3-5 leeks (depending on their size and your taste for them. I say, don't be shy. ;-)), white and light green parts only, sliced (make sure to wash out the grit after you slice them)
2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
About 12 small-medium potatoes, quartered
1-2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
4-6 C chicken or veggie stock
1-2 C whole milk
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Shredded cheddar cheese for topping
Chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

Cook bacon in a soup pot over medium heat until fat is rendered.
Add in the leeks, sauteing until softened and fragrant.
Toss in the garlic and saute briefly.
Add the potatoes and thyme, stirring to combine and coat the potatoes.
Pour in the stock and turn up the heat to bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are fork tender.
Smash the potatoes using a potato masher (or the back of your spoon).
Add in the milk, sea salt, and pepper.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup just a bit to incorporate everything. (This step is optional. Feel free to leave the soup alone of you want it more chunky and rustic).
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Ladle the soup into bowls, top with shredded cheese and a bit of parsley, and serve.




Sweet Potato, Black Bean Quesadillas

I brought these to a potluck yesterday and they were gone before I could even get a slice. Luckily I got to taste and sample them during the cooking process. ;-)
The following recipe makes 4 large quesadillas, which I then sliced into eighths like a pizza. Perfect for a party. Feel free to cut the recipe in half for a smaller crowd or a family dinner (or, if your family eats as much as mine does, keep the recipe as is ;-)).

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, roasted in a 400 degree oven until soft, skinned, and mashed
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced
Glug of olive oil
A couple of generous pinches of mexican oregano
2-3 tsp cumin
1-2 tsp smoked paprika
1-2 tsp ancho or chipotle chili powder (just the ground peppers, not a "chili powder" mix)
Sea salt
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 lbs (or so) cooked, shredded chicken breast tenders (I simply cooked these over medium heat in some olive oil. Another option would be to use leftover roasted chicken or omit the chicken altogether)
8 large, flour tortillas
3 C shredded cheddar or jack cheese (or a combination of both)
1 bunch cilantro (minus the stems below the leaves), chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400.
Saute the onion and garlic over medium heat until softened and fragrant.
Add in the cumin, smoked paprika, ground chili, and sea salt.
Toss in the black beans, stirring to incorporate.
Saute a bit longer, allowing the flavors to meld.
Kill the heat.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Set aside.
Spread about 1/4 of the sweet potato mash onto one of the tortillas.
Top this with about 1/4 of the bean mixture and 1/4 of the shredded chicken.
Sprinkle cilantro over the chicken (don't be shy) and then top the cilantro with about 3/4 C of shredded cheese.
Place another tortilla over top of the cheese and bake in the oven until the tortilla starts to brown in spots and the cheese is all melty and yummy.
Repeat the above steps until you have assembled and baked 4 large quesadillas.
Slice the quesadillas with a pizza slicer and serve.

Enjoy!



Green Beans and Zesty Tomatoes

This is a very simple recipe that will showcase those lovely little green and yellow haricot verts especially, but any of the green beans from your Inverbrook share will do, really. Also, any and all of the tomatoes from your share will work. This a sure fire recipe, really hard to mess up. I happened to serve this with meatloaf and mashed potatoes as you will see in the photo. It's so versatile, it will make a lovely side dish for any number of main dishes, or a beautiful lunch all on it's own. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1-2 lbs or so green beans, stem end snapped off
1-2 large cloves of garlic
Glug of olive oil
1-2 tsp lemon zest
About 1 C or so fresh tomatoes, chopped
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Shaved parmesan for topping

Instructions

Saute the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until fragrant.
Toss in the lemon zest and beans, stirring to combine.
Cover and simmer, shaking the pan occasionally, until the beans are just barely tender (this will happen within 5-10 minutes, tops, so check very frequently).
Uncover and toss in the tomatoes, sea salt, and pepper.
Saute very briefly, just until heated through.
Turn off the heat, taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve topped with a few shavings of parmesan.

Arugula, Edamame Pesto

This stuff is so yummy, I simply can't stop eating it. I have put it on chicken, eggs, bread, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. Seriously, I have an addiction, and I really don't even care that much for arugula. :-) Anyway, the following recipe makes a vat of this stuff, but it stores really well, so have at it (or, feel free to cut the recipe in half). I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Ingredients

1 lb frozen, shelled edamame beans thawed (1 lb of fresh cooked edamame or fava beans would also work)
1/4-1/3 C olive oil
2-3 large handfuls arugula, washed and torn
1/3-1/2 C shredded parmesan
1-2 large cloves of garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 large lemon (add in some zest too, if you like the flavor)
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
Add in some water to thin, if necessary.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Spread on any number of things (or just eat it plain, by the spoonful) and enjoy!

Hope and Inspiration for a Successful 2010 Season

2009 was a rough year in general, it seemed to be full of struggle and loss for many. It was an incredibly tough growing season--the cool wet weather brought an endless supply of weeds and disease. It was particularly devastating for tomatoes and tomato growers. For the first time in my ten year farming history, the infamous Late Blight (the same source of the historic Irish potato famine) came to Pennsylvania early enough to really effect the production of the summer staple that is the tomato. You can read and watch the thoughts of two of Pennsylvania's reknowed tomato growers--the Tomato Tim's--Tim Stark of Eckerton Hill Farm and Tim Mountz of Happy Cat--by clicking the links.

The great thing about farming, is that with every new growing season you can start again-- a clean slate so to speak--renewal, rebirth, and the constant hope that the forces of nature will be on your side. My wish for 2010 is to have a slightly warmer, less rain-filled growing season, I acknowledge the fact that my success each year is due largely to factors I cannot control. To refill the wells of inspiration, commitment and enthusiasm necessary to face whatever challenges the growing season may bring, many the of sustainable farmers of Pennsylvania make an annual pilgrimage to State College, PA in early February for the PASA Farming for the Future Conference. For more information about this amazing conference click here. If you or anyone you know has any interest in farming or some part of the sustainable food system, I strongly recommend attending this amazing and life changing conference. To help defray costs the Chester County Economic Development Council is offering a 75% cost share for conference registration fee. Click here for more details. The conference is made up of amazing speakers, workshops, and meals, including key note speaker and journalist Lisa Hamilton, whose photos appear in this posting. The other conference keynote is visionary architect Michael Reynolds. Download PASA conference PDF for all the complete workshop and speaker schedule.