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Week 2: June 25 - 29, 2007

Hi folks,

This week we will have the following crops: mesclun, chard, cilantro, strawberries, beet greens, mint, flowers, kale. Check the barn, you folks who have flower shares, for directions about how many to take. If you don't remember whether you ordered flowers or not, check your bag. It will have a green label on it. I hope the strawberries make it to the end of the week.

I got lots of nice notes from folks this week, with some good tips. Thanks to Tony Penny for a full morning of work on Friday and it was great to meet all of you who stopped by. Special thanks to Dick Shea for a marvelous job of organizing the Worcester coop. We can always use your drop in help if you want to get your hands dirty.

We will have a CSA on July 4. But if you are celebrating and want to come pick up on Thursday, that is okay. We will turn off the cooler on Wednesday night regardless. September 3 is Labor Day and October 8 is Columbus Day and these days will be CSA days also.

Julie

Notes from CSA Members

I don't know if everyone else would be interested, but I have two cookbooks that are also great for CSA members. You can get them at any bookstore. They are: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison and Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters.

They both have amazing recipes and are broken up by each vegatable group. They tell you how to store vegetables, what time of year they are available and how to use them. Just wanted to put that out there. When I started participating in CSA's I bought these two cookbooks and they were great!

I was able to make some great recipes out of vegetables I had never cooked before. I was also able to make things out of beets that my husband would eat (he doesn't like them...I love them).

Have an amazing day and thank you so much for doing what you do. I am so excited to get my first share today!!!!

Angela Bailey

You know...I had tons of greens from you this week and of course I ate them but there were so many that I had to make green smoothies in the blender with them. I would wash them, blend them with a little water, add some juice and frozen blueberries and ice cube. Delicious. Even my grown sons wanted it every morning. Really good way to get lots of greens.

Also, I have been adding a banana to the mix of the smoothie and that makes it takes really good to. So it is a blender almost full of greens like kale or mesclun, you can add parsley. I did mustard greens but that is a really strange peppery taste. Then about a cup of water, and blend until smooth adding a little water if needed. Then about a cup of juice like grape, unfiltered apple, pear etc. Then blend. Then about a cup of frozen fruit and a few ice cubes and blend until smooth. It makes about 4 or 5 cups from a normal size blender. I have been drinking this every morning with my husband and two of my adult children and everyone says how energized they feel all morning. I think you can add ripe fruit instead of the juice but I usually don't have lots of ripe fruit like mangos and pears hanging around so the fruit juice is the most convenient for me to do it consistently. thanks!

Pam Rossetti

Hello!

Thanks for a terrific share and the beginning of a great year! The recipes and newsletter are always greatly appreciated!

Thanks for all you do!

Regards,

Becky Brownstein

Dear CSA Members,

Following are a few recipes for some of the herbs in your bag today. You may want to keep a few of these recipes handy throughout the season since you will be getting more of these herbs.

Cilantro is good in any kind of Mexican dish and is best if it is mashed or chopped fine. Try it chopped up into a fresh salad, potato salad or tuna fish salad.

Mint is very good used in homemade iced tea, sun tea, or mint water. Pour boiling water over the mint then when cool remove the mint and chill the water.

Hope you enjoy these recipes and all of your great veggies.

Nina