CSA Pickups -- Week 9

Roots Farm CSA
Week 9: June 22 & 25

This Week:
-Kennebec White Potatoes
-Famosa Savoy Cabbage
-Carrots: Napoli, & Bolero
-Blue Coco Pole Beans
-Spring Treat Sweet Corn
-Summer Squash: Zephyr, Magda, Flying Saucer, Jackpot Zucchini, Cocozelle Zucchini, Soleil Zucchini, Trombicino
-Cucumbers: Suhyo Long, Mid-East Prolific, & Lemon
-Herbs: Basil (Sweet, Lemon, Thai, Purple)
-Blackberries & Blueberries!

Happy Summer Solstice!
It’s here--the longest day of the year. The days have waxed as long as they’re going to get and we’re turning the corner towards days beginning to shorten up again. Wow! Who can believe it’s mid-June already? Not only that, but we’re hitting almost the middle of the CSA as well. We are 9 weeks in, with only 10 weeks left to go. Hope you’re enjoying things so far!

In the Field . . .
Seems like the 10-foot line has worked to keep the deer out--yay! I’m glad we didn’t have to resort to installing electric fencing. Now it’s just a matter of implementing the new approach on our largest garden fence. 32 more poles and hundreds of feet of string, here we come! Also in the field, the tomatoes started turning color all of a sudden last week, so you may see a few Roma tomatoes appearing in your baskets this week. And the melons and eggplants are moving towards ripe, so they’ll be coming soon as well. In the realm of potatoes, this is the last week we’ll be offering them, so savor your fresh potatoes while they last. It’s also the last of the cabbage, though if you just can’t get enough of that, we may have some extra at the farmer’s market this weekend.

Beaverdam SlowDown
Our big dinners this weekend went great! There were flash-roasted zucchini rolls with peach brown butter or sweetgrass cheese; chard salads with a blackberry vinaigrette; cool cucumber soups with dill and carrot-walnut oil; quick summer pickles with blushing green tomatoes, sweet onions, blue coco pole beans, Detroit dark red beets, summer squash, and fresh melons; fried creamy Red Mule grit cakes with roasted Woodland Gardens heirloom tomatoes and Roots Farm sweet corn and caramelized onion succotash, and deconstructed blueberry-peach cobblers with ginger-lemon biscuits and fresh cream. Truly a feast. Join us for the next one, coming sometime this fall. We’ll keep you posted . . .

Corn!
Sweet corn is in! I think this may be the earliest we’ve ever had sweet corn and it truly is amazing. This kind is a new variety we’re growing this year called Spring Treat. And so it is! Hope you enjoy it! I recommend eating it tonight since the sugars in sweet corn begin to convert to starches as soon as the corn is picked. The sooner you eat it, the sweeter it will be. If you’re not going to eat it immediately, refrigerate it ASAP with the husks still on. Corn can be eaten raw, steamed, boiled, grilled, roasted, in salads, soups, salsas, fritters, pancakes, and more! It also freezes well. Either way, when you DO go to eat it, you’re probably gonna find a little worm in the tip of the ear, gnawing away at that sweet corn goodness. This is a corn ear worm. They’re fairly time-intensive to control organically, so our usual approach is simply to let them be. They usually only damage the very tip of the corn and you can cut that part away before cooking it. As one farmer says, “a sharp knife is the most effective organic approach to corn ear worms.” If you’ve got chickens at home, feed the worms to them for some extra protein. As a note: some of you got your corn on Friday, so that was your first corn installment. You’ll have to wait until our next variety gets ready before you see it in the baskets again . . .

RECIPES

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Here are 2 basic methods for grilling corn on the cob—one in the husk and one with butter in foil:

Husk method: Pull husk back on corn without removing it. Remove the silk, then pull the husks back up over the corn. Twist the top of the husks to help close them. Soak corn in a bowl of water for about 10 minutes, then put onto a hot grill. Grill for about 20-25 minutes, turning the corn so that each side cooks evenly. Be careful when opening the husks—they’re hot! Serve with butter.

Foil method: Remove husks and silk from the corn and soak the cobs in water for about 5 minutes. Smear about ½ Tbsp butter on a square of aluminum foil, then place a cob onto the foil and wrap tightly. Put foil packets onto hot grill and cook for about 20 minutes, turning the corn so that each side cooks evenly. Open carefully and enjoy!

Sweet Corn Soup
1 ½ Tbsp butter
1 large onion, peeled and julienned
½ Tbsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
½ Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
6 ears of sweet corn, shucked and corn cut from cob
1 ½ cups cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 Tbsp chopped chives

Melt butter in a large stockpot; add onions, salt, black pepper, sugar, and pepper flakes. Saute onions, stirring occasionally, until moisture has evaporated (thus concentrating their sweetness), about 20 minutes. Add corn, cream, and milk; bring to a boil and cook another 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature and puree in a blender in small batches or use an immersion blender. Pass through a medium-fine sieve, season to taste, and reheat. Sprinkle each bowl with chives. Makes 4 servings. From the From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook.

Sweet Corn Risotto
4 ears sweet corn
2 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
½ cup Arborio rice
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Cut kernels off corn cobs. Place cobs in a heavy saucepan with 6 cups water; bring to a simmer and cook cobs 20-25 minutes. Strain; return water to pan. Cut kernels off cobs and add kernels back to the water; return to a simmer. After 2 minutes, remove half the kernels and set them aside. Continue cooking remaining kernels until tender, about 10 minutes. Puree water-corn mixture in a blender, then strain it through a fine-meshed sieve and set aside in a large bowl. Heat oil in the same pan the corn was cooked in. Add onion, sweet pepper, garlic, and rice; sauté for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low; add pureed corn mixture one cup at a time, stirring constantly, until absorbed. Continue to add pureed mixture only until rice is barely tender—you may or may not need to add all of it. Add reserved corn, Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste, stirring until cheese melts. Serve immediately. Makes 4-6 small servings. From the From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook.

Sweet Corn Cheddar Pancakes
2/3 cup cornmeal
½ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp corn oil
½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp finely chopped green onions
1-2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
½-1 cup cooked corn kernels
Additional corn oil, for cooking pancakes
Spicy tomato salsa
Sour cream

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in bowl. Mix egg, buttermilk, and corn oil in another bowl; stir in cheese, green onions, cilantro, and corn kernels. Mixture can stand at room temperature up to an hour. Heat a griddle or large, heavy skillet over medium flame several minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and brush cooking surface with corn oil. Cook pancakes in batches: ladle batter onto hot griddle, ¼ cup per pancake. Cook until first side is golden brown and pancakes have set well on the bottom. Flip pancakes and cook on the other side until done. Serve hot with salsa and sour cream. Makes 10-12 pancakes. From the From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook.

And if these recipes don’t suit your fancy, we’ve got several more online. Click here for more recipes. Enjoy!