Tag Archives: Green Bean

Summer CSA Week 13

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I love the little chill in the air that we have in the morning and evening now. On the farm, we’ve put in our time with some very hot and humid days! -and it’s good for a break.
Ever since I can remember I have loved this time of year, mostly. Knowing school was starting back up wasn’t usually the best part, but even the settling back into routine ended up being good for me as a kid. And as an adult, I think I always started college semesters off feeling strong and hopeful and organized (even if it ended in panicked 3am paper editing  by mid-December).

This year it feels like the shift back to school for kids and adults, and all those that teach or work with/around them is clouded in a troubling unknown. Whether you have or know children in school (however it looks), or you work with or around students in some capacity, we wish you the best as you start this next school year.
I know so many people have wondered and dreamed about what it would be like to send a child to Kindergarten one day, or to pack up for college… none of us would have dreamed this up to add to the list of worries along the way.

I think we’re all pretty sick of so many aspects of life feeling harder, or sadder, or more complicated and divisive than normal (show of hands for who thought there was more than enough of that to begin with…). I hope that there are bright spots in the midst of all of it for you as well, whether it’s been family time, or new habits or getting outside more.

As we move forward as a country with so many returning to school, I hope that in your home (regardless of connection to a school, after all, we’re all connected in this) the dinner table, or maybe breakfast table, can be a place were connection is found, worries heard and validated, and wholesome sustenance consumed to see you through incredibly challenging days.

For the farm crew,

Karin

In your share this week: Green Beans, Green Cabbage, Carrots, Cilantro, Cucumbers, Sweet Onions, Parsley, Red and Hot Peppers, Red Potatoes, Tomatoes, Zucchini

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Green Bean Salad

From The Leek and the Carrot

1 pound green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half if large (about 4-5 cups)
1 head washed lettuce, thinly sliced
1 large shallot or onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon sherry or red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 minced garlic cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
Flaky sea salt, for serving

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and cook for 4 minutes then rinse under cold water. Pat dry with a towel.
  2. Toss together lettuce, beans, shallots and tomatoes in a large bowl (or four small bowls). Top with feta and walnuts.
  3. Whisk sherry vinegar with dried oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic. Once combined, whisk in olive oil. Taste and adjust flavors as desired. Drizzle over salad. Sprinkle with a little extra flaky sea salt right before serving.

Parsley Pesto

2 cloves garlic

2 cups packed, stemmed Italian parsley

Course salt

1/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

2/3 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions

  1. In a food processor place the garlic, parsley, pinch salt, walnuts, and cheese. Process until they form a paste. Gradually blend in olive oil, taste adjust your seasoning if necessary. Great with pasta, poultry, vegetables and rice.

Summer CSA Week 11

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I had a newsletter-sized case of writers block as I started putting recipes and photos in for this week. I asked my husband what I should say, and he said “get the vegetables, eat them up, num num num” -at which I laughed, probably harder than it deserved.
Num num num has become something I say a lot to my baby. It’s one of those idiosyncrasies I have that, apparently, is a little annoying to hear dozens of time at dinner for the other adult present. So strange.
So now it’s something of a running gag at our house.

It’s good to find things to laugh about. I have been trying to make space (i.e., turn off the news) in my life for more laughter. Watch a funny show, check. Pretend to eat my baby’s legs (he loves this!), check.

The season is ramping up on the farm this time of year. We will start harvesting almost non-stop very soon. We’ve started with getting in the garlic, and next the onions. Between CSA harvests, wholesale harvests and the constant cucumber, zucchini and broccoli harvest there isn’t much time left for other projects. Every year I don’t really know how we get all the stuff done. It’s a marvel.

I love this time of year on the farm though. I love the variety and bounty. I love the new potatoes! I love the go-go-go feel. It can also be a little much at times, which is why I’ve been glad over the years that often there are people on the crew who keep things fun, or have funny anecdotes about weekend activities. It’s nice to have people to share inside jokes with, or running gags. Especially in the particularly stressful year we all find ourselves in.

I hope that some laughter finds its way into your week, and that you num  num num every veggie with joy!

For the farm crew,

Karin

PS Dave has us pick just the tops of the basil, so it should be good to go for a small batch of pesto!

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In your share this week:

Basil – Green Beans – Carrots – Cilantro – Cucumbers – Garlic – Head Lettuce – Onions – Green Bell Peppers – Hot Wax Peppers – New Potatoes – Tomatoes – Zucchini

 

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Carrot and White Bean Burgers

From the Smitten Kitchen

  • Olive oil
  • 1/2 cup panko-style breadcrumbs
  • 3 shallots, or 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup packed grated carrot (from 2 medium carrots)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • Two 15-ounce cans cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Burger accompaniments, as you like

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add the panko and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer crumbs to a large bowl, then return the pan to the heat.Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet, followed by the shallot or onion. Cook until softened and lightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, salt, and carrots and stir frequently until the carrots are soft and a bit blistered, another 8 to 10 minutes. Add the vinegar, scraping up all the browned bits until the pan is dry. Remove from heat and add the bowl with the toasted panko. Add beans and use a wooden spoon or spatula to very coarsely mash the mixture until a bit pasty and the mixture coheres in places—there should still be plenty of beans intact. Add pepper, and more salt if needed, to aste. Stir in the egg. Shape into 6 patties (I used a 1/2 cup measure as a scoop) for the size burger you see here; 4 patties for really large burgers (to warn, I found this size a little unwieldy), or 8 to 10 for slider-size.

To cook the veggie burgers, heat a thin layer of olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat and carefully cook until browned and slightly firm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes per side. It may be necessary to cook in batches. Serve hot or at room temperature, with whatever you like on or with veggie burgers.

 

Charred Green Beans with Tahini Yogurt Sauce

From The Leek and the Carrot

2 pounds green beans
1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
1 jalapeno, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, divided
Pinch sugar
Kosher salt, divided
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil on the stove. Once boiling, cook your green beans for 5 minutes then drain and rinse under cold water.
  2. While you wait for the water to boil, you can do a few other things. First toast almonds (either in the oven or on the stove). Then in a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons vinegar with jalapeno, garlic, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt.
  3. In another small bowl, combine yogurt, tahini, water, remaining vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt. Whisk until smooth.
  4. Once your beans have been blanched and cooled, heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until it glistens. Toss the blanched green beans in there and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook over medium high heat, stirring every minute or two until most sides of the green beans are a little charred (about 10 minutes).
  5. Serve by spreading yogurt mixture over a shallow bowl and topping with green beans. Sprinkle with quick pickled jalapenos and almonds before enjoying. Season with flaky sea salt (or more Kosher salt) and more freshly ground pepper before serving.

Summer CSA Week 10

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A couple of weeks ago we walked through some fields – with newly sprouted cover crop – to pull out some of the towering (compared to the baby cover crop!) pig weed and lambs quarter. Looking across the fields they looked much better after, though when we were in there we could see plenty more weeds that we may get to at some point. Maybe.

Soon Janaki will be doing trip after trip with the old dump truck full of manure from a local cattle farm. The manure gets turned and composted and turned again and composted some more (a few cycles of that over weeks) and then can get used on fields next year to add rich nutrition to the soil.

Next year, crops will be moved around to avoid being planted in the same places as this year. That way we can avoid disease, pests (hopefully), and the plants can go into fields that have had time, cover crop, and nutrition added back in. Our healthy soil and extra work to maintain it keeps our vegetables healthy, and the farm healthy for years to come.

Janaki has some of the rotating stuff down to a science (I mean spreadsheets), but much of it is still an art. He knows what fields may have low spots that will be wet in spring, and can’t be used for early crops. He knows which ones have heavier, and richer soil that might be good to go to plant into, and which ones might need some organic fertilizer added in. He has a rotation of cover crops that works well for us down to a science too. Bare fields can equal sad soil, and having crops that add organic matter, or elusive nitrogen naturally back into the soil is a must for organic agriculture.

It’s a cycle of wholeness. And it leads to some pretty good whole food.

I wish I could say that everything I eat or otherwise consume follows this same pattern, or puts back what it takes out from the planet. I can’t say that; though I hope to keep moving that direction.
More and more, it is so challenging to me when I think of what things cost on the shelf not always being reflective of how much they really cost from an environmental (yes, that includes humans too!) perspective.

The truth is the cost on the shelf for organic food, or organic clothing (or non-toxic baby mattresses as I’ve found out) is an insurmountable barrier for many people, both here and around the world. I don’t want to minimize that. It’s a real problem.

Conventional agriculture is also a problem. Perhaps many of you have our CSA share because you already know this and are bothered by mono-cropping, pesticide use, loss of top soil and the list of negativity goes on.

Might I add another to the list.

Ammonium nitrate.
The elusive nitrogen that all crops (corn needs a lot, for example) require. Ammonium nitrate is one of the fertilizers that gets used around the world, in staggering quantities, in the production of all kinds of non-organic crops.

And it’s a bomb.
I feel like I should say it “can be” a bomb. It’s very often used for agriculture, but it’s also also used in war. And, I’m sure many of you remember exactly where you were on April 19th, 1995.

And in Beirut… does it matter now what the original purpose of it’s manufacture or intended destination was? Does it matter that it *could have been* fertilizer if it becomes a bomb in the middle of a city anyway?

I was living and farming in Waco, Texas when a fertilizer plant 25 minutes north, in the town of West, exploded. At the time it happened, I was video chatting with friends at a cafe, and it was only after the call ended that I realized that I had been half-hearing sirens the entire time through my head phones. When I went inside to return my cup (and to see if anyone knew what was going on), the TVs were all on, and everyone was silent or on phones trying to call friends or family.
You’d be forgiven for not remembering, it was two days after the Boston Marathon bombing.

I had no idea that that plant was up there, and if I would have known I had no idea at the time what ammonium nitrate was. I am sure many (most?) people in Beirut or in the whole of Lebanon didn’t know that tons of the stuff was being, almost randomly, disastrously, stupidly stored at their port.

I think as humans we just can’t keep up with how dangerous our world is. How much danger we add to it. We won’t be able to control storms, or drought, or volcanoes (though our actions surly add to the devastation they cause). But what we can and do add in the way of poisons, bombs… it’s overwhelming.

I wish this could be a swords to plowshares kind of post… but the materials we’re talking about aren’t nearly as simple as hammering metal into a different shape. If only that was the task we were undertaking. Again, so what if it’s destined to be fertilizer if it blows up anyway?

By partaking in the food from your CSA share each week you’re taking steps (and power!) away from the machine that seems to roll along in our world and hurt so much in it’s path. You’re taking steps (and giving power!) to safer, cleaner alternatives. It’s hard to feel like we have much power in the face of such destruction, or in the face of such wide-spread unsustainability, but the power we do have we can wield. Even by wielding your fork.

For the farm crew,

Karin

 

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In your share this week: Green Beans, Broccoli, Carrots, Cucumbers, Dill, Lettuce Mix, Green Onions, Parsley, Green Peppers, New Potatoes, Tomatoes, Zucchini

 

Many of you long-time members will remember the porch at 427 N. 16th Avenue East. The Benson’s have been members since the beginning–before the beginning, actually. Their porch served as a pickup site from 1994 until this year because they were anticipating the sale of their home. It is officially on the market this week, and I promised a number of people that I would pass along the listing once it was up. Since I don’t remember who that was, I’m sending it along to everyone in the hopes that this special place might stay in the Food Farm family: https://s.paragonrels.com/goto/2_IPp

 

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It doesn’t hurt that weeds can be so beautiful.

 

Refrigerator Pickled Green Beans

Can double or triple.

  • 5 ounces green beans
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1 small dried chile
  • 1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Before you trim the green beans, arrange them vertically in a 1-pint jar to see how many will fit. Pack them in as tightly as you can—once you add the hot liquid, they will shrink just a bit, so feel free to really cram them in.

  3. Remove the beans from the jar and trim them to fit, leaving at least 1/2 inch of head-space. Pack the trimmed beans back into the jar.

  4. Peel the garlic and cut it into quarters. Stuff the garlic pieces into the jar with the green beans.

  5. Add the coriander seeds, dried chile, peppercorns, and the bay leaf into the jar around the beans.

  6. Put the vinegar, wine, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 minutes (the sugar and salt should be completely dissolved).

  7. Pour the hot mixture over the beans. The liquid should completely cover all of the beans. Screw on the lid and let the jar sit until it’s cooled to room temperature.

  8. Once the jar is cool, refrigerate the bean pickles for at least 2 days or up to 6 months before eating.

 

Herby Potato and Green Bean Salad

From Taproot Magazine

1 1/2 lb potatoes, cubed
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lb green beans
6-8 radishes
1/4 medium onion
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh dill
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh tarragon
3-5 green onions (to taste)

Dressing:

1/2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/4 c olive oil
2 Tbsp grainy mustard
2 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp honey’
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Boil or steam potatoes. Boil or steam beans. If boiling, add plenty of salt to water. Chill beans after cooking in ice water. Salt after steaming/rinsing.

Fold the chopped herbs and radishes, beans, and potatoes once cooled.

Lightly toast mustard seeds on medium low heat in a pan, stirring to avoid burning. Crush seeds in mortar with a pestle. Shake all dressing ingredients together in a jar.

Gently mix dressing into salad, taste for salt. Serve a bit warm, or out of the fridge up to 4 days later.

 

 

 

 

Summer CSA, Week 10

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The smell of new babies and milk weed is in the air. Fresh cabbage, new potatoes and a delightful week of rain.

Above is a photo Janaki took harvesting kale in the pouring rain for Monday’s share box last week!

Janaki took a hiatus from the farm this week while the rest of us tried to fill his shoes. Also Karin greeted us with her baby boy!

We are entering the tomato season. Outside tomatoes are starting to ripen and the greenhouse tomatoes are taking off. If you are wondering what to do with all the tomatoes in your box…..you should try sun drying them!

I experimented with sun drying tomatoes in my car this weekend. It worked great. I would recommend using slicers because cherry tomatoes take twice as long as slicers do. Also place them on parchment paper. If you place them directly on tin foil them will likely stick.

The sun gold tomatoes were not completely dried after 12 hours in the car. The slicers and Juliet’s that I cut into 1/4s were!

To minimize strange looks and bugs avoid driving your car with tomatoes on the dash board.

With gratitude and grace we thank you for finding creative ways to eat tomatoes, greens mix and all the other delightful veggies we put in your box week after week.

From a smiling farm crew,

Tiffany

In your CSA box:

Green Beans, Cilantro, Cucumbers, Dill, Greens Mix, Lettuce, Onions, Snap Peas, Green Pepper, Jalapeno Pepper, NEW Potatoes, Tomatoes, Zucchini

Turmeric Roasted Potatoes with Green Beans

  • 4 cups potatoes chopped into small cubes
  • 1/2 lb green beans chopped into small pieces
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tbs finely chopped basil
  • 1/2 tsp garlic finely chopped
  • 1/2 tbs turmeric (for some spice in life!)
  • Salt and pepper

Place oil in pan on medium heat. Once pan is hot place potatoes in pan. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and add green beans, herbs and spices. Cook uncovered for another 5-10 minutes. Serve immediately for maximum deliciousness.

Tomato Tart

  • Use your favorite pastry dough recipe or buy some ready to bake stuff at the co-op
  • 1 lb tomatoes
  • 1 lb ricotta cheese
  • 1 clove of garlic, sliced thin
  • Fresh chives to garnish
  • Salt and pepper

Prepare dough and place in refrigerator for later. Slice tomatoes into colander, sprinkle salt over them and let them rest for 10-15 minutes.

Roll dough out into a 14 inch round circle. Spread olive oil over it and the ricotta cheese. Add the garlic and place sliced tomatoes on top. Fold over the edges to keep everything in place.

Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes and enjoy!