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Monday, September 17, 2018

Week 15: So long summer

New trail beginning in the Beals Field!
So summer is on its way out, even with the bright and humid days here and there in the next month or so, I can feel it. The fall greens are bursting out of the ground under their protective row covers, and we are turning over tired old beds that have done their best to grow food for us. We are giving them some fertility and spreading cover crop seeds to blanket them with protective roots for the winter months.
With a hot, sticky summer behind us, I can't wait for cooler weather to finally put an end to the ugly tomatoes and summer fruits that are really done, but I can't bear to not try for the last few perfect fruits that are hiding somewhere in that 3000 row feet of rotting mess. We grew more tomatoes this year than any other year, but they also are done two weeks earlier than other years and I only managed to put away 1 batch of summer salsa to eat in January. I will mourn the sweetness of real tomatoes from now until next July.
I finally feel like turning the oven on isn't tantamount to sacrilege and have been roasting chickens (which then become pot pie, and then stock and then soups and stews) and casseroles again. I think more about eating hot foods and planning crock pot meals rather than just barely making it to dinner before falling exhausted into bed every night. I enjoy my hot tea and coffee rather than wishing it were iced. And I have enough energy to stay up and watch (almost) a whole movie on the weekend. So it must be almost fall. It is very hard to believe that we only have 5 more weeks of CSA after this one. We are almost ready for Winter CSA signups to happen, so keep a close watch on your email, we should sending out the signup link this week! Remember that we always sell out and to get your sign-up in early! Two share pick-ups this season of delicious fall and winter produce (greens, storage crops, herbs and more). 

It's a fruit share week: PEARS & NECTARINES!!!

What's in Your Share (maybe):


Peppers
Eggplant (might be slim, but the plants are producing again)
Bose Corp helping weed the strawberries
Onions
Carrots
Potatoes (thanks Appleton!)
Arugula
Spicy Salad Greens
Baby Bok Choi
Chinese Cabbage (Napa/Asian cabbage)
Kale/Chard

Pick Your Own:
Hot peppers
Okra (starting to be done out there)
Flowers
Parsley

Events:


Chestnut Hill Farm trail race  (part of the Barn to Run race series) is happening on Saturday!!!! Sign up at SunMultisports for the 3, 4 and 5 mile farm trail run.

The Fay School Farmer's Market is also opening this weekend from 10a-1p. Come and check it out- lots of great vendors this year.

Our Fall Festival is less than a month away mark your calendars for Sunday October 7th!!! Pumpking carving, face painting, hayrides, hay maze/obstacle course, 30 vendors and more!


Recipe of the Week:

OMG! I just found the coolest new food blog site!!!!! yeah, i'm in love folks. This is a great site- it's full of great recipes (there are both meat lovers and vegetarian recipes) and a whole e-book of recipes called Kids in the Kitchen. We all know that getting kids into the kitchen is the key to getting them to try cool new foods and its a personal goal of mine to help make that happen as much as possible. You may not know that while I have two stellar eaters who eat an astounding variety of foods, my youngest is the pickiest thing on this planet and would live on baked mac & cheese and PB & J sammies (provided the jam is smooth and is not peach or blueberry or cherry or marmalade or have chunks or seeds) and chocolate. A lot of the recipes are great for dinner and then tells you how to make a kid friendly school lunch for the next day. I urge you to check it out! Yummy Lunch Club
Also, in particular, check out the FARM to FOOD section!!!! These recipes are fresh and delicious sounding and I can't wait to try them out! Honey Thyme Chicken kabobs with peaches and Haloumi cheese!!!!!!WHAT???!!!

Bulgogi-style Korean beef leftovers make a great lunch, OK even breakfast if you ask my daughter who regularly heats up dinner leftovers for breakfast. If you want to re-purpose leftovers into something new, check out the chop suey idea here. Heads up: braising brings out the terrific beef flavour but takes some time so this recipe works best on weekends.
Bulgogi-style Braised Beef with Skillet Baby Bok Choy
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Kids Cook! Get your kids involved in the kitchen by having them help out with this recipe. Here’s what they can do!* Have them help measure ingredients, cut veggies using a kid-friendly knife, and stir cornstarch mixture. 

Dietitian's Tip: Even kids as young as 1- 3 years of age are getting too much sodium. Eating less processed and restaurant food is a first good place to start cutting back. Tweaking recipes helps too. By swapping ½ cup (125 mL) regular soy sauce with ¼ (60 mL) cup sodium-reduced soy sauce, I've cut 5350 mg sodium from this recipe below. Every tablespoon of sodium-reduced soy sauce has 600 mg of sodium.
Source: 
Recipe type: Dinner
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 3 lb (1.5 kg) Beef Simmering Short Ribs, Simmering Steak such as Blade, Cross Rib or Brisket, or Stewing Beef Cubes or Shank, trimmed of visible fat
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 3 tbsp (45 mL) sesame oil, divided
  • 1 whole head of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
  • ¼ cup (60 mL) sodium-reduced soy sauce
  • ¼ cup (60 mL) packed brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp (45 mL) minced fresh gingerroot
  • ½ cup (125 mL) coarsely chopped green onions
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) rice vinegar or cider vinegar
  • 2¼ cups (560 mL) water
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp cold water
  • 5 baby Bok Choy, halved lengthwise
  • Toasted sesame seeds and/or broken cashews (optional)
  • Steamed brown rice
Instructions
  1. Season beef all over with salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat 2 tbsp (30 mL) oil over medium-high heat in Dutch oven or large heavy pot; add beef and brown all over.
  2. Combine garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, gingerroot, onion, vinegar and water in 4 (1L) cup bowl.
  3. Pour over beef; bring to a boil. Cover and transfer to 325°F (160°C) oven; cook for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, until meat is fork-tender.
  4. To serve: remove beef to platter; keep warm.
  5. Stir in remaining cornstarch mixture into remaining cooking sauce; heat over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbling and thickened slightly; spoon over beef.
  6. Portion beef and bok choy onto plates, along with steamed brown rice or noodles if desired.
Notes
Skillet Baby Bok Choy

Heat remaining 1 tbsp (15 mL) sesame oil in large skillet over medium-high heat; add bok choy and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping occasionally.

Add HALF of the cooking sauce and stir in HALF of the cornstarch mixture. Cover and cook until simmering and sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with sesame seeds or cashews.

Skip the nuts if you are planning to send leftovers to school for lunches!


Please Note
*All “Kid’s Cook!” ideas herein are meant as a guide only. You know what your child can safely manage. Make sure they know and understand your rules for working in the kitchen safely and always supervise kids in the kitchen.

Lunch from Leftovers

Chop Suey Made From Leftover Bulgogi-style Braised Beef with Skillet Baby Bok Choy
 
Kids Cook! Get your kids involved in the kitchen by having them help out with this recipe. Here’s what they can do!* Have them help cut the green onion with a kid-friendly knife or kitchen shears, and help assemble the meal. 

Dietitian's Tip: Because this recipe is not overly saucy, do not heat it and put it in a thermos. Liquid is required to hold heat (think soupy); otherwise, it won't stay hot enough and that's a food safety hazard! My husband food poisoned my daughter once by sending fried rice in a thermos...and it's always mom they want when they are sick! Am I right?! So save yourself, and your child, the grief. Either this gets heated in a microwave at school or it goes cold which would be completely fine as well.
Source: 
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • leftover Bulgogi-style Braised Beef
  • left over Skillet Baby Bok Choy
  • splash of sodium-reduced soy sauce (optional)
  • splash of sesame oil
  • splash of hoisin sauce
  • sliced green onion
  • handful of bean sprouts
Instructions
  1. Remove beef from bones and coarsely chop.
  2. Combine with any leftover chopped bok choy, rice and sauce.
  3. Drizzle with splash of soy sauce, sesame oil and hoisin sauce.
  4. Pack along with some sliced green onion and handful of bean sprouts.
  5. Microwave warm and combine with the green onion and bean sprouts.
Notes
Will keep 3-4 days in refrigerator.

Please Note
*All “Kid’s Cook!” ideas herein are meant as a guide only. You know what your child can safely manage. Make sure they know and understand your rules for working in the kitchen safely and always supervise kids in the kitchen.

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