LES CSA

Summer Salad with Yogurt (or Buttermilk) Dressing

2011-08-18T13:50:00.001-04:00

Small Share

4 Tomatoes
2 Summer Squash
1 Garlic
2 Onions
1 lb. Beets
1 bunch Radishes

Large Share

4 Tomatoes
2 Summer Squash
1 Garlic
2 Onions
1 lb. Beets
1 bunch Radishes
2 Cucumbers
1 Bunch Basil
1 Head Lettuce

It's pretty easy to make a summer salad composed on a plate, Northern European style. Peel and boil beets cut into bite size pieces until tender. Cover with cool water to bring to room temperature. Drain. Arrange on individual plates, then top with a variety of summer veggies: lettuce, sliced cucumber and tomato, radishes and maybe a little sprouts and sweet corn, if you have some. Dress with a vinaigrette made with either cider or sherry vinegar to which you've stirred in a little yogurt or buttermilk, then seasoned with mustard, white pepper, chopped capers, a pinch of sugar and some chopped dill (or parsley).

To make this a meal you could add a breaded chicken or veal cutlet. And as long as you're breading and frying why not consider doing up a few slices of the summer squash? A little fried food is hardly an indulgence against a mountain of salad.

Fritters!

2011-08-12T10:23:00.004-04:00

Small Share
1 head Garlic
2 Onions
6 Tomatoes
4 Summer Squash
4Cucumbers

Large Share
1 head Garlic
2 Onions
6 Tomatoes
4 Summer Squash
4Cucumbers
1 lb. Beans (Mix of Provider(green), Royal Burgandy(purple), Gold
Rush(yellow), and Dragon's Langerie(yellow with purple stripes).)
1 bunch Kale
1 bunch Swiss Chard

I found a rich thing to do with the summer squash in this month's issue of Food and Wine magazine. It's an adaptation of a Mario Batali zucchini recipe.

Squash Fritters

2 summer squash, grated
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup ricotta (sheep is best)
2 eggs
salt and pepper
3/4 cup flour
olive oil for frying.

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients while heating a large pan with 1/4 inch of oil. When oil starts to shimmer it's ready to go. Add 2Tbs mounds of the mix to the oil, spreading to form 3 inch fritters.Fry over moderately high heat, turning once until browned and crisp. Let cool on paper towels to drain off excess oil.

These are rich, so I'd serve a simple salad of tomatoes dressed with olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.

Bonjour!

2011-08-04T13:24:00.000-04:00

Small Share

1# Beets
1# Carrots
1 Head Garlic
2 Onions
Summer Squash or Cucumbers

Large Share

1# Beets
1# Carrots
1 Head Garlic
2 Onions
Summer Squash or Cucumbers
1 bunch Kale
1/3# Salad Mix
Beans

I’m feeling a little Frenchy this week, so here are two bistro classics:

Beet salad with goat cheese: Peel beets and cut into bite size chunks. Boil until tender, then cover with cold water to cool them. Place in a bowl, top with salad greens, toasted walnuts and some goat cheese. Dress with vinaigrette: olive oil and good vinegar in a 3:1 ratio whisked together with salt, pepper a little chopped garlic.

Soupe aux carottes: Beautiful carrots make beautiful soup. Saute a little chopped onion and garlic in butter in a heavy bottomed pot. Add sliced carrots with just a little more water than you need to cover them. Simmer until carrots are cooked. Turn off heat and puree with a hand mixer. Season with salt and pepper. If you’re feeling a little indulgent you can add a drizzle of cream and/or garnish with some crumbled bacon. Makes a nice start to a summer meal.

Bon appetit!

Thinking (Mostly) Greek

2011-07-28T13:36:00.006-04:00

Yassou, readers! I’m JP Bowersock, and I’ll be taking this column over from Lauren. I hope you’ll find it as enjoyable as it was in her very capable hands. Here’s what we have this week:

Photo by Cynthia Lamb

Small Share
Cucumber
Garlic
2 Onions
Summer Squash
Zucchini
Tomatoes

Large Share
Cucumber
Garlic
2 Onions
Summer Squash
Zucchini
Tomatoes
2# Beans
1 Bunch Kale
1/3# Salad Mix

Looking at this week’s CSA preview the first thing I think is Greece. Vivid blue water lapping against perfect beaches, where you sit at outdoor tables sipping retsina while toying with an hortakia (Greek salad) as the heat of the day breaks. We’ve got cucumber, tomato and onion coming in; all you need is a little feta cheese and some olives and you’re set. Dress sliced tomato, cucumber and onion with a squeeze of lemon and a splash of olive oil, after arranging attractively on a plate. Just slice the onion very thin so it doesn’t overpower everything else. Top with feta cheese and olives. Throw in some bread and a glass of wine and you have a nice, light summer meal. For something even lighter go for a shepherd’s salad, replacing the feta with chopped parsley. Light is good in this heat.

We can stay on a Greek theme. The Greeks love their vegetables sautéed in generous amounts of olive oil and garlic, then simmered with crushed tomatoes. (Season with a pinch of salt and maybe a little oregano). This treatment would work for the summer squash. It would also work for the beans those with a large share will be getting. In fact, those with the beans can literally beef them up into a main dish by adding some browned ground beef (or lamb, if that‘s how you roll). That would make for a complete meal with some rice or bread.

For the kale in the large share I’d head across the Mediterranean to the Iberian Peninsula for a soup that would be equally at home in Spain or Portugal. Finely chop the kale and sauté in heavy bottomed pot with onion and garlic in olive oil with a pinch of salt. Add water or broth and a peeled potato cut in chunks. Simmer until potato is soft. Mash it all together with a potato masher. Taste and reason. If you share the Iberian love of cured pork you could add a little ham to the soup for extra flavor. (The Portuguese would use their chourico, a dry cured pork sausage).

Whatever you choose to do, enjoy your veggies!

-JP

A Table: Kohlrabi, Meet Kolache

2011-07-19T22:59:00.002-04:00

My name is Lauren Cerand, and I'm delighted to be a core member and new recipe editor. Please visit every Wednesday morning for a recipe or two inspired by the preview list:

At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since. –– Salvador Dali

Small Share

Beans
Fresh Onions
Tomatoes
Napa Cabbage
Kohlrabi

Large Share

Beans
Fresh Onions
Tomatoes
Napa Cabbage
Kohlrabi
1 bunch Kale OR Dandelion Greens
Baby Kale
2 Summer Squash

Last year was my first year participating in community-supported agriculture, and I embraced the challenge. Kohlrabi was the revelation of the season for me. According to Local Harvest, "Kohlrabi belongs to the cabbage family... They were popular in Germany during the 16th century... Both the leaves and swollen underground stem are edible, specially the stem which can be green, white or purple... If young and tender they may be eaten raw, very thinly sliced." So, easy to put in salads, or munch on, while expecting a taste somewhere between a radish and a mild turnip. Or, intensify the experience with a main dish worthy focus, such as German-Style Stuffed Kohlrabi, from Gourmet (1992).

Today I spent my afternoon basically living a Wes Anderson movie, with details too numerous to mention so I will focus on the basics: I was part of a trio tasting several varieties of kolache, a Bohemian import that is something like a fruit danish, as a French chef tried to perfect them for a Nebraskan with memories of her grandmother's farmhouse table at lunch, "for twenty or thirty, and, of course, the biggest meal of the day," all to the tune of idle chit-chat about a young man who is looking after Ezra Pound's castle in Italy this summer, and Salvador Dali's romantic overtures to Gala, involving live lobsters. They were successful. "Of course," I replied. "One would imagine that when it came to Dali and seduction, you were either in or out." And, obviously, everyone was exquisitely dressed. I went with "sophisticated stowaway."

Image from the National Maritime Museum's 2007 exhibition, "Sailor Chic."

Here's a traditional recipe for Poppy Seed Kolaches, from St. Anthony Croatian Catholic Church:

3 c Flour
1/2 c Ground almonds
1 1/2 ts Baking powder
1/4 ts Salt
1/2 c Sugar
1 c Butter
1 Egg
1 tb Lemon juice
1 t Grated lemon peel
2 tb Water

-----POPPY SEED FILLING-----
1 c Poppy seed
1/2 c Milk
1/4 c Honey
1/3 c Chopped dates
1/3 c Chopped nuts
1 d Cinnamon

Mix the first five ingredients and the lemon peel; cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Combine the egg, lemon juice and water to add to the flour mixture. Knead lightly into a ball; divide into 8 parts. Roll out each part on a floured board until it is 1/4 inch thick, then cut into 4 inch square. Spoon about 1 teaspoon Poppy Seed Filling (FILLING: combine all ingredients in a saucepan; cook over low heat until thick, stirring often; use when cool) into the center of each square. Bring two ends together to form a cylinder. Pinch together to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet and brush with milk. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm if possible.

A Table: Plates to Share with Friends

2011-07-12T23:44:00.003-04:00

My name is Lauren Cerand, and I'm delighted to be a core member and new recipe editor. Please visit every Wednesday morning for a recipe or two inspired by the preview list:

Small Share

Tomatoes
1 bunch Beets
Beans
1 Zucchini
1 bunch Japanese turnips
1 bunch Cilantro OR Parsley

Large Share

1 bunch Arugula
1 bunch Beets
Tomatoes
1 Zucchini
1 bunch Japanese turnips
1 bunch Cilantro OR Parsley
1 Napa Cabbage
1 Bunch Kohlrabi
1 Cucumber
Beans

"This week we have partnered up with our neighbor Katchkie Farm to provide you with produce! Lucky for us Farmer Bob had an excess of produce this week that will go bad if not harvested, and we have a severe lack of produce this week to give. So it all works out. Katchkie Farm is about 5-6 miles from us and is also certified organic."

The way I see it, this week's all about share plates, and brunch, the ideal meal for friends. Recipes are selected from The Best of Gourmet, 2006, which I won one night at a bar in Red Hook. Ah, the joys of youth.

Bubble and Squeak
(Fried Potatoes and Cabbage)
Serves 4

1 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1 lb Cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cover potatoes with cold salted water, by 1 inch and bring to a boil, then boil uncovered, until tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 18 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Heat butter in a 10-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then saute cabbage with salt and pepper, stirring frequently, until tender, about five minutes.

Add potatoes, mashing and stirring them into cabbage while leaving some lumps and pressing to form a cake. Cook, without stirring, until underside is crusty and golden, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tomato Bread Pudding
Serves 6 to 8

5 cups (1-inch) cubes country-style bread (from 1 loaf), crusts discarded
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) whole tomatoes in juice, or equivalent fresh
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce such as tabasco

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400F. Toss bread cubes with butter in a 13 by 9 inch baking dish until coated. Puree tomatoes in a blender five seconds, then transfer to a small sauce pan along with water, brown sugar, tomato paste, salt, and hot sauce. Bring mixture just to a simmer, then pour over bread cubes, stirring to combine. Bake, uncovered, until edges are beginning to caramelize, 35 to 50 minutes.

Serve with Buck's Fizz, or Mimosas (fresh squeezed orange juice and a solid bubbly, like cava or prosecco), and some sublime bacon. I prefer Mosefund's Farms bacon, from Branchville, NJ, available at New Amsterdam Market.

Lest you not feel as though you have the proper table setting, remember, ingenuity is always close at hand...

Notes a profile of the Duchess of Devonshire in the Financial Times: The fashion designer Oscar de la Renta was a regular summer visitor to Chatsworth in the 1990s, and the Duchess of Devonshire, chatelaine of the great country house in Derbyshire, felt that the flower arrangements for the dining table were becoming a little predictable... A lifelong lover of chickens, she pressed some of her favourites into service. A Buff Cochin cockerel of steady temperament, specially washed for the occasion, took his place in a rectangular glass container at one end of the table, with a pair of his consorts in a similar container at the other... The pièce de résistance consisted of newly hatched chicks, snuggled into little china baskets, with hay to keep them warm. The hens were so beautiful,” says the duchess. “Oscar de la Renta entirely understands hens.”'

We should all be lucky to have such friends.

A Table: Trendy Chips, Perfect Drinks & More

2011-07-05T23:59:00.001-04:00

My name is Lauren Cerand, and I'm delighted to be a core member and new recipe editor. Please visit every Wednesday morning for a recipe or two inspired by the preview list.

Pictures from the farm... Can you see Comfrey? Me either. He must be drinking the milk.

Small Share

1 bunch Basil
1 bunch of Kale
1 Head of Lettuce
Sugar Snap Peas
1 Summer Squash
1 bunch Scallions

Large Share

1 bunch Basil
1 Head of Lettuce
Sugar Snap Peas
1 Summer Squash
1 bunch Scallions
1 bunch Broccoli Raab
1 Head Yukina Tatsoi
1 bunch Dandelion Greens
1 Cucumber

Famous golfer and beverage name bestower Arnold Palmer (see also: Bangable Dudes in History, My Daguerrotype Boyfriend, Time Machine Cougar)

This week's recipes focus on our spotlight vegetables, kale and squash. First, a recipe for the very trendy kale chips you may have heard about in the last couple of years, from Melissa d'Arabian's Ten Dollar Dinners at the Food Network:

1 head kale, washed and thoroughly dried
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and salt. Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes. Serve as finger food.
And second, Marinated Zucchini and Summer Squash, from Giada's Family Dinners:

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound zucchini (about 3 large), trimmed and sliced diagonally about 1/4-inch thick
1 pound yellow crookneck squash (about 3 large), trimmed and sliced diagonally about 1/4-inch thick

Whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the marinade into a small bowl. Cover and set aside. Add the zucchini and yellow squash to the remaining marinade in the large bowl and toss to coat. Transfer the mixture to a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Cover and marinate at room temperature at least 3 hours or cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.

Prepare the barbecue for medium-high heat. Grill the vegetables until they are crisp-tender and brown, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a platter. Drizzle with the reserved marinade and serve hot or at room temperature.

I don't know about you, but I spend most of my summer days trying to make nature's most exquisite Arnold Palmer, which is half lemonade and half iced tea and all perfection.

Here's Tyler Florence's Arnold Palmer:

4 English breakfast tea bags
1 tea kettle filled with boiling water
1 cup Simple Syrup, recipe follows
1 cup lemon juice
1 lemon, zest
2 cups ice cubes

Tie the tea bags together attach to the handle of a large pitcher. Pour the hot water over the tea bags and into the pitcher. Set aside to steep for 5 minutes.

To a blender, add the Simple Syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest and ice cubes and pulse to puree. Place the mixture into the freezer until the tea has finished steeping.

Add ice cubes to a large glass and top with the tea. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the lemonade into the glass.

Simple Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Add the sugar and water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.

The best thing I've read this week would have to be the Food Issue of Creative Nonfiction, featuring Ruth Reichl on culture and criticism and much more... a must for thinking omnivores. Check it out.

A Table: Dandelion Greens & Beets Done Sweet

2011-06-29T21:42:00.000-04:00

My name is Lauren Cerand, and I'm delighted to be a core member and new recipe editor. Please visit every Wednesday morning for a recipe or two inspired by the preview list.

Here is this week's list (recipes follow):

Small Share

1 bunch Beets
1 head Lettuce
1 bunch mini purplette Onions
Sugar snap peas
1 head Yukina Tatsoi
1 bunch Dandelion Greens

Large Share

1 bunch Beets
1 head Lettuce
1 bunch mini purplette Onions
Sugar snap peas
1 head Yukina Tatsoi
1 bunch Dandelion Greens
1/3# Mizuna Mix
1 bunch Radishes
1/2# Baby Swiss Chard

A couple of tricky ones this week! Beets and dandelion greens. I had dandelion greens for the first time last spring, when I spent almost a week in Santa Cruz and shopped almost exclusively at the farmers market there.

I stayed in a great little apartment with a couple of resident cats outside (see above for a snapshot of my good friend "Orange Fluff"), spent my days on the patio and at the beach, and wondered what to do with dandelion greens. Here are a few lovely options for this magnificent vegetable, "named after the phrase dent de lion, or 'lion's tooth,'" ranging from simply tearing and serving the leaves to a Provencal soup.

The conventional approach to beets is roasting. However, at the Fat Radish, the Lower East Side's own vanguard for the farm-to-table movement, there's a beet chocolate cake that I've often sampled. While I didn't have time to write the owners and ask for the recipe, I did find one online for double dark chocolate beet muffins that would make a very special Fourth of July brunch.

A Table: Sugar Snap Peas and Tea

2011-06-21T21:34:00.001-04:00

My name is Lauren Cerand, and I'm delighted to be a core member and new recipe editor. Please visit every Wednesday morning for a recipe or two inspired by the preview newsletter.

Blue and willow tea set by DRGceramics

Above, a tea set made by my pottery teacher at the Educational Alliance. I took a class there a few years ago, discovered I had no natural ability whatsoever, and could not cultivate any new skills when it came to molding clay. At a certain point, I just relaxed and enjoyed the process. This is also my attitude towards the seasonal fluctuations of the CSA. I would make a terrible farmer, and so enjoy celebrating the bounty of the season, reading about the process and awaiting pictures of Comfrey & Co.

This week's recipe is a commentary by culinary icon James Beard on sugar snap peas, from a tattered and much-loved old vintage edition of The New James Beard (Alfred A. Knopf; New York, 1981): "In the last couple of years a new variety of pea has appeared, called the sugar snap, an edible-pod type of great flavor and distinction. It is different from the flat Chinese snow pea because the peas are fully formed inside the sweet, crunchy edible pod. All you have to do is remove the stem end and little strings, and then eat the whole thing, either raw or cooked very simply–– blanched and tossed with butter or sauteed or stir-fried until the shells just turn green."

Won't these be a lovely complement to your fresh green salad that the other ingredients so nicely add up to on their own? Melissa's comments about savoring the current yield remind me of the necessity for mindfulness and cultivating gratitude that I had plenty of time to work on when I spent a week at Green Gulch, the working farm of the San Francisco Zen Center. Certainly, there's nothing nicer than a steamy cup of tea nestled in hand after pitting plums for hours.

This might be the weekend to check out the New Amsterdam Market, "dedicated to promoting economic development and building a new Market District in Lower Manhattan." Honestly, it's the best market I've been to anywhere in the world, and my favorite discovery a couple weeks back was Bellocq teas. Their No. 40, Charleston blend, pictured below, is "created for and inspired by the magnificent gardens at Charleston, the country residence of Bloomsbury artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant." If you enjoy reading about gardens and the artsy set, don't miss Adam Nicolson's Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History: The Quest to Restore a Working Farm at Vita Sackville-West's Legendary Garden.

Letter From Monkshood (& This Week's Shares)

2011-06-21T09:06:00.000-04:00

Small Share

1 bunch Garlic Scapes
1 Head Lettuce
Sugar Snap Peas
1/4# Pea shoots OR Sunflower shoots
1 Herb plant

Large Share

1 bunch Garlic Scapes
1 Head Lettuce
Sugar Snap Peas
1/4# Pea shoots OR Sunflower shoots
1 Herb plant
1# Cherry Tomatoes
1 bunch Scallions
1/3# Lettuce Mix

We are trying desperately to find enough produce to keep the CSA members happy. Last week was the start of a few rough weeks where not enough got planted in the Spring (because of the rain). So I'm sorry to keep making excuses but this is the reality of farming. I am hoping to make it all up to you as the season progresses. That is why you are receiving plants in your share , when you never had before, and why you are getting sunflower and pea shoots every week! I hope you are enjoying them! Two of our close neighbors also have CSA's in the city and one cancelled altogether the first 2 pick ups and the other cancelled the first 3! We decided NOT to do that in favor of trying to give you SOMETHING even if it is a small amount.

Honestly, I'm quite impressed with what we DO have, and it does help me to savor my food more!

Enjoy!
Melinda, David, and Sorrel
Monkshood Nursery & Gardens

A Table: Turnips, Salad, the Perfect Dark & Stormy

2011-06-14T22:28:00.001-04:00

My name is Lauren Cerand, and I'm delighted to be a core member and new recipe editor. Please visit every Wednesday morning for a recipe or two inspired by the preview newsletter.

Vegetables (from the series Meanwhile, Farmers' Market Farmers)
by Wendy MacNaughton, 20x200.com

Last week, I volunteered for a double-shift, and far and away, the most questions were about turnips. With that in mind, here's the iconic Alice Waters' elegant and straightforward approach, from her indispensable The Art of Simple Food (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2007), which I found at the Lower East Side's own independent bookstore, Bluestockings.

"Buttered Turnips

Turnips have quite a bit of internal moisture and can be cooked without any water at all. This recipe works well with large or small turnips. Peel the turnips if they need it and cut them into medium pieces. Smaller turnips can be left whole or just cut in half. Put them in a heavy pan with a big pinch of salt and a large pat of butter. Cover and cook the turnips until tender over medium heat, stirring every now and then. If the pan starts to brown, turn down the heat. Serve them as is, or mash them with a touch of fresh butter. Turnips can also be sliced and cooked uncovered over higher heat to brown them on purpose; they are delicious caramelized like this. Keep an eye on them to make sure that they don't brown so much that the flavor becomes bitter."

This is my second summer subscribing to a CSA, and I love it! The excitement of learning how to cook unfamiliar vegetables and discovering new favorites (I'm broiling eggplant slices for a late dinner with last week's salad mix as I type), as well as watching the seasonal rhythms unfold, is a true delight I anticipate all year. Early summer always seems to be about light greens, and so I thought I'd share this basic recipe from an extraordinary reissued cookbook, Specialites de la Maison, first assembled by the American Friends of France in the 1940s. I found this whimsical and star-studded gem at Three Lives & Co. in the West Village.

The index notes that Louis Bromfield won the "Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1926 for his second novel, Early Autumn... in the late 1930s, he became known as a visionary conservationist who developed principles of sustainable farming at Malabar, his farm in Ohio." (50 year-old gossip alert! "Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall got married at his Mansfield Farm"). Here is his take on "Delices du Jardin."

"To make it you must have a first rate vegetable garden or a wonderful green grocer as it includes almost everything–– the more the variety, the better the salad. But by the same token it is very flexible and almost any of the ingredients except cabbage, escarole or endive may be omitted. These are essential as they provide crispness and texture which the Chinese and French, the two most civilized people in the world, both regard as considerations in good food.

Take two green sweet peppers, half a head each of red and of white cabbage, one head of well bleached escarole, one head of lettuce, one head of romaine, six finely chopped small green onions, two bunches of celery chopped coarsely, one head of raw cauliflower finely broken up, one good sized cucumber (crisp not wilted), one bunch of radishes sliced thin, four good sized tomatoes cut into eighths.

For dressing use the usual base of good olive oil and vinegar which is beaten, one pinch of cayenne pepper, one tablespoon of French mustard, two tablespoons of finely chopped chives, one tablespoon of finely chopped dill, one teaspoon of sugar, salt to taste. This should be mixed so that the mixture is fairly thick with only enough vinegar to give it tang. Mix in a wooden bowl rubbed with garlic which is cleaned only by wiping after use with a crust of bread.

The vegetables should be soaked for an hour before using in ice water and the salad should be mixed only a moment before serving. The virtues of this salad are twofold–– its crispness, and the variety of flavors which tickle the palate, separately and together, now cucumber, now cabbage, now onion, now sweet pepper, and so on."

And finally, who could forget the harrowing account of last week's hailstorm and its threat to all of our lovely little plants? Let us mix up something with which to toast their swift recovery:

"Dark and Stormy

Combine the rum, the ginger beer, and the lime juice, which is optional, in a tall glass full of ice cubes. Stir. The key here is nailing the precise ratio between the spice of the ginger beer and the richness of the rum. Depending on brands of each used, you may want to play around with the proportions. No true Bermudian would put lime juice in his D & S, but here in the States that's how it comes."

–– From Esquire, with further tips on the correct brand and glass.

To Comfrey!*

*"Our 'baby' Cinnamon, (Coriander's daughter, our milk cow) had her calf last month. It is also a girl, heifer, and I am milking her now every morning, while the baby, Comfrey, gets all the milk the rest of the day."

Registration is now Closed

2011-06-14T14:44:00.000-04:00

If you would consider signing up for the 2012 season next year send an email to lescsa@gmail.com with
subject: "interested in 2012 season"
and we will notify you in the fall when early registration is open.

Thanks to all in the neighborhood for helping Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) grow.

First Vegetable pick up is this week

2011-05-31T21:27:00.000-04:00

Dear 2011 LES CSA Members:

It's the first week of the 2011 season! We look forward to meeting everyone on Thursday, June 2nd. Please bring your own bags or containers (small and large bags are recommended, unless you wish to mix all your vegies together).

Below is a message from Monkshood Nursery with info about our first share. Please remember this is a small family organic farm that we, as members of LES CSA, have agreed to support, and the actual vegies for this week may change depending on what is harvested in the next few days. Because of all the rain, we will have lots of salad greens during the first part of the season (FYI, another local CSA had to push back their first distribution of the season for one week due to the rain). But looks like no drought this year, so get ready for lots of delicious vegies!

Distribution will be on Thursday, June 2nd, from 5 PM - 7:30 PM. If you arrive prior to 5 PM, please wait, or help us setup. Sign in, and then look carefully at what the small share and large share items/amounts are before taking your share. Each vegie will be labeled with name and amount per share. Volunteers will either pre measure or help you measure vegies that need to be weighed. Remember to bring your own bags or containers. We appreciate your patience as we will have 86 members picking up! Thanks so much.

If for any reason you will not be picking up vegies this week (or any future weeks), please email LESCSA@gmail.com and let us know, so that we can plan accordingly. You can always have someone pick up your vegies, they just need to sign by your name.

If you have recipes you'd like to share, please let us know. We look forward to sharing delicious vegies with you this season!

LES CSA Core Group

Tentative List of Vegies for June 2nd:

Large Share :

1/3 # Pea Shoots
1/3 # Sunflower Shoots
Choice of 1/3 # Mizuna Mix OR Mustard Greens
Choice of 1 herb : Oregano, Thyme, Mint
1 Bunch French Breakfast Radishes
1/3 # Sorrel
1/3 # Lettuce mix
Spring Garlic

Small Share :

Choice of 1/3 # Pea Shoots OR Sunflower Shoots
Choice of 1/3 # Mizuna Mix OR Mustard Greens
Choice of 1 herb : Oregano, Thyme, Mint
1 Bunch French Breakfast Radishes
1/3 # Lettuce mix

News from Monkshood Nursery & Gardens

Welcome and Welcome back! It's great to be able to grow food for you all again this year! It's hard to believe it's June already, the older you get the quicker time goes by, or maybe it's the harder you work the less you notice the days as they pass in a blur.

This Spring has been a busy one. Started out very cold and continues to be very wet. I know it's hard to remember after the heat wave we've been having these past few days, but try to remember the conditions under which your salad has had to endure in order for you to eat it. Remember that day about 6 weeks ago when it actually stopped raining? Well that's when David was finally able to get the tractor in the field to cultivate the soil and make a few beds in the top part of the garden - where it's drier. Then he quickly seeded them because the forecast said more rain, and he thought - perfect for germinating seeds! Then it rained and rained and rained and was very cold. We covered everything with row covers to help keep the soil warm, but even so the seeds took a lot longer to germinate than they would if it was 65 degrees day and night and the plants grew very slowly too. Then there was another day the week after, when it stopped raining enough for the soil to dry up so the tractor could get into the field again and make some more beds and spread some compost on the soil and seed some other things, like Radishes and Turnips, Beets and Spinach. These also got row cover on them, because it was still to cold especially at night.

As it slowly warmed up the seeds germinated, but so did all the weed seeds!! Yuck!! The ground was just not dry enough for long enough to make enough beds to pre-germinate the weeds first. We have been just trying to get stuff in the ground! We had trays and trays of transplants sitting in the greenhouse all dressed up with nowhere to go. So in between the rain we were able to get some Lettuce Heads transplanted and some Swiss Chard and Kale and LOTS of Onions, Shallots and Leeks. We were trying to balance the space we had available to plant in with what needed to be planted, not so easy this year, so far.

Then, this week we finally got most of the transplants out of the greenhouse and into the ground, Scallions, more Lettuce Heads, Bok Choi, other Asian greens, Cabbages etc. and the weeds have really taken off, the soil finally reached the temperature at which every weed imaginable loves to grow. It looks so lush and green out there, and then you say - but where did that lettuce go? So anyway, enjoy the salads for now and eventually everything will catch up and we will have LOTS of different vegetables to tickle your taste buds.

Melinda and David Rowley of Monkshood Nursery

Sign-up for a LES CSA Share for 2011 Season

2011-01-14T10:54:00.005-05:00

We are happy to announce that online registration for the LES CSA's 2011 season is now open. This year we are partnering with David and Melinda from Monkshood Nursery once again to bring your delicious, locally-grown, organic vegetables.

We have good news for prospective new members, shares are still available. Shares are secured on a first come, first serve basis so don't wait to sign-up.

Like last year, we need to sell at least 50 large shares (or 100 small shares) by June 1st to make our CSA viable. We are almost there, to reach this goal we need your help. Register today and help us spread the word to your friends and neighbors. Here are the details regarding the 2011 season:

Vegetable Share Options
For the 2011 season Monkshood Nursery & Gardens will be offering Large Family Shares and Small Family Shares.

Large Family Share: Each week 8 - 12 different vegetables selected by Melinda and David from Monkshood
Small Family Share: Each week 5 – 9 different vegetables selected by Melinda and David from Monkshood

Share Pricing
Large Family Share: 8 – 12 veggies per week
Share Price: $610

Small Family Share: 5 - 9 veggies/week
Share Price: $395

Full payment is due by June 1st. Payments can be made via check or credit card. Credit card payments will be processed via PayPal and will incur an additional 3% processing fee.

Schedule
Our season will last for 22 weeks, from Thursdays from June 2 through October 27. Distributions will take place from 5:00 to 7:30 pm at the Mazur Theater Lobby, Educational Alliance, Jefferson Street just South of East Broadway [link to google maps here]

If you have any questions please feel free to contact the core group at lescsa@gmail.com. To secure your spot register now by clicking here.

Registration is now Closed for 2010 Season

2010-05-16T21:06:00.004-04:00

Registration in closed for the 2010 season. Please send an email to lescsa@gmail.com to be included on our mailing list for 2011.

Final Chance to Join - Registration closes June 1st.

2010-04-27T10:05:00.004-04:00

Nice work everyone!

We have reached our goal of 50 shares and are now an official New York City CSA. Our core group has met and we are getting ready for our first distribution in June.

There is still time to join so if you haven't signed up yet, please decide right away and use our online registration form. If you've already signed up please make sure to send in all checks. Our deadline is June 1st.

LES Food Coop Meeting and Potluck: May 4

2010-04-22T20:57:00.000-04:00

The next general meeting of the LES Food Coop will be held on May 4 from 7:30 to 9:00 at the Educational Alliance (197 East Broadway). They'll present preliminary results from their survey, and give updates on their progress so far. There will also be food to share, so feel free to bring something from your own kitchen. (You're welcome without food, too.)

And do be sure to fill out that survey — they're counting on your feedback to learn what's important to you.

Invitation to Join the Core Group

2010-04-08T15:36:00.001-04:00

The core group is responsible for all aspects of running the CSA. For the past month, just a few people have been working to sign up enough new members to make this CSA viable, but now comes the real work of managing distributions, creating special events, and supporting the community. A larger core group is necessary to make this all happen.

Any member interested in participating in the LES CSA's inaugural season in a more constructive way should attend our first core group meeting on Monday, April 19, at 8pm. There are no specific requirements for being in the core group, just a willingness to take on or share certain tasks during the season like managing distribution, contributing to the CSA blog, coordinating recipe sharing, or arranging a trip to the farm.

The Educational Alliance is once again offering us space to meet, in room U12. Please RSVP by using the gadget below.

You Did It!

2010-04-01T22:59:00.000-04:00

No April Fools here — we hit our 50-share target today! We're keeping our registration form open, and encourage you to keep spreading the word to your neighbors. But there's no more question about whether we can pull this together in such a short amount of time.

Thank you to everyone who has signed up, and especially those of you who put up fliers and pestered your friends to join with you.

Any checks that have already been received were deposited today and will be sent to our farmers right away. Anyone who has yet to pay should please send in your check right away. Payment confirmations will be coming your way over the next week.

Help Us Reach 50 Shares

2010-03-23T22:40:00.000-04:00

We had a great meeting with our farmers, David and Melinda Rowley of Monkshood Nursery, tonight at the Educational Alliance. They need us to commit to 50 shares by April 1 in order to make our CSA viable. We're halfway there with one week to go.

If you haven't signed up yet, please decide right away and sign-up using our online registration form. If you've already signed up and want to guarantee that the CSA actually happens this year, please spread the word — tell your friends and neighbors about the LES CSA and send them here to learn more. Or, if you can, print out this flyer and post it around the 'hood.

David and Melinda have already started planting, so they're counting on us to make this happen.

Registration Now Open

2010-03-16T10:44:00.000-04:00

We had a great first information session last night at the Educational Alliance with many neighbors excited about the chance to join the LES CSA. We need to sign up at least 50 shares by April 1 or our farmer, Monkshood Nursery, will not be able to accommodate us for 2010. If you want to participate, please spread the word to make sure we are viable this year.

Our online registration is now open: you can sign up here.

Introductory Info Sessions

2010-03-11T14:40:00.002-05:00

Introductory Session

Monday, March 15 at 6pm

The Educational Alliance — 197 East Broadway

Please join us for our introduction to the neighborhood — the core group members responsible for organizing the LES CSA will be on hand to explain to you what you can expect if you choose to join. We hope to answer all your questions, after which we'll be doing sign-ups for the 2010 season.

Meet The Farmers

Tuesday, March 23 at 6pm

The Educational Alliance — 197 East Broadway

The farmers from Monkshood Nursery, our partner farm, will be here from upstate to explain how CSA's work and how vital our support of small, local to the future of farming in America. Come learn how the farm operates and about the varieties and quantities of produce coming in your share this summer. Core group members responsible for organizing the LES CSA will be on hand to explain to you what you can expect if you choose to join. We hope to answer all your questions. Sign-ups for the 2010 season will continue.

If you can't make it, send us an email and we'll let you know when our online registration form is available.