Week 10: Shannon the Grocer

This week's box: broccoli!!! and golden beets from Yonder Farm, red or yellow new potatoes and arugula from 8th Street Greens and Lapin Cherries from River Valley Organics. The fruit shares get extra cherries, a pint of blueberries and some raspberries. Last week the cheese shares enjoyed Feta (I love it!) from Sunny Pine Farm and get an aged cheese from Larkhaven Farmstead Cheeses this week. The Rye Currant bread from Okanogan Bakery was soooo delicious last week! I wonder what the bread shares will get this week?!!

Shannon leaves notes to members of the CSA on the cooler, letting them know about extra local produce.

Thank You to the CSA members who are taking advantage of me easily ordering extra food for you and delivering it with your box. It's no problem and I like giving the extra support to the orchardists, row-croppers and berry farmers. Also, it helps them better appreciate me as a “grocer.” The sugar snap peas are only in season another week or two. Order extra now. I'm hoping to put them in your boxes again next week. My family loves eating sugar snap peas from the freezer, throughout the winter. The frozen peas break from out of the freezer bags easily. We dump them, having already been chopped accordingly, into soups or stir-fries. Sometimes we sautee them separately, then have rice, corn and peas on the plate with hamburger. A tasty, kid-friendly meal.

Sugar snap peas are the perfect snack for a hot, summer day. Cool, juicy, and crunchy!

Arugula has 52 pages of recipes on epicurious.com (a free website of recipes). So, have at it! :) I'm hungry at the moment which is probably why I'm mentioning hamburger and steak in this newsletter. . .

Steak with Parmesan Butter, Balsamic Glaze, and Arugula

Bon Appétit | October 2008

4 star review, Makes 2 servings

Active time: 20 minutes, total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese plus Parmesan cheese shavings

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature; 1 12-ounce rib-eye steak; 1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar; 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots; 1/2 teaspoon (packed) dark brown sugar

4 cups (lightly packed) arugula; 2 large lemon wedges

Preparation: Mix grated cheese and butter in small bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside. Sprinkle steak generously with salt and pepper. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak; cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to plate. Add vinegar, shallots, and sugar to skillet; boil until reduced to glaze, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Divide arugula and Parmesan shavings between 2 plates. Squeeze lemon over. Slice steak; place atop arugula. Top steak with Parmesan butter. Drizzle lightly with glaze.

Another succession of salad greens has just been planted at 8th Street Greens. Shannon plants multiple successions throughout the growing year to keep your greens fresh and tender.

Baby fennel glistens in the early morning sun.

Isn't the garden beautiful in the early hours? Thai Basil soaks up the sun so it will grow big and someday you will see this basil in your CSA box!

Creamed New Potatoes and Peas

from The St. Paul Farmers Market Produce Cookbook

(a gift from a 2010 and 2011 CSA Member, Thank-You)

2 Cups whole small new potatoes, unpeeled; 2 cups sugar snap or shelled fresh peas

Cream sauce: 5 TB butter; 5 TB all-purpose flour; 2 ½ Cup milk, warm; 1 ½ tsp. Salt; black pepper

Boil potatoes in water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain. Steam peas until tender, about 5 minutes. Make white sauce. In a med. saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook over low-med heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add warm milk, all at once, and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and stir until sauce thickens. Stir in salt. Pour over the mixed potatoes and peas. 6 servings.

Best ~~Shannon

Portait of a family's farm: a canoe sits in front of the hut that will be used for hanging garlic.

8th Street Greens cultivates quite a few varieties of garlic. This one is Chesnok Red, and it will be hung up in the shaded hut (above) to be dried and cured and put in your CSA box.