CSA Spring Share 2013 - Week #10 (11 December/14 December)

WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items harvested this week.  Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop.  The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is.  We endeavor to divide the harvest fairly.  A "*" next to an item indicates that this is something that is being rotated through the boxes.  "F" indicates that this item is in the full share box.   "H" indicates that this item is in the half share box.

CHANGE TO THE PICK UP SCHEDULE To accommodate those picking up their Mountain View Farm milk, Farm Pick Up times are Friday afternoon from 3pm-5pm and Saturday mornings from 8am-11am.

NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies.  We envisage that many of the vegetables you are receiving this week will last for two weeks with careful attention to storing upon arrival. Although we do wash all the greens after harvest, we are washing to take the heat out of the plants and wash away some surface dirt, not to prepare them for consumption.  We also spray a seaweed/herb brew about every ten days.  While this will not harm you, it does have a taste. We do suggest washing your produce prior to eating.

NOTES ON THE SHARE *Artichokes – Still rotating small and medium artichokes through the boxes! *Basil – Bunches in the AM delivery boxes this week and in the full shares Bok Choy – The ANDI rating for bok choy is 824 - higher then spinach and broccoli! (ANDI stands for "Aggregate Nutrient Density Index." An ANDI score shows the nutrient density of a food on a scale from 1 to 1000 based on nutrient content. ANDI scores are calculated by evaluating an extensive range of micronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidant capacities.) The same caterpillar we have been fighting is still present.  There is damage on the leaves but we hope there is still plenty left for you to enjoy. *Capsicum –The capsicum harvest has begun.  The cooler, wetter weather this week have slowed the capsicum and chilies down.  Still,  we harvested some 'Purple Beauty', 'Emerald Giant', and 'Corno di Toro'. I have put a photo of the varieties at the end of this email to help with identification. Carrots – Bunch in every box Chilies – By Request and availability–We sent an email out with a description of the chilies we are growing this year.  We will try and add that information to our website as well so you can identify what you receive. *Cucumbers –We expected to have more cucumbers this week but the cool weather slowed them down.  There are loads of babies on the plants. *Japanese Hakurei Turnips –These are lovely, tender, subtle flavoured turnips.  They are sometimes called salad turnips because you can eat them raw.  They are also delicious thrown into a stew or fried in duck fat. We hope to have more next week so that everyone gets to try them. Lettuce – 'Red Iceburg'.  These are beautiful, succulent heads. Mesclun – Bag of mixed lettuce and greens in every box. Parsley – Bunch of Italian parsley in every box. *Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree.  They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir fries too. These are rotated through the boxes.  We have lots of plants but the harvest has only just begun.  It might take awhile to get them into everyone's box. Rocket – Bunches of rocket. *Romanesco Broccoli – This is much more of a cauliflower then a broccoli.  We are rotating this through the boxes like the cauliflower.  You may receive 'Romanesco' or cauliflower. Shelling Peas – The sugars in these plants begin to degrade into starch after harvest - so try and eat them tonight! Fresh peas are so delicious.  We like them raw in salads as well as very lightly steamed.  They freeze well, too.  Shell and blanch them for 1-3 minutes.  Remove from water and cool quickly in ice water. Drain and then freeze. English Spinach –F and H delivery pm– A planting of English spinach was ready for harvest.  It was a new seed variety and the germination was not what we had expected.  Consequently there was not enough for everyone.  The full shares and the afternoon deliveries have received this.  The morning deliveries and Saturday pick up will receive 'Perpetual Spinach'. 'Perpetual Spinach' – H delivery am and Saturday– A delightful, tender silver beet with a fresh lemony taste.  These are bunches of teenage size leaves. Sugar Snap Peas –H– Bags for the half shares this week. *Summer Squash – 'Golden Crookneck' and 'Patty Pan'.  Here is a recipe for 'Patty Pan' squash, which look like small oval greenish/white gourds.  They are delicate and delicious. The Golden crookneck are so sweet steamed with butter, salt and pepper. *Tomatoes –We have started harvesting tomatoes.  With the cold, there are not many turning colour.  The flavour of tomatoes are better ripened away from direct sunlight so we do harvest ours before they are fully ripe.  We leave them on the kitchen counter to ripen which should take about three to four days.  We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties 'Black Russian', 'Rouge de Marmande' and 'Ox Heart Red'.  There are many more in the poly tunnel so we hope that this is just the beginning of the crop. Zucchini – Great harvest of zucchini is continuing.

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING This has been a funny harvest week with bits and pieces of many new crops.  The beginning of a crop is like that, especially with the cooler weather.  This Spring has been very different to last Spring.  We have had a few hot days and lots of rain.  The greens are loving it!  The "fruiting" vegetables like beans, cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes, capsicums would like it warmer.  We had hoped for beans by Christmas and the plants are filled with flowers and some 2cm beans.  Two weeks to go and only the weather will tell if we will have them or not.

The melon plants are full of flowers and there are already some pretty big looking pumpkins growing in the pumpkin patch.  This years watermelon crop is the strongest looking we have grown.

We are continuing to be vigilant about blights and powdery mildews that thrive in these damp conditions.  We will do another biodynamic spray at the end of this week as well as more herbal brews mixed into the seaweed spray.  All of these help the plants to tighten their pores.  The biodynamic spray also helps the plants uptake minerals which results in nutrient dense produce that is more resilient.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Turnips with Carmelized Onions and Toasted Lentils Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Greens, Feta and Semi-dried Tomatoes Ottolenghi Red Rice, Quinoa and Rocket

You can search our recipes by looking for the key ingredients on our website recipe page.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX EMAILS Expect the What's in the Box email before noon on Wednesday's.  If you do not receive it, please let us know so that we can work out why.

Please note - Photo is of a full share box.