CSA Week 3!

Post by: Whitney

Well… it’s official, the season is here and the days are full, full, full. Mulching, weeding, harvesting, cheese making, singing, sharing, laughing – the list could go on and on. You may notice that the scene in the garden is consistently changing as we continue to discover new places to plant food and flowers. Our pepper plants have their first tiny green peppers and the snap peas continue to grow on the vine.

The zinnias that I have been coaxing along seem to finally be exiting infancy and entering into new stages of adolescence. I am sure that their teenage years will be met with a new set of challenges, but I will be waiting with my hand hoe ready to meet the weeds.

What my Zinnia's will hopefully look like one day...

This week's basket!

community member Michelle harvesting lettuce

Farm Manager Chris showing his son Isaac a technique for harvesting.

The snapdragons in full bloom in front of the goat barn.

This past weekend was the new moon, a reminder to use our sense of sight to see beauty in the world. As we look out over the garden at Camp Joy, we are blessed with a vision of growth and bounty. I hope that you can feel and taste all of that beauty in your vegetables.

CSA Week 3 - Recipes

Post by: Whitney

I hope that those of you who received vegetables you have never eaten before are enjoying great cooking adventures in the kitchen. This week, you received the following in your basket: fresh garlic, kale, parsley, lettuce, carrots, summer squash, basil, cilantro, dill, loganberries, rosemary, chard.

Some recipe ideas for this week include:

Ginger Kale

1 bunch of kale
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 large cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
juice of 1 lime
freshly ground pepper

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add kale and boil 2 to 3 minutes until slightly wilted. Drain in a colander.In a large skillet or wok, heat oil and butter, add garlic, onion, and ginger, and saute until onion is softened. Add kale, tossing until combined. Cover and cook over low heat just until kale is tender. Sprinkle with lime juice and toss. Grind fresh pepper over kale and serve.

Orzo, Chard and Squash Casserole

1 1/2 cups orzo
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh green basil
1/2 cup grated Muenster cheese
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 bunch steamed chard, coarsely chopped, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon drained capers
salt to taste
freshly grated cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo and reduce heat, cooking until orzo is tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, add butter, basil, cheese and freshly ground pepper. Set aside. In a large skillet heat oil, add zucchini and mushrooms and saute until almost tender stirring frequently, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chopped chard and garlic; continue cooking stirring frequently until zucchini is soft. Stir in capers. Toss vegetables with orzo and add salt to taste. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top.

CSA Week 2

It's a lot to handle you know, those super fun baskets you get every week. To tell you how we feel before, during, and after the CSA.









What went in your baskets: Logan Berries, Fava beans, Rosemary, carrots, lettuce, kale, parsley, cutting greens, summer squash, garlic scapes, Swiss chard, dill, garlic, and basil...Wow! FYI Every week we rotate who updates the blog so this week who? Ivo! I'd do it every week but they wouldn't let me hehe. Tell us in any way what you think about camp joy and the CSA! I'll see you guys out in the field. How to spot me? I'll be singing and or dancing.

CSA Week 2 - Recipes

Pasta with Fresh Fava Bean Sauce:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano (or rosemary)
1-1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups raw, shelled fava beans
3/4 pound dried fettuccine
4 oz. piece pecorino cheese or Parmesan cheese

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic and 1 1/2 cup fava beans, saute briefly until garlic is light brown. Stir in the oregano, then add 1 cup of the stock. Bring to a boil, season with salt and pepper. Simmer to blend the flavors, about 3 minutes.

2. Scrape into a blender container and puree with the remaining 1/2 cup stock until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan and add the remaining 1/2 cup favas. Simmer gently and taste for seasoning. Add salt and especially pepper.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Pour the pasta into a warm serving bowl and add the sauce. Toss well and thin with the pasta water, if necessary, until the sauce is glossy and not sticky. Serve immediately and grate the cheese over the top at the table.

4. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the pasta. Just before serving, ladle a little hot pasta water into the bowl for a couple minutes to warm it up. Drain the water before filling the bowl with the pasta.


Italian Summer Squash Polenta Bake:

3 carrots, sliced
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 large yellow squash, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup spaghetti sauce
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pinch garlic salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (18 ounce) package prepared polenta

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Saute carrots, zucchini, squash, onion and bell pepper in a large saucepan with a small amount of olive oil. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Saute vegetables for approximately 5 minutes and pour in spaghetti sauce. Stir, cover and simmer until vegetables are slightly tender.

3. Slice polenta into 1/2 inch circles and season with garlic salt and pepper. Heat enough oil in a medium skillet so as to completely cover the entire bottom of the pan. Pan fry seasoned polenta in hot oil, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from oil and layer the slices in a large casserole dish. Spoon the vegetable mixture over the polenta and then sprinkle with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

4. Bake casserole for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6

CSA: Week 1

It was very exciting to see the baskets and the flower bouquets disappear one by one from the shady porch today! We hope you're enjoying the bounty.



Your basket was filled with: garlic, garlic scapes, kale, dill, parsley, chipolte pepper (dried), lettuce, rosemary, summer squash, chard, escarole, and cutting greens.

CSA Week 1 - Recipes

Grilled Escarole

1 large head Escarole
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Turn on grill to medium-high heat.

Leaving the head intact, clean escarole thoroughly. Next, slice the
escarole “long-ways,” resulting in two identical halves. Lightly drizzle the
olive oil over the halves, trying to cover all outer surfaces. Season with
salt and pepper.

Place escarole on the grill, browning one side quite well before flipping
and grilling the opposite side (about 2-3 minutes on either side).

Using a large sharp knife, remove the root end of the halves and chop
grilled leaves to desired size. Dress as desired.


Garlic Scape Tortilla

1 & 1/2 cups chopped garlic scapes
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup hot water
Salt & Pepper
4 large eggs
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Place garlic and scallions in a 10 inch skillet with 1 tsp. oil, 1/4 cup water and a pinch of salt. Cook covered over med. high heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well. Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Add remaining oil to skillet. When oil is hot, shake skillet to spread greens evenly, add eggs. Cover and cook over med. low heat until top is set [2-3 Minutes].

Welcome!

Greetings Camp Joy CSA members,

Our CSA begins in just a couple of days (Tuesday 6/15), yipee!! Our work that began sometime in January pruning fruit trees and sowing our first seeds (onions) is now coming to fruition. Our cool, wet spring and late start to summer has slowed down a few things, but it has produced beautiful stands of greens and peas, the perennials look amazing, and all the annual flowers and vegetables still have their look of spring vibrance. So, plan some time to wander the garden when you come for your bouquets and baskets this week and enjoy the beauty.

Just a few words on CSA protocol, mostly for new members but maybe everyone can use a refresher. Your baskets and bouquets will be available on the Big House (large wooden house on the Irwin Way side of the garden) front porch at 9 am every Tuesday until October 19th. The earlier you pick up your goodies the fresher they will be. If you are going to be late, let us know by emailing or calling (338-3651), and we can arrange something. We generally bring everything inside that hasn't been picked up by lunch, so just look inside if your basket isn't on the porch. If you are going to be out of town, please arrange for a friend to pick up or let us know not to make a basket/bouquet for you. Each share is given 2 baskets. You can take the full one home, bring it back empty the following week and trade for your next full basket. We'll be glad to reuse the bags, fruit baskets and rubber bands that we package your produce in. If we have an abundance of something we will put it out on our "abundance table". Feel free to take from what is there. This is also a good spot to leave produce that you don't use so maybe someone else can. The season always starts off a little slow, but don't loose hope. We have a great fruit set (mostly on the pears and apples), and all the plants look amazing. So, in no time you'll have baskets brimming with goodness. Have a great season!!