This Week’s Share
Save the Date
Your Invited to the SIO Annual Potato Harvest Work Party
Saturday August, 1 10am-2pm
Join us for our annual potato harvest work party and french fry feast. This is a very kid friendly event. Please bring a potluck dish to share. Join us anytime during the event even just for lunch!
Schedule of Events
- 10-12:30 spuds harvest
- 12:30-1pm farm tour
- 1pm-2pm potluck lunch
Recipes
Summer Squash Recipes
Note: Remember to look at the last week’s blog for summer squash recipes from Park Kitchen chef de cuisine David Padberg.
Fritto Misto
Recipe from Rob Benedetti (CSA Coordinator Francesca’s Dad)
Note: This dish has been passed down through at least 4 generations of my food loving Italian family, and it is my favorite way to prepare summer squash. Fritto misto simply means fried food in Italian, and this recipe is incredibly versatile (both with the types veggies you can use and the flavors you doctor is up with). For this batch I call for using summer squash, but you could also try some of the green beans or you can also slice up potatoes, eggplant, yams, winter squash, and many other things and prepare them using the same method. Try the suggested combinations, or try something you come up with on your own, just make sure you have some fritto misto.
1-3 summer squash (zucchini or patty pan work), also a great recipe for using any over grown squash if you have any in your garden
olive oil, approximately ¼-½ cup
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-2 eggs
1-2 tablespoons milk, optional
salt
pepper
sugar
lemon
cinnamon
Slice up squash into rounds approximately 1/8”-1/4” thick. Do the same with potatoes, eggplant, or other vegetables if you are using them. Set aside. In a large frying pan or skillet pour in enough olive oil (¼-½ cup) to heavily coat the pan for frying in. Start heating the oil to a medium heat, and in the mean time take 2 shallow bowls place 1 cup of flour in one and crack the egg into other. Lightly beat the egg and add 1-2 tablespoons milk to thin it out if you want. If you are doing a large batch of veggies go ahead and mix up 2 eggs to start out, because you will likely need it.
Test the heat of the oil by dropping 1 to 2 drops of water in the pan, if it crackles gently you are at the right heat. If it crackles loudly and splatters the heat is too high, lower heat until you reach the gentle crackle point. If it doesn’t crackle at all or weakly, increase heat slightly until you reach the gentle crackle.
Next start by taking the squash slices and coating both sides with flour, then dipping them in the egg on both sides, then place them in the frying pan. Cook on first site 2-3 minutes (or until light golden brown), then flip and cook 2-3 minutes on other side. When cooked on both sides remove from the oil to a plate covered with a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle batches immediately with salt and pepper for savory flavors or sugar and lemon for sweet. My dad’s personal favorite is the sugar and lemon combination, and I think a little cinnamon is fun too. Just make sure you do it while they are still hot, that way they absorb the flavor more fully.
Kale Recipe
Gnocchi with Creamed Kale
Adapted from www.cooklikemad.com
Note: This recipe makes 2 servings, but you can easily double or triple for family sized quantities.
For Gnocchi:
1lb of potatoes (some from last weeks share would be great), peeled, cut in half lengthwise, and sliced thinly crosswise
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper
For Creamed Kale:
2 cups half and half
2 cups chopped kale
pinch nutmeg
pinch cayenne or dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
Place sliced potato in a large pot and cover them with plenty of water (at least 1 1/2 quarts or 6 cups) and bring to a boil, covered, over high heat. Meanwhile, chop kale. When potatoes are very tender, easily pierced with a knife, and practically falling apart, drain them in the pot, and place the pot back on the stove for a few minutes just to evaporate any extra water. Do not let the potatoes brown.
Mash the dried potatoes with a potato masher, ricer, or food mill, and spread mash out on a plate to cool. Maximizing the surface area will help cool it faster. Once cooled (they don’t have to be cold, just not warmer than lukewarm, to avoid scrambling the eggs), dump the potato mash into a mixing bowl, add the egg yolk, nutmeg, salt and pepper, then the flour last, stirring just until the dough comes together, no more.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, roll out gnocchi balls into ropes, about 3/4 inch thick. Using a small, sharp knife, cut gnocchi into dumplings, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch apart. If your knife begins to stick to the dough, take care to wash it off before continuing, or your gnocchi will look ragged. Let gnocchi sit out while you make the cream sauce.
Pour half and half, kale, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let it reduce to sauce consistency. While it reduced, drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook uncovered. When the gnocchi rise to the top, they are done (it should take about 1 minute). Drain the gnocchi, place in the saucepan, which is now turned off, toss to coat, and spoon them into shallow bowls to serve. Enjoy!
Green Beans Recipe
Fresh Green Beans with Dill Butter
Adapted from www.real-restaurant-recipes.com
For Fresh Dill Butter:
Note: This recipe is enough dill butter for the green beans and then some.
1 stick softened butter
1/2-1 bunch dill, chopped (choose amount based on how dilly you want the butter)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
For Green Beans:
1 pound green beans
4-6 tablespoons Dill Butter (recipe above, or simply use regular butter and salt and pepper if you prefer)
Wash beans thoroughly in clear, cold water and trim the ends. You may want to cut the green beans into halves or thirds to make them more bite size. You can cut them straight across or at an angle or you can even slice them lengthwise (French cut) if you want. Place green beans in a pot of boiling water and blanch them for 3-4 minutes (Some people add a bit of salt to the boiling water, but this is optional and there should be plenty of room in the pot but don’t use more water than you have to. If you are cooking more beans than you have room for, it’s okay to cook them in batches.) Drain beans in a colander. Place your Dill Butter in a skillet or sauté pan over medium-low heat to melt the butter. Put beans in the pan with the Dill Butter and heat thoroughly, making sure the beans are re-heated but not over-cooked. Plate beans and serve.
Carrot Recipe
Pickled Carrot Spears with Dill
Recipe adapted from EdiblePortland, by Lucy Norris
Note: This recipe can is easily doubled to make 4 pints, but it does require 2 lbs. carrots, so if you want to do that you’ll have to save up for 2 week or harvest some from your own garden.
1 lb large carrots (peeled and cut into spears), or whole small carrots
2 garlic cloves (peeled)
2 whole small chili peppers
2 sprigs dill
1 tsp celery seed (1/2 tsp per jar)
1 1/4 cups white distilled vinegar
1 1/4 cups water
1/8 cup coarse salt (Kosher or pickling)
2 clean pint jars
1. Into each clean pint jar, place one clove of garlic, one chili, one sprig of dill, and 1/2 teaspoon celery seed. Then pack carrots vertically into jars (be careful not to handle mouth of jar).
2. Meanwhile, combine vinegar, water, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour hot liquid over vegetables, leaving at least a 1/4-inch head-space. Remove air bubbles.
3. Place lid over mouth of jar, screw on cap, and then process jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes (longer for elevations over 1,000 ft).
4. Allow jars to cool, and store in a dark cupboard for at least three weeks before tasting. Once opened, store in refrigerator for up to six months (only using clean utensils when handling).
Makes 2 pints
Cucumber Recipe
Baja Style Cucumber Salad
From the fruit cart on Santa Maria Beach, Baja Cabo Sur, Mexico
Note: This is really more of a snack than a side to a dinner. It is a quick and flavorful way to enjoy the fresh crisp flavor of the season’s first cumbers.
1 cucumber
½ fresh lime
salt
cayenne
paprika
Slice up the cucumber into 1/8in. rounds. Sprinkle with salt to taste, cayenne to taste, and a dash of paprika. Squeeze the juice of 1 over the cucumber and spices, toss until coated, and enjoy. If you prefer more lime, then go ahead and use the other half as well.
Dill Recipes
Fresh Green Beans with Dill Butter
(see above in Dill Recipes)
Pickled Carrot Spears with Dill
(see above in Carrot Recipes)
Farmer in Training Spotlight: Caitlin
Caitlin’s interest in science started from the time she spent growing up in her grandmother’s garden all the way through graduating from Wesleyan University with a degree and Earth and Environmental Science. After college Caitlin spent some time in Findhorn, Scottland, an ecovillage where she worked in the garden, took some permaculture classes, and found her first inspiration toward sustainable food systems. After traveling she returned to her hometown of Quincy, MA with the desire to do the groundwork for the first community garden in that area. In order to have more influence on that project Caitlin wanted to gain more direct knowledge to share with the community back in Quincy. Moving to Portland, “the Mecca of local food systems,” was the first step in achieving that goal. After volunteering with SIO in the fall, Caitlin soon looked in to the FIT Program and accepted her offer to join our crew. Out at the farm she enjoys CSA box packing in the barn, racking garlic, and being Jedi (which at SIO means irrigation duty). As with so many farmers Caitlin also loves eating the food we grow and says one of her favorites activities is lunchtime because “it’s a really satisfying work environment and feel really grateful to be in it.”