This week we are harvesting cabbages and beets.  You can expect cauliflower, broccoli and kohl rabi in the upcoming weeks.  We were not familiar with the purple sweet potato variety that we grew this year and at first had mixed feelings about it.  They are sweeter than the white variety but seem drier.  This past week I brought both varieties to market for the first time and we had several costumers tell us that the purple variety is their favorite.  We met a vendor at the Marietta Square Market who used the purple sweet potatoes in her Jamaican sweet potato pudding and a customer that used this variety for juicing.  We are finding out that it's all in the way that you prepare them.   

This Week’s CSA:   
Bell Peppers

Beets

Cabbage

Lettuce

Collard Greens

Arugula

Sweet Potatoes

Tomatoes

Recipes:

Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds grated sweet potato

lb grated yellow yam (omit yam if not available and use lb more sweet potato)

1 cup brown sugar)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup cornmeal ( you can omit the cornmeal and add 1/4 cup more flour)

2 cups canned coconut milk

2 cup raisins

2 teaspoons grated nutmeg

2 teaspoon mixed spice

3 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt (adjust as needed)

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon brandy or white rum (optional)

METHOD:

1.Peel, wash and chop potato into small cubes and using blender, blend on “grate” option until potato is almost smooth. Alternatively, you can grate the potato2.To get the coconut milk, you can grate the coconut, add water, and squeeze out the coconut milk that is formed. Alternatively, you can use canned or reconstituted coconut milk

3.Then once the ground work is done, mix all the dry ingredients, and then add coconut milk, vanilla, liquor and grated potato and mix well

4.Mix in raisins and pour into greased pan and dot with bits of the butter

5.Bake at 375 degrees F for about an hour until set and mixture lifts starts to shrink away from the side of the pan.

6.Cut into slices and enjoy

Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad:

Ingredients

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon honey

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 medium beets, cooked and quartered

6 cups fresh arugula

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries

1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed

3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Directions

Line a baking sheet with foil. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the vinegar, shallots, and honey in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with salt and pepper. Toss the beets in a small bowl with enough dressing to coat. Place the beets on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the beets are slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Toss the arugula, walnuts, and cranberries in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the salad atop 4 plates. Arrange the beets around the salad. Sprinkle with the avocado and goat cheese, and serve. 













***Last week's blog

 With the possibility of frost comes the possibility of losing the summer vegetables. We have covered the tomatoes and squash but are leaving it up to nature for the rest.  The broccoli and cauliflower are growing beautifully and the cabbages are heading, we will start harvesting those next week. The beets are growing more slowly than we had anticipated, so we are going to start harvesting some baby beets next week.  We hope that you are enjoying all of the wonderful greens that we have been sending your way.    There are lots of ways to prepare greens and most are really easy.  Last week at the Sandy Springs Market the chef demonstration (By Hal’s Kitchen in Sandy Springs) was on Swiss Chard.  I wasn’t able to get the exact recipe so I tried to mimic hers by sauteing the chard greens in some sesame oil, I added a little stock and simmered for a few minutes and served it with  a spicy chile sauce on the side…yummy!

This week’s CSA:

Okra

Lettuce (Butter Crunch, Grand Rapids, Devil’s Ear Deer Tongue)

Patty Pan Squash

Bell Peppers

Sweet Potatoes

Kale

Mustard greens

Swiss Chard

Tomatoes

Recipes:

Kale and Sausage Soup:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes

5 waxy potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 bunch kale (12 ounces), stemmed and shredded

12 ounces smoked chicken sausage, cut into 1/2-inch half moons

Directions

1.In a large pot (6 to 8 quarts), heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook until soft, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes; cook unti fragrant, 1 minute. Add potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

2.In a blender, puree half the soup. Return to pot; add kale and sausage. Simmer until kale is wilted, 10 to 15 minutes.

Sweet Potato Fritters:

Ingredients

Corn oil, for frying

1 cup mashed, roasted and peeled sweet potato

1 cup whole milk fresh ricotta

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper

1/2 cup self-rising flour

Directions

Heat about 3 inches of oil in a deep heavy pot, fitted with a deep-frying thermometer, to 365 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine the potato, ricotta, sugar, salt and pepper, to taste, with a hand mixer until smooth. Fold in the flour, a little at a time, until just combined.

Working in batches to avoid crowing the pot, drop heaping teaspoons of the batter into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, turning as needed to brown evenly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and dust with confectioners' sugar and a pinch of salt. Arrange them on a serving dish and enjoy!

Cook's Note: Be sure to let the oil return to 365 degrees F between batches.

agribon on tomatoes to protect from frost

  This week we are harvesting baby heads of lettuce.  These will be the most tender and sweetest head lettuce of the season.  We will include 3 different varieties this week so that you can try them all.  The Kohl Rabi is starting to bulb and the beets are almost ready.  The Broccoli and Cauliflower plants are growing beautifully and are starting to crown.  The 3 varieties of cabbage are also starting to make heads and the carrots are almost ready. 

This Week’s CSA:

Lettuce (Butter crunch, Devil’s Ear Deer Tongue, Grand Rapids)

Sweet Potatoes

Collard Greens

Asian Mustard Mix

Summer Squash (Patty Pan)

Bok Choy

Tomato

Arugula

Red Russian Kale



Savoy Cabbage



Butter Crunch Lettuce

Harvesting Sweet Potatoes

Ivy enjoying some fresh veggies

Broccoli

Devil's Ear Deer Tongue Lettuce



Recipes:

Spicy Collard Greens

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 slices bacon
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 pound fresh collard greens, cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, crumble and return to the pan. Add onion, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until just fragrant. Add collard greens, and fry until they start to wilt.
2. Pour in chicken broth, and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until greens are tender.

Starting to Turn

  With the change of seasons comes a change in vegetable varieties.  Right now we have the best of both worlds- summer AND fall varieties.  We have been patiently waiting for our third round of heirloom tomatoes to turn red and it is finally happening!  The third round consists of Rutgers, Maribolds and a few German Johnsons.  Along with tomatoes, we are harvesting summer squash, okra, peppers, basil and eggplants.   The fall varieties are doing awesome right now.  The kale, lettuces, cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, mustards, collards, turnips, beets, carrots, radishes, Swiss chard, winter squash, kohl rabi and bok choy are coming right along.  Today we are digging 1,000 sweet potato plants.  We had planned on doing this by hand… however, after digging a few feet we came to our senses and recruited our dear friend Chandler and his New Holland for assistance-yippee!!!

Heirloom Tomatoes

Patty Pan Summer Squash



Butterhead and Butter Crunch Lettuce



Beautiful Bok Choy!

Beets

Red Express Cabbage

Winter Squash

This week’s CSA:

Heirloom tomatoes (German Johnson, Sungold, Black cherry)

Summer Squash (Patty Pan- yellow and white)

Okra

Peppers (Bell, Jalapeno, Serrano)

Basil

Oregano

Swiss Chard

Lacinato “Dinosaur“ Kale

Bok Choy

Sweet Potatoes (purple and white)

This week at the market:

Heirloom tomatoes

Okra

Basil

Summer Squash

Winter Squash (Butternut)

Scuppernong

Kale

Mustard greens

Arugula

Swiss Chard

Peppers (Bell, Jalapeno, Serrano)

Eggplant

Rosemary

Sweet Potatoes

Recipes:

Baked Kale Chips:

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Bok Choy with Ginger and Garlic:

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 8 cups chopped fresh bok choy
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• Salt and ground black pepper

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add bok choy and soy sauce cook 3 to 5 minutes, until greens are wilted and stalks are crisp-tender. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.