Week 5                       Geauga Family Farm CSA                    July 10, 2018 

The Fair Share     

What's cropping up!
Follow us on Twitter Like us on FacebookView on Instagram
  

____________________________________________ 
Settling in
Welcome to Week 5 of the of the 2018 summer season.

By the fifth week, we have worked out all (most!) of the kinks and are sailing along pretty smoothly. We can't promise everything will go perfectly from here on out, but we can keep our fingers crossed, do our best and hope it all works out fine.

As always, please feel free to contact us if any little thing goes awry. We are here for you and happy to answer your questions and help you with any issue that might come up.

We hope you are settling in to weekly boxes of fresh and delicious produce, and are now used to cooking with and shopping around your share. It can take some getting used to, even for seasoned members. If you are looking for ideas, take an upcoming CSA cooking class (See below for more info.) at the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking in Chesterland. Chef Kate Csepegi always has great tips and delicious and inventive recipes to share. Or, simply click here to sign up. There will be a class every month during the season, so if you can't make it in July, you still have a chance to attend one (or more!) in August, September or October.

Warmly,
John Egan, Constance Hendrick  and the farmers and families of Geauga Family Farms

____________________________________________ 
In this week's shares  
Look for some of these items in your share this week:
  
Blueberries, cabbage, yellow squash, zucchini, medium or large tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, red and golden beets, kohlrabi, kale, lettuce (green leaf, red leaf, romaine), broccoli, cauliflower, Asian greens, beans, peas, pickling cucumbers, English cucumbers,  Swiss chard and basil.

NOTE:  You will not receive all of the types of produce lisnapted above. This is a list of possible items. Different size shares and shares received at different times of the week may include different items.
____________________________________________ 
Now in our farm store  
Want to add some produce favorites to your weekly share? You'll find the following items, and more, in our farm store  here. Look for many more items as we progress through the season. Remember, we always have eggs, bread, maple syrup, honey, jams and other items available in our farm store.
 
Beets - 1 bunch for $3.50 
Lettuce: Romaine, Red or Green Leaf - $3 
Broccoli - 1 $3.75  
Asian greens - $3.25 bunch 
Collard Greens - $3.75  
Chives - $2.25 
Cucumbers - 1 for $2.25   Swiss chard - $3.75 
Green Cabbage - lg. $3.75   
Tomatoes - Large $3.25, Medium $2.50    
Green garlic - 1 for $1.75, 2 for $3  Yellow squash - $2 
Kale - 1/2 lb. $2.50, 3/4 lb. $3.50  Zucchini - each $2.10,  (2) $3.50  
Kohlrabi - $3.50   Basil - 1 Bunch $3.50
 
____________________________________________
Recipes
We include recipes each week using the items in your share. While we always find great recipes to share, we'd love for you to send us your favorite recipes as well. We will include them in the next newsletter. Please e-mail them to JEgan@geaugafamilyfarms.org.

Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
7 cups cauliflower florets, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 to 4 Tbsps. olive oil
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 425 °. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Combine the cauliflower and olive oil in a bowl and stir to coat.
Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir until coated, pressing slightly to help the breading stick. Pour onto the baking sheet, spray the tops of the cauliflower with cooking spray and bake for 20 minutes. Stir the cauliflower and continue to bake an additional 10 minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy!
Recipe from IWashYouDry.com

Blueberry Zucchini Bread
3 eggs, lightly beaten
 1 cup vegetable oil
 3 Tsps. vanilla extract
 2 1/4 cups white sugar
 2 cups shredded zucchini
 3 cups all-purpose flour
 1 tsp. salt
 1 tsp. baking powder
 1/4 tsp. baking soda
 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
 1 pint fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.
Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Blueberry Basil Balsamic Mozzarella Crisps 
1  pint  blueberries
Tbsp.  honey
1/4  cup  balsamic vinegar
1/2  lemon,  juiced
Tbsps.  fresh basil chopped
5 oz.   fresh mozzarella cheese,   diced
1 1/2  Tbsps.  canned coconut milk or heavy cream
1/2  Tbsp.  olive oil  plus more for brushing
1  whole grain baguette  sliced into 12 half-inch slices
Salt and pepper  for sprinkling
Fresh basil  for garnish
Preheat your grill to high heat or preheat your oven to 400 °.
In a medium saucepan, cook the blueberries, honey, balsamic vinegar and the lemon juice over high heat, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and the blueberries burst, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil, set aside.
While the blueberries cook mix together the mozzarella cheese, coconut milk or heavy cream and the 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a medium bowl. Brush the baguette slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill or toast the baguette slices in the oven on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes flip and top with a dollop of the cheese/milk/olive oil mixture and grill or bake until the cheese melts, about three minutes.
Immediately top with the blueberries and a sprinkle of fresh basil and a grate of lemon zest if desired.
Recipe from HalfBakedHarvest.com

Mediterranean Cucumber Roll-Ups
1  large cucumber
1/8  tsp.  ground black pepper
6 T bsps.  roasted garlic hummus
6 T bsps.  roasted red pepper,  chopped (sun-dried tomatoes would be good too)
6 T bsps.  crumbled feta
Use a vegetable peeler to shave off long, thin slices of cucumber. You could also cut the cucumber into thin slices using a mandolin. Don't use the inner slices of cucumber that are full of seeds. You should get around 12 useable slices off of one cucumber.
Sprinkle each slice of cucumber with a pinch of black pepper. Evenly spread about 1 1/2 tsp. of hummus on each cucumber slice. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tsp. of chopped red pepper and 1 1/2 tsp. of crumbled feta on each slice.
Pick up one end of the cucumber slice and roll the cucumber around the filling. End with the seam on bottom and secure with a toothpick. Don't try to roll them up too tight or the filling will squeeze out.
Recipe from TheWholesomeDish.com
___________________________________________
Area events
  
CSA Cooking Class #2 

Fresh from Geauga Family Farms
Friday, July 20, 6 p.m.
Loretta Paganini School of Cooking, 8613 Mayfield Road, Chesterland

Cost: $45 for members, $65 for nonmembers (The extra $20 covers the cost of a week's share, which is sent home with the student.)

Using products delivered straight from Geauga Family Farms Community Supported Agriculture shares, attendees will prepare and take home the week's share for several wholesome and delicious dishes. Not a member, no problem! Try out a CSA program for one week! 
 
Take the class time to clean, cut and store all of your vegetables for a week of meals at home if you like, or simply learn the skills and techniques to do so. Chef Kate will lead the group in all aspects of preparation, packaging, will offer tips on handling and storage, and demonstrate how to make several dishes as she prepares a tasty meal for the group. If you've ever been stumped by how to use the surprise items in your CSA, this is the place to find inspiration!

Class menu:  Marinated Vegetable Skewers; Mixed Greens Salad with Pickled Vegetables; Garden Risotto; Summer Berry Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream. 
 
For more information or t o sign up for the classes, click  here .
___________________________________________
Local food, farming, environment in the news
We have so many things we'd like to share with you regarding the local food movement, what is affecting the food you eat and the world around us, and much, much more, but we don't want to make our newsletter any
longer. So, we include links to articles you may find interesting. Here are a few. If you run across any articles you find interesting and think other members would be interested in reading, feel free to send us the link for inclusion in an upcoming newsletter.
CONTACT US
(Between the regular business hours of 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Saturday ONLY PLEASE!)
 
Farm Representative

John Egan, 440-749-6137, JEgan@GeaugaFamilyFarms.org  
Constance Hendrick, 214-636-0335, CHendrick@geaugafamilyfarms.org

Geauga Family Farms, Middlefield, Ohio 44062