CSA Organic Produce Share - WINTER SEASON 2012 - Week 11

Passion Preview for Summer

Farmers always have to think a season ahead, and as we enjoy the last few weeks of this season we are already tasting what's to come next. With some purple and yellow orbs already leading the way, there are plenty of falling passion fruits forecasted for CSA season II. Passiflora is one of those fruits that I think in Latin means summertime fun. Oh, and "here come the smoothies." Ever had a banana passionfruit mango surinam cherry smoothie?" It is the Ridge to Reef summertime breakfast!

Summer is the time when we have the most variety of the season and we can't wait to see the seasonal progression of the upcoming weekly bags loaded with certified organic local fruits and vegetables. 

Summer is also the time when we get to be kids again, and welcome campers from across North America and St. Croix. They will again be converging on Ridge to Reef Farm for a Caribbean farm-life living experience. 

At our CSA Appreciation BBQ we got some wonderfully sweet local watermelons from a neighbor farmer and saved their seed to attempt a late summer crop for season II. No promises, but we are excited to try it out despite the pressures on cucurbits that time of year. 

We still have ample room in the CSA for Season II for returning members! If you have not registered and wish to do so, please do it this week before we promote the CSA season II publicly. We did have some problems with the sign-up form last week, but it is fixed and accessible at: http://ridgetoreef.csasignup.com/members 

Finally, we invite YOUR feedback about this season. Instead of a questionnaire, we thought we would ask for a simple paragraph of your experience in your own words. Also, all suggestions for improvements and what to keep are always so immensely helpful! If we can share your feedback on our website and marketing, please let us know. After all, you are a charter member of the Ridge to Reef Farm CSA program, and your input will shape the direction of our CSA for years to come! Please send your feedback to [email protected]. 

Special thanks to those who came out and rocked with us for the Farm-B-Q and Big Guns Rock, the show was great and so was the food! Thanks to Tahirah Abu-Bakr and Pablo Reyes for the BBQ casseroles, roasted pork, and Jessica Erwin for some amazing cooking! Also, thank you members who came to eat with us in our kitchen. We look forward to seasons of growth together!

Passionately,

Nate

Member 2 Member 

THE RECORD - 13 CSA ingredients, one meal!

by Diana and Rustin Cameron

CSA Use-up Curry
 
CSA Bounty                 We use stems, peels, and all unless noted
Tat Soi                         Entire bunch, shredded
Mizuna                        Entire bunch, shredded
Bok Choy                    I had only rind left, sliced thin
Green Tomatoes         The more the better, sliced thin!!!!
Pole Beans                   Entire bunch, sliced thin lengthwise ‘julienne’
Green Papaya              1 Peeled, deseeded, then shredded
Basil                              Entire bunch 
Turmeric                       Large hunk, pealed
Lemon Grass                Blended paste from previous week, 1 Tbsp?
Green Onion                6 Whole (we include roots and all) 
Chilies                          2 Deseeded, stem removed 
Sugar Cane                  As simple syrup from previous week, 1 Tbsp?
Moringa Powder          sprinkled in ~ 1 Tbsp

Non-CSA Ingredients
Ginger                           Medium hunk, pealed
Cumin                           A good bit
Cinnamon Stick          A good bit, grated on micro planer
Curry                             A good bit, I used green paste 
                                        but to each their own
Coconut Milk              3 Cups
Garlic                            10 Cloves, peeled then minced
Red Onion                    1 Large, peeled then sliced thin
Garbanzo Beans          2 Cups, cooked
 
Optional
Chicken                           1 lb, sliced thin * 
Brown Rice                     To serve curry over


Basic Methodology 
To make the sauce, blend until smooth: Basil, Turmeric, Lemon Grass paste, Green Onion, Chilies, Sugar Cane syrup, Moringa Powder, Ginger, Cumin, Cinnamon, Curry, and Coconut Milk.  Set sauce aside.    
 
In a big deep skillet heat a splash of oil on medium heat.  Sauté veggies until soft. I went Red Onions and Garlic till soft.  Added Pole Beans and Green Papaya cooked covered until soft. Then added Green Tomatoes and Garbanzo Beans for a few minutes before adding Tat Soi, Mizuna, and Bok Choy along with the Sauce. Finally reducing to simmer until everything was nicely thickened and cooked together. Throw over brown rice & eat. Also surprisingly tasty served cold either over rice, in a wrap, or on a salad of lettuce.  
 
*If you are adding chicken: Pour just enough blended sauce over sliced raw chicken to cover and let sit for 30 minutes to marinate then cook chicken in small batches spreading pieces out in the pan so they are not crowded. Brown for a few minutes on each side. When the chicken pieces are cooked and no pink remains, remove from pan. Use the same pan to cook the veggies as above but add the cooked chicken and remainder of the sauce back to the pan at the same point you add the last batch of veggies.
 
Oh yes, my personal waffling statement: I have a hard time with recipes.  Cooking uses so many of my senses but often bypasses my brain so at the table if there is an enthusiastic reception and the question of, “what’s in here” I am reduced to checking my cutting board to investigate what went in the pot.   Thus all elements are estimates, and most likely results are not exactly replicable, isn’t that nice?  We just ended up loving this dish and were so excited that it could represent such tastiness from all our CSA odds and ends lingering around the kitchen. Cheers! 

Meet the Farmer...
Saba, Gomez, Caledonia and Pipen, farm elders

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Saba - came from Georgia many years ago and she will greet you every time you visit us.

Gomez - born in the treehouse, now farm supervisor.

From the field...

We had some nice showers the last week which releaves our irrigation needs but along with the rain and clouds come difficult times for our alternative energy system.

Nearly 100% of the corn germinated. We received a new part for our seeder that was broken which will help us to sow seeds much faster. The Earth Way Push Seeder is a relatively inexpensive tool but saves us an immense amount of labour time.

We're steadily progressing towards a veggie field for the second CSA season. [and the mangoes are on their way!]

~ Nadja, former farm apprentice


PO Box 2903 - Frederiksted USVI 00841 - www.visfi.org - [email protected] - 340 220 0466
Ridge to Reef Farm @ the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute

Member Emily Graci gets the first course of watermelon, banana chips, salad, and more all laid out by Tahirah Abu-Bakr, Jess Erwin, and many others at the CSA Appreciation Farm-B-Q last Saturday.

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Pablo Reyes, part time R2R staffer and VI Agriculture Dept.''s chief butcher, keeps the our farm raised pig (from Solomon's farm) and goat (ours) legs spinning for the CSA Appreciation Farm-B-Q. The rest of the goat became an amazing traditional VI goat water!

The Week's Harvest

Tatsoi
Lettuce Heads
Cucumbers
Bananas
Malabar Spinach
Swiss Chard
Papayas
Tomatoes
Beans
Basil
Cilantro

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Farm Recipes

Chaya Quiche
By Nadja (based on the "Joy of Cooking")

You need:
For the dough:
½ cup chilled butter plus 3 tablespoons lard
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
5 to 6 tablespoons cold water

For the topping:
2 cups milk or cream
1 cup shredded cheese
1 onion, chopped in cubes
3-4 eggs
bunch of Chaya (boiled for 15 minutes), cut in slices
salt, paprika, nutmeg


Directions
1.    Mix the ingredients for the dough and spread it out in a buttered form. Make sure that you have dough standing out on the sides so the liquid topping will stay inside. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 F.

2.    Beat the eggs and mix it with milk and the seasoning.
Get the dough out of the oven and put the egg-milk mixture on top. Add the chopped onion, the sliced Chaya and the chredded cheese. Put back in the oven for about 30 more minutes. Check on it when it starts to smell good. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy.

THANK YOU HOSTS!

Pick-up times

Polly's at the Pier Frederiksted, St. Croix 
Wed 3:30-5:30pm

Barefoot Buddha Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas 
Thurs 11:30am-1:30 pm 

Miriam's Restaurant Christiansted, St. Croix 
Sun 4 -5:30pm


M2M (member to member)

We invite you to take part in the creation of our weekly newsletters.

Share your recipes and pictures, your experiences with the R2R Farm or your thoughts on sustainable farming matters.

We then will do our best to fit it in and share it in one of our upcoming newsletters.

We look forward to your responses!


Wishlist 

Got some things laying around we can re-use in the CSA

• Mongoose traps
• compost toilets
• egg cartons
  
• shallow, sturdy plastic trays for upcoming tomato harvest
  
• milk crates
  
• coolers
  
• zip-locks
  
• popsicle sticks
  
• tarps

• any working garden tools
  
• generator, chainsaw, weed-eater
  
• carpentry
  
• sign-making
  
• massages :)
  
• your CSA bags
  
• feedback