Paisley Farm CSA blog

We have some pretty awesome members, who understand what local eating means and why support CSAs, markets and the like. Lucky for us, some are also incredible home chefs who make master pieces with the seasonal bounty. Thanks to Elizabeth and Brian at Brooklyn Supper  for the shout out and the great recipe. 

Elizabeth’s photography is also source for inspiration. Well done! Happy eating, keep up the good work as we keep up the good growing. 

Content and Image copyright Elizabeth Stark, Brooklyn Supper Blog, 2008-2010. 

” Thanks to the unyielding bounty of our awesome Paisley Farms CSA, we are replete with beets. As of Sunday, the Brooklyn Supper refrigerator contained three bunches of beets and two bunches of beet greens. I had tossed around several recipe ideas, such as beet jam, which seemed mysterious and interesting, or pickled beets, always a winner, but really I just wanted to enjoy unmediated beet-ness. Cue marinated beets. This simple recipe showcases summer beet flavor at its peak.

Remove from oven, uncover, and allow the beets to cool. The skins should peel off with relative ease. This process can vary, so just do your best. Then slice the beets to a 1/4″ thick moons, and toss with the vinegar in a large bowl. Let the beets sit a while so they can absorb the vinegar. Add 1 tablespoon diced rosemary and drizzle the olive oil sparingly. Adjust the salt and pepper levels. To serve, arrange the beets on a plate, and top with a twist of fresh pepper and a small sprig of rosemary, or over a green salad. I found that these were even better the next day. “

“I don’t know what it is… but I want it!”…. ahh, one of my favorite Jessica Simpson quotes…but it came to mind immediately when I found this recipe embedded in a sweet article from PA about local winter eating and the freeing nature of accepting season’s on natures’ terms.

Read the article here, or just try out the recipe below. Complete with nutritional information… this seems like a cool way to make beets into a dessert with an Indian flavor. It takes a while to make but appears to be a gorgeous and aromatic treat. A Halwa is basically a dense, sweet middle eastern dessert… some use carrots, some use grains, some use nuts… but you and me, my local seasonal eating friends, can use beets. Enjoy! 

Beet Halwa

Makes 6 to 8 servings

1 pound beets, scrubbed and peeled

1 quart whole milk

1 cup sugar, or more to taste

4 green cardamom seeds

1/4 cup unsalted butter or ghee

Freshly grated nutmeg

Chopped cashews, sliced almonds, or both (optional)

1. Using a grater or a food processor, grate beets.

2. Combine milk, sugar, and cardamom in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat butter in a frying pan. When foaming subsides, add beets and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add beets to milk and bring to a boil again. Continue briskly simmering, stirring frequently, until milk is mostly absorbed, but beets are still moist, about 1½ hours. (Mixture will continue to thicken off heat.) Remove cardamom.

4. Garnish with nutmeg and nuts, if using. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Per serving (based on 8): 246 calories, 5 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 34 grams sugar, 10 grams fat, 28 milligrams cholesterol, 94 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.

Another week swings around and we’ve had snow and more snow (I know the city got plenty)…passed the major February holidays, one of love and the other of presidents….Mardi Gras is upon us with today being Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday tomorrow signals the start of Lent… Time is flying by! Though winter is still being its beautiful self up here, blanketing upstate with snow today. Now, onto the boxes for this week:

*Red Beans

*Black Beans

*Turnips

*Radishes

*Beets

*Baby Spinach from the green house

….Basically the delicious and life sustaining standards but a word about the Cheese and Potatoes this week. Due to the snow and storms (or the warnings of potential storms) those items are coming for the next share. 

Valentine’s menus all around were showcasing the beet in one form or another…some even carved it into soft heart shapes, but beets really don’t need a holiday to be loved. Growing up, the only beets I knew were sliced into soggy rings and floating in a pool of redish purple liquids on the Shoney’s buffet… so needless to say, I see fresh local beets as such a blessing. A heart healthy blessing that is said to have been first cultivated along the Mediterranean, moving into India, the Middle East and China (850 BC.) Beet’s brilliant red color is said to be a “blood builder” but throughout history was used as everything from a laxative to an aprodashiac by the ancient Romans. 

Beets are high in Folate, Potassium, Vitamin C, and Iron to name a few of its nutrients. Beets thus protect against birth defeats, heart disease, inflammation and are an anti-cancer food. Though light cooking is recommended for the most cancer fighting properties. Lately I’ve been hooked on chunks of beets and lentils all mixed into a salad together with goat cheese on top. It can be kept for days in the fridge and can be eaten cold or hot. Over greens it makes a lovely lunch or warm, it can serve as a side dish or a main dish all by itself.

Our Fresh Produce Delivery at CPE II

Thank you and welcome to all of our new members!

From the feedback I received on the first day of delivery, everyone was pleased and excited to receive their box o’ freshly farmed produce!

There were a few “mystery” items for us city dwellers :). I’ve posted images of some of them so that those of us living around more concrete, than farmland, can “check our answers.”

A Beet

A beet, “obviously” you say. The beet I received was not purple-ish, it was all green, so I was only able to recognize it by its shape. (Although it does look like a radish… hmmm)

My Beet!

Please let us know of any yummy recipes you discover for beets, radishes or parsnips. Email it to me and I will post to the blog.

Here's the beet you may recognize in your share this week.

Radish. This looks like my beet. Now I'm confused.

Golden Nuggest Squash. Not to be confused with a pumpkin.

Use small pumpkins to make soup or a soup bowl with a lid.

Spaghetti Squash. Not sure where "spaghetti" fits in. Eat it with spaghetti, i guess?

Parsnips. Tan, white fleshed "carrot" kin to the turnip?

Chinese Radish. Looks like an oblong albino carrot.

I hope this information is helpful!

Don’t forget to sign up (online) for a pick-up day volunteer shift.

Until we meet again,

Tuesday

CPE II Location CSA Coordinator

courtesy the tiny farm blog

Hey, it’s me. Yeah, down here–your beet greens.  I appreciate you slicing me off from those bumpy, dirty bulbs, but that’s not it between you and me. Hey, hey! Don’t throw me in the compost. I’m delicious–really.

Look at me. I’m lush and green and so much better than those lumpy stick-in-the-mud beets. While they’re burying their heads in the sand, I’m out waving my leafy mane around and getting some sun.

Alright, okay, me and the beets go way back.  We’re actually pretty great together if you’d pay me some attention too. Braise me or saute me and I’ll make those roasted purple bumps on a log better than ever. Add a little chevre, some red pepper flakes, a drizzle of olive oil and I’m yours.