Bakbraken Acres CSA Newsletter

Vol.  10

 August 20, 2012

Greetings from the Farm! We spent much of last week trying to escape the heat and harvesting tons of eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers! The cooler evenings have given us a chance to get a handle on some of the weeds, especially in the new rows of just emerging fall and winter greens. As I look forward to the slower days of winter I can’t help but wish I had more time to preserve the beautiful food that is so abundant in the fields now. Whether by canning, pickling, freezing, or drying now is the time to be saving the flavors of summer for the colder months a head. I’m reminded of a great Greg Brown song called Canned Goods…

Let those December winds bellow 'n' blow
I'm as warm as a July tomato.

 Peaches on the shelf
Potatoes in the bin
Supper's ready, everybody come on in
 Taste a little of the summer,
Taste a little of the summer,
You can taste a little of the summer 
My grandma's put it all in jars.

Well, there's a root cellar, fruit cellar down below 
Watch your head now, and down you go

And there's

Maybe you're weary an' you don't give a damn
 I bet you never tasted her blackberry jam.

Ah, she's got magic in her - you know what I mean
 She puts the sun and rain in with her green beans.

What with the snow and the economy and ev'ry'thing,
I think I'll jus' stay down here and eat until spring.

When I go to see my grandma I gain a lot of weight
 With her dear hands she gives me plate after plate .
She cans the pickles, sweet & dill 
She cans the songs of the whippoorwill
 And the morning dew and the evening moon 
'N' I really got to go see her pretty soon
 'Cause these canned goods I buy at the store 
Ain't got the summer in them anymore.

You bet, grandma, as sure as you're born
 I'll take some more potatoes and a thunderstorm.

Peaches on the shelf Potatoes in the bin
 Supper's ready, everybody come on in, now
Taste a little of the summer,
 Taste a little of the summer ,
Taste a little of the summer,
My grandma put it all in jars.

Let those December winds bellow and blow,
I'm as warm as a July tomato.

Yard Long Red Noodle Beans and Stir-Fried Pork

4-5 red noodle beans

1 lb ground pork

2 tbs dry sherry

2 tbs soy sauce

3 cloves garlic

2-3 tsp Asian chili sauce

Cut beans into desired length. Stir-fry until blistered and mostly tender, remove beans. Stir-fry ground pork with garlic, sherry, soy sauce, and chili. Add beans and stir until hot.

Beet-Green Pasta

½ c currants

approx. 2 lbs of beet greens or chard

1 small bunch of fresh mint

2 medium red onions

2 to 3 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

½ c olive oil

1 lb of your favorite pasta

salt and pepper

Cover currants with boiling water, let soak 15 minutes, then drain. Wash beet greens, strip them of their center stems and chop. Stem and chop mint. Cook pasta in a pot of salted water. Chop garlic and onions, sauté in a pan with olive oil and the bay leaf. Add beet-greens and currants and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes or so. Season with salt, pepper, and mint leaves. Serve the greens on top of a bed of pasta. Enjoy!