Youth Farm CSA Newsletter: August 6th (week 10)

On the Farm: Our very warm summer days continue, and with them will soon come more tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, eggplants, and lots of other exciting and wonderful vegetables.  The corn is likely only a week or so off, and the melons are sizing up nicely.  All the garlic has been pulled and hung, and now we will sow cover crops wherever space and our rotations allow.  The spring and early summer rhythm at the Youth Farm has softened and now we move into the season of largely crop and field maintenance, projects, and of course harvests!  

In your CSA share this week: Expect to find broccoli, torizoah (a very mild mustard that is delicious and can be used like spinach), lettuce, bunching onions, kale, beans, carrots, beets, cauliflower, basil, fresh garlic, zucchinis, walla walla sweet onions, Romanesco broccoli, tomatoes, and — as always — a few surprises.

And don’t forget to take a walk through the flowers and pick a few for home, a friend, or a special person. The flowers are blooming like fireworks!

For the Recipe this week: Since squash feels like it is coming out of our ears this time of year, I’m thinking it should be the highlighted vegetable of the week.

Before a recipe, a few squash cooking tips:

• Stuffed Squash: bigger squash are great stuffed, just like you would stuff a pepper with meat, rice, and/or cheese. 
• Shredded Squash: shred it and freeze two cups at a time in ziplock bags, so you can pull it out over the winter and cook up zucchini bread.
• Summer Squash = Zucchini: summer squash and zucchini are virtually the same thing so use them interchangeably in any recipe.
• Squash is FULL of water: when cooking squash in a pan I recommend, getting the pan and oil good and hot before throwing in the squash.  There is a lot of liquid in squash, and a quick browning with a pinch of salt is absolutely delicious.

RECIPE: Summer Squash Casserole

Preheat your oven to 375. Steam squash for a about five minutes or so until squash just tender. Put the squash aside and heat in a skillet some olive oil, butter, or both and cook a chopped onion until softened and slightly transparent. Add to the set aside squash and about a cup of copped Brie, a 1/4 cup or so of sour cream, a handful of Parmesan cheese, a few splashes of white wine, some basil, parsley, or coriander, and a minced hot pepper (optional). Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Spread your mixture into a prepared pan and sprinkle the top with some bread crumbs (I like the panko bread crumbs you can buy in bulk at the Good Food Store).  Bake your lovely dish until golden and bubbling.  Some variations to the recipe: try adding broccoli, cauliflower, or kale.  Just about anything from the garden can be added to this casserole.  I’m imaging a burger or a salad as an accompaniment.

If you would like more information about the Youth Farm and our goings-on, please check us out at www.gardencityharvest.org and www.Youthhomes.com, and check out more blog posts!