 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| www.denisonfarm.com |
 |
|
|
Friday August 19, 2011
Greetings CSA Members,
Jeannine Laverty has written a wonderful piece about the Onion Harvest last weekend. This year I too participated and could not have told the tale better! Hope you enjoy it.
Have a great week and enjoy your share - Justine
This week in your share, you will most likely receive:
Lettuce, Parsley, Braising Greens, Husk Cherries (Maggie's Inspiration), Melon, Garlic, Tomatoes, Sweet Onions, Green Peppers, and Corn (But I can't be sure until 5:30 tomorrow morning when it is picked!)
"Last week a great gypsy band played at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs. Many of their tunes gathered speed and then stopped suddenly, evoking instant cheers from the audience. That’s an onion harvest, one of the most exhilarating of our jobs at Denison Farm.
Thursday morning dawned clear, bright, dry. We wore long sleeves again. Fall is in the mind, if not quite the air. The tops of the onions had wilted pretty suddenly, the forecast was for a couple of days of similar weather, we were a big crew: perfect conditions for going through the 15-18, 300’ longbeds of onions, pulling up the crop and laying them to dry with wilted tops shading the large healthy bulbs. Grab a handful, brush with the other hand to tidy the line of withering foliage, move along, breaking the rhythm only to yank out any annoying galinsoga weed wanting to add too much living green to this study in browns and grays.
When Brian noted calmly that it was time to stop for lunch but some wanted to finish the last two beds, we all wondered how he could have considered any alternative but immediate completion. The energy of an onion harvest feeds on itself; it’s rough and fast. It’s fun, partly because we’re not striving for the usual and impossible perfection of skill and speed.
But there’s another reason. Onions are a pain to plant. They come as six-inch plants, tangled together in boxes of 2,000. We spread them out in trays on the transplanter and then have to separate them into twos and threes to go in the ground. The first time I did that planting, the metaphor of rolling fingers over pencils to give two to each student while walking down the classroom aisle kept me amused; but limp pencils tangle and stick together. Not only that, but the classroom grows to stadium size before those boxes and boxes and boxes are empty, their contents tamed, untwisted, securely standing in rows. We plant onions for days, but are too limp ourselves to cheer at the end.
So the harvest is sweet revenge, and celebration. “Look how big they are!” Hardly any rotten ones!” “Remember that terrible year..?”
Onion harvest Part 2 comes two days later. They are dry enough, ready to be picked up into totes and poured into storage crates with wire cages placed in the center to allow continued drying. Rain is forecast, so we work with urgency. Some, like this writer, only show up for the last two hours, others have been working since 5 am with only tiny breaks. We are sweaty and happy as Walter sings, “Who will get the last one? Who will get the last one?” The field is dotted with huge full crates, waiting for the tractor’s forked strength to take them from the field and stack them in the barn. We cheer, and stand straight, stretching our backs.
I drive home listening to Fishtank Exchange, that great gypsy band, and this story starts writing itself."
(And for the record, I (Justine) grabbed the last 3 onions - fighting my daughter Maggie back from the taking!)
Husk Cherries
When ripe, the husk turns brown and papery. If left in the husk, it will keep for several weeks. The husk begins green and the fruit is truly ripe when it is a beautiful golden color while the husk turns a papery, transparent brown. Leave on counter to ripen if husk is still a bit green.
Recommendation: Use them raw in a salad or dip them in chocolate.
Husk Cherry and Goat Cheese Salad
1 pound field greens or 1 head of Lettuce, washed
1/2 pound husk cherries
4 ounces herbed goat cheese
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp basalmic vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp coarse sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
1. Wash lettuce, remove cherries from their husks, and wash. Dry.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Mix together lettuce, husk cherries, and dressing. Divide onto four plates.
4. Thinly slice goat cheese, and distribute slices onto plates (3-4 slices per plate). Serve.
Husk Cherries by Annabelle in her Super Cool Food Blog
“Husk cherries, sometimes called husk tomatoes, cape gooseberries, or groundcherries, are members of genus Physalis, part of the nightshade family and close relatives of the tomatillo. Their small, yellowy-orange fruits are encased in paper-thin husks, which are peeled away before the fruit is eaten. And here's the thing: their taste is intoxicating. Very fresh, with strong overtones of pineapple, and a mild, green tomato taste at the end. Fruitier than not, and super sweet.
I bought four cups with the intention of eating the cherries raw over yogurt, but of course I couldn't leave well enough alone. Riffing on their pineapple flavor, I decided to turn them into an upside-down cake. The result was every bit as sweet as I remember, but slightly less cloying, and maybe a bit more adult (I don't think my mother added rum, for one thing). Let's call it the locavore's upside-down cake: When you don't want to crack a can of pineapple, husk a husk cherry instead.
Husk Cherry Upside-Down Cake
(adapted from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook) Makes one 9 inch cake
* 12 Tablespoons butter
* 1 cup turbinado sugar (light brown sugar may be substituted)
* 1/4 cup dark rum (use orange or pineapple juice for a non-alcoholic version)
* 4 cups husk cherries in the husk (equals 1 1/2 cups husked)
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 egg
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup white sugar
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and granulated sugar in a medium bowl, and set aside. Remove the husk cherries from their husks by squeezing at the stem end. Rinse the cherries and discard any that have split or are discolored.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over low heat, and add the turbinado sugar. Remove from the heat and add the rum. Return the pan to the stove and cook on low for 3-4 minutes. The sugar may not completely dissolve. Remove from the heat and pour the sugar mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9 inch cake pan. Add the husk cherries and arrange them in a single layer in the bottom of the pan. Set the pan aside.
Over low heat, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the milk, and slowly add in the melted butter, whisking to combine. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the cake pan and smooth to the edges with a spatula. Bake the cake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake rest ten minutes, then invert it carefully onto a large plate and let it cool an additional 20 minutes. Serve the cake with lightly whipped cream.
More on Husk Cherries
“Opening each one is like a little present. Most of them are a beautiful golden color, but they range from yellow to orange, sometimes with a peachy tinge or green tinge. When you slip one into your mouth (don’t eat the paper-y layer), the skin is smooth and taught, like any other cherry tomato, but it bursts with a vengeance, and floods your mouth with tomato and mango juices, blessed by a tropical sun…It tastes like it’s been injected with mango juice, fortified with sunshine! It’s sweet, almost candy-like.
I've seen them called husk cherries, ground cherries, husk tomatoes, and cape gooseberries (though I think the last one is actually a different variety). These guys are indeed cousins to the similar-looking tomatillo, as well as to tomatoes and wild tobacco.
So what CAN you do with a handful of husk cherries? The flavor is so subtle that it can get easily overwhelmed by other fruits, so they're perhaps best as solo-players in agreen salad, thrown into a fruit-mix or paired with a subtle-yet-tart fruit. They're high in pectin, so if you can afford it or steal enough from friends with CSA's, you can make some very lovely jam.
Rebekah's Plum and Husk Cherry Tart
Pate Brisee:
1 1/2 c. flour
3/4 tsp salt
9 TBS cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces
4-5 TBS ice water
Combine the flour and salt on your counter top. Use a pastry scraper to cut in the butter until you get pea-sized chunks of butter (you can use the tips of your fingers to break the butter, too, but be careful that the butter doesn't get too warm). Add the water one tablespoon at a time and use just the tips of your fingers to incorporate it into the dough. When you can squeeze the dough in your hand and it doesn't fall apart, stop adding water. Gather it into a ball pat it into a thick disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
Plum and Husk Cherry Filling:
~10 oz of tart golden plums (weighed un-cut with the stone in), cut into slices
1 pint husk cherries, husks removed
1/2 c. candied ginger
1/2 c. sugar
zest of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1 orange
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 TBS flour
Combine all ingredients. Cover and set aside while preparing the dough. (The liquid in the plums will dissolve the sugar to make a thick paste. At this point, you can taste a bit and adjust the flavorings to your liking.)
Preheat oven to 375-degrees.
Roll the dough out into a rough, 10" circle of even thickness. Lift the dough frequently as you roll and flip it over to make sure it doesn't stick to the counter. Use a light dusting of flour if things start to get sticky. This is a rustic tart, so the exact size of the crust doesn't need to be exact. Transfer the crust onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour the filling into the center of the pie crust and spread it to within 4-5 inches of the edge of the crust.
Looking at the crust as the face of the clock, fold the lip of the dough over the filling at 12:00. Next fold the lip over at roughly 2:00. Then at 4:00. Then at 6:00. Then at 8:00. At 10:00, fold the lip over but then unfold the 12:00 fold partway to tuck the 10:00 fold under so that all the layers fall in the same direction. Brush the top with egg or milk thinned with a little water.
Bake for about 40-50 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown. Let cool for about 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle the top of the tart with Demara sugar (or the spiced gold sugar mix from THIS place) just before serving. Enjoy!
(Jessica on Food Mayhem.com)
Simple Braising Greens with Garlic
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
¾ - 1 lb Braising Greens
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/8 cup water or vegetable broth
Salt to taste
Optional flavorings: Sesame oil, ume plum vinegar, tamari
Optional toppings: sesame seeds, chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted pumpkin seeds
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add greens and garlic, stirring to coat with oil. Stir occasionally until greens are barely wilted, just a few minutes.
2. Add vegetable broth or water and stir, allowing greens to steam until barely tender. Salt to taste.
3. Add flavorings and toppings as desired and serve.
Serving Suggestion: Serve Garlic Braising Greens over Rice, Orzo or Pasta
Zucchini with Sage
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 lb zucchini, cut into 3-by-1/2-inch sticks
1 vegetable bouillon cube, crumbled
1 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter on medium heat. Add the onion and parsley and cook until soft, but not browned.
Add the zucchini sticks, crumbled bouillon cube, sage and a pinch of salt and pepper. Gently stir to coat the zucchini. Cover and cook until tender, from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how tender the raw zucchini is to begin with, and how small you have sliced the pieces. Check and stir every few minutes. Be careful not to overcook.
Mint, Watermelon and Queso Fresco Salad
Watermelon
Mint
Queso fresco or Feta
Honey
Dice the watermelon into large, but bite-able chunks. Finely chop the mint and sprinkle over the watermelon. Crumble the queso fresco or Feta over the melon and then drizzle with a bit of honey. Serve at room temperature for the best flavor.
|
|
|
|
You received this email because you are a member of the Denison Farm CSA.
|
|
|
|