It’s November! I was very happy to turn the clock back and be able to wake up to the sun shining. It really helps me get started earlier here on the farm. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the rain Friday night and Saturday morning. It was very welcome here!!! Everything was drenched and blissful.
Granola of the week is Raisin Pecan. It can be made in Certified Gluten Free OR Certified Organic. If you don’t specify we will make the organic version. The granola is made right here in Goleta and is mighty tasty. Check it out in our CSA store here!
We had a bike farm tour come through on Saturday and John Givens talked a bit about the bugs that have been a challenge this year. In particular, the bagrada bug has seriously depleted our supply of brassicas. Those include collards, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, mustards, kohlrabi, bok choi and more. In fact we haven’t even had the chance to grow a lot of these without serious devastation to the crops. I’m trying to keep the best varieties of vegetables possible in our CSA shares, but it’s been a challenge when our choices have dwindled. Here’s a picture of the nasty little devil. It’s a stink bug variety and does not have any predators locally. It came from halfway across the world about 2 years ago.
It’s easy to kill with commercial pesticides that are harmful to people and the environment which is why you will still see a lot of it currently growing.
We will keep striving to maintain a variety of fruit and vegetables in the shares. Sugar snap peas, red peppers and satsumas, to name a few, will be in action soon. We are hoping to see carrots back in a few weeks as well. Lots of delicious tomatoes in the mean time. We’ve had a great run with zucchinis but they are quickly drawing to an end.
CSA for November 5th contains:
RED CHERRY TOMATOES
CUCUMBERS
GREEN BEANS
RED LEAF LETTUCE
GREEN PEPPERS
ITALIAN PARSLEY
LACINATO KALE
GREEN ZUCCHINI
RED TOMATOES
RUBY RED GRAPEFRUIT from SOMMERS RANCH
BIG BOX ADD: ASIAN PEARS from GARCIA FAMILY FARMS, ROMAINE LETTUCE, AVOCADOS from VINCENT FARMS, HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, FENNEL
FRUIT EXPANSION CONTAINS: POMEGRANATE from GOODLAND ORGANICS, FUJI APPLES & AVOCADOS from VINCENT FARMS
Green Beans with Tomatoes, Olives, and Eggs
(Easy, delicious….bam. There’s lunch)
Ingredients:
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Lemon wedges
Directions:
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook beans until crisp-tender, 3 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water. Halve beans and place in a bowl; add tomatoes, olives, oil, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper; serve with lemon wedges.
(Recipe from Martha Stewart)
Kale Caesar Salad with Crispy Garbanzo Bean Croutons
Ingredients:
For the Dressing:
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 teaspoons of water to thin if necessary
salt and pepper to taste
For the Garbanzo Beans:
1 15oz can garbanzo beans
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
salt and pepper
For the Salad:
1 head lacianto kale
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Caesar dressing
crispy garbanzo beans
Directions:
For the Crispy Garbanzo Beans:
1.Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
2.Rinse and drain the garbanzo beans; lay them on a double layer of paper towels and dry them as much as you can. Slightly rub each garbanzo bean between your fingers to remove the thin layer.
3.Line the dried garbanzo beans on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
4.Roast the garbanzo beans for 35-40 minutes until brown and crispy.
While the garbanzos are roasting, make the dressing:
5.Combine all ingredients except oil, salt and pepper in the base of a blender.
6.With the motor running, slowly add the oil in a thin stream into the blender.
7.When the dressing is thoroughly mixed, test for desired thickness. If you want it a little thinner, add the water a teaspoon at a time.
8.Season with salt and pepper.
To assemble the salad:
9.Clean the kale and remove the leaves from the thick inner stalk.
10.Chop the kale and transfer to a large bowl.
11.Dress with desired amount of Caesar dressing (I used about 1/2-2/3 of this batch) and grated parmesan cheese.
12.Top with crispy garbanzo beans.
(Recipe from Mountain Momma Cooks)
Garlic Parmesan Zucchini and Tomato Bake
Ingredients:
2 large or 2.5 lbs zucchini, cut into quarters
10 oz grape tomatoes, cut in halves or 2 large tomatoes, diced
7 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
1 tsp basil/thyme/oregano, dried
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped
Cooking spray
Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray 8 x 8 or 9 x 11 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
2.In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients, except parsley/basil, and stir to combine. Transfer to a prepared baking dish and bake uncovered for 25 minutes for crunchy zucchini or 35 minutes if you like well cooked vegetables. I recommend checking for doneness with a fork or knife after 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, garnish with basil or parsley and serve hot/warm.
Storage Instructions: Refrigerate covered for up to 3 days.
(Recipe from IfoodReal)
JUICE FEAST Contains:
CARROTS
ITALIAN PARSLEY
CUCUMBERS
FUJI APPLES from VINCENT FARMS
ASIAN PEARS from GARCIA FAMILY FARMS
FENNEL
CELERY
LACINATO KALE
ROMAINE LETTUCE
LOOSE BEETS