Siren Song Farm Newsletter
Volume 7
Hello wonderful CSAers!
This week we have green onions, baking potatoes, green beans, zucchini and heirloom German Bier Radishes. We are growing the bier radishes at the request of Gruners Restaurant in downtown Portland. They were a hit at the market last week as well. The exciting thing about these radishes, aside from being a famous German heirloom, is that the greens are amazing. Some people at market last week actually gave me the radishes back and just took the greens. They can be sautéed like the kale or ripped up into a salad. We only gave out a couple this week because the radishes themselves have a bit of a kick. I had a pretty hard time eating them but I am a total wuss when it comes to spicy food. Aby and the mini cows LOVE them. The green onions are looking fantastic this week. Any of the recipes that I gave out for the green garlic will work just as well with green onions.
Not sure what to make of this crazy weather we have been having. We didn’t have to turn on the irrigation at all last week. Luckily all of our peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and tomatillos are growing inside the hoophouses safe from the rain. Our plants are close to twice the size of the ones being grown outside!
Thank you all for your wonderful feedback about what you are doing with your produce. We love to hear from you and have been very inspired by your creativity. Keep it up!
This week I am also adding my super secret recipe for what to do with vegetables you secretly don’t like or have way too many of. The first year that we farmed I got carried away planting squash and we had hundreds of them ready all at once. After a couple weeks I was so sick of squash that I was sneaking them to the pigs so we wouldn’t have to eat them. Then I discovered the secret. Beer Batter! I have the Water Street Café in Olympia WA to thank for this revelation. Everything is better when beer battered and fried. I have tried out a lot of recipes for this and I am sharing my favorite one so far. The quality of the batter really depends on the quality of the beer. (Corona is not a good choice- even though we all have one stashed in the back of the fridge that has been there for months.) Good luck and please try not to get burned.
Jen
Arugula, Potato, Chive and Green Onion Soup
SERVES 4 to 6
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups sliced green onions
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• about 4 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, coarsely chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 ounces arugula leaves, chopped (about 2 cups loosely packed)
(radish greens can be substituted here as well)
• 1⁄4 cup minced fresh chives
• Sour cream or yogurt (optional)
1. In a large pot, heat oil and sauté onions for 5 minutes or until softened. Add salt, pepper, potatoes and chicken broth.
2. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. Place half or all of the potato-onion mixture—depending on whether you like your soup to be slightly chunky or fully smooth—and puree in a blender, food processor or with a hand mixer until smooth.
4. Add the puree, arugula and chives to the pot and simmer, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Ladle into individual soup bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, if desired.
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Potato-Vegetable Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
(Add any additional vegetables you have on hand: broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower, parsnips, etc…)
4 cups peeled and coarsely chopped Yukon gold potatoes
2 all-natural chicken breasts diced and pre-cooked
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups beer
1. Heat olive oil and add onion, garlic, carrots, celery and anything else you find in your fridge and sauté 5 minutes. Cook, covered for 10 minutes. Add 3-4 cups chicken broth and potatoes; cover and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
2. Pour half the soup into a food processor and process until smooth. Return to saucepan. Add beer and chicken and cook until heated through. If using, add 1 cup of shredded Gruyere or cheddar cheese (or both) until melted through.
Enjoy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zucchini Gratin
Serves:6 servings
Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a very large (12-inch) saute pan and cook the onions over low heat for 20 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Stir in the flour. Add the hot milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes, until it makes a sauce. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 10-inch baking dish.
Combine the bread crumbs and Gruyere and sprinkle on top of the zucchini mixture. Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small bits and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and browned.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zucchini Feta Pancakes
(from the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen)
about 4 servings
2) In a medium-sized bowl, combine zucchini, egg yolks (or not), feta, onions, seasonings, and flour. Mix well.
3) Fold the egg whites into the zucchini mixture.
4) Heat the oil in a heavy skillet. When it is very hot, add spoonfuls of batter, and fry on both sides until golden and crisp.
5) Serve immediately, topped with sour cream or yogurt.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen’s Now Slightly Less Secret Beer Batter Recipe
This recipe doesn’t have any volume amounts so I am going to guess at the proportions for you. I tend to cook by sight so if something is off with these measurements just add more flour or beer and everything should work out. I would suggest reading through the steps before you start.
Slice assorted veggies into similar sizes. Zucchini, onions, beans, squash, carrots… work well.
In a bowl mix
2 ½ cups of flour
1 tbl. Baking powder
a dash of salt and pepper
In another bowl mix
3-5 eggs
And ½+ of a beer of your choosing
· Mix bowl 1 and bowl 2 together. The consistency should coat a piece of sliced vegetable well. If it is too runny add more flour. If it is too thick add more eggs or beer.
· Cut veggies thinly (around ¼ in or less)
· Dredge veggies in a new bowl of flour (Just a bowl with flour in it to make the batter stick to the veggies)
· Dip floured veggies into the beer batter
· Have hot oil ready and waiting
· Fry quickly on both sides
· Sprinkle with salt and pepper
· Serve hot
Volume 7
Hello wonderful CSAers!
This week we have green onions, baking potatoes, green beans, zucchini and heirloom German Bier Radishes. We are growing the bier radishes at the request of Gruners Restaurant in downtown Portland. They were a hit at the market last week as well. The exciting thing about these radishes, aside from being a famous German heirloom, is that the greens are amazing. Some people at market last week actually gave me the radishes back and just took the greens. They can be sautéed like the kale or ripped up into a salad. We only gave out a couple this week because the radishes themselves have a bit of a kick. I had a pretty hard time eating them but I am a total wuss when it comes to spicy food. Aby and the mini cows LOVE them. The green onions are looking fantastic this week. Any of the recipes that I gave out for the green garlic will work just as well with green onions.
Not sure what to make of this crazy weather we have been having. We didn’t have to turn on the irrigation at all last week. Luckily all of our peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and tomatillos are growing inside the hoophouses safe from the rain. Our plants are close to twice the size of the ones being grown outside!
Thank you all for your wonderful feedback about what you are doing with your produce. We love to hear from you and have been very inspired by your creativity. Keep it up!
This week I am also adding my super secret recipe for what to do with vegetables you secretly don’t like or have way too many of. The first year that we farmed I got carried away planting squash and we had hundreds of them ready all at once. After a couple weeks I was so sick of squash that I was sneaking them to the pigs so we wouldn’t have to eat them. Then I discovered the secret. Beer Batter! I have the Water Street Café in Olympia WA to thank for this revelation. Everything is better when beer battered and fried. I have tried out a lot of recipes for this and I am sharing my favorite one so far. The quality of the batter really depends on the quality of the beer. (Corona is not a good choice- even though we all have one stashed in the back of the fridge that has been there for months.) Good luck and please try not to get burned.
Jen
Arugula, Potato, Chive and Green Onion Soup
SERVES 4 to 6
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups sliced green onions
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• about 4 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, coarsely chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 ounces arugula leaves, chopped (about 2 cups loosely packed)
(radish greens can be substituted here as well)
• 1⁄4 cup minced fresh chives
• Sour cream or yogurt (optional)
1. In a large pot, heat oil and sauté onions for 5 minutes or until softened. Add salt, pepper, potatoes and chicken broth.
2. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. Place half or all of the potato-onion mixture—depending on whether you like your soup to be slightly chunky or fully smooth—and puree in a blender, food processor or with a hand mixer until smooth.
4. Add the puree, arugula and chives to the pot and simmer, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Ladle into individual soup bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, if desired.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Potato-Vegetable Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
(Add any additional vegetables you have on hand: broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower, parsnips, etc…)
4 cups peeled and coarsely chopped Yukon gold potatoes
2 all-natural chicken breasts diced and pre-cooked
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups beer
1. Heat olive oil and add onion, garlic, carrots, celery and anything else you find in your fridge and sauté 5 minutes. Cook, covered for 10 minutes. Add 3-4 cups chicken broth and potatoes; cover and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
2. Pour half the soup into a food processor and process until smooth. Return to saucepan. Add beer and chicken and cook until heated through. If using, add 1 cup of shredded Gruyere or cheddar cheese (or both) until melted through.
Enjoy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zucchini Gratin
Serves:6 servings
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for topping
- 1 pound yellow onions, cut in 1/2 and sliced (3 large)
- 2 pounds zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick (4 zucchini)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup hot milk
- 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup grated Gruyere
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a very large (12-inch) saute pan and cook the onions over low heat for 20 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Stir in the flour. Add the hot milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes, until it makes a sauce. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 10-inch baking dish.
Combine the bread crumbs and Gruyere and sprinkle on top of the zucchini mixture. Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small bits and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and browned.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zucchini Feta Pancakes
(from the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen)
about 4 servings
- 4 eggs, separated (yolks optional)
- 4 cups coursely grated zucchini
- 1 cup finely crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup finely minced green onions
- 1 tsp dried mint (or 1 Tbsp fresh, finely minced)
- a little salt to taste
- 1/3 cup flour
- oil for frying
- sour cream or yogurt for topping
2) In a medium-sized bowl, combine zucchini, egg yolks (or not), feta, onions, seasonings, and flour. Mix well.
3) Fold the egg whites into the zucchini mixture.
4) Heat the oil in a heavy skillet. When it is very hot, add spoonfuls of batter, and fry on both sides until golden and crisp.
5) Serve immediately, topped with sour cream or yogurt.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen’s Now Slightly Less Secret Beer Batter Recipe
This recipe doesn’t have any volume amounts so I am going to guess at the proportions for you. I tend to cook by sight so if something is off with these measurements just add more flour or beer and everything should work out. I would suggest reading through the steps before you start.
Slice assorted veggies into similar sizes. Zucchini, onions, beans, squash, carrots… work well.
In a bowl mix
2 ½ cups of flour
1 tbl. Baking powder
a dash of salt and pepper
In another bowl mix
3-5 eggs
And ½+ of a beer of your choosing
· Mix bowl 1 and bowl 2 together. The consistency should coat a piece of sliced vegetable well. If it is too runny add more flour. If it is too thick add more eggs or beer.
· Cut veggies thinly (around ¼ in or less)
· Dredge veggies in a new bowl of flour (Just a bowl with flour in it to make the batter stick to the veggies)
· Dip floured veggies into the beer batter
· Have hot oil ready and waiting
· Fry quickly on both sides
· Sprinkle with salt and pepper
· Serve hot