Of Peppers Green and Red

As peppers become abundant, there are many tasty ways to take full advantage of the bounty. Here are a couple of ideas from some other cultures that know something about peppers.

Create a tasty (and freezable) Latin cooking base called sofrito with green peppers. There are many variations of this robust concoction which can speak to Puerto Rican or Cuban sensibilities, for example. But you can't go wrong with this blend of green pepper, cilantro, garlic, onion and tomato. Surf the web for a version that suites your tastes and use as a base for rice and bean dishes, vegetable soups or stews. You can freeze it in ice cube trays as you might with pesto.

Red peppers and eggplant are a match made in heaven, and ajvar is proof. Control the heat with the peppers you choose, and then enjoy this tasty smoky shmear on bread, in soups, or as a condiment to enhance pasta salads and meats. I like to add it to Israeli cous cous prepared with zucchini, onions and sun-dried tomatoes. Salmon salad gets a whole new twist with a couple of dollops of ajvar, some diced onions and fresh parsley. As with sofrito, many variations exist depending on the country of origin -- Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Yugoslavia to name a few. A few minutes on the web will take you to a number of recipes to work from.

Fruit torte

“Plum” torte

 

¾ cup sugar

1 cup flour (sift before adding)

1 tsp baking power

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup oil

2 eggs

pinch of salt

plums  (apples, peaches, pears, apricots, blueberries – whatever you have is really fine)

 

Heat oven to 350°F.

 

With a mixer, cream the sugar and oil, beat in eggs.  Add the flour, baking powder, ciand salt.  You can mix the fruit in the batter or if you like you can place in a 9- or 10-inch springform pan OR in a pie pan.  Arrange the slices of fruit, skin side down.  Cram in as much fruit as you like – the cake will rise and cover what you’ve placed in there.  Sprinkle top with sugar and cinnamon.

 

Bake 40-50 minutes, until center tests done with a tooth pick.

 

Note:  This torte may be refrigerated for several days before use.

 

I am assuming that this weeks box of produce will be similar to last, which means it about covers Shabbat dinner.   I am a big fan of greens, whether kale, collard, or swiss chard cooked in a little olive oil in which garlic, raisins, and nuts have been heated.  Earlier last week, I had purchased some beets.  I used the beets and their greens along with carrots, fennel, and celery to make a pot of vegetable soup.  Earlier in the season, I had made some vegetable stock so it was real CSA type of soup.  I had some mushrooms, which I cooked up with the broccoli for a vegetable soufflé.  Last - was the apricot torte which I made using my Plum Torte recipe.   I have made this torte will all sorts of different fruits and I have eliminated the butter or margarine with oil  - I don't like serving trans fats to people I care about.  

 

I will post the recipe for the Torte, as it is a handy and happy way to finish a meal.

 

Enjoy this week's produce!

Easy kale saute

This may be a little late, but we made a great kale dish a couple of weeks ago, and it was really simple. The proportions are really up to you.

Half an onion, chopped
Two regular sized cloves of garlic, minced
Kale (however much you have)
1 zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
Mushrooms, any kind, sliced (we used button)
Salt and pepper to taste

Just saute it all up, starting with the garlic and onion. We ate it over couscous and couldn't get over how flavorful and delicious it was. Enjoy!

Salad Ideas from Mark Bittman

Need some salad inspiration? Check out Bittman's latest article from the NY Times, "101 Simple Salads for the Season, " (July 21, 2009). There really are 101 ideas!

News from the Farm - Summer Week 8

It finally feels like summer - not blazing hot, but summer, none the less. It was a happy day for me to feel some heat and sunshine. Monday we had another CSA member as a volunteer. Waleed spent the morning weeding tomatoes with our two interns. Between the three of them they got the whole main patch done. Thanks to our wonderful interns and volunteer. After we finished picking for the day, the guys went out to weed the new carrots and the main pepper crop. How beautiful a fresh weeding looks. Of course weeds, being opportunistic, quickly return so we must return again and again to the same patch. Overall, though, we look good.

In days gone by, weeds would be just about through germinating for the year. Over time, they have adapted to the widespread use of herbicides, and now their life patterns have changed. In an attempt to not be obliterated, they have begun germinating later and later in the year - at a time when the spraying is over in the chemical laden fields. In this way, they have adapted so they can survive and reproduce. One day we may have "monster weeds" - weeds that survive all human attempts at ending their lives. It used to be that once we hit July, the weeds quit germinating and it was smooth sailing for the remainder of the year. Alas, it is no longer so easy.

Actually, I am noticing that the insect cycles are off this year. We are now experiencing the hatching out of the adult potato beetle and the spring swarms of gnats are in the air. Cucumber beetles are very light, while we have usually already had 3 flushes by this time of the year. We had lightening bugs one week and now they are gone. Cabbage moths (butterflies) are just now emerging. Now, I cannot say I miss the "bad bugs," but it is truly a sign that this year is off.

Your box
Lodi apples - a tart apple from Hillside Orchards in Michigan

Apricots - from Mick Klug Farms in Michigan

Red kale - use just like you would green kale. Perhaps try some kale chips. Shake in a bit of olive oil. Add seasoning of choice, spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 until edges are crispy. Another nice kale idea is to chop the kale and lightly saute. As it nears completion add a bit of raspberry vinagarette dressing, dried cranberries and pine nuts. Stir together and serve. Ymmm. This works with raw kale also, but you have to let it sit for ten to twelve hours to soften the kale.

Cucumbers

New red potatoes - just starting to harvest these tasty guys - so creamy. Jon and I grilled some with lamb sausage, onion and chopped peppers. Oh, so good.

Green beans

Fennel - a nice licorice taste to add to salad or veggies. We like to munch on the stalks as a treat.

Fresh Spanish onion

Broccoli

Vicki
Genesis Growers
8373 E 3000 S Rd
St Anne, Il 60964
815 953 1512
www.genesis-growers.com

Prospect Park Potato Salad

From Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

This recipe says it makes a lot.

5 pounds potatoes, peeled and washed
1 seedless cucumber, sliced into small thin pieces
1 C Vegenaise
¼ C Dijon mustard (whole grain is best)
¼ C olive oil
1/3 C distilled white vinegar
2 T sugar
1 T dried dill
1 t turmeric
1 ½ t salt, or to taste
1 t ground black pepper, or to taste
1 large carrot, peeled

1. Slice the potatoes so that they are somewhere between ¼ and ½ inch thick.
2. Boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes, keeping an eye on them. Check that you can easily pierce them with a fork, but they should not be falling apart.
3. Drain and rinse under cold water. Let them cool about 15 minutes before adding to the dressing.
4. Make the dressing in a large mixing bowl big enough to add the potatoes to later on.
5. Mix the vegan mayo, mustard, olive oil, sugar, vinegar, dill, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Whisk briskly. Add the cucumber and place in the fridge until the potatoes are ready.
6. Add the potatoes to the dressing and use a wooden spoon to mix and coat hem. Grate the carrot directly into the salad (grating helps maximize the sweetness).
7. Adjust for seasonings, chill one hour, and serve.

Tofu Frittata

This is Christina Pirello’s recipe from Vegetarian Times (Jan/Feb 2008)

This is the original recipe and it is very adaptable to whatever vegetables you have around. Try it with this week's red kale, or chard, onion, and mushroom, or use up leftover steamed broccoli, onion, and red pepper.

2 T olive oil
1 small red onion, diced (3/4 C)
2 small carrots, diced (1 C)
5 green onions, chopped (3/4 C)
1 small zucchini, diced (3/4 C)
1 12 oz. package extra firm tofu, drained
3 T grated vegan mozzarella
3 T low-sodium soy sauce
6 plum tomatoes, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 375. Coat a 10 inch casserole dish or 24 cup mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Saute red onion 3-4 minutes, or until soft. Add carrots, green onions, and zucchini, and sauté 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and cook three more minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender. Remove from heat.
3. Puree tofu, mozzarella, and soy sauce in the food processor for two minutes, or until smooth and thick. Stir tofu mixture into vegetable mixture and spoon into muffin tin or casserole dish.
4. Arrange tomato slices on top of frittata. Bake 40-45 minutes for large frittata, 25-30 minutes for mini-frittats, or until top is firm to the touch. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Green Bean Salad Nicoise

This is a great way to use your green beans even if they're starting to look not-so-great. The light steaming gives you a second chance.

Make the base of the salad:

• Wash and trim green beans. Steam them lightly (a few minutes? I never count but just watch and test with a fork to make sure they’re not too crunchy). Submerge the beans into an ice bath so they retain their bright green color.
• Cut new red potatoes into quarters (or halves, depending on size) and boil them until they are just fork tender but not mushy. Drain and cool.

Choose your toppings for the salad:

• Sliced hard boiled eggs
• black olives
• tomato wedges
• cucumber chunks
• sliced red onion
  
• a can of salmon or tuna or maybe just a can of chickpeas

Arrange the salad elements individually on a large platter.

I know there are specific Nicoise dressings, but I usually swish around some combination of olive oil, Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar and find I’m happy. Sometimes I add some chopped fresh oregano to the mix for a very summery flavor.

Cara's Game Plan for Week 8

When I cook, I’m a creature of habit. I like to experiment with some new recipes, but I rely on my old standards to get us through a week in a healthful (and hopefully flavorful) week. Whatever is in the box, we almost always eat the fruit soon after we get it. At least one of the vegetables becomes a midweek vegetable choose, a colorful array of raw or lightly steamed vegetables (cucumbers, green beans, or broccoli) to be eaten plain or dipped in chummus.

Another great use for green beans is to make them the base of your salad instead of lettuce. I had this at a restaurant once and have adapted it to many salads when I have green beans on hand. For one idea, see my recipe for Green Bean Salad Nicoise. If I don't use the new potatoes in this recipe, I'll use them in a batch of Prospect Park Potato Salad, which I have been craving even after all the summer barbeques.

I nearly always make a frittata, which is especially good with vegetables that are a bit wilted or have been languishing in the back of your refrigerator. As an alternative to eggs, try using extra-firm tofu that’s smoothed out in the food processor in a Tofu Frittata (see recipe). I’ll likely use this week’s spanish onion and red kale in lieu of the carrot and zucchini listed in the recipe.

I can guarantee that the fennel will last the longest in my fridge. I don’t love the licorice taste, but since it’s fresh from the farm, I’ll probably give it a try. I’ve heard slicing it thinly and topping it with lemon juice and olive oil and some kind of cheese works well. For a link to one such recipe, click here.

The Chicken or the Ache?

By Eric Shumiller

Eric Schumiller is the cantor, shareholder, and on the planning committee at the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore (Plandome, NY).

In my hard-core college vegan days, when I toted around a copy of John Robbins' Diet for a New America like it was from Mt. Sinai, I often wondered how I would approach the subject of meat eating with any future children I might have. The idealized plan that I came up with (while still a bachelor, of course), was that we would have a strictly vegetarian household until my future children reached the age of Bar/Bat Mitzvah. At that point, I would give them a copy of Robbins' well-written argument against consumption of animal products, take them on a tour of the closest factory farm and/or meat processing facility, and then let them make their own informed adult decision about whether they wanted to consume meat from that point forward. If they choose to eat meat at that point, more power to them.

Of course, nearly twenty years later as the (flexitarian? vegearian?) parent of two toddlers, things are not so cut and dry. Nowadays, Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma has replaced John Robbins on my shelf, and we are indeed an omnivorous household. Things seemed to be going smoothly - we support our Tuv Ha'aretz CSA, shop at Whole Foods (or at least the organic aisle at Stop & Shop), and try to follow Reb Pollan's core dictum: "Eat Food, Not to Much, Mostly Plants." We try to limit any meat we consume in the home to that produced in a sustainable, ethical manner. Emergency road trip Burger King stops aside, we've done a decent job of modeling the ideals of eco-kashrut to our kids. Until last week, when our four and half year old asked that dreaded question over a free-range rotisserie chicken at Shabbat dinner: "Where do chickens come from?" Up until then, he probably had a vague notion that the chicken on his plate and the chicken in his story book were somehow connected, but that the chicken meat he was eating was somehow freely donated by the animal, like a lamb gives us its wool. But now, as notions of life and death worked their way further and further into his developing consciousness, our son (who is no dummy) was suspecting foul play (sorry, I couldn't resist!).

The challenges in answering his question were many-fold. How do we justify our eating of meat, when we could be satisfying our protein intake (and yummy factor) with strictly vegetarian food? How do we ameliorate (or validate?) the death and suffering of even a well-raised, humanely slaughtered animal, which is now sitting on our plates?

If you want to see my answer, you'll have to surf on over to Hazon's wonderful blog, The Jew & The Carrot (www.jcarrot.org). More importantly, I want to hear your answers! Whether you're a parent or not, a vegetarian or a carnivore, how have you/would you answer this most basic of questions?

The Kitchen as a Place of Perpetual Blessing

From Nada Chandler, shareholder and member of the Steering Committee of Houston’s Tuv Ha’Aretz

In response to last week’s piece “The Cooking Brachot”, Nada Chandler, shareholder from Houston, Texas, reminds us that there are already long standing ways for women to bless the food they are preparing that are not within the traditional liturgy. I have just recently learned from Nada that many women may recite prayers called Tekhines. Tekhines are Jewish private devotions and prayers in Yiddish written by both women and men, but recited primarily by women. Nada has also told me that Tekhines have been a part of the Jewish tradition for at least 400 documented years and in today's world, women who recite Tekhines in their kitchen probably do not have to consult anything but their memory.
- Brooke Saias, Hazon’s Food Justice Coordinator

Rooted in our tradition over the centuries, women have recited the most basic “cooking” blessing, as they made their Challah:

May it be Your will, our God, the God of our Fathers, that You bless our dough, as You blessed the dough of our Mothers, Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Leah. And may we be blessed as in the verse: “You shall give the first yield of your dough to the kohen to make a blessing rest upon your home.” “May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us; establish for us the work of our hands; establish the work of our hands.”

Women did not have to consult a siddur or an established liturgy as they cooked, they either, as I learned from my mother z”l (of blessed memory), spontaneously, or in words she learned from her mother invited God to participate in the process. Every time my mother, z”l, put something in the oven she would say, “Zol es zayn bashert oys tsu kumen gut” it should be destined that it'll come out [tasting] good . It contains one strong element of Jewish prayer – the petition.

In a kosher home, every act of food preparation is another occasion to be aware of the sanctity of the whole process, as well as the knowledge that what happens in the kitchen is a part of our partnership with God. Observing kashrut, like saying the blessings before and after eating, is a constant kitchen reminder of the role of God in all that we do. In today’s dual kitchens, perhaps it is possible to operate on automatic pilot, and never have to stop to think if the knife for the tomatoes is parve, but even in those modern wonders, one still has to sort through the rice, wash each leaf, crack each egg, (and who does not thank God when all of the eggs are perfectly clear?*), and check each onion. Each of these acts is a reminder that preparing food is as holy a process as eating it is. Our tradition may not have a single prayer for food preparation, but so long as breads need to rise and soup needs to be properly seasoned, God will share in the process.

*In our free range world, there is the possibility of there being a blood spot on the egg which would render it treif (non-kosher).

New Delhi Vegetarian Vegetable Soup

This light, but tasty recipe is from a cookbook titled Indian Regional Classics by Julie Sahni. I find it a little thin for my taste, so in addition to the vegetables she uses, I like to start the pot with a sauteed mirepoix (onion, carrots, and celery). I find a few shakes of soy sauce adds some depth as well. If super spicy is not your scene, reduce the ground red pepper accordingly as this recipe is fairly hot.

Serves 6

1 2-lb. head cauliflower
2 med. potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups chopped peeled tomatoes, fresh or canned
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
2 TBLS vegetable oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
3 cups water
1 cup frozen peas
Coarse salt and black pepper
1/2 lightly packed cup chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

1. Trim the cauliflower and cut it into florets. peel the stems and cut them in to small pieces. Combine the cauliflower, potatoes, tomatoes, turmeric and red pepper in a bowl.

2. Heat the oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add the cumin and cook until the seeds turn dark brown. Add the vegetable-spice mixture and water. Bring to a boil. lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the frozen peas and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

3. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and serve.

Whats in our box this week and how I'm planning on using it.

I'm having a big sheva brachot party this friday night for friends that just got married which means I'm either going to have to supplement my box, or be creative about how to stretch what's in there to serve 20+ people. Here's what I have in mind so far. The cucumbers, lettuce and broccoli should become a nice green salad with a simple vinaigrette. But thats a no brainer, so we're left with kale, which I've had a bit of already in the past few weeks (though check out my video below for an idea), so thats going right in the freezer, and zucchini and basil. The succhini will be diced and added for colour and flavour to some rice. If you can find it (Treasure Island and whole foods usually stock it), get some forbidden black rice. It has a more complex flavour and is definitely more dramatic. The basil will likely get chopped and sprinkled over fresh strawberries. Thats right, strawberries. I make a glaze with balsamic vinegar and brown sugar (whisk a fair amount into the vinegar until it's syrupy), drizzle that over some strawberries and then finish it it a sprinkling of basil. Very different and very delicious.

What are YOU going to do with your box? let us know in the comments section.

Making Vegetable Stock

Stock is a kitchen staple and will make your dishes taste much better than using plain water. Here's a how-to from Madeline Guzman.

Do I have to throw away my vegetable scraps?
Madeline Guzman
Newsletter Editor Tuv Ha’Aretz in Rockville, MD

Here’s a green idea! Instead of throwing away the vegetable scraps you don’t want, save them by turning them into stock.

This is what to do. Collect and save well-scrubbed vegetable peelings, roots, stalks, leaves (NOT rhubarb), and ends that you would otherwise discard (nothing spoiled or moldy!) Be sure to use onions, carrots, and celery as part of this mix. Other good vegetables to use are leeks, scallions, garlic, fennel, chard, lettuce, potatoes, parsnips, green beans, squash, bell peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, and asparagus. Additionally, you can add corn cobs, winter squash skins, beet greens, and herbs like parsley and cilantro. Avoid using cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, rutabagas, or artichokes – all of which tend to have an overpowering taste. Be aware that onion skins will turn the stock brown and beet roots will turn it red. Chop the veggie scraps into similar sized pieces and store in your freezer while collecting them.

When ready to use, add 4 cups of veggie scraps to 2 quarts of water and simmer on the stove for an hour to make vegetable stock. After simmering, remove veggie scraps from the liquid, and press the veggie scraps to extract and save as much liquid as possible. Warning: the taste might be odd (my family and I agreed that the stock I made tasted truly weird!) because it is only the unseasoned liquid made from a conglomeration of vegetables. Not to worry. Allow the liquid to cool; then freeze it. Use this vegetable stock as a base for your next homemade soup. My Chinese Cabbage Soup (recipe below used with my weird-tasting veggie stock came out excellent!


Chinese Cabbage Soup
Serves 12         
 
Hearty and a bit picante!
 
2 Tbsp olive oil                                                       4 large potatoes, peeled & diced
1 large onion, chopped                                            1 Tbsp dried oregano
4 green onions, chopped                                         2 tsp dried basil
1 clove garlic (or 1 garlic scape), minced                  1 tsp black pepper
4 stalks celery with leaves (chopped)                       1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 large carrots, cubes (with a few minced greens)     2 bay leaves
1 ½ quarts vegetable broth                                      1 tsp salt
4 8-oz cans tomato sauce
1 (15-oz) can black beans
1 small (or ½ large) Chinese cabbage, shredded
 
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, and sauté white onions, green onions, and garlic until tender.  Mix in the celery and carrots. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, black beans, Chinese cabbage, and potatoes.  Season with oregano, basil, black pepper, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, and salt.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally until veggies are tender.  Remove bay leaves (if you can find them) before serving.   
 
2008- Adapted from a recipe by Wakulachef submitted to allrecipes.com                                             

Tabbouleh salad

This comes from Hazon's Leah Koenig in NY, a wonderful cook and even more wonderful writer!


I grew up eating my mother’s American tabbouleh–starchy, lemon-doused bulgur salad. This was the 1980s, when many American Jews were incorporating “Israeli-style” foods into their culinary repertoire. But while my mom’s tabbouleh was delicious, I later discovered that it hardly resembled the authentic version, which features a higher ratio of painstakingly chopped fresh parsley and tomatoes to grains of bulgur.

Tabbouleh, which comes from the Arabic word tabil (”to spice”), is not actually an Israeli or Jewish dish, per se.

It originated in the Levant, the historic Middle Eastern region that encapsulated a large swath of land east of the Mediterranean Sea, including modern-day Israel along with Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, and southern Turkey, among other countries. Like hummus and falafel, tabbouleh is tied to the broader region as opposed to one particular nationality or culture. Still, it has become an integral part of modern Israeli cuisine, most often served for summer lunches or as part of a salad course.

While bulgur is not traditionally tabbouleh’s star ingredient, it is, perhaps, the dish’s most defining component. An immediate relative of cracked wheat, bulgur is made from wheat berries that have been ground, partially cooked, and dried, making it a quick-cooking and relatively inexpensive base or addition to countless recipes (like these).

According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Archaeological finds in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean suggest that people have been processing wheat into bulgur for millennia”–and the obsession continues today. The same article revealed that in the present day, Turks, who historically helped spread the grain’s popularity across the region, consume “about a half-pound of bulgur a week per capita.”

Bulgur adds texture and substance to the otherwise all-vegetable tabbouleh, cutting the acidic lemon juice and tomatoes with its hearty, nutty flavor. In Israel, the dish is often served with pita bread, which aids in wiping up any excess juice, but there are other options, too. According to cookbook author, Poopa Dweck, who authored, Aroma’s of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews, in old Aleppo, tabbouleh was served with romaine lettuce leaves.

Tabbouleh can apparently also make people dance–but you’ll just have to try it and see.

Tabbouleh
Serves 8.

3/4-1 cup fine bulgur soaked in hot water for 10-15 minutes, drained
5-6 Tablespoons good quality olive oil (do not skimp on quality–you will taste the difference)
juice of 3-4 medium lemons
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 pint grape tomatoes, chopped
5 scallions, chopped
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
one large handful fresh mint, chopped, plus extra for garnish

Combine the bulgur, olive oil, lemon, cumin, and salt in a bowl and let stand for 20-30 minutes while chopping vegetables. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Serve sprinkled with more fresh mint.

An Idea for Greens

Heres a little video I put together with a recipe for chicken stuffed with chard. The edits are a wee bit slapdash, but gimme a break, it was my first effort at this.

Cucumber Salad

My grandparents always had this on the table when I was growing up. If you have a mandolin or a food processor with a slicing disk, this is the time to use it!

3-4 cucumbers, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 small onion, very thinly sliced
Salt
1/8 cup white vinegar
1/8 cup water
1 tbsp. sugar
White or black pepper
Paprika

1. Sprinkle the cucumbers with salt and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, mix vinegar, water and sugar. Add a sprinkle of pepper and paprika.
3. Squeeze out the cucumbers and add to the brine. Add the onions. There should be enough liquid to mostly cover. If there's not, add a little more water, vinegar and sugar.
4. Let the cucumbers marinate in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Game Plan for Week Five

Although the weather has been cool this week, it's getting warmer and it's nice to have vegetables from Vicki that require little or no cooking.
I think I will make a cucumber salad with those delicious cucumbers, a green salad with the lettuce, and a bean salad with the green beans.
I have a delicious recipe for the red cabbage, but it's sort of autumnal. I'll post it; you might want to keep it in mind for fall.
I braised last week's broccoli and chard with garlic and cumin and used it as a taco filling, which was delicious! I wasn't sure what to do with the long broccoli stalks, so I just cut away the thick outer layer and then cut into sticks; it made a good snack while I was cooking (like you'd snack on carrot or celery sticks).
I'm still looking for great ways to use collard greens and would love any suggestions.

Summer CSA, Week 5

Sorry for the late letter this week. I am behind schedule on paper and computer. Being sick two days last week put me behind schedule.
Wow! How nice that the weather has moderated. We have had a cold breeze both early and later in the day. It is pleasant to work in such weather, but I am not sure about the crops who need some heat. The warm weather crops need sun and some heat. It is as if we have had a long spring, a one week summer and now we are into fall. Goofy year!
Monday we spent a portion of the day picking, a portion planting, a portion running irrigation and a portion on weeds. All in all, a productive day. Tuesday and Wednesday were repeats so we are making some excellent progress in the fields. Today Jay is going to start taking out the areas that got grassed in during the rainy spell so we can replant. More fall crops are being seeded out today, broccoli being the primary target for the day.

Your box
Broccoli
Lettuce head
Collards
Cucumber (at long last)
Green beans
Red cabbage

Mayyim Hayyim - The Water of Life

By Rabbi Jacob Fine

Lack of water is not something that most Americans tend to worry that much about, especially here in Seattle. Walk into any household anywhere in America any time of year and, provided that the bills are paid, when you turn the faucet, water is going to flow out of the tap. Clean, fresh water in America is so ubiquitous that it is a profound spiritual challenge not to take it for granted.
Tragically, much of the world’s population is in a very different situation. Over one billion men, women, and children (more than four times the population of the United States and Canada combined) lack safe water to drink. It is surprising for many of us to learn that the lack of safe drinking water is the primary cause of disease in the world today, causing 80% of the world’s health problems. Every day, tens of thousands of people die from causes directly related to contaminated water. 1
In America, among the rare demographics that are deeply sensitive to water, both in its abundance and in its absence, are our farmers. Regardless of the scale or style of farm, H2O is one thing that all growers need.
Given that the Torah is in many ways an agricultural book, it should come as no surprise that water is a frequent actor. Water emerges sometimes in the form of a blessing, such as when Isaac digs anew his father’s wells and discovers springs, and sometimes in the form of a curse, as in the case of Noah’s flood.
And on many occasions, we find the Israelite people in want of water. In Hukkat, the first of this week’s double parshah, we find the Israelites complaining bitterly to Moses and Aaron for having led them out of Egypt to a land without water. “Why have you brought the Lord’s congregation into this wilderness for us and our beasts to die there? Why did you make us leave Egypt to bring us to this wretched place, a place with no grain or figs or vines or pomegranates? There is not even water to drink!” (Numbers 20:4-5)
Even for those of us who are not ourselves farmers, the more deeply that we are connected to the source of our food—the more deeply we become sensitive to water. One of the by-products of eating seasonally is that you become more intimately attuned to local weather patterns. You notice when it rains a lot because your strawberries are super plump and watery. And you notice when it hasn’t been raining at all because your kale is bitterer while your tomatoes are much sweeter.
In addition to all of the other benefits, eating produce grown on local farms is a way to sensitize ourselves to the central place that water plays in all our lives. As part of the world’s privileged minority who lives without fear of going without clean and abundant water, let us use our deepening relationship with the source of our food as an opportunity to become more conscious of mayyim chayim—the water of life. Let us open our hearts to the Israelites’ cry which is a current reality for far too many people today—‘’There is not even water to drink!”
Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Jacob
Please direct comments to Rabbi Jacob Fine at jacob@hilleluw.org

Fruit In Its Season

by Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster

Yesterday was the first day (finally!) of my local farmers’ market here in NJ, and I’ll admit I went a bit fruit happy, coming home loaded with local blueberries, strawberries, and cherries. It took some detective work to figure out what things were not local–the farmer may be Pennsylvania Dutch but those sure aren’t local peaches, not yet. I’m much stricter about eating fruit locally and seasonally than I am vegetables. I can go months without fresh berries or stone fruit, hoping that it counts towards my balanced diet if I eat many servings of fruit in the summer and far fewer in the winter. Sure, there are days towards late February when I am sick of citrus fruit, grapes, and bananas, and look longingly towards the plums flown in from California. But in my heart, I know they will disappoint me.
(As an aside, the Toronto Star had an article last week about the ubiquitous California strawberry, tracing it from laboratory to the store. The comments on the article are an interesting cross section of conflicting consumer values )
Today, choosing to eat seasonally is a values choice. In my brain, I hear two conversations from the days before I had my daughter. One parent explained to me that parenting is compromise, and that meant buying those strawberries in December if your kid just had to have them. Another told me how for her growing up, eating cherries was special, because you only got them for part of the year, and how she wanted her son to know that feeling of specialness when he eat cherries. I understand the first parent (we’ve all been there) but I want to be the second. Just because we can have something all the time doesn’t mean we should. We risk having the sacred and special become mundane.
Seasonal eating keeps us rooted in changes of every year, and that is what makes it such a Jewish value for me. Jewish time is agricultural, with the Pilgrimage festivals linked to the harvests of the year. The reason we have Jewish leap years is to prevent the holidays from coming unglued to the season: Passover can’t be in the middle of the winter and Sukkot can’t be in the summer. The rituals we associate with the festivals are also connected to the seasons: the spring greens on the seder plate, the first fruits of Shavuot, and the harvest decorations of Sukkot. There is some disconnection in the timeliness of it all for those of us who don’t live in Israel: every year, my father reminds us that the reason we eat potato at seder for our “spring greens” for karpas is that it was still winter in April in Poland. Our rootedness in the land is for a land far away, as we see when we pray for rain based on Israel’s climate calendar. And yet Jews all over have also adapted to the land they find themselves in, incorporating the seasonal produce of their new homes into their holiday meals.
Living according to the passage of the seasons also reminds us that we can’t have what we want all the time. I’m sure many kids would love it if every day were another night of Hanukah. But if we lit the candles all year, they would lose their meaning. They wouldn’t be special any more.
One of my teachers taught me that living on Jewish time means living on a separate clock and calendar than the rest of the world. To me, part of that means eating by the real calendar, not the artificial abundance created by technology and our ability to use fossil fuels to transport food. Food is a gift from God, and the more we take it’s permanence for granted, the more mundane we risk it becoming.
One of the traditional uses for the shehechiyanu blessing is the the first time you eat a fruit in a given season (or since Rosh Hashanah). Wouldn’t it be sad if we never had the chance to say it because our food was no longer linked to the seasons? As we head towards a beautiful summer of harvests, I hope we all have a chance to experience foods that are special.

Greening Your Shabbat Table

Hosting a Shabbat meal is a wonderful way to spend quality time with family and friends without the distractions of the everyday (email, ringing cell phones, distracting text messages…) It also offers an amazing template over which to create new rituals and traditions that add new meaning and sustainable flair to the experience. Hazon’s blog The Jew & The Carrot (www.jcarrot.org) offers the following resources to help you Green Your Shabbat Table and discover, “What makes this Shabbat meal different from other Shabbat meals?”

Greening Your Shabbat Table

Set a kavannah (intention) to “go local.” Whether you decide to make all your dishes from scratch, or purchase some things ready-made, make a pledge to feature ingredients and dishes that are locally grown. Remember that the definition of “local” is loosely defined - so decide in advance where you want to draw the boundary. Even if you don’t manage to eat all local, all the time in your day-to-day life (and really, who does?), Shabbat is the perfect time to strive for that ideal. See just how local you can go!
*Teaching moment: Think about your guest list and what interests your invitees share. If several your guests are vegetarians, or committed meat eaters, consider brining this topic into the meal as well. If there are people who are involved in social justice causes, or grow their own herbs, consider what kind of menu and discussion questions would draw them in most.

Involve your friends. Don’t take on the local kavannah alone - get your friends involved! Invite them into the conversation about where ingredients for your shared meal will come from. If no farmer’s market is readily available at which you/your guests can buy local produce, what other criteria can you use for buying locally or sustainably? Perhaps everyone will pledge to use no plastic bags in their shopping (including those little bags for vegetables and fruit!) or to walk or bike to their supermarkets or farmers markets.

Utilize peoples’ skills. Maybe someone is a great baker—ask him to make challah. Someone else might have a knack for roasting her own peppers or making fruit preserves—find a way to use that as well!
*Teaching moment: If you do decide to ask your friends to bring dishes to the meal, consider giving them questions to think about while they are shopping or preparing their food. For example, if someone is bringing fruit, try giving them the task of asking the fruit vendor about the origins of the produce, or what makes organic food different from pesticide-free food. Ask them to share what they learned at the meal.

Drink locally. If you are comfortable drinking non-kosher wine, try to find a bottle (or box!) of wine grown and produced close to home. If you prefer kosher, check out a wine on The Jew & The Carrot’s kosher organic wine list.

Check in with the season. If you are hosting in the winter, think about making a winter vegetable theme, e.g. winter squash, or using lots of peaches, nectarines, and cherries if you are hosting a summer meal. And realize that as the seasons change, the ingredients will as well so that allows you to have original menus numerous times a year!

Bless your meal. Other than the traditional brachot (blessings) birkat hamazon (grace after meals), invite your guests to discuss whom they want to thank before, during, and following this unique meal and encourage them to create their own blessings or songs if they so choose.

Eat together. With intention. In silence. (Try spending the first 10 minutes of your meal just enjoying the food and company without speaking. It might feel a little strange at first, but see if you can relax into the idea. And of course you can share your experiences afterwards!)

Learn together. Rabbi Shimon said: If three have eaten together at one table and have not spoken over it words of Torah, it is as though they had eaten of the sacrifices of the dead (Isaiah 28:8)…but if three have eaten at one table and have spoken over it words of Torah, it is as if they had eaten from the table of God (Ezekiel 41:22).
In other words, learning together over food is a good thing! Identify a learning coordinator for your meal who will come up with questions to lead the discussion around the table, and identify short texts that can be learned together. Discussion questions can include: “What does sustainable mean to you?” “How is your relationship to this meal different from other meals knowing how it was prepared and where the ingredients were purchased?” “What is the connection between Shabbat and having a sustainable meal?”
Texts are another great way to create an order and guide your meal. Try to focus on Jewish texts (Hazon’s book “Food for Thought” curriculum book is an incredible resource for relevant texts), but feel free to bring in non-Jewish texts as well that might speak to your dinner’s theme, i.e. highlights from Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma or Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

Clean up green. After your sustainable meal, clean up with green cleaning supplies like Seventh Generation or Ecover. Invite your friends to help you wash dishes and put leftover food away. Whether or not you made all the food yourself, or invited friends to help, clean up should be a communal effort (which is more sustainable for you)!

Be Creative. Don’t feel limited by these ideas! This is just a starting point for making sustainable Shabbat “seders” a tradition that any community, group, or city can take part in and make their own!

Thanks to Nadya Strizhevskaya for pulling together this resource page.