CSA Week 8

In your share this week:

Carrots
Napa Cabbage
Red Onion
Broccoli
Cucumber
Cilantro
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes

Full shares only:
Jalapeno

The farm is looking beautiful! I’ve enjoyed the sprinkling of rain and the moisture it brings. Summer seems to be flying past with autumn right around the corner. I’m excitedly watching the pumpkins grow bigger and bigger, moving their vines out of the way when the broccoli in the next row gets picked.

We have a second pair of swallows nesting at the garage. Four new babies the whole crew gets to watch as the parents fly back and forth with feeding. One of the crew has regularly been hearing the elk moving through the river and past her tent at night.

We harvested some giant Napa Cabbage today; the largest 10.5lbs, a record size for the farm. Since most of you probably don’t want 10lbs of cabbage, the largest have been halved and put into bags (if they fit that is).

Napa cabbage, also called Chinese cabbage, is mild flavored and extra tender, and it is great raw, cooked, or fermented into kim chi. Raw it’s great as a green salad, as a base or crunchy addition to noodle salads, or makes a good coleslaw. Cooked, it’s most often used in stirfries, but I use it in lots of dishes. I’ve been eating a lot of it recently, stir fried with rice, shredded on tacos, and in a simple soup with chicken stock, ginger, and noodles. It keeps extremely well in the fridge, you can just peel off as many leaves as you want to eat at a time and leave the rest in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Ready for some kimchi? Try the recipe below. Maybe add in carrots, broccoli and onion. These are also great ingredients for an easy stir fry meal.

Full shares, with your jalapeno, have the makings for a hot salsa. Half shares add some spice you have at home or make it mild. Grab yourself some tortilla chips and enjoy snacking! We’ll see you next week when we’ll be halfway through the CSA!

Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi

YIELD Makes enough kimchi to fill 1-gallon jar

○ 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
○ Water
○ 2 heads Napa cabbage, cut into quarters or 2-inch wedges, depending on size of cabbage
○ 1 bulb garlic, cloves separated and peeled
○ 1 (2-inch) piece of ginger root
○ 1/4 cup fish sauce or Korean salted shrimp
○ 1 Asian radish, peeled and grated
○ 1 bunch of green onions, cut into 1-inch lengths
○ 1/2 cup Korean chili powder
○ 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
○ Sesame oil (optional)
○ Sesame seeds (optional)

1. Dissolve 1 cup salt in 1/2 gallon water. Soak cabbage in the salt water for 3 to 4 hours.

2. Combine garlic, ginger, and fish sauce or shrimp in food processor or blender until finely minced.

3. In large bowl, combine radish, green onions, mustard greens, garlic mixture, chili powder, 1 tablespoon salt and optional sugar. Toss gently but thoroughly. (If mixing with your hands, be sure to wear rubber gloves to avoid chili burn.)

4. Remove cabbage from water and rinse thoroughly. Drain cabbage in colander, squeezing as much water from the leaves as possible. Take cabbage and stuff radish mixture between leaves, working from outside in, starting with largest leaf to smallest. Do not overstuff, but make sure radish mixture adequately fills leaves. When entire cabbage is stuffed, take one of the larger leaves and wrap tightly around the rest of the cabbage. Divide cabbage among 4 (1-quart) jars or 1-gallon jar, pressing down firmly to remove any air bubbles.

5. Let sit for 2 to 3 days in a cool place before serving. Remove kimchi from jar and slice into 1-inch-length pieces. If serving before kimchi is fermented, sprinkle with a little bit of sesame oil and sesame seeds. Refrigerate after opening.
Note:
Kimchi will be good enough to eat straight for up to about 3 weeks. After about 4 weeks, once the kimchi gets too fermented to eat by itself, use it to make hot pots, flatcakes, dumplings, or just plain fried rice.

The Best Homemade Salsa Recipe

● 4 ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered
● 1 red onion, peeled and quartered
● 3 garlic cloves, peeled
● 3 jalapenos, stemmed and seeded (you can substitute 1-2 habanero or serrano peppers.)
● 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
● 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
● 2-3 teaspoons ground cumin
● 2-3 teaspoons sugar (optional)
● 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
● 15 ounces crushed San Marzano tomatoes (1 can)
● 4.5 ounces diced green chiles, mild, medium, or hot (1 can)
Instructions

  1. Place the fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, peppers, cilantro, lime juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons sugar (if using), and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the contents are fine and well blended.
  2. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and green chiles. Puree until mostly smooth. Taste, then add more cumin and sugar if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
    Notes
    If refrigerated in an airtight container, this salsa should last 10-12 days.
    Spice Level – If you are sensitive to spicy heat, reduce the jalapenos to 1 pepper. Also, I love cumin, however, some people are sensitive to it. You can reduce the cumin to 1 teaspoon if needed.

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