Hello CSA members!
This week we hope to bring you potatoes, onions, carrots, bell peppers, eggplant OR beets, chilies OR basil, and cherry tomatoes OR zebra tomatoes OR slicing tomatoes. Large share members will get chilies AND basil, green beans, and garlic. Fruit share members will be getting peaches and plums.
In this week’s newsletter:
I really love working with everybody at Red Wagon. This is our busiest time of the year and everyone is working really hard, but we have a ton of fun too. I thought I’d share a couple of my favorite photos from the last few weeks.
Smiley Chayo and Silvestre harvesting beets.
Robert says, “It’s too early, but this basil sure is lovely…”
We will be having our second farm tour of the season on Sunday, September 9th. (Not this coming Sunday, but the following Sunday.) This time the tour will be hosted at the Teller Farm on Valmont Road. The tour will go from 10am-2pm.
If you didn’t make it to our first farm tour back in June, this is a really fun opportunity to see how we grow a lot of our crops including melons, tomatoes, basil, beets and more. If you did attend the tour back in April, I recommend coming to this one too if you can. The Teller Farm is where we have historically grown the majority of our crops. We will have tractor rides and walking tours around the farm so you can watch your veggies growing!
Directions to Teller Farm:
From downtown Boulder, go east on Pearl Street. At 55th, Pearl Street will turn into Valmont Road. Continue east on Valmont for about 3.5 miles. (You will go straight at the lights at 61st St. and 75th St.)
About 0.9 miles east of 75th, turn right onto Melissa Lane. Continue going straight. The road will turn to dirt. Turn left at the green gate.
We will be setting up the reception/greeting tents just through the next green gate. Please park here, off the main road.
I hope to see you all there! Have a great week.
-Maddie
This week I thought I would share some of my favorite go-to recipes with you. First is moussaka, or my take on a moussaka-like dish using what I have on hand.
- 2 globe/Italian eggplants, unpeeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
- Olive oil
- 3 cups total of any vegetables you have available to you (onion, carrots, celery, fennel, rutabaga, kohlrabi, mushrooms…any combo of these works here)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- About 2 cups of tomatoes, cut up (fresh or canned, whatever you have)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 4 egg yolks
Sprinkle both sides of eggplant rounds with salt and brush with oil. Either bake or grill the eggplant until it is tender.
Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 3 cups of vegetables and saute until the vegetables are very tender. Mix in garlic. Saute until juices evaporate, about 10 minutes. Mix in oregano and cinnamon. Add tomatoes and parsley. Cook until mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Lightly oil 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange half of eggplant rounds in single layer in dish. Spoon half of tomato mixture evenly over eggplant. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese. Repeat layering with remaining eggplant, tomato mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese.
Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot sauce. Pour sauce over vegetables in dish. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over sauce. (Can be made 1 day ahead. If you’re making this ahead, cover and refrigerate here.)
Bake moussaka at 350°F until heated through and sauce is golden brown on top, about 45 minutes (or about 55 minutes for refrigerated moussaka). Cool 15 minutes.
Cantaloupe and Prosciutto Pasta
This is one of my favorite summer meals. The melons are such a short season we try to have this at least two or three times in the summer. I often make this without prosciutto as I did this time in the photo. You can substitute bacon, turkey or vegetarian bacon if you like. The key is to have something salty to stand up to the melon. If you leave out prosciutto (or prosciutto substitute), use a little more Parmesan cheese.
- 1/4 cup fruity olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups cantaloupe, diced
- 1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto, very coarsely diced
- grated zest of 1 med. lemon
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 T. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for serving
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
- RECOMMENDED PASTA: 8 oz. medium shells (conchiglie rigate).
Combine olive oil, cantaloupe, prosciutto, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese in pasta serving bowl.
Set aside to warm to room temperature, or just till flavors mingle.
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water till al dente. Drain pasta well & immediately add to sauce in bowl. Sprinkle with basil & toss. Serve at once with extra Parmesan cheese. Pass the pepper mill.
This is a super forgiving recipe that always works and can use up anything lurking in the back of the fridge, or veggie drawer.
- 3 medium leeks (white part), rinsed and chopped
- 3 or 4 potatoes, chopped
- Butter or olive oil to saute the vegetables
- One quart of vegetable or chicken stock, or water
- Milk or cream
- Salt, pepper and any herbs you like
Saute leeks and potatoes in oil until the leeks get soft. Add broth or water and cook until the potatoes are done, about 20 minutes. When the potatoes are done you can add some milk or cream to thin the soup to the consistency you like. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in the blender. I like to leave my soup a little chunky. I added some roasted chilies and some cheese to my soup this time. With the leftovers I might add some more diced vegetables like carrot and I think I have a kohlrabi leftover from last week that might find its way into the soup.
Summer is flying by. I hope you are enjoying your CSA shares.
Until next week.
-Mo
Red Wagon Farm 
The Moussaka recipe looks wonderful!