CSA Newsletter Vol. 2, 10/07/2009
| REMINDER: Share pick-up is today at the Riis Center from 4-7pm |
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This week’s veggie 1/2 share: 1/2 lb. salad mix 1 bunch of Broccoli raab 1 lb. potatoes 1 pepper 1 head of Napa cabbage 1 celery root 1 bunch of leeks 1 bunch Japanese Turnips 1 bunch of basil 1 carnival wintersquash |
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| This week’s fruit share |
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SIGNUP NOW for the Orchard Trip to Breezy Hill (Located at Stone Ridge) When: Saturday, October 17th, 2009 In one week we’ll be taking a trip to see where our delicious fruit has been coming from. And it will be the heart of the U-Pick Apple season! We will be getting a special CSA discount on what we pick. So come spend an afternoon with us 2 hours north while we pick fruit and tour the orchard. In addition, there will be local artists, local food, and wine & cheese set up. Plan on bringing a lunch and picking up some more food when we get there. This event is also open to everybody so feel free to bring friends, family, and guests. *Everyone must provide their own transportation, or coordinate with a volunteer driver on the signup list. Signup at distribution, OR Here’s How: 1) follow the link 2) click – EDIT to add your name & contact 3) click – SAVE AND EDIT to close contact: Andrew Graham |
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| Recipes and Food Prep Tips |
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Celery Root/ Celeriac
With a mild celery flavor, celeriac looks similar to a jicama, and is often confused at the supermarket. But its fuzzy exterior and knobby roots on the bottom distinguish it. And if you still can’t tell the difference, take a whiff – you’ll get a faint smell of celery. The celery root comes from the leaf celeri variety, which is different than the variety from which we get stalks. The root’s minimal starch content makes this an easy vegetable to cook. Celery root can also be eaten raw. Most commonly, it’s sliced into thin strips (julienne) and tossed with a mayonnaise based dressing: a French variation of coleslaw called Remoulade. Celeriac Puree Using a paring knife, peel celery root. Cut into 1/8th. Put celery root in a pot and cover by one inch with cold ,salted water. Boil the be-jeebies out of it, approximately 15 minutes (more or less depending on how small the pieces are). When you can easily poke the celery root with a fork ,they’re tender. Drain, reserving about 1⁄2 cup of water. Put in a food processor, and puree with cream. Adjust consistency with water. Add lemon juice, 1 squeeze at a time, until it is seasoned to your taste. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Celery Root Remoulade In a small bowl combine ingredients for dressing: mayonnaise, parsley, lemon juice, capers, mustard, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix until combined well. Toss with celery root. Chill until ready to serve. Makes a great side dish for crab cakes or grilled fish. Braised Red Radishes 2 tbs. Butter
1 scallion diced (i used a small red onion)
1 tsp basil chopped
10 large radishes scrubbed and halved (I had cut mine like little potatoes)
2-3 cups veg. stock as needed (used water)
salt/pepper to taste (arugula)
-In a small pan melt butter. Saute scallion and basil for 1 minute
-Add radishes and veg stock to cover. Bring to simmer and cook until radishes are tender (around 4 minutes)
-Remove radish and reduce liquid by 50% (there was not much left in there at this point!)
-Salt/pepper to taste
-Drizzle liquid over radishes before serving
Carnival Winter Squash Winter Squash Gratin adapted from The Greens Cookbook by D. Madison and E. Brown 2 tablespoons olive oil |
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Gourmet Magazine DUNZO After 68 Years
It’s a huge blow to the print media world, the food writing world, and of course, Reichl (keep an eye on her twitter for the goodbyes). New York Times restaurant critic Sam Sifton is calling it a sad day for anyone who loved the mag’s “recipes, lush photography and endlessly curious, immensely smart travel and food writing.” Meanwhile, some bittersweet congrats are in order for the folks over at Bon Ap, who will keep their jobs for now. |
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| Wanted: Short-term Social Science Researcher (Volunteer position) Sponsored by the New York City Coalition Against Hunger Researcher will administer a 5-minute survey to food stamps recipients at emergency food pantries throughout NYC over the next six weeks. Research will occur during the weekdays with only an 8-hour minimum commitment each week. The short-term research position is unpaid. If you are interested in hunger and poverty issues or policy work, or you would like to get more work experience, please email a cover letter and resume to Angela Ongoco, Food Stamps Survey Manager (volunteer), at angela.ongoco@gmail.com by October 15, 2009. |
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In a print media shocker today Media Decoder
Add comment October 7, 2009
CSA Newsletter Vol. 2, 9/30/2009
| REMINDER: Share pick-up is today at the Riis Center from 4-7pm |
| This week’s veggie 1/2 share:
1 head of lettuce
1/4 lb. arugula
1 lb. carrots
1 pepper
1 eggplant
1 bunch of swiss chard
1 stalk of brussel sprouts
1 bunch of easter egg radish
1 bunch of purple top turnips
1 lb. caulflower
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| RECAP: A Trip to the Farm at Miller’s Crossing
On Saturday September 26th, about 12 of us had the pleasure of visiting our farmers Chris and Katie Kashen at their family owned and operated farm in Hudson Valley New York. It was perfect weather for a farm trip and we had an amazing day with them, their 4 children, Lael, Connelly, AnneMae, & Christopher and 3 dogs. After enjoying a picnic lunch together, Chris gave us a tour of the 200 acres while explaining the history of the farm and his family. He explained many details of his systems of organic and sustainable farming. What a treat to see our veggies growing from the earth! Towards the end of the day we sat together in the grass and splt garlic, to be harvested next season. I encourage you all to visit the farm’s website www.farmatmillerscrossing.com to learn more about the people and place our food is coming from. Many thanks to Chris and Katie for the day and for all the amazing produce they bring us each week! |
| SIGNUP NOW for the Orchard Trip to Breezy Hill (Located at Stone Ridge) When: Saturday, October 17th, 2009 In two weeks we’ll be taking a trip to see where our delicious fruit has been coming from. And it will be the heart of the U-Pick Apple season! We will be getting a special CSA discount on what we pick. So come spend an afternoon with us 2 hours north while we pick fruit and tour the orchard. In addition, there will be local artists, local food, and wine & cheese set up. Plan on bringing a lunch and picking up some more food when we get there. This event is also open to everybody so feel free to bring friends, family, and guests. *Everyone must provide their own transportation, or coordinate with a volunteer driver on the signup list. Signup at distribution, OR Here’s How: 1) follow the link 2) click – EDIT to add your name & contact 3) click – SAVE AND EDIT to close contact: Andrew Graham |
| Local Events, brought to you by our neighboring Astoria CSA
Astoria CSA has two educational workshops coming up. They’ve graciously extended an invitation for our CSA members to participate as well.
Thursday, October 1
6:00-7:00 pm
Nourishing Nettles
Join Astoria CSA Core member Kristy, HHC, in rediscovering this amazing plant once commonly used as food and medicine. Learn about the amazing nutrients and healing properties of the stinging nettle plant, featuring instruction on how to prepare a nourishing nettle infusion. Includes all you need to make your own infusions at home! $5 suggested donation (no cash on site, please make checks payable to Astoria CSA). Supplies are limited, please go to http://www.onedegreefromearth.com/Site/Events.html to sign up.
Location: ARROW Community Center, 35-30 35th Street Astoria, NY 11103
Thursday, October 15
6:30-7:30 pm
Raw Milk, the Real Deal
Join Astoria CSA President Stacey for a discussion on raw milk, including health benefits, truth and lies in the dairy industry and more! Stacey is the self-proclaimed NYC Milk Maid, having updated Sustainable Table’s Dairy pages. She is a food educator and board member of the TNG. Tasting of raw dairy products will be available. $5 suggested donation (no cash on site, please make checks payable to Astoria CSA).
Location: ARROW Community Center, 35-30 35th Street Astoria, NY 11103
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| The articles of the week: Know Your Farmers On September 15th, 2009, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced a new initiative – ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ – to begin a national conversation to help develop local and regional food systems and spur economic opportunity. To kick the program off, the USDA announced approximately $65 million in funding for ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiatives. Just a few days ago, $4.8 million of that money was awarded to community groups as grants to promote local agriculture. Also as part of this initiative, The USDA will spend $230,000 on research “to assess the capacity of the northeastern United States to produce enough food locally to meet market demands, rather than relying on food transported long distances to feed the burgeoning East Coast population,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced. Currently, scientists at Orono, Me and Beltsville, MD laboratories are mapping an array of county-level data from Maine to Virginia on factors such as weather, soil, land use, water availability, which they will use to model potential crop production along the Eastern Seaboard to find out where local food production could meet current and projected demand, and where it might fall short. More details on this initiative here. To engage conversation on the topic of local agriculture, the USDA has posted a series of videos on their youtube channel. Here, you can learn more about the program and send in your own videos in response to this initiative. FRESH! Fresh celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system, such as Michael Pollan, Joel Salatin and Will Allen. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet. To view the trailer, click here. 
Where: Brooklyn Academy of Music – 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
When: October 6th, 2009, 7:00 PM (Screening) 8:15 (Panel) Panel will be featuring:
Moderated by Gabrielle Langholtz, Editor Edible Brooklyn Ana Joanes, Director & Producer, FRESH
Reverend Jackson, Brooklyn Rescue Mission
David Shea, Chef, Applewood Restaurant
Click here to purchase tickets.
Where: Lincoln Center When : October 27th, 2009, 6:30 PM (Screening) Panel to follow – Time tbd
Panel will be featuring:
Ana Joanes, Director & Producer, FRESH David Haight, American Farmland Trust Jacquie Berger, Just Food Executive Director Cheryl Rogowski, Hudson Valley farmer and recipient of a 2004 MacArthur Fellow award (the “Genius Grant”) in part for her work with CSA
Tickets for this screening are not available yet. Please visit the Lincoln Center Ticketing website at a later date.
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Add comment September 30, 2009
Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Recipe
This is the only way to eat brussels sprouts: cut in half and cooked until deliciously tender inside and perfectly brown and crusted on the outside.
Use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed. You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heavier cheeses like gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them off with some toasted hazelnuts the other night – delicious!
24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice
Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don’t overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they’re tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.
Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.
Serves 4.
Add comment September 30, 2009
Swiss Chard
I never liked Swiss chard, until several years ago I had some that had been freshly picked from a friend’s garden. It was so sweet and buttery I couldn’t believe it was actually Swiss chard. It was then I learned that freshness was the key determinant to whether chard was delectable or detestable. Last night we had Swiss chard that we had picked up from Whole Foods. It was good, quite good. But not nearly as fantastic as the chard we had a week ago that we had bought from the farmer’s market. So here’s a hint. If the thought of Swiss chard leaves you uninspired, get some from a farmer’s market that has been freshly picked.
LIC CSA Swiss Chard is freshly picked by our farmer Chris the day before you receive it!
Swiss Chard Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch of fresh Swiss chard
- 1 small clove garlic, sliced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp water
- Pinch of dried crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon butter
- Salt
Method
1 Rinse out the Swiss chard leaves thoroughly. Remove the toughest third of the stalk, discard or save for another recipe (such as this Swiss chard ribs with cream and pasta). Roughly chop the leaves into inch-wide strips.
2 Heat a saucepan on a medium heat setting, add olive oil, a few small slices of garlic and the crushed red pepper. Sauté for about a minute. Add the chopped Swiss chard leaves. Cover. Check after about 5 minutes. If it looks dry, add a couple tablespoons of water. Flip the leaves over in the pan, so that what was on the bottom, is now on the top. Cover again. Check for doneness after another 5 minutes (remove a piece and taste it). Add salt to taste, and a small amount of butter. Remove the swiss chard to a serving dish.
Add comment September 30, 2009
Radish Dip
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 6 radishes, quartered
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
DIRECTIONS
- Place garlic in the container of a food processor, and pulse until finely minced. Add radishes, and mince. Add cream cheese, and mix until well blended. Transfer to a serving dish, and chill until serving.
“This spicy radish dip is loved by all and so easy to make. Adjust the amounts of radish and garlic to suit your taste. Serve with crackers or vegetables.”
Add comment September 2, 2009
Sunshine Squash
Similar in appearance to a pumpkin, this variety of squash is a Kabocha winter squash that has a bright reddish-orange skin. Common Kabocha varieties include the Green Kabocha and the Orange Kabocha, also known as the Sunshine squash. Good for baking, the golden orange flesh of the Sunshine, which is a tender stringless flesh, provides a sweet nutty flavor as a side dish, as a filling for pies, as a soup squash, or when prepared in baked goods. Small and globe-shaped, the Sunshine squash typically grows to 3 or 4 pounds in size.Kabocha squash can be baked whole or in halves. To bake whole, pierce the skin with a fork several times and place in a low baking pan with water. To bake one half, cut the squash lengthwise and remove the seeds. The half section can then be placed on a baking pan with the outer skin placed down on the baking pan. When selecting a Kabocha squash, which is generally available all year round, do not select those that have a tender skin or show pitting. The outer skin should be hard with a stem that is intact and looks fresh. Store up to one month in a cool dry location with good air circulation. When cut open, the fresh sections of squash can be stored in plastic wrap and refrigerated for a week or less. Kabocha squash are also known as Delica, Ebisu, Kobacha, Japanese Pumpkin, Japanese squash, and Hoka squash.
Recipe: Kabocha Squash, White Bean and Kale ragout
Adapted from a NYT recipe
1 3-pound sugar pumpkin, butternut or kabocha squash
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 large leeks, cleaned and chopped, white and light green parts only
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or use 3 cups cooked white beans)
2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 pound kale, center ribs removed, leaves thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese ( 1/2 cup), more to taste, optional
1/3 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped, plus whole berries for garnish (optional)
Coarse sea salt and grated parmesan, for garnish.
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, peel pumpkin or squash. Trim stem, then halve pumpkin or squash and scoop out seeds (save for roasting if desired). Cut flesh into 1-inch cubes.
2. Spread cubes out on a large rimmed baking sheet. In small saucepan, combine butter or canola oil, syrup, 1 teaspoon vinegar, kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and cayenne. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until butter melts; pour mixture over squash and toss to coat evenly. Roast, tossing occasionally, until pumpkin or squash is very tender and caramelized at edges, about 30 minutes.
3. In a large skillet, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add leeks, garlic, rosemary and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are very soft and not at all browned, about 15 minutes. Add beans and broth and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Stir in kale, and cheese if desired. Simmer until kale is cooked down and very tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in pumpkin or squash and chopped cranberries; season with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Garnish with additional cranberries (if desired), sea salt and parmesan.
Yield: 8 to 10 side-dish servings; 6 main-course servings.
Add comment September 2, 2009
Beet, Pear and Nut Salad
- Proportions of ingredients to taste:
- Beets, cooked, peeled,
- Diced nuts, chopped
- Pears, peeled, cored, diced
- Lettuce
- Mayonnaise dressing
- (To make mayonnaise sauce or dressing: Mix 1 teaspoon of pepper, 2 teaspoons of mustard and 1 teaspoon of salt with 2 yolks of egg. Add½ tablespoon of vinegar. Add 1.5 cups of olive oil gradually, stirring constantly. As soon as the mixture thickens, thin it with a little more vinegar. Proceed until two tablespoons of vinegar, and all the 1.5 cups of oil are used. If the oil is added too rapidly, mayonnaise will curdle. Smoothness can be restored by taking the yolk of another egg and adding to it little by little. The curdled mixture. Mayonnaise should be stiff enough to hold its shape.)
Instructions
- Pear And Nut Salad Recipe, On each plate place some leaves of lettuce.
- In the center place beets and pears mixed with the mayonnaise dressing.
- On top sprinkle the chopped nuts.
Add comment September 2, 2009
CSA Newsletter Vol. 2 Issue 11
| REMINDER: Share pick-up is today at the Riis Center from 4-7pm
Please also remember to respond to our mid-season survey so that we can make the CSA even better for you next year. You should have received the survey in your e-mail inbox. If you can’t find it or accidentally deleted it, send us an e-mail and we’ll send you a new link. Thanks in advance for your feedback. |
| This week’s veggie share:
1 bunch of arugula
1 bunch of radishes
2 garlic
1 bunch of chiogga beets
1/2 lb. of salad mix
1 bunch of collards
1 Sunshine Kabocha wintersquash
1 lb. tomatoes
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| EXTRA REMINDER: YOUR INPUT NEEDED TO DETERMINE BEEF DEMAND
The Farm at Miller’s Crossing will have beef available in October. We will have a survey at today’s distribution so we can give Chris a general idea of our CSA members’ interest. Their beef is organic, and 100% grass fed. Here is more information about grass fed. Click here for information about the health benefits. You received a complete price list in your email inbox yesterday. We received this information from the farm:
“After aging the beef for 10-14 days, the butcher cuts, then flash freezes the meat. The beef would be delivered frozen. Frozen meat is really the only way a farm can handle a large volume at once, and as long as the meat is thawed slowly, the quality is as good as fresh. In comparing our prices with other grass fed farms, and the local health food stores around here, we have realized that our current prices are very low. We have offered a few links to give all of you an idea of the market prices. Grazin Angus Acres offer grass fed but not certified organic beef and they sell in NYC. We do plan to raise our prices, but we thought we would offer our CSA’s a chance to buy at the old prices for a one shot deal this October.
The burger is the most economical meat, as well as some of the roasts. Our steaks are delicious, but can end up costing over $20 a piece. That being said, they will feed several adults a nice meal…” Thanks! |
| Fruit Share Information For the Full Share - Two Pounds of Peaches Two Pounds of Bartlett Pears For the Half Share - Hello Friends of Breezy Hill, We’re so glad to continue to offer you great fruit from our orchard and eggs from our chicken farm. We hope everyone is satisfied with their share, and know that you can contact us for any reason at 845-266-3979 or at breezyhilloffice@aol.com. This weekend, September 5th and 6th, we’re having a grand opening at Stone Ridge Orchard for the U-Pick Apple season. We want to extend a special invitation to our CSA members to join us this weekend. There will be local artists, local food, and wine & cheese set up in the heart of the orchard. In the evening we’ll have live music under the full moon. It’s not just this weekend, but every Saturday and Sunday 12-5 until November 1st, with music on Saturday evenings. The farm stand and U-Pick will be open seven days a week for your convenience. We offer our fresh fruit, cider, baked goods, and more at the stand. If any CSA members come to the orchard, they’ll receive a discount on the U-Pick Apples. At the moment we’re evaluating our prices, and once we set our prices we’ll be able to tell you what the discount is. Stone Ridge Orchard is at 3012 Route 213, Stone Ridge NY 12484. It’s about two hours north from the heart of New York City. Just jump on I-87, take exit 18 at New Paltz, and follow Main St through New Paltz. Turn right on NY-32, then after seven miles turn left to follow Main St/Rte 213. After five miles, we’re on the right. Please call 845-266-3979 or email breezyhilloffice@aol.com for more information. We’d love to have you! Thanks, The Staff at Breezy Hill |
| The article of the week from the New York Times:
by Harold McGee
ONE of summer’s great pleasures is eating berries of all kinds by the basketful. One of summer’s great frustrations is having baskets of berries go moldy overnight, or even by nightfall.
Over the years I’ve come up with various strategies for limiting my losses, but this summer I came across a surprising one, the most effective I’ve ever tried. Thermotherapy, it’s been called. A very hot fruit bath.
Fruits go moldy because mold spores are everywhere, readily germinate on the humid surfaces of actively respiring, moisture-exhaling fruits, and easily penetrate the smallest breach of their thin skins. The first thing I do with a haul of berries, after eating my fill straight from the basket, is to unpack the rest and spread them out on kitchen or paper towels, so they’re not pressing against one another and trapping moisture. If I want to keep them overnight or longer, I refrigerate them, because cold temperatres slow fruit metabolism and mold growth. I repack the berries as sparsely as possible, nest each basket in a second empty one to leave an air space at the bottom, and inflate and tie off a plastic produce bag around the baskets, so there’s room for the berries to breathe and the bag itself doesn’t cling to their surfaces. Even with these precautions I’ve had baskets mold overnight in the refrigerator. So I followed up right away when I saw a reference in an agricultural journal on extending the shelf life of strawberries not with a chemical treatment or gamma irradiation, but with heat. I gathered a dozen or so reports that hot-water treatments suppress mold growth on berries, grapes and stone fruits. The test temperatures ranged from 113 to 145 degrees, with exposure times of a few minutes at the lower temperatures, and 12 seconds at the highest. I found it hard to believe that any part of a plant could tolerate 145-degree water. My finger in the same water would get a third-degree burn in less than 5 seconds, and eventually reach medium rare. I bought pints of various berries, divided each batch into two samples, and heated one by immersing and swishing its plastic basket in a pot of hot water. I emptied the heated sample onto towels to cool down and dry. Then I repacked it, and encouraged both baskets to spoil by wrapping them airtight and letting them sweat on the kitchen counter. After 24 hours I counted the moldy berries in each basket. The strawberries fared best when I heated them at 125 degrees for 30 seconds. In two samples from different sources, this treatment gave a total of 1 moldy berry out of 30, where the untreated baskets had 14. I also treated some bruised berries, including one with a moldy tip. After 24 hours none were moldy. The tip mold not only hadn’t spread, it had disappeared. I tried the same treatment, 125 degrees for 30 seconds, on raspberries and blackberries, and got the same good results. There were many fewer moldy berries in the heated samples. For thicker-skinned blueberries, a Canadian study recommended a 140-degree treatment for 30 seconds. I tested it twice, with samples of around 150 berries each time. That heat took the bloom off. It melted the natural wax that gives the berries their whitish cast, and left them midnight blue. It also cut the number of moldy berries from around 20 per sample to 2. Research has also shown that exposure to hot air slows fruit spoilage. But hot air can take several hours, and I found it harder than hot water to apply precisely in the kitchen. I did spread some raspberries out on a sheet pan lined with towels, and put them in a 150-degree non-convection oven for 20 minutes. The berry bottoms got hotter than the tops, which were cooled by evaporation. Still, only 1 out of 48 heated berries became moldy, compared with 7 out of 52 in the unheated basket. Why is it that delicate berries can survive heat high enough to kill mold and injure fingers? Probably because they have to do so in the field. One study of tomatoes found that intense sunlight raised their interiors to 122 degrees. Such heat hurts the quality of growing fruits, but I couldn’t taste much of an effect on briefly heated ripe fruits. So if you find yourself plagued by quickly spoiling fruits, start giving them a brief hot bath before you spread them out or chill them. Thermotherapy can be healthy for all concerned. |
Add comment September 2, 2009
Balsamic Potato and Green Bean Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds small potatoes
- Salt
- 10 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, plus whole sprigs for garnish
Preparation:
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In a large saucepan, place the potatoes, 2 teaspoons salt and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the green beans and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and let stand.
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Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, mustard, pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk in the olive oil until combined.
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Toss the potatoes and beans with the dressing to coat. Using a fork, mash several potatoes. Toss in the scallions and thyme. Season with more salt and pepper to taste and top with thyme sprigs. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Add comment August 20, 2009
