Hi everyone! Jess and Sarah here. Another CSA week is coming to a close, school is starting for the kiddos, and hopefully some rain is on the way for our dear farmers! Sarah will start us off with honorable mentions from her kitchen this week:
My carrot tops this week’s were beautiful and I couldn’t let them go to waste. They went into another batch of carrot top pesto along with my basil from the share. It was a traditional pesto with Parmesan and pine nuts. Label it and freeze it for later!
I am feeling the greens overload but I know in the middle of the winter I won’t be! Wash, dry, chop, and bag them for green smoothies in the winter. By the end of the summer I usually have my chest freezer filled with bags of these but around May my freezer is ready for the next harvest.
Tons and tons of tomatoes were coming from the Springdell plants in my personal garden and the tomatoes from the share….time for sauce! I almost never buy sauce from a jar anymore, I am spoiled and it just doesn’t taste the same. I love the extra added flavor green peppers add to the sauce so all of my peppers went in there too! Into the deep freeze it went.
I finally got a chance to make my herb butter and just in time too! As you can see here I made tarragon, dill, Rosemary, thyme, and chive. Looking forward to a pat of herb butter on some veggies in the dead of winter.
This was a quick dinner I threw together. Sausage, quinoa, roasted then grilled carrots, and radishes all served in lettuce cups! Choose a dressing of your choice and toss it with the filling before you spoon it into the lettuce cups. I used a ginger dressing.
For my smoothie of the week I wanted to show you where the kale stems and insides of my stuffing squashes went. Always save these scraps, they turn into delicious and nutrious smoothies! We had kale stems, squash insides, frozen banana, a scoop of protein powder, and cashew milk.
Now for a few goings on in Jess’ kitchen:
Corn… Corn, Corn!!!! This week was all about corn in the Anderson Household! We had ordered a bushel on Friday and spent much of the weekend blanching and freezing it. It looks like a lot now, but there’s nothing like the taste of fresh frozen summer corn when you’re stuck under three feet of snow in February. Along with the pesto, diced tomatoes & kale, the freezer is filling up nicely for the winter!
You can’t go wrong with the ole’ corn on the cob, salad and grilled ‘Dell Monico steak combo. 
Poblano and Hungarian wax peppers were stuffed with havarti cheese and broiled in a relatively healthy version of chile rellenos. 
The broiled version is great but if you’re going to step out of the healthy box, I’d opt for the original Chile Relleno – A poblano pepper stuffed with cheese and fried in egg batter is the way to go!
Lots of different versions of grilled cheese and tomato this week. This one was with some of that yummy caraway crabapple sauerkraut on the side.
I’ll leave you with a little announcement. I wanted to share on a goings on at the Westford Community Gardens this weekend as it may be on interest to some of you! There is an Edible and Medicinal Wild Plant Walk, followed by Herbal Tincturing Workshop on Sunday September 6 at 4:30pm:
“Join Nina Judith Katz for a “weed walk” through the Community Gardens in Westford and the surrounding Conservation land. We’ll walk around and see what edible and medicinal “weeds” we find, and discuss how to use them for making food and herbal medicines. Learn to recognize the useful plants growing all around you, and learn the uses of plants you’ve been seeing for years.
After the weed walk, join us for an herbal tincturing workshop. Learn how to make herbal tinctures while making a useful remedy that is used for allergic reactions and colds, and that many people use for urinary tract infections.
We’ll meet near the entrance to the Westford Community Gardens at 4:30 p.m. If you plan to participate in the workshop, bring a Swiss army knife or pruning shears and a basket.
Cost
Weed walk: free to gardeners; others, requested contribution $5. individual, $10. family.
Tincturing workshop: requested contribution, $20. per family; you’ll go home with a jar full of tincture worth more than that.
Rain date: Sept. 7 (Labor Day) at 5:30 p.m.
Nina Judith Katz is an avid forager and herbal wild crafter. She is also a clinical herbalist, shiatsu therapist, qigong therapist and teacher. She sees clients in Westford and in Somerville, and teaches classes in various aspects of herbalism, qigong, and wellness at various locations in greater Boston. For more information, visit MeridiansOfHealth.net“
Sweet and savory dreams, see you back here tomorrow for the Tell!