week 10

Oy vey CSA!

With rock concerts, car accidents, new wwoofers, hurt feet, and a seemingly endless bout of rain and hail storms all hopefully behind us, we start the 10th week of the CSA. we'd love to know more of your thoughts on how it has been going and any suggestion you might have for us as we cross this half way point.


An update from the fields:

The storms had the biggest impact on the peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower. The peppers got slammed by hail a little over one week ago. the hail left pockmarks all over their tender skin. We harvested a lot of them, but the ones we missed turned to mush. As another illustration of the benefits of the high tunnel green houses, the tomatoes, safe inside the green house, were unaffected by the storms. The fall brassica crops (broccoli etc.) enjoyed the rain, but the plants that were closer to harvest, couldn't stand being so wet and were all pretty much wrecked by mold. So we probably won't have much broccoli for a couple weeks.

The garlic, over 200 pounds of which was harvested 3 weeks ago, never dried right because of all the humidity and so little sun. It was an incredible garlic harvest this year and we figured we were all set, but now we are starting to find mold on some of the cloves. This is particularly important because the garlic we harvest is also our planting stock for next year. Normally we plant it in early November, but because of the mold situation this year, we'll be planting it really early… like next week we'll send out an email announcing a worksession soon,


And hey, the Brussels sprouts are over 3 ft tall and are starting to fill out really nicely. Brussels sprouts was a crop that we bungled last year, so it's nice to see things working out. The melons have been coming in strong, and we hope you've been enjoying them as much as we have. We have had an enormous harvest of delicious potatoes, purple, red, gold & russet. We've been talking about getting a little fry-o-lator and selling bags of purple potato chips at the farmers markets…yum. The watermelons are almost ready and the winter squash is sizing up, it's crazy to think the CSA is only half way through the season, there is so much still to come!

Here is this week's joke:

Where do cantaloupes go for summer vacation?

Answer: John Cougar's Melon Camp

And for those who missed last week's newsletter which was written 100% by the wwoofers,

here is their joke:

So one time a family of potatoes is sitting around, daddy potato surfing the net and momma potato cooking dinner, when all of a sudden their oldest daughter burst in. She announces to her stunned parents that she is getting married. They quickly ask who is the lucky guy. When she tells them he is a russet potato they start dancing and open up the Don Perignon. But then a minute later the next daughter opens the door and tells them that she too is getting married. Again they ask to whom? She tells them proudly that he is a Yukon gold. Now they are howling with joy and start drinking Blue Label. But before they can take a sip the youngest daughter stumbles in. She too, oddly enough, is getting married. They ask stunned who she is marrying? She replies Tom Brokaw.

With tears in their eyes they say but he is just a common-tater.

Bonnie was craving a potato knish last week, and lamenting the impossibility of finding one around here, so we googled a recipe online and we made them successfully here at home. There are a few steps in the knish making process, but it wasn't hard and there is even a you tube video to follow along, check out http://video.about.com/kosherfood/Potato-Knish-Recipe.htm

Ingredients for Potato Knishes

6 potatoes
1/4 cup of oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup butter
1 onion and/or garlic
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg
Cook the Potatoes

First, boil the potatoes. Use a vegetable peeler to take off all of the skin. cut the potatoes into large chunks, which will help them cook faster. Place the potatoes into a pot of boiling water. Cook for around 15-20 minutes, until they are soft. Now, drain the pot into a colander.

Mash the Potatoes

Put the potatoes back into the pot and mash them well. Measure out 1 cup of the mashed potatoes. This will be for the dough.
Put the measured potatoes into a bowl. Add the oil and salt, then mix it together. You'll see it gets nice and creamy.

Prepare the Flour Mixture

In a separate bowl, add the baking powder to the flour. Whisk them together. Add about one-third of the flour mixture to the mashed potatoes and mix. In sections, add in all the flour as best you can.

Knead the Dough

Next, make a small well in the center of the bowl. Pour the cold water right into that spot. Knead the dough with your hands for a few minutes. Place a wet cloth or towel on top of the dough, and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Combine the Ingredients

Meanwhile, cut and peel the onion. Dice it into small pieces. Then melt the butter in a pan to medium high heat. Add the onions and/or garlic and sauté until they are soft, but not yet brown.

Pour the onions into a mixing bowl. This will be for our knish filling. Add 1 1/2 cups of mashed potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Combine everything together. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Roll the Dough

Flour a flat surface and a rolling pin. Place down the dough, and divide it into six parts. Take one part and prepare it for rolling. Roll out the dough, flipping it over occasionally, so it is one-quarter of an inch thick.

Make a Square Knish

For a square knish, with a pizza cutter or knife, trim the edges of all sides of the dough so it forms a rectangle. Place the potato filling into the center of the square. Fold over the short sides and push down on the edge.

Next, fold over the longer sides. You'll see how the dough forms a pocket around the filling. Dip your fingers into some water, then wet the dough to help seal the edges.

Place the knish on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Crack an egg, and beat it with a fork. Paint the egg on the knish with a brush for the final touch.

Make a Round Knish

To a make a round knish, use a bowl to help make an even circle with the rolled dough. Place the filling in the center, pull up the sides, and pinch the dough at the top. Place it on the baking sheet, and brush with the egg. You could also make a long knish log or cut the log into small bite-sized knishes.

Bake the Potato Knishes

Place the pan into the oven, and cook for about 20-25 minutes. You can see how the egg brings a nice golden color to the finished knishes. Enjoy the knishes as a side dish or a snack.

Did you know you can find all the weekly newsletters and recipes in a printer friendly format right on our website www.teleionholon.com

Here's to ten more weeks of veggie fun

With much Love, the teleion holon team