Hellgate CSA Blog - Astoria, NY

Here is the share information for July 29:

Veggie Share
swiss chard
green string beans
scallions
summer squash (a variety mixture)
lettuce

Fruit Share TBD

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Just an FYI to those with fruit shares - THERE IS NO FRUIT THIS WEEK, JULY 8.

Apparently, the farm ran out of fruit!  This is the first time it’s ever happened.  Gerry, one of our farmers, blames it on mother nature - strawberries, cherries, and apples are all gone, and the upcoming fruit isn’t quite ripe.   Sounds like this season has been a bit out of the ordinary.  They will make it up to us next week with extra fruit.

We apologize for this inconvenience.

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Thanks to Freeze Peach (yet again!) we are providing free iced tea tomorrow at distribution!  Be sure to stop in when you come to pick up your veggies and fruit, for a free cup of iced tea.   We hope to provide our members with free tea the first Tuesday of each month during the CSA season.

See you at distribution!

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Honeyed Beet Quinoa Summer Salad
from Fresh from the Farm and Garden by The Friends of the UCSC Farm and Garden

6 beets, roasted
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups orange juice
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup fruity olive oil
3 cups cooked quinoa (or another grain such as brown rice, bulghur or couscous)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese, optional
1 cup toasted walnuts or almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped basil OR cilantro
1/2 cup chopped parsley
6 minced green onions or 3 shallots
lettuce greens, ready for eating as salad (plus mizuna and/or sorrel would be nice)

Dice roasted beets and marinate in orange and lemon juice and honey at least one hour. (Note: warm up the honey a little bit before mixing it in the juices/oil). Combine with other ingredients except salad greens. Chill at least one hour to allow flavors to blend. Serve on bed of salad greens.

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Flourless Chocolate Beet Cake

Note: this is a recipe from Stacey Ornstein, who helps run the Astoria CSA, Hellgate’s sister CSA in town.

Stacey: I found the original recipe on epicurious for a flourless chocolate cake and adapted it. I cut out some of the butter and cocoa powder and because beets contain natural sugars, I reduced the amount of sugar. I also found 1 full egg and 2 egg whites to be plenty (okay, I only had 1 egg and 2 whites frozen- but it worked!). And of course, the original recipe contained no beets, so I added plenty.

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 egg, separated plus 2 egg whites
salt
1-1/2 cups grated (cooked) beets plus 2 tablespoons cooking juice
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter an 8-inch cake pan, line it with parchment paper and butter the parchment paper.

In a double boiler set over medium heat, melt the chocolate and butter.

With an electric mixer, begin beating egg whites with a pinch of salt and the beet juice. As whites build, add the sugar, egg yolk and zest into the chocolate mixture, stirring to incorporate evenly. Add grated beets to the chocolate and incorporate.

Gently fold in the egg whites and cocoa powder until just combined. Pour into the buttered cake pan and bake 25 minutes in the center of the oven.

Cake is ready when a toothpick comes out clean on the sides, but slightly wet in the middle. Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes. Invert the cake on a plate and refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

Photo credit:  (c) Stacey Ornstein, used with permission

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