Tips for Herbs by Shannon Haas

 

Tips for Herbs

By Shannon Haas

 

Herbs hanging from a hook in a kitchen with a white background, 

near a bookshelf full of cookbooks and tea

Image from Shannon Haas

Have you ever missed the impossibly short window of time that herbs from your CSA are tasty and fresh? If you’re like me, this unfortunately happens most of the time! I’ve tried all of the methods - dipping herbs in ice water before storing them, leaving them in a cup of water in the fridge like a bouquet, placing them in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel…the list goes on and on. Read on to discover some of the ways I’ve managed to stretch the shelf life of fresh CSA herbs over the years.

My number one go-to when herbs start to lose their oomph in the fridge - dry them! This technique is SO easy. You just need a place to hang your bunch of herbs and some string. Here’s what I do:

1. Rinse your herbs under running water. Pat mostly dry (it’s fine if some moisture remains, but it shouldn't be dripping wet)

2. Holding the herbs like a bouquet of flowers with the stems together at the bottom, tie a string around the bunch of stems. Tie it tightly!

3. Cut the other end of the string to the desired length. Tie this end somewhere in your kitchen that has decent airflow and allows the bundle to hang undisturbed.

4. Wait a few days until all of the leaves are dry and crispy.

5. Once you have some time to spare, process the herbs by removing the leaves and adding them to a labeled container for future use. Compost the stems.

Another method that works only with basil is to propagate it. Again, this is so so so easy! Just take your whole basil stem and stick it in water. Place it by a window so that it can get sunlight and continue to photosynthesize. After a week or so, the part of your basil stem that’s in the water should pop out some roots! You can then feel free to leave it in the water and allow it to continue growing this way, or for more success try potting it up in soil. As always, when you remove leaves from the basil plant to use in a recipe, pinch the top leaves off so that the plant will create new shoots and continue to produce leaves.

I hope you will try some of these methods for extending the length of time you can use herbs from the CSA. It’s always exciting to use them during non-CSA months! If you have other herb-related tricks or tips, please share them in the comments.

 

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Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA? Check out our Info Page: https://norwoodfoodcoop.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-join-norwood-csa.html

My Canning Story by Patrice Hall

 My Canning Story

(It didn’t go as expected!)

by Patrice Hall

I decided to can plums this week. They were sitting in my fridge, and no one had plans to eat them. So, I cleaned my countertop, prepared my pots and utensils, and measured the sugar and water.  I cleaned and sliced the plums, set them aside and prepared the simple syrup using the website https://nchfp.uga.edu/ (The National Center for Home Food Preservation) as a guide.  I didn’t follow the instructions exactly, and I felt confident that I was going to get great results because I've canned 4 times already.  

Washed red plums in a blue bowl.

 

I had eight large plums and three small plums, so I decided to slice the small ones in half and cut the large ones in fourths.  This made the pieces about even, so I boiled them in the simple syrup (and I added some fruit juice I made from peaches from a previous share) while boiling the pint jars, then I went back to my computer and started working.

After about 20 minutes of work, I went back to the kitchen, the pot with the plums boiled over, spilling sticky syrup all over the left side of the stove.  OMG!  What a mess! Good thing I caught it before it got worse.  I cleaned the area, filled the hot jars with the plums (which are shredded) and processed them in the hot water canner.  

My reason for writing this is to demonstrate that we can still go ahead and can our produce even though it may not be picture perfect, it is still good produce which is better than what you can find in the supermarkets.  It may even be the best plums I ever made, who knows?

I still plan to pickle the green beans and other veggies we get in our shares; my husband loves pickled produce. When I do, I will write about those experiences as well.  I used the following ingredients and materials for canning the plums:

2 cups sugar (used for simple syrup)

4 cups water

32oz. fruit juice (made with peaches and sugar)

4 pint Ball canning jars with lids and bands

For the taste test (moment of truth) I will wait until my son tries a jar and see what he thinks 😊

Four mason jars of canned plums on a white paper towel.

 

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Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA?  Check out our Info Page: https://norwoodfoodcoop.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-join-norwood-csa.html 

Making Peach Jam by Patrice Hall

 Making Peach Jam

by Patrice Hall

This summer, I decided that I wanted to learn how to make jams, preserves and pickles.  I also want to start fermenting veggies as well (sauerkraut), and I wanted to start spouting beans.  This is very ambitious for me, and I started with jam first because I had a bunch of peaches which I wanted to use and they looked delish sitting in my fridge.  Usually, we would get lots of cucumbers, but so far no dice and the ones I receive I usually eat right away in salads.  So, I opened my Ball Book of Canning and Preserving book and used the National Center for Home Food Preservation site https://nchfp.uga.edu/ and started my jam.

Ingredients needed:

4 each ½ pint Ball jars with the lids and bands (I prefer the wide mouth jars)

*Prepared Peaches 2 2/3 cups

Fruit Pectin (3 tablespoons)

Sugar 3 1/3 cups

Whole peaches in a blue bowl in a steel sink.

Chopped peaches, lemon juice, sugar, and pectin boiling in a steel pot.

 

Instructions:

Clean the jars with soap and water then boil them in a large canning pot to make them hot.  While this is happening, you prepare the peaches by peeling, pitting them, then finely chop them, then sprinkle them with the lemon juice.  When the canning pot with the jars is boiling well you can remove the jars then set aside with the lids and bands.  Keep the canning pot boiling so you can use it right away after you fill the jars.

Combine the prepared peaches and fruit pectin in a large saucepan.  Bring this to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.  Add the sugar, stirring to dissolve.  Return to a full rolling boil, boil hard for 1 minute while stirring constantly.  Remove from heat then skim the foam.  Then ladle the hot jam into the hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace.  Place the lid on the jar with the band and close to fingertip tight.  Place the jar in the canning pot, repeat until all jars are filled.  Place top on canner and boil jars for 10 minutes (consult the National Center for Home Food Preservation site for altitude adjustments).

After the Processing time is finished let the pot cool a bit by taking the lid off before taking jars out to cool on a counter covered with a towel (this is so the glass jars won’t break with the sudden change in temperature).  You may hear a popping sound, that means that the lids are sealed on the jars which is a good thing 😊  I left my jars to cool overnight, my son wanted to eat some right away(!), so I let him.  In this case, once opened the jar must stay in the fridge.  The rest of the unopened jars can go in the cabinet if sealed properly, if not then it must go in the fridge.  The way you can tell is by pressing on the button on the lid, if it is still raised after 24 hours then it is not sealed.  This is very important because you can avoid getting sick by keeping the unsealed jars in the fridge.  

Three mason jars of peach jam.

 

This is a fun and easy way to preserve some extra fruit, and you can make your own jam without all of the preservatives you don’t want.  I’m thinking about making soups and stews and canning them, but first I have to let go of my apprehension using my pressure canner 😊.

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Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA?  Check out our Info Page: https://norwoodfoodcoop.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-join-norwood-csa.html 

Thoughts of a Non-Foodie CSA Member By Greg Halzen

Thoughts of a Non-Foodie CSA Member 

By Greg Halzen

I'm not sure if anyone here can relate, but just in case I want to share some thoughts… as a non-foodie CSA member. 

Sometimes I get the sense that CSA membership is for foodies. Of course there is a spectrum of folks with food appreciation and recipe curiosity, but I am really not a foodie, and that is OK. 

On one hand, I am the type of person who is content making one simple dish in a large quantity and eating it for dinners all week with other meals of peanut butter sandwiches, cereal, and fruit the rest if the time. Food is really just fuel to me. I eat when I am hungry. This part of me is a lot like one of my parents.

Another part of my food personality is that my mother, a nurse, raised me to somehow feel the difference in my body if I didn't get a balance diet across food groups. I like raw veggies and fruits.

So as it turns out, the CSA fruits and veggies fit for me. I love being part of our CSA and this is my family's second year giving it a go. 

Week by week, our habits have changed slightly in a few ways. We now have a marker board on the refrigerator that lists the vegetable inventory. The list gets updated as we eat and cook. In addition, 2-3 evenings a week include a recipe with the majority of the farm fresh stuff. Admittedly, this is where my partner's curiosities kick in, but I have also had fun roasting beets and pulling out the salad spinner for our 5-year-old to go crazy with to prep a summer salad. Finally, we have shifted schedukes a bit to put in the 6 hours of volunteer time. This effort has been most meaningful for our kid who has started connecting personally to neighborhood gardens we see all over the city. 

I don't believe I will convert to being a foodie. But maybe this CSA membership has some pleasant surprises about how it connects with the food ways my parents taught me. Maybe these new routines have me connecting to food in new ways.

 

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Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA?  Check out our Info Page: https://norwoodfoodcoop.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-join-norwood-csa.html 

Beets, It's What's for...Dessert? by Vaughan Myers-Jennings

Beets, It's What's for...Dessert? 

by Vaughan Myers-Jennings 

Chocolate-beet brownie on a white plate.

Beet brownies. You probably look at these words and think, "those don't go together." At least that's what I thought when my wife told me that's how she was going to use the beets we received in our CSA. Dessert that tastes like vegetables, no thank you. 

Thankfully, my wife doesn't listen to me because the finished product was one of the best brownies I've ever had. Adding beets (actually pureed beets) to your brownie recipe actually makes them REALLY moist and REALLY decadent with a dark chocolate like flavor. You can find the recipe at https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/beet-brownies/. Thank me (well, my wife) later.

 

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Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA?  Check out our Info Page: https://norwoodfoodcoop.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-join-norwood-csa.html 

Cucumber smoothie, anyone? By Jenny Pena

Cucumber smoothie, anyone?
How cucumber can add some benefits to your summer drink 

By Jenny Pena

Cucumbers were not my favorite growing up, it was that vegetable that I was almost forced to try by my parents and I hesitantly would bite just to please them. Now that I am an adult and adding more vegetables to my diet is a priority, I am seeing new vegetables as a way to be adventurous and as a challenge to find ways to have them as part of my diet while truly enjoying them.

For the summer, cucumbers are great! As a detailed article on healthline.com says, they have minerals, promote hydration and even help with sugar levels (link here - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-of-cucumber#TOC_TITLE_HDR_9). I enjoy having them with hummus or as part of my salads, as well as in water with mint to infuse and give it a subtle twist; like those fancy jars you see in spas and offices that make water taste extra refreshing and look fancy at the same time.

As I explored what to do with cucumbers, I found different smoothie recipes incorporating cucumbers. I have known about cucumbers being used as part of green juices but this idea of adding it to a smoothie got my attention and I decided to try it.

While there are tons of options out there, I decided to go for the simplest recipe and made some changes. See link here the recipe that I used as a guide (https://goodfoodbaddie.com/pineapple-and-cucumber-juice-no-juicer-needed/#recipe). 

Picture from goodfoodbaddie.com

Ingredients
1 Large Cucumber
1-2 cups of chopped pineapple (You can use fresh pineapple which during the summer is available; if not, you can use canned pineapple in natural juice)
1 small piece of ginger
1 small piece of turmeric (or turmeric powder if not available, I added about ½ tsp of turmeric)
2-3 cups of cold water (I tried this with coconut water and it was delicious)

Take all ingredients and add to the blender. Drink with pulp or use a strainer if you want to remove the pulp. I would say, while it is a matter of preference, removing the pulp takes away some of the fiber.
Enjoy!

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Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA?  Check out our Info Page: https://norwoodfoodcoop.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-join-norwood-csa.html