Tag Archive: CSA

Last week’s CSA share

The Weekly Share

Here’s what to expect in this week’s share:

• Potatoes
• Squash
• Sweet Pepper
• Hot Peppers
• Scallions
• Onions
• Green beans
• Tomatoes
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Herbs

*Due to the unpredictability of weather, pest problems, and other factors produce in the weekly shares are subject to last minute changes.

Purple viking potatoes! 

Tie-Dye Potatoes

I was so excited last week to see Purple Viking potatoes in my share. The colorful purple and pink skins always remind me of tie-dye! They also happen to be my absolute favorite potato. Purple vikings are an incredibly flavorful variety of potato and their texture is smooth and creamy.  They are perfect for mashed potatoes but I also like them roasted as home fries and in my cheesy potato recipe.

Nutritionally potatoes are high in vitamin B6, potassium and vitamin C.  I am a big fan of not peeling my potato skins, the skins are full of vitamins and minerals as is the flesh but the skins contain more fiber. The skin on purple vikings is not tough so they make for ideal eating. Potatoes can keep for months if stored in a cool dry place. (Side note, don’t store your potatoes too close to your onions, onions will make potatoes sprout and go bad faster.) So when you’re ready to use them give those skins a good scrub and keep them on when you cook.

Bacon Cheesy Potatoes

• 1/2 lb bacon
• 2 lb potatoes (the quart size in your CSA share is about 2lbs)
• 1-2 medium onions
• 2 T flour
• 1 C Milk
• 1 C shredded cheese (cheddar, colby, monterrey jack, whatever you like that melts easily)
• salt and pepper to taste
• butter

1. Cook your bacon – I prefer to cook it in the oven but you can also just stove top fry it.  For the oven baking, I lay the bacon on a baking sheet, put it in the oven, then turn on the oven to 375 and cook for about 20-25 minutes. After the bacon is cooked set it aside to cool.  Once cool crumble it.  Reserve the bacon grease, we’ll use it in the sauce. If you oven baked your bacon, turn the oven up to 400.  If you fried your bacon, then turn on the oven at the very beginning.

2. While the bacon cooks, cut your potatoes and onion into thin rings. If you own a mandoline, this is the perfect time to use it!

3. Put 2 T of the bacon grease in a sauce pan.  If you don’t like bacon grease, use butter.  Whisk in the flour and some salt and pepper (light on the salt if you used the bacon grease).  Over medium-low heat cook the mixture till it is a golden colored creamy roux.

4. Add the milk slowly whisking the whole time, turn up the heat to medium and let the sauce start to thicken.  Once thickened, stir in your cheese then remove it from the heat.  Add salt and pepper to taste – I often throw in a little creole seasoning in for some kick.

5. Grab a baking dish and butter it all up, add a layer of potatoes; top with some of the crumbled bacon and a layer on onions (make sure you have separated the rings); then pour on about 1/3-1/2 of the sauce.  Repeat with a second layer of everything and the rest of the sauce – don’t overfill.

6. Place the dish on a baking sheet (just in case of accidental overflow) and pop it in the oven for an hour and a half.

Enjoy!

Connect and Share

What is your favorite part of your CSA share? If you have a recipe or picture you want to share, a trick you learned, or a question about your CSA produce please let us know at csa@hornfarmcenter.org.  Share on social media with the hashtag #HornFarmCSA.