Summer Squash Sloppy Joes

This is the first post I'm writing to participate in the "Loving Local: Celebrating the Flavors of Massachusetts" blogathon. If you're just joining us now, the blogathon is being sponsored by In Our Grandmothers’ Kitchens, with a little help from the Massachusetts Department of

Agricultural Resources and Mass Farmers Markets. It's being held during Massachusetts Farmers' Market Week. If you are in the position to donate money, please consider giving to Mass Farmers Markets by clicking here.

Tonight I made Summer Squash Sloppy Joes using a recipe I found on epicurious.com. What I love about recipes on epicurious.com, besides the huge variety, is that people leave comments. These can be useful in helping me decide if I want to make a dish. I know that if a recipe has the following comment: "Even my picky boyfriend who won't eat anything liked this dish", I know it's probably pretty bland and I should double the spices. Being married to an aspiring Master Spicer, I have to spice my dinners up pretty well in order for them to be enjoyed by anyone around here. Once I've decided to make a dish, I look for recurring themes in the comments, i.e. "too sweet! halve the sugar" or "add ketchup" or "leave out the anchovies because they're absolutely the most disgusting thing probably ever to be added to any dish ever in the whole world". Okay, the last one was just my personal thoughts about anchovies, but you get what I mean. Here's my experience with Summer Squash Sloppy Joes. The original recipe is found here and I'll post my version here on our blog. The vegetables, except for the onion, were grown locally either in my garden (pepper), my neighbor's garden (carrot) or by my CSA farm, Surrey Farms in Brewster, MA (squash).

Summer Squash Sloppy Joes

• 1 pound ground lean beef or turkey
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 cubanelle pepper (or green or red, whatever you have)
  
• 1 1/2 cups summer squash, diced
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1.5 tbsp brown sugar (ughhh! too sweet! halve the sugar when you make it!)
  
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.5 tablespoons mild chili powder
• 1.5 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
  
• 1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
• dash of Worcestershire (that's wus-ta-shee-yah in case you're wondering) Sauce
• dash of Liquid Smoke
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 3 ounces cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
• 6 hamburger buns

1. Don't do what the original recipe says and preheat the broiler now. If you calculate how many minutes it will take to cook this dish before you put it in the broiler, you would waste at least 22 minutes of gas/electricity while your broiler sits there waiting for you to use it. Wait till the end to preheat it. Don't worry, I'll cue you. Anyway, so in a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the ground beef or turkey (I used turkey) until browned, about 7 minutes. I added salt, pepper and Old Bay seasoning to the turkey. Add the onion and sauté 2 minutes. Add the carrot and pepper and sauté 2 minutes. Add the squash and sauté 1 minute more.

2. Stir in the tomato paste, ketchup, chicken broth and water, stirring until the paste has dissolved. Add the brown sugar, garlic, chili powders, paprika, oregano, Wus-ta-shee-yah Sauce, Liquid Smoke and season with the salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until the mixture has thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Okay, folks - here you go: PREHEAT THE BROILER! While everything is happily boiling away in the skillet, spread the cheese evenly over the bottom halves of the hamburger buns. Transfer both halves of the buns to the broiler, open-faced, and toast until the cheese has melted and the top buns are toasted. Don't do what I did and forget they were in there.

4. Remove the buns from the broiler and fill each sandwich with the squash-and-meat mixture. This term was coined by the original recipe writer. I don't know what I would have written if it were mine, but "squash-and-meat mixture" just about makes me want to barf and not eat the dish at all. Serve and eat immediately. The buns get soggy if you wait. We ate ours with a salad, but you can eat it with whatever you want. Our salad had cukes from our CSA and tomatoes from our neighbor!

P.S. My husband loved it and said he'd definitely eat it again. Even with the vegetables.

P.P.S. Leave out the Liquid Smoke if you want. It's not necessary, but does add a nice touch.

Community Supported Agriculture

We had a request from a fan for a post about Community Supported Agriculture – CSA – so here it is! Let us know if there’s a topic you want us to cover in an upcoming post!

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

In a CSA, farmers offer a number of “shares” to local community members at the beginning of the season. When community members purchase a share and join the CSA, they enter into a type of shared risk pool with the farmer and the other members. Throughout the season on a weekly basis, the farmer delivers to the CSA members their share of the week’s produce. Shares usually consist of a variety of vegetables, but in some CSAs farmers give their members the option of receiving fruit, dairy, or even meat with their delivery. The produce is all organic, but because of the lower cost of distribution, the cost of a CSA share is comparable to what you would pay in your grocery store (AND it comes with an added perk – since the food is grown locally, you can feel better about your carbon footprint!). The cost of a share is a few hundred dollars for the entire season (paid up front), and each share could feed a family of two to four people for a week (depending on your vegetable consumption).

What you get in your weekly delivery depends on what’s in season, and changes in type and volume throughout the season. Earlier in the season you might get more leafy greens, while at the end of the season you might find yourself with broccoli, squash, and potatoes. The season is typically 14-20 weeks long and runs from late spring until early fall.

Of course, belonging to a CSA isn’t always peachy keen. One big part of entering a CSA is the risk you share with the other members and the farmer. If production is low one season – due to pests, a draught, or whatever – you share the loss with the other members and won’t get as much in your weekly delivery. Also, in many CSAs members are required to pick up their shares at a certain place and time every week. This allows for less flexibility than buying your veggies at the grocery store. Because all the food is locally grown, you miss out on many produce items that you’re used to buying whenever you want at your grocery store (many CSA members supplement their shares with fruits and vegetables that aren’t available locally). On the flip side, you may find that you incorporate new kinds of veggies into your diet that you wouldn’t normally eat.

Some CSAs require volunteering hours. This may involve volunteering at a farm stand, assisting with deliveries, or even helping out on the farm. While this may seem like a hassle at first, many CSA members find that they feel more connected and involved with the farm when they volunteer. Children especially enjoy visiting the farm to see where their food comes from.

How can I find a CSA in my area?

Here at TBSC we’re a big fan of CSA and we encourage our readers to look into it for themselves. And this blog post comes at just the right time, as the start of the next season is only a few weeks away! To find the CSA nearest you, LocalHarvest.org is a great resource. Eat healthy! Support local business! Save the planet!

Readers, do you have any experience with CSAs? Share them with us in the comments section!