Summer CSA Newsletter, Week 9 | Hmong American Farmers Association

Originally published on August 21, 2018

NEWSLETTER: SUMMER CSA WEEK 9

Miguel Goebel, Food Hub Director, and Ka Yang, Research Associate, greet our 2018 Fruit and Veggie Rx Program participants and partnering clinic staff.

Dear CSA Members,

Greetings from the HAFA Farm and welcome to week nine of your summer share!

Last week, we hosted the second annual Fruit and Veggie Rx (FVRx) Program dinner with our partners from HealthEast Roselawn, HealthEast Rice Street, University of Minnesota Phalen Village Family Medicine Clinic and Fairview Integrated Primary Care. Despite the mid-day thunderstorms, the HAFA staff rallied to pull off a beautiful event. Dr. Anne Keenan spoke for a brief moment stating that the program was not only helping patients combat chronic-diet related diseases, but that the delivery of CSAs brought joy to the entire office. We feel so fortunate to be a part of this program! We believe that nutritious meals are fundamental to overall well-being. More photos from the event will be posted to our FB page later this week.

This Thursday, August 23rd, marks the start of the Minnesota State Fair. Do you and your family partake in the Great Minnesota Get-Together? What are your favorite attractions? HAFA will be taking part in the Minnesota Cooks Day on Sunday August 26th at 12:00 P.M. Stop by the Dan Patch Park, right outside the Grand Stand, to watch a cooking demonstration and hear HAFA Executive Director, Pakou Hang, speak about HAFA’s work.

As always, we hope you enjoy this week’s box and happy eating!

In solidarity,
The HAFA Family

MEMBER PHOTOS

Thank you so much for continuing to share your CSA experiences with us on social media. We love seeing your photos and wanted to share a few with you. If you want to share you photos with us, tag @hafafarmers on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!

This weeks photos are from Laura Zabel, Paula Haeder, Azra Thakur, Matthew Larson and City of Hastings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Fall and Thanksgiving CSAs are still available!

Warning!!! Fall Shares are half way to selling out, don’t miss out on your chance to enjoy delicious fall produce grown by HAFA Farmers.

Fall CSA, 7 weeks

September 27 – November 8
Full Share $200
Half Share $125
Flower shares are sold out

Thanksgiving Share
Pick-up November 15 and 16
Veggie Share $50

Optional turkey:
Small – $28
Medium – $36
Large – $45

HAFA needs volunteers for September and October CSA packing! For more information, please respond to this newsletter or email info@hmongfarmers.com.

WHAT’S IN YOUR CSA BOX?

This week you can expect the following in your CSA box:

FULL SHARES

Bitter Ball Eggplant – 2 pounds
Green Beans – 1 pound
Leeks – 3 stalks
Lemon Grass – 1 bunch
Pickling Cucumbers – 2 pounds
Red Sweet Pepper – 1 pound
Slicing Tomatoes – 2 pounds
Sweet Corn – 5 ears
Thai Peppers – .25 pound

HALF SHARES
Bitter Ball Eggplants – 1 pound
Green Beans – 1 pound
Korean Sun Jewel Melon – 1 melon
Leeks – 2 stalks
Red Sweet Pepper – .5 pound
Slicing Tomato – 1 pound
Thai Peppers – .25 pound

Things to note: This week your Thai peppers and tomatoes are packed in the same bag. The peppers will not effect the flavor of the tomatoes.

RECIPE

Bitter ball eggplants. These eggplants come in a variety of colors from orange, to green, to yellow. Photo courtesy of Mike Hazard.

Pan Fried Bittermelon
from the HAFA Staff

INGREDIENTS

1-2 tablespoons of oil
1-3 Thai chilies (use more or less depending on spice level tolerance)
1 stalk of lemongrass, sliced very thinly at a diagonal (discard the dry outer leaves and use the paler portion near the root end)
1 pound of bitter ball eggplant, sliced (can be cut into wedges, cubed or sliced like tomatoes)
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a pan over med-low heat and add the chiles and lemongrass; stir for a minute to infuse the oil with flavor.
Add the bitter eggplant slices and stir-fry just until until a bit wilted, but not entirely soft; they should still retain their shape.
Remove from heat and add salt to taste. Serve hot or at room temperature with rice or, even better, sticky rice.

STAFF PROFILE: MAT KRISETYA

Matius (Mat) Larson Krisetya is the Hmong American Farmers Association’s Operations Director. Matius’ career started in agribusiness initiating a mint tea farm in Jamaica. He has 20 years of experience in nonprofit management working with international humanitarian organizations, nonprofits, and with US Federal contractors. He hold a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning school from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BA in Religion/Economics from Goshen College in Indiana. In his spare time, Mat likes to cook international foods, to having meals together with his wife and two teenagers, play classical guitar, and photography.