CSA Week Fifteen

News from the field:

Three frosty nights in a row have stopped some of our field crops in their tracks. So cucumbers, sungolds, melons are all in our rear view mirror for this year. But the cold hardy stuff continues on, as does some of the stuff we could cover. Salad turnips return this week, plus we have some kale, and winter squash – all harbingers of fall.

In some ways controlling the temperature isn’t the hard part about fall – between covering things in the fields and growing stuff in our greenhouses, we can keep temperatures up well into the fall. The real problem is that we start running out of daylight this time of year, which means that the plants. . . really . . . slow. . . down. . . in terms of their growth. It makes planning and managing your yields so much more challenging.

In the Basket:

Fall salad – lots of lettuce, salad turnips, tomatoes.

Cauliflower – Use it with the salad turnips to make something very white. CSAer Lisa Whitney likes to roast cauliflower: toss with olive oil and crushed garlic, roast at 450 for 20-30 minutes, till tender. CSAer Heather Copp likes it boiled and with butter and/or vinegar. When I was a kid we used to eat it raw dipped in mayonaise.

Delicata squash – The first of the winter squash. This has a very thin skin which you can peel with a vegetable peeler or leave on as you wish. I prefer it steamed, and Peter usually bakes it, either way it is good. Delicata cries out to be paired with a blue or similar cheese, and there is a delicata and blue cheese quiche recipe on the back

Carrots – this year has only been so-so for our carrots, and this bunch we got planted a little late, so they are still nice and small and tender.

Kale – A cold hardy cooking green that is good for you to boot! Chop it up, steam it down, and add lots of butter. Or try “For the love of kale” CSAer Nichole Ruggles’ great recipe for kale and pasta.