Down on the Farm

Fall CSA Week Two

Introduction:

Well, snow definitely slows those veggies down a bit. If you look on our website you can see some recent photos of how we manage to keep some veggies growing when it is still so cold out. We are a little nervous that we may lose the broccoli this week, even though it is double covered out in the field. Two days of snow and freezing temps can be too much for even the most cold hardy veggies. We’ll know more this weekend after things warm up a bit, relatively speaking.

Notes on items:

2½ pounds carrots and 2½ pounds beets - This week, we bought in beets and parsnips from our friend, mentor, and former employer, Richard Wiswall at Cate Farm in Plainfield.

1 bunch kale, two heads of baby bok choy, ½ pound spinach – As Henry likes to say, “these are good for your bones!”

2 pounds parsnips and one bunch of dandelion greens – Great fall veggies with recipes ideas on the back!!

Peter’s fall salad

Let’s face it, fresh salads will probably be few and far between from now until next June. So take this week’s basket and make a fresh salad on November 1st! Throw the spinach in a bowl, chop up the baby bok choy and dandelion greens in whatever way seems appropriate, and throw them in too. Then take a peeler and shave some raw parsnips, carrots, and beets on top of that. Add a splash of your favorite dressing, and may a few chunks of cheddar, and - voila! – a yummy fresh local organic salad to celebrate the return to standard daylight time and dark winter evenings.

Parsnip fries

Adapted from Lorna Sass’ Short Cut Vegetarian

Place the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°.
In a large shallow baking dish, toss the parsnips with olive oil. It’s nice to sprinkle in some rosemary if you have it too. Arrange cut side down, in one layer if possible, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Flip over (with tongs if you have them) and roast until parsnips are easily pierced with a paring knife, about ten minutes more.
Eat them hot.

Ahhhhh . . . autumn in Vermont

We got a little snow last night.

Henry was so excited that he rushed outside after breakfast to try the Henry and Wavy sized snow shovels we bought them this year.

We still have another month of Fall CSA distributions to do. I hope the broccoli under this remay is doing Ok. (Remay being the generic term for the spun poly material we use to cover plants in the spring and fall. Remay usually gives the plants about 4 degrees of temperature protection, and you can double and triple cover some plants for even more protection.)

The baby bok choy under this remay out in the field looks good!

And we have some greens growing in our hoophouses (the tomatoes got pulled in September). We cover stuff inside the greenhouses with remay for even more protection. This is a shot with the big piece of remay on.

And this is it with the remay off.

Mmmmmm . . . spinach.

Fitzhugh's Roasted Vegetable and Beef Stew

Hi Maryellen,
We thought you might like to see the roasted vegetable and beef stew we made for dinner tonight. All the vegetables, with the exception of the celery, (potatos, leeks, carrots, red onions, garlic, basil, acorn squash) came from CSA. The beef is the stewing beef we picked up from Peter this week. You can see the end result, which was even more delicious than it looks. I know you asked for feed back on CSA, and I thought this might be a good way to let you know how much we LOVE CSA. Every year gets better. We have loved the meat shares as well. We are truly the envy of everyone we know around the USA. Thank you and Peter for making our life in Vermont so delicious!
Fondly,
Karen and Mark Fitzhugh
(and Christopher, Sarah and James)

Fall CSA Week One

Introduction:

Welcome to the 2008 Fall CSA! Thanks for joining us! You should be aware that there are some differences in the fall. For starters, the cold means that we can’t carry the diversity of veggies we might have during the season, so the baskets tend to have bigger quantities of fewer items, and this first week is no exception. Second, the falling temps sometimes mean that the quality of the veggies is not the same as it would be mid-season. For example, this week we cut the broccoli smaller than we would in the summer because we didn’t think it was going to last much longer with these cold night time temps.

But the upside of the fall is fresh veggies until Thanksgiving! And we have a bunch of greens planted in the greenhouse to compliment our storage crops, so we think it is going to be a great fall! Thanks again for joining us!

Field notes:

Brrrrrr. The cold is setting in. And while that is to be expected, it means we need to cover, and double cover, our veggies this time of year. But this is a lot easier for us this time of year since our farmer’s markets have ended! The farmer’s markets are a great way to sell our veggies, but they do mean that for about 22 weeks, we are wedded to a pretty intense cycle of harvest and selling. It is nice to have some of our time start to free up.

Not that there still aren’t a lot of things to do around here -- our fall clean up continues. These days we are clearing greenhouses, plowing down and spreading compost on some field sections, fixing equipment, making plans for next year (already!).

Notes on items:

The carrots and onions are from Ledgewood Farm across the river in New Hampshire. Our friend Ed Person runs Ledgewood Farm and he has a side business building greenhouse frames for veggie growers. Ed built our frames, and when I was talking to him about buying some new frames last week, he mentioned that he had a bunch of carrots and onions left that he didn’t have a market for. I told him we could use them for our CSA, and I spent a morning this week digging carrots at Ed’s place. So enjoy – a nice treat to help ease our weather problems this year.

This week's items
Brussel sprouts, carrots, red onions, broccoli

Brussel sprouts with bread crumbs

Boil or steam the brussel sprouts about 3-4 minutes, till partly done. Meanwhile in a skillet over medium heat, sauté garlic in butter. Once the butter begins to bubble up and the garlic starts to jump a little, add the sprouts. Cook about 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown spots start to appear on the sprouts. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add the toasted breadcrumbs into the skillet and toss gently. Add more breadcrumbs on top before serving; sprinkle with lemon zest if desired.

CSA Week Eighteen

News from the field:

Ta-daa! This is the last basket for the regular CSA. What a season! What a beautiful week of fall weather. Thank you so much for your support! It has been a great CSA year for us, and hopefully next year will be even better. Thanks again!

In the Basket:

Butternut Squash – This is my dad’s favorite squash, and so we always grow it in his honor. A great winter squash for baking.

Potatoes – Wendy Stein’s potato leek soup is such a hit each year, we had to have at least one basket with both leeks and potatoes. If you don’t have the recipe from years’ past, it’s on the website.

Leeks - A classic way to do leeks is to boil them until just tender (10-15 minutes), sauté them in butter, and cover with thick cheese sauce or Hollandaise, then bake or broil until golden and bubbly. For something a little healthier, more soup recipes on the back.

Beets – We’ve been slicing raw beets in half and then shaving them (starting on the cut side) vegetable peeler and adding them to spinach salads in thin, raw strips. Lots of folks roasting them these days too.

Bok choy – We pretty much always eat this sautéed in butter as a side green, but it is more classically used in stir fry or used as a stuffing ingredient for dumplings or potstickers.

Kale or Broccoli Raab or Napa Cabbage – We’ve been especially enjoying the napa cabbage raw, in salads, lately. It’s got great flavor, mild almost to the point of sweetness. Napa cabbage is the base for most Korean kim chi.

Spinach – Good reliable spinach. Versatile, widely liked, really good for you, what more can you ask of a vegetable!!

Thanks for being a part of the Old Shaw Farm CSA 2008!!! We appreciate your support!! Have a fabulous winter!!!!!

Chris Lehrich’s Leek Soup Recipes

Leek and Cheese Soup
(adapted from The Silver Spoon)

6-7 cups simmering stock (meat, chicken, or mushroom preferred)
1/4 cup olive oil (or 3 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil)
3 leeks, cleaned of grit, trimmed, and sliced
pinch nutmeg or cayenne, depending on preference
4 medium slices crusty bread
1/4 pound mild cheddar, coarsely grated
1/4 cup brandy or medium-dry sherry (optional but terrific)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. In a saucepan, saute leeks over low heat in oil (and butter) 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add nutmeg or cayenne and a generous dash each salt and pepper. Add stock and simmer about 10 minutes, until leeks are tender. Put a slice of bread in each of four deep ovenproof soup bowls (like you’d use for French onion soup), top with the cheese, and sprinkle on the brandy. Correct soup seasoning with salt and pepper, then ladle over the bread and cheese. Place the bowls on a cookie sheet in the oven for 10 minutes, then let stand a few minutes before serving. Encourage people to grate more pepper as they like.

Leek-Rice Soup
(adapted from The Silver Spoon)

4 leeks, cleaned of grit, trimmed, and sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 Tb olive oil
3/4 cup rice
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese fresh-grated at the table

Cook leeks, carrots, celery, oil, and 2 Tb water in a saucepan over low heat, for 5 minutes, until softening. Add a generous 6 cups water, raise heat and bring to a boil. Stir in rice and a pinch of salt, return to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender. Adjust seasonings. Encourage people to grate on some Parmesan at the table.

Winding down

Frosty mornings. Foliage. Fall broccoli. Geese heading south. Woodsmoke. Dark mornings. Sleeping under two comforters.

CSA Week Seventeen

News from the field:

Brrrr! It is getting downright cold at night now, and the few veggies left in the field aren’t very happy about it. But all good things must come to an end, and considering that the ground is typically frozen solid by early November, we don’t have much left to the growing season.

But thanks goodness for cold hardy greens. The fall salad bounty continues in your basket this week. We should enjoy it while we can!

In the Basket:

Brussel sprouts – The trick to these is not to overcook. They’re great roasted with bacon or sliced in half and stir fried in a very hot cast iron skillet or try Beatrice’s recipe below.

Napa cabbage – This is good for fluffy cole slaw, especially with peanuts or an asian type dressing. Or try Chris’s very popular recipe on the back!

Garlic, romaine or arugula, spinach – Rather than take up space with ideas for these, I thought I could squeeze in another recipe!

CSA Week Sixteen

News from the field:

Good bye tomatoes!! See you next year!! We have started pulling the tomatoes out of our greenhouses. The light has really changed. It is getting dark earlier. There aren’t so many big jobs left to do this season. Things are winding down in earnest.

This has been a very hard year for our fall storage crops. The 6 to 8 weeks of rain we had from late June until early August have really taken its toll – our yields are way down and we just plumb don’t have some stuff.

But when the rains stopped in August and we realized we wouldn’t have some of the fall crops we normally rely on, we decided to compensate by planting a lot of greens for fall. Last week you had a bunch of greens in your basket, and it is the same thing this week. And you should get ready because there will be more spinach coming – a spinach tsunami is building at Old Shaw Farm and it will probably crest next week, or maybe during the last week of our CSA. So enjoy the fall salads before the long winter sets in!

In the Basket:

Buttercup or delicata squash – Either of these are great roasted. Slice in half, scoop out the seed, but cut side down on a cookie sheet and bake in a hot oven (400) until soft. Then scoop out the flesh, add butter, and spices (if desired) and enjoy. Or try the yummy soup on the back!

Spinach – This is a ¾ pound bag, where usually we give you a ½# bag. Add to quesadillas, eat as salad, or cook as a side green.

Romaine lettuce and onion you probably know what to do with!!

Turnips – Mash with some of last week’s carrots and/or potatoes. Or if you want the recipes from two weeks ago, check the blog.

Raab or bok choy – Try the broccoli rabe, sausage and pasta recipe!

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

(Courtesy of Frank DeCarlo of Peasant via Martha Stewart via Stephanie Giese)
Serves 2

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 pound broccoli rabe, trimmed and washed
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
2 shallots, crushed and peeled
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
1-1/2 cups canned low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 pound pasta, such as campanelle
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup freshly grated Grana Padana cheese (parmesan...)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Add salt and broccoli rabe to the boiling water. Cook until just tender. Drain, and transfer to ice bath. When cool, drain and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shallots; cook until just golden. Add sausage; sauté, breaking up with the back of a spoon, until cooked through. Add broccoli rabe and stock. Cook until heated through.

3. Into the same large pot, add pasta; cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain.

4. Add pasta to skillet; toss to combine. Season with salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper. Sprinkle with cheese; toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Couple of notes: We’ve made this a lot and have used spinach or broccoli or whatever other green we had. If using spinach, for example, I don’t cook it before adding to the skillet, I just put it in the skillet and let it wilt. We also use cheese liberally. Yummy.