Down on the Farm

Last Beef CSA distribution

Fall CSA Week Five

Notes from the field:

Whew! What a year! Thank you thank you thank you! It is starting to get a little chilly this week, so it is just as well that we are shutting it down. Our washroom is a converted three season porch, and it got to the point this week that we had to wash veggies in our kitchen sink because otherwise they would have froze if we washed them out in our washroom.

Have a good winter everyone!!

Notes on items:

This week’s basket is a double sized basket, so it is a lot of food!! The idea is to give you a bounty for Thanksgiving and also hopefully to last you some into December.

Winter squash – 10 pounds of winter squash. There’s a smorgasborg of all kinds of winter squash to choose from. Check out Lisa’s squash lasagna recipe on the back! If you’re going to store the squash for more than a week or so, the best place is somewhere 50 degrees and dry, so the coldest spot in your house or attic is better than the fridge.

Root crops: 3 pounds carrots from Ledgewood farm, 5 pounds of gold and red beets and 2 pounds of parsnips from Cate Farm. I posted Cornelia’s Pear and Parsnip soup recipe that I mentioned last week on the blog.

Seasonings to take you into fall! 5 heads of garlic, 2 pounds of onions, a bunch of dried herbs and a few chipotles – The chipotles are smoked and dried Serrano peppers –use them to add smokiness and heat to chilis and soups. Many thanks to CSAers Aaron and Eileen who smoked them! I put Peter’s favorite tomato chipotle soup recipe on the blog.

Spinach – A nice big ¾ pound bag to finish out the season. Eat well!!

Lisa Emerson’s Winter Squash Lasagna

1 T olive oil
2 lb (at least) butternut or other winter squash
Salt and pepper
½ c water
1 or 2 almond biscotti
¼ c butter
¼ c flour
3 ½ c whole milk
Pinch nutmeg
1c fresh basil leaves
12 no boil lasagna noodles
2 ½ c shredded whole-milk mozzarella
1/3 grated parmesan

Bake the squash and scoop out flesh. Put oil in large skillet, add the squash and salt and pepper. Add to food processor with cookies/biscotti and puree.

Melt butter in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens slightly (about 5 mins), whisking often. Whisk in nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half this mixture to the food processor. Add basil leaves; blend until smooth. Return this basil sauce to the saucepan and stir. Season with salt and pepper.

Position rack in middle of oven at 375. Lightly butter a 13x9x2 glass baking dish. Spread about half the basil sauce in baking dish. Arrange 3 uncooked lasagna noodles on bottom. Spread with 1/3 squash puree. Sprinkle with ½ c mozzarella. Drizzle sauce over noodles. Repeat layering about 3 more times. Cover with remaining sauce.

Tightly cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Bake about 15 minutes more until sauce bubbles and top is golden. Let lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Peter’s favorite tomato chipotle soup

Adapted from Soup Yourself, recipes from the Eastside Café, Austin, Texas

¼ cup butter
1 cup diced onions
1 teaspoon garlic
3 cups toasted pecans (put in a pie pan in 375 degree oven for five minutes)
2 x 28 ounce cans of whole peeled tomatoes
1 chipotle pepper (or smoked Serrano)
2 cups frozen corn

Saute onions in a large soup pot for about ten minutes, until they begin to brown, Add garlic and cook for another minute then remove from heat.

When cool, blend in a food processor with the pecans until smooth. You probably will have to add some of the tomatoes here to get it to be liquid enough to blend. Put back in soup pot

Puree tomatoes and pepper in food processor. Taste and add more peppers if you like. Stir back into soup pot. Add about a cup of water or stock. Simmer about 30 minutes. Add corn and salt and pepper and serve.

Cornelia's Pear and Parsnip Soup

2 pounds parsnips, peeled and with woody core removed
2 pears, peeled and cut into eighths
1 small yellow or white onion, peeled and cut into eighths
1 tablespoon light vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 1/4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
2 1/4 cups low-fat milk

1. Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450 F.

2. Toss parsnips, pears, onion, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in a roasting pan. Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until very soft and starting to brown, about 40 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, boil vinegar in a small saucepan until syrupy and reduced to about 1/4 cup, 10 to 14 minutes. (Watch the syrup carefully during the last few minutes of reducing to prevent burning.) Remove from the heat.

4. Puree half of the parsnip mixture with broth in a blender until very smooth; transfer to a large saucepan. Puree the other half with milk until very smooth. Add to the saucepan and stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

5. Reheat the soup over medium heat, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Gently reheat the balsamic syrup if it has become thicker than syrup while standing. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with the balsamic syrup.

Fall CSA Week Four

Notes from the field:

We can't put off Jack Frost forever. We have had a great time figuring out how to grow greens this late into the season, but you might notice some (mostly cosmetic) frost damage on some of your green leaves this week. Apparently there is a limit to how far we can push the growing season up here.

In other news, we continue our farm clean up, repair, and planning for next year. The first seed catalogs for 2009 have arrived! And it is not even Thanksgiving! But it is nice to look at the pictures of tomatoes and melons, and to dream of next year.

Notes on items:

Parsnips – Cornelia is making parsnip and pear soup this weekend for her in-laws. The parsnips and beets are from Cate Farm in Plainfield.

Salad Turnips – We tried growing these in our tomato houses this fall. The spinach grows well in the fall because even though the sun is weak, spinach can draw energy from the earth through its long tap root. Salad turnips depend more on the sun, so they much slower growing than they are in warmer months. Still, they were worth the wait and nice for the variety this time of year.

Spinach, arugula, kale and dandelion greens – A green extravaganza to fill your bones with earthy goodness for the long winter ahead.

Golden beets – These have spectacular color. People who don’t love beets often enjoy these more than red beets, because they’re a little milder in flavor. Check out Nichole’s awesome arugula salad with beets recipe on the back!

Nichole Ruggles’ Arugula with Roasted Beets, Chevre and Spicy Walnuts

Cut beets (about 2-3 cups) into bite sized pieces, drizzle with olive oil and roast until tender.

Meanwhile, sauté 1 cup walnuts in butter. When they are nicely toasted, sprinkle with a combination of chili powder and sugar. Stir and continue to cook until the sugar caramelizes a bit.

Top arugula with roasted beets, spicy walnuts and an ample amount of chevre. Sprinkle on sliced scallions if you have some. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve.

Fall CSA Week Three

Notes from the field:

What a glorious stretch of Indian summer! It feels funny to be giving out winter squash this week when it is 65 degrees out, but I suppose it won't last forever. Actually the sun and warmth have been badly needed to nurse along the last of our field crops like the baby bok choy and spinach. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Notes on items:

5 pounds squash - The squash will be an assortment of different winter squashes. There will be a lot of “Sunshine” squash, which is a Kabocha type winter squash with a tender, stringless flesh, a little on the dry side, though not as dry as Buttercup squash (my favorite). We had a Sunshine the other night for dinner – I cut it in half, scooped the seeds out, and put in a pan, cut side down, with about ¼ inch of water in the pan. Yes, you lose the nice caramelization that way, but the water keeps the squash nice and moist and helps with cleanup. Or try the recipes on the back! Some of the winter squash this week came from Littlewood Farm in Plainfield.

2½ pounds carrots – Waverly calls these winter carrots and likes to put them in salad in salad. Henry likes them in chicken soup with rice.

2 heads garlic, ½ pound spinach, 1 1/4 pound broccoli – Good fall food!!

2 heads of baby bok choy – Halve them lengthwise, brush with peanut oil and grill. Or halve them lengthwise and braise in chicken broth with wine and garlic. Or just coarsely chop, add to a hot skillet slicked with peanut oil and maybe with some garlic, and stir fry until wilted and maybe even barely crisped on the edges.

Tracy Zschau’s Winter Squash Recipes

Twice Baked Winter Squash
From thefarmersdaughterct.wordpress.com

1 winter squash
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup shreded cheddar cheese
salt/pepper to taste

Split butternut squash in half, scoop out seeds and bake cut side down on baking sheet for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Scoop out pulp, combine with breadcrumbs, cheese, and season to taste. Put filling back in shell and bake for 20 minutes until filling is lightly browned.

It was yummy!
Nigella’s Winter Squash With Pecans And Blue Cheese

From Nigella Lawson’s Nigella Express via NPR and Tracy Zschau

• 4-1/2 pounds winter squash
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 cups crumbled Roquefort or other blue cheese

Heat the oven to 425°F. Halve the squash, leaving the skin on, and scoop out the seeds, then cut into 1-inch cubes; you don't need to be precise, just keep the pieces uniformly small.

Put into a roasting pan with the oil and dried thyme. Roast in the oven for about 30-45 minutes or until tender.
Once out of the oven, remove the squash to a bowl and scatter over the pecans and crumble over the cheese, tossing everything together gently.

From npr notes: This has many strings to its bow: It serves as a vegetarian alternative to the Thanksgiving turkey; it gussies up a plate of cold leftover turkey; it adds the right balance of mellow warmth and tang to any plain wintry dish; it is a good whole meal on days when you just feel fleshed out.

check out this link for a beautiful photo of this!