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.

CSA Week Fifteen

News from the field:

The home stretch! This is week 15, which means we have 3 weeks to go after this one. This fall we are feeling the effects of 6-8 weeks of rain earlier in the season. We have a lot less onions, winter squash and carrots than we normally do heading into fall. But each year presents its new challenges and quirks. Even though some field crops did not do well, we have a banner year in the greenhouses. So it all evens out in the end, I suppose.

Now is the time that we are beginning our fall tasks -- plowing down crops killed by the frost, planting cover crops to hold the soil over the winter, cleaning the tomato plants out of the greenhouses, taking plans for next year. We still have our weekly harvests to do, but more and more the days are filled with winding-down-jobs and planning-for-next-year-jobs. And we have been blessed with wonderful weather while working on these tasks.

In the Basket:

Potatoes – A big five pound bag this week, to last you into the fall. Keep them in a cool, dry, dark place (so they don’t turn green)

Carrots – Try Carolynne’s soup recipe on the back. Thank you Carolynne!

Broccoli raab or bok choy – Broccoli raab is an Italian green that we love. The classic way to make it is to warm olive oil with garlic and pepper then add roughly chopped raab and cook gently. Drain and toss with more olive oil and capers then serve topped with grated cheese and with lemon on the side. If you go looking for other recipe ideas, know that this green is also called rapini and broccoli rabe. For the bok choy, check out the great recipe from Tracy Zschau back in week one – I’ll put a link on the blog.

Kale – There are a lot of greens this week!! If it’s too much for you to eat in one week, consider freezing the kale. This is how I do it: lop off the stems, put the leaves, whole, into boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove, swish in cold water till cool, drain, then dry (in salad spinner). Roughly chop, put in a small Ziploc freezer bag, get all the air out, lay flat till frozen solid (easier to store). I like to add to spaghetti sauce in the winter! I’ll also link to recipes on the blog.

Spinach, beets with greens and tomatoes – Consider boiling the beets, then dicing them adding them to your spinach salad. With a little salty cheese. Maybe apples? So fall!!!

Carolynne Achilles’ Carrot Soup

1 small onion finely chopped

3 C. carrots peeled and coarsely chopped

4-6 T. butter

3 C. chicken stock

1 1/2 C. heavy cream or milk

2 t. curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in large saucepan. Saute onions 5 minutes until transparent, then add the carrots. Cook for 5 more minutes and add stock. Cook another 20 minutes or until carrots are tender. Puree in the blender or if you want a very velvety texture, put through a strainer. Return the soup to the pan and whisk in milk or cream. Add seasonings and taste.

Garnish with creme fraiche and chopped parsley.

CSA Week Fourteen

News from the field:

Well, I suppose we are at the end of summer the beginning of fall. We have lost cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and melons, and we will lose the last of the eggplant and basil this week. From here on out, the frosts will start to pile up and anything that can’t take the cold will be gone.

On the other hand, we are starting to have our winter squashes, and starting to dry the few onions we harvested this year. We will also pull our fall potatoes next week, and there may be some brussel sprouts down the line. Before you know it, the leaves will be turning and we will be seeing a lot more out of state license plates!

In the Basket:

Delicata squash - These are pretty enough to use for decorations until you are ready to eat them. They’ll store at room temperature for about 4 to 6 weeks. I prefer delicata steamed, but baked is a close second.

String beans – Try tossing them with olive oil, salt and pepper and either grilling or spreading them in a big pan and roasting them.

Summer things: Tomatoes, corn, red peppers

Fall things: Arugula, radishes or salad turnip

Delicata Squash Rings

Adapted from Deborah Madison’s “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”

Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler. Slice of the ends, scoop out the seeds. Slice into rings about 1/3 inch thick. Heat a tablespoon or so of olive or other oil in a wide skillet. Fry the squash until richly colored on the bottom, about 6 minutes. Turn and cook until tender. Season with salt, pepper, parsley.