It’s our last week of CSA! Thank you all so much for being a member this season.
This week we hope to bring you:
Regular Share
-Winter squash
-Choice: Brussels Sprouts OR Large Winter Squash
-Choice: Kale OR Collards OR Bok Choi
-Choice: Lettuce OR Braising Mix OR Arugula OR Spinach
-Choice: Eggplant OR Sunchokes
-Choice: Carrots OR Celery
Large Share Additions
-Extra Choice: Kale OR Collards OR Bok Choi
-Carrots AND Celery
-Cauliflower
CSA Week 21
You can really see fall all around the farm, and we’re sharing the love with you.
Regular Share
-Pie Pumpkin
-Spinach
-Red Italian Onions
-Watermelon Radish
-Choice: Arugula OR Lettuce OR Braising mix
-Choice: Romanesco OR Cauliflower OR Cabbage OR Brussel Sprouts (will vary depending on availability)
Large Additions
-Extra Choice: Romanesco OR Cauliflower OR Cabbage OR Brussel sprouts
-Extra Red Italian Onions
Beets
Last week was the 12th and final week of fruit share. So sad.
Week 20! Time for cooler weather and acorn squash!
Regular Share
-Acorn Squash
-Choice: Peppers OR Eggplant
-Choice: Broccoli OR Roasted Chilis
-Potatoes
-Choice: Lettuce OR Arugula OR Spinach
-Choice: Kale OR Collards OR Bok Choi
Large Share Additions
-Broccoli AND Roasted Chilis
-Choose 2: Lettuce OR Arugula OR Spinach
-Shunkyo Radishes
Fruit – FINAL WEEK
-Apples
This is our 12th and final week of our fruit share.
Week 19! We’re knocking on fall’s door, get ready to start enjoying winter squash for the season!
Regular Share
-Spaghetti Squash
-Parsnips
-Tomatoes
-Onions
-Peppers
-Choice: Arugula OR Lettuce
-Choice: Kale OR Bok Choi OR Collards
Large Share Additions
-Eggplant
-Cauliflower
-Beets
Fruit
-Pears & Apples
When working outside in the elements, one must be prepared for any type of weather – sweltering heat, finger-numbing cold, gusting winds, rain, icy snow. This week has proved to be an early taste of the cold of winter. Looking out at the crisp sun today, one would never guess that this past Friday was so frigid.
There’s a certain type of farm-fashion that comes out on days like this- head to toe rain gear, galoshes, woolies and various combinations of gloves to keep your hands warm when possible. Of course, there is the finishing touch of spatters of mud.
At one point I headed out to the pea shoots on the north side of the farm, my boots getting heavier with each step as the mud gathered in the tread. Picking pea shoots is a task that requires a dexterity of fingers that cannot be accomplished with gloves. Work quickly- the incentive being the quicker you work, the warmer your hands stay.
All in all, the despite the weather, we were able to get all the bunches bunched and the greens, peppers, and everything headed to market washed and ready by a decent hour. No bunching by headlamp or car headlights necessary.
Today is a much more favorable day. It looks like we may actually have a fall instead of jumping straight to winter.
It’s week 18 and we dodged the freezing weather! Enjoy a few more summer crops as we transition into fall.
Regular Share
-Tomatoes
-Peppers
-Onions
-Potatoes
-Choice: Kale OR Collards OR Chard
-Choice: Beets OR Hakurei Turnips
-Choice: Lettuce Or Braising Mix OR Arugula
Large Share
-Broccoli
-Double Potatoes
-Spaghetti Squash
Fruit Share
-Peaches
Week 17, and this week we hope to bring you a bountiful pickup full of goodness, such as shisito peppers…
Regular Share
-Tomatoes
-Onions
-Jalapeno
-Choice: Kale OR Collards OR Chard
-Choice: Cherry Tomatoes OR Eggplant
-Choice: Bell Pepper OR Shishitos
-Choice: Roasted Chilies OR Greens
-Choice: Beans OR Zucchini and Cucumber
-Choice: Cilantro OR Parsley
Large Share
-Beans AND Zucchini AND Cucumber
-Melon
Fruit Share
-Peaches
During the rush of the Friday harvest, I am usually on team kale, where we weigh out the restaurant orders and bunch the various types of kale in the field. This Friday, however, I was sent to the peppers on the southwest corner of the farm.
Despite the cool weather, the peppers have finally started to ripen. There assorted types of bell peppers of all colors – purple, white, yellow, orange, and green. There are the salsa-lovers favorites, jalapeños and chilies like Anaheims and Poblanos. Then, there are a number of red peppers, whose appearance says “hot and spicy,” but are really the sweetest pepper you can imagine.
Picking peppers is similar to the kale, when you’re searching for the biggest and most beautiful. There is a certain amount of self-restraint that one must employ to be sure that next week’s harvest isn’t picked before its prime, no matter how enticing the little pepper-jewels are. The pepper plants are rigid and fragile and quite susceptible to breaking easily. The plants themselves are still covered with blossoms. I was surprised by the amount of bees buzzing around, which is always a welcome sight and sound.
Now, with the peppers and tomatoes in full swing, it’s time to concoct sweet and spicy salsas. Perfect for snacking on a late summer evening.
Here’s a little love from Red Wagon to our CSA members, courtesy of Maria (Chayo), our budding produce artist. It’s big one….
Regular Share
-Beets
-Edamame
-Cherry Tomatoes
-Choice: Melon OR Tomatoes
-Choice: Bell Peppers OR Eggplant
-Choice: Tomatillos OR Broccoli OR Arugula
-Choice: Roasted Chilies OR Shishito Peppers OR Leeks
Large Share
-Melon AND Tomatoes
-Peppers AND Eggplant
-Extra Choice: Tomatillos OR Broccoli OR Arugula
Fruit Share
-Peaches
This time of year, zucchini is a prolific staple food that has the potential to take over a fridge. One can only eat so many stir-fried zucchini (or tromboncino) before you feel like you’re turning into one. Here’s an alternative to the norm. As a kid, I remember putting spoon-fulls of my grandmother’s zucchini relish on top of toast or on a burger.
Ma Mayer’s Grand Scale Zucchini Relish
Makes 8+ pints
10 cups Zucchini (or substitute a Tromboncino)
1 cup Pickling Salt (I made notation to cut back on salt)
5 cups White Onion, minced
1 cup Celery diced
2 Sweet Peppers, diced
2 tsp. Turmeric
1 Tbsp. Dry Mustard
3 Tbsp. Celery Seed
3 Tbsp. Mustard Seed
6 cups Sugar
5 cups Vinegar (White or Apple Cider Vinegar)
Prepare Zucchini. Leave skins on and dice finely.
Combine with salt and other vegetables.
Allow to stand overnight.
Drain off any liquid in the morning and rinse thoroughly.
Drain again in colander. (Grandma Mayer’s note: I taste to see if too salty, if they are too salty, rinse vegetables again in cold water.)
Press bowl on top of vegetables to force out extra liquid.
In large enamel or stainless steel pan, combine remaining ingredients.
Add vegetables and bring to rolling boil.
Reduce heat and boil gently for 20 minutes.
Ladle relish into hot sterile jars and seal. For elevation, process in a boil bath for 20 minutes.