Keeping up with bringing in the harvest for the CSA and Farm Store consumed most of last week! Spinach leaves were picked one by one, we walked through the broccoli plants cutting the heads just as they were ready while leaving the rest to grow, and we looked through each bed of tomatoes for just ripe but not yet damaged fruit. While a frost-free September postpones some clean up tasks, we do enjoy getting a longer harvest off of plants we cared for throughout the spring and summer. Of course we also appreciate the extended season of cooking and eating eggplant, peppers and tomatoes! Last week we found small windows of time to weed the last carrot planting, cultivate remaining beds of greens, and hoe lettuce. Not only is there no frost predicted this week but it continues to be hot summer weather so we will try to keep ourselves and the leafy greens as cool as possible while we also tackle weeding next year's strawberries, harvest gourds and acorn squash, and start harvesting storage potatoes for next week!
In the CSA
- Delicata squash - A crowd favorite for their sweet flavor and easy preparation! These small squash have an edible skin so to prepare simply slice in half, remove the seeds, slice into "smiles" and bake.
- Onions - Our storage onions have cured in the greenhouse and are ready for eating! They should not be kept in the fridge, kitchen counter is great in the short term, longer term storage should be in a cool, dry place.
- Garlic
- Broccoli - We haven't sprayed the broccoli at all this season, so we recommend soaking it at home for a few minutes in lightly salted warm water to help separate out any cabbage worms.
- Spinach
- Buttercup or Red Kuri squash - The buttercup is sweeter with a very smooth texture. Red kuri is slightly drier with a chestnut-y flavor.
- Escarole - this Italian cooking green looks like lettuce, but it has a more bitter flavor. Use it to make white bean and escarole soup, or sautee it with garlic and olive oil for an interesting side dish.
- Savoy Cabbage
- Mustard Greens
- Peppers - purple, red, yellow and orange
- Eggplant
- Collards
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Beets
- Lettuce
- Curly Kale
CSA PYO:
- Cherry Tomatoes and cocktail tomatoes - The plants are on their way out but there is still fruit on them for folks who would like one last week of picking!
- Hot peppers - serrano, jalapeño, ancho, cayenne and habanero (the spiciest one we grow)
- Purple tomatillos - pick when husks are filled out.
- Husk cherries- Pick dry husks that have fallen on the ground under the plants. To eat, remove the husk and eat the yellow fruit inside.
- Sunflowers
- Herbs: parsley, dill, cilantro, sage, thyme, mint, oregano, chives
In the store:
In addition to the items also available in the CSA, we will have baby bok choi, spaghetti squash and heirloom tomatoes. We will also continue to have Verrill Farm corn, Fat Moon mushrooms, and Pete and Jen's eggs.
PYO Flower CSA:
Flowers available for picking this week include zinnias, bachelors button, celosia, scabiosa, verbena, amaranth, cosmos, strawflower, snapdragons, gomphrena, sunflowers, sweet Annie, and broomcorn.
Winter Squash Curry
adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
You can use any type of winter squash for this recipe. You can add other veggies to the curry. My favorites are broccoli, peppers, and spinach.
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (grapeseed, corn or canola)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 lb winter squash, peeled and roughly chopped
- chopped vegetables such as broccoli or spinach (optional)
- 1 cup coconut milk
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Put the oil in a pot or deep skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion (or leek) and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the curry and ginger and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the squash (and broccoli if using) and coconut milk and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and turn the heat down to low. Cook, stirring once or twice, until the squash is tender (about 20 minutes). If you're adding spinach, add this toward the end of cooking. If the squash is done and there is still a lot of liquid, remove the lid and turn the heat up to medium high until it's thicker than stew. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or quinoa.