The weather forecast this week doesn’t trigger images of winter squash, but late August is actually prime harvesting season. With the uncertainty surrounding the storm this past weekend, we rushed to get as much winter squash inside the barn as possible. Once in the barn, squash and pumpkins go through a curing period during which they gain sweetness and improve in storage qualities. So far we’ve harvested all of our spaghetti squash, red kuri and pie pumpkins, as well as most of our acorn squash. In the coming weeks we will also harvest butternut, Tetsukabuto (a hybrid variety with excellent taste and storing qualities), Black Futsu (a small specialty pumpkin variety) and Autumn Frost (a specialty butternut). Most of the squash will be available in the store and CSA later in the season, but spaghetti squash will begin to be available this week! You may be looking at the weather forecast and thinking that you do not want to turn on your oven. Don’t worry - when stored properly the squash will keep for several weeks until better weather conditions for turning on your oven arise!
In the CSA this week:
CSA pick up hours are Tues/Thurs 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Face masks are required under the CSA tent during the first hour of each day. Please note we do our best to predict what will be available each week, but conditions change and there may be slight variations in what’s available!
Spaghetti squash - Just like the name suggests, the innards of this squash are spaghetti-like. Cut them in half and roast face-down in about an inch of water. Once they’ve cooled off, use a fork to scrape out the insides, then prepare like you would your favorite pasta dish! I particularly like to eat it with sage butter and grated Parmesan! Spaghetti squash will keep for several weeks on your counter, but if you have a cool, dark dry place to keep it, that’s even better. Spaghetti squash, like all winter squash and pumpkins, should not go in the refrigerator.
Leeks
Peppers - both colored peppers and green and purple varieties will be available.
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Carrots
Beets - We are moving on to our fall beet plantings now. We will likely mostly have red beets, but there may be some golden ones in the mix as well!
Cucumbers
Kale
Lettuce - A mix of red and green summer crisp varieties
Salanova lettuce mix
Arugula or mizuna
CSA PYO:
Handwashing sinks are provided at the entrance to each PYO field. For the sake of food safety, please wash hands before picking. The barn bathroom and wash area sinks in the barn are for employees only (we do now have a green porta-potty restroom by the tree behind the red barn for customer use with a portable handwashing sink just beside it).
*Please note that we close down the PYO fields for lightning storms.
Husk cherries - Peel off the brown husk and enjoy this yellow fruit’s sweet, almost tropical, flavor!
Choice of Shishito peppers or Tomatillos - Shishito peppers are small peppers that are great for sautéeing whole and snacking on with just a little bit of salt sprinkled on top. Most shishito are mild but there is the occasional one with a bit of hot pepper heat with no way to tell which one! Tomatillos are the key ingredient in salsa verde - a sauce that is not only a great sip for chips, but also goes well with burritos, eggs or grilled meat.
Cherry tomatoes - All varieties are plentiful this week as it is now peak season!
Edamame - Pick the plumpest pods.
Hot peppers - jalapeño, cayenne, Hungarian hot wax, fresno and aji rico varieties are all producing. Signs in the field indicate what to look for in terms of ripeness, as well as how spicy varieties are.
Herbs- parsley, cilantro (new planting!), basil, sage
PYO Flower CSA:
The flower field is in full bloom! We will offer picking until our first frost (often mid September) however after another couple of weeks the selection will decrease. Picking is available any time the farm store is open (Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm). Varieties blooming now include: zinnias, marigolds, snapdragons , statice, gomphrena, celosia, decorative basil, frosted explosion, cosmos, ageratum, rudbeckia, bachelors button, ammi, scabiosa and more! There is also a bed of many varieties of branching sunflowers blooming that you are welcome to use to fill your jars. Please pick stems above the first branching of all flowers to encourage future growth. Picking is available for Flower CSA members as well as to the public for purchase by the bouquet.
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA the farm store this week we will also have flower bouquets, summer squash and zucchini. We also have eggs from Codman Farm and honey from Double B. There are no mushrooms available for the month of August, but we will have Fat Moon Mushrooms back in the stand again in September. We will have corn on Tuesday, but sourcing is unpredictable this season, so we cannot guarantee that we will have it other days.
We accept credit card, cash, check and EBT in the farm store. The farm store is open Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Masks are required during the first hour of each day. Staff will continue to wear masks in the first hour of each day but will not be required to for the remainder of the day in keeping with our customer policy. We are keeping a chalkboard list of items available outside the store and our Shopkeepers would be happy to shop for anyone who is uncomfortable entering the store. We also continue to take online pre-orders for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 6pm the day before pick-up.
Blistered Shishito Peppers
from Cookie + Kate
Ingredients
1 pint shishito peppers
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
Lemon wedge, optional
Salt, preferably flaky sea salt or kosher salt, to taste
Preparation
Rinse and pat the peppers dry on a clean tea towel. Transfer the peppers to a medium bowl, drizzle in the oil, and toss until the peppers are evenly coated. Set aside.
Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat until it’s hot enough that a drop of water sizzles and evaporates quickly on contact. Add the peppers and let them cook, stirring every minute or so (not too often), until they are tender with charred spots, about 8 to 12 minutes.
Transfer the peppers to a serving plate. Spritz with a lemon wedge, if desired. Sprinkle with salt, to taste (don’t skimp). Serve with a little bowl on the side for the pepper stems.
Homemade Salsa Verde
from Cookie + Kate
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds tomatillos (about 12 medium), husked and rinsed
1 to 2 medium jalapeños, stemmed (omit for mild salsa, use 1 jalapeño for medium salsa and 2 jalapeños for hot salsa, note that spiciness will depend on heat of actual peppers used)
½ cup chopped white onion (about ½ medium onion)
¼ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves (more if you love cilantro)
2 tablespoons to ¼ cup lime juice (1 to 2 medium limes, juiced), to taste
½ to 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
Optional variation: 1 to 2 diced avocados, for creamy avocado salsa verde
Preparation
Preheat the broiler with a rack about 4 inches below the heat source. Place the tomatillos and jalapeño(s) on a rimmed baking sheet and broil until they’re blackened in spots, about 5 minutes.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven, carefully flip over the tomatillos and pepper(s) with tongs and broil for 4 to 6 more minutes, until the tomatillos are splotchy-black and blistered.
Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine the chopped onion, cilantro, 2 tablespoons lime juice and ½ teaspoon salt. Once the tomatillos are out of the oven, carefully transfer the hot tomatillos, pepper(s) and all of their juices into the food processor or blender.
Pulse until the mixture is mostly smooth and no big chunks of tomatillo remain, scraping down the sides as necessary. Season to taste with additional lime juice and salt, if desired.
The salsa will be thinner at first, but will thicken up after a few hours in the refrigerator, due to the naturally occurring pectin in the tomatillos. If you’d like to make creamy avocado salsa verde, let the salsa cool down before blending in 1 to 2 diced avocados (the more avocado, the creamier it gets).