With daylight hours and crew size both shrinking, we are proportionally spending larger chunks of our days on harvesting crops for the same or next day. On Tuesday last week we didn’t do anything other than harvesting. Part of that was related to the particular mix of crops last week (spinach, leek and potato harvest are time consuming for us). With this week’s crop list looking a little less time-intensive, we plan to tackle some other projects, though admittedly the top priority project is still harvest-related!
We have been putting off our sweet potato harvest for the past couple of weeks in favor of other more urgent tasks. This hadn’t been a huge concern because it’s been so warm and the plants still looked good, but the tubers require a week to cure before eating, and temperatures are dropping, so we are going to make a real push in the coming days! Sweet potato harvest goes more quickly since getting a potato digger a few years ago. However, before we can use it we still need to clip the plant vines and pull up the landscape fabric that we put down between the beds to keep the weeds down. If all goes well, all of our sweet potatoes will be curing in the warmth of our greenhouse by the end of the week!
In the CSA this week:
Yellow Potatoes from Atlas Farm in Deerfield, MA. Certified Organic.
Pumpkin, acorn or delicata
Carrots
Celery
Fennel
Garlic
Green/purple peppers
Colored peppers
Salad Turnips
Red King Radishes - This is a type of colorful daikon that is a more manageable size than traditional daikon.
Cabbage - We’ll have tendersweet and savoy varieties this week.
Kale
Bok Choi
Arugula
Mustard greens - This is a new variety for us called Wasabina. It is fairly mild for a mustard green, and also has a hint of sweetness!
Escarole
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
With the exception of some of the herbs, a frost could impact the availability of all of these crops this week. Please also note that with the shortening of the days, we will begin closing the PYO fields when it starts to get dark, which will likely be before 6:30 this week.
Hot peppers
Cherry Tomatoes
Husk Cherries, Shishito or Tomatillos
Herbs: basil, chives, dill flower, parsley, sage, thyme.
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will have:
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Salanova
Lettuce
Cranberries from Fresh Meadows in Carver, MA. Certified Organic.
Honeycrisp Apples from Westward Orchard in Harvard, MA and Cortland Apples from Autumn Hills Orchard in Groton, MA. Available starting on Wednesday. Not Organic.Yellow Onions from Picadilly Farm in Winchester, NH. Certified Organic.
Dahlias
Honey from Double B (from hives on the property). Not organic.
Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Farmer’s Mix and Shiitake. Certified organic.
Raspberry vinegar, jam, and occasionally fresh raspberries from Silferleaf Farm in Concord. Certified Organic.
Eggs from Codman Farm in Lincoln. Not Organic.
Mushroom CSA:
It is the sixth week of the 8-week Fall Mushroom CSA. This week is Shiitake!
PYO Flowers
The field will remain open until a frost, but the selection has dwindled quite a bit.
White Bean Soup with Mustard Greens and Parmesan
from Bon Appetit, December 9, 2012
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 bunch mustard greens, torn into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more
1 15-ounce can white beans, such as canellinni
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges
Preparation
In a large heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and fennel and cook, until fragrant and fennel is softened, 7–8 minutes. Add garlic and mustard greens and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until greens are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add beans and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer gently, being careful not to break the beans, until flavors meld and soup is thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Add Parmesan and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls, topping with more Parmesan if desired. Serve with lemon wedges to season.