With the fall equinox over the weekend, we are fully into fall, both in the astronomical and meteorological senses! The rains on Saturday could not have come soon enough, and the cooler temperatures they brought seem to be sticking around. We spent a lot of time last week setting up irrigation across the street to save our fall brassicas, but sometimes that is all that’s needed to end a drought. Because it is a big effort to set up irrigation lines across the street, and because we had made it until September without badly needing it, we held off longer than we would have if it was June or July. The forecast did not make it look like rain was a certainty, so we did get to run irrigation several times before Saturday. When the soil is already at such a moisture deficit, it takes a lot of precipitation for anything to soak in and make a difference, so it was definitely not a wasted effort. I can’t tell you how exciting it was to look outside this weekend and see puddles forming, though!
Though days are shortening and temperatures have recently dropped, we still have some tomatoes to mix in with the more classically fall vegetables (sweet corn, however, is done for the season). It’s a really great time to enjoy some leafy vegetables too, as we have a nice mix of hardier and tender greens for cooking and fresh eating!
In the CSA this week:
Rainbow carrots - Beautiful orange, red (or pink depending on your perspective!), purple and yellow carrots mixed together in a bunch.
Acorn squash
Garlic - Should be stored in a cool dry place.
Scallions
Slicing tomatoes
Colored peppers
Radishes or Salad Turnips - Salad turnips are a milder cousin of radishes. They are sweet and tender and are nice in salads or roasted.
Tendersweet cabbage
Kale
Baby Bok Choi - Can be prepared cut in half or whole.
Spinach
Escarole
Salanova Lettuce Mix.
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
Hot peppers
Cherry Tomatoes: varieties include Sungold, Jasper, Cherry Bomb, Yellow Mini, Chocolate Sprinkles, Pink Champagne, Citrine, Black Cherry, Moonbeam, Moonshadow, Nova, Valentine, Red Pearl, Apple Yellow, Clementine and Mountain Magic.
Green Beans - Saturday’s rain is helping us to stretch green bean harvest into one more week!
Husk Cherries, Shishito or Tomatillos
Herbs: basil, chives, dill flower, parsley, sage, thyme. Basil is going downhill, so this may be the last week after quite the year for it on the farm!
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will have:
Honeycrisp Apples from Kimball Fruit Farm in Pepperell, MA. Not Organic.
Arugula
Lettuce
Flowers, including mini and full-sized dahlia bouquets!
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 fourth week of the 8-week Fall Mushroom CSA. This week is Lion’s Mane!
PYO Flowers
If you have a PYO Flower CSA and have bouquets left to pick, come now - there are plenty out there, but every passing day they lose a little bit of their summer glory!
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Tomatoes, Spinach and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 medium acorn squash, quartered and seeds removed
1 large orange, yellow or red bell pepper, diced
1 large red onion, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 big handfuls spinach (about 2 packed cups)
2 ounces goat cheese (chevre)
Instructions
Heat the oven and toast the pine nuts. Set the oven to 400°F and let it warm up while you toast the pine nuts. Set a small dry skillet over medium high heat. Add the pine nuts. Stir and toss the pine nuts continuously for 3 to 5 minutes until they turn golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the heat.
Roast the vegetables. Place the quartered squash flesh side up on one side of the baking sheet. Add the diced pepper, diced onions, and grape tomatoes to the other side. Drizzle all of the vegetables with olive oil and season with oregano, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Make sure you really rub the seasoning into the flesh of the squash. Use your hands to mix the tomatoes, onions, and peppers together. Spread everything out onto a single layer on the sheet pan and flip the squash quarters over so some of the flesh is touching the sheet pan. Place in the oven for 40 minutes, tossing halfway through and flipping the squash to the other flesh side.
Test the squash. Pull the sheet pan out of the oven. Insert a fork into the flesh of the squash to make sure it's tender and cooked through before moving onto the next step.
Wilt the spinach. Add the spinach to the tomato and onion mixture and use your spatula to fold it together as much as you can. You want to make sure the spinach is coated in the oil and vegetable juices (leave the squash alone). The spinach should wilt under the heat of the vegetables, but if it doesn't return the pan to the oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, give the spinach a good stir with the tomato-onion mixture one or two more times.
Serve. Remove from the oven. Place the squash quarters on individual plates or on one large platter. Toss the vegetables on the sheet pan once again. Taste and add a little more salt and pepper if needed, then spoon the roasted vegetables over the squash quarters. Top with crumbled goat cheese and toasted pine nuts.
Glazed Shiitakes With Bok Choy
by David Tanis, from NY Times Cooking
Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
2 pounds baby bok choy
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 small dry red Chinese hot peppers
1 pound shiitake mushrooms (about 4 dozen), stems removed
Salt and pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
6 scallions, sliced diagonally, for garnish
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
Preparation
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cut off and discard stem ends of bok choy. Separate leaves, rinse and drain. Drop leaves into boiling water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until barely cooked. Immediately remove, rinse with cool water, drain and pat dry. Arrange leaves in one layer on an ovenproof earthenware platter, then set aside.
Put a large wok or cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add oil and heat until nearly smoking, then add hot peppers and shiitake caps, stirring to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Reduce heat slightly and add garlic, ginger, sugar, sesame oil and tamari. Stir-fry for 1 minute more.
Spoon shiitake and pan juices over reserved cooked bok choy. Serve at room temperature, or if you prefer, reheat covered with foil for 10 to 15 minutes in a hot oven. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds, if using.