CSA Week 18 and Farm Stand Updates!

We harvested our first two beds of sweet potatoes last week and they were filled with beautiful big - but not too big - sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes are one of our fall crops that take some time to sweeten up, so after harvesting we laid them out in the greenhouse and turned the heat on to keep them at optimal curing temperatures to turn their starches to sugars. The curing process takes about 5-10 days, so we will begin to give them out next week in the CSA (week 19) and farm store when they are cured and ready to eat! We will continue to harvest the remaining beds and keep them rotating through the greenhouse to cure before being distributed. Before we get to the sweet potatoes next week we have a lot of great veggies this week, including more King Harry Potatoes, broccoli, and the return of Salanova lettuce mix! We also have a late-in-the-game eggplant field recovery! We lost about 70% of our eggplant plants to Colorado Potato Beetles, and the remaining plants were so damaged that we have only gotten a couple of small harvests for the store over the course of the season. We finally have a larger quantity this week, so CSA members will have the choice of eggplant or peppers at each pick-up this week. We are anticipating a frost this week, which feels fitting as many of the fields are in cover crop, the field tomatoes have stopped producing, and the crew is starting later due to the later sunrise. There are also just two weeks left after this one in the Main Season CSA!

In the CSA this week:

• Salanova Lettuce Mix - This will be limited this week to make sure everyone gets some after patiently waiting for our current planting to size up! We should have more again this fall before the end of the season because we have another planting under row cover, as well as a full high tunnel planted in Salanova for the Extended Season.

• Broccoli - The plantings that are ready this week are producing nicer quality heads than earlier plantings because the plants matured after the most severe heat of the summer.

• Potatoes - The variety is called King Harry and it has yellow skin and white flesh.

• Fennel

• Leeks

• Eggplant or peppers

• Butternut squash or Pie pumpkins - This is probably the last week in the Main Season CSA for pie pumpkins (there will likely be some in the Extended season).

• Beets

• Carrots

• Arugula

• Savoy cabbage

• Curly green kale

• Radishes - Red, white and purple mini daikon varieties

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Cherry tomatoes - They are ripening slowly lately so we have opened them every other week when we get enough to ripen for everyone to have some. If we get a frost this week it will be the end of the cherry tomatoes.

• Hot peppers- choice of Jalapeño, Aji Rico, Fresno, Hungarian Hot Wax, and Red Ember (cayenne).

• Herbs - choice of oregano, sage, thyme or lemon thyme.

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA we will have tomatoes, acorn and delicata squash, and lettuce in the farm store this week. We will also have Jack-o’-Lanterns from Verrill Farm. We also have eggs from Codman Farm, Double B Honey from hives here on the property, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm, raspberry jam and vinegar from Silferleaf Farm in Concord, and possibly fresh raspberries from Silferleaf if available.

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. The Farm Store will be open until Saturday, October 29th, 2022. 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.

Pick-Your-Own Flower CSA:

This is likely the last week for the PYO flower field, so we suggest Flower CSA members finish picking their allotted jars as soon as possible! Most flowers will be gone when we get our first frost, which may be this week. Bouquets that are not picked do not carry over to the next season. Varieties available include zinnias, gomphrena, strawflower, celosia, statice, rudbeckia, verbena, decorative basil, and amaranth. Picking hours are during any farm store hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We recommend bringing your own pruners or scissors as well as water for transporting your flowers home.

Fall Mushroom CSA

It is the fourth week of the 10-week Fall Mushroom CSA. The variety this week is blue oyster! For more information about each variety Fat Moon Farm grows, check out the “Types We Grow” page of their website: https://fatmoonmushrooms.com/pages/types-we-grow! Pick-up for the Fall mushroom CSA is any time the farm store is open, Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm.

Harvest Pumpkin Leek Soup

from Little Spice Jar

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced

• ½ cup chopped onions

• 1 stalk celery, chopped

• 1 large carrot, chopped

• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 15 oz pureed pumpkin (cut pumpkin in half, roast both halves, scoop out the middle and puree)

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (more to taste)

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage AND fresh thyme

• ¼ teaspoon EACH: ground cinnamon AND cayenne pepper (omit for a mild soup or use more if you want it spicier)

• ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg

• 6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

• ⅓ - ½ cup heavy cream (or coconut cream)

Instructions

1. SAUTE: Melt the butter in a 4-quart pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, onions, celery, and carrots, cook until they soften a bit, about 7-8 minutes. Season with a small pinch of salt and add the garlic, continue to cook for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.

2. SIMMER: Add the pumpkin puree, bay leaf, maple syrup, herbs, spices, and chicken stock. Bring the soup to a boil and allow it to simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the flavors develop.

3. BLEND: Fish out the bay leaf, then pour in ⅓ cup of the heavy cream and stir to combine. Using a blender stick, blend the soup or by transfer the soup to a traditional blender, blend the soup until it’s smooth. Taste and adjust with additional cream if desired. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with pepitas and a drizzle of cream.

CSA Week 17, Farm Stand updates, end of season details, and plans for 2023!

As we are approaching the end of this season we have been doing a lot of planning for next season, which will be our 10th year on the property! In 2023 we will be keeping our Farm Store open 5 days a week: Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. As usual, we will be offering Barrett’s Bucks for 2023 starting in January. We will also continue to work with Fat Moon Mushrooms to offer a Spring and Fall mushroom CSA, as well as provide their delicious mushrooms in the Farm Store. We will also continue to offer Main Season, Flex and Extended Season CSA memberships. Current CSA members will be receiving a detailed email on Tuesday about renewing memberships for the 2023 season, along with a link to the sign-up page. This information will also be available in a printed letter this week during CSA pick-ups. We will be offering new memberships beginning January 15th, 2023.

The 2022 season is not over yet! It is week 17 of 20 for the Main Season CSA, so there are still 3 pick-ups left in the Main Season after this week. The Main Season CSA ends on October 22nd. Extended CSA members have an additional 4 weeks of pick-ups for a total of 24 weeks, ending November 19th. Flex members have 20 weeks of pick ups over the 24 week season, so please talk with the shopkeeper or email Melissa if you have any questions about your number of remaining pick-ups! There are no Tuesday pick-ups for the last 4 weeks of the Extended/Flex CSA so starting the week of October 25th CSA pick-ups will be Thursdays 11am-6pm and Saturdays 9am-3pm. The Farm Store will remain open through October 29th. Barrett’s Bucks expire on the last regular day of the farm stand, October 29th, and balances do not carry over for winter sales or for next season. We do not anticipate having a bulk sale this year due to limited supplies, however, it’s possible we will be able to offer a Thanksgiving or an early December pop up for later maturing high tunnel grown items.

In the CSA this week:

• Rainbow Carrots! We grew 4 different varieties of carrots to create rainbow bunches! One variety is our tried and true orange bolero carrot, the three others are very aptly named for their colorful additions: ruby red, purple haze, yellowstone!

• Broccoli - We have seen a lot of heat stress damage in our first broccoli planting. High temps like we saw this year into late August and early September can cause uneven development well before you even see a crown developing, and this uneven head formation creates prime conditions for rot to develop. Fortunately, it looks like in later successions the temperatures were lower during this critical development stage, so we hope to have some prettier broccoli soon! This week’s broccoli is still perfectly edible, but we would recommend consuming it earlier rather than later, as it will not hold it’s freshness as long.

• Potatoes - We’ll be enjoying King Harry potatoes (yellow skin, white flesh) this week! This variety is interesting because it’s leaves are “hairy”, which acts as a deterrent to our primary potato pest - Colorado potato beetle!

• Tomatoes - Our high tunnel and field tomatoes are still producing, but production is slowing dramatically with the shorter, cooler days. Still, this is the latest we’ve had tomatoes available in the CSA!

• Savoy or tendersweet cabbage - Both varieties are thin skinned cabbages, which are great for making fresh slaws!

• Fennel

• Peppers

• Onions

• Pie pumpkins

• Arugula

• Beets

• Radishes

• Curly green kale

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Green Beans

• Hot peppers- choice of Jalapeño, Aji Rico, Fresno, Hungarian Hot Wax, and Red Ember (cayenne).

• Herbs - choice of oregano, sage, thyme or lemon thyme.

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA we will have baby bok choy, acorn and delicata squash, and lettuce in the farm store this week. New this week: Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins from Verrill Farm! We will also have sweet corn from Verrill Farm, eggs from Codman Farm, Double B Honey from hives here on the property, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm, raspberry jam and vinegar from Silferleaf Farm in Concord, and possibly fresh raspberries from Silferleaf if available.

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. 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.

Pick-Your-Own Flower CSA:

The flower field is still open for Flower CSA members to pick but it will not continue to produce for much longer so we suggest Flower CSA members finish picking their allotted jars as soon as possible! Feel free to bring family and friends to help you pick! Bouquets that are not picked do not carry over to the next season. Varieties available include zinnias, marigolds, gomphrena, strawflower, celosia, statice, rudbeckia, cosmos, verbena, decorative basil, and amaranth. Picking hours are during any farm store hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We recommend bringing your own pruners or scissors as well as water for transporting your flowers home.

Fall Mushroom CSA

It is the third week of the Fall Mushroom CSA. The variety this week is shiitake mushrooms! For more information about each variety Fat Moon Farm grows, check out the “Types We Grow” page of their website: https://fatmoonmushrooms.com/pages/types-we-grow! Pick-up for the Fall mushroom CSA is any time the farm store is open, Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm.

Cabbage Salad with Apples and Walnuts

By Sonja Overhiser at https://www.acouplecooks.com/apple-walnut-savoy-cabbage-salad

Ingredients

·      ⅓ cup olive oil

·       3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

·       3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

·       2 pinches kosher salt

·       Fresh ground black pepper

·       ½ cup walnuts

·       1 head Savoy cabbage

·       2 apples

·       ½ cup Parmesan cheese shavings (or Pecorino Romano)

Instructions

1.    For the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper.

2.    If desired, toast the walnuts by placing them in a dry skillet over low heat for several minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly browned and fragrant. Immediately remove from the heat into a bowl.

3.    Thinly slice the cabbage. Core 2 apples and chop them. (If not eating immediately, sprinkle the apples with a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning.) Using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.

4.    To serve, place cabbage on a serving plate, then top with apples, walnuts, cheese, and dressing.

CSA Week 16 and Farm Stand Updates

We are so excited about our “new” truck, but it had to go back for some big repairs a few weeks ago, so we waited to share this photo until the truck was ready for action! Now that we have it back it has transformed our daily experience! We have been using it for harvests, transporting around bulky items, and taking it out on the road to get gas and diesel for our tractors (we had been using our personal vehicles for a long time, so we are happy to no longer worry about our cars smelling like fuel!). Now that we have spent some time with our new truck we were able to move onto important business - voting on a truck name. And the winner is…. Ruth Whitney Barrett!

This week is another classic September veggie selection, with a continued tomato harvest (the drought was good for one thing - reduced disease pressure!), more winter squash (pie pumpkins in addition to more acorn!), as well as the return of two CSA and store favorites: carrots and baby bok choy! Some years we get a frost around this time, but luckily that’s not the case this year! That means the pick-your-own green beans are still looking great and we will re-open the cherry tomatoes for a last little taste of summer.

The field crew will spend much of their days bringing in the harvest, as well as continuing fall clean up tasks like rolling up landscape fabric, pulling up plastic mulch and drip tape, and starting to put away irrigation lines. It’s a long process to clear the fields for cover crop, so these items will be on our to-do list for quite some time!

In the CSA this week:

• Pie Pumpkins - While many of us think of pie pumpkins as a Thanksgiving staple, they actually don’t keep well, so we are trying to start distributing them before we start to see some loss in storage. To use in any pumpkin bread, muffin or pie recipe, first roast the pumpkin by cutting in half, removing the seeds, and baking cut side down at 400 degrees for about an hour. Cool then scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor. See the recipe below for more details!

• Escarole - A leafy green that is a member of the chicory family. Like other chicories, it has a slightly bitter flavor, so while it can be used mixed into a salad, most people prefer it cooked. It is especially good sautéed with olive oil and garlic!

• Baby bok choy -Baby bok choy does not like the heat of summer so we grow it only in the spring and then again in the fall when we know temperatures will cool down enough to keep it from bolting.

• Carrots! As we have mentioned before, we had a lot of trouble growing our fall carrots in this summer’s drought and extreme heat, so they will be limited this fall. The good news is we will have them in the CSA and farm store this week and next!

• Beets

• Tomatoes

• Scallions

• Garlic

• Acorn Squash

• Arugula

• Radishes

• Curly green kale

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Green Beans

• Hot peppers- choice of Jalapeño, Aji Rico, Fresno, Hungarian Hot Wax, and Red Ember (cayenne).

• Herbs - choice of basil, oregano, sage, thyme or lemon thyme.

• Cherry tomatoes - Many of the tomatoes are split due to recent heavy rains (the drought this summer is starting to seem like a distant memory!), but the plants are still alive so we will open them up again this week to make sure that any last tomatoes are able to be enjoyed before the plants are no longer producing at all!

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA we will have tendersweet cabbage, broccoli, salanova lettuce mix and delicata squash in the farm store this week. We will also have sweet corn from Verrill Farm, eggs from Codman Farm, Double B Honey from hives here on the property, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm, raspberry jam and vinegar from Silferleaf Farm in Concord, and possibly fresh raspberries from Silferleaf when available.

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. 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.

Pick-Your-Own Flower CSA:

The field is open to both Flower CSA members and to the general public for picking by the jar. The flower field will not continue to produce for much longer so we suggest Flower CSA members finish picking their allotted jars as soon as possible! Feel free to bring family and friends to help you pick! Bouquets that are not picked do not carry over to the next season. Varieties available include zinnias, marigolds, gomphrena, strawflower, celosia, statice, rudbeckia, cosmos, verbena, decorative basil, and amaranth. Picking hours are during any farm store hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We recommend bringing your own pruners or scissors as well as water for transporting your flowers home.

Fall Mushroom CSA

It is the second week of the Fall Mushroom CSA. The variety this week is Yellow Oyster mushrooms! For more information about each variety Fat Moon Farm grows check out their “Types We Grow” page of their website: https://fatmoonmushrooms.com/pages/types-we-grow! Pick-up for the Fall mushroom CSA is any time the farm store is open, Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We are offering pro-rated memberships for anyone signing up this week to start the mushroom CSA next week! Sign ups are available here: http://www.barrettsmillfarm.com/online-store/2022fall-mushroom-csa-from-fat-moon. The Fall mushroom CSA is one pound of mushrooms each week until November 19th.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins 

from ambitiouskitchen.com

•   1  1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour

•   1 teaspoon baking soda

•   1  1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

•   1/4 teaspoon ginger

•   1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

•   pinch of cloves

•   1 cup pumpkin puree (roast halved and de-seeded pie pumpkin until fork tender, scoop out flesh and puree)

•   1/4 cup honey

•   1 egg

•   1/2 tablespoon olive or coconut oil

•   1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•   1/2 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt

•   1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

•   1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Add pumpkin, honey, egg, oil, vanilla, yogurt and milk to a blender. Blend on high for 1 minute or until well combined, smooth and creamy. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly into muffin tin and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Cool muffins for 5 minutes then remove and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Muffins are best served warm!

Gingery Fried Rice With Bok Choy, Mushrooms and Basil

by Alexa Weibel, NY Times Cooking

Ingredients

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

• 4 cups cooked, day-old jasmine rice (or 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice; see Tip)

• 5 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

• ¾ pound mixed fresh mushrooms, such as shiitake and cremini, thinly sliced, or whole shimeji mushrooms

• Kosher salt and black pepper

• ¾ pound baby bok choy (about 8 small baby bok choy), trimmed, then sliced crosswise ½-inch thick

• 5 scallions, trimmed, greens and whites thinly sliced (about ½ cup)

• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

• 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced (optional)

• ¾ cup frozen peas

• 2 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (from one 2-inch piece)

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

• ⅛ teaspoon white pepper (optional)

• ½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Preparation

1. Take the cooked rice out of the refrigerator, and set it aside at room temperature.

2. In a large wok or nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons canola oil over medium-high. Add the mushrooms, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and tender, 5 or 6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. Wipe out the skillet, if needed, then add 1 tablespoon canola oil and heat over medium-high. Add the bok choy, scallions, garlic and jalapeño, if using. Season with salt and pepper and stir-fry, stirring frequently, until aromatic and barely crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the mushrooms.

4. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons canola oil to the skillet and heat over medium-high. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted and toothsome, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the frozen peas, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper (if using), and stir until rice is evenly coated in soy sauce mixture, and no uncoated rice grains remain, 1 to 2 minutes.

5. Stir in the mushroom and bok choy mixture and the basil until basil is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper then divide among bowls; serve hot.

Tip: Leftover rice that has dried out in the refrigerator for a day or two works best for this recipe because it will crisp better than fresh rice. If you don’t have time to cook your rice a day in advance, you can cook 1 cup jasmine rice according to package instructions, transfer the cooked rice to a large baking sheet, spread it in an even layer and pop it in the freezer to chill it while you prepare the vegetables, then pull the rice from the freezer to cook it in Step 4.

Week 15 and Farm Stand Updates

Carmella at our stand at the annual Ag Day Farmers’ Market on Saturday! We had a blast connecting with community members and our fellow farmers!

Our farm store and CSA will be looking decidedly fall-like this week! We are bringing in more winter squash, the first of the fall cabbage is ready, and red onions are cured and ready for distribution. Yum! This week also brings the return of arugula which had a summer hiatus because it does not grow well in the heat. This is the first of a few arugula seedings that we have coming up this fall. The salanova is sizing up but growing slowly so we will have a limited amount in the CSA and farm store this week in an effort to make it last for a couple of more weeks.

Cover crop is coming up nicely in many of our fields but we will be continuing to clear as many areas as we can by pulling up plastic mulch and rolling up landscape fabric in order to seed as much cover crop as possible before it gets too cold for it to germinate. Our big planting project this week is our fall planted strawberries! These are generally the strawberry beds we pick from for the farm store but we are experimenting with also planting some of this type in our CSA’s pick-your-own this year. Other items on our to-do-list this week other than harvest is clearing high tunnel beds for an experimental planting of cilantro for this fall, topping our Brussels sprouts, and putting fences up to protect our fall spinach. We will also be testing and baiting our electric fences, as the deer footprints inside our fence are making us nervous that they might start munching soon!

In the CSA this week:

• Scallions - They are back after a summer hiatus. We should have them for a couple of weeks!

• Acorn Squash

• Tendersweet cabbage - Because it is softer and sweeter than storage cabbages, this is a great variety for eating raw rather than cooked.

• Red onions - These are cured and can be kept on the counter rather than in the fridge.

• Arugula

• Radishes - Red king (a long red radish) or Rover (a round red radish)

• Delicata squash

• Tomatoes

• Garlic

• Beets

• Salanova Lettuce Mix - A limited quantity to make the beds we have last now that the cooler days have slowed new growth.

• Curly green kale

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Sunflowers!

• Green Beans

• Hot peppers- choice of Jalapeño, Aji Rico, Fresno, Hungarian Hot Wax, and Red Ember (cayenne).

• Herbs - choice of basil, oregano, mint, sage, thyme or lemon thyme.
  

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA we will have sweet corn from Verrill Farm, eggs from Codman Farm, Double B Honey from hives here on the property, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm, raspberry jam and vinegar Silferleaf Farm in Concord, and possibly fresh raspberries from Silferleaf if available.

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. 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.

Pick-Your-Own Flower CSA:

The field is open to both Flower CSA members and to the general public for picking by the jar. Varieties available include zinnias, marigolds, gomphrena, strawflower, celosia, statice, rudbeckia, cosmos, verbena, decorative basil, amaranth and sunflowers. Picking hours are during any farm store hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We recommend bringing your own pruners or scissors as well as water for transporting your flowers home.

Fall Mushroom CSA

The Fall Mushroom CSA starts this week! Pick up is any time the farm store is open, Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. If you missed sing ups this week there is still time to join in on the fall mushroom CSA! We will be offering pro-rated memberships for anyone signing up this week to start the mushroom CSA next week! Sign ups are available here: http://www.barrettsmillfarm.com/online-store/2022fall-mushroom-csa-from-fat-moon. The Fall mushroom CSA will be a pick-up of one pound of mushrooms each week until November 19th.

Slow-Cooked Winter Squash with Sage and Thyme

BY CLAIRE SAFFITZ

Douse squash in lots of oil and let it slow-roast to golden-deliciousness in this hands-off dish.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. delicata or acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, sliced crosswise 1/2" thick

• 1/2 head of garlic

• 2 sprigs sage

• 2 sprigs thyme

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt

• 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

Preparation:

1. Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Toss squash, garlic, sage, thyme, oil, and salt in a shallow 2-qt. baking dish to combine.

2. Turn garlic cut side down, then roast vegetables, tossing 2 or 3 times, until golden brown, very tender, and edges and cut sides are crisp, 60–70 minutes. Let cool slightly, then add vinegar and toss to coat.

CSA Week 14 and Farm Stand Updates

Although we enjoyed a tremendous abundance during the first half of the season, we’ve hit a more challenging patch as we face gaps in our harvest stemming from multiple heat waves and the severe drought all summer (we’re happy to get a break today with some rain, but it unfortunately can’t immediately fix those issues!). The lack of carrots is probably the most noticeable gap. We irrigated our fall plantings heavily, as carrots are very sensitive crops, but the consistent water along with the heat seemed to mostly just benefit the weeds! We are used to having a strong fall carrot crop and have come to rely on it as one of the backbones of the fall CSA, so we invested a lot of time into weeding them. Unfortunately there was only a very short window when weeding was actually effective - the carrots that were weeded a little too late practically disintegrated in our hot sandy soils as soon as they were more exposed! Later in the fall we should have enough for a couple of weeks of carrots in the Main Season CSA and we are reaching out to other farms to try to purchase additional carrots for the Extended Season.

The heat and drought made it difficult to plant and maintain other crops as well, particularly with heat sensitive crops like lettuce, radishes and greens. In addition, the effort spent irrigating to keep many crops alive took time away from weeding, pruning and controlling pests on other crops that we would have otherwise expected to be enjoying right now (like eggplant and colored peppers). The good news for CSA members is that we will again be purchasing corn to help supplement what we are able to harvest for you all. We hope you enjoy this special treat for the second week this season! We still have many other veggies as well of course, including tomatoes and the first of our delicata squash. We anticipate turning a corner in the next couple of weeks as many of the beds of greens, lettuce, salanova and radishes in the ground should be producing soon, and we have scallions, fennel, cabbage, and broccoli not too far off in the horizon!

In the CSA this week:

• Delicata Squash - An all-time favorite, this winter squash is extra sweet and the skin is edible so it doesn’t require much work to enjoy, just slice in half, scoop out the seeds, then cut into 1/4” thick “smiles” and bake with a little oil and salt!

• Yellow Onions - These onions are cured and keep best in a dry, cool, dark place.

• Toscano Kale

• Tomatoes

• Sweet Corn - From Verrill Farm in Concord, MA, not organic. The corn will be under the CSA tent and included among your options for filling your CSA bag. It will be labeled as from Verrill Farm and not organically grown. As always you will get to select what you’d like to put in your CSA bag so if you don’t want the corn you will have more room for other veggies!

• Green peppers

• Garlic- This garlic has been cured and will keep outside the fridge for months in a cool, dark, dry place.

• Mizuna or Mustard greens

• Beets

• Lettuce

• Curly green kale

• Squash mix: Spaghetti squash, black futsu and/or Starry Night Acorn squash

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Cherry Tomatoes - The cherry tomatoes are less plentiful now but the yellow varieties are still doing particularly well.

• Green Beans - we have this planting plus one more for the fall!

• There will be a choice of: Husk cherries or shishito peppers.

• Hot peppers- choice of Jalapeño, Aji Rico, Fresno, Hungarian Hot Wax, and Red Ember (cayenne).

• Herbs - choice of basil, oregano, mint, sage, chives, thyme or lemon thyme.

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will also have flower bouquets in the farm store, colored peppers, potatoes and leeks. We will also have sweet corn from Verrill Farm,eggs from Codman Farm, and mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm.

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. 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.

Pick-Your-Own Flower CSA:

The field is open to both Flower CSA members and to the general public for picking by the jar. Varieties available include zinnias, marigolds, gomphrena, strawflower, celosia, statice, rudbeckia, cosmos, verbena, decorative basil, amaranth and branching sunflowers. Picking hours are during any farm store hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We recommend bringing your own pruners or scissors as well as water for transporting your flowers home.

Creamy Mushrooms and Pasta

By Fat Moon Mushroom Farmer Elizabeth Almeida on her website: https://fatmoonmushrooms.com/blogs/news/creamy-mushrooms-pasta

Ingredients:

• 8oz Fat Moon Mushrooms

• 1 onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1/2 jalapeno

• 1 T. soy sauce

• 1/2 cup broth

• 2 T. butter

• 1 shot glass sherry or white wine

• 1 shot glass cream

• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop the mushrooms into bite-size pieces

2. Combine chopped mushrooms, onions, garlic, jalapenos, butter, soy sauce, and broth in a skillet and cook over medium heat. As the water evaporates, the mushrooms and onions will begin to brown. Stir to loosen browned bits from the pan. 

3. Deglaze pan with sherry or wine. Add cream, salt and pepper, Heat just until cream is warm. 

4. Serve over freshly cooked pasta. Top with shredded parmesan (optional.)

Lemon Garlic Kale Salad

By Julia Moskin at NYTimes Cooking: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015707-lemon-garlic-kale-salad

Ingredients

• 2 cups sliced almonds

• ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 to 4 lemons)

• Kosher salt

• 1½ cups extra-virgin olive oil

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed with the flat side of a knife, peeled and left whole

• 10 to 12 ounces washed and dried kale leaves, thick stems removed (weight after trimming)

• 1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

Preparation

1. In a toaster oven or skillet, toast almonds until golden brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

2. In a bowl, combine lemon juice and 1 heaping teaspoon salt. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Add garlic cloves and set aside to steep.

3. Working in batches, cut the kale into thin ribbons: gather a large handful of leaves, bunch together tightly, and use the other hand to slice into ¼-inch-thick pieces. This need not be done very precisely or neatly; the idea is to end up with a kind of slaw. (Recipe can be made up to this point 1 day ahead. Keep kale and dressing refrigerated separately.)

4. Place chopped kale in a very large bowl. Sprinkle surface with almonds and then with cheese, if using. Remove and discard garlic cloves from dressing. Pour half the dressing over the salad and toss. Taste for dressing and salt and add more as needed, tossing to coat thoroughly. Serve within 1 hour.