2010 - Week #15 (September 21st – 27th)
The nights are starting to get colder, which always makes us worry about an early frost! Last year we didn’t get one until around October 15th, so hopefully this year will be the same. Most of our fields are right next to the Winooski River, which means that the temperature is usually a few degrees higher than elsewhere, so often when there is a hard frost in the fall at my house in Jericho, the temperature down at the farm stays above 32 degrees, and the plants are fine.
The frost, when it comes, puts an end to the raspberries and many of the vegetables, but we’ll still have produce for you right up until the CSA ends (the last week of October). You can expect your last few shares to be heavy on potatoes, root vegetables, winter squash, cabbage, and apples. These are all items that tend to store well for the winter, so although we probably won’t do a winter storage share this year, we might have a day near the end of the season (around Halloween) where CSA customers can come in and get discounted rates on some of these fall/winter items to store for use after the CSA is over. More on that in October!
This Week’s Produce:
Small Share:
2 large bell peppers (1 red and 1 green) ($2.5)
3/4 lb. carrots ($1.5)
1 bag arugula or kale ($1.5)
1 pint grape tomatoes ($2.5)
1 baby blue Hubbard squash ($3.5-$4)
VT Apple coupon ($1 off a half-peck bag of any type)
Choose 3 options ($9):
6 ears corn
3 lbs. potatoes
1 lb. tomatoes
1.5 lb. beets
1 cabbage
1 eggplant
5 decorative gourds
1 PYO raspberry voucher
Total retail value: $20.5-$21
Large Share
2 large bell peppers (1 green and 1 red) ($2.5)
3/4 lb. carrots ($1.5)
1 bag arugula or kale ($1.5)
1 pint grape tomatoes ($2.5)
1 baby blue Hubbard squash ($3.5-$4)
1 sugar baby watermelon ($4)
1 lb. broccoli ($2)
Apple coupon ($1 off a half-peck bag of any type)
Choose 4 options ($12):
6 ears corn
3 lbs. potatoes
1 lb. tomatoes
1.5 lb. beets
1 cabbage
1 eggplant
5 decorative gourds
1 PYO raspberry voucher
Next Week’s Produce:
From now on, of course, everything depends on the weather. Chances are good, though, that we will have many of the same items that we had this week. Summer squash, zucchini, green beans, and cucumbers will probably all be back. Acorn squash will definitely be the winter squash we’ll offer, and we’ll try to have some sort of fresh herb — probably you’ll be able to choose either parsley or sage, since these are the two herbs in the herb garden that are plentiful right now.
Grass-Fed Beef:
If you’re interested in the beef share, don’t forget to bring in a check on your pick-up day this week! If you do forget and know for sure that you’d like a share, please e-mail me () ASAP!
About the Arugula and Kale:
We were happily surprised to discover that, if you pick arugula when it’s fairly young, it grows right back! We have fresh arugula again this week, but a warning: it’s still very good, but the leaves are larger and it’s VERY strong-tasting!
The kale we’re offering is the exact opposite. It was planted too close together, so it never reached it’s full size. As a result, the leaves are small and delicate and the stems are long. It’s quite sweet and delicious, though! If you’ve never tried kale before, this is a good way to start, since this kale is so tender it could be eaten raw, in a salad. You can also try kale in soups, like the one below.
Potato, Kale, and Kielbasa Soup
This is a wonderful hearty fall or winter soup. You can substitute veggie broth for the chicken stock and 2 cans of rinsed, drained cannellini beans (added with the kale, at the end of cooking) for the kielbasa to make a vegetarian version.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 lb. regular kielbasa (turkey kielbasa works well, too), cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices
6-8 cups chicken stock or broth
2 lbs. waxy potatoes (red, white, or Yukon), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 bunch of kale, washed and roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste (optional)
Salt to taste
In a large sauté pan, cook the onions and kielbasa in the oil over medium-high heat until onions are caramelized and kielbasa is browned (about 10-12 minutes). Put onions and kielbasa, potatoes, stock, and red pepper flakes (if using) into a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and then turn to medium-low and let simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes). Add the chopped kale and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. (You can also add cannellini beans at this point). Add salt to taste and serve.
Spiced Winter Squash Bread
You can substitute cooked, mashed winter squash for pumpkin in any recipe for pumpkin bread. Hubbard squash works particularly well, and makes a great-tasting bread. This recipe, which makes 2 loaves, was a popular one on epicurious.com (it’s from a 1995 Bon Appetite). I took the advice of lots of reviewers and cut the sugar from 3 cups to 2, but other than that the recipe is unchanged. You can also add dark chocolate chunks to the bread instead of (or along with) the walnuts. Also – feel free to up the cinnamon, if desired.
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cups cooked, mashed winter squash
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and squash. Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl. Stir into squash mixture in 2 additions. Mix in walnuts, if desired.
Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Using sharp knife, cut around edge of loaves. Turn loaves out onto racks and cool completely.