Category Archives: CSA

Oct 21_2016 sweet potatoes

2016 CSA Fall October 22nd Sweet Potatoes

2016 CSA Fall October 22nd

  • Gourmet Cucumber
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Hatch peppers
  • Padron peppers
  • Bell Peppers
  • Eggplant
  • Butternut Squash
  • Baby Ginger
  • Tatsoi Greens
  • Patty Pan Squash
  • Baby Arugula

First Digging of sweet potatoes. High Moisture variations this year create the Cracking and splitting – but they are tasty!

Oct 21_2016 sweet potatoes

Oct 21_2016 sweet potatoes

Pictured at right is a view of the baby arugula growing on the bench in the greenhouse. And below, Mike is out in the lower field working in the raised beds. Being the engineer, he specially welded his own implement to lay and shape the compost enriched soil.

To answer a question posed by one of our members, “What do i do with this patty pan squash?” here are a few suggestions: roast slices in the oven, using olive oil or butter, for about 30 minutes until tender. It can also be grilled, stuffed, or  made into a soup. We rarely have the opportunity to spend a lot of time on dinner, so often it is either cut into slices and sautéed in the cast iron or it ends up in the crock pot. Be sure to use a wide, sharp knife when cutting for the best results; a dull knife can be dangerous.

In the microcosm of the farm, there is evidence of the great biodiversity that is the Blue Ridge. With the touch of rain yesterday, it is the perfect time to catch a peek of the most prolific time of year for fungi in these parts. Hope you get an opportunity to get a walk-about to perchance encounter a mycorrhizal relationship or other fungi. Some take longer to mature but most are growing in the first half of the day, reaching peak around noon. Often specimens encountered late in the day have already been decimated by bugs or other critters. These cooler overcast days are ideal for discovery! J At right, is a type of amanita.

 

 

ginger-with-stalk

2016 CSA Fall October 15

2016 CSA Fall October 15

  • Anaheim peppers
  • Padron peppers
  • Serrano peppers
  • Jalapeno peppers
  • Bell Peppers
  • Eggplant Medley
  • Watermelon
  • Baby Ginger
  • Tatsoi Greens
  • Tomatoes (pick from set)
  • Epazote
  • Papalo

2016 CSA Fall October 15:  Yes, there is a watermelon in your CSA share this week!  We could not believe it when we came across them as we thought that they had all been ruined by weather and wildlife. Just had to share of the few we found as killing frost fast approaches.

Many people are familiar with stuffed bell peppers or filling jalapenos with cheese but i wanted to share a favorite of Michael’s: the Pepper Dog. He cuts a half circle around the top of an Anaheim and then a long slit down the middle, forming a tall “T”, scoops the seeds out, stuffs it with cheese and then wraps it in bacon. This is grilled until the bacon is crisp and served on a bun with tomato and a touch of barbeque sauce. We used to make them at the City Market years ago and they were very popular. Chefs and enterprising folks have picked up the idea and now the Pepper Dog can be found states away. Another meal idea nice with these cool evenings is a soup made from your butternut. Just puree your roasted squash and serve with a bit of tomato and cheese. For a bit of exotic, south of the border flavor to experiment with, we included epazote and papalo. They are both digestive, gastro-intestinal supporters and papalo is well known as an aid to liver disorders.  To your health and your pleasure! Have a great week

 

Butternut Harvest

2016 CSA Fall October 8

2016 CSA Fall October 8

  • Bell Peppers
  • Eggplant Medley
  • Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • Baby Ginger
  • Butternut Squash
  • Tomatoes (pick from set)
  • Cucumber
  • Patty Pan Squash
  • Baby Arugula 8×8
  • Hatch type green chilies

2016 CSA Fall October 8:

Ginger-  Make a wonderful cold weather tea with baby ginger leaf steeped in almost boiling water sweetened with honey.

Butternut

Butternut

Winter Squash- Butternut squash this week! In the same family as pumpkin, is often times used in recipes in its place. So if you have recipes you like that call for pumpkin, try this as a substitute.  My favorite “pumpkin pie” is made with butternut instead. Butternut squash lends itself delicious for both sweet and savory dishes.  Used as an ingredient in homemade pasta, for stuffing, or cubed to be roasted, in soups, muffins and breads. If a savory soup or roast is on your mind, consider using  Poultry herbs chopped finely in your dish.  It is easy to cut in half, scoop out the seeds and roast in a bit of water for half an hour… then you can flip it over and dress with pumpkin spices, some fresh grated baby ginger, butter and brown sugar for a decadent treat.  Or stuff with savory greens, herbs, cheese or rice blend and bake the halves for about ½ an hour at 400f.  For a delicious pie, use 1 ½ cups of cooked/pureed squash, 1 cup of sugar/light brown sugar, 3 eggs, ¾ cup evaporated milk or half and half, dash each of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (insert some fresh grated baby ginger), salt, 2 tbs flour, 1 tbs of melted butter, 1 tsp vanilla combined and poured into a 9” pie crust, and if you like, garnish with pecans (i also like to add crushed pecans into the crust). Bake @350 for 45-50 minutes (or until the top of the pie is set) and allow to cool before cutting.  Yum! Just a quick note on the baby ginger, since you are getting some every week: We wanted to suggest that if it is more than you can use fresh, store it in the freezer and just grate it into your teacup or recipe frozen, it will taste just like it is fresh!