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News from Farm:
The blustery rainy morning has brought in the cooler weather this afternoon and we are ready. The cover crop got sown last week and is already up and casting a green haze over our fields. We did one more sowing outside of cold tolerant radishes and arugula and a last planting of outside spinach. We have started planting more tender crops inside under cover, with two rounds of lettuce already in our cat tunnels. We've moved just about all the winter squash into a heated storage space and rolled down the sides of our greenhouses to keep in just a little bit more warmth.
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We still have at least three weeks until our first frost, and lots of flowers and peppers and eggplant to harvest between then and now. But it never hurts to do some staging so we aren't running around like crazy before that first really cold night.
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Below: New shoots of fall cover crop.
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What's available this week??
Lettuce mix is back in abundance, along with some sweet little gem lettuces and a little romaine. Our kale is looking good. The red ursa, green curly and black lacinato, along with the collards, are enjoying this rainy cool weather. The tomatoes are producing well considering they have been going since June! Red slicers, heirloom, cherry tomatoes and cocktail tomatoes. We have many kinds of potatoes. All the potatoes will mash but the whites will get the smoothest. Asian cucumbers. Three kinds of onions, yellow, sweet and rossi di milano reds. All of these will keep for a month or so but if you are looking for winter storage, rossa di milanos are the way to go. We'll have yellow storage onions for sale soon. We still have basil, but Alex tells me we are near the end. Plenty of cilantro. Bunched carrots and beets with tops are back in the on line store. All kind of winter squash and I added another kabocha, winter sweet (pictured above). It is a beautiful grey green, sweet and tasty and stores very well. We have sweet peppers, jalapenos, and poblanos. At market, we'll have some eggplant and just a smidge of spinach. For flowers, we have dahlias (who also love this cooler weather) zinnias (who don't really love this weather) and our mixed bouquets.
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Popcorn is picked and drying in the greenhouse! Only a few more weeks, popcorn fans!
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John's Recipe of the Week
| John Loyd is our dear friend, neighbor, CSA worker member and a gourmet Southern cook. His delightful cooking observations and delicious recipe offerings appear here each week. |
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“And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart.
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Your seeds shall live in my body,
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And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,
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And your fragrance shall be my breath,
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And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.”
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STORING WINTER SQUASH – Our squash should be fully cured since they have been picked and stored awhile. You can, if you want to, place them in the sun for a few days to guarantee curing. Bring them in if it’s going to rain. Don’t sun acorns. They loose flavor in the sun. Uncured squash will not last very long.
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Keep your squash in a cool dry place. Dark if you have such an area. Butternut lasts up to 6 months. Delicata, 3 months and most other squash 2 to 3 months. Check them as time goes by, and eat first, the ones with blemishes.
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ITALIAN GREENS – The Italians traditionally prepare chard this way. This recipe is from New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant. The whole world knows Moosewood because of the first cookbook, which came out in the 70’s and changed the way food is cooked, forever. They have published a bunch of great cookbooks, The Moosewood Cookbook, maybe being the one to have first. It’s still in print, and at Malaprops.
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6 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
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12 to 14 large chard leaves and stalks, coarsely chopped. Other greens can be substituted.
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Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and sauté the garlic until golden. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon as reserve.
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Add the greens and sauté until tender. Add some salt and pepper. Just before serving, sprinkle the reserved garlic over the chard and check the seasoning.
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This is a nice side dish for pasta or any mild flavored entrée.
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Sam and Ashley got married this past week end! Hooray!
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These are some of table arrangements we made for them.
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Thanks for reading and best wishes.
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Your farmers, Vanessa and Alex
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Love the flowers. Honor the vegetables. Let the weeds go!
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- Cheri Huber and Ashwini Narayanan
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