CSA Week 16
Is this your last CSA pickup? Don’t forget Monday deliveries will have another week to make up for Labor Day and Wednesday deliveries will be making up for Independence Day…so it is still only week 15 for you.
This week you MAY have apples, onion, peppers, hot peppers, potatoes, kale, winter squash, kohlrabi? leeks? carrots?
Redcorts, Cortland, Gingergold, McIntosh, apples
There will not be any gourds in your box…so if you find something hard and squash-like, it probably is. Be sure to check out our website for lots of pictures for ID help if you need it. Seems to be ongoing confusion about the Carnival squash…so I will include picture below 🙂
Hopefully there is broccoli again this week. You may remember several broccoli plantings were delayed due to water, but looks like we might get some for this last CSA week or so.
many of you saw kohlrabi last week and other may see it this week. I also heard tell of Red Mustard which is a large red leafy green (yes, I know that sounds weird) and id great sauteed or shredded and added to salads. It’s mustardy sharpness is toned down significantly with cooking.
The rains have been brutal to many crops…I am not really sure what else may show up in the box 🙁
Recipes
Spaghetti Squash with a Greek Flair
Spaghetti Squash with Pomodoro Sauce (Self Magazine)
- 1 spaghetti squash (about 1 ½ lbs)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 can (28 oz) diced plum tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Fresh basil
Preheat oven to 375°F. Halve squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray; lay halves, flesh side down, on sheet. Bake 35 minutes or until you can easily pierce shell. While squash bakes, sauté garlic and onion in oil over medium heat 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except fresh basil and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Lower heat if sauce begins to boil. Remove squash from oven. Scrape crosswise to pull strands from shell. Place in nonmetal serving bowl. Pour sauce over squash and garnish with basil.
**I used fresh tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and topped with parmesan – it was good and the kids liked it too.
Kohlrabi Pancakes
- 2 cups shredded kohlrabi (kohlrabi+potato is nice)
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2-3/4 cup flour (wheat, almond, rice…it’s all good)
Place kohrabi, eggs, salt, pepper, in a large bowl and mix well. Add flour to bind ingredients. Heat oil in a large skillet. Drop mixture by spoonfuls in hot oil and brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot or cold.
Don’t forget potatoes come in many flavors: vanilla, grape, pink 🙂
Farm Dirt
The trees are showing more and more color, particularly the Red Maples and even some gold showing up in the Ash and Sugar Maples.
It is always a great time to visit the farm. Come get a pumpkin, pick some apples – BE SURE TO WEAR YOUR WADERS! Just when you think it can’t get any wetter – hold on and wait for it. We have water in places I have not seen water in the Fall. Glenn came back from a scout with just his stocking feet. He lost both his shoes in the deep mud, retrieved them and completed his walk in his socks…I wondered when I saw the soaking wet footprints (not shoeprints) on the kitchen floor 🙂
Personally, I enjoy when you come to the farm, as it is the only time you and I get to see each other and I do like to put a face to the name/email 🙂 We will be offering our annual gleaning but, hopefully, it won’t be for a while yet. I will send out an email when it is imminent. New to gleaning? “Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers.” Gleaning is the act of collecting anything that might be left behind after the main harvest. The first hard frost kills any tender crops here in New England, so we harvest as much as possible before then. In spite of all our efforts, there are always a few peppers or tomatoes left on the plant, or squash and potatoes laying on the surface. For several years now we have invited our CSA members (only) to glean before the killing frost. Some things will survive and if the weather doesn’t completely suck, we can continue to harvest greens, lettuces, broccoli, cabbages, dig carrots and such well into November. A few years we have even harvested broccoli and Brussels in December!
Stay tuned for gleaning!
I am not ready to write the last CSA weekly letter, which is odd, because it is another thing to do. I guess I am not emotionally ready to be done – physically I have had it for the season. Does that make sense? There is a lot that goes into running a CSA – it’s not just the weekly packing. We start planning for next season NOW. The main seed potato order has been placed even though we don’t want to see it until next Spring. The seed garlic has arrived and will be planted sometime in October and we will mulch the strawberries with straw then too. The main vegetable seed order will be placed in deep winter and we will seed your first tomatoes in February. Field prep will begin in April and before you know it is another CSA season! During that “down” time, we try to tweak things for next season: make improvements to varieties offered, timing, delivery routes, respond to requests for new CSA drop off locations, look for ways to improve your experience…
Yes, we count on constructive feedback from our members. Ideally this happens throughout the season, when we can make adjustments and accommodations. Sometimes people wait for the end of the year to tell me what was wrong or what they wished had happened…hard for me to do anything to make it right at that point. GLADLY, this is not common, and this year I have gotten so many nice comments about the letter (which actually does take me a little time to pull together), to peaches, tomatoes, different )read unusual) items in the box and more. We tried really hard this year to mix things up a little. We also try to balance the quantities of individual items. Believe it or not, we will have just as many people complain about too many tomatoes as complain not enough. Thankfully there is not much complaining going on either way 😉 Again, if we know you want more or less, we always to to fix you up at your location. We truly hope you know how important it is that you are happy. Let’s all be happy! We may send out another survey, as we did last year, or feel free to share your thoughts with us.
If you live near the city, you will be able to find us at all the markets until the end of October, Copley and JP ‘till Thanksgiving. Sundays too! If you live IN the city, you will find us at Boston Public Market every day!!!!
Curt and Halley are busy taking Winter CSA signups and Kate is taking turkey orders…Fall and Winter come whether we here are ready or not.
From all of us at Stillman’s, we are honored and blessed to grow food for you and thank you for being part of our family. We sincerely hope you have eaten well this summer. Some of you may have a winter CSA you belong to (like Curt & Halley’s awesome WINTER CSA), some may shop at winter farmer’s markets, some may have a plethora stashed away in the freezer or pantry, and some may go back to the convenience of the supermarket. Whatever your circumstance, we wish you the best in eating well!
Eat well,
Geneviève & Glenn Stillman ~and the Stillman’s crew
