We had a busy weekend with the Ag Day farmers' market on Saturday, Farm and Garden Fair tours on Sunday and the Stone Soup Dinner on Sunday night. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our stall in Concord Center on Saturday and the farm on Sunday. It was great to see so many new and familiar faces!
With our biggest fall weekend behind us, we're now starting to turn our sights on next season. We've updated our website to include some new photos and information about our expanded CSA and Barrett's Bucks programs, as well as sign-up forms for the 2015 season. Out in the field we're tilling in many of our summer plantings to make way for cover crops, which will help protect the soil from erosion while also improving soil quality for next year. We're also busy thinking about the two newest additions to our crop plans for next year - strawberries and garlic! This week we'll finish up what will hopefully be the final pass of weeding next year's strawberries and begin preparing the perfect spot to plant our garlic.
While it's exciting to think about next year, we've got plenty of beautiful fall crops to come, including new potato, winter squash and cabbage varieties this week!
In the CSA:
- Purple Viking Potatoes - This is a new variety to us, but we're already hooked! They have a gorgeous purple skin with pink streaks and white flesh. It has a rich flavor and works great with any cooking method. These can also store for a long time. For best results leave them unwashed and keep in a cool, dry and dark place with good air circulation - a basket in a windowless pantry or a cupboard works just fine.
- Keuka Gold Potatoes - These yellow skinned and yellow fleshed potatoes possess a rich buttery flavor. They aren't meant to store quite as long as the Purple Viking, but if you follow the same storage guidelines you should still be enjoying them well into the fall.
- Delicata Squash - A sweet early fall favorite, these squash are particularly appealing because of their more manageable size and the fact that the skins are edible (and actually quite tasty).
- Scallions - They're back and looking beautiful. We'll take a break from leeks this week while we enjoy these fresh scallions, but don't worry - we'll have some later leek varieties available soon.
- Celery - These are smaller than what you're probably used to seeing in the grocery store, but they have a great intense celery flavor!
- Tendersweet Cabbage - As the name indicates, the leaves are thinner, more tender and sweeter than some of the later fall cabbage varieties. Great for coleslaw or stir-fries!
- Broccoli
- Acorn squash
- Spaghetti Squash
- Bolero Carrots
- Red Ace and Chioggia Beets
- Lettuce
- Collards
- Bok Choi
- Swiss Chard
- Escarole
- Kale
- Sweet colored peppers
CSA pick-your-own:
- Sunflowers
- Green Beans
- Husk Cherries
- Tomatillos - look low on the plant!
- Hot Peppers - Many varieties have been picked through, but the Thai Hot are still looking good. These tiny peppers pack a serious spicy punch
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Cilantro and Dill
- Basil
- Oregano
- Thyme
Most of what is available in the CSA will be available in the store, with the addition of eggplant, leeks, arugula, and Happy Rich broccoli. We'll also still have some tomatoes on Tuesday.
Roasted Beet and Avocado Salad
from Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual
- 4 medium beets (about 1/2 pound each), scrubbed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
- 1/2 cup water
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 1 cipollini onion, finely chopped, or 1/3 cup finely chopped sweet Spanish or white onion
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 cup grapeseed oil or other mild vegetable oil
- 2 Hass avocados, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small baking dish, rub the beets with olive oil. Add the water and season with salt and white pepper. Cover tightly with foil and roast for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until tender when pierced with a knife. Let cool, then peel the beets and cut them into 3/4-inch pieces. Transfer to a large bowl. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the chopped onion with the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and honey. Season with salt and white pepper and blend until smooth. With the machine on, add the grapeseed oil and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a steady stream. Add the avocado to the roasted beets. Pour the onion dressing on top and toss gently to combine. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve.