We have 7 weeks left (including this week) in our 20 week season so don't put your CSA bag away yet! The last CSA pick up will be Thursday October 22nd and the farm store will be open through Saturday October 31st. Usually at this point in our season we would start to feel fall in the air. Not this year! Keep doing your rain dances for us as this hot dry weather is putting our plants to the test. We are particularly working hard to keep recent transplants for fall spinach and lettuce alive in this desert-like environment. Adding to the desert feel on the farm are the areas of open ground in the fields right now. We don't like having soil left open to the elements but we are waiting for rain in the forecast to seed our cover crop when it will have enough moisture to germinate.
Fortunately for us one of our favorite fall staples, winter squash, no longer needs water as the plants have died back and the squash has reached maturity. Thanks to Lise's dad we have big squash bins built on pallets to to bring in the harvest. We move the bins using forks attached to the tractor's bucket. It is big step up from our wheel barrow squash transportation last season! With over 3 bulk bins already filled we are about midway through the harvest of our half acre of winter squash. Squash varieties require different lengths of time before they are ready for eating. This week acorn squash will makes its debut in the CSA and farm store and we have many more varieties to look forward to in the coming weeks!
In the CSA this Week
- Salad turnips
- Tendersweet cabbage
- Acorn squash
- Colored Peppers
- Bolero carrots
- Spaghetti squash
- Red slicing tomatoes
- Eggplant
- Cucumbers- The last of the cukes for the season.
- Red Ace Beets
- Leeks
- Two of four greens: tatsoi, arugula, red Russian kale or baby bok choy
- Kale
- Collards
- Swiss Chard
- Lettuce- still limited as this hot dry weather is slowing new growth
CSA PYO:
- Green, purple, and dragon beans
- Husk cherries
- Tomatillos
- Cherry tomatoes
- Hot peppers - jalapenos, serrano, capperino, ancho and cayenne
- Herbs - the Genovese basil has succumbed to downy mildew, but we still have amethyst and Thai basil, parsley, thyme, and sage
In the store:
In addition to the crops listed above, we should have summer squash and zucchini, mustard greens, some Happy Rich broccolini on Tuesday and Verrill Farm sweet corn. We will have some heirloom tomatoes and plum tomatoes. Also, we'll have bulk pricing available for slicing tomatoes.
Stuffed Peppers
Anything goes with this highly adaptable recipe. Couscous or quinoa are great instead of rice and the stuffing goes great baked inside a halved acorn squash instead of peppers! Lise's husband Matt perused a bunch of stuffed pepper recipes and came up with this adaptation using all veggies from the farm. Let us know your favorite combinations!
• 4 yellow or orange bell peppers
• 1 bunch kale stems removed and leaves torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 leek
• 1 zucchini
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• about 1 1/2 lb diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 2 cups cooked brown rice (or quinoa or cous cous)
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar
• salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 350. Heat the oil in the saucepan and add, leek, zucchini and garlic. Cook gently for 3 minutes. Add kale and cook for 1 more minute before adding tomatoes. Bring to a boil and sommer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pine nuts, basil, rice and seasoning.
Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and seed them. Blanch in a pan of boiling water for about 3 minutes. Place the peppers in a shallow ovenproof dish and fill with vegetable and rice mixture. Cover the dish and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and then sprinkle each pepper with the grated cheddar. Bake for 5-10 more minutes.