CSA Week 19 and Farm Stand Updates

It is week 19 of 20 for the Main Season CSA! Saturday, October 26th will be the last day of the Farm Store and the Main Season CSA for the season. Flex, Extended, and Late Fall CSA members have an additional 4 weeks of pick-ups: Thursdays and Saturdays from October 31st-November 23rd.

While it is nearing the end of the season, we still have plenty to keep us busy on the farm! The crew continues to harvest each morning to keep up with the CSA and farm store needs. When there is time our afternoons are spent cleaning up the fields to prepare for winter. We have been removing landscape fabric, plastic mulch, irrigation supplies, and tomato stakes in order to till the ground and plant cover crop while there is still time for it to grow. The clean-up is messy but satisfying as it is done with the knowledge that we are preparing the fields for yet another productive year. We also still have planting to do! The final planting projects of the year are coming up soon: garlic and tulips. For the first time we will also be planting a variety of daffodils for cut flowers. In the coming weeks we will also be weeding the 2020 strawberries, taking down some of our electric fences, covering leafy crops for protection against cold November temperatures, and continuing to clean and bag our storage onions to make space in the greenhouse for an upcoming straw delivery.

This week in the CSA:

• Butternut Squash - This classic winter squash is great for soup, roasting, or even in “pumpkin” pie!

• Brussels sprouts

• Spinach

• Hakurei salad turnips - This spring favorite is back! They look much like radishes but have a sweeter flavor.

• Mini daikon radishes - white mini mak and purple K-N bravo varieties

• Yellow Storage Onions - These onions have been cured so can be stored outside your fridge. They keep best in a cool, dark, dry place.

• Shallots

• Escarole - This cooking green is great in Italian soups and pasta dishes! It looks like lettuce but is best cooked. It has a bitter flavor, in a delicious way!

• Potatoes- Peter Wilcox (purple skin and yellow flesh) or King Harry (yellow skin, white flesh).

• Scallions

• Romanesco Cauliflower

• Cabbage

• Fennel

• Carrots

• Lettuce

• Baby bok choi

CSA Pick-your-own:

Frosts finished off most of the PYO field, but we still have some herbs for picking, including the following: parsley (it has made a resurgence), cilantro, chives, peppermint, spearmint, thyme and oregano.

CSA Hours:

Tuesday and Thursday 11am-6pm

Saturday 9am-3pm

PYO Flowers

The PYO flowers were mostly killed off in the frost. There are still some cosmos, amaranth, strawflower, statice, gomphrena and verbena, so if you have a bouquet left in your PYO Flower share, and you’d like to make a bouquet for drying, you are welcome to come by!

This week in the farm stand:

We will have all of the veggies listed in the CSA available in the farm store as well as tomatoes, salanova, lemongrass, kale, mustard greens, peppers, eggplant and decorative corn stalks. We will also have organic cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm, Double B Honey (from hives on the property), jack-o-lantern pumpkins from Verrill Farm, eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm and organic raspberries (definitely Tuesday afternoon, hopefully later in the week too), raspberry jam and vinegar infusion from Silferleaf Farm in Concord.

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

ALISON ROMAN at NYTcooking

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

• 3 to 4 tablespoons fat (olive oil, schmaltz, duck fat or the fat rendered from 8 ounces of bacon, sausage or chorizo)

• A handful of aromatics, like chopped garlic, sliced onion, thyme sprigs or dried chiles

• Lemon juice, vinegar, pickled onions or shallots

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Chopped fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro or mint (optional)

PREPARATION

1. If using something like bacon or sausage, start by browning the meat in a large skillet (10 to 12 inches) over medium-high heat to render the fat. Once the meat is cooked, remove it with a slotted spoon, leaving behind the drippings. (You can add the crispy meat bits back later.)

2. Add halved brussels sprouts to the fat, shaking the skillet so that as many as possible land cut side down. Now, don’t touch! Disturbing the skillet at this point would prevent the sprouts from caramelizing. Cook until they have a nice sear on one side, 5 to 8 minutes. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, give them a stir and continue to cook until they’re nicely browned all over and just tender on the inside, another 5 to 8 minutes.

3. Just before removing from the heat, add in a handful of aromatics, like chopped garlic, sliced onion, thyme sprigs or dried chiles, tossing to coat and cooking only a minute or two. Stir in the reserved bacon or sausage bits, if using.

4. Finish with either a squeeze of halved lemon, a splash of nice vinegar or a handful of pickled onions or shallots. Because of the sprouts’ meaty flavor profile, it’s also nice to hit them with a smattering of fresh herbs, especially parsley, cilantro or mint. Salt and pepper to taste.

Peanut-Sesame Slaw with Soba Noodles

From Cookie + Kate

• 4 ounces soba noodles

• 1 small purple or green cabbage, sliced into quarters and core removed

• ½ pound (about 12) Brussels sprouts, optional

• 4 carrots, peeled

• 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced in thin rounds

• ½ cup peanut butter

• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar or rice vinegar

• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or other soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar

• 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

• 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

• Sprinkle of coarsely chopped peanuts

• Handful of cilantro, coarsely torn

• 1 lime, sliced into wedges

Cook the soba noodles: bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water before returning to pot. If using a food processor, shred the cabbage and sprouts with the slicing disk, then grate the carrots using the grating disk. Or use a chef's knife to chop the cabbage and sprouts into thin strips, then coarsely grate the carrots. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth. If the mixture should be thick but drizzly; if it's too thick, whisk in water in 1 tablespoon increments until it is. You might need to add a little salt, to taste, since the flavors have been diluted. In a large serving bowl, combine the cooked soba noodles, shredded cabbage and sprouts, grated carrots, and chopped green onions. Pour dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat (you may or may not need all of the dressing). For best flavor, let the slaw marinate for 20 minutes before serving. Serve slaw with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts, torn cilantro and a lime wedge