It is the last week of the 2020 Flex and Extended CSA this week, and our crew’s last week of the season. It feels fitting as temperatures have dropped again and we are almost done with our many clean up tasks including clearing out the barn and greenhouse for winter tractor storage, taking down fences, and mulching strawberries. Almost all crops are out of the field. While we only have just enough of many items to finish out the CSA season, we have several items that we will have available for farm store ordering for pick up on Thursday, November 19th and Saturday, November 21st. Thursday pre-orders will just include honey, mushrooms, raspberry jam and raspberry vinegar infusion. Saturday pre-orders will have all those items, plus our own veggies, including beets, carrots, leeks, cabbage, lettuce, watermelon radishes, and spinach, as well as organic cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm. Ordering for both pick-up dates will open Wednesday at noon. We may have one more day of ordering in December but this will be our last before Thanksgiving!
In the CSA this week (Thursday and Saturday):
Shallots
Salanova Letttuce Mix - Grown in one of our high tunnels especially for this week!
Popcorn- Take the kernels off the cob by hand and pop in oil on the stove top or place the whole cob in a paper bag in the microwave!
Potatoes - Due to our poor crop yields resulting from the drought, we purchased these organic potatoes from Atlas Farm in Western, MA.
Butternut squash
Leeks
Watermelon radishes
Carrots
Beets
Purple top turnips
Cabbage
Spinach
Lettuce
Yellow onions - These have been cured and so should ideally be kept in a cool, dry and dark place (not for fridge storage).
Garlic
PYO: It looks like we will have a very hard freeze on Wednesday night, but this time there will be no snow to help insulate the herbs. If they survive, we will continue picking parsley, thyme and sage.
Farm Store
We are closed for walk-up sales but many items are available online this week for pre-ordered Thursday and Saturday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop . Online ordering for both days opens at noon on Wednesday and closes at 5am the morning of pick-up. Pick ups will be available Thursday, November 19th, 2pm - 6pm and Saturday, November 21st, 11am-3pm. Once you select a pick up time the items available will appear. Thursday’s pre-orders will not include any veggies, just honey from Double B (from hives on this property), organic mushrooms from Fat Moon (including bulk 3lb boxes), and organic raspberry jam and raspberry vinegar infusion from Silferleaf Farm just up the road from us. Saturday’s pre-orders will have all of these items, plus many of our own veggies, including beets, lettuce, spinach, leeks, salanova lettuce mix, carrots, watermelon radishes, and cabbage. We have also purchased organic cranberries from Fresh Meadow Farm in Carver, MA especially for sales this week, but will not have them available until Saturday.
Caramelized Turnips With Capers, Lemon and Parsley
By David Tanis from NYTimes Cooking:
INGREDIENTS
3 pounds small turnips or daikon radish
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
pepper
2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
Zest of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste
PREPARATION
Peel turnips, halve lengthwise and slice into half-moons 1/4-inch thick.
Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches if needed, add turnips. Sauté, turning often and lowering the heat if necessary, until nicely browned and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to an oven-proof serving dish. If not serving immediately, leave at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or refrigerate and bring to room temperature, before reheating in a 400-degree oven for 10 minutes.
To serve, mix garlic, capers, lemon zest and parsley; sprinkle over turnips. Drizzle with lemon juice.
Roasted Beets With Moroccan Spices
By Mark Bittman
INGREDIENTS
1 pound beets
1 pound carrot chunks
chopped almonds
½ teaspoon of cumin
½ teaspoon of coriander
a pinch of allspice
lemon juice
olive oil
PREPARATION
Heat the oven to 400.
Wash 1 pound beets, wrap each in foil and put on a baking sheet.
Put 1 pound carrot chunks on the baking sheet and toss with olive oil.
Roast until a knife pierces the beets with little resistance, 45 to 90 minutes, and the carrots are tender and browned (remove when done; before the beets).
When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel, and cut into chunks; toss them and the carrots with chopped almonds, 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin and coriander, a pinch of allspice, lemon juice and olive oil.
Garnish: Mint.
Lise’s Dad’s Beef Stew
Loosely adapted from Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon
3 or so lbs of stew meat, like chuck
2 or 3 cups of red wine
1 can beef broth plus 1 can water
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 tsp thyme
zest of one orange
1 chopped tomato plus 1 tbsp of tomato paste, or can of diced tomatoes plus ketchup
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Brown the beef well in vegetable oil. Put all ingredients in a pot, including from browning pan. Simmer for 1 hour with lid on. After an hour, add the following:
Pearl onions, or sliced yellow onion
Potatoes
Carrots
Mushrooms (optional)
Simmer for another hour with the vegetables.
Quiche Lorraine
from Smitten Kitchen
1 ¾ cups diced leeks
3/4 cup diced onion
3 tbsp olive oil
1 ¼ cups flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Salt
6 tablespoons butter, diced
4 eggs, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch pepper
1 ½ cups diced ham (1/4 -inch dice)
3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
Heat a large sauté pan over low heat. Sauté the leeks and onions in the olive oil 30 to 40 minutes until caramelized, occasionally stirring. Remove from heat and cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and one-fourth teaspoon salt. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender, fork or two knives until it is in very tiny bits. Add one egg (a fork works great for this) and mix it until a dough forms. (Dough can also be made in a food processor, or in theory, and as the original recipe suggests, in a stand mixer.) On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle. Place the dough in a 9-inch pie plate and press to remove any air bubbles. Crimp the edges, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
While the quiche shell chills, mix the heavy cream and sour cream in a medium bowl. Whisk in the remaining three eggs. Add a pinch each nutmeg, salt and pepper and combine to form a batter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the quiche shell from the refrigerator and spread the leek and onion mixture evenly over the base. Sprinkle the ham and then the cheese over the leeks and onions. Pour in the batter and place the quiche in the oven. Bake until puffed and golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.