Last week’s weather transitioned right from from a killing frost and chilly mornings to warm sunny days that felt like summer. Regardless of the daily temperatures, now that the summer plants are no longer producing the pick-our-own is now limited to herbs and hot peppers. However, we have a full fall line-up under the tent for the last 4 weeks of the Main Season CSA! This week we will enjoy potatoes, more spinach, our second broccoli planting and escarole, a classic fall cooking green. Future weeks will bring more fall favorites including sweet potatoes, yellow onions, butternut squash, red cabbage, radishes, pie pumpkins and more.
Reminders as the end of the 2020 season approaches:
We are currently accepting CSA renewals. CSA sign-ups will open for new members on December 1st.
The 2020 Main Season CSA ends October 24th and Flex and Extended CSAs end November 21st.
The last day of the farm store will be October 31st. All Barrett’s Bucks expire at that time - balances do not carry over into next year.
We will not be doing a bulk order this season. However, it is likely we will have a few days of online pre-ordering available for later fall crops in place of our usual November and December pop-up farm stand days.
Flex members may email Melissa or inquire with CSA shopkeeper to find out how many pick-ups they have missed.
In the CSA this week:
Potatoes - Peter Wilcox, they are purple skinned with yellow flesh. Great for roasting!
Baby Bok Choy - Our last planting of the season
Red onions
Spinach
Escarole - A fall cooking green. See recipe below for White Bean and Escarole Soup!
Mustard greens - a beautiful red spicy green that can be eaten cooked (it gets milder when cooked) or mixed in raw with a salad.
Fennel
Green peppers
Broccoli
Curly Kale
Beets
Salanova Lettuce Mix
Lettuce- red leaf
Garlic
Winter squash - choice of autumn frost, delicata or spaghetti squash
CSA PYO:
We have had a a couple of frosts, so most PYO is done for the season. There are still some herbs including parsley, sage, thyme oregano or mint as well as hot peppers.
PYO Flower CSA: Flower picking is done for the 2020 season.
In the Farm Store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA we will also have some tomatoes from our high tunnel, as well as arugula, cabbage, carrots, and a few tomatoes from our high tunnel. We will also have honey from Double B Honey (harvested from hives on the property), sweet corn from Verrill Farm, and mushrooms from Fat Moon. Online pre-orders continue, but please note that pre-orders are available for Tuesday, Friday and Saturday pick-ups only. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 2pm the day before pick-up. Walk-up sales continue to be open for all Tuesday-Saturday.
Farm Store Hours
Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm
Saturday 9am-3pm
Please wear a snug fitting mask with multiple layers when approaching the farm stand. If you cannot wear a mask, simply order online and include a note in your order letting us know what car you will be driving (as well as roughly what time you will arrive) and we will bring your bag out to your car when you arrive. Thank you for your understanding!
White Bean and Escarole Soup
from Bon Appetit | March 1996
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 large carrot, cut into small dice
• 5 large garlic cloves, peeled, flattened
• 3 cups (packed) 1-inch pieces escarole (about 1/2 large head)
• 4 cups (or more) canned vegetable broth or low-salt chicken broth
• 3 1/4 cups cooked Great Northern beans or two 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
• 1 14 1/2- to 16-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Heat oil in heavy large Dutch over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrot and garlic and sauté until onion is golden and tender, about 7 minutes. Discard garlic. Add escarole; stir 3 minutes. Add 4 cups broth, beans and tomatoes and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until escarole is tender and flavors blend, about 20 minutes. Thin with more broth, if desired. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.) Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.
Roast Chicken With Fennel
By Mark Bittman
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, or as needed
• 3 - 4 bulbs fennel, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 whole (about 3-pound) chicken, cut up, or about 3 pounds drumsticks and thighs
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish
• Lemon wedges
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle bottom of shallow roasting pan or baking sheet with about half the olive oil and cover it with a layer of the fennel. Overlap pieces if necessary but use whole pan. Drizzle remaining oil over fennel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut up chicken if necessary and sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper. Top fennel with the chicken parts, skin side up. Ideally, you'll have a layer of fennel pretty much covered by a layer of chicken, but it's fine if some of the fennel roasts uncovered. Spoon some of the oil from bottom of pan over chicken. If there is not enough, drizzle additional olive oil over the chicken. Roast about 15 minutes, then baste chicken with pan drippings and rotate the pan. If necessary, adjust oven temperature so chicken browns but does not burn. The chicken will be done in about 30 minutes. Serve each piece with some fennel and a little of the pan juices spooned over, garnished with parsley and a lemon wedge.