We have officially transitioned to fall on the farm. Cover crop is growing on over half of the fields, darker mornings mean a later start time for the crew, and we spend our afternoons on storage crop harvest or field clean-up rather than planting projects. The harvest list this week is also a sure sign of fall and includes savoy cabbage, turnips, leeks, and potatoes! The tetsukabuto winter squash has been curing in the barn and is now ready so will be in the CSA and farm store this week. The tetsukabuto variety is a cross between a kabocha and a butternut, resulting in a sweet and nutty flavor. Still to come in the remaining 2 weeks (after this one) of the Main Season are some popular fall items such as onions, Brussels sprouts, mini daikon radishes, butternut squash, and hopefully sweet potatoes (the first plants we purchased arrived spoiled, so we had to order and replant later than is ideal. As such, we are giving these later-planted sweeties extra time to fill out - wish us luck!).
Now that it’s October, many of you are probably wondering about jack-o-lanterns. We do not grow our own jack-o-lanterns, but in the past we have bought in Concord-grown pumpkins for sale in the farm stand. Unfortunately, this year there are none to be had in town. Further proof that this growing season has been a bit of a struggle across the board!
In the CSA this week:
Main Season CSA members have 2 more weeks left after this week (for a total of 20 weeks). Extended Season CSA members have 6 weeks left for a total of 24 weeks. Flex members check in with the shopkeeper or email Melissa to find out how many pick-ups you have left of your 20 out of 24 weeks.
CSA pick up hours are Tues/Thurs 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Face masks are required under the CSA tent during the first hour of each day. Please note we do our best to predict what will be available each week, but conditions change and there may be slight variations in what’s available!
Savoy Cabbage - This cabbage is great raw in slaw, but it is also good cooked in stir fry, stews or stuffed cabbage leaves!
Tetsukabuto squash - These hardy flavorful squash have edible skins and are delicious roasted in half moons, cubed and added to stews or curries, or stuffed! Nuttier flavor and less sugary than butternut.
Storage Turnips
Potatoes - These will be the last potatoes that we’ll have in the Main Season (we’ll have more organic potatoes from Atlas Farm in Western MA in the Extended season). We cleared our last 3 beds of potatoes to have enough for the CSA this week. Yields of our later season potatoes were quite low, as they suffered from relentless Colorado potato beetle damage. Because organic sprays are not effective against potato beetles (and because we prefer not to spray at all), we control these pests by hand-picking off the plants, which as you might imagine, is an incredibly time-consuming process. Unfortunately, this year the time for hand-picking potato beetles off the plants came in the midst of a string of equipment failures and a time when we were also short-handed due to illness! So we’ll enjoy what we do have this week and hope for better circumstances next year!
Pie Pumpkin - these are for eating, not carving. You can use them to make pumpkin soup, pie, muffins and more! Many recipes call for pureed pumpkin from a can, but you can make your own puree by cutting the pumpkin in half, scooping out the seeds and roasting it until it’s soft. Once it has cooled, scoop out the flesh and puree!
Leeks
Garlic
Eggplant - There is an abundance of smaller fruit still on the plants, so we will be clearing them out this week.
Green and purple peppers
Beets
Kale
Escarole or mustard greens
Baby bok choi or arugula
Lettuce
CSA PYO:
Handwashing sinks are provided at the entrance to each PYO field. For the sake of food safety, please wash hands before picking. The barn bathroom and wash area sinks in the barn are for employees only (we do now have a green porta-potty restroom by the tree behind the red barn for customer use with a portable handwashing sink just beside it).
*Please note that we close down the PYO fields for lightning storms.
Tomatillos or husk cherries - These are winding down rapidly, but you will still have a choice of one of these for picking.
Hot peppers - jalapeño, cayenne, Hungarian hot wax, fresno and aji rico varieties are all producing. Signs in the field indicate what to look for in terms of ripeness, as well as how spicy varieties are.
Herbs- parsley, cilantro, basil, sage, thyme, oregano
PYO Flower CSA:
Picking is available for Flower CSA members as well as to the public for purchase by the bouquet. We will offer picking until our first frost. Picking is available any time the farm store is open (Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm). Varieties blooming now include: zinnias, marigolds, statice, gomphrena, celosia, decorative basil, frosted explosion, cosmos, ageratum, rudbeckia, ammi, scabiosa and more! Please pick stems above the first branching of all flowers to encourage future growth.
In the farm store:
The last day of the farm store for the season will be Saturday, October 30th. This week, in addition to the items listed in the CSA we will also have lemongrass (grown in our high tunnel!), colored peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, acorn squash, salanova and scallions in the farm store. Later this week we will be getting organic cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm in Carver, MA! We will have mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm, honey from Double B, and eggs from Codman Farm. We have raspberry vinegar infusion and jam from Silferleaf Farm.
We accept credit card, cash, check and EBT in the farm store. The farm store is open Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Masks are required during the first hour of each day and are encouraged the remainder of the day. Staff will continue to wear masks inside the farm stand all day. We are keeping a chalkboard list of items available outside the store and our Shopkeepers would be happy to shop for anyone who is uncomfortable entering the store. We also continue to take online pre-orders for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 6pm the day before pick-up.
Spicy Caramelized Squash With Lemon and Hazelnuts
by Alison Roman, from NY Times Cooking
Ingredients
1 (3- to 4-pound) winter squash, such as tetsukabuto
⅓ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
¼ cup maple syrup, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoon hot smoked paprika
2 teaspoons red-pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped (no need to remove the skins)
Flaky sea salt
1 lemon
Preparation
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Remove pulp and seeds, if you like. Continue to cut squash into 1 1/2-inch wedges.
Toss squash on a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil, maple syrup, paprika and red-pepper flakes. Season with kosher salt and pepper, and roast, turning each piece once, until both sides are evenly browned and squash is completely tender, 40 to 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, toast hazelnuts in a small skillet over medium heat, tossing frequently until they’re evenly browned, about the color of a good piece of toast, and smell almost like popcorn, 4 to 6 minutes.
Remove from oven and transfer squash to a large serving platter. Drizzle with olive oil and a bit more maple syrup. Sprinkle with hazelnuts, flaky salt and more black pepper. Zest lemon over everything and halve lemon to squeeze over before serving.
Squash, Mushroom and Kale “Stoup”
by Sarah Fritsche, from SF Chronicle
A “stoup” is in between a stew and a soup!
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ cup red or brown miso paste
¼ cup mirin
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock, plus more if needed
3½ pounds kabocha squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1½-inch chunks
12 ounces mushrooms, stems removed and quartered
12 ounces tofu, cut into 1-inch pieces (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 bunch kale, ribs removed and roughly chopped
Preparation
Heat up the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the miso paste, followed by the mirin; stir to combine and let the mirin cook off slightly. Add the broth, followed by the squash, mushrooms and tofu, if using. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and let cook until the squash is tender and just beginning to break down, about 35 to 40 minutes. If the “stoup” becomes too thick, add a little more broth to thin out. Add the kale and let cook until wilted, another 4 or 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, and serve.
Cabbage Roll Chicken Enchiladas
by Joy Howard from Eating Well, January 2018
Ingredients
12 Savoy cabbage leaves
2 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can spicy refried beans
1 ¾ cups shredded cheese, such as Monterey Jack, Cheddar or Colby-Jack, divided
1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
1 tablespoon Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add cabbage leaves and cook for 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Pat dry.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine chicken, refried beans and 3/4 cup cheese in a medium bowl. Coat the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a few tablespoons enchilada sauce. Fill each cabbage leaf with about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture and roll into an enchilada. Place, seam-side down, in the baking dish (they will be snug). Drizzle with the remaining enchilada sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheese.
Bake until heated through and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired.
Tips
To make ahead: Assemble enchiladas through Step 3. Refrigerate for up to 1 day.