We harvested our first two beds of sweet potatoes last week and they were filled with beautiful big - but not too big - sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes are one of our fall crops that take some time to sweeten up, so after harvesting we laid them out in the greenhouse and turned the heat on to keep them at optimal curing temperatures to turn their starches to sugars. The curing process takes about 5-10 days, so we will begin to give them out next week in the CSA (week 19) and farm store when they are cured and ready to eat! We will continue to harvest the remaining beds and keep them rotating through the greenhouse to cure before being distributed. Before we get to the sweet potatoes next week we have a lot of great veggies this week, including more King Harry Potatoes, broccoli, and the return of Salanova lettuce mix! We also have a late-in-the-game eggplant field recovery! We lost about 70% of our eggplant plants to Colorado Potato Beetles, and the remaining plants were so damaged that we have only gotten a couple of small harvests for the store over the course of the season. We finally have a larger quantity this week, so CSA members will have the choice of eggplant or peppers at each pick-up this week. We are anticipating a frost this week, which feels fitting as many of the fields are in cover crop, the field tomatoes have stopped producing, and the crew is starting later due to the later sunrise. There are also just two weeks left after this one in the Main Season CSA!
In the CSA this week:
Salanova Lettuce Mix - This will be limited this week to make sure everyone gets some after patiently waiting for our current planting to size up! We should have more again this fall before the end of the season because we have another planting under row cover, as well as a full high tunnel planted in Salanova for the Extended Season.
Broccoli - The plantings that are ready this week are producing nicer quality heads than earlier plantings because the plants matured after the most severe heat of the summer.
Potatoes - The variety is called King Harry and it has yellow skin and white flesh.
Fennel
Leeks
Eggplant or peppers
Butternut squash or Pie pumpkins - This is probably the last week in the Main Season CSA for pie pumpkins (there will likely be some in the Extended season).
Beets
Carrots
Arugula
Savoy cabbage
Curly green kale
Radishes - Red, white and purple mini daikon varieties
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
Cherry tomatoes - They are ripening slowly lately so we have opened them every other week when we get enough to ripen for everyone to have some. If we get a frost this week it will be the end of the cherry tomatoes.
Hot peppers- choice of Jalapeño, Aji Rico, Fresno, Hungarian Hot Wax, and Red Ember (cayenne).
Herbs - choice of oregano, sage, thyme or lemon thyme.
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA we will have tomatoes, acorn and delicata squash, and lettuce in the farm store this week. We will also have Jack-o’-Lanterns from Verrill Farm. We also have eggs from Codman Farm, Double B Honey from hives here on the property, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm, raspberry jam and vinegar from Silferleaf Farm in Concord, and possibly fresh raspberries from Silferleaf if available.
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. The Farm Store will be open until Saturday, October 29th, 2022. 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.
Pick-Your-Own Flower CSA:
This is likely the last week for the PYO flower field, so we suggest Flower CSA members finish picking their allotted jars as soon as possible! Most flowers will be gone when we get our first frost, which may be this week. Bouquets that are not picked do not carry over to the next season. Varieties available include zinnias, gomphrena, strawflower, celosia, statice, rudbeckia, verbena, decorative basil, and amaranth. Picking hours are during any farm store hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We recommend bringing your own pruners or scissors as well as water for transporting your flowers home.
Fall Mushroom CSA
It is the fourth week of the 10-week Fall Mushroom CSA. The variety this week is blue oyster! For more information about each variety Fat Moon Farm grows, check out the “Types We Grow” page of their website: https://fatmoonmushrooms.com/pages/types-we-grow! Pick-up for the Fall mushroom CSA is any time the farm store is open, Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm.
Harvest Pumpkin Leek Soup
from Little Spice Jar
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
½ cup chopped onions
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
15 oz pureed pumpkin (cut pumpkin in half, roast both halves, scoop out the middle and puree)
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons maple syrup (more to taste)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage AND fresh thyme
¼ teaspoon EACH: ground cinnamon AND cayenne pepper (omit for a mild soup or use more if you want it spicier)
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
⅓ - ½ cup heavy cream (or coconut cream)
Instructions
SAUTE: Melt the butter in a 4-quart pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, onions, celery, and carrots, cook until they soften a bit, about 7-8 minutes. Season with a small pinch of salt and add the garlic, continue to cook for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.
SIMMER: Add the pumpkin puree, bay leaf, maple syrup, herbs, spices, and chicken stock. Bring the soup to a boil and allow it to simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the flavors develop.
BLEND: Fish out the bay leaf, then pour in ⅓ cup of the heavy cream and stir to combine. Using a blender stick, blend the soup or by transfer the soup to a traditional blender, blend the soup until it’s smooth. Taste and adjust with additional cream if desired. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with pepitas and a drizzle of cream.