Although Tuesday is the first day of October, we have plenty of yummy veggies to enjoy! While tomatoes are slowly making their exit, we will have them this week, plus some more classic fall veggies like potatoes, pumpkins and leeks. We still have a lot to look forward to this fall, including more types of squash (butternut, Autumn Frost and Tetsukabuto), sweet potatoes, beets, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. We’ll also continue to have potatoes, carrots, cabbage, leeks and a wide array of greens through the end of the season.
There are 4 weeks left of the farm stand and Main Season CSA. The last day for both is October 26th, which is also the day that Barrett’s Bucks expire for 2024. Extended, Flex and Back to School CSA members have 8 weeks left (so until November 23rd). We are starting to work on our plans for next year, so look for info about 2025 CSA sign-ups in the next couple of weeks!
In the CSA this week:
Pie pumpkins - Make your own pumpkin puree from scratch for pie filling, muffins, soup and more!
Potatoes - Peter Wilcox variety (purple skin, white flesh). These are the last of our own potatoes, but we will have potatoes from Atlas Farm later this fall!
Leeks
Carrots - Rainbow and orange.
Garlic
Slicing tomatoes - It’s just about October now, so we are approaching the end of tomato season, but we will try to eke another week or two out of them!
Colored peppers
Salad Turnips - Salad turnips are a milder cousin of radishes. They are sweet and tender and are nice in salads or roasted.
Red King Radishes - This is a type of colorful daikon that is a more manageable size than traditional daikon.
Cabbage - We’ll have tendersweet and savoy varities this week.
Kale
Bok Choi
Arugula
Spinach
Escarole
Lettuce
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
Hot peppers
Cherry Tomatoes - Winding down, but there are still some out there if you are willing to hunt around.
Green Beans
Husk Cherries or Tomatillos
Herbs: basil, chives, dill flower, parsley, sage, thyme. Basil is going downhill, but we are squeezing one more week out of it.
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will have:
Honeycrisp Apples from Westward Orchard in Harvard, MA and Cortland Apples from Autumn Hills Orchard in Groton, MA. Available starting on Wednesday. Not Organic.
Sweet corn - we are getting a surprise delivery early this week, but it might only be available the first part of the week.
Salanova
Green and purple peppers
Delicata
Acorn squash
Flowers, including mini and full-sized dahlia bouquets
Honey from Double B (from hives on the property). Not organic.
Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Farmer’s Mix and Shiitake. Certified organic.
Raspberry vinegar, jam, and occasionally fresh raspberries from Silferleaf Farm in Concord. Certified Organic.
Eggs from Codman Farm in Lincoln. Not Organic.
Mushroom CSA:
It is the fifth week of the 8-week Fall Mushroom CSA. This week is Comb Tooth!
PYO Flowers
If you have a PYO Flower CSA and have bouquets left to pick, come now - there are plenty out there, but every passing day they lose a little bit of their summer glory!
Pumpkin Soup with Sautéed Mushrooms
by Giorgia Fontana from Mediterranean Living
Ingredients
For the soup:
1 pound pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed
1 small carrot, peeled
2 medium potatoes, peeled
1 small onion
Salt, to taste
4 cups vegetable stock (optional)
For the sauteed mushrooms:
10 ounces mixed mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus some more for drizzling
1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Peel, clean and cut vegetables into chunks, around 1-inch thick.
Put them into a large pot and cover with water. If you desire a deeper flavor, cover with vegetable stock instead.
Turn the heat on high until boiling, then lower the flame and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
In the meantime, prepare the mushrooms. Trim away the ends and slice thinly.
In a frying pan, drizzle some olive oil and add minced garlic. When it starts to turn golden in color, add mushrooms and toss them for about 8 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Before turning off the heat, add a sprinkle of parsley.
When soup is ready, blend it with an immersion blender directly into the pot, until it reaches a nice and smooth consistency.
Serve immediately, adding sautéed mushrooms on top and a drizzle of fresh extra virgin olive oil.
Vietnamese Daikon & Carrot Pickles Recipe (Do Chua)
by Huy Vu from Hungry Huy
Ingredients
1/2 lb (226.8 g) daikon radish
1/2 lb (226.8 g) carrots
1 tbsp salt
Vinegar Solution
1/2 c boiling water
5 tbsp granulated white sugar
filtered room temp. water
4 tbsp distilled vinegar
Instructions
Peel daikon and carrots, then cut with mandolin slicer medium to small matchsticks. Smaller cuts will pickle faster.
In a large bowl, sprinkle with salt evenly and toss to coat. Soak for 15 minutes.
Rinse thoroughly to remove the salt and in small handfulls, squeeze to remove as much moisture as you can.
Add to jars, filling almost to the top.