CSA Week 20 and Farm Stand Updates

This is the last week that the farm stand will be open for regular hours. Barrett’s Bucks will also expire this Saturday, October 25th. Though the regular store will be closed next week, we will have a mini store open to everyone during CSA pick-ups Wednesdays 11am - 6pm and Saturdays 9am-3pm. We will also have our big pre-Thanksgiving sale on Saturday, November 22nd. Although this is the last week for the store, the CSA continues on until Saturday November 22nd. If you have a Flex membership, be sure to check in with the Shopkeeper to find out how many pick-ups you have left to skip!

Even though it feels like the season is winding down, we still have a wide array of fall veggies to enjoy! We also still have lots of field and high tunnel work to keep us busy. The late fall always entails putting the farm to bed - this means taking down trellising, pulling up plastic mulches, seeding cover crops, mulching strawberries and garlic with straw, ripping out summer crops in our high tunnels, digging up dahlia tubers, taking down fences and more. It’s not all about endings, though! We’re also planting tulips and garlic for next year and greens in our high tunnel for this winter. We keep wondering when we’ll have time to catch up on our mountains of office work!

In the CSA this week:

• Butternut squash

• Turnips - We now have the more classic purple-top storage turnips.

• Rainbow carrots

• Yellow potatoes - from Atlas Farm in Deerfield, MA. Certified Organic.

• Leeks

• Garlic - Back after a hiatus!

• Fennel

• Colored pepper

• Green and purple peppers

• Broccoli

• Cabbage - Tendersweet and Savoy varieties

• Mini daikon - Purple, red and white varieties.

• Bok Choi - Full-sized heads.

• Kale - Curly green

• Salanova

• Escarole - This bitter green is excellent in soups and stew like the classic white bean and escarole soup. It can also be sauteed with garlic and olive oil as a side dish.

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Herbs: parsley, cilantro, sage, thyme, mint and chives.

In the farm store:

Farm store hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. Our farm store will be open until October 25th! This week in the farm store we plan to have:

• The following items that are also in the CSA: butternut squash, turnips, garlic, broccoli, rainbow carrots, potatoes from Atlas Farm, escarole, leeks, bok choi, cabbage, fennel, green and purple peppers, kale, salanova, herbs.

• Tomatoes - From the high tunnel. We may not have them for the whole week as the plants are looking rough and we’ll need to begin turning over all of our high tunnels to winter greens!

• Pie pumpkins

• Autumn Frost squash

• Acorn squash

• Lettuce

• Mini daikon

• Watermelon radish

• Salad turnips

• Onions

• Corn stalks - For decorating!

• Cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm in Carver, MA. Certified Organic.

• Beets from Atlas Farm in Deerfield, MA. Certified Organic.

• Apples - From Carver Hill in Stow, MA (not organic). Macoun and Cortland varieties. Not organic.

• Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Certified Organic.

• Raspberry Jam and Raspberry Vinegar Infusion - Both from Silferleaf. Certified Organic.

• Applesauce from Long Run Produce in Boxborough, MA. Certified Organic.

• Baer’s Best Beans: 1 pound bags of Italian Cranberry. We will have more varieties soon when Charley Baer is able to make our fall delivery!

Pasta With Kale Pesto and Roasted Butternut Squash

By Melissa Clark, from NY Times Cooking

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds butternut squash

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling

• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, more for squash

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 bunch (about ½ pound) kale, center ribs removed

• 8 ounces pasta (penne rigate works well)

• ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts

• 2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped

• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

• Freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste

• Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use a vegetable peeler to peel squash, then halve it lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Dice squash flesh into 1-inch pieces, place on a baking sheet, and toss with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread pieces into an even layer, making sure there is space between them. Roast, stirring squash pieces once or twice, until golden brown and tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; have ready a bowl of ice water. Drop kale into boiling water and cook for 45 seconds. Use tongs or slotted spoon to transfer kale to ice water. Bring water in pot back to a boil, adding more if necessary so there is enough to cook pasta.

3. Drain kale well, then wrap tightly in a dry kitchen towel and squeeze thoroughly to remove any excess moisture. Roughly chop leaves. When water in pot comes back to a boil, cook pasta according to package directions.

4. In a food processor, pulse together kale, nuts, garlic, salt and lemon zest until mixture is smooth and salt has dissolved. With motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil until fully incorporated. Taste and add more salt dissolved in a little lemon juice, if necessary.

5. Drain pasta, reserving a little cooking water. Toss pasta with kale pesto and some pasta cooking water if necessary to help it coat pasta. Add cheese, lemon juice and salt to taste. Serve topped with squash and more cheese.

Roasted Cabbage with Walnuts and Parmesan

from Smitten Kitchen

• 1 medium-large (1 3/4 pounds) or two small heads savoy cabbage

• 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Scant 1/2 cup (1.75 ounces) walnut halves and pieces

• 1 large or 2 smaller garlic cloves

• 1 large lemon

• Red pepper flakes, such as Aleppo (optional)

• Grated parmesan, to taste

Heat oven to 475ºF. Remove any damaged outer leaves of cabbage and cut it 8 (for small ones) to 12 (for a large one) wedges. Coat a large baking sheet with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange cabbage wedges in one layer, drizzling or brushing them with 2 more tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, until charred underneath (don’t panic if you see a few thin black edges; they’re going to taste amazing). Use a spatula to flip each piece over and roast for 5 more minutes, until the edges of the cabbage are dark brown.

Meanwhile, while cabbage roasts, place nuts on a smaller tray or baking dish and roast them next to the cabbage for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and scatter them, still hot, onto a cutting board and coarsely chop them. Scoop into a bowl and finely grate the zest of half a lemon and all of the garlic over it. Add remaning 3 tablespoons olive oil to walnuts, a few pinches of salt and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. If you’ve got a couple minutes to let it all infuse as it cools, let it rest. When ready, squeeze the juice of half your lemon in and stir to combine. Adjust flavors to taste, adding more lemon if needed; you want this dressing to be robust.

The moment the cabbage comes out of the oven, spoon the walnut dressing over the wedges. Grate parmesan all over, to taste. Serve immediately, while piping hot.