Week 19

We've been enjoying some nice fall weather over the past few days! While the warm weather makes for pleasant working conditions on the farm, it can't reverse the progression of fall and create a dramatic burst of growth. Once the daylight hours get this short, plants grow very slowly. We have a few plantings of greens and lettuce, as well as some cauliflower and cabbage that should mature in the coming weeks, but for the most part, everything else in the fields is done growing and just waiting to be harvested. Still, we have plenty other than harvesting to occupy us for the remainder of October, like picking up irrigation lines, taking down trellising, pulling up plastic mulch, mowing and tilling in crops that are done for the season, seeding cover crops, and preparing to plant and mulch next year's garlic as well as mulch next year's strawberries. It's not quite the breakneck pace of June and July, though - we are now getting the chance to enjoy some of the beautiful fall sunsets that we've had over the farm during the last week!

Many of you have been asking whether we will offer the chance to order more veggies for pick-up after the store closes on October 31st. This week we are planning to more thoroughly assess what crops we'll have available in bulk quantities and we're hoping to have order forms available next week. At this point it looks like we'll have winter squash, leeks, cabbage, carrots, beets, celeriac, Brussels sprouts, kale and collards, but stay tuned as we will likely add a few other items to that list!

In the CSA this week:

• Shallots and cipollini onions - these add great flavor to salad dressings and sauces. Both are a little milder and sweeter than regular storage onions, so they can be finely diced and added raw to salad dressing. Cipollini onions are also perfect for caramelizing.
  
• Celeriac - this oddly shaped root tastes like celery (it should be cooked, not eaten raw) and is a great addition to soups and mashed potatoes (see recipe below).
  
• Watermelon radish - these spicy and sweet radishes have a gorgeous magenta flesh. When shaved thin, they make a really colorful addition to salads. Check out this recipe at alexandracooks.com.
• Elba potatoes - these yellow skinned, white fleshed potatoes store really well. They also taste great!
• Peter Wilcox potatoes
• Brussels sprouts
• Broccoli
• Cabbage - green storage and savoy
• Leeks
• Celery
• Carrots
• Beets
• Butternut squash
• Buttercup squash
• Hubba Hubba squash
• Kale
• Tat soi
• Lettuce

CSA PYO:

Pick-your-own is winding down for the season, but there is still parsley and sage, and there may be some sunflowers to scavenge.

In the store:

In addition to the crops listed above, we'll have Delicata and Gold nugget squash, pie pumpkins, spinach, mustard greens, chard, collards, scallions and jack-o-lanterns from Kenney Farm in Concord!

Celeriac and Potato Mash

from Bon Apetit, December 2010

• 1 pound celery root (celeriac), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 6 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup (or more) whole milk

Cook celery root in large pot of boiling salted water 5 minutes. Add potatoes to pot; cook until all vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. Return vegetables to pot; stir over medium-high heat until dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add butter. Using potato masher, mash vegetables until butter is incorporated. Add 1/2 cup milk; mash until almost smooth, adding more milk as needed. Season with salt and pepper.

Week 18

We didn't get to celebrate together on Saturday due to the cold and rain but the weather did make it a great weekend for cooking! Lise and I had a nice day in the farm store catching up with many of you as you stocked up on supplies.  In the last few weeks of the CSA we are looking forward to sharing with you many fall vegetables that aren't available other times of the season. This week we are particularly excited to have butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli!  This is our favorite time of year to cook so if you are wondering what to do with a fall veggie don't hesitate to ask! We also have lots of recipes available in the farm store.   For those interested in purchasing storage crops in bulk after the CSA has closed for the season we will have a list of what is available in the farm store (and online) next week.  Happy Fall!

In the CSA this week:

• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts- My favorite way to prepare them is to simply take the sprouts off the stem, wash and cut in half then bake with olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Butternut squash- A storage squash that is featured in many tasty recipes including our favorite, butternut squash risotto.
• Golden Nugget squash- This squash tastes very similar to the hubba hubba squash but has a round shape and small size that makes it great for stuffing.
• Fennel
• Celery
• Lettuce
• Buttercup squash
• Peter Wilcox potatoes- Purple skin with yellow flesh.
• Hubba Hubba squash (Red kuri)
• Colored Peppers
• Leeks
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Beets
• Cabbage- Tendersweet and savoy
• Kale
• Chard

CSA PYO:

• Sunflowers- Our last planting is now in bloom!
• Parsley and sage

All the fruiting PYO crops were damaged by the frost, but many of them survived. We could get another frost this week which would do them in entirely but as of Monday there are still:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Husk Cherries - careful picking is required
• Hot peppers - the plants are mostly dead, but Monday many of the peppers seemed salvageable.
• Tomatillos - a small amount are left.
• Parsley and sage

In the store: 

In addition to the crops listed above, we'll have Delicata squash, spinach, happy rich, salanova, collards, pie pumpkins, arugula, scallions and jack-o-lanterns from Kenney Farm in Concord!

Stuffed Gold Nugget Squash

Sabrina Bone, Cooking Light November 2011 MyRecipes.com

• 4 (1-pound) golden nugget squashes
• Cooking spray
• 2 (4-ounce) links hot turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup water

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded 2% reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese, divided

Preparation

1. Cut the top quarter off each squash; reserve tops. Discard seeds. Arrange squashes, cut sides down, in 2 (11 x 7-inch) baking dishes. Fill each dish with 1-inch of water; microwave 1 dish at HIGH 15 minutes. Remove dish; repeat with remaining dish. Cool.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon. Add carrot, onion, and garlic to drippings in pan; sauté 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 8 minutes or until carrot is tender.

4. Combine sausage, carrot mixture, quinoa, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper; stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Stuff about 1 cup quinoa mixture in each squash, and top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese. Arrange stuffed squashes in a broiler-safe baking dish, and place tops in dish. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from oven.

5. Preheat broiler to high.

6. Broil squashes 4 minutes or until cheese is golden.

Week 17 and Harvest Celebration this Saturday

In the past week it feels like fall is finally making its presence known. Sunday we awoke at 6am to prepare for the Acton Farmers' Market only to find a surprise frost had nipped many of our crops. Forecasts had shown a low of 41, which seemed safe, but at 2:30am the National Weather Service issued a frost warning for low lying areas. Our favorite quote from the warning was "The frost should not be widespread enough to warrant any headlines!" It was widespread enough to finish off our green beans and most of our eggplant and peppers, but we scavenged what we could Sunday afternoon when we returned from the market. Don't worry - we should have plenty of eggplant and peppers to last us through this week, and on top of that we have a bounty of winter squash and brassicas to look forward to!

Another thing to look forward to is our Harvest Celebration this Saturday, October 3rd from 1pm to 4pm! We'll have the tractors out for everyone to check out and explore, lawn games, a tour of the main vegetable field at 2:30, a craft project in the greenhouse, a sculpture from our "Art and Ag" resident artist Kerri Schmidt, and hot cider to enjoy. If you'd like to volunteer to help with snacks or lawn games, email Lise at lise@barrettsmillfarm.com.

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In the CSA this week:

• Pie pumpkins - These pumpkins are much smaller than jack-o-lanterns, but they are the perfect size for making pie or soup!
• Buttercup squash - This is another tasty squash with edible skin. It has a very creamy texture and sweet flavor.
• Spinach - The heat and drought made growing spinach difficult this season, but we have a nice crop for this week.
• Salanova Lettuce - The hot dry summer was also hard on this cut lettucemix, but we planted a lot of it, so hopefully there will be even more to enjoy throughout the fall
• Mustard greens - we haven't had these in the CSA since the start of the season, but we decided to do a large fall planting so we could offer these spicy greens to members once more.
• Peter Wilcox potatoes - These purple skinned, gold fleshed potatoes have excellent flavor and store well. They also surprisingly have high levels of vitamin C!
• Nicola potatoes
• Hubba Hubba squash
• Colored Peppers
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Scallions
• Carrots
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Kale
• Chard
• Lettuce

CSA PYO:

All PYO crops were damaged by the frost, but many of them still managed to survive. Green Beans are done, but we still have:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Husk Cherries - careful picking is required, as many fruit got damaged. If you're willing to spend a little extra time, though, you should be able to find good ones.
• Hot peppers - the plants are mostly dead, but at least on Monday many of the peppers seemed salvageable.
• Tomatillos - a small amount are left.
• Parsley and sage

In the store:

In addition to the crops listed above, we'll have Delicata squash, arugula, tat soi, escarole, leeks and jack-o-lanterns from Kenney Farm in Concord!

Mrs. Sigg's Fresh Pumpkin Pie

by Beth Sigworth from allrecipes.com

• 1 sugar pumpkin
• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

1. Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet lined with lightly oiled aluminum foil. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Cool until just warm. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from the peel. Either mash, or puree in small batches in a blender. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C.)
2. In a large bowl, slightly beat eggs. Add brown sugar, flour, salt, 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and evaporated milk. Stir well after each addition.
3. Pour mixture into the unbaked pastry shell. Place a strip of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust to prevent over browning.
4. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove the strip of foil about 20 minutes before the pie is done so that the edge of the crust will be a light golden brown. Cool pie, and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

Week 16

Much of our time these days is spent harvesting for the CSA and farm store - there is lots of digging involved in getting all those potatoes out of the ground!  In addition, baby greens like tatsoi and arugula are back on the harvest list now the the days are cooler.  Having lots to harvest is a great "problem" because it means the crops are doing well and there are people who are enjoying eating it!  We are also preparing for next year by seeding rye cover crop in any cleared areas and separating out garlic heads for seed to be planted next month.

In addition to doing what needs to be done in the fields to ensure another great harvest next season (thanks for keeping the strawberry beds tidy Rachel!) last week we also worked in the office to get paperwork for 2016 sign-ups completed.  Over the next couple of months Lise and I create our field maps, crop plan, and seed order so it's important for us to also start planning who will be eating all those vegetables! This week we will have a renewal letter and sign-up form for each current CSA member when you come to the farm.  Sign-up forms for new members are now available online and print copies will be available at the farm store. We are expanding the number of acres in crops and CSA size next year so we will have room for both returning members and new memberships.  We hope you will join us!

In the CSA this week:

Hubba Hubba squash (front and right)

• Hubba hubba squash (Red kuri) - This bright orange mini hubbard is a great winter squash variety that friends in Washington state recommended. We often make it by just slicing it into thin wedges and baking for an easy side dish.
• Scallions- This favorite allium is back for a couple of weeks this fall.
• Tatsoi- A tasty mild green that can be eaten raw in salads or lightly cooked.
• Arugula
• Garlic
• Delicata squash
• Nicola potatoes
• Savoy and Tendersweet cabbage
• Carrots
• Beets
• Leeks
• Colored peppers
• Eggplant
• Swiss chard
• Kale
• Collards
• Lettuce- While we still have some summer crisp lettuce more varieties are now ready for the fall including red leaf, romaine and panisse.

CSA PYO:

• Green beans
• Sunflowers
• Cherry tomatoes
• Husk cherries
• Tomatillos
• Hot Peppers

In the store:

In addition to the crops listed above, we should have Baby bok choi, Salanova, and red and green tomatoes.

Braised Red Kuri Squash by Rachel Ray from her article: Organic Red Kuri Squash: You Can Even Eat the Skin!

For a richer flavor, cook the squash in vegetable or chicken stock. Once the squash is cooked, you can leave it in chunks, or mash it with a potato masher. To give this dish an Indian flair, add a little ground cinnamon and curry powder in Step 2, when you add the garlic.

Ingredients:

• 1 red kuri squash, any size
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Water
• Salt

Instructions:

1. Scrub the squash well to remove any dirt. Slice the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the halves into 1-inch slices, and then cut the slices into chunks that are roughly 2 inches in size.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil, followed by the squash, and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic, then add ¼ inch of water to the skillet and bring it to a boil.

3. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the squash is fork tender, about 10 minutes. Taste and season with salt.

Week 15

We've had a very exciting series of events over the past few days on the farm! Thursday we got some much needed rain, and we weren't at all upset to be cold and wet. Friday our fall-planted strawberry plugs arrived from Illinois. Saturday was the Annual Ag Day Farmers' Market in Concord Center (thank you to everyone who stopped by the stand!). Sunday we hosted a tour and talk as part of the Farm and Garden Fair. And today we had our last major planting push as we transplanted our strawberry plugs and second-to-last lettuce planting.

Of all the events this last week, the rain was probably the most exciting for us as farmers (and that's saying something, because Ag Day is so much fun!). It had been over a month since we'd had any precipitation on the farm, aside from a light misting a few weeks ago. We took the opportunity to seed about an acre and a half of cover crop in peas and oats. It was enough rain that the soil was still damp Monday, allowing us to transplant lettuce in an area that is not currently covered by irrigation.

Though the rain did a lot to revive many struggling crops, we are still going to be seeing the effects of this hot dry summer for weeks to come. Lettuce has been very slow to mature - each succession is about a week behind where it was last year. In spite of irrigation every 3 or 4 days, our spinach plantings don't look very promising. Rutabagas and turnips that were seeded (and reseeded) in July and August had poor germination rates. Every year there is something different about the weather conditions, and that means every year different crops will thrive. Fortunately, there's a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. The fall brassicas (cabbage, kale, collards, cauliflower, Brussells sprouts) are looking very healthy. The winter squash harvest was excellent and is now curing in the barn. Potatoes are back this week, and after 6 weeks of drying in the farm stand, garlic is ready!

Lauren, Rachel and Lise planting some of next year's strawberries.

In the CSA this week:

• Garlic
  
• Delicata squash - these do not need much preparation, as the skins are edible. Our favorite way to eat these are to slice in half length-wise, scoop out the seeds, cut into about 1/4 inch thick half moon slices, and roast on a baking sheet with olive oil for about 25 minutes.
  
• Nicola potatoes - this is a gold skinned, gold fleshed variety.
  
• Savoy cabbage
  
• Carrots
  
• Beets
  
• Leeks
  
• Tomatoes - production has slowed significantly, but we'll still have a few this week
  
• Colored peppers
  
• Eggplant
  
• Swiss chard
  
• Kale
  
• Collards
  
• Tendersweet cabbage
  
• Lettuce
  
• Red Russian kale or arugula
  
• Acorn squash or spaghetti squash
  

CSA PYO:

• Green beans - a new planting
  
• Sunflowers - two different plantings are blooming at once
  
• Cherry tomatoes - Jasper, grape and Matt's Wild are plentiful
  
• Husk cherries
  
• Tomatillos
  
• Hot Peppers
  

In the store:

In addition to the crops listed above, we should have Baby bok choi, mustard greens, Happy Rich broccolini, and a small amount of spinach.

Mixed Beans with Peanuts, Ginger, and Lime

by Yotam Ottolenghi, from Bon Appetit, August 2015

• 2 pounds mixed snap beans (such as green, wax, haricots verts, and/or Romano), trimmed
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ½ large shallot, finely chopped
• 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled, finely grated
• 1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer layers removed, finely grated on a Microplane
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ⅓ cup salted, roasted peanuts
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ⅓ cup (packed) cilantro leaves with tender stems, plus more for serving
  

Preparation

Working in batches by type, cook beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 1–4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice water; let cool. Drain and pat dry.


Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a small skillet over medium and cook shallot, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes. Add ginger, lemongrass, garlic, and coriander and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. 


Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium-high. Cook peanuts, tossing often, until golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels; let cool, then coarsely chop. Set aside 1 Tbsp. peanuts for serving.


Whisk kaffir lime leaves, lime zest, lime juice, sugar, ½ tsp. salt, and remaining 3 Tbsp. oil into shallot mixture. Add beans, remaining peanuts, and ⅓ cup cilantro and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with more cilantro and reserved peanuts.