Wellspring CSA Shareholder Newsletter Week Eighteen

Abundant Eighteen

Guest written by: Ben, intern

Now is truly the time to celebrate the abundance of the harvest season. I share 18

was reminded of that last weekend as we were setting up our table at the Farmer's Market in Wauwatosa, and found ourselves out of room for all of the various greens, root crops, winter squash, tomatoes, and the numerous other veggies that packed our truck (and this despite bringing an extra table). Also, this coming weekend will see Wellspring's annual Harvest Fest - I invite you all to come and celebrate with us! It's a great thing to be amongst a community who values good, organic food and farming practices that, in scale and practice, treat the land with respect. It should also remind us that, as the writer and activist (and friend of Mary Ann, the founder of Wellspring), Vandana Shiva has said, "Around food we could build the biggest social movement of our times". Let the abundance motivate you!

With one month left in my internship here, I am seeing a gradual undoing of the infrastructure I helped to put up in the chilly spring months of April and May, and the harvesting of the last of various crops who we have watched grow for months. It's a special time.

As for the food in your CSA box: I am, as I hope you are, very excited about the bounty of the winter squash this land is giving. Because of the early and occasional frosts, my fellow intern and I harvested most of it in one afternoon a few weeks ago, so I feel especially connected and grateful when I eat it. Not to mention, what feels more like harvest season than sitting down with a bowl of warm squash soup? Below, I'm including another recent favorite squash recipe of mine, which I think is perfect for this transition into fall foods.

What's In The Box And Where Does It Go?

Crop Fridge Notes/Variety

Winter Squash No Acorn and Delicata or Sweet Dumpling

Onions No Red and Yellows

Garlic No Chesnock Red

Beets Yes Red or Chioggia

Pepper Yes Colored Bells or Carmen Sweet

Hot Pepper No Serrano/Poblano

Arugula Yes

Broccoli Yes See Note

Dill Yes

Radishes Yes French Breakfast or Cherriette

Shell Beans Yes See Note

Purple Cabbage Yes See Note

A note on Shell Beans from Farmer Alissa: I had never grown Shelling Beans (or "shellies" as I understand they are called in some parts of the country) until last season when I was farming in Western Wisconsin. The family I was working for were great fans of these, and I believe they are somewhat of a delicacy. The basic premise is that shell beans are the stage in-between the green bean (or string, wax, pole bean) that we eat fresh and the dried bean (like black or kidney) that we cook for hours or get from a can. The edible part is the bean itself and not the pod (like dry beans) but they are only cooked for a short period of time, not simmered for hours. Here are some links I found on the subject, some w/ recipes:

http://localfoods.about.com/od/shellingbeans/tp/aboutshellingbeans.htm

http://www.whistlingtrainfarm.com/4.shellbeans.html

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-shelling-beans-s,0,1547852.story

http://www.fieldsofplenty.com/recipes/shell_bean_gratin.php

So, if you haven't guessed by now you do have to shell them. However, if you have kids, I have found that youngsters are actually quite good at shelling these things. If not, they will stick around in the fridge until the weekend when you might have 20 minutes more to spare!

A note on Broccoli from Farmer Alissa: We had to hold some of this in the fridge for about a week to get enough for everyone to have a head in their box. As some of you know who have been to the farm, we have some areas of the field that are very close to the edge of the woods and the crops in these fields are subject to munching by various creatures. So, although I planted enough broccoli to feed a small army, the losses sustained by the critters continues to cut into our yields. At any rate, it's fine and looks beautiful, but you might want to eat it sooner rather than later.

A note on Cabbage from Farmer Alissa: Well, it's official, I am never growing this variety of purple cabbage again - it is all sooooo small! I mean, I knew it was supposed to be "smaller" but this is sort of ridiculous. We will have some larger green ones at some point in these last couple of weeks.

Recipes

Squash and Vegetable Fritatta

Ingredients:

Sage, handful
Delicata or Acorn squash, 2 total
Sweet pepper, 1
Onion, 1
Garlic, 4 cloves
Chard, 1 cup
Eggs, 16
Cheese, topping

Directions:

1. Sauté garlic, onion, chard, and sweet pepper.

2. Combine with eggs in bowl.

3. Pour into baking dish and bake for 30 minutes on 350

degrees F, sprinkling the cheese and sage over the top in the last 10 minutes.

Mashed Potato Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

4 large peppers
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons hot pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup leeks, chopped finely
2 cups mashed potatoes
2 cups tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Cut off the tops of the peppers, just below the stem.

Remove seeds and spines.

2. Gently parboil peppers for about 5 minutes, remove & drain

upside down.

3. Sauté onions, leeks, and hot pepper, then add to mashed

potatoes with salt and pepper.

4. Stuff the peppers with the mixture and put them in a baking

dish.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, covered, at 350 degrees F.

Colorful Fall Braised Greens

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
4 carrots, sliced
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
½ pound braising mix
½ cup cooking wine
1 ear fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off
2 tomatoes, diced

Directions:

Heat butter in frying pan on medium heat.
Add carrots and onion.
Add braising mix, corn, and cooking wine. Cook until greens wilt.
Remove from heat. Add tomatoes and toss.

Thanksgiving Shares Still Available! 39 remaining, $85 each...

We are now selling shares for the Thanksgiving Day box - sort of the

This is a small portion of the 2010 share

Wellspring version of a Winter Share Delivery. It will include a variety of fall veggies, amounting to many pounds of food, such as winter squash, perhaps a pie pumpkin, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, shallots, rutabaga, celeriac, parsnips, brussels sprouts, turnips and frost-sweetened kale. There will also be some traditional Thanksgiving additions that we don't grow here on the farm, like Wisconsin cranberries and River Edge maple syrup. If not used for Thanksgiving, many of the veggies will continue to keep for you in the fridge into December!

The shares will be delivered to the Outpost on East Capital in Milwaukee, or can be picked up here at the farm on Thursday November 17th. (The week BEFORE Thanksgiving.)

You can purchase one on our website (wellspringinc.org) or by calling 262-675-6755 or by clicking on this link to PayPal.

Thanks!

Click here to pay securely on-line.

FREE Festival THIS Weekend!

Come enjoy fall harvest weather!

Choose from gluten-free pizza, organic brats certified pizza, nitrate free brats, brat patties, and hot dogs (meet the farmers producing these products), summer sausage and beef sticks from grass-fed cows, soups, quiche and MORE!

Vendors include books, Wellspring produce, soaps, pork & chicken, fair trade products, toys, "sustainable" aprons and MORE!

Music all day by Sound Harvest/Heath Johnson, Patrick Russell & Darrell Smith, Embedded Reporter & The Pardee Boys

Workshops include "Eating Edible Wild Plants" with former intern Heath Johnson; "Fermentation 101" with Farmer Alissa; and "Gluten-Free is Easy to Be" with KC Thorson from KC's Kafe'

scarecrow

Scarecrow Costume Contest and Parade

Tomato Tasting - Bring Your Homegrowns

For more information call 262-675-6755

Sensational Celeriac Cooking Class

To be held at Wellspring, Wednesday October 19th from 6 to 8 pm.

Don't even know what celeriac is??? It's like celery without the strings and it is coming to a CSA box near YOU very soon! In fact, it will be in the box on October 19th - perfect timing to come out to Wellspring and see what all the fuss is about!

Come join us as KC Thorson of KC's Kafe shows us how tasty celeriac can be. $20 will give you an evening of good company, great recipes, and a glass of wine (or two), $25 day of event.

Visit our education page for complete class series info.

Recipes to include: