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Dear Common Thread Members and Friends,
 | | Colgate Students digging hoophouse bed |
It's late October and we are in our second to last week of distribution! Until two days ago it has been an incredibly warm and beautiful fall - only one light frost and just a few well timed rains. These last couple of days, the temperature has started to drop and we'll get consistent frosts and colder days, so we've been busy covering crops and bringing in storage crops ahead of colder weather.
We are happy to be hosting student interns from Colgate who are volunteering on the farm as part of a course on food. It has been fun to get to know them and talk about food and farming with them, and we are very grateful for the extra help on the farm. They've been picking up potatoes, harvesting, planting garlic, cleaning onions and more.
We had a great Season Celebration Potluck with a tour and pumpkin carving beforehand in early October. The kids made some very nice jack-o-lanterns, we ate delicious food and had good conversation. We're looking forward to holding this again in future years!
 | | Decorating Pumpkins! |
We are excited to be offering a winter share this year! We just have a couple shares left and the first distribution day will be November 12. We'll also be at the Poolville Winter Market once a month, on the second Saturday of the month, as long as our extra veggies last - quite certainly at least for November and December.
We are also in the process of putting together our share form for the 2014 season, so we'll send that out soon.
We're racing to get everything done ahead of the cold weather and we're looking forward to the quiet, calmer time of winter and to planning for next year.
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CSA Newsletter, Week #21
Greens, roots, squash, potatoes, it must be fall! I made a delicious stir fry tonight with leeks, daikon, carrots, broccoli and bok choi sauteed with garlic, ging
 | | On-farm Distribution |
er, tamari, honey, vinegar, and a little corn starch to thicken the sauce. Delicious with rice and tofu. I also made pumpkin pudding - basically just pumpkin pie without the crust, which is very quick to make, except for the cooking time.
We have several winter squash and pumpkin varieties this year, some of which have already been distributed, but it occurs to me I never gave a rundown of the different types, so here it is:
Acorn: Tasty early squash. Dark green with ribs tapering to a point at the bottom. Delicious baked with butter and sweetener.
Buttercup: One of my favorites. Sweet, meaty, orange flesh, great for baking and eating as is.
Butternut: This light tan, peanut shaped squash is many people's favorite. They are the best squash for storage and are high in vitamin A. Great for baking, soups, and more.
Delicata: These small squash are yellow with green stripes. The skin is thin and can be eaten along with the squash. A good delicata is amongst the sweetest of squash.
Jester: This yellow squash with green stripes is shaped like an acorn but has a similar taste to Delicata.
Long Island Cheese: This big, dense pumpkin looks like a big wheel of cheese. It has been identified as one of the oldest varieties cultivated in America and was once the preferred pumpkin for pies in New York and New Jersey. It has bright orange meat that is quite sweet and less fibrous than most pumpkins.
Decorative Pumpkins: These are not recommended for eating but highly recommended for fall decorations and carving.
Neck Pumpkins: These improbable fruit are related to butternut squash and look like butternuts that grew out of control. They can be quite large and are great for baking. When I cook one up, I usually make pie, pumpkin bread, and maybe something else and then puree the rest and put it in pint containers in the freezer to pull out in the late winter and spring to bake with and add to pancakes and waffles.
Pie Pumpkins: These are the classic pumpkins that people make pie out of in New England and they are tasty. We had a mix-up in the field and planted less than we planned so hopefully we'll have a greater number of these next year.
Spaghetti: Often used as a pasta substitute, these are early squash that we have already handed out this year.
Sunshine: Delicious sweet, meaty squash. Similar to Buttercup but with bright orange skin.
Soy and Honey-glazed Winter Squash
Adapted from The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet by Nava Atlas
2 ½ to 3 lbs small winter squash (jester, acorn, delicata or other)
2 Tbsp honey
¼ cup apple juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
1 tsp dark sesame oil
The squashes may be baked in the oven or microwave. If you're using the oven, preheat it to 375 degrees. Cut the squashes in half lengthwise. Place the halves cut side up in a baking dish with about ½ inch of water and cover each half tightly with foil. Bake until easily pierced with a knife, but still firm, about 30-45 minutes, depending on the type and size of squash used. If you are using a microwave, cook using about 4 to 7 minutes each as a rule of thumb per small squash or 10 minutes for a butternut. Test occasionally to make sure they don't overcook. When the squashes are cool enough to handle, scoop out and discard the seeds. Peel the squashes and cut into 1-inch chunks. Combine the remaining ingredients in an extra-wide skillet or stir-fry pan and heat gently, stirring together. Add the squash and turn up the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring, until the liquid reduces and the squash is nicely glazed, about 8 to 10 minutes. Serve at once.
Coconut Squash Soup
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 cup chopped carrots, corn, beans, and peas...
a half a chicken, skinned (leave out for vegetarian dish)
10 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth for vegetarian dish)
1 ½ cups cooked squash, (Hubbard, acorn, pumpkin...)
½ cup coconut milk
¼ cup red quinoa
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
 | | Spinach |
1 Tbsp whole flaxseed
Salt and pepper (bouillon if desired)
Fresh herbs (parsley or cilantro) to taste
In an open pressure cooker brown the chicken, onions and garlic. Add broth, squash, chopped veggies, coconut milk, quinoa, flaxseed, vinegar and salt and pepper. Top the pressure cooker and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and leave the lid on. Allow to sit for approximately 2 hours. Remove pressure cooker lid and check chicken for doneness. Reheat on slow heat if necessary. Lightly season with fresh herbs. Serve with peasant bread. This meal can be prepared in a slow cook crock-pot if desired. Simply brown the chicken, onions and garlic in a separate pan then transfer to the crock-pot with other ingredients.
Serves four
We have a lot of green tomatoes available right now as we disassemble the last of the tomato plants to make room for winter share plantings under the hoophouse and caterpillar tunnels. They are great for fried green tomatoes and green tomato chutney. Recently, I've heard that they are often used in Asian cooking, in stir fried vegetables. These recipes also look quite good:
Green Tomato and Leek Frittata
Adapted from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook
Olive oil for the pan
3 large leeks, trimmed of the green part, washed, and thinly sliced
3 medium green tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper
4 large eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
2 large egg whites
Heat your oil in a large, ovenproof sauté pan over a medium flame. Add the leeks and cook until they're soft and golden, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and half of the pepper. Cook until the tomatoes are tender, about 3 minutes more. Set aside for a moment to cool.
At this point, preheat your broiler. Beat the 4 large eggs lightly with a fork in a large bowl, then add the leek and tomato mixture to the eggs. Add the rest of the salt and pepper, the cheese and the basil. Stir gently to combine the ingredients.
In another bowl, whip the egg white until stiff but not dry and then fold the white, a 1/4 at a time, into the vegetable mixture.
Return the sauté pan to medium heat and add in a bit more oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is warm, pour in the egg mixture, reduce the heat to low, cover, and let cook for about 6 minutes. The frittata should start to thicken, but still be a bit runny in the center.
Uncover the frittata and transfer the pan to the broiler. Depending on the heat of your broiler, broil for anywhere from 2-4 minutes, until the frittata is set but not overly browned. Remove from the broiler, cut into slices and serve either hot or at room temperature.
Pickled Green Tomatoes (makes four pints)
- 2-4 pounds of green tomatoes
- 2 C white vinegar
- 2 C water
- 1 T sugar
- 4 t salt
- 3 t dill seeds
- 3 t peppercorns
- 4 garlic cloves
- 8 bay leaves
Sterilize the pint jars and lids in a large pot of boiling water for a few minutes. Meanwhile, wash the tomatoes and slice them in half (or quarters if they are large). Bring the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar to a boil until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
Divide the peppercorns, garlic cloves, dill seeds, and bay leaves between the four jars.
Fill the jars with the sliced green tomatoes and set them on a cloth.
Carefully pour the brine over the top of the tomatoes, leaving a bit of head space at the top.
Wipe the edges with a damp cloth and put on the lids-don't overscrew the lids on, just twist them enough that it feels firm. Place the closed jars back into the boiling water (not directly on the bottom, set them down on something such as canning jar lids to keep the jars from breaking against the hot bottom of the pan) making sure they are covered by at least an inch over the top. Boil them for ten minutes, then allow them to cool on a cloth. The lids should pop when the jars seal-if not, you have to either refrigerate the jar and eat it faster or reprocess.
We hope you enjoy your veggies this week!
Yours in the field, Wendy and Asher
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