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Dear Common Thread CSA Members,
Please join us for Common Thread's End of Season Celebration at the farm on Sunday, October 11. We'll have a farm tour at 4 pm and a pumpkin carving at 5 pm (pumpkins provided) followed by a potluck. It's helpful to bring a card with the name of your dish and the ingredients. We would like to allow time to share favorite memories from the season so please keep that in mind and feel free to pass one along for us to share in your absence if you can't make it. We will meet at the parking lot for the farm tour and at the barn for the pumpkin carving and potluck. An RSVP is helpful but not necessary.
We are all lucky that we are having such a warm fall - we expect to have a killing frost by now but we haven't had one and we're still picking zucchini, and the flowers in the field still look great. One of these days it will frost though so make sure to get a last bouquet in if you can.
The warm fall has also let us be more leisurely than usual about picking up the winter squash, which can be damaged by frost. We are picking it up now though - we've been handing out spaghetti squash and this week we've picked up acorn, Delicata, Sunshine (a wonderful orange kubocha), Jester (sort of a cross between an acorn and a Delicata, very tasty and sweet), Winter Sweet (a gray kubocha), and Butterkin (new to us - a small version of long island cheese which is a dense tan pumpkin with great baking and eating qualities). Next we will get the pie pumpkins, the decorative pumpkins (see picture above with our daughter Astrid), and several varieties of butternut. We've also started bringing in the potatoes - the other picture above is Asher with a very nice bed of Red Maria potatoes.
We have a great beet crop this year! Here are some ideas collected from the distribution room for beets:
Roasted with garlicy olive oil
Harvard Beets
Roasted and Sliced with Gorganzola on a Triscuit
Slice, steam and toss with oil and vinegar as a delicious cold side dish.
Leeks are great in Potato-Leek soup and so much more! They can be used instead of onions in many cases. They are especially great roasted in rings and as an ingredient in roasted root dishes.
Spearmint is considered to be a bit milder than peppermint and in addition to tea, is a lovely addition to several dishes including tabouli, rice salad, cucumber salad and is worth a try in all kinds of vegetable dishes including this beet dish from www.thekitchn.com:
Roasted Beets with Cumin, Lime, and Mint
Beets
8 medium beets (2 pounds without greens)
Olive oil
Dressing1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 3/4 tablespoon honey 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Kosher salt 1/4 cup mint leaves, sliced
Preheat oven to 425°F. Clean the beets and trim off any tops. Rub the beets with a little olive oil and wrap them in aluminum foil. (If roasting various colors of beets, separate them into different foil packets.) Place in the oven and roast until they can be easily pierced with a fork, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Set aside to cool, then remove skins using your fingers or a towel. Slice beets into rounds. Whisk cumin, lime juice, honey, extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the beets and gently toss to coat. (If serving various colors of beets, toss them separately to prevent staining.) To serve, arrange beets on a plate and garnish with the mint leaves and a dusting of salt.
We are trying out a Red Kale this fall. It's similar to green curly kale, but it's a beautiful reddish green and has smaller leaves. It can be prepared just like curly kale: kale chips, kale salad, soups, omelettes, smoothies, sauteed with garlic.
Here is a soup recipe from marthastewart.com:
Acorn Squash Soup with Kale
INGREDIENTS
- 4 strips bacon, 4 ounces, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 pound kale, thick stems removed, leaves finely chopped (about 8 cups)
- 4 cups Acorn Squash Puree, or other cooked, pureed winter squash
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
DIRECTIONS -
Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate; set aside.
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Add onion to fat in pan, and cook until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add kale; cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes.
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Add squash puree and 3 cups water (or more if necessary to achieve desired consistency); bring just to a boil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve, garnished with reserved bacon.
Yours in the field,
Wendy and Asher
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