Fall Pleasures
This newsletter consists mostly of photos for a simple reason. I could not bear to stay indoors this week. This spell of dry, sunny weather is our reward after a wet summer.
We spent Monday afternoon harvesting white and purple daikon to store for winter sales. The top photo is not adjusted; the leaves really are the brightest shade of green. We always harvest daikon by hand. It’s too fragile for machine harvest.
There are a few warm nooks to work. The barn loft is a favorite, sheltered place on a sunny day. Sister and brother Sena and Michio prep onions in the loft. The flying ribbons deter birds when the doors are open.
Our small ginger greenhouse is the warmest place we’ve got. You might need a winter coat outside but it’s t-shirt weather inside when the sun shines. Kristen digs and trims ginger that has grown all summer in this small greenhouse.
Kristen holds up an unusually robust ginger ‘hand.’ She and Charlotte did the digging.
My job was to trim the hands into small pieces to share among the CSA boxes.
The nearby city of Evansville delivers their leaves to our farm each fall. Delivery began this week, with the fresh leaves in the foreground, and last year’s leaves in the darker pile behind. We let the leaves rot for six to twelve months, then add them to our soil to build organic matter. It’s a wonderful resource. The smell is incredible as the town crew heaps up the leaf piles. It’s a fruity smell similar to curing tobacco. You can smell it all over the farm. It’s a special part of fall for us.
The moon has been brilliant all week. Strong winds on Saturday ripped a large row cover laid over fennel. Steve and I couldn’t get the cover back in place until about 11 pm, after the winds died. By then, we’d been to dinner at friends’ house and drunk a bottle of wine together. Honestly, we were not excited to go back to work at that time of night. But we got out there and the moon was shining and the row cover rippling in the light. It was a lovely moment. The photo above is from daytime but you get the idea. Beth
Veggie List and Veggie Notes
Week #23, October 25/26, 2018
– weekly shares
– green EOW
Green EOW members, this is your final delivery of the regular CSA season.
Thank you for joining our farm this season!
Butternut squash, 1 small
Acorn squash OR a 2nd butternut
Satina potatoes, 3.5 lb
Brussels sprouts, 1/2 lb
Bok choy
Carrots, 2 lb
Bell peppers, green &/or red, 3 – 4
Yellow onions, ~2
Cilantro, 1 bunch
Jalapeno chile, 1
Garlic, 1 small
Fresh baby ginger, 1 knob
By site …
1 small cauliflower or 1 small Romanesco or 1 broccoli
Next week’s box will probably contain sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, celeriac, onions, Beauty Heart radish and more.
‘Metro’ butternut – This is my favorite butternut. It is productive and tasty every year. These are small; average size <1.5 lb.
Acorn squash – You’ll receive Jester, Carnival, or Festival acorn or a second Metro butternut.
Satina potatoes – These are from Igl Farms.
Brussels sprouts – If you are a new CSA member, please approach Brussels sprouts with an open mind. Many of us grew up eating awful, overcooked Brussels sprouts. These Brussels sprouts are completely different. It’s only a small amount of sprouts this week. Cook and combine with other ingredients from the box to bulk up the sprouts to make a salad with one of the dressings listed below. Brussels sprouts are great with thinly sliced peppers and onions.
Here is our method to cook Brussels sprouts: Wash the sprouts and trim the cut ends. Cut an X in the stem end of large sprouts. Cut a single slit in small or medium sprouts. This does two things. It helps the Brussels sprouts cook evenly, plus it allows them to soak up any marinade or dressing. Place sprouts in a pot with one inch of water in the bottom and steam until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. If the sprouts are uneven in size, then set aside the smallest ones and add to the pot after the larger ones have cooked for a few minutes. Don’t overcook them! You can also oven-roast Brussels sprouts.
Here are a few dressing ideas for cooked sprouts:
– Sherry vinegar/olive oil/Dijon mustard/garlic/white wine/salt and pepper. This is our favorite, especially when you combine the Brussels sprouts with slivered peppers and thinly sliced onions. Delicious warm, cold, or at room temperature.
– Balsamic vinegar/olive oil/garlic/salt and pepper
– Lemon juice and zest/melted brown butter/poppy seeds/white wine/garlic/salt
Bok choy – We are sending the bok choy with cilantro, jalapeño, garlic and fresh ginger, a perfect combination for soup.
Bell peppers – Eat soon! These will not store for long.
Garlic – These small heads are from our friends Hans and Katie of PrairiErth Farm.
Baby ginger – This is baby ginger, bright white and pink because it hasn’t grown a brown epidermis yet. The ginger in stores grows for a long season in warm places like Hawaii. Baby ginger is special because it has the full ginger flavor and spiciness but almost no fibers. That’s why it’s used to make the pickled ginger served with sushi. I asked the crew to wash it lightly to avoid bruising. Expect to do a final wash before using it.
Storage: Eat soon; baby ginger is perishable. Wrap in a damp cloth or paper towel, and keep in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. You can also freeze your ginger, then grate as much as you need from the frozen knob.
RECIPES
Visit our 2018 Recipe Log or our 2017 Recipe Log or join our Facebook discussion group.
LOCAL THYME/ Comforting Classics
Umami Cod on Braised Bok Choy
Ginger Curried Carrot Soup
The Fluffiest Mashed Potatoes
Braised Brussels Sprouts and Carrots
LOCAL THYME/ Outside the Box Recipes
Ponzu Chicken and Bok Choy Salad
Sheet Pan Chicken and Fall Vegetable Roast
Southwestern Potato Salad with Pickled Onions
Creamy Sausage, Brussels Sprouts, Carrots and Potatoes
LOCAL THYME/ Quick & Easy Meal
Baked Potato Bar