Week #19; Who grows your food? Part 1.

Photo captions:
– The first photo shows most new employees who joined us in spring. They bonded quickly and became great friends!  From left, Katie, Aly, Mary Anne, Lizzy and Ida.
– Steve and Simone look over an amazing pepper harvest.
– We all enjoyed the day that John (right) decided to impersonate Ben (left).  John shaved his head, trimmed his beard a bit and wore a blue shirt with cutoff sleeves.  What a hoot.  It’s a fairly easy impersonation because Ben wears the same outfit every day.  He has a closet full of those shirts.
– This is a close-up of Charlotte’s favorite vegetable Romanesco cauliflower.  That’s her in the background, in the orange rain pants.
– Mary Ann and Maggie both love tiny vegetables.  Honestly, Maggie is obsessed.  Here, they admire their gleaned tiny onions.  We walked through the harvested onion field and the little ones were irresistible.
– Their tiny onions.
– Bekah harvests basil from a beautiful planting.
– Maggie and daughter Ida who joined the farm crew this season.

I am overdue to introduce you to our hard-working farm crew.

We are joined in our farming endeavor by many employees.  Some have worked for us for many years.  Others joined the farm this season.  We rely on each of them.  

Do you have a favorite vegetable?  So do we.  Think about our hardworking field crew when you enjoy one of their favorites.   Here are our workers, the year they started working for us, and their favorite fruit or vegetable.

Ava Ahnen (2022) .
Bailey Boudreau (2023) .
Raul Casique Montes (2017)   “Hot peppers because I like adding them to everything I cook.” Raul runs his own vegetable farm and makes amazing hot sauce from home grown chilis.
Katie Eastman (2023)  “Peppers, because they are fresh, crisp and sweet.  I eat them like an apple and have always done that.”
Mary Ann Eastman (2023) .
Aly Fry (2023) .
Charlotte Hammond (2016 – 2018, returned in 2021)  “Romanesco cauliflower because it looks crazy and is delicious.  I actually planted some in my home garden just in case.  Some years we don’t get much here at the farm and I need it.  Sometimes I look up Romanesco photos online just to stare at it.”
Pete Hartman (2023)  Pizza.
Ken Kelly (worked for us many years, then returned in 2021) “That depends on the time of year.  Watermelons for sure.  During watermelon season, I’ll do a melon fast for a few days.  Keeps you hydrated!  
Me:  “Do you eat the seeds?”
Ken:  “Absolutely!”
Vern Mahlkuch (2014, 2020 – 2023) .
Lizzy Neuenschwander (2023) .
Karen Nicholson (2013) Winter squash, because they signify the change of seasons.  She appreciates the switch to cooking fall comfort foods that comes with winter squash.  Most of all, she loves the ethereal light during fall squash harvests.  By that time of year, we are racing the light during harvest but she loves the elongated shadows and finds the gold and silver colors poignant.
Simone O’Donahue (1999) Simone loves peppers.  She appreciates the variety of colors.  A favorite job is re-potting the young plants in the warm, sunny greenhouse.  She appreciates times when peppers are prolific, and has an affinity for this crop that grows well in hot summer weather.  Disclaimer; Simone runs our pepper harvest crop.  It’s a natural match.  She also loves poblano chiles for their acoustics.  They make the best rattling sound when you shake the plant or when you drop them in the basket.
Ida Schley (2023) . I forgot to ask Ida before she left for school but I can tell you she looked very happy during watermelon harvests!
Maggie Schley (1999?)  Maggie loves carrots and watermelons best.  Tipi carrots are a big part of Maggie’s life.  They were pictured on her wedding invitation.  She has lots of carrot jewelry.  Everyone on the farm saves ‘lover carrots’ for Maggie; carrots that have grown together in a spiral.  Maggie is always on the carrot harvest crew.  Melon harvests are special because they give a chance to spend time with Steve, plus a chance to throw around a lot of weight.
Bekah Severson (2022)  “My favorite vegetables are peppers because they’re fun to harvest and delicious any way you eat them!”
Ben Thomas (2019)  “My favorite is poblano chiles for fabulous flavor.  Tomatoes too because you can do anything with them.”  I know that Ben loves winter squash because he enthusiastically takes home all the specially-chosen squash that I offer him, even as everyone else has started to back away. “But these are special ones!” does not sway anyone but Ben.
Carrot Weinstein (2022)  “My favorite vegetable is the red cabbage.  SO much fun to harvest, great color, lasts forever, so good fresh in a salad, pickled and fermented, roasted and charred.  I love cabbage right now :)”
John Zydowicz (2019)  .  John loves peppers because they are crunchy and delicious, and appreciates that they come in so many diverse varieties.  He likes chilis with heat and grows many types in his home garden.  “It’s fun to start them in early spring and have something growing indoors.”

Steve Pincus (1975)  Onions and carrots.
Beth Kazmar (1999)  Asparagus.  Ask me in August and I’ll say red peppers.  But winter squash is my fall favorite.  I eat it for breakfast every day this time of year.
Sophie (since birth, no longer farming with us)  “Sweet potatoes and strawberries because they taste so good.”
Ari (since birth)  Cucumbers.  “You can do lots of things with them. Eat them raw or make pickles or turn them into cucumber salad.”

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
Week #19, Sept 21/22, 2023

– Weekly shares
– BiWeekly/ purple
– Sampler/ C group

Green beans, ~1 lb
Acorn squash, 2, ‘Jester’ or ‘Carnival’ or ‘Heart of Gold’ 
Koji greens, 1 head
Romaine lettuce
Tomatoes, a small bag
Colorful bell peppers, ~3
Oranos snack peppers, 4 or 5
Poblano chiles, 2
Yellow onion
German Extra Hardy garlic
Basil

Next week’s box will probably contain cabbage, broccoli &/or cauliflower, green beans, peppers, winter squash and more.

Acorn squash – If you haven’t yet, please read my Winter Squash Primer in last week’s newsletter. 
Storage:  This week’s acorn squash is best eaten within two weeks.  They are excellent right now, but do not store long.  And I will send more squash next week!

Koji greens (head of dark green leaves) – Refrigerate.
 Koji greens are a lot like tatsoi if you know that one; dark green with a nice balance of bitter flavor but not too strong.  I prefer Koji to tatsoi because it has larger, lusher leaves and not so many leaf stalks.  Recipes that use mustard greens or bok choy will work with Koji.  In a contest for my favorite fall green, Koji runs neck and neck with bok choy.

Tomatoes – Eat soon or refrigerate.  It is fall.  The tomatoes still taste amazing but will not store long.

Poblano chiles (dark green, triangular, and shiny; MILDLY HOT) –  Poblanos are the creme de la creme of chiles.  They have lots of great flavor in combination with manageable heat.  Roast and add to soup or casseroles.  To reduce heat, remove the seeds and midveins.  

Yellow onions – These are pungent cooking onions.  Store at room temperature.

Everyone gets two squash, either ‘Carnival’ (left), ‘Heart of Gold’ (middle) or ‘Jester’ (right).

Koji greens

Poblano chiles will be dark green, occasionally with red streaking or a red tip.  These are the only hot peppers in this week’s box.  All other peppers are sweet.

RECIPES by DEB

Photo by debslunch

Roasted tomato and squash quiche

This quiche is made with peeled squash but the varieties of winter squash, like acorn and jester, that have ridged shells can be hard to peel when raw. It’s a lot easier to remove the skin after the squash is cooked, so that’s what I’ve done here. And roasting the tomatoes concentrates the juices and makes then even sweeter. I’ve used Provolone cheese and a bit of goat cheese, but feel free to sub in other cheeses to your taste.

Takes: about an hour, but can be done in stages
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:
Crust for a single crust, 9-inch pie, store bought or here’s a recipe
One medium size acorn-type squash
2 slicing tomatoes, cut into wedges, then chunks OR 2-3 plum tomatoes cut into wedges
salt and freshly ground pepper
Approximately 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1-2 tablespoons fresh herbs, basil or parsley suggested
1 cup provolone or other good melting cheese, grated
about an ounce of soft goat cheese, optional
3 eggs
about 1 1/4 cups half and half
extra fresh herbs for garnish, optional

1. Make your crust and chill – this can be done the day before – or even several days before. Roll out the crust – or unfold purchased crust – and fit it into a deep 9-inch pie dish. Set the crust in the fridge while you make the filing.
2. Line one large baking sheet, such as a half sheet pan that’s 18 x13, or two smaller ones, with parchment. Heat the oven to 400°. Arrange the tomatoes on one end of the baking sheet, or on one of your smaller baking sheets. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half of the squash into wedges, and arrange on the other end of a large baking sheet, or separately on a smaller baking sheet. Salt the vegetables, and grind black pepper over. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss – you might not use the full 2 tablespoons. Flip the tomatoes so the cut sides are up. Here’s a pic of the vegetables on a half sheet pan ready for roasting. Place in the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes until the squash is soft and the tomatoes have released their juices. Remove from the oven and cool. This can be done several hours ahead.
3. Melt the butter in a skillet and add the onions. Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are slightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, stir in the thyme or fresh herbs, and remove from the heat. While the onions cook, peel the cooked squash – I find this easiest to do with a spoon, creating rough wedges of cooked squash.
4. Assemble the quiche: Heat the oven to 425°, and put one rack near the bottom and the other about in the middle. Spread 3/4 of the grated cheese on the bottom of the crust, then lay the squash over the cheese, breaking it into chunks with your fingers. Add the onions on top of the squash, then the tomatoes, and finish with the last 1/4 of the grated cheese.
5. Beat the eggs in a 2-cup glass measuring pitcher until they’re well-blended, then add enough half and half to get to the 2 cup mark. Crumble in the goat cheese if using, mix well, and pour the egg mixture over the veggies in the quiche shell.
6. Place the quiche on the bottom rack and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, move the quiche up to the upper rack, and reduce the heat to 375°. Bake until slightly puffed and golden, about 25 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes for easiest slicing. Garnish with the optional fresh herbs and serve.

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Asian Ground Turkey and Green Bean Stir Fry | Eat Yourself Skinny

From Eat Yourself Skinny
Here’s a quick way to turn our green beans into a dinner entree, even if you’re not trying to eat yourself skinny! Ground turkey is used here, but you could easily sub pork or chicken or even tofu if you prefer. Crumble the tofu and fry in a little oil till golden the same as you would for the meats. Adding some our bell peppers, thinly sliced, when you sauté the green beans would be tasty, and you can also add a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter with the other sauce ingredients to enrich the sauce.
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Pasta With Goat Cheese & Roasted Peppers For Mom | Italian Food Forever

From Italian Food Forever
The author of this recipe developed it in memory of their mother. They give you the option of using jarred roasted peppers, while noting that freshly roasted peppers will taste better. I agree, and since the recipe doesn’t provide instructions for roasting peppers, here’s the method I prefer: Place whole peppers on a baking sheet and broil in the oven, watching carefully and flipping the peppers till all sides are charred. Transfer the peppers to a heat proof bowl and cover with a plate or a lid. Allow the peppers to steam for about 15 minutes to loosen the skins and cool so you can handle them! Angle a cutting board so it drains into your sink, and lay the first pepper on the board. Carefully split the pepper, letting any hot juices drain into the skin. Working with half a pepper at a time, scrape out the seeds and veins and pull off the skin. For easy cleanup, you can line the baking sheet with foil, or use a foil pan – parchment tends to burn under the broiler.
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Quick Tomato Vinaigrette | A Couple Cooks

From A Couple Cooks
Here’s a quick salad dressing made with fresh tomato (rather than the usual ketchup or tomato paste). It would be tasty dressing a salad of steamed green beans on a bed of shredded Romaine, topped with garlic croutons.
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Easy Risotto Recipe with Butternut Squash and Green Beans | amycaseycooks

From amycaseycooks.com
This no-stir risotto recipe uses butternut squash, but you can use the acorn-type squash we get this week. Either try the cook-before-peeling method above, OR halve the squash, seed, cut into wedges, and peel each wedge with a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife, and be sure to choose the least ridge-y of your squash allotment. If using cooked squash add it near the end of the cooking time, otherwise the squash will blend into the risotto. It will still taste good, but it will be invisible. The risotto can be made vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken.
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Vegan Creamy Pumpkin Tomato Soup | Detoxinista

From Detoxinista
Anything that can be made with pumpkin can of course be made with winter squash, and that’s certainly the case with this creamy vegan soup. To sub squash for the pumpkin puree in the recipe, simply roast the squash and scoop out the flesh and mash or puree in a food processor. Measure 1 cup of puree and save the rest for another use. The recipe calls for strained tomatoes, a type of tomato puree. To use fresh tomatoes in place of strained, peel and seed fresh tomatoes, and you could either puree the tomatoes first or add to the onions and garlic, since everything in this soup is blended. You can also sub basil for the fresh sage. I found several pumpkin-tomato-coconut soups, and this version from the Washington Post sounds appealing, but you need to sign up for a free account to view if you are not a subscriber.
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Coconut Fish Curry | Blue Apron

From Blue Apron
In this recipe from the Blue Apron meal kit service, the Koji greens and basil from our box work perfectly in place of baby bok choy and Thai basil. Use any of the bell peppers, and you can add some Poblanos in addition or in place of the bell peppers for a little heat.