Box count down

Our regular CSA season is almost over.  Let’s review the final three deliveries.
– October 13/14 = This week (purple EOW)
– October 20/21 = Final delivery for green EOW members
– October 27/28 = Final delivery for weekly and purple EOW members.
Additional deliveries are available for those who have signed up for our Extension or Storage shares.  Look for an email from us earlier tonight with instructions to register.

Farm News

It is likely to frost tonight.  Run out and cover your garden plants, if you are still hanging on to something precious.  I covered a beautiful dahlia that I can’t let go yet.  We are protecting one pepper field with row cover, so we can continue harvesting for a few more weeks.  Everything else is either already harvested (sweet potatoes, squash) or can handle substantial freezing (broccoli, kale, cauliflower, root crops, etc.)  Brussels sprouts will even improve with frost.

MOSA inspector Dan Marten and Steve review farm records at our kitchen table.

We had our organic inspection this week.  It’s an annual step in maintaining our farm’s organic certification.  Four hours of reviewing records indoors, on a beautiful sunny warm day.  We passed with flying colors.  The inspection is always interesting because it gives us on-the-ground insight into how other farms in Wisconsin are faring.  Our inspector Dan Marten has visited vegetable farms all over the state.  He reports it was a difficult season in most regions.  Most got too much rain but some didn’t get enough.  Like he said, “We didn’t get many gentle, overnight rains.”  Seems like everyone got pounding deluges instead.

A few more gleaning photos.

I was taken with the mud boots everyone wore to our gleaning party.  Here are a few beauties.  You folks are so stylish!

Veggie list and veggie notes (Oct. 13/14, 2016, week #22, purple EOW)

We paired the napa cabbage with cilantro, scallions and jalapeños because they combine well in many Asian recipes.  Temperatures are predicted to swing wildly this week.  You can make a warm cooked dish with half your napa cabbage, then a cold salad once temperatures hit the mid-70’s again.  Roast your butternut squash with a pan of oiled carrots and onions to warm the house.  Then grill your peppers outside once it warms up.

Napa cabbage
Romano beans, ~1.5 lb
Butternut squash
Frying & bell peppers, mixed colors, 6 – 7
Carrots, 2 lb
Yellow onions
Scallions, 1 bunch
Jalapeño chile (HOT), 2, green or red
Cilantro, 1 bunch
UPDATE; Garlic, 1 bulb

Some sites get Romanesco broccoli.
Some sites get broccoli.
Some sites get cauliflower (white or purple or orange).
Some sites get Yukina greens.
If your squash or Romanesco is small, we’ll toss in an extra pepper or a sweet potato.

Napa cabbage (large, pale green cabbage with crinkled leaves) – This is an interesting vegetable, useful for both fresh, raw salads and for cooking.  These napa are large enough to split among several recipes.  Napa’s most famous use is fermented kimchi.  I like to prepare a fresh, unfermented kimchi.  Same seasonings, but it’s ready to eat right away.  You will be amazed at how much shredded napa cabbage shrinks when prepared this way.  See here for an example, but cut the salt in half: Grilled Flank Steak with Kimchi-style Coleslaw.
Storage:  Napa stores very well.  Cut off wedges as needed and keep the rest covered and refrigerated, and it will keep for several weeks.  Peel off the outer layer and it will be ready to use.  Here are a few preparation ideas from the ‘Asparagus to Zucchini’ cookbook.
– Chop raw napa into green salads.
– Substitute napa in traditional coleslaw.
– Chinese cabbage cooks quickly.  Steam 3-5 minutes, or until leaves are wilted down but remain slightly crisp.
– Substitute napa cabbage for common cabbage in recipes, but reduce the cooking time by 2 minutes.
– Napa cabbage is the main ingredient in egg rolls.  Try making an egg roll mixture to eat as a cooked side dish instead of preparing time-consuming egg rolls.

Romano beans – This is the final delivery of beans for the year.  Quality is very nice.  The beans are big but juicy and tender.  We never thought we’d have this many to send in mid-October!

Jalapeño chile, HOT (small, green or red) – These are quite hot.  As usual, remove the seeds and midveins to reduce their heat.

Cilantro – Well, it has taken us forever to get cilantro in the box again.  We seeded repeatedly but none of the plantings work out.  Except this one.

Cauliflower – We grow cauliflower in a variety of colors; white, purple and orange.

Garlic – This batch is from our friend John Hendrickson.

Butternut squash – This is our “Metro” variety, a favorite because it cures and sweetens quickly after harvest.  These are medium-sized squash, average weight ~2.0 lb.
Hint for cutting winter squash:  If you want to peel or dice your butternut squash, microwave the intact squash on high for one minute.  That will warm and soften the squash, making it much easier to peel or cut.  I find this trick useful even when just cutting the butternut in half.
Storage: Store at room temperature. On your kitchen counter is perfect.

BUTTERNUT FLAWS
Almost all of this week’s butternut squash have flaws, another legacy of the wet weather.  The flaws are small enough to either peel away or cut around.  We debated whether to pack them in the CSA boxes – I don’t usually send flawed squash.  However, it was a choice between composting them (and having no squash for you this week) or sending them to you to enjoy, albeit with trimming.  We hope you agree.  Don’t try to hold these for long.  Find the flaw and cut it out before cooking.  It’s more difficult to recognize after cooking.  Check around the stem.

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

NAPA STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS
Adapted from Things I Made Today
I wish I could take credit for these cabbage rolls but alas I cannot. One of my favorite Madison bloggers- Vicky from Things I Made Today– whipped these up on a tired Sunday night after an exhausting day of housework and cooking. She didn’t expect them to be anything special and boy was she wrong!  Something about napa cabbage, scallions, carrots, cilantro and hoison sauce is just magical. I love this dish endlessly and know you will to!
Takes 1 hour, 20 minutes
Makes 4-6

1 cup jasmine rice
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 ounces mushroom of your choice, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
1 pound ground pork
2 large carrots, shredded
4 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 large head Napa cabbage, leaves separated
1/2 cup hoison sauce
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium sauce pan, combine rice, water and salt. Bring to a boil, stir and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 18 minutes. Remove from heat after 18 minutes (but don’t remove the lid!) and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. While the rice cooks, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushroom along with garlic and ginger. Saute for 10 minutes until mushrooms are tender but not mushy.
4. In a large bowl, combine cooked mushrooms, pork, cooked rice, carrots, scallions, cilantro, red pepper flakes, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Use your hands to combine.
5. Lay a cabbage leaf flat on a baking sheet. Scoop 3-6 tablespoons of mushroom mixture into middle of leaf. Roll up leaf (tucking in sides if there’s extra leaf) and then place roll, seam side down, on baking sheet. Continue with remaining leaves.
6. In a small bowl, combine hoison sauce, peanut butter and water. Brush the sauce over the cabbage rolls. Bake for 35-40 minutes until pork is cooked through.
7. Enjoy!

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BBQ Butternut Squash & Pulled Pork Pizza
You don’t have to have the pulled pork if you are vegetarian. I suggest doubling the butternut squash if you decide not to do the pork.

Takes 1 hour (not including time to make pulled pork), add an additional hour if you plan to make the dough from scratch
Makes 14-inch pizza that serves 4-6

1 batch pizza dough (your favorite or use my recipe below!)
2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 cup pulled pork (here’s one of my favorite super easy slow-cooker pulled pork recipes!)
1 red Italian fryer, seeded and diced
1 green Italian fryer, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cups smoked cheddar cheese, shredded

For the pizza dough:
1-1/2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons active yeast
2 tablespoons honey
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1. If you are making the dough from scratch, begin here. If not, skip to step 2. Combine warm water (but not hot!) with yeast and honey in a small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk to combine and let sit for 5 minutes. Combine flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in water with yeast. Stir to combine but do not work the dough at all, just stir until all the ingredients are incorporated together. Let dough rest for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a well-floured counter and knead for 3-5 minutes until smooth and uniform dough forms. Grease or oil a large clean bowl. Add dough, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rest in a warm place for an hour or until dough has doubled in size.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Combine butternut squash, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl to evenly coat. Add to a large baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Once finished remove from oven and add back to small bowl. Set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 525 degrees.
5. Once dough is risen. Roll it out on a well-floured counter until it’s about the size of the baking sheet you used for roasting the squash. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet.
6. Top dough with BBQ sauce leaving an inch border on all the edges. Add pork followed by butternut squash, peppers, onions and smoked cheddar.
7. Bake for 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

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LOCAL THYME RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Buttered Romano Beans Pignoli
Chipotle Lime Cilantro Slaw with Napa Cabbage
Butternut Squash Soup with Cider Cream
Slow Roasted Salmon on Lentils Braised with Carrots and Greens

Outside the Box Recipes

Romano Beans with Caramelized Onions
Five Spice Stir Fry with Cabbage and Carrots
Butternut Pancake
Carrot Hummus

Quick and Easy Meal

NPR’s Ensenada Slaw with Fish and Pepper Tacos