We’ve had another busy and productive week on the farm. We are cleaning up all of the drip tape and black plastic and getting ready to plant the last of the cover crop, we inoculated our next batch of oyster mushrooms that we hope will be ready for the extended season CSA shares, and we’ve harvested the first bed of sweet potatoes. They are curing in our greenhouse for a few weeks before going into the box. Also, Tenzin and his dad, James, have been building our new cooler to get ready for the big harvest of root vegetables in the coming weeks.
The greens in the hoophouses are growing nicely and we have a crew of crossfitters coming out to help with the pumpkin/squash harvest on Sunday. Things are looking great around here (and Iris started to walk for you Iris enthusiasts out there)!
Parsnips! – We’ve had a few people asking if we will have parsnips this year. We have plenty planted but now it is up to the frost whether they will make it to the box or not. They won’t be tasty until then.
Salad Mix
Carrots
Bok Choy
Salad Turnips
Winter Squash-Delicata
Sweet peppers-red, yellow, or orange
Onions
Garlic
Potatoes
Cabbage
Salad Mix- So easy to use! So healthy and delicious. This mix has baby lettuce as well as arugula, and baby kale. Yum.
Carrots- Tender and sweet. Nice young carrots again, perfect for fresh snacking or roasting with a maple or honey glaze. Try pureeing the tops with olive oil, salt and lemon for a nice pesto that is easy to add to anything. Especially good on a steak or chicken breast. Separate carrots from their tops for best storage.
Bok Choy – This green was made for stir-fry. But if you’re a die-hard it’s also great quartered and grilled with olive oil salt and pepper. Makes a nice addition to Kimchi, if you haven’t gotten around to that yet.
Salad Turnips- These are so fresh and sweet. Our kids can’t get enough of them. Seriously, not your average turnip! The tops are great too, sautee or steam them and use like spinach. We just had a butternut lasagna with turnip greens in place of spinach and it was a big hit.
Delicata Squash- Our very favorite squash. These little buggers have been hard for us to grow, but they’re sure easy to eat! The best way we have found is to wash them well, then slice them into rings about 1/3” thick. Then scoop out the seeds and pulpy stuff from each with a spoon over a bowl/compost bin. Rub with oil and salt, then lay out on a cookie sheet/roasting pan in a hot oven on the top rack. When nicely browned flip over until browned on the other side. Then allow to cool slightly, and enjoy!
Sweet Peppers – Fresh peppers are such a treat, and these are about as fresh as they get. But they do keep well in the fridge, and roasted peppers are great too! Can’t use them this week? Try roasting them while you bake anything else then slip the core out and freeze them whole in a bag for winter use. Great in sauces and blended soups, when thawed.
Onions- Sweet and loaded with umami! I like to make a squash sauce by roasting squash (ideally butternut) and pureeing with lots of butter and water/broth/milk, then I add in caramelized onions and sage. Perfect over pasta with blue cheese on top!
Garlic- Sweet when roasted, strong and savory when raw. Stores well on the counter and compliments almost any dish.
Potatoes- Colorful and varied. Try to show them off, purples, reds and more! Makes for pretty roasted potatoes or “smashed potatoes” (Mashed potatoes made with the skins on for color and vitamins.) If you still have your celeriac, this is a great way to incorporate that too! See the recipe of the week!
Cabbage- Hearty and healthy. These will keep well in the fridge, but make excellent slaw or boiled with corned beef. Perfect type of cabbage for homemade sauerkraut, too!
Deluxe “Smashed” Potatoes
– 2 lbs washed, unpeeled thin-skinned potatoes cut into ½” chunks (substitute up to ½ lb celeriac for fun!)
– 4 cloves Garlic, peeled
– ¼ cup whole milk
– ½ stick butter, divided
– 3-4 oz blue cheese (feta, asiago, gruyere, or sharp white cheddar will work too).
Toppings:
-2 onions peeled and cut into thin slices.
-1 tsp dried thyme or sage or both
Bring potatoes and 5 cups well salted water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer covered until tender (15 mins).
Meanwhile, sautee onions over medium heat in half of the butter, stirring just enough to keep them from burning until well caramelized. Add the herbs a few minutes before they are finished.
Meanwhile, heat milk, half of the butter and chopped garlic in a small saucepan over low heat, keep warm.
Drain spuds and return to saucepan over very low flame to keep hot.
“Smash” the potatoes with the warm milk mixture and cheese roughly, don’t over do it, or it will get gluey. Just enough to mix, leaving some small chunks.
Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot and top with caramelized onions.