This week’s share:

acorn squash

Brussels sprouts

daikon radish

eggplant

green pepper

kohlrabi

Florence long red onion

leek

red cabbage

rutabaga

sunflower head

watermelon

This weather – it’s incredible and we love working in it.  Some of the plants are confused.  Things are a little backwards - The lettuce and Brussels Sprouts are slowing down, and the eggplant and peppers are growing better than they did in August.   

The rutabaga and kohlrabi are on the large side, which means they could be woody.  Usually if you peel away enough of the outer layer, you will find the tender parts worth eating.  We didn’t want to compost them if they still had a good amount of tasty parts.

We put a special blanket over the eggplants and peppers when it got near freezing.  The blankets were left on during this heat wave, and we are so pleased that some of the eggplant blossoms turned into food for you. 

The watermelon is the last of what was taken from the field.  We ate one and it was delicious.  We hope you have the same experience.

SURVEY TIME.  The final touches are being put on the questions for the survey.  It will be emailed to you within the next few days.  Please return it next week when you pickup your produce, or before. We tried to make this as short and

simple as we could, because we know you’re busy and we value your time.  Thank you for taking the time to do this.  We appreciate it, and will let you know the results of the survey.

Just a reminder, after today, there are two weeks left for our CSA.  For some of you (the half-share folks) next week is your last week.

Cranberry Acorn Squash

½ cup raw fresh cranberries

1 small apple, cored, chopped into small pieces

¼ cup currants

½ cup orange juice or apple cider

1 ½ tbs honey or maple syrup

1 tbs melted butter

pinch salt

2 acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine cranberries, apples, currants, orange juice, honey, butter, and salt in a saucepan.  Heat until berries are just tender.  Place squash in ovenproof dish.  Fill cavities with fruit.  Cover dish and bake until squash is tender, about 35-45 minutes.  Makes 4 servings.

Brussels Sprouts with Grapes
From allrecipes.com 

2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and scored

2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 bunches green onions, chopped

1 cup seedless red grapes, halved

4 tablespoons butter

Place the Brussels sprouts, water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 10 minutes, or until sprouts are tender but firm.

Over medium low heat in a large saucepan, mix the olive oil, garlic and green onions. Slowly cook and stir 5 minutes, until the green onions are soft. Mix in the Brussels sprouts, grapes and butter. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Hope your week is awesome! ~ Kathy

Pickup Today on the
FRONT PORCH
Be prepared to carry a pumpkin, a watermelon, and your bag of food!

This week’s share:

broccoli

celeriac

cilantro

fennel

green pepper

eggplant

Florence long red onion

Yellow of Parma onion

marjoram

parsley

pumpkin

summer squash

tomato

thyme
sunflower

watermelon

We need a rating!

Can you help us out?

Tell everyone how we’ve been doing

at localharvest.org

Usually around this time of year we are getting the garden tucked in for winter. This year, we are planting new things that will hopefully grow into the winter. We’re using special fabric to cover some of the rows.

People claim you can grow lettuce into December, and I hope they’re right! We have been putting the row covers over the peppers and eggplants. We did this to make it nice and warm in there, so they produce. This week we did get a small amount of both.

New in your bags this week is celeriac. Celeriac will keep in the refrigerator up to one month, or store the root in a cold, moist place for 2 to 3 months. Leaves can be used as an herb in soups and stews.

The whole plant can be eaten. Slice off the stalks at the root, and soak the root in water to loosen dirt in the crevices. Then scrub thoroughly with a vegetable brush. If the exterior is too tough, peel it with a sharp knife.

Peeled celeriac will darken when exposed to air. Just toss it with lemon juice to stop the darkening.

There is a heavy load of herbs in your bag today. Whatever you can’t use now, you can either dry (except cilantro) or freeze for later use.

The watermelons have been spotty – I’ve had three sweet and juicy melons and one that wasn’t sweet at all. I’d like to know how yours were last week. There are more melons this week, too.

We asked another farmer how he manages to get the cilantro ripe when the tomatoes are ripe, and he just said he plants cilantro every two weeks in hopes he gets it right. We will be trying that next year.

Sunflower

You can then dry your sunflowers whereever you want to, as long as it is warm and dry with good ventilation to prevent molding. A small shed might be perfect, or even in your house. You may still want to cover the seed heads with paper bags, especially if drying in an outdoor shed.

The seeds are ready when you hold up the head and rub your hand over the seeds and they fall right out. From there you can eat the seeds, feed them to the birds, or save some to grow next year.

We are struggling to understand how a whole row of radishes, all planted at the same time, are not all ready to be picked at the same time. It is maddening, thinking we’ll have enough radishes for your shares the next week, but then they don’t all ripen. One of the mysteries of nature!

Garlic Parsley Pesto with Pasta

– Madison Herb Society Cookbook

1 cup low fat cottage cheese or part-skim ricotta
 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup boiling water
½ cup loosely packed fresh parsley
½ cup fresh basil
2 large cloves of garlic
Salt and coarse pepper to taste
3 cups tender-cooked pasta

Have cheeses at room temperature. Blend with remaining ingredients (except pasta) until smooth in blender or food processor. Toss with pasta. This is also good on baked potatoes, cooked rice, or steamed vegetables.

What to do with Fennel:

- add to soups: pureed or chopped
- substitute for celery in most recipes
- bake it, steam it, or sauté it
- use in place of dill – excellent on fish!

What to do with Cilantro:

- chop into pasta or potato salads
- toss fresh leaves into a green salad
- add to soups, stews, and stir-fries

Tangy Celery Salad

1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbs lemon juice
¼ cup lowfat yogurt
1 large or 2 medium celery root
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 head of radicchio

In a medium bowl, combine mustard, lemon juice, and yogurt. Set aside. With a sharp knife, peel celery root and cut into julienne strips. Add to mustard mixture, mixing well to coat celery root. Cover and marinate overnight. Toss together with cut chives and parsley. Serve on radicchio leaves.

Have a splendid week! ~ Kathy

This week’s share:

beans or broccoli

carrots

red cabbage

eggplant

kale

green pepper

leek

summer squash

tomato

This Past Week…      

Has had us worried.  It was too hot for some of the plants to fruit, and too hot for some of the cool weather seeds to germinate.  We weren’t sure how much we would have for you this week, but we used what we had.  We were short a few eggplant, so some of you are getting a dark purple eggplant we bought from Nehmer’s, an area grower. Hopefully the spinach and lettuce grow quickly so we can offer some variety. 

Something new in your share this week – leek.  Leeks can be stored for several weeks in a root cellar standing upright in a box with some sand in the bottom. They can also be placed in a refrigerator for two to three weeks.

Kale – what will you do with this wonderful green?  Kale is an incredible super food. Kale has the most protein of all the cultivated vegetables. It is also high in vitamins A, C and all the B vitamins. Its calcium content rivals the calcium level of dairy products.

TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE

w/ LEEKS AND FRESH DILL

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only; from about 2 large)
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
• Coarse Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 8 ounces wide egg noodles
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2 5- to 6-ounce cans albacore tune packed in oil, drained, broken into 1/2-inch chunks
• 2 cups coarsely crushed salted potato chips (about 2 ounces)

Butter 8x8x2 inch glass baking dish.  Melt unsalted butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.  Add leeks and celery seeds to saucepan; sprinkle lightly with coarse kosher salt.  Cover saucepan and cook until leeks are tender but not brown, stirring often about 8 minutes.  Add flour, stir 1 minute.  Gradually add milk and half and half; simmer until mixture thickens slightly, stirring often, about 5 minutes.  Stir lemon juice.  Season leek sauce to taste with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Remove sauce from heat. 

Meanwhile, cook egg noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, stirring occasionally. Drain noodles, reserving 3/4 cup noodle cooking liquid.  Transfer noodles to large bowl.  Pour leek sauce over noodles.  Add grated Gruyere cheese and dill and stir to blend; add reserved noodle cooking liquid by tablespoons until mixture is moist and creamy (about 8 tablespoons). Fold in tuna.  Transfer to prepared baking dish.  Do AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead.  Cool slightly.  Chill uncovered until cold, then cover with foil and keep refrigerated.

Pre heat over to 375. Bake noodle casserole, covered with foil, until heated through, about 20 minutes if freshly made or 30 minutes if chilled. Remove foil.  Sprinkle crushed potato chips over and continue to bake, uncover, until top is golden brown and filling bubbles, about 10 minutes longer.  serve hot.

Stuffed Pepper Soup submitted by Kim, CSA Member

3/4 lb	Ground chuck
16 oz	Diced tomatoes
16 oz	Tomato sauce
2 cups	Beef broth
4	Green peppers — chopped
1	Red pepper—chopped
1 cup	Cooked brown rice
4 tsp	Hot pepper sauce

Dash of pepper

Salt if needed

Brown beef and onion

Add next 5 ingredients and simmer about 16 minutes or more

Add rice and other ingredients and simmer until peppers are done

Hope you have a pleasant week!  ~ Kathy