Our awesome photographer took the time to take two shots of the share last week, one with 1/3 of the sweet potatoes, onions and potatoes, and one with ALL of them. If you remember, we had you collect the rest of the potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions for the Fall CSA share, because they can be easily stored without refrigeration and we had run out of storage space at the farm.
So this week’s share will feel a tad smaller than the last one! 🙂
Remember, about 1/3 of the potatoes, onions and sweet potatoes you took home last time were planned for this distribution.
Ok, have I hammered on that nail enough times?
I’m very excited about this week’s share. This is when crops start to get extra crisp and extra sweet! They are storing sugars to use as food to grow seeds when the weather warms up, but little do they know that we will swoop in and harvest them before that can happen, taking advantage of all that sweet, stored energy to feed ourselves during these increasingly cool, dark days.
We have a special planting of smaller carrots that will be bunched and in the share this week. I recommend washing, not peeling and just eating them straight up. They are the sweetest carrots you can possibly get your hands on. I don’t like to leave lots of carrots out in the field for very long – they are a magnet to all mammals, not just humans! Last year we lost about 2000 lbs to deer – luckily our yields were off the charts and we still managed to have a massive harvest even so. But they are so good when they’ve experienced several freezes!
And for those of you Tuesday members who are looking at the above picture and thinking, hey, how come I didn’t get broccoli last week – there will be a broccoli/brussels choice this week for Tuesday. We know people love broccoli and cauliflower, I even tripled my plantings from last year because of it, but it has been a horrific fall for broccoli on our farm. We lost over 2000 heads to alternaria and brown-bead, both of which make the heads rot before they can be picked. Bummer. But I’ll do it again next year, because I know it makes you all so happy. I’ve been to countless workshops and read numerous books that tell me not to grow the crops that aren’t profitable (read:broccoli), but broccoli is just one of the crops that I can’t help but keep on trying . . .
Spinach is actually going to make it into the share this week. That’s another crop I try to have on a really consistent basis (we planted enough to have it every distribution, but crazy hot weather at planting then cold, wet weather has really stunted it in the field).
I know the big T-day is coming up. It’s probably my favorite holiday. I’m not going to do the big story this year, or tell you how to use this share for that day. My recommendation is to anticipate eating a lot on the 22nd (and probably the 23rd and 24th if your holiday is anything like mine) and just enjoy your share as a healthy preparation. Eating lots of raw veggies (like raw carrots, turnips, spinach, lettuce . . . ) is a great way to add some fiber and vitamins/minerals to your diet and flush your system – and it’s not a lot of work!!
If you are really looking for something for Thanksgiving we recommend coming to the Ashland pre-Thanksgiving Farmer’s Market. 9-1 at the Ashland Middle School. It’s always a blast and we’ll have all the goodies, or you can stock up at the farm stand this week.
Here are a few pictures of what has been going on at the farm this fall:
The Share
1 bunch “extra sweet” carrots
2 pounds (still very sweet) carrots
1 bag spinach (amount TBD)
1 bag lettuce mix (amount TBD)
1 head of lettuce
1 lb choice: leeks, celeriac, beets
1 bunch sweet turnips or radishes
3-4 lbs winter squash (butternut or carnival)
brussels sprouts and broccoli (broccoli only on Tuesday, brussels might be on the stalk or in pints, actually amounts TBD)
garlic/shallot pint
Plus aprox. 2.66 lbs of sweet potatoes, 2.66 lbs potatoes and 1.33 lbs onions which you picked up last time.
Recipes
Chicken and Sweet Potato Dumplings (I got the idea from my mom, but not the recipe yet, she said it was delicious – this recipe looked good but I’ll share the one she used when I get it)
Sweet Potato Gnocchi (another idea from my mom)
Honey Glazed Turnips (I recommend doing 1/2 turnips, 1/2 carrots for this one)
French Onion Soup (For those of you who use less onions and want to eat some up!)
Butternut Squash Alfredo Pasta
Enjoy!
Upswing Farm 