October Fifth
The garden is in pick-up, shut-down, and clean-out mode. After two more consecutive frosts on Friday and Saturday night green tomatoes are left dangling on dried out, dead and brown plants. The frosts put an end to any of the warm weather crops that have been hanging on and eeking out any last efforts at ripening or maturing. What we’re left with now are only the cold-hardy and frost tolerant of the fall crops.
Nature is shifting her energy downward. We will no longer see flowering plants reaching their beautiful heads proudly up towards the sun or light green shoots expanding their reach and breadth. The sun is going down and stays down longer with each passing day. The leaves are falling down from the trees, the seeds are falling down from the plants and the insects and rodents are burrowing down and creating winter nests. The farm is getting sleepy.
In the morning when we wake in the darkness and dress ourselves to leave the house for chores, we put on layers to protect ourselves from the cold like beanie hats, scarves and I suspect that before long it will feel so cold we will want to wear gloves for carrying buckets to the animals fear our fingers will freeze off. For some people this time of year is sad and calls for a reminiscing of the summer days that were. But for your farmers on Salem Ridge Rd., we’re looking forward to a fire-lit winter that is warmed with apple cider, hot cocoa and mint tea.
We’re looking forward to offering over the next few weeks some of the warming foods that nature provides in the fall to keep our cheeks rosy and our fingers nimble. This week we have celeriac root for you (the big brother of celery) and beets. In the coming weeks we will have leeks, parsnips, rutabaga and kohlrabi. We’ll weight the boxes down with sweet squash like butternuts, pie pumpkins, delicatas and acorns. We will long for the loss of our beloved tomatoes and crispy peppers and learn to appreciate the dense foods that will store for us in our garages, root cellars and refrigerators to sustain us through the long winter up ahead.
Butternut Squash- Beautiful, orange Butternuts! They’ll keep for a good month or so on your countertop, but they perfer dry, cold storage over time. Slice them lengthwise, scoop the seeds out and bake them face down in a baking dish with a half inch of water for one hour. Butternuts are one of the more popular of the winter squash and deserving of their good reputation!
Napa Cabbage (Chinese Cabbage)- More of this tender fall cabbage. Napas are great for making homemade fermented kim chi or to use fresh in oriental salads.
Bulk Beets- More bulk beets. Beets will store best in a plastic bag in the fridge to preserve moisture.
Red Onion- A sweet red onion for all!
German White Garlic- Garlic will keep on your countertop until you’re ready to use it, or it will also keep well in a refrigerator.
Hot Pepper– A small hot pepper for everyone!
Sweet Bell Peppers- We were able to give three or four sweet peppers for everyone again this week!
Cherry Bell Radish or French Breakfast Radish- The higher water content this fall made the radishes crispy and succulent. They’re not very spicy, which is making them very enjoyable!
Celeriac Root- Yes, this the funky, brainy looking thing in your box! The celeriac is in the same family as celery. Celeriac has a flavor like celery, but is dense and hard like a potato. It is very nice peeled, boiled and mashed with potatoes. The result is a celery-flavored mashed potatoe. You can also use your celeriac greens for flavoring in a soup or stock like celery.
Tomatoes- Definately the final week of a bag of tomatoes. It’s been remarkable that we’ve been able to give as many tomatoes this year as we have been. It’s truly been a remarkable tomato year for the Small Family Farm. You’ve been able to reap many of the rewards of being a CSA member this season alone through the tomato harvest!
Red Curly Kale or Lacinato Kale- More sweet kale for your sauteeing needs.
Spinach- A large bag of spinch for everyone this week! So many uses for spinach.
Flat Leaf Italian Parsley- Remember that you can dry parsley if you don’t think you’ll be able to use it all fresh! Pluck the leaves from the stems and lay them out on your dehydrator trays. In hours you’ll have bright green dried parsley for your winter cooking!
Mashed Potatoes with Celeriac Root
Celeriac Potato Hash Browns with Jalapeno and Cheddar
Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Shells– You could also put your kale in this recipe to make up for what you lack in spinach!
Napa Cabbage Picnic Salad Recipe
