P i c k l i s t
RASPBERRIES - RADISH - GARLIC - LETTUCE - EGGPLANT - HOTTIE PEP - POBLANO PEP - BROCCOLI - WINTER SQUASH - PARSLEY - HOUSEPLANT - BUILD YER OWN BOUQ!
Enter Fall CSA- the time of year we begin to slow down. It is not a full stop, the farm is still moving produce to the co-ops through New Years, and we of course have Fall CSA.
From now until Thanksgiving we are busy with continued harvest, Fall clean up, garlic planting, straw mulching and eventually blueberry pruning. All these things get done, but with a way chiller vibe than any moment from May 1- October 1. We start our work day later and end earlier. We take multiple donut and hot drink breaks, and if we plan accordingly we can even catch a mid day run or pick up our kiddos at the bus stop and instead of bringing them back to work with us, we can just hang out (a monumental feat!).
But for the next 6 weeks, you know where to find us every Thursday evening- at the farmstand, moving veg to all our favorite people and bumping beats. It’s a real beet meet beats situation. Dare I say a beet cute?
The lead up to Fall CSA Thursdays is also the most fun. Aside from the inevitable freezing fingertips and toes, stepping into the warm sun on a crisp October day and cutting broccoli head after broccoli head is actually so satisfying and rhythmic and serves as a really nice way to ease into the long dark months ahead. However this week, I stepped back from CSA duties on account of a sick kid. Fortunately, I was able to lean on the field crew and Ray and Allie and Holle to bring it all together. And let us not forget Anne with the flowers and Mrs. T with the herbs. This Edgewater village continues to kick in and lift up when chips fall… or get sick.
In other news, the frost last night had us feeling super nostalgic for summer crops that were and summer crops that could have been... For example, during frost prep, field crew went through our pepper field and picked every bell in sight. They came in as green bell peps, but had they had more time and more heat, they would have turned their hopeful shades of orange, red, and yellow.
We all still have time to fill and can jars for winter, and roast and freeze etc… BUT this frost acted as a real reminder that our time left with all this fresh food is limited. Eat it while you got it people ;)
A couple of dates to consider: next week, October 24th we will begin the bread share for those that signed up and the kitchen share will be distributed on the Nov. 7th CSA pick up.
FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS:
Ripe for the grill/oven: radish, garlic, peppers, winter squash, eggplant, broccoli
Plants! Repot! Put near any window, water when dry, don’t water when wet, email or ask questions if they start to look a lil yellow or crispy
Servings 6
Ingredients
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups small-diced butternut/honey nut squash (about one 1-lb squash)
¼ cup quinoa
3 tablespoons adobo sauce
1 cup vegetable stock
1 28- oz can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 ½ cups cooked pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large poblano pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
chopped cilantro, for garnish
vegan sour cream, for serving
Instructions
Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions to the pot and sauté until translucent and softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, coriander, and cocoa to the pot and stir. Once the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds, add the squash, quinoa, and some salt and pepper. Stir to coat everything in the cocoa and spices.
Once everything is starting to dry up/stick, add the adobo sauce and vegetable stock to the pot and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to get any golden brown bits. Add the crushed tomatoes, pinto beans, black beans, poblano pepper, and a bit more salt and pepper to the pot. Stir to combine. Bring the smoky squash chili to a boil.
Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and place a lid on top of the pot. Let the chili simmer until the squash is soft all the way through, about 25-28 minutes. Check the smoky squash chili for seasoning one more time and adjust if necessary. Serve the chili hot with chopped cilantro on top.
MITCHELL’S NOTES (it’s been 18 weeks of fab recipes, he needs no introduction)
I reached out to Mitchell extremely last minute for a recipe this week and he pointed me in the direction of his newsletter on winter squash that came with the best advice I have ever seen for winter squash: roast now, deal with it later… Keep this method in mind over the next 6 weeks as your kitchen counter becomes a cornucopia of acorn, butternut, delicata, hubbard, etc… Also, this from the newsletter, Mitchell’s pro-tips on roasting:
TECHNIQUE: ROASTING SQUASH… I treat most of my winter squash the same way. I roast first and then figure out what to do with it later. To roast, slice the squash in half and, using a sturdy tablespoon, remove the seeds and goop. Set the halves cut-side down on a parchment-lined baking tray with sides or roasting pan. Place in a hot oven (anywhere between 400°F. and 500°F. will work; I usually roast it in the oven I’m preheating to bake bread) and let the squash roast until the halves are soft and the edges are browned. The time depends on a number of factors, including the variety (the flesh of different squash has different densities), how thick the skin and the walls of flesh are (thicker needs more time), how long ago the squash was harvested (older squash have less moisture and take longer to cook), and the temperature of the oven. Small, thin-walled delicata squash can be roasted in 20 minutes in a hot oven. The dense butternut squash in the photos below took over an hour at 475°F.
To check if it is done, prick the thickest part of the squash with the point of a paring knife to see if it is soft. The juices that have run off into the pan while the squash cooked should be browned. And the squash should have a faint caramel smell. Remove from the oven and, using tongs, turn the squash halves over so they are skin side down to prevent the flesh from sticking to the parchment when it cools. Once cool enough to handle, use a large spoon (I happen to like an Italian gelato paddle) to scrape out the flesh, browned bits and all. store in a container in the fridge for up to two weeks. From the 3 ½ pound butternut squash in the photo (which was grown by my friends Marion and Mal), I got 4 cups of flesh.