Hi farm share members,
Well, last week was a crazy week. It was the first week back at school, and I had to suddenly jump back into my job as a substitute school bus driver (more than I was expecting). A terrible car crash up in Coupeville meant that Bobbi was unable to do the deliveries to the North end, as the whole highway was completely closed down. And we had a bit of confusion on some of our wholesale orders for restaurants and stores. But we survived, managed to get the produce up to North Whidbey on Friday, and all the kids got to school and back.....so I guess it was a success! Hoping that this week goes a bit more smoothly though...
After the very nice return to Summer temperatures over the weekend, it looks we are back into some cool and damp weather in the coming week or two, and Fall is definitely in the air. Over the coming weeks, the Summer crops like tomatoes and peppers will hopefully continue, but they are already slowing down. Meanwhile, the winter squash, storage potatoes and onions, fall carrots, and broccoli are all waiting in the wings to take their spot. The transition begins this week, with the first winter squash in the share, and napa cabbages, the first crop to come out of our Fall cabbage patch.
Here we go!
Red kuri squash- This is a delicious "kabocha" type of Japanese squash. It has a sweet, strong flavor and an unusually dry, crumbly flesh. Maybe my favorite type of winter squash...but it is not a great keeper, so it is at its best from now until Thanksgiving, and then starts to go downhill. The skin is edible, or if you prefer to scoop out the flesh and compost the skin, that works too. They can be cooked a lot like an acorn squash; cut them in half (be careful and use a good knife!), scoop out the seed cavity, put some butter, salt, and spices, brown sugar or maple syrup if you prefer, and then bake them on a cookie sheet for about 40 minutes at 375 degrees. It's nice now that it's cooler out to have a warm oven in the kitchen and some hot food! Here's a recipe for red kuri soup:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/red-kuri-squash-soup
Tomatoes- The cherry tomatoes have slowed down quite a bit, and we are getting some split ones from the rains...but the other tomatoes are still yielding a surprising amount and going strong!! There may be both slicer tomatoes and heirlooms in your share this week...the slicers are similar in size to a roma, but rounder and bright red. They are great all purpose tomatoes for cooking, pasta, sandwiches, and as a salad addition. The heirlooms come in all different sizes and colors; purple, green, pink, and red. They are from old fashioned plants that produce less fruit, but the fruit they do produce is super flavorful and sweet. The heirlooms can be used just like other tomatoes, but are especially good enjoyed alone, in slices or in a simple tomato salad that lets their flavor shine.
Lettuce- With tomatoes and lettuce in the share this week, it may be BLT time! The lettuce is looking really great right now and should be perfect for some crunchy salads or sandwiches.
Napa cabbage- Napa cabbage was in the farm share way back in the Spring, and one share member told us she loved it and wanted more, so we planted some for the Fall. It has come along very fast since being planted in early August, and is ready to enjoy! It is an Asian vegetable traditionally used in stir fries, in kimchee, and for a variety of other things. Martha's got some tasty looking recipes here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/1060104/napa-cabbage
Carrots- No big surprise here. Either carrots or beets should be a regular in the Fall shares, hopefully until the end of the Season. We planted lots and lots of carrots this year, and it has been great having plenty of carrots.
Onion- I believe this is the first time you're getting some of our Copra storage onions. We just harvested them all out of the field last week, and they are now mostly cured and ready to store for several months if necessary. Copras are a great all purpose yellow onion that grows really well west of the Cascades and usually stores pretty well. The can be used in most any recipe calling for onion, and they don't have too much bite, so they are good raw too.
Swiss chard- We have some beautiful chard right now that has been enjoying the weather lately. I love Swiss chard with eggs, like in a scramble, an omelette, a frittata, or a quiche. There are some other delicious ideas on, once again, the Martha Stewart page:
http://www.marthastewart.com/274967/swiss-chard-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide#_
I hope everyone knows that to view the recipes on these pages you sometimes have to click on the little black arrow/chevron next to the image of chard!
Dill- The dill is taller now, and beginning to flower a bit, which is no problem and actually seems to make the flavor a bit stronger. If you still have any of your sweet pepper left from last week, use it in this really simple recipe with carrot and dill:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sauteed-carrots-with-red-bell-pepper-and-dill-2024
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