The day (or week I should say) has finally arrived for our last farm share. It has been 25 weeks since our share started back in late Spring! We have had a great run this year, and I would definitely say it's been the most successful farm share season we've had at Ebb Tide. I really appreciate all you folks who helped us make it happen! The farm share has been great this year in part because of our crop yields, planning, and hard work, but also because this has been such a great year of interactions with all of you, our members. Everyone has seemed happy, flexible, enjoyable and easy to communicate with.....and of course we couldn't do it without you.
If you are looking for a source of local veggies in our offseason, you have a few options. Our farm stand will remain open for at least another week and a half, until around Thanksgiving Day. Beyond that I imagine we will just be out of most things. But I think at least a few farms will be doing a Winter Farmers/Christmas market at Bayview Hall in December. Also, if you are interested in really stocking up the pantry, Georgie Smith at Willowood Farm in Coupeville is doing a really large Winter Farm share that she is dropping in our farm stand on Fridays. It is a huge box of food for I believe $50 per week, but almost all things that will store for many weeks. Her email is willowoodfarm@gmail.com.
On that note, many of the things in your share this week should store for weeks or more if you hang on to it, either in the crisper drawer of the fridge (potatoes, root crops) or a dry shelf (onions, squash)....so you can store up some Fall bounty for December if you'd like. Thanks again for your support in 2016! Look forward to seeing you again next Season! Have a happy Winter.
This week's share:
Delicata squash- These are no stranger by now. We plant as much of the delicata squash as all our other Winter squashes combined almost, so we have a lot of them. Still a big pile in the storage shed, but we will begin selling them to Willowood this week so should chip away at it. They turned out especially delicious this year, and I think they're by far the easiest squash to prepare, as you don't need to peel them.
Potatoes- Still quite a few potatoes to sell, too. I'm hoping the Orchard Kitchen will be able to take quite a few of them, but we'll also be putting a generous amount in the bags this week!
Copra onions- These are our yellow storage onions which have been in your share a time or two now. They keep very well and have a nice onion flavor that's great in a lot of recipes.
Beets (topped)- We have a smattering of beets still out in the field, and some already topped in the farm stand, so we will get them in all the shares one last time. The sweet flavor is really nice this time of year.
Black Spanish Radish- This is a new one for this year's share. These Winter radishes have greens like a regular radish, although much taller and rougher. The comparison ends there though. These radishes are large, round, with a black skin on the outside and white flesh inside. The flavor is spicy, similar to a regular radish, but the flesh is much more firm and good for cooking. You can roast them as you would other Winter roots, or it can be delicious raw if it is grated or sliced very very thin, They must be very healthy, because when I do a google search most of what comes up is supplement "super food" articles and nutritional info. Give them a try!
http://www.fromthegrapevine.com/israeli-kitchen/there-are-many-ways-slice-and-enjoy-black-radish
Kale bunch- One last bunch of kale. With the deer no longer causing trouble, our kale plants have begun to rebound and grow back after getting nibbled on. We also got some extra kale bunches from a friend's farm in case we are a bit short...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/kale-and-apple-salad-recipe.html
Large shares:
Parsnip- Our parsnips did so well this year, I wish I'd planted more! I'm anticipating they'll be mostly gone after putting them in the large shares this week. I hadn't had much luck growing them the past few years, so I only planted a half bed. Maybe more next year!
http://www.marthastewart.com/275724/parsnip-recipes
Carrot- One last batch of carrots in your large shares this week, maybe topped this time if the carrot tops are starting to get a bit week in the Fall weather.
Parsley- Jack convinced me to not till in the parsley several weeks ago, even though some of the plants were beginning to bolt (flower). Now I'm glad we didn't, as the remaining plants are doing well and should yield a few more bunches this week! Great to add a fresh flavor to root veggies.
(And more potatoes and squash!)
Penultimate blog...
What a dramatic blog title. The share is surely drawing to an end though, as our veggies in the field are beginning to dwindle. All in all, I am happy to say I definitely did the best job I have yet this year for the Fall plantings. We still have extras of a few things, and could have used a bit more of a few others, but on the whole we had pretty much the right amount of food for the Fall this year. A few new things in the share this week, and the last time you'll get a few things in your share, including Brussels sprouts and carrots (!!!). The shares have remained pretty large, but the good news is, almost everything in these last few shares will hold for quite a while, so if you still have food from last week, set the shallots and squash in a warm dry spot in the kitchen, and everything else in a corner of the fridge, and it should still be in great shape come Thanksgiving, or beyond.
Carrots- As I said, we don't think there will be carrots in next week's share, so enjoy the last of the season! They get sweeter every week and are pretty tasty right now...
Celeriac (celery root)- The tops are great for soups, stocks, sauces and stews....the roots are great in a puree or mash...Whitney was just saying she made this last night. I prefer it with potatoes and celeriac mashed together, like in this recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/celery-root-puree-236200
Brussels sprouts- These sprouts should last until Thanksgiving easily if you keep them in a plastic bag or in the crisper drawer of the fridge. They make a great side dish with the turkey! Hard to resist eating them sooner though...
Shallots- Try using your shallots in place of the onion in the celery root puree for a slightly more complex flavor.
Rutabega- Rutabegas are sometimes called "Swedes" or Swedish turnips. They are similar to a turnip, but with a slightly firmer, yellow flesh and a bit more flavor. They can be used in place of winter turnips in a recipe, or try this simple recipe that should highlight their flavor:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/roasted-rutabaga-recipe.html
Kabocha squash- These green "buttercup" kabochas are not too different from the red kuri squash that was in your share back in October. They have a dry, flavorful flesh that is best scooped out of the skin after roasting or steaming. This variety outperformed any of our Winter squash in 2015 and we had loads of them all Fall....then this year they probably yielded the worst of all the squash and we didn't have a whole lot. Who knows why...that's farming for you, and it's one reason why we plant a lot of different varieties...when one does poorly usually another does well to make up for it.
Large Shares:
Arugula bunch- One last bunch of spicy arugula greens for the large shares....the arugula can withstand a very light frost, but once the temperatures go very far below freezing it is a goner. Often times by this point in the year our arugula would have bit the dust, but temperatures have been so mild it is showing no sign of stopping.
Swiss Chard bunch- Another crop that we will sometimes lose in an early cold spell, although the Swiss chard is quite a bit tougher than the arugula. It's nice to still have some greens besides kale!
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/swiss-chard-recipes
Hot peppers- We put our final pick on our Cherry bomb peppers... I have been enjoying using these in just about everything lately. They really don't add too much spice (I usually use some hot sauce or chili flakes too) but a nice peppery flavor.
More Celeriac and Brussels sprouts in the large shares this week too!
Carrots- As I said, we don't think there will be carrots in next week's share, so enjoy the last of the season! They get sweeter every week and are pretty tasty right now...
Celeriac (celery root)- The tops are great for soups, stocks, sauces and stews....the roots are great in a puree or mash...Whitney was just saying she made this last night. I prefer it with potatoes and celeriac mashed together, like in this recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/celery-root-puree-236200
Brussels sprouts- These sprouts should last until Thanksgiving easily if you keep them in a plastic bag or in the crisper drawer of the fridge. They make a great side dish with the turkey! Hard to resist eating them sooner though...
Shallots- Try using your shallots in place of the onion in the celery root puree for a slightly more complex flavor.
Rutabega- Rutabegas are sometimes called "Swedes" or Swedish turnips. They are similar to a turnip, but with a slightly firmer, yellow flesh and a bit more flavor. They can be used in place of winter turnips in a recipe, or try this simple recipe that should highlight their flavor:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/roasted-rutabaga-recipe.html
Kabocha squash- These green "buttercup" kabochas are not too different from the red kuri squash that was in your share back in October. They have a dry, flavorful flesh that is best scooped out of the skin after roasting or steaming. This variety outperformed any of our Winter squash in 2015 and we had loads of them all Fall....then this year they probably yielded the worst of all the squash and we didn't have a whole lot. Who knows why...that's farming for you, and it's one reason why we plant a lot of different varieties...when one does poorly usually another does well to make up for it.
Large Shares:
Arugula bunch- One last bunch of spicy arugula greens for the large shares....the arugula can withstand a very light frost, but once the temperatures go very far below freezing it is a goner. Often times by this point in the year our arugula would have bit the dust, but temperatures have been so mild it is showing no sign of stopping.
Swiss Chard bunch- Another crop that we will sometimes lose in an early cold spell, although the Swiss chard is quite a bit tougher than the arugula. It's nice to still have some greens besides kale!
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/swiss-chard-recipes
Hot peppers- We put our final pick on our Cherry bomb peppers... I have been enjoying using these in just about everything lately. They really don't add too much spice (I usually use some hot sauce or chili flakes too) but a nice peppery flavor.
More Celeriac and Brussels sprouts in the large shares this week too!
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