Produce Subscription (Week 39)

It’s heavy again; all of the produce in your boxes this week adds up to 26# (give or take). Use caution when lifting and avoid 52 card pickup!

Celeriac It’s baaack…more ugly celery root. But oh so savory.

Celery You got the root and the crown! Chop these crisp green ribs into a hearty pot of chili. Perfect for the upcoming cold nights with a slab of cornbread with local honey drizzled on it.

Onion, yellow Standard ole’ onions.

Melon, honeydew x2 Enjoy the sweetness; 2 different varieties—one with light green flesh and one with orange flesh.

Potatoes, Kennebec Some really big lunkers this week! Gotta love the Kennebecs.

Lettuce, green leaf Lost my voice tonight as I did the crazy Razz dance chasing the deer away from the lettuce. At least I can still type…

Tomato, cherry variety The season for cherries is dwindling.

Tomato, slicer/heirloom and paste variety But we are still flush with the slicers and pastes. Enjoy ’em while ya gottem.

Sweet pepper variety A few humungo red peppers, called King of the North. They did their job.

Pepper, Anaheim (hot) Roast this puppies and stir up some great White Chili (see recipe below).

Daikon radish Crisp, mild, winter radishes that will do just about anything from fresh to roasted to boiled to mashed.

Carrots We are getting a little better!

Squash, winter (Pie pumpkin, Baby blue hubbard, or Delicata)
A terrible winter squash harvest underway; a variety spread amoungst the crowd.

Garlic

Thyme

Parsley

Recipes for your consideration

Some simples

Parsnips with dill— scrub parsnip, slice, add to pan with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat, when sizzling add water to cover bottom of pan, cover and lower heat to simmer. Check back in 10min for tenderness; continue as needed. Chop dill, sprinkle and stir. Serve!

Daikon radish sticks n’ dip— scrub daikon, slice into snacking sticks, dip in favorite salad dressing and munch.

Honeydew sparkler— Drop the whole melon in the blender (well, minus the seeds and skin!), add 1-2 Tbsp local honey, blend well. Pour over ice to 50-75% of glass; fill remaining with sparkling water. Sip and enjoy.

Roasted winter squash— Cut squash in half, slice off a small portion of “bottom” so the half-section sits nicely on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup, season with salt/pepper/thyme/sage. Bake 400F for 20-30min until fork goes in easily. Serve as a bowl for self-scooping, or scoop out the innards and serve as a side.

Daikon Radish Salad with Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp grapeseed oil or another neutral oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 large daikon radish, peeled and thinly sliced into matchsticks
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into thin matchsticks
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tsp or so toasted sesame seeds for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, whisk together the ginger, oils, vinegar and soy sauce. Scrub the radish and carrot, and slice all the vegetables into thin matchsicks. Toss all the vegetables in the bowl with the vinaigrette, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with toasted sesame seeds.

White Chili

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp cumin
4 cups broth
3 Anaheim chilies
1-2 cans white beans, drained (I prefer small whites)
1 lime, juiced
1 lb tofu (cubed) or seitan (ripped)
¼ cup cornmeal

Roast Anaheim peppers under broiler, turning until all sides blackened. Wearing rubber gloves, peel off skins, remove top and seeds. Chop.

Sauté onions and garlic in oil until soft.

Add chilies and remaining ingredients in order. Simmer lightly for 30-45 min minimum.

Serve w/ cornbread or topped w/ crushed tortillas.

A dollop of Sour Supreme (Tofutti) and/or avocado slices add extra panache.

For Your Reading Pleasure

How to Store your Garden Produce: The Key to Self-Sufficiency by Piers Warren
A simple, quick reference book to help you “put up” the bounty of your WLIG CSA box or your very own backyard/planter box/windowsill garden. You’ll be amazed with what you can accomplish!

Farm News

We took pity on you. This is a “mid-sized” Blue Hubbard from 2012. Only “baby” blue hubbards this year.

The season is a mix of summer and fall crops right now. The switch over has begun. With so much heat, many of the traditional fall veggies are stilll scratching their heads— the Brussels sprouts are making big leafy cabbages instead of tiny tight nobs of sprouts. Hopefully the roots under the white row cover have stayed cool enough as they were growing to be flavorful. We’ll see. The daikon radish were the first ones out and they are crisp and light— perfect. Their greens are delicious too, but too big for the boxes this week. They will be coming, you just wait!

Produce Bonus: Find the longest parsnip root and then drop us a line with the photo and measurement and you win a prize next week.

Also, we will have a small number of jumbo jack o’ lantern pumpkins this year— the outcome of our pumpkin trials. A few varieties withstood the onslaught of squash bugs that took out most of our cucurbits early. If you are interested in reserving one for your halloween decorations, we will be posting them next week. Stay tuned!

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the vegetables.

Roger and Lara