Wednesday, October 24, 2012

October 24 the first extended share box

So we begin the "extended season" with the weather gone back to being quite mild.  We are working on getting the garlic planted this week for next year's harvest.  All the fallow ground is planted in a cover crop of crimson clover and wheat.  We are almost ready to slow down a bit.

planting garlic
Boxes today have:  1 bunch beets, 1 head radicchio, 1 head lettuce, 1 bunch leeks, 3lbs. fingerling potatoes, 3lbs. small orange sweet potatoes, 2 lbs red onions, garlic and shallots.

Radicchio Salad

1 head radicchio, cut into bite-size chunks
1or 2 ripe pears, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup walnuts
blue cheese
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
salt

1. toast walnuts over medium heat, flipping periodically until they smell good. ( we use a dry cast iron skillet and it takes about 5 mins.. be careful because they're easy to burn.)
2. combine in a bowl the radicchio, pears, walnuts, and blue cheese.  drizzle vinegar and olive oil over and a light sprinkle of salt and toss.

its good to make the salad about 10 minutes before you'll eat it.

we love this salad!  it has it all; the bitter radicchio, the salty and creamy blue cheese, the sweet pear, the earthy walnut and the tangy vinegar!  yum!

We also really enjoy the combination of sweet potatoes and fingerlings roasted in the oven with some olive oil and salt at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or so.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

October 3 CSA

I meant to write last week that the winter squash you got in your box 2 weeks ago is a buttercup squash.  The flesh is sweeter and a little drier than butternut and is delicious roasted.

Your box this week contains:  1 head buttercrunch lettuce, 1 bunch swiss chard, 1 bunch radishes, 2 lbs orange sweet potatoes, 1 lb. japanese sweet potato ( purple skin, yellow flesh), some sweet onions.   Regular shares also get: 1 head romaine, 1 bunch leeks, 1 lb. zucchini, 1 bunch fresh dill.

Remember to get your onions and garlic from our market stand.

Also, please return any extra wax boxes you have; we are running low again.

Addiebelle inspecting sweet potatoes
The sweet onions in your box need to be refrigerated.  The sweet potatoes this week need to sit for another week atleast before they'll be sweet.  Just keep them on your counter or in a cabinet, unwashed until you're ready to eat them.  The japanese sweet potatoes are more dense and starchy and less sweet in flavor than the orange ones.

Next week is the last regular season CSA box.  The extended shares start Oct 24th and you'll get a box 4 out of 5 weeks until Nov. 21st.  Its your choice which of the weeks you don't want a box.  We did it this way so that if you're out of town Thanksgiving week, you won't miss a box but if you're in town and want a bunch of fresh veggies for your Thanksgiving dinner, you can get a box the day before Thanksgiving.  You'll just need to let us know at some point which date you're missing.