Saturday, October 6, 2012

CSA BOX 17

Hi CSA members!!

Saturday night at 2:30 I went out to start high tunnel heaters and check the fields.  Everything in the field was frozen stiff and we still had hours of the night to go.  Summer ended in a flash of the thermometer's rage!

So now what are you getting in this week's box??

Nutten:-(!!

Well, that's not totally true.  I had 8 x 10 pictures  of me made with nice sparkles on the frame.  This is truly something you would want to carry with you always!

Seriously, you might find box number 17 to be the best of the season.

It is salad week again.  This time we have Gourmet Delight lettuce along with spinach and mizuna.  Bok Choy is also in this box and is terrific in salad from the juicy stalk to the leaf.  Tomatoes and peppers could add to the salad.  Cucumbers have slowed down in the cold so they are in the family share only this week.

You might go down stir fry road this week with the bok choy, peppers, tomato, cucumber and onion.  Make sure you use the bok choy from top to bottom.

Potatoes are back in the box again.  You can't beat the flavor of potatoes that grow up with the minerals they need in the soil.

A strange surprise is in this box.  As we did the stands over the decades, we always had a few rare birds who loved green tomatoes.  "What a silly thing," I always thought.  This last week, I tried them.  Oh my gosh!  They are amazing.  You can slice them, dip them in seasoned flour and fry them slowly in your favorite oil.  Or you can dip them in beaten egg  (poor chickens!) and dip them in cracker crumbs.  This time fry them quickly.  I think the green tomatoes may make you think this was the box of the season.

Squash is in this week's box!  Delicata has become my favorite.  It is the long torpedo shaped squash with green stripes.  Butternut, the bell shaped squash is in the box.  We usually cut them in half and remove the seeds.  You can lay the cut half face down on a baking pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.  Or my favorite method is to face the cut side up and add butter and brown sugar.  Either way is terrific.

You will find a touch of fall in the bottom corner of your box with pik a pie pumpkin.  It will make the best pumpkin for pie or bars.  Just google a pumpkin pie recipe and you will find many great recipes for pumpkin pie or bars.  Pik a pie can also be eaten as a normal squash.

As the fall harvest season nears, many ask about tools they need.  We will dig the potatoes for you.  You will just need the five gallon buckets.  A sharp clipper is great for squash and pumpkins.  A long stem (handle) on the pumpkin makes its value.  Break the stem or cut it short and it doesn't have near the appeal.  So with pumpkins, cut the handle with a clippers as long as you can.  Beets just pull out of the ground.

Pails and clippers are the main tools you need to do the harvest events.  Don't feel you have to be here Oct 6 or it will all be gone.  We have a great supply.

Have a great week and enjoy my picture.

Never mind.  You don't get the picture:-(!!

From YOUR farm!!

Mark

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