Week 16: A Whole New Winter

Normally we come to the end of summer CSA season, exhausted and ready for a winter of relative rest before starting the whole thing over again.

But this year is different. We're still pretty tired, but we're also exhilarated. As we harvest and pack the final summer share for the season, we are also planning the first winter share.

Not to mention tucking tons of root vegetables into storage, determining how best to clean the 850 lbs of flax seed we just got in from a farmer down the road (who plans to supply us with around five tons next year!), and working out the packaging kinks as we roll out lightly processed products via Wintergreen Foods.

Dwayne Kolpack (of flaxseed fame) also grows sunflowers.
We stopped by a month or so ago for a flower photo shoot.

He hasn't been able to combine these yet, but we'll get some when he does :)

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I skipped right past the details of this week's share, which will include: 5 pounds Carrots, 4 pounds Potatoes, 2 pounds Beets, 2 Honey Bear Acorn Squash, Cabbage, Leeks, 3 Gourds OR 2 Hooligan Pumpkins, Rutabaga OR Celeriac, and Pac Choi OR Hakurei.

These are Hooligans, if you were wondering. It's hard to tell from the photo,
but they're about the same size as the small gourds we grow. Also, they aren't
always this blurry. They have dry, mildly sweet flesh.

The share is much the same as last week, but this one has leeks. This year's leeks are a bit improved over last year's, though they are still on the small side. They taste great though. We grew them in sand and compost, so be sure to wash them well to remove all the grit. If you aren't sure what to do with them, try this soup. It's a recipe Scott invented way back in our farm intern days. It's on the this side, use less milk (down to four cups is fine) if you would like it a little thicker.

Squash Leek Soup

• Two honey bear acorn squash (or one larger sweet fleshed winter squash)
• 6 cups milk or cream
• 2 small or one medium leek
• 1 teaspoon salt
• a pinch nutmeg or curry powder

Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Bake at 400 degrees until the squash are very soft, about 35-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk over low heat in a large saucepan. Clean the leek thoroughly and slice it thinly (compost the tough upper portions of the leaves, the tender green parts are fine though). When the milk is not quite simmering, add the sliced leek. Let it cook, without simmering, until the leeks are tender, about 20 minutes.

When the squash and leeks are both tender, scoop the squash flesh into the leeks and milk. Add salt and nutmeg and puree the mixture until it is smooth.

Week 15: The End is Near

The farmers markets are pretty much over for the season, but the CSA continues for two more weeks (including this one). This is the time of year that members start saying "So this is the last one, right?" at pick-up, but this is when the real fun starts.

It's Jumbo share time.

This week's share will include: Two Honey Bear Acorn Squash, One Pie Pumpkin, Four Pounds of Potatoes, Five Pounds of Carrots, Two Pounds of Beets, Two Stalks of Brussels Sprouts, One Bunch of Hakurei or Baby Pac Choi, and Rutabaga or Celeriac.

It might be a little heavy.

The pumpkins we're distributing this week are those pictured in the upper right corner
of this photo. In the foreground are long pie pumpkins. You might have seen some
photos of these when we were harvesting, they were almost solid green like giant
zucchinis. They become more pumpkiny in storage. In a few more months they
should all be more or less solid orange.

Don't worry, you don't have to eat the whole share in just one week. The carrots and beets will store nicely in their bags in the fridge (especially the beets). The squash will keep for at least a month on the counter. I suggest hanging on to the pumpkin until Halloween is through, then roasting, mashing, and freezing it for Thanksgiving (see the recipe below). It might not keep all the way until Thanksgiving on the counter, but mashed pumpkin freezes beautifully. Brussels sprouts will keep for a couple weeks in the fridge, just remove any discolored leaves (but leave the sprouts on the stalks) and make sure they are in the crisper or otherwise ensure they will have adequate humidity. The potatoes should keep as well as any potatoes at room temp, so long as they are dry (sometimes there is water or wet soil in the distribution bags, make sure you don't try to store them with that moisture) and away from light. The celeriac and hakurei will both keep for a few weeks in the fridge as well (the celeriac will keep much longer) as long as you remove the greens before storage. Eat those greens! Hakurei greens are great cooked or raw and celeriac greens are basically celery. You should probably eat your pac choi on the soon side :)

So now that you know how to store you items, how should you eat them? Below are two recipe ideas. The first is quick and easy, sauteed beets and carrots. The second is pumpkin custard. Mmmm...

Beets and Carrots

• One pound combined beets and carrots. I like about 12 ounces beets and 4 ounces carrots, but you can do your own thing.
• Approximately one teaspoon olive oil
• One Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• One Tablespoon Honey
• 1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• Salt to taste (about a half teaspoon)

Cut off the tops and tails of the beets and chop them into bite sized pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over low/medium heat. Add the beets to the pan and allow them to cook, stirring occasionally, for about ten minutes.

While the beets are doing their initial cooking, chop the carrots into one inch chunks (or smaller if you would prefer them to be very tender in the finished dish). 

Add the carrots, salt, and cinnamon to the pan and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

When the carrots and beets are as tender as you like them, stir in the honey and vinegar. Continue stirring until the beets and carrots are evenly coated.

Pumpkin Custard with Ricotta and Cream Cheese Swirls

The flour in this recipe is simply to soak up any excess moisture that might weep out of the custard as it bakes. If you are gluten free, feel free to omit it. Just know your custard might be a little weepy.

For the pumpkin custard:

• One medium Pie Pumpkin
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 12 ounces Heavy Cream (minus one tablespoon for the swirls)
• 2 eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• a pinch of salt

For the ricotta cream cheese swirls:

• 1/2 cup (about a half a block) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Heavy Cream
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 Egg

To prepare the pumpkin custard, halve the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Roast the pumpkin at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour, or until it is very tender (turn the heat down to 350 if the surface starts to overbrown before the flesh is completely tender--you want to see some caramelization, but no burning). When the pumpkin is tender, scrape out the flesh and measure out one and a half cups, freeze the remainder for a future recipe.

Puree the pumpkin flesh with the maple syrup in a blender or food processor. Make sure it is very smooth.

Transfer the maple pumpkin puree to a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Beat until ingredients are well combined.

To prepare the swirl mixture, cream together the two cheeses, sugar and heavy cream. When these ingredients are well combined beat in the vanilla and egg.

Pour the pumpkin custard into cake pans or a medium casserole dish (for me this recipe filled one nine inch round and one six inch heart cake pan), filling your chosen baking dish or dishes only about 2/3 of the way. Then add dollops of the swirl mixture and stir it into the custard gently, to form swirls like these:

Bake at 425 for 35 - 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean.

Scoop the custard onto plates with a spoon to serve. 

A dollop of whipped cream on top would be lovely,
but this custard is already pleasantly rich and creamy all on its own.

Week 14: Green Tomatoes and Sprouts

It's that time of year again.

Harvest Fest happened at Algomah Acres.

And the tomato leaves have succumbed to frostbite. At least the leaves on the field tomatoes have.

(Sorry, no frost photo. Moonlit tomato leaves covered in ice crystals are both breathtakingly beautiful and difficult to capture with a camera.)

Which means this week's share includes Green Tomatoes, along with: Cabbage, Carrots, Apples, Spaghetti Squash, Brussels Sprouts, and Potatoes.

It also means that we have spent our last few days digging carrots and potatoes.

Ignore all those lamb's quaters seed heads in the background
and just focus on the sea of carrots.

And our nights rescuing green tomatoes from the cold. 

So, instead of an original recipe this week (Even the CSA farmer gets too tired to cook sometimes. We've pretty much just been eating scrambled eggs and baked squash this week.) I'm offering you a greatest hits list of fall recipes from the past and pinterest recipes I think you should try. The focus is green tomatoes and Brussels sprouts, the two trickiest items in this week's share:

This post from 2011 (I've been doing this for longer than I think I have) features two of our favorite fall recipes. Spaghetti Squash with Two Sauces (which has become Scott's birthday dinner of choice) and roasted Brussels sprouts. Both have been mentioned every year for the last few years, and both are worth trying if you haven't yet.

For more Brussels sprouts ideas, check out the Brussels sprouts pinterest board.

I have two favorite green tomato posts. This one features fried green tomatoes, and this one features green tomato relish. I am still waiting for someone to point me towards a good green tomato pie recipe. 

There isn't one on my green tomato pinterest board. But maybe you'll find one.