Week 20

Last one.  Kelly will tell you, we are stoked, that this is the day we have been waiting for for the last 20 weeks.  We have paid off our debt to you!  It always feels good to pay off a debt, but I am always a little sad to see it come to an end.  I like routines and I enjoy CSA days.

Storms are pretty stressful for people with greenhouses, piles of crates and lots of random stuff everywhere.  I think Kelly used enough concrete to build a nuclear reactor when we put the two larger houses in the ground, but still, I was relieved we didn't see more wind over the past few days.  Instead we had a little bit of much needed free time and a good reason to get organized.  Our house looks like human beings live in it again and the wood shop which also serves as dry storage for a lot of farm stuff is once again a wood shop and not just a giant table covered with random farm stuff.  We put lots of stuff away there when we don't know where else to put it, but it isn't actually put away, it is just out of the way.  Out of the way that is until you actually need to use the wood shop as a wood shop.  I hope none of you had any damage from the storm.

Lots of the fields have cover crop coming up and garlic should go in the ground in the next couple weeks.  Things are winding down.  Thank you for going along for the ride.  You were there for the hectic early months of transplanting,  the peak of harvest and now the slow decline.  Hopefully we took good care of you.

Carrots
Spinach
Butternut Squash
Rutabaga
Lettuce
Summer Turnips
Cucumber or Zucchini - Dealer's Choice - Can you believe we still have some of these?
Garlic
Cabbage - Large Only

Week 19

Well, for some of you this is it.  Incredible.  I can't believe we are at the end.  Hopefully you all enjoyed the season.   At the end of each season when I thank you, I usually thank you both for supporting us and also for supporting local agriculture in general.  Obviously to continue doing what we do, we need good customer support.  On a rainy day, like yesterday, when our sales are no different then I would expect on a sunny day, I am reminded that we are fortunate.   When my sales pitch for the farm share is the same little email I have sent out for the past eight seasons and you all sign up and give your friends a better sales pitch so they sign up I am also reminded that we are fortunate.   We have amazing customers!  Most of our energy and brain space is spent on growing good produce but I do also think about the bigger picture of local agriculture and how important it is to me.  When you buy a farm share in hopes of having good food you also are throwing your support behind local agriculture in this community.   Thank you!

We are ending on a delicious note (those of you who are here next week, don't worry, more delicious stuff to come).

Rainbow Carrots
Parsnips - First dig of the season - can not wait to eat some of these - parsnip hash browns to a plate near me soon!
Potatoes
Onions
Lettuce 
Broccoli
Delicata Squash - This is our most popular squash,  and deservedly so.
Kale - Large Only
Candystick Dessert Delicata - Add On Veggie Only - Are all delicatas the same?  Even among delicatas that look similar there can be a wide range of quality.  We have settled on Zeppelin after growing a couple varieties.  This year a customer gave me some seed for a new delicata.  This delicata was developed by a seed saver in Oregon who selected for sweetness and a smaller seed cavity.  According to the description instead of a honey sweet flavor it has a richer fig sweetness to it.  I am normally suspect of all seed catalog descriptions but Carol Deppe, the breeder, is highly respected in her field and I am excited about the new variety.

Week 18

The change in seasons makes me crave different food.  I know I should be grasping onto the veggies I am about to say good bye to, but all I want to fill my belly with is roasted roots and soups.  I breath a sigh of relief when August is over, but our lives really don't change much until this time of year.  We shifted the start time forward a half and hour and I look forward to an extra half hour of sleep each night this week.  In a couple more weeks and we will have days with no crew and we will start working in earnest on some projects around the house, many of which are farm related, but still it gives our days a much different feel.  Just as spring fills me with hope, fall makes me reflective.  In summer I don't hope, I don't reflect, I just put my head down and go.  Winter, I don't know what winter does.  I guess in the beginning I reflect and at the end I hope and in the middle I just wish it wasn't winter!  This week I have been thinking a lot about the changes that need to happen to make next year better.  I signed up to go to women in farming conference at the end of November and I hope it inspires me and gives me some good ideas.

The farm share season is winding down.  I will try to touch base with all of your this week to make sure we are on the same page about whether or not you skipped a week.  For some of you next week will be the grand finale.  Those of you who skipped a week will have two more weeks after this week.

We decided to go with celery root, also known as celeriac this week.  Next week we will dig our first parsnips!

We had a little surprise this morning.  Our missing hen appeared with eight chicks.  This is the third time we have had fall chicks.  The rest of the year when a hen goes missing we look for her and usually either find some sign she was killed or occasionally we find her sitting on eggs and take them away from her.  However in late summer when a chicken goes missing we usually just think about looking for her.  That is what we did with Freckles and as it turns out she was right under our noses sitting on a pile of eggs.

Carrots
Golden Beets - milder than the purple ones but just as sweet
Lettuce
Herb Choice
Celery Root - leaves can be used in stock.  We like to mash it, often with potatoes.  It also adds some nice flavor to soups both in chunks in a broth or in a pureed soup.  Ian, who many of you see on Wednesday, loves it roasted with parsnips.
Radish
Kabocha Squash - green or orange - I like to use kabocha for all my baked goods.  It is also nice in curry or braised.
Spinach - Large Only

Marcus Samuelsson's Thai Chicken and Pumpkin Curry