Week 17

I try to resist cooking fall/winter food this time of year because I know that we have a long winter and many squash dishes ahead of us.  However, the weather last week convinced me that I needed to light a fire and put a pot of soup on the stove.  We had delicata soup and grilled sandwiches with sharp cheddar, apple and caramelized onion.  Delicata isn't my usual go to squash for soup,  but we wanted to give them a test run before we sold them so it seemed like a natural choice.  I roasted the squash and then pureed the soup with the skin on.  Maybe not the best choice without a more powerful blender, but nothing a mesh strainer couldn't fix!  It really hit the spot and the delicata tastes great. You will get an assortment of squash in your boxes over the next few weeks.  They will be fine for months as long as they are stored in a dry spot.

Lettuce
Carrots
Sweet Corn (hopefully)
Delicata - The skin on these is edible.  This is, in my opinion, the most versatile squash we grow.  We use it in curries, burritos, on pizza and and sliced into rings and roasted or cubed in a roasted veggie mix.  It is also a great squash for stuffing.  The seeds are small and awesome toasted.
Sweet Onions
Spinach - Small Only
Potatoes - Large Only
Beets - Large Only - Small shares will get beets next week.
Chard - Large Only

Week 16 

My in-laws arrived last night from Helena, Montana.  Helena and Montana in general have been plagued with wild fires and smokey skies for all of late summer.  The rain or snow is needed there, as well as here, but the looming rain put a little extra skip in our step last week.  We hauled in a good portion of the winter squash.  It can tolerate some rain, but we always like to get the varieties with corky stems out of the field while they are dry.  We worry about the soft stems absorbing moisture and the squash getting dirty.  A little mud isn't a big deal but wiping ten thousand pounds of squash can take a while.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time and the spaghetti squash and butternuts will have to come out later this week.

We use to haul all our squash out in hand carried crates.  A couple years a go we started loading them into watermelon boxes, a real back saver.  We use a tractor to drive the boxes through the field tossing and catching the squash to fill the bins.  Then we use a tractor to load boxes in to vehicles, drive to our barn and also unload with a tractor.  The squash will cure there until we sort and sell it.  We do still crate and carry some squash but the forks and the watermelon boxes have been a game changer.

Squash Hauling

Pie Pumpkins

Lettuce
Radishes
Spinach - large this week, small next week
Potatoes - small this week, large next week
Choy
Carrots
Cherry Tomatoes
Sheep Nose Peppers - Large Only
Salad Mix - Large Only

Week 15

I don't know about you but the rain left me feeling refreshed.  It wasn't much, but it was enough to wash the dust and ash off the vegetables and shine things up a bit.  The cool, wet morning felt relaxing even though there was no less to do today than yesterday.  Change is nice.

The farm amplifies our connection to the seasons.  In Chinese medicine there are five elements and five corresponding seasons.  Four of the seasons correlate with the ones you are familiar with and the fifth is where we are now - late summer.  It starts in the second half of August around the time when you suddenly notice the cooler mornings, the shorter days and the change in light.  On the farm the bounty and abundance are still there, but the leaves are starting to yellow and many of the plants begin slow down, fade and prepare to call it a season.  Summer begins to release its grip on us, we can take a breath and feel grounded again.  There is still much to be done and September is still very busy and yet the tension lessens, the desire to share meals with friends returns and we do our best to be grateful for the warm sunny days that remain.

Lettuce 
Kale - Lacinato
Sweet Onions
Tomato
Poblanos
Cabbage
Zucchini
Cauliflower - Large Only
Sweet Pepper - Small Only

Week 14

I hope you all have a swimming hole, a BBQ and a long weekend to enjoy this run of hot weather.

Wax Beans
Eggplant - Assorted - If you have a preference on the slender Asian variety versus the larger Italian style let me know when you get your box.
Herb Choice - Basil, Thai Basil, Parsley or Rosemary - may not have full selection for the entire pick-up.
Broccoli
Garlic
Arugula
Tomato
Cucumber
Lettuce - Large Only
Mixed Bell Peppers - Large Only  These will be peppers that are in between their immature purple phase and their mature red state.

I don't eat a lot of eggplant which is sad because I love it, but good because I have a mild allergic reaction to it.  A customer mentioned that she makes a stir fried eggplant and Thai basil recipe with chiles and a little fish sauce and it sounded good to me and I have been thinking about making it for my once a year eggplant dinner.  I love a similar dish that I make with chicken.  I was just planning on winging it, but if the combo sounds good to you and you don't want to wing it, here is a recipe with good reviews.  In general if you want to do some sort of stir fry I would recommend the long slender eggplant.  The rounder Italian style eggplant is great for roasting, grilling and making big round slices.

Eggplant Stir Fry