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Once we have frost there are many additions to the list of vegetables we offer: daikon radish, celeriac or celery root, and parsnips. Daikon is a large, mild white radish eaten raw or cooked throughout
Asia. Grate and add to salad, add to stir fry or soups
Celeriac is a European bulb that is a cousin to the celery we know
- its bulb like root is the flavor of celery with the texture of a
carrot. I like to add a chunk minced into soups and stews. People often add them grated raw in salads or slaw.
Parsnips, a cousin to carrots are sweet white roots that are delicious sliced, steamed and then sauteed just to caramelized in butter.
They are great in roasted root medleys. And I like them in a curried cream soup.
Greetings from the Garden! This CSA box has salad and braising greens, spinach, carrots, beets, rutabaga, onions or leeks, squash, and apples or raspberries.
Field Notes. We have started the big dig with carrots, and I have nearly a barrel in the root cellar. Ken is listing off all the other fall tasks that need to be done before cold weather sets in. We usually have some nice days in fall, and we will continue to work with the weather.
It is time to move the mobile high tunnel to its winter location. Ken has been holding off until we got some rain. One of the factors with plant health in a greenhouse is maintaining soil moisture, and starting with moist soil is a step ahead.
Ken has also been looking at temperature. This time of year it would be easy to cook the greens in the greenhouse - even though the days are short, there is still some heat from the sun
From the Kitchen. Greens! We have been adding greens to eggs, braising and dressing with cream or butter or vinegar. These greens would a great addition to a stir fry with onion, root vegetable like carrots or salad turnips.
And the spinach is beautiful - great raw in salad or cooked solo or with eggs or added to soups - tomato soup Florentine means it has spinach added.
We are also lighting the oven - baking squash. And Ken has been processing the summer tomatoes into sauce and making lasagne.
Rutabagas are a fall favorite. They are a member of the brassica or cabbage family and are delicious in soups and stews, pasties, grated for hash browns, etc. Many people avoid potatoes for blood sugar or arthritis reasons, and find that rutabagas are about the same texture.
'Til Next Week, Judith
Greetings from the Garden! The CSA box has many greens - salad and braising greens, some spinach, tomatoes and peppers, cabbage, beets, onions or leeks, sweet potatoes, raspberries, and the first of the winter squash crop.
Field Notes The garden has some wide open spaces that Ken has readied for fall plantings and spots for early spring. Now he is awaiting frost to pull many more crops out that won't survive frost - the pickling cukes, for example.
Ken has started harvesting winter squash, and will continue doing so. The acorn and sweet dumpling are the first to ripen, and the others seem better after a light frost. He is also doing the necessary preparations for moving the mobile high tunnel - He has planted greens where the tunnel will go and also some that will be outside the tunnel so we can compare how the two spaces work.
And in his spare time he is doing some repairs and maintenance on the outbuildings - chicken coop, shed where we store boxes, etc. When the weather has been nice he takes advantage of it.
I am sorting garlic for planting and will be sorting onions for winter storage so they can move and make space for the winter squash. I also am sorting through things to go back into the shed so it can be more organized and less crowded.
From the Kitchen. Fall brings so many delicious choices! As many gardeners and farmers are winding down, we are gearing up. We eat from the garden and field year around and are committed to local food. We are in a local food challenge centered in the Prairie Farm area, and I will let you know how we do. Most of our meals center around what we have. Right now we are watching the summer crops slow down and the cool weather crops perk up.
As the days shorten and mornings cool down, Ken cooks in the morning. The canning tomatoes become lasagne, the vole nipped sweet potatoes become scalloped potatoes, and beets become borscht.
The Asian fruit flies seem to have headed south, so there are raspberries in your box. If you have any problems with the berries, please let me know
I return to my New England roots and make a big batch of baked beans with a pork or venison shank. This year we have a fine crop of dried beans. I like to soak overnight, saute meat and onion, add beans and soup stock, herbs like savory or marjoram and thyme, and simmer all morning. Add any salt or acid like tomatoes after the beans soften.
'Til Next Week,
Judith
The cool weather and rain has meant we have a beautiful crop of fall greens.
Here is a photo of some we harvested last week: clockwise from the top we have teen brassicas, mizuna, tatsoi, green mustard and in the center red mustard. In cool weather all these greens are mild enough for salad or they can be braised or wilted or added to soups just before serving.
Tatsoi is a mild green often found in baby salad mixes. We like to grow it out to 3/4 size. It is consistently mild.
Mizuna is a member of the brassica family as well. It has a slight mustard flavor, but in cool weather it is not hot or spicy.
We grow both green and red mustard. Mustards like radishes reflect the weather during the time it has grown. In cool weather the flavor is mild. In hot weather it is hotter and spicy - a zippy zesty addition to salads or tame it down by braising or wilting it.
I like to add it to salads. When it has been grown during hot weather I like to roll it like so
and then cut it into sliced ribbons as a colorful and zippy addition.
The members of the brassica family are also know as the cruciferous vegetables as their first leaves grow in a cross formation. They are nutritious and often cited in literature as cancer prevention food. We just think they are green, nutritious, and delicious. Add some to your diet - they are worth it.
Greetings from the Garden! This CSA box has lettuce, salad and braising greens, red and teen green cabbage, kohlrabi, tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, carrots, radishes, apples, and sweet potatoes
Field Notes. We are monitoring greenhouses this time of year. If it is cloudy, they are cool, and when there is sun they warm up quickly. With shorter days and more of an angle to the sun, they need to be closed up earlier. We have had a slight nip of frost, and expect frost in either of two conditions: 1) a cool cloudy day that clears late in the day with no wind or often right around a full moon. The full moon signals the end of some tender crops, but also the cool weather sweetens several crops - squash for example.
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| Cuke vines to pigs |
Since we go year around, we still have many tasks. Ken is still planting and he has started fall clean up and is assessing best conditions for digging the fall roots.
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| Crop from prior season |
From the Kitchen. Sweet potatoes! These are a real treat - and a nutritional power house! They are great baked or boiled. We do not cure them, but use them as we dig them. Ken also makes scalloped sweet potatoes and also sweet potato pie. Enjoy!
Fall greens are so good - the texture, color and flavor are so beautiful and delicious. I have been using all of them in salads as the flavor is mild, but they are also great braised as well.
'Til Next Week, Judith
Once Big Red out grew the egg carton, he moved to a bus tub with newspaper. Then even the bus tub became a bit small. So I introduced him to the outdoor cat house and sunroof.
There is a sheepskin lined box set inside a cooler on the south side of
the old kiln shed. On top of the box are several old blankets that are a
cozy space to sit and soak up the sun's rays and look out the window.
He seems to like both the blankets
and the view
This time of year I try to take time out from the push to get things done before the weather turns cold, and enjoy the change of view. I am amazed at people looking for "peak color" and driving around to look at leaves. In Vermont my parents used to call these folk "foliageurs."
I am fortunate. I live in a place where each day I see small changes. First there is just a hint of color among the fading green leaves.
Then more leaves change and there is a beautiful mix of color. This is my favorite...
...when there is still some green to contrast with the color.
And I enjoy cloudy days as that is when the color pops.
Soon leaves will start falling in earnest, and for me this is a beautiful thing as there is a carpet of crunchy leaves and the woods open us for winter.
