CSA Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden!  This box has tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini or zuchetta, cucumbers,  peppers, onions, greens - lettuce, radicchio, pea shoots, etc, kohlrabi, corn, melon, grapes.

Summer squash - one of the first to go with frost

Field Notes.  This week marks the calendar start of autumn.And we have started seeing the start of frost damage to tender plants.  Ken is working to get space for the hoopettes in the garden, the next location of the mobile high tunnel, and planning transplants for these areas.  And there are fall planting of crops like garlic.  He is also looking at where there will be green manures over winter.  There are still many crops to harvest - later varieties of apples, potatoes, winter squash, and all the roots that will go into the root cellar.  This time of transition starts in August and continues until November.

Kale - tastes even better after frost

People saying things that indicate they think we finish with frost - no, we have lots to do!  Our goal is to provide our members and on line customers with as many food choices as possible year round.  That means work year round.

From the Kitchen.  Frost and cool weather lead me to process the summer crops and start thinking about heavier meals like root vegetables - Sunday Ken's aunt, uncle, and cousin and wife came by and I served chicken, rice, cooked beets warmed in butter, olive oil and crushed fennel seeds and a medley of sauteed onions, sliced carrots, and sliced cabbage with thyme and cream added just before serving.

Now is when I start lighting the cook stove and making slow cook dishes like beans, and I start lighting the gas oven for roasted vegetables - medleys of onion, carrots, beets, and other root vegetables.  I cut into chunks, toss in oil and herbs and roast in a shallow pan, turning frequently.

I am still eating all those delicious summer vegetables, but now I am cooking the tomatoes instead of eating them raw.  Ken made two delicious meals - a tomato sauce with onions, tomatoes cut in chunks, peppers, garlic - we have had it with pasta.  He also made a tasty cream soup of carrots onions,  and other items he found in the kitchen.  He added ginger and it was a warming treat on that cool night.

'Til next week
Judith