In
this week’s box:
Basil:
Thai Magic
Beans:
Empress/Purple Pod Mix
Garlic:
Persian Star or Romanian Red
Eggplant:
Variety (optional)
Peppers:
Purple Beauty
Tapestry
Salad Mix
Tomatoes:
Gold Medal & Italian Heirloom or Paul Robeson
Winter
Squash: Butternut, Sweet Dumpling or Kabocha Orange
For
those with the Herb Share, this week includes: Basil-Dark Opal, Sage, Dill, Thyme
Featured Recipe (on back):
Penne with Garlicky Butternut Squash
Rain this week: 0.00”
Well, the big event for the week was the harvest party, which was attended by more than 100 friends, family and neighbors. There was fishing, hayrack rides, apple bobbing, hiking, games, garden tours, a bonfire and lots and lots of good food. We will try to get some pictures of the event posted on the website this week.
Bowing to the warnings of the weathermen, we are battening down the gardens for the first hard freeze of the season. We harvested the last of the peppers and eggplant, as those will definitely be done for the year, as will the basil and most of the other herbs. The beets and turnips will get low tunnels of frost cloth to protect the roots from serious damage, but you may notice a lower quality in their greens in the next couple of weeks. The salad, spinach and swiss chard will also get covers and should weather the cold temps with no problem. The leeks are very cold hardy and are left to their own devices until the ground freezes. We will harvest as many of the tomatoes as possible before the cold hits but this will likely be the end of the tomatoes in your boxes. Even if we could protect the vines enough to keep them alive, the flavor just isn’t what we would like it to be, so we will let them go with fond memories of their luscious summer flavor and move on to celebrate the fall vegetables. Speaking of which, we heard great things about this week’s recipe from member Joan Snader, who was kind enough to share it with us, so we wanted to share it with everyone. We haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but it sounds like the perfect fall recipe.
Life in the high tunnel is coming along nicely. The radishes, beets, carrots and swiss chard are all up and enjoying the mild climate. The salad beds will be sown in the tunnel in the next week or so following the annual planting of garlic for next year’s crop, as will the remaining spinach and kale. We always feel like such rebels planting new crops as everyone around us is harvesting theirs.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean
Penne
with Garlicky Butternut Squash
1/4 cup
olive oil
4 cups diced (1/2-inch) butternut squash (or other winter squash) from a 1 1/2
pound squash
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
6 sage leaves, minced or 1/4 teaspoon powdered sage
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound uncooked penne pasta
Grated Parmesan
Bring a
large quantity of water to a boil in a stockpot. Heat the oil in a large
skillet over medium-high heat. Toss in the squash and saute
5 minutes, or until it begins to get golden. Sprinkle in the garlic and saute 2 minutes. Pour in the 1/4 cup water, nutmeg, sage,
parsley, salt and pepper, and cover the pan. Cook the squash until tender,
about 5 minutes more.
Cook the penne until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain
thoroughly in a colander and return to the pot. Spoon on the squash mixture and
toss gently. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan and pass more at the table.
Recipe Source:
FoodNetwork.com, courtesy of CSA members Joan & Ken Snader