In
this week’s box:
Garlic: assorted hard and softneck
individual cloves
Radishes: Easter Egg Mix
Spinach: Space and
Or
Swiss Chard: Bright Lights
Mix
Tapestry
Salad Mix
Featured Recipes (on back): Blue Gate Farm Confetti Pasta
Rain this week:
Welcome to Week 1 of our CSA Winter Share program. If
you are new to Blue Gate Farm, welcome! If you are an existing member, thanks
for joining us for more “vegetable adventures.”
Though the main growing season has come to an end,
things are still busy here on the farm. Most of the spent crops in the main and
herb gardens have been cleared and prepped for next spring. We also planted
hundreds of garlic cloves this week. The garlic in your box is a result of
prepping for that planting. Most of the time when we put garlic in your box it
will be 2-4 full heads, but during planting time you get an assortment of
smaller, individual cloves that didn’t make it into the garden. While you can
store full heads on your kitchen counter, the individual cloves need to go into
the refrigerator when you get your box home, as many of them have
only partial skins.
Even though we have already had a killing frost here,
you will still find a few flowers in your Tapestry Salad Mix. We transplanted
several fall volunteer calendulas and violas into the High Tunnel before the
hard freezes and they are just starting to bloom now. It’s such a pleasure to
walk in there and see fresh green growth and colorful blooms. The radishes in
your box this week are the first official seed-grown crop from the High Tunnel,
with carrots, beets, kale, spinach, swiss
chard and more salad to come.
We are noticing big changes in our bird populations
here. The wild turkeys are out in force, bulking up for winter. We’ve been
seeing one large flock of two dozen birds, hens mostly, cruising between the
pasture and the timber. Given the season, they may be cruising for someone’s
thanksgiving table if they keep this up. We’ve also been seeing lots of juncos
and cedar waxwings, sure signs that winter is just around the corner.
We are heading for
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean
Blue Gate Farm Confetti Pasta
1 lb pasta (we like penne rigate, or other bite-sized hardy pasta)
½ lb fresh spinach or swiss chard leaves, washed
1 tbs
olive oil
1 tbs
minced garlic (more or less to taste)
Pasta sauce (we like a simple
red sauce with garlic and herb with this recipe)
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Cook pasta to package
instructions or to taste. As pasta is cooking, start warming sauce. Cut spinach
or chard leaves into thin strips, chiffonade-style (stack leaves and roll into
a tight roll, then cut crossways into thin strips.) Pour olive oil into a
skillet and heat over medium-high, add garlic and sauté, being careful not to
allow garlic to brown. Add greens and sauté lightly, ensuring that garlic is
distributed throughout leaves (2-3 minutes.) Remove from heat and cover to
retain warmth.
When pasta is ready, assemble
in a serving bowl or in individual pasta bowls. Place pasta in bowl, sprinkle
with garlic and greens and top with red sauce, garnishing with parmesan cheese
(if using a serving bowl, you can toss all ingredients together.)
This recipe is particularly
good topped or tossed with grilled or herb-roasted chicken.