What’s up on the farm?

So here it is, Thanksgiving week. It sure seemed to come fast this year, though surely we say that every year. A good time to have sweet potatoes in your boxes and salad greens in your boxes, and those shallots would be great in a salad dressing, marinated with the turkey or roasted and mashed with potatoes, I may have to do all three.

No rain this week, just crazy fall temperatures. It’s been as low as 19 degrees this week, which is really challenging those outside salad and greens beds. However it’s also been as warm as 60, which is making for good choring and growing weather.

Slowly but surely we are getting last season’s garden beds cleaned and prepped for the winter. Perennial crops like raspberries, strawberries and herbs are being mulched to help them through the winter. The plan for next year’s gardens is slowing starting to come together. Though that task is made more challenging by the almost-daily arrival of the 2007 seed catalogs. All those new and unfamiliar varieties just tempting us to try them, maybe they will become a favorite…or maybe like those ornery Purple Russian tomatoes last season, they will be a total failure. You just never know, but when you turn the page to see some of those glossy pictures in the catalogs it’s hard to decide just “what and how many” varieties to grow. We are planning to basically double our garden space for next year, which is exciting and a little scary at the same time. There will undoubtedly be a few new vegetables and certainly some new varieties, but basically it’s just to grow a higher volume of our current crops. So if you have suggestions for certain vegetables or varieties that you are particularly fond of, this would be the time to let us know. I can’t promise to grow everyone’s favorite variety of broccoli, but I’d be happy to consider them.

The funky looking root in your box this week is celeriac, basically it is celery root. In the past it was a well known root vegetable. Today when it can be found it is more often used as a seasoning. Store unwashed celeriac in a plastic bag in the fridge where it will keep for several weeks. Soak celeriac briefly in warm water then scrub it with a stiff brush. Take a thin slice off the top and bottom and peel the rest. A few crevices will remain, leave them or cut out if you wish. Celariac can be eaten raw or cooked. Use thin slices of the root to flavor soups or stews and anything calling for celery. Leaves can also be used in the place of celery for flavoring. They are also very tasty sautéed and added to omelets, soups and stocks.

We wish you a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and loved ones. May your turkeys be tender, your gravy lump-less and may you always have at least one piece of pumpkin pie left over for breakfast tomorrow.

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean

Heather’s Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potatoes

Sea Salt

Seasoning of choice (I like to use Emeril's Essence seasoning)

Cut sweet potatoes into matchsticks, fries, cubes or wedges (thinner they are, the faster they will cook).

Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and seasoning.

Bake at 450° for about 15 minutes (until sweet potatoes are cooked) or longer if you want them extra crispy.

Serve hot.

I also like to cook them in a frying pan with a little olive oil until slightly crispy. (I use the same seasonings.) It depends on how healthy I feel like being that day.

Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm CSA member Heather Jobst

Thanks, Heather for sharing this great recipe!

If anyone else has recipes they would like to share please email them to: www.bluegatefarmfresh.com