CSA Newsletter for Week 14

 Farm Update

This recent planting of radishes and arugula is coming along nicely!  Even though they're tiny now, they'll be the right size to harvest in a few weeks.

Hi everyone!  The CSA shares are looking distinctly autumnal this week!  I was looking over the list of what will be in the shares for the upcoming week, and the plethora of root veggies (carrots, potatoes, and beets), cold-hardy greens (kale and cooking greens mix) and winter squashes and pumpkins, are a sure sign that fall is here.  And indeed, the calendar will be in agreement soon with what we are already seeing outside, because the autumnal equinox is on Thursday of this week.  That is one of two days of the year that we have an equal number of dark and light hours in the day, and it is also the official first day of fall on the calendar!

So if you're one of the many people who go crazy over fall stuff, you'll be excited about our new item this week, pie pumpkins!  What better way to celebrate the official changing of the seasons than by making a pumpkin pie, or even a DIY pumpkin spice latte?  Another thing I always get excited about is our cooking greens mix, which is a fall staple around our house.  It's a mix of kale, swiss chard, and whatever hearty leafy greens are ready around the farm.  Sometimes we have the leaves of the Brussels sprouts plant in there, or sometimes there's broccoli leaf, but it's always great in a stir-fry or just as a quick sautéed side dish with garlic and onions.  And fortunately, we still have a bunch of summer favorites in the shares this week!  There are still lots of tomatoes and peppers, and there will be odds and ends of green beans and okra in the surprise veggie category.  Some items around the farm are on their way out for the season (just as the heat and intense sun of summer seem to be), but also like the summer weather, we'll be seeing smaller amounts of many of these veggies for a while to come.  

So here we go into week 14 of the CSA!  See you all at the drop-off! :-)

What to Expect in the Shares this Week

 

If you pick up at our Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland drop-off, here are the options for your shares!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item from each choice category, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.  And if there is something you don’t like or can’t eat, you can bring it to the trading station at the end and trade it for something you like better. 

• Cherry tomatoes
• Potatoes or carrots
• Surprise veggie
• Tomatoes, pie pumpkin, or delicata squash
• Fennel bulb, basil, cilantro, or microgreens
• Kale, cooking greens, parsley, or bag of small onions
• Green pepper, poblano pepper, onion, or garlic

 

If you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Midland hospital, or Alma hospital drop-off, or if you have home or workplace delivery, here are your options!  We have three different prepacked shares, and you can let me know which one you want by filling out this quick form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off.  If you have a half share, you can choose one of these options, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Share A:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Carrots
• Surprise veggie
• Tomato
• Basil
• Bag of small onions
• Poblano pepper

 

Share B:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Surprise veggie
• Pie Pumpkin
• Cilantro
• Kale
• Onion

 

Share C:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Carrots
• Surprise veggie
• Delicata squash
• Microgreens
• Cooking greens mix
• Green pepper

 

Recipes

It's pumpkin season!  If you're going to be getting a pie pumpkin this week, the first step is to make it into a pumpkin puree.  Here is a fantastic tutorial on how to do that from Inspired Taste, and it also has links to their recipes for Pumpkin Pancakes, Pumpkin Pie, and Pumpkin Spice Latte from Scratch!  They also show how you can make a puree from your winter squashes as well, so definitely check this out!

And if you're wanting to try out a hearty, filling, earthy cooking greens side dish this week, here is my favorite way to cook them!  Start with some olive oil in a pan, and thinly chop a clove or two of garlic, and some onion if that's your jam.  Cook the garlic and onion until they're starting to look a little brown around the edges, and while you're waiting for that to happen, chop up your cooking greens. I generally discard my kale stems, but you can just grab the leaves and strip them off the stems pretty easily with your hands.  You can use the stems of your chard (and they look so pretty in the finished product with their pretty colors, so I definitely recommend it).  Just chop all of your greens up so that they're a size that will fit easily in your mouth once they're cooked, and throw them in your pan with the garlic and onion.  Cook them in the pan for a few minutes until they're wilted but not mushy, add salt or soy sauce to taste, and serve them warm.  Or, if you'd rather cook them in bacon grease than olive oil, they are really good that way with just some salt and pepper at the end.  Play around with what works best for you, and enjoy! :-)