csa share – week 21 {october 9}

Welcome to the 21st week of the Pitchfork & Crow CSA!

Here’s what’s in the share:

Chesnok Red Garlic
Sweet Peppers
Carrots
Celery – our first attempt at celery and it’s a success!
Kohlrabi
Acorn Winter Squash
Cooking Greens Mix
Tomatoes – heirlooms and mixed pints of saladettes or green zebras
Plums
Bonus: Sunflower heads full of seeds!

Last Thursday night we had our first frost of the year at the farm. The first frost is always a dramatic one and we can’t ignore the seasonal shift once it hits. It’s the summer crops that love the heat that can’t stand up to the frost and we lost what remained of the basil and it took out the last of the cucurbits including the cucumbers, summer squash and winter squash plants. As we say goodbye to the summer squash until next year, we welcome the return of the sweet winter squash with an acorn squash in this week’s share.

We spent Sunday harvesting all of the winter squash from the field and are happy to have gotten it in before the deer ate any more of it. Last year we lost the majority of our butternut as deer snacks! Luckily this year’s harvest fared much better and we’ll have plenty of butternut to share with you.

When the winter squash are ready, the season of pumpkins is upon us too! Hopefully you’ve marked your calendars for Sunday’s CSA Pumpkin Patch event. We’ll have tractor rides down to the pumpkin patch, cider pressing, and of course we’ll take a break for good eats too! More information can be found on the event page here: http://pitchforkandcrow.com/community-supported-agriculture/csa-pumpkin-patch-october-14/.

Finally, in case you’re also thinking ahead to winter storage supplies of staple crops, we noticed that the Ten Rivers Food Web has posted information about their “Fill Your Pantry” day. Like a farmer’s market with a focus on storage crops, this event brings together farmers from the south willamette valley who are selling a variety of staples to help see you through the winter. Last year we purchased dry beans, locally milled flour, and honey and loved it all! We’re looking forward to stocking our pantry again this year and hope you’ll check out their site if you think you might also be interested.

Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers,

Jeff Bramlett and Carri Heisler

Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Upscale Macaroni and Cheese

2 tablespoons (1/4 sticks) butter
3 large red bell peppers (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 celery stalks, chopped

1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 pound blue cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon celery seeds
Cayenne pepper
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup chopped celery leaves

1 pound penne

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and celery and sauté until just beginning to soften, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine cream, half and half and blue cheese in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until cheese melts. Remove from heat. Add celery seeds. Season sauce with cayenne, salt and pepper. Beat yolks in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in half of cheese sauce. Return mixture to saucepan and whisk to blend. Add celery leaves.

Butter 13 3/4×10 1/2×2 3/4-inch (4-quart capacity) oval baking dish. Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Return to same pot. Add sauce and vegetables; stir to blend. Transfer to baking dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle Parmesan over surface of pasta. Bake until pasta is heated through, sauce is bubbling and top is beginning to brown, about 25 minutes.

From Epicurious via Bon Appetit, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Upscale-Macaroni-and-Cheese-975

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

2 celery stalks, including leaves
2 rosemary sprigs
4 thyme sprigs
4 flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1 chicken (about 3¼ pounds)
40 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 Tbsp. olive oil
~ Salt and pepper
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 small onion, cut into 4 wedges
1 cup white wine
1 baguette, cut into slices
~ Small herb sprigs, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put a chopped celery stalk and 2 sprigs each of the rosemary, thyme, and parsley into the chicken cavity. Add 6 cloves of garlic. Tie the legs together and tuck the wing tips under.
Brush the chicken liberally with some of the oil and season well with salt and pepper. Scatter about 10 more garlic cloves over the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Put the remaining sprigs of herbs, chopped celery, carrot, and onion in the dish.
Put the chicken in the Dutch oven. Scatter the remaining garlic cloves around the chicken and add the remaining oil and the wine. Cover and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer.
To serve, carefully remove the chicken from the Dutch oven. Strain off the juices into a small saucepan. Use tongs to pick out the garlic cloves from the strained mixture. Spoon off the fat from the juices and boil for 2 to 3 minutes, to reduce and thicken the sauce a little.
Cut the chicken into serving portions, pour over some of the juices, and scatter with the garlic. Toast the baguette slices, then garnish the chicken with the herb sprigs and serve with the bread. Spread the bread with the soft flesh squeezed from the garlic.

This content is from the book The Food of France by Sarah Randell and Maria Villegas.

From Culinate via The Food of France, http://www.culinate.com/books/collections/all_books/the_food_of_france/chicken_with_forty_cloves_of_garlic