csa share – week 19 {september 24}

csa share week 19

Welcome to the 19th week of the Pitchfork & Crow CSA!

Here’s what’s in the share:

  • Red Torpedo Onions
  • Sweet Corn
  • Potatoes – red-skinned variety called red dale this week!
  • Broccoli
  • Rutabaga
  • Jimmy Nardello Sweet Peppers – our favorite sweet peppers!
  • Parsley
  • Tomatoes – heirlooms and either cherries or small slicers
  • Bok Choy
  • Spinach
  • Gravenstein Apples – tart apples that we like to eat fresh but also used for applesauce and cider

blue september

Sunday marked the official start of fall.  The autumnal equinox means shorter days, longer nights, and, in our neck of the woods, the return of the rain.  The past week has been stormy on and off and we pulled out the raingear for the CSA harvest for the first time in months.  We’ve also been noticing the return of the Canada geese as evidenced in the photo up above.  I was so impressed with the number of geese flying over yesterday that I kept losing my pepper count during the harvest.

The CSA share contents have been transitioning to fall along with the weather.  We’ve put the cucumbers and summer squash aside until next summer and we’re embracing cool-weather staples like potatoes, rutabaga, and greens this week.  Combining end-of-summer peppers and tomatoes with these staples provides the best of both seasons.  I’m certainly not ready to say goodbye to fresh peppers, and hopefully you aren’t either.

With the rainy days comes a search for indoor projects.  Escaping the wet fields means focusing on organizing indoor workspaces, returning to seed cleaning tasks we’d let go during better weather, and reviewing the season and projecting for the season ahead of us.  It’s a nice change but we’re always grateful to get outside again whenever possible.  The weather forecast suggests a reprieve from the rain is coming.  We’re already planning for the projects we want to try to squeeze in before the next storm rolls in.

Enjoy the vegetables!

Your farmers,
Jeff Bramlett and Carri Heisler
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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Another CSA member-tested recipe!  CSA member Mette was looking for a go-to bok choy recipe and she thinks this might be the one!  Here’s what she had to say:

“I made this Thai Chicken salad last night. It was so good! I added one kohlrabi grated up that I had left over and I used the peppers from this week. I also added a red onion sliced thin. Also I did not add any sweetener to the dressing. I made the broccoli slaw from the stems of your broccoli in the food processor with the grater attachment. Even little Max liked it. I may have found my Bokchoy recipe.”

Thai Chicken Salad

For salad

1 bag of broccoli slaw about (2 or 3 cups)
1 cup sliced papaya
1 cup sliced cucumber
2 cups baby bok choy, chopped in small pieces (2 small bok choy)
1 red chili pepper, diced
4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded or cut in small pieces
1/4 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup peanuts or slivered almonds

For dressing

juice from 2 limes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp fish sauce
a pinch of red pepper flakes

  1. Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss.
  2. In a smaller bowl mix all dressing ingredients together. Pour over salad and toss well.

From Jo Cooks, http://www.jocooks.com/healthy-eating/thai-chicken-salad/

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Mashed Potatoes and Turnips with Horseradish

  • 2 1/2 lb yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Yukon Gold
  • 3 lb turnips or rutabagas, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons horseradish cream or drained bottled horseradish, or to taste
  • 2 to 4 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cover potatoes with salted cold water by 2 inches in a large pot and simmer, uncovered, until very tender, 20 to 30 minutes (depending on size of potatoes). Drain potatoes in a colander and, when just cool enough to handle, peel. Transfer potatoes to a bowl.

While potatoes are cooking, cover turnips with salted cold water by 2 inches in a large pot and simmer, uncovered, until very tender, 10 to 20 minutes (depending on freshness of turnips).

Drain turnips in colander and immediately add to warm potatoes, then mash with butter and horseradish. Season with sugar (to taste), salt, and pepper and stir in parsley.

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Spinach and Apple Salad with Crispy Almonds

  • 1/4 cup minced onion
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3/4 cup blanched slivered almonds (about 3 ounces)
  • 1 10- ounce bag ready-to-use spinach leaves
  • 2 medium-size red-skinned apples, quartered, cored, thinly sliced

Combine onion, cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, sesame seeds and paprika in small bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons sugar. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add almonds. Stir until almonds begin to color, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over. Stir until sugar melts and begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer almonds to bowl and cool. (Dressing and almonds can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover separately and let stand at room temperature.)

Combine spinach and apples in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Mix in almonds. Serve salad, passing any remaining dressing separately.