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

Here’s what’s in the share:

• Sweet Onions
  
• Mountain Rose Potatoes
  
• Broccoli
• Beets
• Poblano & Jalapeno Peppers
• Tomatoes – a ragtag group of October ‘maters.  Some are super ripe, others need a sit on your kitchen window sill.  Choose accordingly.
• Lacinato Kale
  
• Napa Cabbage – our first ever successful attempt to grown Napa Cabbage!  Hurrah!
  
• Pears – picked today, some may need to ripen in your fruit bowl
  
• Shelling Beans – See below for details on these fun beans!  Also, don’t wait too long to shell them and transfer to a larger bag for storage in your fridge if you aren’t going to get to them soon.
  

Let’s get right to it, what’s with the bag of dessicated beans in the share this week?  They’re shelling beans!  The prime green bean season has past, but now we have shelling beans, the mature but un-dried beans hiding out inside those pods.  We’ve been enjoying these fresh shelled beans in soups and sauteed with peppers and onions.  Even counting the 10-20 minutes it takes to shell them, they still take less time to prepare than dry beans and are delicious.

More info on shelling beans here: http://localfoods.about.com/od/shellingbeans/tp/aboutshellingbeans.htm

We’ve had some gorgeous weather this past week.  I admit I prefer my rainy days mixed with sunny days, at least as a way to ease into the new season.  Jeff was able to get quite a bit of tractor work done and we have more areas that are ready for a late cover crop sowing.  That photo up above shows our garlic and overwintering onion beds prepped and ready for planting.  Progress!

I was focused on more seed cleaning this past week.  It’s been a fun project transitioning from Brussels sprouts seed that matures into elongated pods to leek seed that matures in smaller flower heads as seen in the photo above.  New tools and techniques are needed for each seed type.  Who knew?!

The rain returned yesterday, just in time for the CSA harvest.  Luckily we’ve been able to stay fairly dry under our raingear.  It looks like we’ve got nice weather in the forecast for the rest of the week including Sunday for the CSA pumpkin patch event.

We hope you’ll join us for the final CSA farm visit of the season including a potluck, pumpkin choosing, and cider making on Sunday!  We plan to set up cider pressing operations inside a greenhouse, so come on down rain or shine!  More details and directions to the farm here: https://pitchforkandcrow.com/community-supported-agriculture/csa-pumpkin-patch-october-13/.

Enjoy the vegetables!

Your farmers,
Jeff Bramlett and Carri Heisler
.

Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Shell Bean Soup

4 strips bacon, diced (optional)
1 scallion, diced (optional)
4 cups milk (2 percent is fine)
1 1/2 cups fresh shell beans, any kind
Salt and pepper to taste

If using bacon, fry with most of the onion in medium pot. Set aside and drain. If you don’t use bacon but do use onion, cook the onion in a little butter until soft and set aside. Add milk to the same pot and simmer fresh beans for 20 to 30 minutes, being careful not to boil the milk. If it does boil, skim the milk skin from the top and discard.

After 20 minutes, check beans to see if they are cooked. They shouldn’t be mushy, but give a little when you bite into them. Add the bacon and onions if you are including them. Liberally salt and pepper. Serve hot with remainder of uncooked onion for garnish.

From NPR by Jessica Strelitz, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129855166

.

Grilled Poblano and Potato Frittata

• 1 nice-sized sweet onion, sliced and sauteed in a medium ovenproof skillet over medium heat until caramelized in a tablespoon or so of butter
• 3 medium fresh poblano peppers, grilled on a BBQ grill until charred, then put in a paper bag for 10 minutes and then skinned, seeded and chopped
• 4 small red potatoes, rolled in the melted butter from the onion and microwaved for 2 minutes and then sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• olive oil
• a teaspoon or more to taste of fresh marjoram
• salt and pepper
• 6 eggs, beaten with one tablespoon heavy cream
• 2-3 tablespoons provolone, shredded
• 2 tablespoons asiago, shredded

1. To the onion, stir in the peppers and potatoes until nicely acquainted. Toss in the marjoram. If you think it needs it, pour in a little more olive oil and heat. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Pour the beaten eggs over the veggies and saute over medium high heat, shoving the eggs towards the center as it cooks. Don’t overcook because you’ll broil it shortly.
3. When firm on the bottom, remove from heat and top with the provolone. Slide under the broiler for a couple minutes until browned.
4. Remove from heat and smack with the asiago; let cool, and slice into 4-6 portions.

From Food52 by “wssmom“, http://food52.com/recipes/13603-grilled-poblano-and-potato-frittata

.

Creamy Summer Slaw

• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1 small bunch broccoli (about 12 ounces)
• 1/2 medium Napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces sugar snap peas, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided