Welcome to the 18th week of the 2014 Pitchfork & Crow Summer CSA!

Here’s what’s in the share:

• Salad Mix
  
• Chesnok Red Garlic – a variety from the country of Georgia, great for cooking and baking
  
• Bell Peppers
• Colorful Carrots
• Basil
• Eggplant
  
• Broccoli
  
• Kohlrabi
• Collards
  
• Mixed Tomatoes
  
• Melons
  

We’ve been celebrating the Autumnal Equinox this weekend with an appreciation of the bounty of the season.  We’re saying goodbye to an amazing summer and hello to all the goodness that fall has in store including long sleeves, hearty food, warm beverages, rain showers, and shorter days.  Of course we’re suckers for all the trappings of the season.  There’s something about leaves turning color and falling and the appearance of pumpkins and decorative gourds that simply makes me happy.

Hopefully you’re planning to join us on Saturday, October 18th for this season’s final CSA member gathering and celebration of the autumn.  We’ll have a potluck,  apple cidering, and our small pumpkin patch will be available for hunting up any pumpkins you can find.  We’ll send out reminders closer to the date.

We’ve been soaking up the sun this week before it disappears behind rainclouds for good.  The extended heat wave has us looking forward to a little relief with the return of the rain, but it also finds us working to bring in storage crops while they’re still dry.  The summer green beans are finishing drying down in the propagation greenhouse for winter dry beans for instance.

Our focus has otherwise been on the continued weeding of everything and the sowing of cover crops.  The sunny September has meant lots of weed growth, but this week I finished weeding the last round of carrots, whoa!  Jeff has been focused on irrigating and working ground for seeding the rye grain and crimson clover that will fill most of the uncropped fields over the winter.  The cover crop will help keep our soil from eroding and leaching during the wet winter months.  Seeing cover crop seeds sprouting in previously barren ground is always a heartening sight.  A little like tucking in the field for the season.

Although the season is certainly shifting we’ve still got quite a bit of work to be done in the fields.  Before long we’ll be planting our seed garlic and overwintering onions and wrapping up the final planting for the season.  The harvesting of potatoes and winter squash needs to be finished.  Clearing out t-posts from trellising and finishing up sowing that cover crop seed.  And of course there are still weeds to kill.

That garlic up above is from the storage at Adaptive Seeds.  We’re bringing in some fresh garlic seed and new-to-us varieties this year and were excited to talk garlic with those good folks over the weekend.  If you’re serious about garlic and are thinking of getting some in the ground in your garden, they’ve got some beautiful seed stock for you to buy.

Enjoy the vegetables and we’ll see you next week!

Your farmers,
Jeff Bramlett and Carri Heisler

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Winter Salad with Lemon-Yogurt Dressing

Dressing:

• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/4 cup avocado oil or canola oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• Fine sea salt

Salad:

• 8 cups coarsely chopped romaine lettuce (about 8 large leaves)
• 1 1/2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled jicama
• 2 small carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, sliced
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup 1/2-inch cubes peeled kohlrabi or peeled broccoli stems
• 3/4 cup canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
• 3/4 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes
• 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds

Dressing:
Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Season dressing to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Salad:
Toss lettuce and next 8 ingredients in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among plates; sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

From Epicurious via Bon Appétit, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Winter-Salad-with-Lemon-Yogurt-Dressing-363722

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Ratatouille on the Run

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 large eggplant (unpeeled), diced
• 2 green bell peppers, diced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 4 ounces goat cheese or Muenster cheese or a mixture of the two, diced (optional)

Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add eggplant, green bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, zucchini and basil. Sauté 5 minutes. Cover and simmer until all vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Uncover pot and simmer until juice thickens, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Mix in vinegar; season to taste with salt and pepper.(Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread ratatouille in 9-inch-diameter pie dish. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.

From Epicurious via Bon Appétit, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ratatouille-on-the-Run-517

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Collard and Pecan Pesto

• 1/2 small bunch collard greens, center ribs and stems removed
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Cook 1/2 small bunch collard greens, center ribs and stems removed, in a medium pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Transfer to a bowl of ice water; let cool. Drain; squeeze dry with paper towels. Blend greens, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup toasted pecans, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1/2 teaspoons honey, and 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes in a food processor until a coarse purée forms; season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

From Epicurious via Bon Appétit, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Collard-and-Pecan-Pesto-51193030

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