Welcome to the 21st share of the Pitchfork & Crow CSA!  Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Carrots
  
• Celeriac – aka celery root, this root vegetable packs a celery flavor and is a wonderful addition to soups and stews or any potato dish.
  
• Green Cabbage
  
• Broccoli
• Garlic
  
• LaRatte Fingerling Potatoes – a French heirloom variety with a slightly nutty flavor that is excellent roasted or boiled.
  
• Peppers
  
• Lacinato Kale
  
• Mixed Tomatoes – slicers and mixed pints
• Radishes
  
• Fennel
• Butternut Winter Squash
• Pears – Depending on your softness/ripeness preference, you may want to let these spend some time on your counter top.
  

P&C Pork Still Available! – We’re selling halves of pork that will be ready for pick-up late-October.  If you think you might be interested, check out the details here and send us an email if you’d like to reserve a half.

Many thanks to everyone that made it out to Saturday’s farm open house despite the sketchy weather.  The rain held off for the most part and pumpkins were picked, tractor rides taken, and cider pressed.  We hope you had a fun time on the farm!  It’s really wonderful to see so many farm members enjoy this place.

We announced a little over a month ago that we were taking a break from farming and forgoing the winter CSA.  We hope you’ve explored other local winter CSA options.  We wanted to let you know that we’ve decided to step away from farming completely for the meantime and we’ll be selling the farm at the end of the season.  Please know that we’re totally committed to the last six weeks of this CSA season and our remaining time together should be no different than any of our previous seven fall CSA seasons together.

We wholeheartedly appreciate your support these past nine years while we figured out how to farm and how to build a life around farming.  We could not have done it without you and growing food for this community has been an extremely rewarding endeavor.  It’s time for us to move on to new challenges , though we’re not entirely sure what those will be just yet.  We’ve gained a certain level of resiliency through this farming journey and have no doubt that things will work out.  We sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed your time as farm members and will continue to support other local farmers in the future.

But you’re not done with us just yet!  As we countdown to the end of the season and Thanksgiving we’ll be relishing in the lasts of the CSA and farming.  We’re working to make it the best season yet and look forward to seeing you all a few more times before we wrap things up for good.

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

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Celery Root and Carrot Soup

• 1/2 large celery root (celeriac), peeled, chopped
• 1/2 pound carrots, peeled, chopped
• 1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon finely grated peeled ginger
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• Celery leaves and chopped Granny Smith apple (for serving)

Place celery root and carrots in a large pot; add 6 cups water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook until tender, 30–35 minutes. Let cool slightly. Purée in a blender with yogurt, honey, coriander, and ginger until smooth; season with salt and pepper.

Serve soup topped with celery leaves and apple.

From Epicurous via Bon Appétit, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/celery-root-and-carrot-soup

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Cabbage, Fresh Fennel, and Carrot Slaw

• 1 2 1/2-pound cabbage, quartered, cored, very thinly sliced (about 18 cups)
• 2 fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed, halved, very thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 very large carrot, peeled, coarsely shredded
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Combine cabbage, fennel, onion, and carrot in large bowl. Whisk mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, and hot sauce in medium bowl to blend. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Add dressing to cabbage mixture; toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours, tossing occasionally. Transfer to serving bowl.

From Epicurous via Bon Appétit, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cabbage-fresh-fennel-and-carrot-slaw-109679

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Pork Stew with Fennel and Butternut Squash

• 3 pounds 2-inch pieces trimmed pork shoulder (Boston butt)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped thinly sliced pancetta* (about 4 ounces)
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 large fresh fennel bulbs; fronds chopped and reserved, bulbs cut into 1-inch cubes (about 5 cups)
• 20 1 1/2-inch cubes peeled butternut squash (part of 3-pound squash)

Place pork in large bowl. Mix next 6 ingredients in small bowl; sprinkle over pork, turning pork to coat evenly. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and sauté until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to medium bowl. Add half of pork to pot; sauté until brown, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to bowl with pancetta. Repeat with remaining pork. Add onions and garlic to pot; sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices, broth, wine, and pork mixture. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits.

Cover pot; place in oven. Cook stew 1 hour. Add fennel bulbs, chopped fronds, and squash cubes to stew. Cover and cook in oven until pork and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer meat and vegetables to large bowl; cover. Boil sauce over medium-high heat until thickened enough to coat spoon, about 25 minutes. Return meat and vegetables to sauce; season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool 30 minutes. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled.) Rewarm over low heat.

*Pancetta, Italian bacon cured in salt, is available at Italian markets and some specialty foods stores and supermarkets.

From Epicurous via Bon Appétit, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pork-stew-with-fennel-and-butternut-squash-107648

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