Welcome to the 25th share of the Pitchfork & Crow Summer CSA!  This is the final share of the season! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Purple Brussels Sprouts
  
• Leeks
  
• German Butterball Potatoes
  
• Mustard Greens
  
• Lacinato Kale
  
• Celeriac – aka celery root, a tasty cousin of celery that tastes like celery with the rooty goodness of a potato.
  
• Red Ripe Poblano Peppers
  
• Parsley
• Yellow Onions
  
• Butternut Winter Squash
  
• Pie Pumpkin
• Corn Flour or Polenta – We grow Cascade Ruby Gold Flint Corn, which is a fabulous locally bred dry corn that turns into half flour and half polenta when ground up.  We use the corn flour in any recipe that calls for corn flour or cornmeal.  We cook the polenta just like rice.
  

With this 25th share of the season we’re wrapping it up for the Summer CSA! That’s six months of local, organic vegetables we’ve eaten through together!  I sincerely hope that you’ve enjoyed this season as a CSA member as much as I have as your farmer.  I can’t say it enough, that this wouldn’t be possible without you guys!

Back in January I kicked off this growing season with my fingers crossed, hoping for the best weather possible, for the renewed support of our members, and for the strength to carry the farm through a season with my own wits.  Now that I’m on the flip side of the season reflecting back, I realize how lucky I was with this farming season.  The weather cooperated at every turn.  I couldn’t have asked for a better group of stalwart CSA members.  Most surprising to me: I successfully planned and executed a mostly solo CSA season for 53 shares!  I planted the seeds, transplanted the starts, tilled the soil, spread the amendments, irrigated, cultivated, harvested, distributed the vegetables, kept the accounting in order, bought the supplies, paid the bills, wrote the newsletters…and did it all again and again.  I guess I’d learned something about farming over these past ten years.  Of course I wish there had been more carrots, and melons, and celery.  But gosh there were a lot of other vegetables to share with you all!

Perhaps most exciting of all is that, though I’m looking forward to a break before the Winter CSA begins, I’m also looking forward to next year’s main season!  I think we’ve got some fun things on the horizon for the CSA and the farm and I’m ready to get into hashing out those details.  Stay tuned for CSA updates in January as we embark on a new season.  Hopefully you’ll consider joining us for the tenth P&C CSA season in 2019!

Enjoy the vegetables and happy Thanksgiving! We’ll see Winter CSA members in a month!

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett

.

Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Risotto with Butternut Squash and Leeks

• 1 large butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cups (about) chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
• 3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
• 2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place squash on large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Roast until tender and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes.

Bring stock to simmer in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat to very low; cover and keep stock warm.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in another heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leeks and sauté until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup hot stock; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing stock to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently, until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, about 25 minutes longer. Add roasted squash, cream, Parmesan cheese and sage; stir until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

From Epicurious.com via Bon Appétit by Bread and Ink Cafe, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/risotto-with-butternut-squash-and-leeks-102617

.

Mixed-Greens and Sausage Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings

Dumplings:

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions

Soup:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 4 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 4 Turkish bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 pound andouille sausages, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
• 6 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 12-ounce bag mixed turnip, mustard, and collard greens, any thick stems cut away (about 12 cups packed)

For dumplings:

Line rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Stir in milk and butter, then green onions. Let stand at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours. Using wet hands, shape mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, into 18 dumplings, arranging on sheet. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.

For soup:

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Sauté until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add sausage; sauté until fat renders, 3 to 4 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes with juice, hot sauce, and allspice; bring to simmer, stirring occasionally. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Return to simmer before continuing.

Add greens to simmering soup. Cook greens uncovered 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drop in dumplings. Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer until dumplings are tender and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper. Ladle soup and dumplings into bowl.

From Epicurious.com via Bon Appétit by Melissa Clark, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/mixed-greens-and-sausage-soup-with-cornmeal-dumplings-362971

.

Celery Root and Pecan Salad

• 1 cup pecan halves (3 1/2 oz), toasted > and cooled
• 1 (1 1/2-lb) celery root, peeled with a sharp knife and quartered
• 3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Finely chop two thirds of nuts. Coarsely grate celery root in a food processor fitted with medium shredding disk.

Stir together vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until salt is dissolved, then add celery root, chopped nuts, parsley, and shallot and toss well. Drizzle salad with oil and toss again. Serve sprinkled with remaining pecans.

From Epicurious.com via Gourmet, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/celery-root-and-pecan-salad-237204

.

.