Welcome to the 20th share of the Pitchfork & Crow Summer CSA!  Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Sweet Corn – All good things must end, and this is the last of the corn for this season.
• Salad Mix – A mix of green and red lettuces, spinach, and a bit of mizuna and purple mustards.
• Strawberry Paw Red Potatoes
• Festival Winter Squash – Tastier than your average acorn squash!
• Celeriac – aka celery root, celeriac is a wonderful root that tastes of celery and adds flavor to soups and stews, makes a great puree and gratin alongside potatoes, and can be grated raw into salads.
• Lacinato Kale
• Sage – Use it for seasoning, or sage tea!
• Salad Turnips or Radishes
• Torpedo Onions
• Mixed Sweet Peppers
• Poblano Peppers – Riper, redder, sweeter! Jeff has been stuffing these with Queso Fresco cheese and minced garlic and baking them for 20 minutes at 400*. Delicious fresh out of the oven and re-heated later for tacos, or any dish really.
• Other Farm Apples

Each year we aim to get our garlic into the ground in mid-October. Too early and it might put on too much growth and not survive the winter weather, too late and we won’t get maximum growth resulting in smaller bulbs at harvest next summer. One of the last crops to get planted each fall, garlic planting represents the end of the season’s months-long planting push. Beginning with seed sowing in February we keep planting successions of crops all summer until we hit the dwindling daylight of October. Though small plantings of greens will continue to be sown into field houses for winter eating, the garlic planting represents the last big planting hurdle of the season.

Garlic is generally propagated from garlic cloves. Some varieties do produce seeds, but they often aren’t viable and/or aren’t true to the type of garlic that produced them. We often use saved garlic for re-planting, rotating in newly purchased garlic “seed stock” each year to maintain quality.

Over the years we’ve experimented with planting density, seed sources, and varieties in an effort to grow more garlic to share with you each season. This year we cracked around 300-350 heads of garlic and planted approximately 2,900 cloves. Now we wait for it to come up, grow tall, and form bulbs.

Perhaps the garlic planting feels more monumental because right after it goes in the ground we then also plant our overwintering onions and spring fava beans. Like the garlic, the onions and favas will overwinter in the field and mature late next spring. We start the overwintering onions from seed the first week of September and plant out baby onions that, like the garlic, can’t be too big or too small going into winter or they won’t make it through to the other side. Only time will tell if we hit the sweet spot.

This past week we also harvested our sweet potatoes, harvested some more potatoes for storage, and salvaged more peppers from the pepper patch. Harvest season is real folks! We’ve been pushing during this dry spell to get as much done as possible. The week ahead is set to be much wetter, so I imagine there will be some soggy farmers trying to stay on top of things, but we’ll also surely identify a plethora of long-ignored indoor work. I’m looking at you seed cleaning project.

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:

Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile Vinaigrette

• 2 (1 1/2 – to 1 3/4-lb) acorn squash
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
• 1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh hot red chile, including seeds
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450F. Halve squash lengthwise, then cut off and discard stem ends. Scoop out seeds and cut squash lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide wedges. Toss squash with black pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a bowl, then arrange, cut sides down, in 2 large shallow baking pans. Roast squash, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, until squash is tender and undersides of wedges are golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.

While squash roasts, mince garlic and mash to a paste with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Transfer paste to a small bowl and whisk in lime juice, chile (to taste), cilantro, and remaining 1/4 cup oil until combined. Transfer squash, browned sides up, to a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette.

From Epicurious.com via Gourmet, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-acorn-squash-with-chile-vinaigrette-236007

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Celery Root and Apple Soup

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 4 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled celery root (from one 1 1/4-pound celery root)
• 3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled cored Granny Smith apples (from about 2 medium)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
• 4 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
• 1/2 cup chopped chives
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
• Pinch of salt
• 3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta (Italian bacon)

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add celery root, apples, and onion. Cook until apples and some of celery root are translucent (do not brown), stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add 4 cups broth. Cover and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer covered until celery root and apples are soft, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency. Return soup to pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated.

Puree chives, grapeseed oil, and pinch of salt in blender until smooth.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange pancetta slices in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Roast until pancetta is browned and crispy, about 18 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble pancetta. DO AHEAD: Chive oil and pancetta can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Rewarm soup over medium heat. Divide soup among bowls. Sprinkle pancetta crumbles over each serving. Drizzle each bowl with chive oil.

From Epicurious.com via Bon Appétit, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/celery-root-and-apple-soup-239846

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Wilted Kale and Roasted-Potato Winter Salad

• 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves (3 thinly sliced and 1 minced)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/4 cup well-stirred tahini
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 pounds kale, stems and center ribs discarded and leaves very thinly sliced crosswise

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in upper third.

Toss potatoes with oil and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large 4-sided sheet pan, then spread evenly. Roast, stirring once, 10 minutes. Stir in sliced garlic and roast 10 minutes more. Sprinkle with cheese and roast until cheese is melted and golden in spots, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, purée tahini, water, lemon juice, minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. (Add a bit of water if sauce is too thick.)

Toss kale with hot potatoes and any garlic and oil remaining in pan, then toss with tahini sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

From Epicurious.com via Gourmet by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/wilted-kale-and-roasted-potato-winter-salad-350884

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