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

• Bok Choy
• Pea Shoots – A tasty pea flavored green for salads, stir-frys, or pesto-ing.
• Red Toch Garlic – A popular softneck garlic from the Republic of Georgia. Said to have “a multidimensional quality, a spicy fragrance, and consummate flavor” when eaten raw according to the folks at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.
• Rainbow Chard
• Spaghetti Squash – Winter squash turned pasta substitute. Looking for recipes? Check out this recipe for Baked Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Butter over on the CSA member website.
• Rainbow Carrots
• Yellow Onions
• Broccoli
• More Broccoli or Cauliflower
• Jimmy Nardello Sweet Frying Peppers
• Aji Marchant Chile Peppers – Too many chiles? Check out the recipe for Hawaiian Chile Pepper Water at the bottom of this post that CSA member Chris A. shared with us this week!
• Farm Pears
• Pie Pumpkin – Eat it up or use it for seasonal decor.
• Cherry Tomatoes – The last of the last of the cherry tomatoes. We suggest cooking them into a sauce or roasting them to improve their flavor.

As predicted, the weather kept us out of the fields some this past week. As the rain irrigated the newly planted overwintering onions, and turned much of the farm into a potential mud pit, we took a breather. It’s been a long push over the last couple of months as we shifted from high summer to fall and we were certainly ready for a break.

Jeff managed an overnight hunting excursion into the coast range. He didn’t get a deer, but he did find some chanterelle mushrooms so it seems like a win. I cleaned the seed crops that had been waiting in the wings. I’m sure glad to have those marked off the list! The upshot of finishing that project is handing the seed off to friends in the seed business over dinner and beer.

Over the weekend we also managed to scour the last of the pepper patch ahead of the next round of cold temps headed this way later in the week. And we continued the apple harvest. Man it’s been a good apple year!

We’re looking at an extended dry spell ahead of us, so you’ll likely find us back in the potato field later this week. It’s time to finish up digging the last handful of potato beds. And after that, there’s still more apples…

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

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett

.

Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Hot-and-Sour Peanutty Noodles with Bok Choy

• 8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
• 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon canola or sunflower oil
• 1 large shallot, sliced
• 1 piece (about 1 inch) ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 pound baby bok choy, leaves and stems separated, roughly chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable stock or water
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

Cook pasta as directed on package with 2 teaspoons salt until just tender. Drain and rinse pasta with cool water. In a large nonstick skillet, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Cook shallot and ginger, stirring, until just brown, 1 minute. Add bok choy stems, bell pepper and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until peppers are crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer contents of skillet to a plate. To same skillet, add bok choy leaves, stock, soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar. Cook, stirring, until leaves are soft and bright green, 1 to 2 minutes. Add bell pepper mixture, pasta, peanuts and pepper flakes to pan. Toss to combine; serve.

From Epicurious.com via SELF by Kerri Conan, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/hot-and-sour-peanutty-noodles-with-bok-choy-395096

.

To Stir-Fry Pea Shoots

• 1 pound mature pea shoots, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed with the flat side of knife
• 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat until surface of oil ripples. Add smashed garlic cloves and dried hot red pepper flakes, then stir-fry until garlic is pale golden. Toss in shoots and stir-fry until wilted and tender, 4 to 5 minutes.

From Epicurious.com via Gourmet, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/to-stir-fry-pea-shoots-105045

.

Pumpkin Shrimp Curry

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 chopped plum tomato
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or maybe fresh chile pepper!)
• 1 cup roasted butternut squash, roasted and diced (or how about one of the previous week’s squashes?)
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• Steamed rice
• Cilantro
• Lime zest
• Fried shallots

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and ginger; sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute. Stir in plum tomato and pumpkin purée; cook, stirring frequently, until pumpkin is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry powder, and cayenne pepper; simmer for 20 minutes. Add butternut squash, shrimp, and lime juice. Simmer until shrimp are cooked and squash is warm. Serve with steamed rice. Top with cilantro, lime zest, and fried shallots.

From Epicurious.com via Bon Appétit by Tory Miller, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pumpkin-shrimp-curry-368281

.

Hawaiian Chile Pepper Water with Garlic and Vinegar

• 2 Tbsp. white distilled vinegar
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 4 chopped Hawaiian or Thai chiles
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp. Hawaiian salt or coarse sea salt

Place 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar, 2 crushed garlic cloves, and 4 chopped Hawaiian or Thai chiles—or more to taste—in a sterilized bottle or jar.

In a small pot, bring 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon Hawaiian salt or coarse sea salt to a quick boil. Pour the boiling water over the rest of the ingredients, and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours before consuming. Keeps indefinitely.

From Saveur.com, https://www.saveur.com/hawaiian-chile-pepper-water-with-garlic-and-vinegar-recipe/

.

.