Welcome to the 19th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2020 Summer CSA!  Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Savoy Cabbage
• Mixed Kale
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• German Butterball Potatoes
• Beets
• Garlic
• Torpedo Onion
• Kabocha Winter Squash – Choose from orange-skinned ‘Sunshine’ or green-skinned ‘Sweet Mama’ kabocha types. With a drier flesh than pumpkins and other squashes, kabocha squash is great roasted, in soups, and makes great pie!
• Tomatillos – One last chance for salsa verde!
• Hot Peppers – Choose from Jalapenos and Czech Black
• Mixed Sweet Pepper
• Slicer Tomato
• Cherry Tomatoes

Many thanks to everyone who made it out to the farm this past Saturday for our CSA pumpkin patch and open farm event! It was great to see so many members (and so many kids!) enjoying the farm on what turned out to be a beautiful fall day. We appreciate everyone respecting the physical distancing and masking needs that COVID-19 has wrought. Although it was an abbreviated event as compared to past years, it was great to see so many pumpkins find homes. Hopefully we’ll be back to potlucking and apple cidering in the future.

We continued the harvest theme before and after Saturday’s CSA event by finishing up the winter squash harvest and digging three more beds of potatoes. It’s nice to have all the winter squash safely in the barn and that field finally mowed down. Adding up the squash harvest total now that the butternut is in, it looks we grew 5,350 individual squashes this season. That’s around 300 more than last year. Fingers crossed it’s enough to see us through the next two months of the Summer CSA and at least some of the following five months of the Winter CSA.

We’re about halfway through the potato harvest and we’ve been pleasantly surprised with the yields across all the varieties thus far. It’s been a weird year on the farm, but a good one for potatoes it would seem. We’re quickly filling up the walk-in coolers! We’ll endeavor to focus and finish it up this week before more rain comes this weekend. We’ll also be saying goodbye to the eggplant to make room for lettuce and more chicories in a high tunnel. It feels like we’re beginning the wrap-up of the season, though we have plenty more left to share with you. Seven more Summer CSA weeks to go!

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

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler & Jeff Bramlett

.

Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Spice-Roasted Cauliflower with Beet Emulsion

• 2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp crushed saffron threads
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp ground fennel seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground red pepper flakes
• 1 head cauliflower, leaves removed, cut into large pieces
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup canned beets (or 1/2 cup fresh, cooked beets, pureed in a blender)
• Juice of 1 lime

Heat butter and 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a medium sauté pan. Add all spices and season with salt. Cook about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower and honey and cook about 30 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so on all sides. When cauliflower is tender, remove it; add beets and lime juice to pan and reduce liquid by half. Add remaining oil. Divide cauliflower among 4 plates and drizzle with beet emulsion. Serve hot.

From Epicurious.com via SELF, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spice-roasted-cauliflower-with-beet-emulsion-230322

.

Colcannon

• 1 1/4 pounds (about 2 large) russet (baking) potatoes
• 3 cups thinly sliced cabbage
• 1/2 cup milk, scalded
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits and softened

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch pieces. In a saucepan cover the potatoes with salted water and simmer them, covered, for 15 minutes, or until they are tender. While the potatoes are simmering, in a steamer set over boiling water steam the cabbage for 5 minutes, or until it is tender. Drain the potatoes in a colander, force them through a ricer or the medium disk of a food mill into a bowl, and stir in the milk, the butter, the cabbage, and salt and pepper to taste.

From Epicurious.com via Gourmet, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/colcannon-11710

.

Fish Taco Platter

1. Pickled Red Onion and Jalapeños
   • 1 red onion (about 12 ounces), halved lengthwise, cut thinly crosswise
   • 5 whole small jalapeños
   • 2 cups seasoned rice vinegar
   • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
   • 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
2. Baja cream
   • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
   • 1/2 cup sour cream
   • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
   • 1 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lime peel
   • Pinch of salt
3. Tomatillo Salsa Verde
   • 12 ounces tomatillos,* husked, stemmed, divided
   • 4 green onions, white and green parts separated
   • 1 jalapeño chile
   • 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
   • 1 1/4 cups (packed) fresh cilantro leaves
   • 1 tablespoon (or more) fresh lime juice
4. Fish
   • 2 cups buttermilk
   • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
   • 3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
   • 3 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
   • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
   • 2 pounds skinless halibut, sea bass, or striped bass fillets, cut into 1/2×1/2-inch strips
   • 16 corn tortillas
   • 2 cups self-rising flour
   • Vegetable oil (for frying)
   • Fresh salsa
   • Guacamole

For pickled red onion and jalapeños:

Place onion and jalapeños in heatproof medium bowl. Mix vinegar, lime juice, and salt in small saucepan. Bring just to boil, stirring until salt dissolves. Pour over onion and jalapeños. Let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

For baja cream:

Whisk all ingredients in small bowl. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

For tomatillo salsa verde:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil roasting pan. Char half of tomatillos, white parts of green onions, and jalapeño directly over gas flame or in broiler. Transfer charred vegetables to prepared roasting pan. Add remaining tomatillos and garlic cloves to pan. Roast until all vegetables are soft, about 12 minutes. Cool.

Stem and seed jalapeño. Place all roasted vegetables, green onion tops, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon lime juice in blender. Puree until smooth, stopping to push vegetables down into blades several times. Transfer to medium bowl. Season with salt and more lime juice, if desired.

For fish:

Mix buttermilk, cilantro, pepper sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, and lime juice in large bowl. Add fish; toss. Cover; chill at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Wrap tortillas in foil; place in oven to warm. Whisk flour and remaining 2 teaspoons salt in medium bowl. Add enough oil to large skillet to reach depth of 1 inch. Heat oil until thermometer registers 350°F. Working in batches, remove fish from marinade and dredge in flour. Carefully add fish to skillet, cover partially, and fry until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain, then transfer to oven to keep warm.

Set up buffet with all taco fixings, along with fresh salsa and guacamole.

*Green and tomato-like with a papery husk, tomatillos are available in the produce section of some supermarkets and Latin markets.

From Epicurious.com via Bon Appétit by Bruce Aidells & Nancy Oakes, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/fish-taco-platter-233703

.

.