Welcome to the 20th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2021 Summer CSA!  Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Salad Mix
• Broccoli
• Mixed Cauliflower OR Lacinato Kale
• Parsley
• Fennel – Still not sure about fennel? Check out the two recipes down below or make a caramelized onion and fennel tart topped with cheese like we’ll be doing soon. So good!
• ‘Delectable’ Sweet Corn – This is very likely the last of the corn for the season.
• Banana Fingerling Potatoes
• Beets
• Diana Radishes
• Blush Onion – A new-to-us variety that lands somewhere between a yellow and a red onion.
• Aji Marchant Peppers – A versatile pepper used for pickling at the less hot yellow stage and good for frying or dried chile flakes at the hotter red stages.
• Mixed Sweet Peppers
• Mixed Tomatoes
• Candystick Dessert Delicata Winter Squash

Welcome to week 20 of the Summer CSA! Twenty down and six to go before we wrap it up for this season. It’s almost hard to believe it’s already time to say goodbye to the summer crops and welcome in the hardier fall produce. So long tomatoes, see you next year cucumbers and zucchini, it’s been a good run basil. The weather has turned cooler and roasting roots and simmering stews are just the ticket. This morning’s frost is just the first that will make for sweeter hardy greens and roots that should help feed us through the fall and into the winter season.

In anticipation of this first frost we harvested all of the peppers and will be including them in shares over the next few weeks. The ripest of the hot peppers have already headed to the dehydrators for winter eating but there are plenty more that will be headed your way. Luckily other frost sensitive crops had either already played out or are planted inside high tunnels and were safe from the frost.

It feels like we’ve been harvesting for days and days, which I guess is sort of true. Between last week’s CSA harvest and this week’s CSA harvest we also harvested all the peppers, more apples, and more potatoes. We’ve still got plenty more bulk harvest on the list but we’re making progress in that department. This past week we also managed to plant some bunching onions for winter, prep beds for garlic and overwintering onions, and clean the three remaining seed crops we grew this season.

In the week ahead we’ll hopefully be getting the garlic and onions in the ground and then it will be back to harvesting and more harvesting. That’s how October rolls around here.

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

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler & Jeff Bramlett

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Olive Oil Roasted Tomatoes and Fennel with White Beans

• 2 large fennel bulbs with fronds attached
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
• 2 pints grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
• 4 large fresh oregano sprigs
• 3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), drained

Preheat oven to 425°F. Chop enough fennel fronds to measure 1/2 cup. Trim fennel bulbs and cut in half vertically. Cut each bulb half ito 1/2-inch-wide wedges, leaving some ore attached to each wedge.

Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 3 minutes. Add fennel wedges in single layer; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Cook until fennel begins to brown and soften, turning occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes. Add tomatoes, oregano, garlic, and crushed red pepper; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Fold together gently.

Transfer skillet to oven. Bake fennel and tomatoes until soft, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Mix in beans and 6 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds. Bake 5 minutes longer to heat through. Transfer mixture to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with remaining chopped fronds. Serve warm or at room temperature.

From Epicurious.com by Ian Knauer, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/olive-oil-roasted-tomatoes-and-fennel-with-white-beans-360271

Sheet-Pan Cumin Chicken Thighs with Squash, Fennel, and Grapes

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 acorn or delicata squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise, seeded, cut into 1/4″ half moons
• 1 fennel bulb (about 1/2 pound), cut in half lengthwise, sliced into 1/4″ wedges with core intact
• 1/2 pound seedless red grapes (about 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
• 1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves

Position rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Mix brown sugar, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl. Toss squash, fennel, and grapes with oil and half of spice mixture on rimmed baking sheet and arrange in a single layer.4

Rub chicken thighs with remaining spice mixture and arrange, skin side up, on top of fruit and vegetables. Roast until skin is browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of chicken registers 165°F, about 35 minutes; if chicken skin or vegetables start to burn, move pan to a lower rack to finish cooking.

Divide chicken, fruit, and vegetables among 4 plates and top with mint.

From Epicurious.com by Anna Stockwell, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sheet-pan-cumin-chicken-thighs-with-squash-fennel-and-grapes-56390000

Italian Parsley and Beet Salad

• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
• 2 1/4 pounds assorted beets with greens (such as Chioggia, white, golden, and red; 1 1/2 pounds if already trimmed)
• 1/4 small red onion
• 1 1/4 cups Italian (flat-leaf) parsley leaves (from 1 bunch), torn if desired

Whisk together juices, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Trim beets, leaving 1 inch of stems attached, then peel.

Using stems as a handle, slice beets paper-thin (less than 1/8 inch thick) with slicer (wear protective gloves to avoid staining hands), then cut slices into very thin matchsticks.

Thinly slice onion with slicer.

Toss beets, onion, and parsley with dressing and season with salt. Let stand, tossing occasionally, 30 minutes to soften beets and allow flavors to develop.

Toss again and season with salt and pepper before serving drizzled with additional oil.

From Epicurious.com by Kay Chun, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/italian-parsley-and-beet-salad-354973