Welcome to the 23rd share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2024 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Lettuce Mix – Just four types of lettuce. Really, just lettuce.
• Violetta Bok Choy
• Broccoli – This may well be the last of the broccoli for the season. Enjoy it!
• Cauliflower – Same for the cauliflower. It’s possible the very last variety in the final succession of cauliflower may mature enough in the next couple of weeks, but maybe not.
• Cilantro
• Purple & White Radishes
• French Fingerling Potatoes – Red skins and red-splashed yellow flesh, these fingerlings are good for roasting or boiling.
• Leeks – Time for some leek and potato soup!
• Yellow & Red Onions
• Garlic
• Aji Marchant Hot Peppers – These peppers have an intriguing history that you can read about here. Though citrusy and spicy when yellow and under-ripe they get fruitier and hotter as they mature to red.
• Sweet Peppers – Mixed bell and Italian roasting peppers of varying colors. These varieties ripen to red or yellow.
• Starry Night PMR F1 Acorn Squash – In a world of rather bland acorn squash we look for the tastiest and longest storing. This one ticks both boxes.

Did you sign-up for the Winter CSA? Don’t forget your first payment was due by Oct. 31st. You can get all the details on how to pay over on the CSA Payments page.

And just like that, it’s November and we’re in the home stretch of the 2024 Summer CSA. With three weeks to go in the season after this week we’ll be wrapping up another season before we know it. We’re looking to bring a strong fall vegetable game over the remaining weeks. We’ve got a rainbow of roots, hardy greens, fresh-eating greens, various squashes, and oniony alliums headed your way. Seasonal eating, autumn edition!

The past week was a mix of lots of rain and a handful of dry moments. According to our weather station the two inches of predicted rain turned out to be 1.72 inches. Not too far off. We chose to spend those rainy days inside processing garlic for storage. Now the garlic is squirreled away with the onions, ready for future CSA shares. Whew. Other than that it was general clean-up and catch-up last week. Bin washing, composting, weeding in a greenhouse, accounting, some potato harvesting. You get the idea.

Our plans for a day off with Jeff’s visiting aunt and uncle that I mentioned last week have been delayed, so the week ahead is a free for all. I imagine we’ll use the upcoming partially sunny days to get more potatoes out of the ground. Or perhaps we’ll go to the coast instead. Then it’s time to start milling corn into polenta and corn flour for upcoming shares. And there’s more greenhouse weeding to get after and Winter CSA payments to track down and other roots to harvest and the tomato house to clean out and more. We’ll hopefully be adjusting to the time change shortly too.

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:

Roasted Acorn Squash with Maple and Red Pepper Flakes

• 1 medium acorn squash, cored and cut into wedges
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¹/₄ cup (scant) maple syrup
• pinch salt
• red pepper flakes (to your desired spiciness; I like a good hit)

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Toss the squash wedges in a large bowl with olive oil and maple syrup.

Spread into one layer on a baking sheet, and then sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes or until squash is cooked through.

From Food52.com by Kendra Vaculin, https://food52.com/recipes/32064-roasted-acorn-squash-with-maple-and-red-pepper-flakes

Harissa Chicken with Leeks, Potatoes, & Yogurt

1 ¹/₂ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
1 ¹/₄ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 by 1/2-inch chunks
3 teaspoons kosher salt
³/₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons harissa
¹/₂ teaspoon ground cumin
4 ¹/₂ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 leeks, white and light green parts, halved lengthwise, rinsed, and thinly sliced into half-moons
¹/₂ teaspoon grated lemon zest
¹/₃ cup plain yogurt, preferably whole-milk (if using Greek, thin it down with a little milk to make it drizzle-able)
1 small garlic clove
1 cup mixed soft fresh herbs such as dill, parsley, mint, and/or cilantro leaves
1 splash fresh lemon juice, as needed

1. Combine the chicken and potatoes in a large bowl. Season them with 2½ teaspoons of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the harissa, cumin, and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Pour this mixture over the chicken and potatoes, and toss to combine. Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the leeks, lemon zest, ¼ teaspoon of the salt, and the remaining 1½ tablespoons olive oil.
3. Heat the oven to 425°F.
4. Arrange the chicken and potatoes in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet, and roast for 20 minutes. Then toss the potatoes lightly, and scatter the leeks over the baking sheet. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and everything is golden and slightly crisped, 20 to 25 minutes longer.
5. While the chicken cooks, place the yogurt in a small bowl. Grate the garlic clove over the yogurt, and season with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
6. Spoon the yogurt over the chicken and vegetables in the baking sheet (or you can transfer everything to a platter if you want to be fancy about it). Scatter the herbs over the yogurt, drizzle some olive oil and lemon juice over the top, and serve.

From Food52.com by Melissa Clark, https://food52.com/recipes/68405-harissa-chicken-with-leeks-potatoes-and-yogurt

Caldo Verde (Portuguese Soup wit Cauliflower)

2 pounds cauliflower florets (from 1 medium head)
1 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
¹/₂ tablespoon smoked paprika
2 pinches salt and pepper, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for roasting
1 Spanish onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
¹/₂ teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 cups chicken stock
¹/₂ pound smoked turkey kielbasa, sliced (Wellshire Farms brand is particularly good)
1 bunch mustard greens, shredded (or how about some bok choy instead)
¹/₄ cup parsley, finely chopped
¹/₄ cup cilantro, finely chopped
¹/₂ lemon, juiced

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Toss cauliflower florets with cumin, smoked paprika, and liberal amounts of salt, pepper, and olive oil. Spread in a single layer in a roasting pan or baking dish and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
2. Remove florets and set aside. Deglaze the roasting pan with 1 cup of the chicken stock, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Mix in with the remaining stock.
3. Sauté the onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-medium high heat until tender and translucent and beginning to brown. Add garlic and pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about an hour. Remove from heat and purée.
4. Return the puréed soup to low heat. Add sausage and cook about 10 minutes. (You can brown the sausage beforehand if you like.) Add the mustard greens and parsley and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes until the greens soften a bit. Remove from heat. Stir in the cilantro and the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkle of smoked paprika and a drizzle of olive oil.

From Food52.com by Chris Hagan, https://food52.com/recipes/730-caldo-verde-portuguese-soup-with-cauliflower