CSA Week 9

In your share week 9:

Carrots
Cipollini Onion
Green Onion
Zucchini
Kale
Green beans
Fennel (some shares only)
Broccoli
Tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

Full shares only:

Cilantro
Cucumber

Week 9 puts us about halfway through the CSA season.  I’ve had several members asking recently, so I’ll remind you that your share goes until November 6 or 8 (depending on your pick up location).  We then take a week to regroup and get ready for our Thanksgiving shares.  You can still sign up for them here at our website, these are one time shares with lots of goodies for your Thanksgiving table and beyond.  We typically pack them with lots of store-able crops to hold you after the CSA season ends.  These shares are a real deal, usually 15 – 25% off retail value.  The price is going up in a few weeks, so sign up now if you want one!

And speaking of deals, you should know that this year’s CSA has been a steal!  The farm has been so abundant and I’ve wanted to get you as many of the popular crops as I can (tomatoes! broccoli!), so each week’s share has been a major discount.  You’ve been getting as much as 30% more than what you paid for each week.  So if you’ve had to compost a few zucchini or kale here or there, don’t feel too bad.  We compost a lot of veggies here too, and you’re still getting a great value!

The farm has been so abundant this year that we’ve been able to donate more fresh produce to the local food pantries than ever before.  We’ve brought in over 300 pounds of fresh organic produce to the Lincoln City and Tillamook food pantries, and I have a couple more boxes in the cooler for this week.  We care about getting fresh healthy produce to as many people as we can, and while we have to make a living ourselves, we also recognize that not everyone can afford the full price of our produce.  We try to make it more accessible by offering half priced CSA shares, giving extra value to folks using SNAP and other assistance programs, and donating what produce we can to our local food pantries so their clients have access to healthier choices.

I’m sure some of you are getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of veggies.  I encourage you to consider doing some preserving: that’s a big part of eating seasonally!  We preserve lots of fruit and some veggies, mostly by canning, freezing, and drying.  Zucchini, eggplant, and fennel freeze beautifully grilled or roasted (I usually pull them out of the oven about 75% done, let them cool, and then portion them into freezer bags).  I think cauliflower (and green onions?) would work well this way too but I haven’t actually tried it.  Kale, beans, and broccoli can all be blanched, cooled, and frozen.  Tomatoes can be packed raw into ziploc bags and frozen.  Most vegetables can be made into pickles, either fermented or vinegar brined and canned.  Cilantro and other green herbs can be ground up with oil in the food processor or made into pesto.  Lots of people freeze them in ice cube trays for convenient servings: transfer the frozen cubes to a freezer bag or jar.  Kale can be made into kale chips, and tomatoes and onions can be dehydrated.  Dry onions (or onions tops) and then grind them in the coffee grinder for your own onion powder!

There’s nothing totally new today but a few variations.  Everyone gets a couple of cipollini onions.  These are particularly sweet and flavorful onions, which are especially good roasted or caramelized. Our bean picks are getting bigger, and I finally didn’t put any cauliflower in the CSA (more coming, but I’m giving you a chance to catch up).

Today’s broccoli pick was one of the biggest we’ve ever had from our non-heading Piracicaba variety.  You’ve mostly gotten the more standard hybrids in the CSA this year, but the Piracicaba has much larger beads and a more open head.  The stems are tender and delicious so they require very little prep time, and I absolutely love it.  Many of my customers compare it to broccolini.  I usually grill or roast it: if you have smaller pieces you can leave them whole, larger heads can be split lengthwise into spears.  Toss it with olive oil and salt and cook it at 400 degrees for 6 or 8 minutes.  It’s also great raw or steamed.

We had a big pick of roma tomatoes today, so Tuesday folks are getting them (not sure what Thursday will get yet).  Romas are sauce tomatoes, which are less juicy than the usual slicers.  They are just fine for fresh eating, but are especially good for sauces, salsas, and roasting.  They all came on at once, so I’m not sure how many more we’ll have.

Garlic Lemon Broccoli and Green Beans