CSA Week 16

*** Thursday pickup change!  All Lincoln City shares will now be available beginning at 11 AM***

In Your Share Week 16:

Yellow Finn Potatoes
Delicata Squash
Cabbage
Eggplant
Broccoli or Basil
Kale
Tomatoes (Some sites only)

Full Shares Only:

Salad Mix
Kohlrabi

Sorry, share notes are a little late this week, it’s been surprisingly busy the last several days.  Today’s new and exciting item is Delicata squash, finally ready to head home to you!  These beautiful little winter squash are sweet and nutty, with a thin delicate skin and smooth texture.  Delicata are great roasted or stuffed, or I’m partial to them as a pizza topping. Typically I slice them in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  I either roast the halves face down in a pan with a bit of water (375 until a fork goes through easily, about 30 minutes), or slice them into half moons, toss with oil, and roast them on a sheet pan until they are soft and caramelized.  I usually eat the skin; it’s tender and tasty.

Squash store in a cabinet, out on the counter, or as a centerpiece on your table: no need to refrigerate them!  Our squash have been behind the game on ripening this year, and these will sweeten up as they sit out.  We have several other varieties to include in the last few weeks of the CSA, but the delicata seemed the most mature and ready to eat.  We just pulled all the squash and pumpkins in on Monday, loading the tractor bucket with a couple hundred pounds at a time and taking several trips back and forth from the field to the greenhouse.  We now have heirloom pumpkins and acorn squash, early season butternuts, and delicatas curing in the greenhouse.  It’s looking very colorful!

With the colder nights of the last week or two, several summer crops are officially throwing in the towel.  This is the last basil of the year, and while I did my best to remove any questionable leaves, I’d recommend using it up quickly.  Cukes and zukes are officially done, but our tomatoes are still looking surprisingly good!  We had a late rotation of determinates that are just now ripening, including lots of roma-type sauce tomatoes.  We’ll continue to rotate them through the different sites and shares as long as we can.

Another summer crop that is still doing surprisingly well is our eggplant.  We were able to get a nice serving for everyone today, and I can tell you they are still extremely tasty.  We’re doing “Tactober” in our house, with tacos on the menu not every day but pretty frequently.  I’ve been using eggplants as filling, as well as ground elk, turnip greens, fresh salsas, and potatoes.  Everyone got a head of red, green, or napa cabbage this week, which I’ve also been using either in or alongside my tacos.  Our fall cabbage isn’t super abundant this year, so this will likely be the only head you get.

Today’s potatoes are yellow finns, which are our storage potatoes and Mike’s favorite.  They are golden and buttery, great for roasting, mashing, frying, or anything you want.  They unfortunately have damage from potato scab, which makes them a bit ugly, but it is entirely superficial and is fine to eat.  If you don’t like it, just peel them and you won’t even know they had a problem.

Just a reminder that the final CSA pickup will be November 7 or 9 (depending on your pickup day).  Our farm stand continues until Thanksgiving (Tuesdays 9 to 2), and our hospital farm stand goes on Tuesdays from 11 to 2 through October 31.  We still have Thanksgiving shares available, they are $40 and will be ready on Tuesday, November 21.  Click here to sign up, or just send me an email or stop by the stand.

Roasted Delicata Squash Kale & Sausage Pizza

1 delicata squash, seeds removed and cut into 1/2 inch circles

extra virgin olive oil

2 Italian sausages, casings removed

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper

1 1lb. pizza dough (buy pre-made, or try making your own!)

2 cups kale, torn into pieces

2 cups shredded mozzarella

3 tablespoons goat cheese

2 tablespoons chopped candied walnuts

Preheat oven to 400F

Place delicata squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle liberally with olive oil and toss the squash to coat. Season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for about 15-18 minutes, or until squash has become tender; set aside.

Meanwhile heat a glug of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Stir in onions and cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add sausage to the pan and break into smaller pieces with a spoon. You want cook the sausage thoroughly and brown the onions.  Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute.  Season with salt & pepper to taste and set aside.

To make the pizza, adjust oven to 450F. Stretch pizza dough into a 14 inch circle onto a pizza bake or baking sheet.  Top with 1/2 cup cheese and add the kale to the top. Nestle the delicata squash on top, followed by another 1/2 cup cheese and the sausage and onion mixture. Place dollops of goat cheese on top and finish with the remaining cheese and candied walnuts. Bake in the oven until crust is nicely browned, about 15-18 minutes. Serve hot.

Aloo Baingan: Easy Indian spiced Eggplants and Potatoes