CSA Week 16
**2 weeks left! Your final share will be the week of Halloween. Please remember to round up and return any CSA bags you have at home.***
In your share week 16:
Carrots
Salad Mix
Cauliflower or Broccoli
Gills Golden Pippin Acorn Squash
Onion (Some shares only)
Kale (Half Shares) or Kohlrabi (Full shares)
Full shares only:
Tomato or Cherry Tomato
Winter squash is here! First up is an old Oregon bred acorn squash variety called Gill’s Golden Pippin. We find it is more like a delicata in flavor than a typical acorn, and its small size makes it easy to portion. The skins are tender and tasty, so I wouldn’t bother peeling them. 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. Store them at room temperature or use them as a decoration until you’re ready to eat them.
This will likely be the last CSA salad mix of the season. We started cutting our late season greenhouse salad today, and it’s a lovely mix of extra tender lettuces and baby greens, plus some more robust bok choy and kale from the field. After this, though, the sowings get sparser and the growth will get slower, so I don’t expect to have enough the next couple of weeks to include in the shares. We do have some nice greens still sizing up out in the field, though, including heads of romaine lettuce and some lovely chicories, so hopefully we’ll have a few more wintery salads for you before all is said and done!
I planned to have kale for everyone today, but with the continued warm days and nights the aphids are taking off and taking over the kale. Typically we have had some freezes by October, or at least noticeably colder nights. This sweetens up the late season greens and kills the aphids and other insects, giving us some nice late season harvests. But last week was hot, and the nights have stayed in the mid 50s, which has been good for things like tomatoes and zucchini but not so great for our hardy winter crops. I apologize if your kale has aphids, I inspected each leaf and we washed them pretty thoroughly but a few always get by me. They are easy enough to cut or wash off if you find some, and they won’t hurt you if a few end up in your kale and eggs.
For full shares, we’ve included some of the largest and most beautiful kohlrabi we’ve ever grown! This may be a new vegetable for you; it’s the funny looking bulb with big green leaves. Kohlrabi has a sweet flavor like a broccoli stem. To use it, remove the leaves, cut off the tough bottom, and peel the green skin off with a knife. The inside of the bulb is the part you’re going for, though the greens are delicious too (use them like kale or cabbage).
These are a fall storage variety, which tend to be a little less sweet and juicy than the quick-growing summer bulbs. Kohlrabi is good raw or cooked, I usually cook these larger fall bulbs. I love kohlrabi in soup, like the kohlrabi-cheese soup below, or chicken noodle. I also like it roasted, by itself or with cauliflower and potatoes. Try substituting it for broccoli or cauliflower in a recipe you already know and love: it works pretty well! Remember, it needs to be peeled, and you can also eat the greens. To keep the bulb longer, remove the greens and store them separately. These fall kohlrabi will keep several weeks in a bag in the fridge or in the crisper drawer.
Kohlrabi Cheese Soup with Bacon
I had this at Hearth and Table a couple years ago, and it was delish. I looked for a recipe online and found one at the CSA for Three blog. She says: Kohlrabi tastes kind of like broccoli, so I thought, why not use a broccoli cheese soup recipe and sub in kohlrabi? I made some modifications, and I used both the bulbs and the greens in this recipe. It came out great!
4 slices bacon
1 cup chopped onions
fresh ground pepper
Pinch nutmeg
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups chicken stock
1 lb (ish) peeled and cubed kohlrabi bulbs
1 bunch kohlrabi greens, stemmed and sliced
1/2 cup cream
1 1/4 cups shredded cheese – I used chihuahua
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp butter
Render the bacon in a dutch oven and remove and crumble the bacon. Saute the onions in the bacon fat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, season with pepper and nutmeg, and cook for another minute or so. Add the flour and stir until well-distributed and slightly browned. Slowly stir in the broth and bring to a boil. Allow to thicken just a little, then add the chopped kohlrabi root. Lower to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. Add the greens and stir, cover again for a few more minutes until the root is soft and the greens wilt.
Puree the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender. Return to pot and add cream, and add cheese and butter when hot enough to melt, stirring to distribute. Serve and sprinkle with crumbled bacon.
Herb-Roasted Parmesan Acorn Squash
From The Real Food Dietitians. Many folks know to cook acorn squash with brown sugar and raisins, but I prefer a more savory preparation like this. They call for ghee, but I usually use olive oil.
- 1 large acorn squash (or 2 small)
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 2-3 Tbsp. fresh herbs or 1 tsp. dried (suggest: thyme, sage, rosemary, or oregano)
- 1 Tbsp. ghee, melted, or olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt + more to taste
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Then slice each half into ½ inch half moon slices. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Transfer to a large sheet pan and bake 25 minutes or until squash is cooked through and parmesan cheese is crispy and slightly brown.
