CSA Week 19
Final week! Thank you for being a member of our CSA. Please bring back any extra bags…
In your share week 19:
Winter Luxury Pumpkin
Kale
Salad
Parsley
Tomatoes or Broccoli
Full shares only:
Beets
Cilantro
We finally made it: the last share of the season! I sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed our CSA. We work hard to give you freshness, variety, and deliciousness every week, and your support keeps us going. Thank you to those of you who have already filled out our survey. If you haven’t yet, please do so here. We’d love to know what you thought and anything we could do to improve it in the future.
This was an odd season for us in some respects. Every year there are ups and downs, bumper crops and failures. This year started fast and furious with dry warm weather in the spring. Our shares started off large and stayed that way straight through the summer. And then this fall has been a total change of pace, most of our poorer crops were ones that we usually count on in October and November, like carrots and potatoes.
I ran some numbers and thought you might enjoy seeing some totals. Not counting the Flex shares (I didn’t track items, just total value), the CSA got:
225 pounds broccoli
450 pounds cauliflower
250 pints cherry tomatoes
267 bunches of cilantro
433 bunches of green onions (we’re going to skip a rotation or two next year!)
518 bunches of kale
355 bags of salad
480 pounds zucchini
In total, your shares were worth about 15% more than what you paid for them, which is probably the best value we’ve given yet. At the end of the day, though, we hope that the CSA is more about the relationship you develop with the farm, with fresh seasonal eating, and with all these wonderful veggies our land produces. We are happy to have shared the abundance with you! CSA members eat like a farmer: we eat what’s abundant, and lots of it (I eat a lot of green onions too). I get all the funkiest veggies, but I also get some of the best. We end up composting some of what we bring inside because we can’t get to it all, but it goes back to the worms and the soil and makes more crops next year.
I think the prize for me this summer was the cauliflower. This cool weather crop is one of my favorite vegetables, and this year’s heads were just gorgeous. I was also really ripping through the cilantro, I eat a lot of herbs and usually basil is my summer go to. But the basil never really took off this year and the cilantro did, so I just ate it all year long. I also ate a lot of those delicious heads of romaine, with some cheese and nuts they are one of my favorite summer lunches.
We are already working on things for next year: you have to always be several steps ahead in this game! I’ve been collecting perennial ornamentals from friends and nursery bargain corners, and I’m working on some propagation projects for our own nursery. I’ve started to prep the site for the new greenhouse going in this winter, and I’m hoping to get to work on that by the end of January. Today we planted shallots in the greenhouse for next spring’s crop, and later this week we’ll be planting bulbs for early flowers. We’ll also be trellising the new raspberry planting in the hopes of having raspberries to sell next July.
I hope to see you at our final farm stand, Tuesday November 20 from 9 to 2 at the farm. We should have salad, brussels sprouts, squash, pumpkins, potatoes, kale, herbs, and more. If you already signed up for a Thanksgiving share you can pick it up there (unless you signed up for home delivery). And I hope you will be back for another year of CSA in 2019: we should send out registration information by early February.
Have a great winter and thank you for your support!
Creamy Pumpkin Spaghetti with Garlic Kale
I love using pumpkin to make risotto or pasta sauce. I usually roast my whole pumpkin, make puree, and then use that throughout the week in pasta sauces, soups, and baking. From Pinch of Yum blog.
For the Pumpkin Sauce
- 1 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 sage leaves, minced
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 cup tomato puree or tomato sauce
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 cup cream or half and half
- teeny tiny pinch of cinnamon
For the Pasta
- 8 ounces bucatini, perciatelli, or spaghetti (I used DeLallo perciatelli)
- 1 lb. lean ground turkey
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
For the Garlic Kale
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
- Manchego or Parmesan cheese for topping
- Sauce: In a large pot over medium high heat, add the sun dried tomatoes and a few tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion, garlic, and sage with the sun dried tomatoes and saute until soft and fragrant. Add the pumpkin puree, tomato puree, chicken broth, basil, and cinnamon. Simmer for 15 minutes or so, adding more water or broth as needed to keep the sauce from getting too thick. Puree in a blender or with an immersion blender directly in the pot until mostly smooth. Stir in cream and season to taste with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes for heat.
- Pasta: Boil the pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is boiling, brown the turkey in a large skillet with the onion, chili powder, and garlic powder. Add a few tablespoons of water if necessary to keep everything moist.
- Kale: Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and kale and saute until wilted.
- Toss the turkey, sauce, and pasta together. Serve with the kale. Top everything with the cheese.
Parsley Kale Walnut Pesto
- 1 packed cup chopped kale
- 1 packed cup parsley
- 1/4 cup raw walnuts
- 1/4 cup pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 4-6 tbsp vegetable broth (or water)
- Drizzle extra virgin olive oil (optional) (omit to keep this pesto oil-free)
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Place kale, parsley, walnuts, pepitas, garlic, lemon juice, salt and 4 tbsp vegetable broth in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.
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If it needs more liquid, add more vegetable broth 1 tbsp at a time until desired consistency is reached. (I used 5 tbsp).
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Drizzle with a scant tsp of extra virgin olive oil, if using, before serving.
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