It’s Week Three

Welcome! We are hope that you had a fantastic second week and that you were able to use everything in your bag. Did you discover a new recipe? Try something that will be added to your rotation of meals? Try a new to you vegetable that you liked? Let us know and I will share it here with our other members. If you loved it, others will too!

In Your Box This Week and How to Store Them

BELL PEPPERS - Clean the peppers and ensure they're dry, add them to a mesh or plastic produce bag, leave the bag open, and place them in the low humidity drawer. Peppers when nice and firm can last one-two weeks in the fridge. $1.75 x 2

NEW POTATOES - Keep in a cool, dry place away from light, like a dark corner of the kitchen or in a cabinet. Also keep well ventilated. Do not store in a plastic bag but you can store in a basket or paper bag. $5 (1.75 Pounds)

CANDY ONIONS - Store in the refrigerator crisper drawer for up to one week. You can peel off layers that become dry or slimy if used after one week. (WHITE) $1.50

CARROTS - Store carrots in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or container. Cut tops off prior to storage. They can store for several weeks and sometimes even months $5

GREEN BEANS - Green beans can store in the bag in your crisper drawer for up to 5-7 days 1lb $6

GOLDEN DELICOUS APPLES - I prefer to pick this variety a little early, they are still mildly tart but also sweet, which is perfect. You can display on your countertop, but they'll only last between 1 and 2 weeks, depending on the variety and room temperature. Apples in the fridge last from 2 weeks to several months. $6

DELICATA SQUASH - Winter Squash is best stored between 55-65 degrees, however, Delicata squash does not store quite as well as heartier varieties like Acorn and Butternut. Place in a cool dry room in your house (do not refrigerate) and it should last 2 months. $4 (2lbs)

Veggie of the Week

Delicata Squash

I’m so excited for fall squash especially Delicata! I’m guessing many of you have never heard of this squash and I am thrilled to be the one to introduce it to you. I fell in love with it last year when a farmer at the Columbia Farmers Market told me I had to try it. Delicata is sweeter and creamier than other fall squash and is so easy to prepare! The only way I have prepared it is roasted. It is quick, flavorful and adds a different vegetable to the table than the summer staples we have been working our way through the last several months. I don’t think I have seen it in a grocery store before, at least not Marshall and Sedalia so, if you enjoy it, I would keep my eye out for it at farmers markets near you and stock up!

Roasted Delicata Squash

2 pounds of delicata squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line large rimmed baking pan with parchment paper.
Trim stem end from each squash, then cut each squash in half lengthwise and scoop out and discard seeds and pulp. Cut squash halves crosswise into 1-inch slices.
Place squash slices in large bowl. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss until well combined.
Place squash slices on prepared pan in even layer. Transfer to oven and roast 22 to 24 minutes or until tender, turning once halfway through cooking once the side that is down has turned brown.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together orange juice and maple syrup.
When squash is tender, spoon juice mixture over squash and return to oven for 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

A few notes:

If you choose to peel winter squash, it is much easier to remove it after it has been baked. The roasting process of the squash allows the skin to lift off in the oven. Otherwise, the process can be difficult. If peeling before baking is necessary for your recipe, a sharp potato peeler should do the trick but may yield less squash than the former method. Honestly, when I roast my delicata we eat it skin and all.
To achieve even roasting, it is very important to arrange the squash slices in an even layer on the baking pan. If you need two pans, use two pans.
I prefer to roast with olive oil, salt and pepper. That’s it. I find no reason to add the extra glaze. It adds calories that I don’t need and I find the squash to be sweet enough as it is.
ENJOY!
How to Roast Delicata Squash - Foxes Love Lemons

This recipe is something I am going to try this fall. It does call for beets, which are coming soon. If you save your delicata you could try this! Spiced Lentil Soup with Roasted Beets & Delicata Squash — Produce On Parade

Additional Recipes

Delicata Squash and Sausage Gratin – Kalyn's Kitchen (kalynskitchen.com)

Homemade Caramel Apples - Sally's Baking Addiction (sallysbakingaddiction.com) (something fun for the kids this week!)

15-Minute Green Beans and Bacon - Easy Side Dish (iowagirleats.com)

Roasted Carrots Recipe - Love and Lemons

Perfect Potato Soup Recipe - How to Make Potato Soup (thepioneerwoman.com)

What’s Been Happening Here

First lets start with YEAH carrots and beans this week! Carrots will be a repeater throughout the fall CSA but, enjoy the beans as they may be a one hit wonder. Beans and peas didn’t produce as well for us this year and we can’t quite put our thumb on why.

The walls are up on our new tunnel including hip boards and base boards. Matt is finishing placing the final screws and then we will be done with the “inside” stuff. We hope to add compost, nutrients, till, shape beds and plant strawberries in the next week. The earlier we plant the better chance we have at giving the plants a good start before cold weather sets in. End walls and plastic will also be happening at about the same time. Fingers crossed this bad boy will be done in the next 2-3 weeks. We are trying to work around two markets a week, harvesting, school schedules and we’re once again back to being taxis for our children with after school activities. (we’re living the dream over here! lol)

We have cultivated and diligently walked the fields daily scouting for pests to ensure a good crop this fall and apparently the little buggers in the far-right picture moved in quickly. Matt is outside tonight spraying an organic product that does fabulous at controlling a wide variety of worms. The worm-killer is a bacteria called Bacillus Thuringiensis and once the worms ingest the bacteria it produces a toxic substance that attacks their cells. I can tell you a get a warm feeling when I see the aftermath of a good round of BT and little dead foliage eating worms are left. (sorry, that’s a little morbid isn’t it!)

I have also been doing a little fall clean up around our house. Pulling out annuals, removing flower beds that just aren’t working and setting traps for voles/moles. They are back with a vengeance this year. Of course, after I have pulled up flowers and cleaned areas up, our dogs have to come and dig around in the now exposed fluffy dirt and then take a nap. This is one of our dogs Kenobi that has clearly made himself comfortable in one of my flower planters after a long day of running the wood lines…. and for those asking… yes, he is that Kenobi… as in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

If All Else Fails

If your week has been crazy and you haven’t had time to do a thing with items in your bag, focus on these tasks:

If you don’t get to your beans or would like to freeze them check this site here. How to Freeze Fresh Green Beans (simplyrecipes.com)
You can freeze onions. Simply chop them up and store in freezer bag or containers and pull out as needed to use.
Bell peppers you can chop and freeze. Make sure you get all of the air out of the bag and seal them well in a freezer bag.
Apples can store in your crisper for weeks without problem.
Winter squash will also store for weeks if not months if kept in a cool, dry space away from direct sunlight.
Carrots will store well in your crisper drawer with their tops off.
Potatoes will store well out of direct sunlight in a cool dry place for several weeks.

Next Week’s Possibility’s

Your bag next week will include 6-7 of the following depending on availability and if it’s ready to harvest.

apples
potatoes
onions
carrots
lettuce
okra
sweet potatoes
patty pan squash
bell peppers
Other peppers (poblano, jalapeño, anaheim, banana, etc.)
Fairy Tale Eggplant
slicing tomatoes (red or heirloom type)
spaghetti squash
zucchini
herbs (rosemary, sage, oregano, parsley)
celery (maybe, they are sizing up well)

Wishing you a fantastic week ahead, see you next week!

Fall CSA Newsletter: Week 3