It’s Week Five

Welcome! We are hope that you had a fantastic fourth 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!

I want to apologize to SEDALIA for the change in contents in your box last week. For those that had a change on the contents in your bag I will try to get eggplant, and patty pan to you over the remaining weeks of CSA.

In Your Box This Week and How to Store Them

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

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

OKRA OR EGGPLANT

Refrigerate unwashed, dry okra pods in the vegetable crisper, loosely wrapped in perforated plastic bags. Wet pods will quickly mold and become slimy. Okra will keep for a few days. $5 (1lb)

Store away eggplant from direct sunlight and use it as soon as possible after harvesting or buying. You can place it in a vented bowl, but avoid sealing it in a plastic bag, which can increase decay. Eggplant is not a cold loving vegetable but, if you want to keep it in the refrigerator do so in the warmest place in the refrigerator and keep lightly covered. Eggplant will remain fresh for 2-4 days. $5

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. 3 - $5

CELERY - Place the celery in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator, which should be set to high humidity. Don't wash or cut the celery until you're ready to use it. I would recommend storing in an open plastic bag. $5

SWEET 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. $6 ($2.25 pound)

Veggie of the Week

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are here!!! Freshly dug today, they are a nutritional powerhouse and super versatile. They are high in fiber, rich in antioxidants, and support immune system function. They are also a great source of vitamin A essential for vision and skin health and vitamin C which boots your immune system.

Sweet potatoes can be roasted, baked, mashed or a guilty favorite….fried!

Sweet Potato Fries

Yield:4 to 6 servings

2pounds sweet potatoes, peeled
2tablespoons olive oil
1teaspoon garlic powder
1teaspoon paprika
1teaspoon salt
½teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Heat the oven to 400. (may need to be higher, oven dependent)
Cut the sweet potatoes into sticks ¼ to ½ inch wide and 3 inches long and toss them with the oil.
Mix the spices, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and toss them with the sweet potatoes. Spread them out on 2 rimmed baking sheets.
Bake until brown and crisp on the bottom, about 15 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is crisp, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

A few notes:

Preheating the baking sheets really helps the crisping. Heating the baking sheets until a drop of water bounced on them then toss the fries on - cook till crisp then turned.
Placement in the oven matters a lot. Those in the pan on the top rack were much crisper than the ones in the middle rack.
No need to peel the sweet potatoes.
Parchment paper helps. No peeling of course. I prefer to season them fresh from the oven.
ENJOY!
The BEST Sweet Potato Fries Recipe! | Gimme Some Oven
Sweet Potato Fries Recipe (with Video) (nytimes.com)

This recipe is so quick and easy and great as a fall side, if you have a pressure cooker it is even easier! Baked Sweet Potato - Recipes by Love and Lemons

This is a quick and nutritious side for dinner this week! It does require peeling and cubing but, these fall flavors are coming in and are delicious.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes - Skinnytaste

Additional Recipes

Celery is coming in this week, and it is full of flavor…. so, so so much better then store bought! Also, the golden delicious apples are so so so good this week!! They are sweetening up but also crunchy. Trying to figure out what to do with all the apples? I have given some quick recipes below!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe - The Forked Spoon

Easy Homemade Applesauce Recipe - NatashasKitchen.com

Roasted Carrots Recipe - Love and Lemons

Recipe : Fresh Apple Donuts | The Cake Blog I know this one doesn’t fit the “healthy bill” but COME ON it’s fall and who doesn’t love apple cake donuts!)

Martha Rose Shulman's Roasted Okra Recipe (nytimes.com)

Air Fryer Okra - A Beautiful Mess

What’s Been Happening Here

Well rain has been happening here since Sunday. Big, fat drops of rain in generous amounts! While it has slowed us down, which is hard as we always seem to be behind, we also desperately needed the rain. We were definitely square back into drought territory for the last 3-4 weeks. Hopefully the couple of inches we received as well as the cooler weather the rain brought will bring us back too little to no drought. On Saturday after the farmers market, we quickly sprang into action harvesting the remaining winter squash and all of the pumpkins before the rains came. We don’t normally force the kids into child “labor” but, Saturday it was all hands-on deck, even the baby. Thankfully under tractor headlights we were able to have everything in the wash/pack shed tucked away and curing for future markets. This week we are harvesting the rest of the apples and getting them tucked away for storage, although at the rate they’re selling they likely won’t store long!

Note: we will not be placing pumpkins into CSA bags as the few small pumpkin varieties we grew this year are decorative. If you would like pumpkins feel free to reach out. I can send you information on the varieties and pricing.

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:

Kale will store for at least 7 days. Keep in mind moisture leads to spoilage. You can wait to wash your greens until you plan to consumer them. Place greens in an airtight container such as a bag or Tupperware
Parsley wash and dry thoroughly. You want to make sure no excess water is present as that can cause freezer burn. Cut the lower part of the stems. Place cleaned and dried parsley in a large freezer bag and push it down to the bottom
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.
Patty pan can be shredded and frozen if you are unable to use it this week. It can be used as a substitute for zucchini in muffins or bread
Keep eggplant out at room temperature and try to use them soon after, as eggplants don’t do well in the cold. If you do need to store them for longer, place in an unsealed bag or container, and then keep in the crisper drawer

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
onions
carrots
lettuce
okra
sweet potatoes
patty pan squash
bell peppers
Other peppers (poblano, jalapeño, anaheim, banana, etc.)
Fairy Tale Eggplant
zucchini (green or yellow)
herbs (rosemary, sage, oregano, parsley)
celery (maybe, they are sizing up well)
kale

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

Fall CSA Newsletter: Week 5