CSA 2020 - Week #18

We welcome October later this week and the fall harvests just keep on coming!  Beautiful leeks and more acorn squash in the box, plus our special purple radishes (great roasted!) and crunchy sweet lettuce.  Enjoy!

A Note on our Harvest Festival
We've been hosting our wonderful CSA community at the farm for over 20 years.  Back in the "old days" Farmer Matt and I would cook homemade soup for everyone.  We'd spend the day before the festival chopping onions, garlic, celery and onions and trying to figure out how to fit 4 huge pots of bubbling soups on the stove top.  (They never did fit all at once...we'd cook them in batches and then drive them over to the farm trying to not spill them all over the back of the car.)  French Lentil and Butternut Squash soup were always the most popular, but we also made Spicy Black Bean, Minestrone and Potato Leek.  Those were the days before we had farm babies and when we had time to play hooky from farming and spend the day in the kitchen cooking for our members.  It was the best way we could think of to say "thank you" for joining us in partnership for the season.  So while we have to cancel this year's festival due to COVID restrictions, and we now have too many members for us to cook soup for, we do still feel the very same way about all of you and we are grateful for your support of our family farm.  By joining our CSA, you have voted with your dollar to support a  better food system that puts your health and the health of our community and our environment at the forefront.  Thank you, friends.  We couldn't do this without you.  - Maggie & Matt

Winter CSA Hiatus
Please note that we are not offering a CSA Winter Share this year.  It's been a tough growing season, so everything in the fields will be harvested for our regular season members (that's you!).  We also need a little breather to spend time as a family while our kiddos are young and still think it's cool to hang out with their parents.  Farming is rough on families. And finally, COVID restrictions may make indoor locations for winter CSA pick-up impossible to accommodate.  So for all those reasons, no winter CSA, but we'll be back in the spring!
 

This week's harvest

Acorn Squash
The acorns are the first of the winter squash that's ready to harvest.  You can roast them whole, yes, whole, sitting on a pan in the oven.  When they're tender, just cut open and scoop out the seeds. I like to serve the flesh mashed with butter and salt & pepper.  The perfect taste of fall!
Storage: On the counter
Uses: Cooked
When to use: Within 5 days

Red Batavian Lettuce
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge
Uses: Raw
When to use: Within 5 days

Red Kale
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge.
Uses: Cooked
When to use: Within 5 days

Fall Purple Radishes
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge.
Uses: Raw/Cooked
When to use: Within 3 days

Napa Cabbage
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge.
Uses: Raw/Cooked
When to use: Within 5 days

Leeks
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge.
Uses: Cooked
When to use: Within 5 days

Eggplant
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge.
Uses: Cooked
When to use: Within 5 days

BRIERMERE FARM FRUIT SHARE - Farmer's Choice!

Recipes!

Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ottolenghi's Braised Eggs with Leeks and Za'atar
Chinese Restaurant Style Stir Fried Napa Cabbage
Greek-Style Eggplant Stew