What a great fall box this week with broccoli AND cauliflower! 
Enjoy all these fall flavors! 

Have a great week, friends!
XO Maggie for Farmer Matt, Kelly & the Crew
 

What's in the share?

Broccoli
Storage: In an an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Cooked/Raw When to use: Within 5 days.
What I'm making with it.... Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Cauliflower
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 5 days.
What I'm making with it.... Steamed cauliflower with butter and nutmeg

Red Beets
These are so sweet and delicious. Don't forget the greens which are a veg all their own! It's one of our 2-for-1 veggies! Just remember to store the greens separately from the roots so they stay fresh and they don't wilt.
Storage: Separate the roots from the leaves and store both in an an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Best Cooked, but you can eat the roots raw. When to use: Within 5 days.

Butternut Winter Squash
Storage: In a cool, dry spot. It's ok on the counter for up to a week. Uses: Cooked When to use: Within 7 days.

Parsley
Make a parsley pistou and freeze it to dollop on your vegetable soups all winter long. You can also wash the parsley, spin dry and pack into a ziploc bag (or glass jar) to toss in the freezer. When you're cooking this winter, grab a handful of frozen leaves to bring bright green color and fresh flavor to your dishes!
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw When to use: Within 5 days.
What I'm making with it.... This bunch I'll be freezing for use in the winter.

Leeks
Always wonderful in soup. You can also cook them solo and let their flavor the delicate texture shine!
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw When to use: Within 5 days.
What I'm making with it.... More salad! I'll save a few leaves to use on a sandwich.

Escarole
It looks like lettuce, but it has frilly leaves and it's actually a chicory. Perfect for soup!
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 5 days.
What I'm making with it.... In a salad with a lemon vinaigrette, Parmesan shavings and homemade garlic breadcrumbs.

Briermere Farm Fruit Share — 1 mixed bag of Jonagold and Cameo Apples

Farmhouse Favorite Recipes

Chicken, Leek & Escarole Soup
Food 52's Braised Leeks
Braised Escarole with White Beans
Butternut Squash with Garlic & Parsley

Thank you to everyone who came out to see us at the farm on Sunday. The rain held off and it was a great day!  A special thank you to Barbara Garriel and Ken for their beautiful music, and to Emilie Raffa for her delicious cooking!  We're at week 21 of our 25 week season.  More goodness to come!

We have A LOT of greens in the share this week!  This is the season for greens!  Remember back in the summer when we were all enjoying the corn and tomatoes and zucchini and there were no greens?  Well, here you go!  I've added a new section at the bottom of each item on the share list called, "What I'm making..." If you're feeling overwhelmed by the share, these are my tips for making your way through the box.  It's what I'm planning on making for my family with the share this week.  My best tip is to get yourself a large salad bowl.  With more space in a big bowl, you'll make bigger salads!  We eat an entire head of lettuce in a salad each night.  That's for 2 adults (and sometimes 2 kids). Forget "side salads'!  Make salads a main part of your meal. And full disclosure...we easily eat 2 shares worth of vegetables a week in our family of four.  It's outrageous, but healthy!  :)

Have a great week, friends!
XO Maggie for Farmer Matt, Kelly & the Crew

What's in the share?

Broccoli
The cool, fall weather means that broccoli is ready to harvest! These heads are beautiful and full.
Storage: In an an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Cooked/Raw When to use: Within 5 days.
What I'm making with it.... Broccoli and chickpeas with garlic and olive oil over pasta.

Baby Arugula
This is very tender, so be gently when washing so you don't bruise the leaves.
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 7 days.
What I'm making with it.... Arugula Salad!

Bok Choi
Great texture, perfect for sautes and stir-fries!
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 7 days.
What I'm making with it.... Bok Choi Stir-fry

White Salad Turnips
Storage: Separate the roots from the greens before storing in an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 7 days.
What I'm making with it.... Turnip roots sliced raw with hummus dip. I will gently cook the greens and serve alongside an egg for breakfast. Always greens for breakfast!

Toscano Kale
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Cooked When to use: Within 7 days.
What I'm making with it.... Soup! The whole bunch will cook down in a minestrone soup and infuse the broth with delicious flavor and nutrients. Just remove the stem and slice into thin ribbons.

Mini Romaine Lettuce
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw When to use: Within 5 days.
What I'm making with it.... I'll use the whole head for salad!

Green Boston Lettuce
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw When to use: Within 5 days.
What I'm making with it.... More salad! I'll save a few leaves to use on a sandwich.

Red Long Peppers
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 5 days.
What I'm making with it.... I'm roasting these and putting them in my fridge and freezer for later use. See Ina Garten's simple recipe here....

ITEM IN ROTATION -- Cabbage OR Sugarloaf Chicory OR Radicchio
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 5 days.
What I'm making with it.... Depending on which item I get in the box, I'll either grill the radicchio or chicory and make a warm salad, or I'll slice up the cabbage into wedges and eat it for snack! A big batch of coleslaw is also a family favorite. We eat it all week!

Briermere Farm Fruit Share - 1 mixed bag of Jonagold and Winesap Apples

Farmhouse Favorite Recipes

Quick Bok Choi Stir-fry
Kale Minestrone Soup
Apple Walnut Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Photo Credit: Stacey Ornstein

This SUNDAY from 11am-3pm is our CSA Harvest Festival and we hope you can come!  **This is the biggest perk of CSA Membership!  You get to come visit the farm WHERE WE GROW YOUR FOOD!  Ask your farmers questions, feel the soil, walk the fields and CONNECT WITH THE LAND!** 

We kick things off with a Cooking Demo at 11am with the fabulous Emilie Raffa of The Clever Carrot.   We'll have a special presentation of Gifts form the Earth at 1pm and a Farming Demonstration at 2pm with Farmer Matt and Little Farmer Galen.  All day long there will be walking tours of the fields, a kids area with face painting, crafts, a giant haystack to jump in, and music and storytelling by the wonderfully talented Barbara Garriel.  Please bring a picnic and chairs/blankets to picnic on our lawn.  We'll have Mama Calla's Tamales for sale, as well as a selection of drinks. (No soups this year, so please bring your own!)  We look forward to a beautiful day! 

The Harvest Festival takes place at our farm!
652 Peconic Bay Blvd, Riverhead
Map & Directions

Have a great week, friends!
XO Maggie for Farmer Matt, Kelly & the Crew

What's in the share?

Red Beets
We wait all fall for the first beets! These are so sweet and delicious. Don't forget the greens which are a veg all their own! It's one of our 2-for-1 veggies! Just remember to store the greens separately from the roots so they stay fresh and they don't wilt.
Storage: Separate the roots from the leaves and store both in an an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Best Cooked, but you can eat the roots raw. When to use: Within 5 days.

Purple Kohlrabi
If you think, "Oh no, more kohlrabi!"...give these little ones another chance! I have a few simple recipes below that will make you love it. And remember, it's a cruciferous veggie, which means that it contains compounds that fight cancer!
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 7 days.

Collards
I love collards in soups - cut into thin ribbons. They hold their form, even when cooked for a long time, and the flavor sweetens.
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Cooked When to use: Within 7 days.

Baby Red Romaine Lettuce
Wow, this is such a beautiful lettuce! Can you feel how dense the head is, even though it is small? These are extra-special, selected for you by Farmer Matt.
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw When to use: Within 5 days.

Red Boston Lettuce
My favorite lettuce variety is back for the fall. Crunchy, yet sweet with a wonderful texture. You can't get lettuce like this in the stores. Enjoy!
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw When to use: Within 5 days.

Cabbage
We all need to incorporate more cruciferous vegetables into our diet. I like to slice up a small green cabbage into wedges and snack on it all day long. When it's sitting on the counter, it's hard to resist its sweet crunch!
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 5 days.

Yellow OR Red Long Peppers
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 5 days.

Briermere Farm Fruit Share - 1 mixed bag of Jonagold and Red Delicious Apples

Farmhouse Favorite Recipes

Braised Cabbage with Caraway
Braised Kohlrabi
Lentil & Green Collard Soup
Ham & Collard Greens Soup
Simple Sauteed Beet Greens

As we harvest our fall crops and the fields are left empty, we start to turn in what's left of the plants and prepare the soil in anticipation of planting cover crops.  These cover crops will germinate in the next few weeks and grow through November.  At that time, there will be enough growth to protect the soil during the winter.  The roots of the cover crop hold the soil intact to prevent erosion from wind, rain and snow.  And then in the spring, the plants which have already gotten a head start, will continue growing until we turn them in to plant again for next season. 

This cycle of planting cover crops is essential to building and enriching our soil.  Our healthy, beautiful vegetables are a direct result of healthy plants which grow in healthy soil.  Just like human health...it's all about the terrain!  It takes years, (decades, really), to grow soil that is full of healthy microbial activity, balanced nutrients and can support the plants that we grow to feed us.  So while we put a tremendous amount of energy into growing a tomato plant, for example, we put in just as much energy into our cover crops, composting and careful micro-nutrient application and balancing.  This goes well beyond growing organically...it is growing with full-cycle health sustainability in mind. 
And it tastes better too!

Have a great week, friends!
XO Maggie for Farmer Matt, Kelly & the Crew

♥

SAVE THE DATE!
Our CSA Harvest Festival will take place on Sunday, October 20th from 11am-3pm here at the farm in Riverhead.  Hope to see you there!

What's in the share?

Bel Fiore Radicchio
I'm putting this beauty first on the list because....it is so beautiful! And you can't find this in stores no matter how hard you look. One of the *many* benefits of CSA cooking! This is a member of the chicory family, so it is a mildly bitter green that can either be paired with a cheese or gently cooked to remove its bitter flavor. I happen to love the bitter flavor and enjoy it in salads with shaved pecorino, olive oil and lemon juice.
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked (if you must) When to use: Within 5 days.

Bok Choi
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 5 days.

Mustard Greens Mix
This wonderful, peppery mix is back for the fall! It's best eaten raw in a salad because the leaves are so tender. (If you try to cook the baby leaves, it will become stringy.).
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw When to use: Within 3 days.

Red Kale
This red kale is the perfect size to cook. It's delicious added to fall soups.
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 7 days.

Baby Romaine Lettuce
Wow, this is such a beautiful lettuce! Can you feel how dense the head is, even though it is small? These are extra-special, selected for you by Farmer Matt.
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw When to use: Within 5 days.

Batavian Lettuce
My favorite lettuce variety is back for the fall. Crunchy, yet sweet with a wonderful texture. You can't get lettuce like this in the stores. Enjoy!
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw When to use: Within 5 days.

Cilantro
I'm a huge fan of cilantro, but I don't think that many people realize how incredibly healthy it is! It can remove heavy metals from your body. Did you know that? Google it!
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw When to use: Within 5 days.

Butternut Winter Squash
Feeling intimidated by winter squash? Check out the cooking tips below!
Storage: In a cool, dry spot. It's ok on the counter for up to a week. Uses: Cooked When to use: Within 7 days.

Yellow OR Red Long Peppers
Storage: In an airtight container/bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked When to use: Within 5 days.

Briermere Farm Fruit Share - 1 mixed bag of Gala & Macintosh Apples

Farmhouse Favorite Recipes

HOW TO COOK WINTER SQUASH!
There are lots of winter squash varieties, but they can be cooked the same way. After years of fumbling around with large knifes and hard squashes, I finally discovered roasting them whole (yes, whole!) with just a few knife slits to release steam. It works like a charm. The traditional method (below) is still my favorite way to cook smaller squash when I'm serving them sliced on a plate.
The traditional method (video!)
The "no-cut" cook it whole method!

Radicchio Salad with Lemon & Pecorino
Tuscan White Bean & Kale Soup - Our family favorite!
Mustard Greens Salad Recipe
10 Minute Garlic Bok Choi