It’s the final week of our CSA for 2021, and we can’t help smiling.

We’re smiling because the year has been a success – in our opinion. We grew, harvested, and prepared enough vegetables to fill 132 boxes each week for 18 weeks – that’s 2376 boxes in total. More than 40 different vegetables, herbs & berries were included in the boxes – an average of 9 each week (plus extras were often available to those who wanted a few more vegetables).

We’re smiling because the year has been a success – in our members’ opinions. At least that is what you have been telling us! Thank you for all the positive & encouraging comments each week and for the suggestions & critiques. One of the best things about CSA is knowing who is eating the food we produce and getting immediate feedback on it.

We’re smiling because our workload is suddenly going to be a whole lot easier. Our Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays will no longer be spent harvesting, washing, sorting, packing, bagging, boxing and distributing … produce. (But no worries – we’ll still have plenty to do!)

We’re smiling because we can take some time to sit & enjoy …

What’s in the box?

Squash, kale or Swiss chard bunches, mini-romaine lettuce, arugula (or salad mix), edamame, beets, onions, garlic, sweet peppers.

We will have several varieties of squash available again this week for you to choose from. It’s possible you have not eaten all the squash yet from the last 2 weeks, but squash stores well – keep it dry and at room temperature or slightly cooler. For most kinds of squash the flavour improves after a few weeks of storage. But remember to keep your eye on it for any soft spots or spoilage. Then use it fast!

We prefer our squash roasted in the oven, (Cut in half, remove the seeds and bake in the oven – cut side down – until tender. Then scoop out the flesh, add seasoning if desired and enjoy!) but squash is also great in soup or in baking (muffins, loaves, scones …).

There will be a bunch of kale or Swiss chard in the box this week. http://www.Cookwithwhatyouhave.com has about 45 recipes for each of these vegetables if you need ideas for preparing them. (With this being the end of CSA, our subscription to this website http://www.cookwithwhatyouhave.com also ends within 2 weeks. Download & save any recipes you want to keep from this site before they are gone!)

The salad green this week is mini-romaine lettuce. It was last in the box way back in week 5. Always a favourite, mini-romaine is tender, tasty – and beautiful! We have several varieties ready now, in various shades or green & red.

Arugula (or maybe salad mix later in the week) is the other salad green in the box.

Edamame, beets, sweet peppers, onions & garlic complete this final CSA box of 2021.

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Around the farm this week …

Thank you for supporting our CSA!

We hope to see you again next year.

Look for an email with details of CSA 2022 in late January.

 

 

The farm looks different at this time of the year.

Since early spring when we began to plant outside in the field, most of the farm has been chock full of vegetables, herbs and flowers. But now there are open patches – lots of open patches where no crops are being grown. There are still some vegetables growing – we are even still planting – but we’re running out of growing time.

To me, the farm looks a little sad.

I prefer to see it full of plants – green & growing, flourishing and waiting for harvest. But late September means the season is winding down, coming to a close. We have only 1 more week of CSA after this one, and 4 more Saturdays of market.

What’s in the box?

Squash, edamame, lettuce, stir-fry mix, green beans,

sweet peppers, onions & garlic.

This week choose 2 squash from the varieties we will have available. Winter squash keeps well if stored properly. Ideal conditions are a temperature of 10C (or a bit warmer) and dry, with low humidity.

We received many positive comments on the edamame that was in your box the other week. We are picking the final planting of edamame now and have included it again. Boil it in salted water for 3-5 minutes, drain, and sprinkle with lime juice. Pop them into your mouth, squeeze the beans out & enjoy! Another option is to toss the boiled pods with sesame oil and soy sauce. Delicious!

Our goal this season was to have lettuce or salad greens of some kind in the box every week – because that is what you have asked for – and we have succeeded! This week we are harvesting the last of the bibb lettuce. If we run out by Friday’s pick up we will have some beautiful mini-romaine lettuce instead.

Our stir-fry mix contains bok choy and various other greens, some mild and others with a bit more flavour. Enjoy it on it’s own or add green beans, sweet peppers, onions & garlic to make a delicious meal!

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Around the farm this week …

This little guy is now big enough to enjoy all the activity in the barn.

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Remember – CSA finishes next week!

What’s in the box?

Squash, rapini, bibb lettuce, shishito peppers, sweet peppers,

green beans, onions & garlic.

We have picked the first of our winter squash. Choose either a butternut or a sweet dumpling squash this week.

Rapini (also known as broccoli raab) is a green vegetable with edible leaves, buds, flowers & stems with a slightly bitter flavour. Rapini is usually blanched for several minutes in salted, boiling water to reduce it’s bitterness before being sauted, stir-fried or roasted.

5 Ways to Serve Broccoli Rabe (from https://www.masterclass.com)

1. Sautée it over low heat in extra virgin olive oil with onions, garlic, and black pepper to make a simple and delicious side dish, or to add to a main dish.
2. Combine it with olive oil and nuts in a blender to make a broccoli rabe pesto.
3. Roast it like you would broccoli in the oven at medium-high heat until crisp. It can then be served alone, with other roasted vegetables, or added to sandwiches, or as a pizza topping.
4. Broccoli rabe is commonly a leafy addition to Italian-American pasta, often paired with spicy Italian sausage, parmesan cheese, and black and red pepper.
5. Sautéed broccoli rabe with red chili flakes, garlic cloves, and guanciale, is a common side dish for pork recipes like grilled ribs, porchetta, and Italian sausages.

Also check https://www.cookwithwhatyouhave.com/category/raab-kale-broccoli-collard for additional recipes.

We are growing several kinds of bibb lettuce this season. Bibb is a beautifully coloured, leafy, ruffled lettuce with a compact, soft heart. Try it and tell us how you like it.

Enjoy some shishito peppers in your share this week. They were last in the box back in week 11. Here’s a quick review of how to best prepare shishitos. Char them in olive oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Cook the peppers whole, turning occasionally, until they begin to blister on all sides. This only takes a few minutes. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and a splash of lime juice and some parmesan cheese, and serve immediately. Eat the whole pepper – except the stem.

Sweet peppers, green beans, onions & garlic complete the box this week.

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Around the farm this week …

The morning after a heavy night rain is a beautiful time.

Edamame … finally!

Edamame – or fresh green soybeans – are a vegetable we always look forward to. But they take a long time! We seeded them in trays in the greenhouse in early May, transplanted them to the field a few weeks later, then waited until now to harvest them. That’s about 4 months! They should have been ripe & ready to pick a few weeks earlier but because it has been so dry they took their own sweet time to mature. The pods just hung there on the plants for the longest time without plumping up – we actually had about given up on them.

They say edamame has been around for 2000 years or more, first grown in China and then in Japan. There, it is a traditional bar snack eaten lightly steamed and sprinkled with salt.

Edamame are full of protein, fibre and loaded with vitamins & minerals – a very healthy vegetable. And they are easy to prepare. Simply boil the pods in salted water for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the water & drain. Then squeeze the pods to pop out the beans and enjoy as a healthy snack. Delicious! We like them sprinkled with lime juice and salt. Or they can be added to soups, stews, salads, noodle dishes …

In Asia they are sold by the plant with the bean pods still attached. We tried that one of the first years we grew them – it didn’t go over very well at market. Now we harvest the entire plant, cutting it off at ground level. We bring them into the barn where we can sit in comfort and pull the pods off the plant. It’s a cushy job – especially on a hot afternoon!

What’s in the box?

Edamame, blackberries, peppers, tomatoes, salad greens,

onions & garlic.

Extras – Hot peppers.

This week’s CSA box includes a paper bag of fresh edamame. It will keep in the fridge in plastic for about a week – but eat them right away for the best flavour (see above for suggestions).

Blackberries have come to an end – this will be the last week for them. A good rain would have prolonged the harvest but unfortunately that never came. Nevertheless it has been a great year for blackberries!

Sweet peppers, tomatoes (also almost finished!), salad greens, onions and garlic complete the box.

We are picking more hot pepper varieties now and these will be available as an extra for those who like a bit of heat!

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Around the farm this week …

Everything was going smoothly with our sunflowers. A new planting was ready for harvest each week just as we planned. Then the heat of August hit and they matured faster & faster causing a sunflower overload. Then the birds dug up and ate the seeds of 2 plantings before they could even germinate! We stretched out some shiny, reflective ribbon for the last planting to try and keep the birds away- it worked! But we will have a sunflower gap at market for a few weeks towards the end of September before these are ready. Not everything goes according to plan!