Autumn Equinox – let the colors change! CSA Week 16
Hello folks,
Hopefully around you are some hints of fall, crisper mornings (we did have some ice on the windshields a few mornings ago! brrr), foliage is turning, pumpkins and squash are on our minds. We have entered the gorgeous time of the year many of us love so much here in Vermont. Enjoy!
We had a busy and fun day at our first foray providing food at the Shelburne Farms Harvest Festival (110 beef kabobs, 100 pork kabobs, almost 200 pork sausages, 4 gallons of asian slaw and 6 gallons of potato leek soup!) Whew, we are glad that is behind us now.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: This IS NOT our fresh chicken pickup week. We have moved it to next week! If you are interested in a fresh chicken to roast or grill, mmmmmm! take one home next week!
CHEESE SHARE and BAKERY SHARE this week! yeah!
Please take home my sheet on STORAGE tips. Some folks are saying they have a bit extra each week and if properly stored, you can keep it for longer and it wont go bad. I suggest freezing. Its easy, not as time consuming as canning and you will have some Maple Wind Farm goodies this winter and wont have to buy as much at the store!
ON THE FARM: Its time to get into the woods and bring out some logs for splitting and to replentish the sugar shack wood for next spring. Bruce and the guys will be up in the woods this week with the horses adding to our growing pile of wood in the field. We need about 15 cords of wood for the farm/the house and the yurts for the winter. Who splits it all you ask? We’ve started to “buck” the wood (cut the limbed trees into 14″ lengths) so that we can use our log splitter and in October we’ll be working with a few crews of young people from the VYCC coming to help split the wood as part of our partnership with that organization. Speaking of VYCC, if you are driving along route 2, look at the VYCC fields across from the camel and you will see our herd of cows grazing on the delicious clover that has come up. They will be there for a few weeks rotating those fields.
IN THE GARDEN: The garden is making its change over to fall crops nicely. We are getting the winter squash off the vines for some field curing this week. When we do get a frost on the garden in Richmond, its going to improve the taste of the carrots and parsnips as well as the brussell sprouts (so look forward to those!)
Ill take a CSA Members advice and try a trade area this week. If you have something in your share you will not use, please place it in the trade area and take something you will use from someone else!
THIS WEEKS HARVEST: Most likely the last corn (boo hoo), Red Norland Potatoes, Onions, Beets, Peppers, Braising Greens, Cabbage (choice of red or green), Basil, perhaps a winter squash and brussel sprouts!
IN THE KITCHEN:
Brussel Sprouts
Most Americans who do not like Brussels sprouts are haunted by childhood memories of smelly, army green, bitter, mushy globs that had to be eaten before dessert. Fresh Brussels sprouts, properly cooked, are deliciously delicate in flavor. Maybe it is time to give Brussels sprouts another chance, this time with a new attitude and a modern cooking spirit.
Like cabbage and cabbage sprouts, Brussels sprouts are a cool weather crop. They should be harvested when the sprouts are small, compact and bright green. Avoid yellowing sprouts with signs of wilt rot or insect damage. Harvest sprouts when they are no larger than 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
The fresher the sprouts, the better the flavor, so refrigerator storage should not exceed a day or two. Remove any damaged or irregular outer leaves and store fresh unwashed sprouts in plastic bags in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator.
Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Recipe
This is the only way to eat brussels sprouts: cut in half and cooked until deliciously tender inside and perfectly brown and crusted on the outside.
Use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed. You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heavier cheeses like gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them off with some toasted hazelnuts the other night – delicious!
24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice
Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don’t overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they’re tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.
Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.
Serves 4.
Hubbard Squash
3 lbs. Hubbard squash
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans
Cut squash into pieces. Pare and remove seeds and fibers. Cook, covered, in boiling water until tender. Drain and mash well. Beat in butter, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with pecan
Reprinted from Cooks.com
Steamed Kabocha Squash 1 (2- to 2 1/2-pound) kabocha squash 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup honey 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Bring 8-quart pot of water to boil. Add squash and boil, uncovered, 2 1/2 minutes. Using tongs, flip squash over, then boil 2 1/2 minutes more. Drain and let cool. When squash is cool enough to handle, cut off top and bottom and remove skin with paring knife. Cut squash in half crosswise, scoop out seeds, and cut flesh into 1-inch chunks. In medium bowl, stir together squash, olive oil, honey, ginger, and salt. Transfer to steamer set over boiling water and steam until tender, about 15 minutes. Spoon onto large plate and serve.
