Lucky 13

Wow it is already the end of September.  I hope everyone enjoyed their first winter squash last week.  We have a new variety in your box this week is a buttercup squash.  They have delicious sweet orange flesh that is dry when cooked making it a great candidate for your thanksgiving "pumpkin" pie.  The beans in this weeks box are something a little different.  Don't eat the pods, it is the bean inside the pod you want so they will have to be shelled.  It is called a Scarlett Runner bean and is a beautiful speckled purple to pink colour.  Cook them like you would any other fresh bean (lima, fava, etc).  Here is what is in your box this week:

Beets, Rodina & Red Ace
Carrots
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Peppers
Romaine Lettuce head
Cabbage, Green Charmont
Swiss Chard
Scarlett Runner Beans
Buttercup Winter Squash

                                                       Winter squash curing in the greenhouse.  Little gem (orange small hubbard), Buttercup (dark green), and Spaghetti (pale green/yellow).

                                                        One of the many frogs hanging around in Brenda's flower garden.  Seeing creatures like this make me glad I am an organic farmer.

Week Twelve Box

The first of the winter squash were cut last week and have been curing in the greenhouse for a short time.  This week there is a hubbard squash called Little Gem.  The flesh of these delicious squash is fine, dense and fairly dry when baked making them excellent for pies, soups and one of my favorites, mac and cheese (recipe to follow).  Also in your box this week are some great tomatoes and basil.  Get some nice fresh bocaccini and you have yourself a great classic caprese salad.  Yum. 

In your box this week:

Tomatoes
Butter Lettuce
Cucumbers
Summer Squash
Carrots
Red Russian Kale
Basil
Peppers
Little Gem Winter Squash

I base my squash mac and cheese on this recipe from Martha Stewart.  The recipe calls for butternut squash but I have used a number of different squashes and the little gem works great.  I only use whole wheat pasta because I think the white pasta noodles just don't have enough flavor.  I also don't know that using the ricotta is really worth it and don't put that in either.  The recipe seems to change depending on what I have around the house but I also always put a ton of bread crumbs on top to get a nice thick and crispy layer.  Other vegetables like kale and tomatoes can be thrown in and for non-veggies a little bacon can only be better. 

Box Eleven

Wow it was a big harvest this week!  Here is what you will find in your box this week:

Head Lettuce
Mixed Carrots
Beets, mix of chioggia (pink swirls) and golden
Green Cabbage
Broccoli & Pole Beans, the last bits of both most likely
Swiss Chard, bright lights mix
Tomatoes, a mix of wild, cherry and some larger varieties like black krim and big beef
Peppers, sweet, green and jalapenos
Summer Squash
Cucumbers

Enjoy!

Holy Cucumber!!! (week 10)

It looks like the extended summer we were hoping for might actually happen.  This is good news for the still ripening winter squash and some of the pepper varieties still changing from green to yellow or brown.  It also seems to be great for the cucumbers which have come on like crazy in the last week.  Here is what you will find in your box this week followed by some idea for what to do with cucumbers suggestions:

Tomatoes
Peppers (with a few jalapenos)
Carrots
Cucumbers, a mix of varieties including lemon cucs, the small yellow one
Summer squash
Beets
Butterhead Lettuce
Either: Broccoli shoots (eat the leaves too) or Beans and Kale, we will do our best to switch this up next week, if you got one this week you should get the other next week

What to do with cucumbers? Our cucumbers have been tasting so great on their own I find the most common way I eat them is whole, as a mid harvest day snack.  A quick Google search will bring up endless recipes but I would recommend going to www.bonappetit.com and typing "cucumber" into their recipe search for a great list of recipes, mostly some great looking cocktails.

Make an interesting salad by using a vegetable peeler (or mandolin) to slice cucumbers length wise and then toss with mint (or other fresh herbs such as dill or parsely) lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper.  A little sliced or chopped jalapeno is also great.

Cucumber fridge pickles are quick and delicious without the work of water bath canning.  Cucumbers are not just a low calorie, high water vegetable either.  They are a great source of dietary fiber (skins on for that) and are a good source of vitamin-K, vitamin-C and vitamin-A and few other of those good for you anti-oxidant type things.  So enjoy your bumper crop week of cucumbers in tzatziki, salads, cocktails, gazpacho or just on their own :)