Weekly Share October 21st – 27th

Fennel
Escarole
Celeriac
Swiss Chard or Kale
Tomatoes (heirloom slicers or sauce)
Sweet Peppers (Giallo de Asti, Corno di Toro Rossa, Carmangola, and Lipstick)
Salad Mix

So we are about to get hit by a real cold front, meaning we have to get ready and protect our fall and winter crops by closing up our greenhouses, covering weather sensitive crops, and giving up on the summer plantings. We will do our final nightshade and cucurbit harvest this week to get any remaining fruits off of the plants, including the last of our winter squash, they will be stored inside where they can cure and ripen, making them even more tasty. We do have a small planting of tomatoes and sweet peppers under cover in hoophouses and it’s likely they will continue producing a little bit; but when the cold comes you never know, so enjoy them while they last. This is a very urgent time of year because we have a finite period to get things done. Over the next two weeks we need to prep beds for our Garlic and Spring Onions, adding compost and other amendments to get it ready. Plus we have to clean up any open cropland so we can plant cover crops (our main method of adding organic matter into our crop land) of winter rye, Austrian winter peas, clover, and vetch.  The next few weeks is our open window and then it gets a bit too late as the day light is quickly diminishing.

This week our share includes fennel (probably our best planting ever) as well as celeriac (we did a small trial this year), and escarole is back (one of our favorite crops). Please enjoy all of the recipes below and enjoy the share….

Raw Shaved Fennel, Celery Root and Apple Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Creamy Celery Root Soup

Celery Root Mash with Dill Oil

Sweet and Sour Peppers Stuffed With Rice or Bulgur and Fennel

Escarole Recipes: I don’t usually glean from Martha Stewart, but this link has 20 brilliant recipes for using this very versatile leafy green. http://www.marthastewart.com/286399/escarole-recipes/@center/1009854/winter-produce