Weekly Share November 13th – 19th

Collard Greens
Escarole or Frisee
Mesclun Salad Mix
Seminole Pumpkin
Mix of Root Vegetables
Celery

This is the last pickup week for our 2023 CSA share. We truly hope you have had many delicious meals with our vegetables. We thank you for taking the ride, as we never know what each season will bring. This year we had almost no onions, it was a failed crop; but we had some of the most exquisite tasting tomatoes we have ever grown. Each season brings some ups and downs; but overall, this season has been a good one for growing. We have had great cabbages and greens this fall, it was a fabulous garlic season, and there was a lot of abundance with watermelon, cucumbers, beans, basil, and chicories. Perhaps we are just getting a little wiser with time, we are hopeful. Last Sunday we had our annual garlic planting with CSA work share members; which always symbolizes the beginning of the end of the current season and some nods towards our next to come. As we look forward we are hopeful for what is to come and all the new things we will learn next year.
The last share continues our love of greens, with frost sweetened collards and chicories, two hearty and versatile greens fabulous in soups or braised. We have also included a Seminole pumpkin and a load of root veggies, both can be stored for a long time. Seminole Pumpkins, a native varietal grown in the deep south, can hold for 4-6 months in a cool pantry space, so when you really want a pie or some caramelized roasted pumpkin crack into it. The root vegetables can store in your fridge for at least a month, so make something special for Thanksgiving to share with family or friends if it seems overwhelming this week. Check out the recipes below, come visit us at market, and enjoy the share….. Autumn & Brian.

Phil’s Pasta Fazool with Escarole

Perfect Southern Collard Greens

Fall Stew with Rutabagas, Roots, & Greens

Roasted Beet Salad with Miso-Sesame Dressing, Pears, & Frisee

Roasted Salt & Vinegar Turnips & Escarole Waldorf Salad

Pumpkin Sformato with Fonduta and Frisee

Seminole Pumpkin Pie

Savory Seminole Pumpkin Soup

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Weekly Share November 6th – 12th

Fennel
Kohlrabi
Radicchio
Swiss Chard or Broccoli Raab
Winter Storage Tomatoes
Desiree Red Potatoes
Bibb Lettuce
Parsley

Last week we had the first real frost of the Fall. A little earlier than most years but not by much. We had to do a lot of crop covering with a row cover fabric to protect from chilling damage on the leaves and stems. We were mostly successful although the heading and sprouting broccoli, raab, spigariello, and swiss chard all got some damage. No plants were killed but the chilling affects the cell structure and often manifests in tough and mushy stems or burning on leaves. Some of these things are in the share this week and so you may see some hints of damage. Our escarole and frisee get a nice tip burn which usually affects 1 layer of leaves about midway through the head (a super fun problem to deal with when you have 500 heads almost ready). These issues don’t ruin the whole crop but can mean smaller heads or lots of time cleaning to make marketable. On a positive note, the frost helps sweeten lots of greens and roots, plus over time it makes them heartier. This is one reason winter crops last so long, they are hearty and strong once harvested. Overall we are hoping for more cool weather and light frosts as we edge towards Winter.
This week’s share includes a few farm favorites that make rare appearances in our main season; but are enjoyed through the “off season”; such as radicchio, kohlrabi, and winter storage tomatoes. The storage tomatoes look a bit like a plum or a peach, and have a very thick wall which allows us or you to store them in a cool place for many months. Traditionally these are used in dishes like pan de tomate or a quick pan sauce and although they do not have the complexity of summer tomatoes, they can be very delicious. This share is also full of Italian specialty crops, whether Italian parsley, chard, broccoli raab, or fennel. We have included a load of wonderful recipes to play around in the kitchen. If you are overwhelmed by the bounty, the radicchio, fennel and kohlrabi can all store for at least a few weeks in the refrigerator. Happy voting week to all! Enjoy the share…..Autumn & Brian

Authentic Romesco Sauce Recipe

Pan Con Tomate

Potato Gratin with Fennel & Tomatoes

Potato & Radicchio Salad with Montasio Cheese

Cheesy Baked Pasta with Radicchio

Roasted Fennel Salad With Apple And Radicchio

Cozy Swiss Chard Soup with Potatoes

Broccoli Rabe with Bulgur and Walnuts

Broccoli Rabe with Garlic, Chile & Mustard Bread Crumbs

Kohlrabi and Fennel Salad

Kohlrabi with Citrus, Arugula, Poppy Seeds, and Crème FraicheSix Seasons by Joshua McFadden – Serves 4
1 lb Kohlrabi, peeled and any gnarly bits cut away
½ cup Crème Fraiche
2 Tbls Poppy Seeds
Kosher Salt and Pepper
4 large handfuls Arugula
3 oranges, tangerines, or other sweet citrus, segmented, juice reserved
2-3 Tbls Citrus Vinaigrette
Cut the kohlrabi into little wedges about the same size as orange segments. Toss with 3 tablespoons of the crème fraiche and the poppy seeds. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Spread a nice swoosh of the remaining crème fraiche onto each plate. Quickly toss the arugula with citrus segments, reserved juices, and citrus vinaigrette. Arrange the arugula and oranges on each plate and top with the kohlrabi.

Citrus Vinaigrette
1 orange, 1 lemon, 1 lime, 1 ½ Tbls honey, 1 Tbls champagne vinegar, ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Zest all the citrus into a bowl, Halve the fruit and squeeze all the juice into the same bowl, to get 2/3 cup juice (fish out seeds). Whisk in the honey, vinegar, 1tsp salt and several twists of pepper.
Taste and adjust the flavor with any ingredient if needed to make it more vibrant. Whisk in the olive oil a few drops at a time or slowly drizzle the oil into a blender or food processor with other ingredients. Store in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks.

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Weekly Share October 30th – November 5th

Savoy Cabbage
Koginut Squash
Mustard Greens
Green & Cubanelle Peppers
Serrano Chilies
Mesclun Salad
Cilantro
Ginger
Garlic

Hot Chile Condiment

1-Pot Pumpkin Yellow Curry

Spicy Greens with Double Garlic

Braised Chicken Thighs with Squash & Mustard Greens

Stir-Fried Savoy Cabbage + Pork with Peanuts & Cilantro

Vegetarian Egg Roll Bowls

Silky Coconut-Pumpkin Soup – Hot Sour Salty Sweet by Jeffery Alford & Naomi Duguid
3-4 Shallots unpeeled
1 1/2 lbs of Pumpkin or Squash
2 cups canned Coconut milk
2 cups Pork or Chicken Broth
1 cup loosely packed Cilantro
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Tbls. Thai fish sauce
Generous grindings of Black Pepper
¼ cup minced Scallions
In a skillet or on a grill, dry roast the unpeeled shallots until softened and blackened. Peel, cut lengthwise and set aside. Peel the pumpkin and clean off any seeds. Cut into ½-inch cubes. You should have 41/2 – 5 cups cubed pumpkin. Place the coconut milk, broth, pumpkin cubes, shallots, and coriander leaves in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the salt and simmer over medium heat until the pumpkin is tender, about 10 minutes. **Stir in fish sauce and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Taste for salt and add a little more fish sauce if you wish. (The soup can be served immediately, but has even more flavor if left to stand for up to an hour.  Reheat just before serving.) Serve from a large soup bowl or in individual bowls. Grind black pepper over generously, and, if you wish, garnish with a sprinkling of minced scallion greens. Leftovers freeze very well.
**At this point you can strain out about 1/3-1/2 the pumpkin cubes and blend just for a few seconds, return to the pot and the soup will have a slightly more creamy and emulsified texture.

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Weekly Share October 23rd – 29th

Fennel
Lacinato Kale
Winter Turnips
Cushaw Winter Squash
Bibb & Butterhead Lettuce
Escarole or Frisee
Dill


This week’s share includes a piece of Cushaw winter squash. For those of you new to the CSA, we have included lots of information about them below. We make an effort to have these heirloom squash in the CSA share each year, as they have an extremely rich history in our growing region. They can grow very large and tend to do very well in our climate, as they grow quickly and are less susceptible to bug damage. In modern culture people shy away from large squash, as they are seen as inconvenient; but historically one of these squash plants could produce 50-60lbs of food. Whereas with our other squash plants we are looking at 10-15lb under great conditions. They were domesticated between 7000 & 3000 BC in Mesoamerica and have deep roots throughout Appalachia, Louisiana, and the Southwestern US.

The word cushaw is derived from an Algonquin word, although the plant itself ultimately derives from the indigenous peoples of Central America and the West Indies, possibly Jamaica.  In Jamaica they replaced the edible gourds that West and Central Africans were used to.  When African Virginians moved across the Piedmont into the Appalachians, they brought the sweet potato pumpkin with them, and like the banjo (Kimbundu: mbanza) it became part of Southern Appalachian culture.  Cushaws are made into cushaw butter, pie filling, puddings, and are cooked on their own.                                                      

The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty


The flesh is light-yellow; it is mild and slightly sweet in flavor; meaty in texture and fibrous. It is sometimes called cushaw pumpkin and is often substituted for the standard, orange, jack-o-lantern pumpkin in pie-making. The cushaw has a green summer squash flavor and scent to it. It has a smoky-ness in taste and is moist without being wet. It is used for both savory and sweet dishes and is great for northern climates because it provides vitamin C for the winter and stores very well. In some Native cultures, the seeds are toasted for snacks or ground and made into sauces and moles. The flowers are stuffed and/or fried. Sometimes the flesh of the fruit is used for livestock feed….. Author Lois Ellen Frank (Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations) cites the Akimiel O’odham and the Tohono O’odham, whose homeland stretches from Phoenix, Arizona, to east central Sonora, Mexico, as cushaw growers. The land is some of the hottest and driest in North America; cushaw, a heat-hardy plant, is grown there with the summer rain. In addition to the plant’s tolerance for heat, the green-striped cushaw’s large, vigorous vines are resistant to the squash vine borer, which kills other squash and pumpkin plants that aren’t protected with pesticides. This quality may account for the green-striped cushaw’s longevity—natives could count on it when other species didn’t survive.

Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity


Cushaw makes a wonderful base for a soup or coffeecake plus we have added recipes below. The squash pie made with Cushaw is one of the best pies we have ever made. This share also includes some dill, fennel, and chicories all strong tasting veggies that improve from the cold and are delicious when paired together. Escarole or kale chicken broth soup with loads of lemon will shine with some diced turnip and dill as well. Enjoy the share…..Autumn & Brian

Escarole And White Bean Salad With Fennel And Gruyere Cheese

Dijon Vinaigrette with Frisée, Artichoke & Pepper Salad

Frisee, Fennel, & Pear Salad with Blue Cheese

Turnip & Kale Gratin

Grilled Turnips with Dill Olive Oil

Moroccan Cushaw Salad
(grab some sweet potatoes from Amy’s Organic Garden)

Rich Squash PieThe Fannie Farmer Cookbook
1 cup pureed cooked winter squash
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3 Tbls brandy
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp powdered ginger
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp mace
Preheat the oven to 425. Line a 9” pie pan with pastry dough. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and beat until smooth and well blended. Pour into the lined pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 300 and bake for 45-60 minutes more or until the filling is firm.

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Weekly Share October 16th – 22nd

Napa Cabbage
Winter Radishes
Yu Choy or Bok Choy
Salad Mix or Arugula
Eggplant
Aji Dulce
Shishitos

Shishito Peppers with Okra

Sinigang Na Baboy with Gabi (Pork Taro Soup) Replace Kangkong (Water Spinach) with Yu Choy or Bok Choy

Spicy Shrimp And Napa Cabbage Stir Fry

Aubergine with Miso & Chinese Cabbage

Vegetarian Egg Roll Bowls

Bok Choy, Eggplant, & Peppers with Oyster Sauce

Daikon Radish in Miso Broth

Korean Hanger Steak with Blistered Shishito Peppers & Pickled Daikon

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Weekly Share October 2nd – 8th

Collard Greens
Mesclun Salad Mix
Goldrush Russet Potatoes
Poblano & Anaheim Peppers
Jalapeno or Serrano
Green Tomatoes
Cilantro

Finally the sun has come out again. We missed it over the past week, even though it was a pleasure having some cool fall like weather. When the days begin getting shorter, we rely on the sun to keep our crops growing as the temperatures get increasingly cooler. Especially our fruiting crops, which need the sun to continue growing the fruit and then to ripen them. We have so many peppers for example that we are waiting to ripen and they are just hanging about. After the big rainstorm last week followed by the grey days, our fields have dried back but ever so slowly. This week we will do our final outdoor transplanting and try to make up a few quick crop direct seedings from last week; which will be our final outdoor direct seeding except for Fava beans and Garlic until March. Now our focus turns to flipping high tunnels from Summer crops to overwintered goodies. This week, we will remove all the sauce tomatoes (very sad to see them go and don’t worry we will have slow ripening sauce tomatoes for 3-4 weeks still) from a high tunnel and prep the beds to direct seed our main overwintered carrot, spinach, cilantro, sorrel, and claytonia crops.
This coming week will be very busy as all the recent wet conditions have led to intense weed germination and we have a lot of work to keep up with our Fall carrot, fennel, broccoli raab, and radicchio beds. Since we are headed out of town for a week, we have to get most of these crops in order now, as two weeks from now we will have a significant weed problem. Work continues all over the farm. We are prepping our 2024 garlic beds, adding cover crop in where we can, and taking this warmer week to feed our fall crops so they have energy to grow grow grow.
The share this week has a lot of favorite crop combinations: poblano and potato, poblano and collard greens, jalapeno and cilantro, collard and potatoes, green tomato, cilantro, and serrano. You get the picture. Make some stuffed peppers, make something spicy, home fries with garlic and peppers, cornbread with peppers and cheese. Check the recipes below and enjoy the share….Autumn & Brian

Green Tomato Chutney

Green Tomato Salsa Verde

Roasted Green Tomato Soup

Pork Poblano Stuffed Collard Greens w/ Creamy Avocado Sauce

Salsa Verde Pinto Beans

Jalapeno, Poblano, Potato Souffle

Potato Hash with Tomatoes, Pepper, and Kale

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Weekly Share September 25th – October 1st

Beets
Swiss Chard
Tomato Mix
Eggplant Mix
Bibb Lettuce
Garlic
Basil
Something Extra

Little Gem Lettuce with Roasted Beets & Feta Dressing

Sweet & Tangy Raw Beet, Basil, & Walnut Salad

Eggplant & Shishito Phyllo Pie

Damaged Goods Gratin of Tomatoes, Eggplant & Chard

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Weekly Share September 18th – 24th

Okra
Red Potatoes
Mustard Greens
Verona Saladette Tomatoes
Anaheim, Cubanelle, Seyrek Peppers
Radish or Salad Turnip
Salad Mix or Arugula

Well it is beginning to really feel like Fall, with the nights getting cooler and the days getting decidedly shorter and our greenhouse is emptying out slowly but surely. Our outdoor crops for Fall and Winter are mostly seeded or transplanted and should be finished up this week. We are beginning to clear space in our high tunnels for winter greens, roots, and salad crops; which will be planted over the next month. So lots of planting left and the fields are beginning to look full again. Most of our fall crops look good and are growing well, although we had some failed seedings last month. Carrots will be the one crop we will not see until November, as our initial seedings of them failed and got too weedy to manage. Our seeding last week was successful though so we will have carrots and will continue seeding in our tunnels to grow over the winter. There is nothing better than winter carrots and spinach. Right now though the greens, beets and winter radishes are going strong and getting big.
This week’s share is great for making braises, stews, curries, and more. We have included a few mustard recipes, as these seem to be some of the hardest for CSA members to cook. We love them, as they have so much robust flavor and do really well cooked with lots of spices and some good fat to round out the sharpness of the greens, such as with a traditional saag or masala where they can be paired with potatoes. The verona tomatoes are wonderful raw in a salad; but also fabulous cooked. Using just a few with some braised okra or in sauteing peppers and greens. Check out the recipes below and enjoy the share….Autumn & Brian

Tomato & Egg Stir-Fry with Sauteed Mustard Greens

Mustard Greens Saag Paneer (use some arugula, turnip greens, and more mustards to replace the spinach)

Potato, Arugula, & Green Peppers with Tomatoes

Feta and Radish Toasts

Apple, Turnip, & Sumac Salad

Okra Stew with Meat

Indian Spicy Sauteed Okra & Green Peppers

Aloo Bhindi

Okra Salad with Black Vinegar

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Weekly Share September 11th – 17th

Russian Kale
Shishito Peppers
Salad Mix or Arugula
Khmer Thai or Jyoti Indian Chilies
Romano or Asian Long Beans
Asian Eggplant
Thai Basil
Kkaenip (Perilla)

Tortang Talong with Perilla

Green Papaya Salad

Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans

Snake Bean and Egg Stir-Fry

Thai Basil Tofu with Green Beans

Summer Rolls with Shiso

Spicy Coconut Rice Noodles with Kale and Basil

Brown Butter Scallops With Sautéed Kale, Shishitos Over A Bed Of Polenta

Shiso Granita – Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu
15 green shiso leaves
¼ cup granulated sugar
Place the shiso leaves in a medium-sized bowl or 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Heat the sugar and 3 cups water to boiling in a medium saucepan, stirring the sugar to dissolve. Pour the boiling sugar water over the leaves and steep until cool. Set a strainer over a plastic container large enough to hold 3 cups and strain out the leaves. Cover and transfer the shiso-flavored sugar water to a freezer shelf. Let sit, undisturbed, in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove to the countertop, open the lid, and gently stir in the crystals that have formed on the perimeter.  Repeat this operation every 30 minutes, breaking up any larger crystals as you go. The finished granita should be flaky.  Serve alone in a glass bowl or goblet. This is also wonderful served alongside Fig Ice Cream and Plum Sorbet. Keeps frozen for several weeks.

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Weekly Share September 4th – 10th

Okra
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Sweet Pepper
Calico Crowder Pea
Assorted Eggplant
Habanero or Trinidad Scorpion Chilies
Garlic

Welcome to our 2023 Fall CSA season. We are thrilled to have you all join us for these 10 weeks. There will be an overwhelming diversity of crops, as the Summer always holds on for a long while and the Fall creeps in with new crops every week, so by mid to late October there is a ton of abundance. It is a fun time of year, if you like cooking with a lot of different crops. This week’s share is showing off the Virginia summer, which will not quit. We will see the last of this season’s cucumbers along with fresh crowder peas (similar to a black eyed pea), eggplant, okra, and peppers. This has been one of the best tomato seasons we have ever had and so they will keep on coming at you, with this week’s being a mix of our red all-purpose celebrity variety and our smaller plum verona. Both of these tomatoes are wonderful raw or cooked, so we have included recipes with many preparations. The calico crowder pea is a first for us, although we have made many attempts at black eyed peas and other field peas throughout the years. This seed variety comes from a friend down in Georgia, so we were very excited to plant a little out in the bean patch, with little expectations. Over the past 10 years, field peas are the most likely crop to be eaten and demolished by pests for us. This year has been one of the best bean seasons we have ever had (thanks to some bizarre weather and almost not pests); but we also think this variety is a winner, as it is seriously prolific. All that being said, each share will end up with a very small amount of peas, to shell yourself, and at the end of the day it will amount to a precious small amount of food. Perhaps next year we will allot a bit more space and cross our fingers. Dried legumes and field peas are so wonderful and provide great protein; we always want more of them, for us, for you, for market; but they require an intense amount of labor and for us that is always what we are shortest on. So even though you will not get much and it will be some work, enjoy them all the same. A fresh field pea is fabulously delicious. Cook them in a little water or broth, it won’t take long and add to a tomato, pepper, and cucumber salad or make some traditional beans cooked in chicken stock, with bacon, hot chilies, and onions. Check out the recipes below and enjoy the share….Autumn & Brian

Habanero Mango Salsa

Okra in Tomato Sauce (Bamia B’Zeit)

Black Eyed Peas with Coconut Milk & Berbere

Robb Walsh’s Fresh Field Peas

Crowder Pea Salad with Tomatoes and Green Onions

Quick Okra, Eggplant, & Turmeric Stew

Eggplant in a Spicy Honey SauceThe New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
The sauce is a splendid example of the hot, spicy, and sweet combinations; which are a thrilling feature of North African cooking. Serve it cold with bread.
2 medium-large eggplants
olive oil
salt
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 inches fresh gingerroot, grated, or cut into pieces
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
large pinch cayenne or ground chili pepper, to taste
4-6 Tbls honey
juice of 1 lemon
2/3 cup water
Cut the eggplants into rounds about 1/3” thick. Do not peel them. Dip them in olive oil, turning them over, and cook on a griddle or under a broiler, turning them over once, until they are lightly browned. They do not need to be soft, as they will cook further in the sauce. In a wide saucepan or skillet, fry the garlic in 2 Tbls of the oil for seconds only, stirring, then take off the heat. Add the ginger, cumin, and cayenne or gorund chili pepper, honey, lemon juice, and water. Put in the eggplant slices and cook over low heat –either in batches, so they are in one layer, or together, rearranging them so that each slice gets some time in the sauce –for about 10 minutes, or until the slices are soft and have absorbed the sauce. Add a little water if necessary.

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