Savoy Cabbage
Collard Greens
Mesclun Salad Mix
Seminole Pumpkins
Cateto Polenta
Mix Roots
Parsley
Celery

This is it! The final CSA week of 2022 has arrived. It has been an abundant season with lots of diversity and as always a few failed crops. Most of the damage this year was from deer pressure. The poor okra plants never got past a juvenile phase, our fall beets got ravaged, and the beans got set back a few times. This is by far the most abundant fall season we have had in our 11 years of growing here. We are still loaded with crops to take us into the winter season, so lots of veggies for the colder months. Today we had a great group of CSA members out on the farm for our annual garlic planting. All the garlic is in the ground awaiting a great 2023 season. In 6-8 weeks the sprouts will emerge and hang out until early Spring when they begin to grow strong. So officially we begin to wind down this season and move into the next. For us this means harvesting loads of crops to put into storage, turning our attention to our high tunnel plantings and beginning winter infrastructure and cleanup projects. All the while we continue markets with as much winter diversity as we can; because we want all of you well fed especially through the winter months. So don’t despair vegetables are still in abundance.
This week’s share includes a bag of this year’s cateto corn crop. It is great used as a polenta and is ground integral (no sifting). It is a delicious beautiful orange corn with superb flavor. We have also included some awesome greens, both our collard greens and savoy cabbages are huge and tasty this year. Both crops can be rich and sweet when slow cooked. Each share will get a few stalks of celery, a crop we have always struggled to grow and are happy to say looks and tastes great this fall. It has a great crunchy texture and is much more flavorful than store bought celery. Make sure to use the leaves, especially good in soups or as an aromatic base to dishes. Last but not least you will get a fabulous Seminole pumpkin. They pumpkins store very well in a cool, dark environment. They make fabulous pumpkin pie, so feel free to hold onto it for thanksgiving festivities, if you can. Or make one of the recipes below. Enjoy the share….Autumn and Brian

Shaved Carrot and Radish Salad with Herbs and Pumpkin Seeds

Berbere butter Braised Carrots with Polenta

Reginetti with Savoy Cabbage and Pancetta

BA’s Best Stuffed Cabbage

Pumpkin Spoon Bread

Polenta, Gorgonzola, and Savoy Cabbage Torte

Stewed Pinto Beans and Collard Greens

Andouille and Collard Greens Soup with Cornmeal

Seminole Pumpkin Pie

Savory Seminole Pumpkin Soup

Fennel
Kohlrabi
Radicchio
Swiss Chard or Spigariello
Mesclun Mix or Arugula
Garlic
Dill

This week’s share includes so many farm favorites that make rare appearances in our main season; but are enjoyed through the “off season”. Radicchio and kohlrabi, are staples for the winter season. Fennel like so many Italian specialty crops just do not like our erratic weather, preferring a more temperate, even climate; so the fall crop, if the weather works out, is far superior to our spring crops, making robust, sweet, crisp heads. Spigariello is also rare, as we only grow it in the fall. It takes some time and good conditions to get robust with tender side shoots and will begin to toughen after a strong frost, so it has a short season.

Actually a cross between broccoli and kale, Spigariello has long edible stems with curled green leaves like rabe.  It produces tiny edible flowers that are not quite florets. Spigariello can look like broccoli rabe; but it tastes more like a sweeter broccoli cousin. It may even be a milder genetic forbear to broccoli rabe.  Like so many of the bitter greens we grow and enjoy in this country today, Spigariello is a southern Italian native.  Though it is on the lighter end of the bitterness spectrum, it shares the hearty, full-bodied flavor that is so typical of greens in this region.  Farmers in California first imported the seeds from Naples and Apulia in the 90s. The variety continues to be uncommon commercially, but has gained a cult following among chefs and small farmers.              -Baldor

Use this green as you would broccoli rabe or kale. Make sure to use the stems, they are sweet, tender, and delicious. Right now we are harvesting two main radicchio types: pallo rossa (red, dense, most commonly seen) and lusia (speckled, tender leaves, more mild bitterness). Any recipes below will work for either types, cooked or raw. The pallo rossa will hold up better to cooking; but feel free to explore. 
As the CSA season is winding down, this is the second to the last week, we wanted to add a good portion of garlic into the share, as we had an amazing crop this year and have a lot. Our garlic has been refrigerated, so if you are storing for awhile we suggest you keep it in refrigeration, so it stays more stable. Check the recipes out below and enjoy the share…. Autumn & Brian

Pasta with Spigariello, Bacon, & Garlic

Fall Harvest Salad

Cheesy Baked Pasta with Radicchio

Roasted Fennel Salad With Apple And Radicchio

Kohlrabi and Fennel Salad

Kohlrabi Fritters with Crisp Kohlrabi Leaves, Lemon, Crème Fraiche & Dill

Kohlrabi with Citrus, Arugula, Poppy Seeds, and Crème Fraiche – Six 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.

Carrots
Napa Cabbage
Yu Choy or Bok Choy
Arugula or Mesclun Mix
Jyoti, Khmer, & Serrano Chilies
Scallions
Cilantro
Ginger

Vegetarian Egg Roll Bowls

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Yu Choy Sum Miso Soup

Spicy Thai Red Curry Meatballs with Jasmine Rice & Yu Choy

Sesame Ginger Carrot Salad

Spiced Coconut Carrot Soup

Spicy Shrimp And Napa Cabbage Stir Fry

Winter Turnips
Cushaw Winter Squash
Goldrush Russet Potatoes
Broccoli Rabe or Lacinato Kale
Assorted Late Season Tomatoes
Assorted Green Peppers or Eggplant
Mesclun Salad Mix
Parsley

It looks like a frost is coming later this week, so after this very warm and sunny weekend we are going to do a final harvest of eggplant, basil, and all of our peppers and chilies. Late last week we cleared our main tomato plantings, leaving a lot of green tomatoes (some will ripen and others will be used green). We still have a small planting of late season tomatoes, including our winter storage varieties, protected in one of our tunnels and due to slow ripening we will continue having tomatoes for a good while; but within two weeks the peppers and chilies will be gone. So we have included some of these late summer goodies in your share along with delicious fall greens and roots. The medley of summer and fall vegetables is getting cut a little short due to a early October frost. This week’s share also includes a piece of our Cushaw winter squash. For those of you new to the CSA these heirloom squash can grow very large and tend to do very well in our climate. 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

This year we had a very small harvest of these squash, so each share is going to get a small to medium cut that will need to be refrigerated and processed within 7-10 days. A very easy way to store it is to peel off the skin, cut into large pieces then boil or roast until tender, then cool. At this point you can puree or leave in pieces, put in containers or bags and freeze to use whenever you want. Otherwise make a delicious coffee cake, squash soup, or one of these great recipes this week. Enjoy the share…..Autumn & Brian

Pasta with Winter Squash and Tomatoes

Broccoli Rabe with Bulgur and Walnuts

Pan-Roasted Turnips

Skillet Turnips and Potatoes with Bacon

Potato Hash with Tomatoes, Pepper, and Kale

Moroccan Cushaw Salad

Rich Squash Pie – The Fannie Farmer Cookbook
Basic Pastry Dough for a 9” pie shell
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.

Beets
Fennel
Escarole or Frisee
Black Twig Apples
Lacinato Kale or Broccoli Raab
Maules Red Hot or Leutschauer Paprika
Peppers
Garlic
Dill

We are excited for this week’s share as it includes some very special items, perfect for cooking with our current fall like weather. On the farm we have 3 very old apple trees, two Black Twig and one Arkansas Black.  We have been very sporadic in our management and care of these trees, although we annually mulch the ground around their trunks and every few years we do emergency pruning. Our yields from these trees is equally as sporadic; but this year we had a really good harvest and utilized our September CSA workday to get them sorted and packed away in our cooler for storage. For the first time in years we are able to include a few Black Twig apples in each CSA share. Black Twig apples originated in Tennessee around 1833, maybe being a seedling from Winesap and closely related to Arkansas Black. They have firm yellow flesh and a concentrated tart flavor, sometimes we describe as – similar to a jolly rancher, intensely sweet and tart. Our apples have a lot of exterior damage and some interior damage; but what can be eaten is so delicious and will standout even in small amounts. Think about eating them with your favorite cheese, grated in a salad, or even paired with pork or something very salty.  This week’s CSA sees the return of some favorites; dill, fennel, and escarole (some people may get Frisee, as the deer are doing their best to damage the escarole). Everyone will get Broccoli Raab, this week or next. This green is almost always perfect when sautéed with garlic, anchovy, and red pepper. Either the Maules red hot or Leutschauer paprika would be perfect in this mix. Mince part of a pepper and add to the pan with the garlic, the mild heat will not disappoint when paired with bitter greens.  Fall is truly here, so get cooking and enjoy the share……Autumn and Brian

What is Broccoli Rabe? (And How Should You Cook It?)

Sausage, Fennel, and Broccoli Rabe Sheet Pan Dinner (Use Kale as a substitute)

Winter Salad of Beets, Fennel, and Apples, with Stilton and Maple-Candied Pecans

Barley Soup with Greens, Fennel, Lemon, and Dill

Escarole and Fresh Herb Salad with Apples and Pomegranates

Escarole And White Bean Salad With Fennel And Gruyere Cheese

Escarole and Rice Soup – The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan
1 head escarole (3/4-1 lb)
2 TBL finely chopped yellow onion
¼ cup butter
Salt
3 ½ homemade meat broth or 1 cup canned chicken soup mixed with 2 ½ cups water
½ cup rice preferably Arborio
3 TBL fresh grated parmesan
Detach escarole leaves discard any that are bruised and wash the rest in multiple waters until clean. Cut into ½ inch wide stripes In stockpot sauté onion in butter over medium heat until nicely browned. Add escarole and a light sprinkling of salt. Briefly sauté the escarole, stirring once to twice. Add ½ cup of broth and cook over very low heat until escarole is tender (25-45 depending on freshness and tenderness). When escarole is tender add rest of broth, raise heat and bring to a boil. Add rice and cover. Cook rice 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until just al dente, firm to the bite. Off the heat, mix in the Parmesan cheese. Taste and correct for salt, spoon onto plates and enjoy.

Arugula
Butterhead Lettuce
Highlander Onions
Miyashige Daikon & Kn Bravo Radishes
Japanese Red or Southern Green Mustards
Asian Long & Thai Round Eggplant
Koginut Winter Squash
Celebrity Tomatoes
Cilantro

Tomato & Egg Stir-Fry with Sauteed Mustard Greens

Mustard Green Masala

Eggplant & Tomato Masala With Chickpeas

Thai Red Curry Eggplant and Mustard Greens

Sesame-Ginger Daikon Noodle Soup with Bok Choy, Snow Peas and Shiitake Mushrooms

Pickled Radish

Meet the New Squash In Town: Robin’s Koginut

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.

Frisee
Lettuce Mix
Romano Beans
Sweet, Seyrek, & Cubanelle Peppers
Eggplant Mix
Swiss Chard
Garlic
Basil

Dijon Vinaigrette with Frisée, Artichoke & Pepper Salad

One-Pot Garlicky Chard With Chickpeas

Burrata with Romano Beans and Roasted Eggplant

Haricots Verts with Frisée and Bacon

Eggplant and Chard Rollatini in Basil Cream Sauce

Bibb Lettuce
Collard Greens
Verona or Celebrity Tomatoes
Anaheim & Poblano Peppers
Jalapeno or Serrano Peppers
Goldrush Russet Potatoes
Red Candy Onions
Cilantro
extra – Beets

Last Sunday we had our third CSA work share workday of the season. The weather forecast was looking very dismal with a lot of rain; but we needed to move forward and get some cleanup done on the farm. Everyone showed up game to get wet and muddy and then we got amazing weather (albeit very sticky and humid) and it didn’t rain until the last 15minutes when we were picking apples off our ancient old southern variety trees. It was such a productive day. We cleared our outdoor tomato crops to make room for our overwintered low tunnel beds. We will begin transplanting purple sprouting broccoli, purple overwintered cauliflower, and our orchieada and grumolo chicories into these beds next week, a quick turn around. Clearing these beds is a bit of a chore; so having a group of enthusiastic workers makes it so much more pleasant. We also finished sorting the last of our potatoes. They have been curing in our basement for 6 weeks (they only need to cure for 2 weeks) and now are stored away into our walk-in. You will get some of these delicious potatoes in your share this week. We also got some neglected high tunnel beds cleaned up and weeded, so they will be ready to plant when we need it. Lastly we had a real apple harvest. Our Black Twig and Arkansas Black trees are very old and this is the first good harvest we have had in years, meaning the CSA will actually get a few in the coming weeks. A good harvest means a few hundred pounds of ugly, delicious, slightly damaged apples. The flavor and texture of old variety apples is so different than the newer apple styles, that sometimes they are a breath of fresh air, even though they have so many imperfections.
This week’s share has more peppers and all the fixings for delicious fresh or oven-roasted salsa. Pairing russet potatoes, poblano or anaheim peppers, and collards together in the same meal is one of our favorites. Get creative with a collard and potato enchiladas or a breakfast hash. Collards can be cooked low and slow or sautéed real quick. They go well with eggs, peppers, onions, cheese, beans, rice, all of it. Enjoy the share…… Autumn and Brian

Homemade Roasted Salsa

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Matt’s Four-Pepper Collards

Potatoes with Roasted Poblano Chiles and Mexican Sour Cream

Russian Kale
Lettuce Head
Shishito Peppers
Khmer Thai Chilies
Salad Turnips or Radishes
Asian Long Beans
Bok Choy
Garlic
extra – Eggplant

Greens and quick roots are growing fast all over the farm. We have had some issues with germination in our cut greens and are beginning to see some deer pressure in the lettuce heads and cooking greens, whatever smells sweetest at the moment they will find; but overall crops are coming along. This week’s share is made for all kinds of stir-fry’s. Bok Choy, shishitos, long beans, and turnips or radishes all do well cooked on their own quickly over high heat doused in some soy sauce, hoisin, or oyster sauce. They also work well together, or with a protein. Our Khmer thai chilies are very hot; but can lend a subtle, floral, heady flavor and aroma when tossed into a stir-fry whole. If you don’t like too much heat, pull it out when done cooking. Both the salad turnips and radishes are also delicious thinly sliced and soaked in salt and rice vinegar. Check the recipes out below and enjoy the share…..Autumn & Brian

Hoisin Eggplant, Prawn and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

Stir-Fried Beef with Bok Choy and Turnips

Stir-Fried Hakurei Turnips With Dried Shrimp, Chiles, Garlic And Lime

Snake Bean and Egg Stir-Fry

Chinese Beans and Bok Choy with Peppered Shrimp

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

Arugula
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Romano Beans
Hakurei Turnips or Radishes
Maules Red Hot Pepper
Assorted Sweet Peppers
Assorted Eggplant
Parsley

Welcome to the Fall 2022 CSA season! The crops are looking good and although we have had some struggles in the last few months (where’s the okra?  Well the deer are still eating it.), most of the late summer crops are very strong with a bumper crop of long beans (deer stopped eating them), loads of tomatoes, and some healthy enormous eggplant and pepper plants. The fall crops are looking pretty healthy even though it has been warm and humid for a lot of the past few months. Compared to last year when we lost tons of our brassicas crops to heat, disease, and pests and had to replant carrots three times, our fall diversity seems in a great place. We still have intense worm and early aphid pressure and with the week of rain a few weeks back the weeds are really trying their best to take hold; but our management up to this point seems to be keeping the crops healthy. This is good news! Before we know it the cooking and eating greens will abound. Chicories, collards, and broccoli raab will get some sweetness from the cold nights and be at perfection and the wide diversity of fall roots will be available. We did lose our parsnip crop again this Spring, so none of that unfortunately; but the winter squash is currently curing, fennel is looking strong, herbs are beginning to grow, our polenta corn looks like it might have a little something that is harvestable and on and on. Point being there should be plenty of food. Thanks for being here for the ride. Check out the recipes below and enjoy the share….Brian and Autumn

Turnip And Red Pepper Salad

Italian Green Bean Salad

Burrata with Romano Beans and Roasted Eggplant

Radish and Arugula Salad with Pecorino and Lemon

Pan-Roasted Peppers With Garlic Infused Sauce

Green Beans in Tomato Sauce – The New Book of Middle Eastern Cooking by Claudia Roden
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
2 Tbls olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ lb ripe tomatoes, chopped
½ lb green beans, topped and talied and cut into 2-3 pieces
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
juice of ¼ lemon
Fry the onion in oil till soft and golden. Add the garlic, and when the aroma arises, add the tomatoes and beans. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar, add water as necessary to cover the beans, and lemon juice, simmering 15-20 minutes, or until the beans are tender and the sauce reduced a little.

Eggplant in a Spicy Honey Sauce –The 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.