Hello good members,
The glorious warm fall days have come to an abrupt end. Planning for harvest this time of the year is a bit of a wild card. Generally we plan for crops to reach near maturity around late September/early October when a combination of cool temps and shorter daylight hours brings growing to a near halt. However, if the temps are warm, they can keep growing and over-mature pretty quickly. If the temps are too cold–say below 26 degrees–they will have frost damage. As you can imagine, the goldilocks state of just-right-weather doesn’t happen very often. This year we are leaning towards the too warm side, and quickly flipping to the too cold side. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered–we plan for it being both too cold and too warm.
Don’t forget, you have two boxes to pick up this week. Your share will be at your normal pick up site at your normal day and time. There will be no delivery next week (Halloween week), and then the last fall shares will be delivered the week of Nov. 7th.
Maybelle helping trim carrot tops
Carrot in the ground (the other long white root is a grass root)
What’s in the box, and storage tips:
Box 1:
Beets-3#-in bag, in fridge
Kale-cut the stems out, place in bag in fridge
Cauliflower-2 portions-keep in bag in fridge
Garlic-2 heads-store on the counter
Butternut Squash-1 portion-eat soon! Store in cool, dry place or in fridge
Sage-1 bunch-store in a plastic bag in fridge, or hang upside down from a cabinet knob and let dry
Box 2:
Cabbage-in bag in fridge
Turnips-eat the greens soon if you like them, otherwise cut them off and store the turnips in a bag in fridge
Brussels Sprouts-1 1/2 pounds-in fridge
Onions-2#-in a cool, dark, dry place
Delicata Squash-2-in a cool place, or on the counter. Can also be stored in fridge if you have the space!
Carrots-2#-in fridge
Mustard Greens-1/2#-in fridge
Notes and Recipes
Butternut Squash-Unfortunately the butternut squash was all damaged in harvest-they must have been jostled badly in the pallet box and the stems have pierced the skin in most of the squash. It would be best to eat this squash soon, and save the Delicata (the spotted/striped acorn looking squash) for a later date. We apologize for this-we sorted out the best we could find and it’s not up to our standards. The squash will still taste wonderful, it just won’t keep as long as it would if it hadn’t been damaged.
Sage-we gave out TONS of sage so that you could use some fresh and some dry. We like to attach a little piece of string to the rubber band and hang it off of one of our cabinet doors in the kitchen, air-drying it in about a week’s time. Once dried, place in a tightly sealed glass or plastic container and keep out of the light. It should last for 3-6 months if properly dried and stored.
Kale-We have had great success freezing kale. We simply strip the leaves off the stems, roughly chop it, and place it into a freezer bag raw. It thaws beautifully and will be a welcome addition to your kitchen in later months.
Recipes:
Brussels Sprouts-they’re a hallmark of the fall harvest! They’ve had at least one frost on them, which makes them taste even better! I like to give brussels sprouts a simple treatment: cut the ends off, cut them in half, toss with olive oil and salt and roast them in a 400 degree oven until tender enough for you. Done! If you’ve got a cuisinart-type machine and can shred your sprouts, I’d recommend this Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad. If you’ve got some time to get a little more involved with your cooking, how about this fabulous looking dish: Smoky Brussels Sprouts Gratin!
Beets-we like to make Borscht with our beets, and it freezes wonderfully, too. You can ignore the part about serving it cold now that it’s chilly outside, and just warm it up instead! These Brown Sugar Glazed Beets look like a great side dish, and so do these Harvard Beets. This Beet Risotto recipe is a great one for this time of year, too.
Salad Turnips-these highly sought after, and very expensive, Hakurei Turnips are just amazing raw. I wouldn’t do anything more with them than cut them into wedges or sticks and eat them raw. If you have a go-to veggie dip, you could try that, too. Feel free to peel or not peel, just give them a good rinsing first. The greens are edible if you cook them in a quick saute of olive oil and garlic. They are remarkably tasty roasted, too-here’s a good basic recipe. These glazed turnips from Epicurious sound pretty awesome, too.
Don’t forget to take a look through our awesome recipe page for other ideas on what to do with all your great produce!
All the best from all of us,
Heather, Brandon, Maybelle and Michele
sleepy root farm 