4th Week of September

This Week at the Farm

Fall has officially arrived and the first of the fall greens are here. We are excited to have the mild-flavored Japanese mustard greens Mizuna (serrated leaves) and Mibuna (smooth leaves.) The cooler mornings remind us that colder weather is coming, and we continue to relish in these warm days. We look ahead to tucking in the strawberries for the winter.

Thank You: A special thank you to our Farm Manager Scott Breneman. We are grateful for his boundless enthusiasm for all that we do and his outstanding leadership. He is an inspiration for all of the staff and our successes are a reflection of his teaching. Thank you Scott!
--from Elizabeth

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Japanese Mustard Greens: can be added raw to a salad, and also make a great addition to a stir-fry. They wilt quickly, so add near the end of cooking time.
• Pumpkin: yes, all types of pumpkin are edible, including jack o' lanterns. Decorate with it for a while and then enjoy it in pies, soups and curries, roast the seeds with a little bit of oil. Delicious.
• Leeks:—slice them thinly avoid chewiness. They have fine flavor and can used anywhere onions are called for.
• Peppers: great for snacking on raw, or try them roasted with a little oil.
• Eggplant: roast or grill with oil, seasonings, brushed with soy sauce, you’ll be singing eggplants praises if you weren’t before

Recipe

Swiss Chard Ravioli
(from keyingredient.com - Thank you to Kim Chen for sharing this!)

Yield: 8 servings as a first course
¼ cup water
1 pound Swiss chard center spine and stems trimmed
1 cup ricotta cheese
⅓ cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1 garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
64 Gyoza (potsticker) wrappers from two 12-oz packages see * Note
1 large egg white beaten to blend
¾ cup butter - (1 ½ sticks)
¼ cup chopped fresh sage
Additional freshly-grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Note: Gyoza wrappers can be found at Asian markets and in the refrigerator section of many supermarkets. If unavailable, substitute wonton wrappers and cut into 3 ½-inch rounds.

Bring ¼ cup water to boil in large pot. Add chard leaves. Cover; cook until tender but still bright green, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Drain. Cool slightly. Squeeze dry. Chop chard finely. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in ricotta, ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, thyme, salt, rosemary and pepper. Line baking sheet with foil or plastic wrap; sprinkle with flour. Place 1 gyoza wrapper on work surface. Brush surface of wrapper with some egg white. Spoon generous 1 teaspoon chard mixture into center of wrapper. Top with another wrapper. Press edges together to seal. Transfer to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers, egg white and chard mixture to make 32 ravioli total. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill.) Melt butter in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add sage; stir 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Working in batches, cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer ravioli to large shallow bowl. Pour sage butter over ravioli and toss. Serve, passing additional Parmesan cheese alongside, if desired.
This recipe yields 8 servings as a first-course.