2nd Week of October

This Week at the Farm

Five letter word that starts with f…frost! We received an early visit from Mr. Frost on Tuesday morning. The average first frost date is Oct. 15th here and often a week or two later than that, so it was something of a surprise and gave us the grit to harvest all the thousands of pounds of squash and store them within several hours time Monday afternoon. Way to go everyone!

Final Harvest Week November 13th, 14th and 15th

Yes the cold and frosts are coming, and the warm season crops are history, but we will have a nice variety of crops for you up until the final harvest and self-harvesting will be available in the weeks that follow up until the repeated hard freezes put an end to it all. More info will follow.

Daunted by Squashes?

Here’s a Simple way to Cook All Winter Squash and Pumpkins: preparing winter squash and pumpkins can be done fairly easily.
--cut in half and scoop out seeds with an ice cream dipper, save seeds to roast
--place cut side down in a pan with a little bit of water
--bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until soft enough to spoon out
--scrape out the flesh and use or freeze.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Turnips: these hakurei turnips I like to refer to as "dessert turnips" because they are sweet and juicy and will likely give you new found appreciation for turnips if you haven’t ever eaten this type of turnip.
• Mibuna and Mizuna: these Asian greens have a nice tangy flavor and can be used in salads or as cooked greens.
• Collards: these leaves are great in the Farmer’s Breakfast below, or the traditional pot o greens.
• Winter squashes/pumpkin: use for pies and desserts, breads, roast the seeds, hot curried soup

Recipes

Farmer’s Breakfast
(a delicious way to use greens)
1T oil
6 collard leaves, chopped coarsely
1 scallion, chopped into ½ inch pieces
6 slices pepperoni, cut in fourths (optional)
1 tsp. butter
2 eggs
2 slices smoked cheddar
2 plum tomatoes, diced

Heat a skillet. When hot, add 1T oil. Toss in collard leaves, scallion, and pepperoni. Saute till scallion is tender. Push to one side of the pan and add the butter to the other side. Fry the two eggs in the butter. When done to your liking, put on two plates, top with the cooked collards, scallions and pepperoni. Lay a slice of cheese on top, tuck a tomato each on the side, and broil till golden. Serve with Tabasco Chipotle sauce, coffee and a square of dark chocolate!
--from Lorena Breneman, the farmer’s wife

Chard Chompin’ Recipe
Challenged by chard? Give this a try:
Grease a 3-qt casserole dish. Layer in:
3 slices of bread, cubed
2 scallions, chopped
2 big leaves of chard, chopped fine
1 cup diced ham, bacon or browned sausage (optional)
2 small eggplants, cubed
2 cups cheese
1/2 tsp. each oregano and thyme
salt and pepper to taste
shake together in a jar and pour over:
5 eggs
2 cups milk
Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
--from Lorena Breneman

Upcoming Events

Saturday, October 18, at 10 a.m.
Fruiting Plants in Containers: Citrus, Figs, Bananas and more! Presented by our very own Scott Breneman. Please contact Scott to attend.

Nov 13, 14 and 15 Final Harvest Week
Mid-November: end of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for shareholders once the regular season is over. More details will follow in November.