To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Spinach, kale, radishes, lettuce, shell peas, garlic scapes, summer squash, and choice of cilantro or dill.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: not ready yet
  • Flowers: not ready yet
  • Mushrooms: Chestnut mushrooms
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

Serving Suggestions:

• When I saw this week’s list, my mind immediately went to Alison Roman’s Labne dip recipe from her Nothing Fancy cookbook. I’ve made it a few times and it’s delicious and welcomes ingredient swaps. Use one of your garlic scapes in place of some scallions (I think the scapes are too potent to go for a 1:1 swap). If you choose dill instead of cilantro that will be great mixed in instead, leaning towards a ranch flavor profile. Dip your raw radishes, drizzle atop some simply grilled squash, or smear some on toast with a few raw shelled peas for a bite with a ton of texture.

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Rainbow carrots, choice of arugula or tatsoi, rutabaga, choice of kale or chard, baby bok choi, broccoli, cauliflower, Napa cabbage, radishes, Japanese sweet potatoes, buttercup squash, red skin potatoes, shallots and choice of an herb (sage, cilantro or dill). There will also be some onions as an extra.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit:  Completed
  • Flowers: not mentioned in this week’s update, I believe we have completed all 10 weeks
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “B” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• When I was reading through tomorrow’s list, shallots stood out for some reason, probably because I prepare a lot of them for various Thanksgiving dishes this time of year. If you need some inspiration, these are a few of the most shallot-forward recipes I could think of:
  • The crispy shallot portion of this Samin Nosrat recipe is fantastic and surprisingly easy. I previously shared it here.
  • Alison Roman’s internet-famous “shallot pasta” recipe made the rounds when people were doing a lot of home cooking during COVID. Would you believe that I still have never actually made it?! If you’re looking for something to eat in the days before or after Thanksgiving that is decidedly different, give this one a try.
  • After hearing Claire Saffitz talk about her family’s Glazed Shallots recipe I gave it a try for Thanksgiving last year. It was quite good and something I will try again but probably not for the big day since there are so many other traditional dishes that must make the table.

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Swiss chard, choice of arugula or broccoli raab, cilantro, leeks, salad turnips, beets, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel’s sprouts, sweet dumpling squash and fingerling potatoes.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit:  Pink Lady apples and red D’Anjou pears
  • Flowers: not mentioned in this week’s update, I believe we have completed all 10 weeks
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “A” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• I saw dumpling squash on tomorrow’s list and my mind first went to stuffing it (Thanksgiving is only two weeks away after all). So I went searching for inspiration for a few stuffing ideas that are far from “traditional” Thanksgiving flavors. Start with some sauteed aromatics (onion, garlic, leek, shallot, etc), add that to a big mixing bowl with your dried bread/stuffing cubes, moisten with a flavorful liquid like broth, and then gently stir in the below ingredients before stuffing and baking off your par-roasted squash until super tender…
  • Blue cheese crumbles, walnuts, dried cranberries
  • Crispy pancetta, rough chopped broccoli rabe leaves, shaved parm
  • Slivered almonds, golden raisins, zaatar

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: spinach, choice of arugula or tatsoi, baby bok choi, lettuce, garlic, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, Honeynut squash, and choice of an herb (cilantro or dill).
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit:  paused, final fruit will be next week
  • Flowers: not mentioned in this week’s update, I believe we have completed all 10 weeks
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “B” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• In all my years of writing CSA emails and website updates, I don’t think I have ever shared any information in Serving Suggestions about the humble rutabaga. The rutabaga is typically in the Stock Up share, but this week we get the uncommon treat of having it included in a regular share. By my count this is only the second time in the last ~8 years that we received rutabaga. 
• So, what is a rutabaga? It’s sort of a cross between cabbage and a white turnip. It seems common to English/Irish/Scottish environs, and is even commonly carved as a jack-o-lantern in Britain. It’s one of the traditional ingredients in a Cornish pasty. It’s often served boiled and mashed, sometimes combined with other roots like carrots or potatoes.
• What should you do with one? Here’s what the internet thinks:
  • All Recipes
  • Spruce Eats
  • Tasting Table

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: peppers, spinach, kale, lettuce, rainbow carrots, acorn squash, radishes,cauliflower or kohlrabi, sweet corn, shallots, sweet potatoes, and choice of an herb (parsley, thyme, or oregano).
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit:  Fuji apples and Hosui Asian pears (John has asked members to bring back the reusable Amazon bags they use for fruit to avoid having to use plastic bags)
  • Flowers: not mentioned in this week’s update, I believe we have completed all 10 weeks
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “B” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• Please consider signing up for a Stock Up Share as it helps the farm use up stored veggies and provides an infusion of cash to help pay for bills over the winter. My family has done the Stock Up Share the last few years and each year we split with two other families to make it more manageable. The timing just before Thanksgiving is perfect for making traditional sides like mashed potatoes, roasted squash or glazed carrots with your CSA produce. If you have any questions about the Stock Up Share let me know and I would be happy to help. At some point in the near future we will begin a list of those who want to sign up. To view this year’s Stock Up Share info, click here.

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: purple potatoes, mixed onions, lettuce, sweet corn, Swiss chard, green peppers, beets, daikon, cauliflower or kohlrabi or Napa cabbage, flageolet beans, delicata squash and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: paused this week
  • Flowers: not mentioned in this week’s update
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “A” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• This week’s Serving Suggestion is courtesy of Stacey Gold, one of our CSA members:
  • “This was a big hit at our family’s holiday dinner this week and used our napa cabbage,” said Stacey. Here’s the link: Napa Cabbage Slaw with Mustard & Apple Butter Vinaigrette. Looks like a great way to use up a head of cabbage that’s a bit different than a typical summer-style slaw. Apple butter tends to be something I buy for a specific recipe, use two tablespoons, and promptly forget about in the back of the fridge. I never thought to incorporate it into a dressing. Thanks for sharing Stacey!

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: zucchini, spinach, lettuce, radishes, leeks, rainbow carrots, sweet corn, edamame soybeans, Napa cabbage, baby bok choi, choice of an herb and ornamental gourds.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: Jonagold apples and Devoe pears
  • Flowers: not mentioned in this week’s update
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “B” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• This week’s email from John starts as it often does — with an update about the rain at the farm — but what I didn’t expect was for John to be worrying about our first freeze. It looks like we’ll be fine, at least according to my weather app, but I was surprised to see the forecast show us dipping below 40 degrees one night next week! Sounds like soup weather — good thing we have leeks and corn coming. Here’s a recipe for a soup that I’d be glad to warm up with next week.

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: Lettuce, beans, zucchini, kale or chard, choice of arugula or broccoli raab, salad turnips, broccoli/cauliflower, yellow onions, sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash, colored peppers (this week or next), and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: paused until more apples ripen
  • Flowers: TBD
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise

For those with half shares, this is “A” week.

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: swiss chard, beans, radishes, garlic, beets with tops, zucchini, broccoli or cauliflower, bok choy, peppers or eggplant, white acorn squash and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: starkrimson pears & hardy kiwi berries
  • Flowers: TBD
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “B” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• One crop that typically returns in volume once the warmest weather passes is garlic. For the first time in forever I recently roasted a bulb and was happy I did. I didn’t have a use for it immediately in mind so I saved it in the fridge. A few days later I was doing a clean-out-the-fridge stir fry and decided to throw it in. It added a nice touch that I may not have noticed without having cooked the dish myself but knowing it was there I could find the flavor. I decided to click around to a few food blogs for other ideas to add roasted garlic to, some are obvious while some are inspiring:
  • Pizza (I’d probably mix in the sauce so it’s protected a bit by the cheese)
  • Mayo (quick aioli)
  • Homemade salad dressing (shake up some oil, balsamic, Dijon, roasted garlic, s&p)
  • Hamburgers/Meatloaf/Meatballs
  • Cream cheese (for a deeply flavorful bagel schmear)
  • Softened butter (either use right away or put back in the fridge rolled in parchment for a sliceable compound butter)
  • Potato salad (a very easy way to spruce up a store bought tub)

John also shared information about the Hardy Kiwi:

Hardy Kiwi (actinidia arguta) also known as Siberian Kiwi is a
native of Northern China, Korea and Russian Siberia. It is similar
inside to the fuzzy tropical kiwi, but has smaller seeds and a smooth
green skin with only a bit of vestigial fuzz on the blossom end.
It is super nutritious being 5 times higher in vitamin C than oranges
and with twice the vitamin E of avocados. It is also rich in potassium,
B-6 and B-2. The fruit we have comes from Dave Jackson of Kiwi
Korners, Aka, Kiwi Organics in North central PA. A retired Rock
drummer, Dave has been working with Kiwi for over 30 years and
developed his own varieties. The fruit is eaten like a grape with the
skin. You may pull out the previously noted bit of fuzz before popping
them into your mouth. You will receive them in a fairly hard unripe
state and will need to keep them out on the counter to ripen for a day
or two. They are best and sweetest when they are very soft and the
skin begins to darken and get a little wrinkly. In the refrigerator
they will continue to ripen but very slowly. You may want to leave
some out and keep some in the fridge, and you should return ripe ones
to cooler if you are not ready to eat them right away. They are quite
delicious but avoid the temptation to eat too many at once as they
are also quite acidic.