Things have gotten crisp as of late, with a very cold night on Friday. The dawn was a beautiful sight, icy though it was. Everything has its season, and some of them ended with the freeze. It is nice being on the down-slope of the season.

The share this week has some nice roots. It is the perfect time for roasting an assortment of what you get and what may be in the fridge or cupboard. Cut, dressed, and roasted at 425 deg F, it is a simple dish. You can use olive oil, balsamic and rosemary for a moist coating, or dry rub the veggies with salt, chili powder, and other spices of choice.

Make sure to check and mix them about every 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked and browned. If you like garlic, add it with a little olive oil during the last 15 minutes of roasting.

On the egg front, a little update. First off many thanks to the CSA for making the sale of our eggs run so well. Our flock of 52 has been very productive this year. However, we have to be careful about counting our eggs before they are laid. So far, things have worked out well.

We are pleased to be able to keep a healthy flock on the farm. They are a source of eggs, entertainment, education, and fertility. In the photo above I am the source of their attention, as they await some afternoon scraps.

Another blog night, another Royals World Series game. Not a thing I ever thought I would be saying. We have found though that they have turned the rainbows blue and white on the farm.

With the start of the extended season, the high tunnel harvest begins. Our feeding of cover crops and compost appear to have enlivened the soil since last spring. Our first cuttings include arugula, cilantro and gai lan (Chinese broccoli). From the field you are getting the head style broccoli (Italian broccoli), as well as some wonderful fall lettuces.

The two broccoli types you can use pretty much interchangeably. Both work well in a stir-fry, or in a hearty pasta dish.

You can also make a soup with the gai lan or tat soi. Substitute them in this bok choy soup recipe from member Emily Akins, or this stir-fry soup recipe from our May 23, 2011 blog.

An so the regular season of the 2014 CSA season ends. It’s been a winning year, topped off by a wonderful October. Local excitement, a beautiful stretch of weather, and the promise of an off-season. Thanks to all who support us. Look forward to feeding everyone again next year.

But before then, there is this week’s share to discuss. Depending on whether you are full or partial, you may get green tomatoes or small potatoes. The former, while good fried, also makes a wonderful curry. The latter, are great for steaming, before salting and tossing with butter. It has been a good potato year, so enjoy some of the last of the harvest.

LEEKS F/P The leeks are large with long, tender shanks.   

LETTUCE F/P  The lettuces took a break from growing thanks to the soggy weather, but everyone will get one head this week.

CARROTS F/P  More small snacking carrots

SWEET POTATOES F  Orange-fleshed Beauregards.  We harvested less than 30% of last year’s record crop.  We blame the cool temperatures and soggy summer. 

POTATOES P  Small potatoes, good for cooking whole and popping them right in your mouth.

TOMATOES OR SWEET PEPPERS F  Some are ripe, some are green.  See Tom’s post for cooking with green tomatoes.

WATERMELON RADISH  F A fall storage radish with brilliant pink flesh.  Cut into watermelon-shaped slices and eat the pink part.  If you like a kick, eat the rind.

HERB CHOICE F/P  Cilantro, dill, sage or radishes

GREENS CHOICE F/P  Kale, Swiss chard, bok choy or cabbage

BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER OR NAPA CABBAGE F

NEXT WEEK:  Extended season starts with lettuce, greens, bulb fennel, herbs and garlic.

FARM REPORT:

I am watching the world series while writing this post, so please excuse any sloppiness.  I remember watching the 1985 series and I am happy to see our hometown team back in the finals.  With Royals fever in the air, your farmers have been thinking about  how farming is like baseball.  We both start our seasons in the Spring and spend the summer working in the field. 

From Spring training to our last race around the bases before frost, we are always ready for whatever curveballs Mother Nature throws at us.  We are successful when we work as a team and thrive on the support of our fans… ahem CSA members.  Like the Royals, we too have a post-season.  Ours begins next week.  This is Week 24 of the CSA and for many of you, the last week.  Thank you for your support and we hope to see you back in 2015.  For those in the extended season, we have four more innings (okay…weeks) to go.  Charge!!

Another year, another Week 23. It’s always something different it seems. The diminishing conditions of the last few weeks has ended the season for some plants this year. Others, sitting on higher ground, are doing well but looking forward to some drying out.

It was wet this week when we took some time off the farm to explore our watershed. From Missouri City to Sibley to Floyd, we were in bottoms. The wildlife put on a good show, doing what they do. For the yellow mud turtle life is best sunning on a log in the backwater of a mighty river. They are endangered in Missouri so we felt fortunate to be able to see some.

Through all the rain there are some very lush areas on the farm One is the bulb fennel patch. It is a great vegetable for this time of year. Cook it alongside onions, leeks and garlic to enhance a dish. Fresh in a salad it provides for good breath and digestion.

Asian greens are also peaking and ready for harvest. A stir fry is a great fall meal that can include most anything in the share. Treat fennel as you would celery in a dish, and don’t forget to add a hot pepper.

I dined off-farm this weekend, attending my niece Barbara’s wedding in Evanston, Ill. This 3 day convergence of family was a splendid time. It included some deep dish pizza and other excellent food.

Woody, Barbara and my sister Fran

We are in the last stage of that time of year when summer and fall crops are available together. Your stir fry can include eggplant, or you can cook cherry tomatoes with your broccoli. It is also the time to stock up, even if for just a short time, on any excess produce.

You may find yourself with a lot of peppers this week. Take any extra and clean them, cut ’em into chunks and put in a freezer bag. They are now a convenience food. They fry up well, and are perfect in fajitas, eggs, or over pasta.

We hope that you have made good use of the herb selections this year. While the basil never recovered from the damp coolness of June, our stores of dried herbs have provided for the shares. We enjoy the hot peppers. Much of their heat is in the seeds. You can snap the stem off and shake out the seeds before crushing it, to cut down on the heat. Or just leave it whole and drop it into a slow cooking dish.

dried cayenne peppers

It seems that weather-wise we must have matched a record for most consecutive beautiful days and nights. The crops are enjoying it too, especially when we give them a good drink from the pond. The sun helps with that also.

For us it has been stir-fries lately. The eggplant, sweet and hot peppers, bok choi, greens, garlic, leeks and other fine vegetables have been filling our wok regularly. It is always great to see a crop like eggplant achieve the luster of its first fruits again at the end of the season.

The sweet potatoes are freshly cured and ready for cookin’. I suggest starting the sweet potato season with roasted and spiced wedges. Mayonnaise and malt vinegar are both good accompaniments.

On Saturday after the morning harvest I went with John and Dustin over to Parker Farms for an open house. I had not been to Tom and Paula’s since they raised the hog population on the farm. It was a happy bunch of pigs and piglets everywhere we went. A beautiful Missouri farm.

I may have come to realize that the first day of fall is my favorite day of the year. While the daylight has been waning since the first of summer, it is late September that promises some rest. The magnificent weather of the last week has been a nice touch too.

In the kitchen the share continues to change. We welcome leeks this week, and pair them with some beautiful red onions. Add garlic, and you have the trifecta that makes up three lily soup. If you have any potatoes you can make the classic leek and potato soup, or a nice potato and kale/greens soup.

water droplet on the kale

Another idea for the greens is that of a hot dressing. The lettuce from this week and last is quite crisp. It can hold up to a strong dressing. The non-vegetarian version consists of small pieces of chopped bacon cooked up and mixed with some honey or sugar, and vinegar. Yum.

It could not have been a more beautiful day on Sunday when our CSA congregated to celebrate the harvest. It was a great time. One thing that we enjoy about our farmstead is the lay of the land. It is a nice setting for gatherings and we look forward to the dinner at the farm being an annual event.

For our part of the potluck I made a vegetable stew. A combination of onions, carrots, peppers, hot peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic. All the ingredients were cleaned and chopped. The first four ingredients were sautéed in olive oil until soft. Next the potatoes were added, followed by the tomatoes and garlic. Tomato sauce, salt, pepper, marjoram and oregano rounded out the ingredients.

The stew was brought to a boil and then simmered for an hour, or until carrots are tender. The stew is done then, but you can thicken it by pureeing a portion and adding it back.

Tell us what you brought on our CSA Facebook page. I know someone was looking for seconds on the coleslaw, and the candied jalapenos were a unique treat.

The recent harvest slow down has given time to pause and check out the farm’s newest crop—sunn hemp. We have added this legume to our cover crop mix, as it is suits our climate and soil. It grows fast, provides nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, and it made a good stand.

The USDA says it originated in India and has been grown since the dawn of agriculture. Its uses and benefits are many. We are glad that it came up so well this first attempt.

On the culinary side of things, we feel that the pause gives us all a good reason to clear out the fridge. Below are a couple of recipe options that take into account many items from the last several weeks.

The first is a greens and beans recipe we had a few days ago. We chopped and steamed some roma beans, tossed them with salt, pepper and butter, and then topped it all chive flowers. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan we sautéed onions, garlic and kale.  We then tossed it with pasta and topped with grated cheese and sunflower seeds.

Chances are you have some hot peppers stashed in the crisper drawer. Member Merri Dillinger posted a recipe for candied jalapenos on our Facebook page. Another option is roasting.

I used to roast my peppers by cutting them in half, cleaning out the seeds and membrane, and broiling until charred. A much better way is to put away the knife initially and simply roast the peppers whole. Turn them once when they start to blister. When both sides are done put them in a bowl with a plate over it. Let them steam about 5 minutes and peel. They are great on sandwiches, in potato salads, or to spice up some greens and beans.