2010- Week # 16 (September 28th – October 4th)

I had dinner at The Kitchen Table Bistro in Richmond a few nights ago, and I made sure I had the pumpkin soup, since I knew it was made with our own pie pumpkins (Steve, the co-owner and chef, comes in to the stand regularly to buy produce for his seasonal menu). The soup was garnished with fresh chives, which was surprisingly tasty; it made me think that chives would be a nice garnish for any winter squash soup. Although we don’t have pie pumpkins to offer this week, I’m hoping we will soon, and I’ll try my best to find a pumpkin soup recipe that’s as good as Steve’s!

Speaking of pumpkins, beginning next week we’ll probably have a pumpkin coupon or voucher to offer to everyone for the large jack-o-lantern pumpkins. We have tons of beautiful pumpkins this year, as well as a pick-your-own pumpkin patch at our stand in Essex. We’ll probably offer discounts to CSA members on jack-o-lantern pumpkins throughout October.

One final thing: many people who picked up on Wednesday were curious about the large meeting taking place at the Essex stand. This was a GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) meeting, which was held at our stand since we were one of the first farms in the state to become GAP certified (we were certified last year, and then audited and certified again this year). The GAP certification means that we’re taking all the necessary precautions to make sure our produce is safe and pathogen-free. The people at the meeting were all farmers in the state or UVM extension employees. The meeting was held to help other produce farmers with the process of becoming certified, and to show them some of the steps we took at our farm to get the certification.

This Week’s Produce

Small Share

3/4 lb. carrots ($1.50)

4 lb. bag red potatoes ($3)

1-2 red peppers ($1.50)

1 head lettuce or 1 bunch kale ($2)

1 lb. tomatoes ($3)

chilies or chives

apple coupon

Choose 3 of these options ($9):

1 butternut squash

2 acorn squash

1.5 lbs. beans

PYO raspberry voucher

1.5 lbs. pickling cukes

6 ears corn

1.5 lbs. summer or zucchini squash

5 decorative gourds or mini pumpkins

Large Share

1.5 lbs. carrots ($3)

4 lb. bag red potatoes ($3)

1-2 red peppers ($1.50)

1 head lettuce or 1 bunch kale ($2)

1 lb. tomatoes ($3)

1.5 lbs. broccoli ($3)

1 pint grape tomatoes ($2.50)

chilies or chives

apple coupon

Choose 4 of these 6 options ($12)

1 butternut squash

2 acorn squash

1.5 lbs. beans

PYO raspberry voucher

1.5 lbs. pickling cukes

6 ears corn

1.5 lbs. summer or zucchini squash

5 decorative gourds or mini pumpkins

Next Week’s Produce

I’m hoping that we’ll have apples for everyone as part of the CSA share next week, as well as broccoli. We should also have sage and some type of winter squash. I would like to give out brussels sprouts, too, but they’re still tiny! We think maybe the hot weather this summer is to blame; the stalks are super-long, but the actual sprouts are very small. Hopefully they’ll fatten up in the next few weeks!

Raspberries

We still have good raspberry picking at both of our locations, so now’s the time to get your PYO voucher if you haven’t yet! Just remember to use the berries soon after you pick them, since they have a very, very short shelf-life. If you get stuck with an un-usable voucher after the frost, feel free to bring it in on your pick-up day and we can exchange it for something of equal value.

Potato Pancakes (Latkes)

These are good with sour cream or home-made applesauce. The only hard part of the recipe is grating the potatoes and the onion. If you’re using red potatoes, you don’t have to peel them, although they’ll look prettier if you do!

2 lbs. any type of potato, peeled

1 medium onion, grated or VERY finely chopped

2 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

vegetable or canola oil

Grate the potatoes, then drain them in a colander, pressing out extra liquid. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then add the onions, potatoes, salt and pepper. Over medium heat and in a large skillet, heat enough oil to coat the pan (alternately you can use 1/8 of an inch and “fry” the pancakes). Drop the batter by the large spoonful into the skillet and flatten with the back of the spoon, making 3 or 4 pancakes. Cook until brown and crisp on both sides, about 10-12 minutes. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Spicy Tomato-Shrimp Sauce

I like this sauce best on penne, but it could go on any type of pasta. You can also add thinly sliced, sautéed summer squash and/or zucchini right before serving, or have it on the side. If you don’t like hot food, feel free to leave out the chili or red pepper flakes.

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2-4 cloves garlic, chopped

2-3 cups tomatoes, cored, peeled (if desired) and chopped.

1 minced fresh chili or red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

Minced fresh parsley to taste (optional)

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled.

In a large skillet, sauté the garlic and chili (or red pepper flakes) in the olive oil over med-high heat until garlic starts to turn golden (about 2-3 minutes). Add tomatoes and cook about 10-15 minutes, or until tomatoes start to liquefy. Add the shrimp, salt, pepper, and parsley. Continue to cook until shrimp are cooked through (about 3-5 minutes). Serve over hot pasta and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.