2016 CSA – Week #18

Notes from the Farm

Harvesting carrots in the fall is one of my favorite things to do on the farm.  If the carrots have matured and the conditions are right, a simple loosening of the soil with a digging fork or carrots-2016undercutting the bed with a tractor tool will allow for the carrots to pull out of the soil with a gentle tug on their green tops.  Your fingers and hands sift through the cool soil as you harvest, and you snack on a few orange treats as you go.  You find carrots of all different shapes and sizes along the way, some fully intertwined with their neighbor, others oddly shaped or bearing appendages giving them the look people, animals and such.  We pulled up these beauties this afternoon, and should have a steady supply of carrots for the remainder of the CSA.  Carrots will last a long time in your refrigerator if you remove the green tops and keep them in the crisper drawer in a plastic bag.  Leaving the soil until you are ready to eat them will also help them keep longer.  Feel free to enjoy them immediately of course, perhaps chopped up in a salad or slaw along with the fennel we’ll distribute this week.  Peppers, eggplants and tomatoes are still producing, so we are still harvesting, though the colder nights projected for this week may put that to an end.

Thanks to everyone who made it to Family Fun Day on Saturday.  We had an incredible turnout and it was a blast!  Hope you had great holiday weekend wherever you were!

Best,

Farmer Steve and our Farmers: Alyssa, Tyler, Ed, Briana, Adam, Kelly, Ariana, Jon, Nikki, and Jess

In This Week’s Distribution

Our Harvest:  Carrots, Fennel, Chard, Kale, Bok Choi, Peppers, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Salad Greens
U-Pick: Cherry Tomatoes

Fruit Option: Final Week of Fruit

 

Recipes and Cooking Tips

 

Carrot and Fennel Salad adapted from BonAppetit.com
1 bunch carrots
1 head fennel
1 bunch radishes or salad turnips
1 tsp grain mustard
3 tbl lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
honey
chopped parsley
optional – cumin and fennel seeds, raisins or currants, toasted pistachios or sunflower seeds

Grate a few carrots on the wide edge of a box grater.

If you have great knife skills and the counter space for a cutting board, julienned is nice, too. Add some thinly sliced radishes and/or fennel.
Mix the veg with a vinaigrette of 1 teaspoon grainy mustard, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, a generous quarter-cup of olive oil, and a touch of honey, along with some toasted cumin and fennel seeds.

Toss in some golden raisins (if you want; these are divisive), and top with toasted pistachios and chopped parsley to taste.

 

Roasted Eggplant Salad with Chickpeas and Feta  adapted from marthastewart.com

Ingredients for Salad
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

Ingredients For Roasted Eggplant
• 3 medium eggplants (about 1 pound each)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

To roast eggplant, preheat oven to 475 degrees, cut eggplants into 1-inch cubes; divide between two rimmed baking sheets.  Dividing evenly, drizzle eggplant with olive oil, coarse salt, and ground pepper; toss to coat. Spread in a single layer; roast, turning once, until golden and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on sheets, when finished.  While eggplant is baking, in a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, salt, and ground pepper. Once eggplant has cooled, add the roasted eggplant, chickpeas, feta cheese, and chopped mint leaves; toss to combine.