2007 CSA Week 18

News from Windy Willow Farm: 2007 Week 18

This week’s share includes:
1 bunch Swiss chard
1 sweet potato – We’ve grown sweet potatoes for a few years now, but are far from experts with them. They are relatively easy to grow: you plant the “slip” (a piece of vine with root attached), water and watch the vines grow to cover your garden. Then you cut off the vines and gently dig them up by hand. The trick is that after digging they need to be cured (from anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks, depending on what you read) in high heat and high humidity to get the starches to turn to sugar. Eat them too early and they’ll be hard, dry and bitter. So, find me a place in upstate NY in early fall with high heat and humidity!! So, we do our best with these, and advise you to keep them next to your stove for a few weeks before cooking. This year I dug them earlier than in the past, so that the tubers are not huge, and are a better size for eating. We don’t have many, so enjoy these as a side dish/taster.
1 bunch leeks
1 bunch parsley
1 Butternut Squash – In the Love it/Hate it bin, there will be a bunch of these, with surface blemishes. They won’t keep for months like the others, but will be fine for use in the next month or so.
1 Sunshine Squash
3 small heads garlic
3 sweet onions, two white and one red
sweet peppers: 2 yellow bells and 1 red Italian red frying pepper
1 Qt Brussels sprouts
1 Qt white potatoes
Best guess for next week’s share: more winter squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, leeks.

We attempted to spend the weekend camping up at Indian Lake. However, our children vociferously reminded us that while Mark and I are experienced campers, they are not. So, after less than 24 hours in the wilderness, we packed it up and went home. What were we thinking? One not-even-2-year-old in diapers and sleeping in a crib to sleep on a sleeping pad in a tent?? We realized that we need to start with “beginning camping” by camping overnight in the yard, then progressing to car camping (so we can pack up and drive home in the middle of the night, if need be!!) then canoe camping. The kids were so exhausted they both fell asleep in the canoe on the way back to the car.

A new pastime of ours is to stand outside the garage watching the electric meter spin backwards! These crisp, sunny days are awesome for solar electricity generation, and we’ve been generating more than we’re using. Mark will yell in from the garage how many watts of power we’re sending into the grid. We are going to be giddy when we open our next National Grid bill, which may slightly offset the solar company’s bill for installation charges.

As predicted by my garden advisor, we did have a hard frost this weekend. Sunday morning showed the low temperature at 31 degrees. However, there was only slight damage in the garden, which was fortunate for me. I had intended on running out and picking all of the peppers, but was too lazy to do so. I did manage to cover the basil, since I have yet to make the year’s pesto. I picked a peck of peppers (I just liked the alliteration, I think I picked more than a peck), a pile of yellow and red peppers so beautiful they may make you cry. I’ll keep giving these until the garden says they’re done.

My baby lettuce plants are bravely growing! Growing slowly, but surely. I have fertilized them with my fish emulsion, but am loathe to repeat it within weeks of consumption, for fear they’ll smell like a day-old fish. So, I’ll keep watching them, and hope to share them with you for week 20’s share. They may be little, but they’ll taste great!
This week is survey week, so I’ll print off a bunch, or you can print one yourself and bring the completed forms to next week’s pickup. I appreciate your feedback, and we really do use it when planning our CSA program for the following year.

Thanks, as always, for your support!
Gwen, Mark, Sarah and Jason

© 2007 Gwen Hyde

Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2cups chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons chili powder
1-2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3 cups coarsely chopped swiss chard leaves

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat.
Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender and golden, about 9 minutes.
Add squash; stir 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cinnamon, and cumin. Stir in beans, broth, and tomatoes with juices. Bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes.
Stir in chard; simmer until chard is tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes longer.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle chili into bowls and serve. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro or red onion if desired.

Roasted Squash, Garlic, and Sage Soup
5 pounds butternut or acorn squash (about 2 medium butternut or 3 acorn squash)
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1/2 head garlic, separated into cloves but not peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoons freshly-ground black pepper, or to taste
1 small bunch sage (about 6 stems)
1 48-ounce can vegetable broth
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice
Toasted pumpkin seeds, for optional garnish
Sage sprigs, for optional garnish

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425F. Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler or sharp knife. Cut in half and remove and discard the seeds and pith. Cut each half into 2 pieces. Place squash, onions, and garlic in a single layer in a large roasting pan.
2. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil, using your hands to coat each piece well. Sprinkle cumin over squash flesh; arrange pieces hollow side down in the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Scatter 3/4 of th sage in the pan. Roast 30 minutes; turn vegetables over with a metal spatula to avoid sticking. Continue to roast until the squash flesh is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 30 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool.
3. Transfer onions to a food processor fitted with a sharp blade. Squeeze roasted garlic out of each clove; discard skins. Add garlic, squash, and any liquid remaining in the roasting pan to food processor; discard sage. Process until pureed. Transfer to a soup pot, stir in broth. Bring the soup to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat and let simmer until heated through. Stir in vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and a few sage sprigs, if desired.
Serves 8 to 10.

Parsley-Potato Soup
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (you may leave unpeeled, if you like)
2 bay leaves
Vegetable stock or water, as needed
1 teaspoon Italian herb mix4
ounces Low-fat cream cheese, diced
½ cup firmly-packed chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup low-fat milk, or as needed
Salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a soup pot. Add onion and sauté over medium heat until golden.
2. Add garlic, potatoes, and bay leaves. Add enough stock or water to cover, then stir in the herb mix. Bring to a simmer, then simmer gently, covered, until the potatoes are just tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Remove about ½ cup of the hot liquid with a ladle and transfer it to a small mixing bowl. Combine with the cream cheese and whisk together until smooth and creamy. Stir into the soup along with the parsley.
4. Slowly sprinkle in the oats. Simmer for another 20 to 25 minutes over very low heat, or until the potatoes are completely tender. Add the milk and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 6 to 8.
HELPFUL HINTS: This soup thickens as it stands; thin as needed with additional milk, then correct the seasonings.