News from Windy Willow Farm
2008 Week 18

This week’s share includes:

2 heads garlic
2 sweet onions – These onions will store in a dry, cool place for up to 3 months.
1 Qt white potatoes – These, also, will store for months, in a dark, cool, dry place. I have them down in my basement, and when they’re gone, I don’t cook with potatoes until next year’s are harvested.
1 Qt tomatoes – Bid farewell to the tomato season, as its lasted 6 weeks. We had a fantastic season, with the tomatoes coming on in abundance. I hope you put up enough to enjoy over the winter.
1 head Red Teide lettuce – This lettuce came from a freebie packet of seed I picked up at the annual Organic Farming conference and I’m thrilled with it. It’s gorgeous, dark red ruffled leaves with a cool green interior. I hope you enjoy it as well.
4 leeks – Not getting to your leeks? They store fine in your fridge, in a plastic bag. But do try them in your soups, they make it very creamy and sweet.
2 Sunshine winter squash ­– A kabocha squash, this is Mark’s favorite type of winter squash, and it’s won all sorts of awards. It has a bright orange center, and is very sweet, and not stringy. Generally winter squash will store for months and get sweeter, but be sure to check it weekly for soft spots. Always store squash, potatoes, onions and garlic in a dry, cool, and dark spot. A helpful tip: cook the squash whole (either in your oven or microwave) until it starts to soften, then cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. I’ve almost cut off many fingers trying to cut through a big squash.
1 Bonbon winter squash – This is a buttercup type of squash and is very sweet as well.
1 Qt dried shelling beans – These are the same beans that we had fresh a month or so ago. Just shell them (the beans inside are red and white, quite pretty) and dry them completely. To dry them, I pour them into a roasting dish and leave them out for a week or so. Then I pack them into a clean quart container for the next time I make a soup. Don’t forget to soak them, though fresh beans never get as soft as store bought.
1 bunch beets – some of these are big, and some are downright huge! I’ve been roasting them, sliced with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and packing them into bags for the freezer. I’m always impressed with how well they freeze.
Best guess for next week – kale, brussels sprouts, Acorn squash

Favorite customer comment – “I made THE BEST sauce ever last night, thanks to your amazing tomatoes and the tips I picked up cooking with you and Mark.”
Photo Captions: As a last hoo-rah to tomato season, we made bruschetta yet again. The combination of the sweet onions, basil, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar makes a wonderful end of summer treat.

The garden is slowly finishing the season. Last week I harvested all of the winter squash, and Mark and I pulled up many rows of plastic this weekend. The winter squash harvest is not very large (due mostly to the germination problems in the beginning of the season), so enjoy the few fruits we have. This week are buttercup and kabocha squash, next week will be Acorn, and Butternut for our last week of the season. This week we have some bonus/free choice butternuts that have blemishes on the outside. These are fine to eat, but will not store for the winter.

This weekend is our 4th Annual CSA Picnic and Bonfire! Saturday we’ll start at 4, and head down to the bonfire pit by 6:30. I’m trying to make this paperless, to avoid having huge bags of garbage at the end of the night. Please bring a plate, fork, knife, spoon and cup for each member of your family. I’ll have a big pile of cloth napkins and extra plates on hand. I’ll plan on filling the dishwasher (whose hot water is solar-heated) prior to the bonfire, and you can pick up your clean dishes before you go home. Also, please bring a jacket for fireside use and shoes in which you can walk a ¼ mile down our grassy lane. Oh, and BYOB, I’ll have pitchers of lemon water to drink, but bring your own beverages. My current menu is as follows: I’m defrosting a huge 18 pound turkey and I’ve made 2 strawberry-rhubarb pies, which I serve a la mode (of course). Everything else is to be potluck, so please bring a dish to share. Side dishes and desserts would be great. Call me if you have any questions. I’m looking forward to a great party!

We are almost definitely having a frost this week. (what does “almost definitely” really mean??) The forecast is calling for 33 on Thursday, so I think this is it. It will take care of all of our tender crops: eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, beans and herbs. But it will enhance others as well: carrots, brussels sprouts. A light frost will not bother Swiss chard, beets, lettuce or the sweet potatoes I’ve still yet to dig. Here’s to watching the weather!

Eat what you can, can what you can’t.
Gwen, Mark, Sarah and Jason Hyde

© 2008 Gwen Hyde

Here’s a great link on winter squash from a vegetable farm, with a bunch of interesting recipes:http://www.homestead-farm.net/RecipeWinSquash.html

Last week a customer mentioned a risotto recipe, and I’ve had risotto on my mind:
Winter Squash Risotto
Makes 4 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each
Ingredients
5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil3 medium shallots, thinly sliced3 cups chopped peeled butternut, hubbard, red kuri or kabocha squash (½-inch pieces)2 cups shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced ½ teaspoon dried thyme½ teaspoon salt¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper⅛ teaspoon crumbled saffron threads (optional)1 cup arborio rice½ cup dry white wine or dry vermouth½ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Place broth in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat so the broth remains steaming, but is not simmering.2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in squash and mushrooms; cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms give off their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, salt, pepper and saffron (if using); cook for 30 seconds. Add rice; stir until translucent, about 1 minute. Add wine (or vermouth) and cook, stirring, until almost absorbed by the rice, about 1 minute.3. Stir in 1/2 cup of the hot broth; reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until all the liquid has been absorbed, until the rice is tender and creamy, 30 to 40 minutes total. (You may have some broth left.) Remove from the heat and stir in cheese.

Roasted Pesto Beets
Rated: 5 out of 5 by 1 members Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes Ready In: 55 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

"Red beets are boiled until just tender,then sliced and smothered in pesto before being roasted in the oven."
INGREDIENTS:
4 beets, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems attached
6 tablespoons basil pesto
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the beets in a large saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the beets are just tender, about 30 minutes. Drain, and allow the beets to cool until you are able to handle them. Peel and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices, then toss with the pesto in a bowl.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
3. Spread the beets out onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the beets are hot and have turned slightly brown around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes.