CSA Week 17: September 21st

CSA Week 16

Winter CSAs go on sale TODAY at 1:00! You can buy them on the website just like the summer shares. There’s only 30 available, so I would act on them soon. I will announce that they are for sale to the public on Monday, but this gives our current members a bit of a “presale.” There’s information on the website about the Winter CSA. It is different from the summer CSA, so be sure to read it carefully to make sure it is right for you. There’s only one size, one pick up day/time, and it’s only every other week. Winter growing is no joke so we hope that those who choose to become a member are really committed to seasonal eating!

Happy Friday everyone! We hope you all have had a nice week, with the absolutely perfect fall weather. The shares are starting to slowly become less bountiful as the season changes, but it’s still a delicious mix:

Half Shares:

Spicy Mix

Romaine

Beets

Basil

Green Tomatoes

Hakurei Turnips

Baby Eggplant

Garlic

Full Shares:

Radish

Anaheim Peppers

Cilantro

Large Onions

Green Tomato Time

The time has come to start transitioning away from our hot crops! The tomato plants are completely “blighted” which means they have a bacterial foliar disease (aka the leaves are brown and crusty). This also happens at the end of the season as the daylight hours decrease and moisture increases, resulting in leaves that cannot dry out enough. But the green tomatoes still look great and there are plenty!

We also need to remove the eggplants from our hoop house, but there are still some “baby” eggplants! The small sized fruit is very tender and great roasted whole. Top with a tomato sauce, gochujang dressing, or stir fry with some kimchi for a delicious side.

Anaheim peppers are the most near and dear pepper to my heart. I grew up in Colorado and in the southwest Anaheim (we call them Hatch) chilis are the sign of fall. Throughout the month of September, farmers set up booths in parking lots and along the side of the road with huge barrels roasting Hatch chilis with garlic. You buy them in bulk and freeze most of them. All of this is to make the dish Green Chili, a thick pork and chili pepper stew, no beans! There’s a huge debate in the southwest between Colorado style or New Mexico style Green Chili, but Colorado’s is obviously much better. The smell of roasted chilis always makes me a bit homesick, but I find comfort in a big bowl of Green Chili on a September night.

Recipe Time!

This week’s recipe obviously has to be for Fried Green Tomatoes! My mom made this the other night and they turned out SO good. I’ve always been a green tomato hater but these really blew me away. A little tart, sweet, and crunchy from cornmeal on the outside. They were even good cold from the fridge two days later!

Field Notes

This week was a bit chaotic for me and Andy, but also very exciting! We moved into our house across the street from the farm, which is both thrilling and the usual moving stress. Andy has been fixing up the house through the winter and all summer. We took the entire duplex down to the studs and redid everything. Although it is not complete, it looks amazing and there’s really nothing better than being able to see the farm from our front window and have a 30 second commute! Farm work got pushed to the side, so I can’t say I have much to update about. These cooler temperatures are definitely ushering out the hot crops but excellent conditions for the cabbage I planted last week. I’m looking forward to getting caught up on our farm work this weekend!