Winding Down

Well, it always has to happen...the end of the farmthisway CSA season.  Almost...Week 23 arrived yesterday, with cold wind, and stinging rain (and some hail too) to remind us that winter is on the way.  For us 24 week members, that means just one more distribution.  It comes in the form of a wreath and a bushel of hard squash for the winter. 

This year, that last distribution will arrive on November 16th.  Marty and Carolyn, our beloved farmers, are hosting an end of the year gathering so that all of the members can get to know one another, and enjoy a meal together.  Everyone will bring a dish to pass, and there will even be live entertainment, in the form of a folk musician.  The Fall setting in the barn seems a perfect way to end the season. 

This week we had our decorations distribution, but that's not all.  Besides a hay bale, corn stalks, Indian corn, pumpkins, and another beautiful mum, we also got an 8 qt basket of tomatoes, some squash (acorn and butternut) cabbage, and our farm fresh eggs. 

I look forward to some Butternut Squash Soup but also would like to attempt to make some more Butternut Squash Ravioli.  The last time I made the ravioli, they came out OK, good even, but I know I can do better, particularly in my pasta quality. 

As for the cabbage, that is bound for sauerkraut to have with my New Year's pork dinner.  Something my family always has on New Year's day is pork and sauerkraut.  I am not sure why, but I usually stick to that menu.  I used  Alton Brown's Sauerkraut Recipe last year, and it worked great.  Very easy, not a lot of attention needed, and it was tasty. 

Well, I am signing off for the season..sort of.  I may pop up over the winter with some new squash recipes just for fun, or when I pull some canned or frozen veggies from my CSA distributions out to use.  Year 2 of our membership with farmthisway CSA has again been fantastic and we look forward to seeing Marty and Carolyn continue to grow the membership!  If you are looking for a way to get your veggies and more from people you know, go out and meet Marty and Carolyn at the farm.  It's a great program and we will be back again next year!

Fall Harvest = Good eating!

A fabulous week of beautiful Fall weather brought us another WONDERFUL farmthisway CSA distribution.   8 quarts of tomatoes, 2 quarts of baby heirlooms, 2 quarts of delicious concord grapes, 10 heads of broccoli, 4 heads of cauliflower, 16 apples (half Macintosh, half Cortland) 2 heads of green cabbage, 1 of purple cabbage, 6 mini acorn squash, 2 pie pumpkins, and farm fresh brown eggs.  Today I will be processing some of this for the winter, but we will also be eating some more of it fresh.  I had an heirloom tomato and cheddar sandwich this morning for breakfast, and my kids all took some fresh fruits and veggies in their lunches.  Dinner tonight will include this recipe I found for Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower to go with our roasted chicken and mashed potatoes.   There will be a salad as well, with baby heirlooms, and some baby cukes picked up at the farmthisway stand at the Farmer's Market as well.  For dessert, we are going to take a page from Rachel Ray's book and have Super Stuffed Baked Apples a la Mode.  Yum.

In the time between now and dinner however, I need to blanch some broccoli and cauliflower for freezing (always nice to have my freezer stocked for winter) and make a couple of quarts of  tomato sauce as well.  The acorn squash will hold up well until we've had time to make a couple of meals out of it, so no need to process that.  Maybe I will rake the leaves so the kids can jump in them after school as well. 

Then, onto pie pumpkins.  I promised my 13 year old that if she had all of her homework done early enough today, she could help me get the pie pumpkins ready to bake with.  I am thinking there will be enough for a few pies, some muffins and pumpkin raisin cookies (we still have 3 pie pumpkins from our previous distribution). 

OK, time to log off.  As I read this, it appears I have a LOT to do today!  Happy Fall!  Enjoy the tail end of growing season and the beautiful weather outdoors.  Autumn is my favorite season!