CSA Newsletter – Week 15 – September 21, 2016
The season is clearly shifting. Mornings are super cold and misty. We all start out with ridiculous amounts of warm woolly layers. As the day wears on, we shed layers like an onion. Sweaters, rain pants, hats, and jackets litter the field, trucks, and barn. It’s like bread crumbs our workers leave behind telling the tale of what they did that day. Tomatoes and peppers are slowing down, and in the case of tomatoes, aren’t looking so hot. Cracks and blemishes are appearing more often than not. How is it already the end of tomato season? A new wave of crops is on the horizon. Leeks are sizing up, kale is looking lush, and winter squash lies in wait under the dwindling protection of dying leaves.
We are slowly pecking away at the big fall projects. All the onions are in, as are half the dry beans. Garlic heads are popped and ready to plant tomorrow if all goes according to plan. We hope to get all the potatoes out of the field early next week. I am so happy to have another stretch of sun!
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
carrots
beets or chard
yellow onions
garlic
Italian Zucchini
Patty pan squash
corn
sungolds or red tomatoes
sweet peppers
broccoli-large shares only
lemon cucumber or slicing cucumber
lettuce
delicata squash
cauliflower-Tumwater only
delicata squash
ABOUT YOUR SQUASH: Don’t eat it yet! It needs a few weeks of sitting around to sweeten up. With only 3 more weeks of CSA after this one, we need to start passing out the winter squash. Your last box would be unbearably heavy if we waited till the very end. This variety, once fully cured, is the sweetest, creamiest squash there ever was. There are countless ways to cook a squash. The easiest is to cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and pulp, and bake cut side down in a rimmed baking dish with a half inch of water. Bake at 375 or so until skin pierces easily with a fork. You can even eat the skin of delicata. Check out the recipes the our website and/or have a little google session for more ideas.
Side note: If you ever bake a squash and it is bland and lacking sweetness, use it to make Cinderella pumpkin muffins. You can adjust the sugar to compensate for bland squash.
HOW MUCH LONGER IS THE CSA?
The Summer Season Share has 3 more weeks after this one. Height of the Season Shares have 1 more week after this one. If you Height of the Season folks want to keep going, let me know. We can prorate the last few weeks.
STORAGE SHARES: We have a handful of these left. They will be delivered on the last day of the Summer Season CSA at whatever pick up site you are currently using. The share consists of: 10 lbs yellow onions, 2 lbs red onions, 2 lbs cipollini onions, 2 lbs shallots, 1 lb garlic, 5 lbs each of 2 types of potatoes, & 15 lbs assorted winter squash. The cost is $75.
If you want to keep enjoying a CSA share when the main season ends, consider signing up for one or both fall shares.
EARLY FALL SHARE: Four additional deliveries starting in late October once the summer season ends. Since these crops store so well, we only offer the large size. We only offer weekend delivery of the fall share. You can pick it up at the farm, the Olympia Farmers Market, or the Tacoma Proctor Farmers Market. $110
LATE FALL SHARE: Yet another 4 weeks of yummy fall goodness. Delivery starts a week after the EARLY FALL SHARE ends. $110
NOTE: We only offer one size for the fall shares. Pretty much everything you get will store for quite awhile, so there is little risk of loss.
Crop anticipated for both fall shares: carrots (purple and orange), beets, rutabaga, turnips, parsnips, leeks, kale, chard, lettuce, dill, cilantro, arugula, potatoes, onions, garlic, shallots, winter squash, and possibly something new!
Enjoy the sun and your yummy veggies!
Jen, Jim, & the Rising River Farm Crew