THIS WEEK’S HARVEST
Yukon Gold Potatoes, Sunshine Kabocha Winter Squash, Garlic, Yellow Elsye Onions, Bolero Carrots, Watermelon Radishes, Celery, Green Magic Broccoli, Cauliflower, Dazzling Blue Dino Kale, Sugarloaf Chicory & Indigo Red Radicchio, Salanova Red Butter Lettuce, Spicy Mustard Mix
U-PICK
We’re at the time of the season where we expect a killing frost any day, and as soon as that happens, the strawberries and many of the flowers will disappear, so take advantage while they’re still here! We are planning to mow the tomatoes and peppers this week to make way for cover crop, but feel free to glean from the plants before then.
Albion Strawberries | 2 pints per share
Herbs: Dill, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Culinary Sage, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso (Perilla), Catnip, Pineapple, Sorrel, Assorted Mints & Husk Cherries!
Flowers!
HARVEST NOTES
Yukon Gold Potatoes: These deliciously smooth, buttery potatoes are a long-time favorite, but they have a weakness that was magnified by the challenging growing conditions in our potato field this year. Some Yukon Gold develop hollow heart, which leaves a cave-like space in the center of the potato. We’ve tried to be very selective in which potatoes we keep of this variety, but please be aware that you may find a few tricks in your treats.
Sunshine Winter Squash: One of our all-time favorite squash. Excellent for eating straight roasted (check out our guide to roasting from this newsletter if you need a reminder!). Also excellent in pies, curries, soups, and baked goods. Super sweet, velvety smooth texture.
Watermelon Radishes: This is a hardy, dense, and gorgeous winter radish with a green and cream exterior and vivid magenta core. We love it on top of a green salads, rice bowls or highlighted as a small salad of its own — try mandolining (cutting very thin) and tossing with ginger, garlic and lime juice. All storage radishes, including daikon, benefit from a very light peeling, which takes away a bit of their bitterness. Check out two Buddha bowl recipes below.
FALL HARVEST POTLUCK PARTY!
Sunday, November 17th, 2024
CSA member Carl Jaeger has volunteered to organize a fun and festive Harvest Potluck Party here on the farm on November 17th! Come chow down and mix and mingle with fellow CSA members. You should have gotten an an email with more information and a chance to RSVP. Let us know if you didn’t receive it, and want to!
Fall Carrots and cover crop seeds getting watered in Farfield under an epic sky.
BUDDHA BOWL TWO WAYS
This week, rather than an exact recipe, we wanted to bring you a little bit of meal inspiration and a couple dressing recipes. Buddha bowls are a mainstay at vegetarian restaurants and, with a little bit of prep, an incredibly easy and healthy meal at home. They typically involve cooked brown rice or quinoa, topped with an assortment of vegetables all tied together with a delicious dressing. We've included two different dressing options — a creamy and bright Carrot Ginger Dressing and a classic Tahini Dressing — that could be paired to any combination of veggies and protein on the rice.
For this week's share, we're thinking roasted Sunshine Kabocha wedges, thinly sliced Watermelon Radishes, sauteed Dazzling Blue Dino Kale and a handful of Spicy Mustard Mix. Sauerkraut, kimchi and avocado would all be a welcome addition to the top, as would a sprinkle of nuts of seeds. Have fun!
Carrot Ginger Dressing
from Cookie + Kate
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup rice vinegar
2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped (about ⅔ cup)
2 tablespoons peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey
1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
In a blender, combine all of the salad dressing ingredients as listed. Bend until completely smooth. Taste, and add additional salt if the dressing doesn’t make your eyes light up. If it’s too sour (it should have some zing to it), blend in a bit more honey.
Basic Tahini Sauce
from Love & Lemons
½ cup tahini
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons water, plus more as needed
1 small garlic clove, grated or pressed
½ teaspoon sea salt
Maple syrup or honey, as needed
Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
In a small bowl, stir together the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, and salt. Season to taste. If you find the tahini sauce too bitter, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon maple syrup or honey to balance the flavor. If it’s too sharp, add ½ to 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil to mellow the flavor. If it's too thick, add water, as needed, to reach your desired consistency.
WINTER SISTER FARM CSA STARTING SOON!
Going to miss us this winter? Well you’re in luck! Our dear friends next door at Winter Sister Farm have got you covered with the freshest veggies money can buy all winter and spring.
Memberships include diverse winter-hardy veggies such as broccoli, carrots, potatoes, onions, winter squash, lettuce, kale, chard, as well as access to a small u-pick garden with cold hardy herbs and spring flowers. Click here to get all the details on this wonderful CSA program and to reserve your spot today!
FARMER’S LOG
AN ODE TO WINTER SQUASH
A few weeks ago, we penned an ode to the mighty potato. In few weeks we’ll serenade el maíz. Both are New World crops that changed the world and inspired poets. But this week we save for the fairest of them all: The beloved oldest of the three sisters — the winter squash.
She takes on infinite forms, from voluptuous to svelte; from burning red to the palest blue. She has been kindling a bashful and loyal love in humanity’s heart for over 10,000 years.
The ancestral plants of what we call squash (the species including zucchini, melons, gourds, cucumbers, pumpkins and all winter squash) are millions of years old and native to the Americas. The earliest evidence for human domestication dates back 10,000 years to southern Mexico, earlier than the domestication of corn or beans.
Word travelled fast and inspiration abounded. By 2,000 B.C., squash had became a part of life for almost every Native American culture from Southern Canada to Patagonia — varietals were kept and cherished for everything from their protein rich and medicinal seeds to the sweet flesh and winter hardy skins. Botanists note at least six separate domestication events occurred in the Americas. (The English word “squash” comes from the Narragansett word, askutasquash, meaning fresh vegetable, and similar words can be found in the Algonquian language family.)
Here at West County Community Farm, the human + squash love affair burns bright — and we’re lucky to have at our fingertips the unparalleled modern library of heirloom squash seeds to explore. Over the winter, Kayta hunkered down with a seed catalogue and a good cup of coffee and laid out a season-long love sonnet to squash: We felt the summer wind with a cool slice of Persian cucumber; we dined by candlelight over pasta with Costata Romanesca Zucchini; and once we tasted a Sarah’s Choice Cantaloupe, we could never forget.
But in the winter, our true love came — the Winter Squash.
We’ll have a new squash for you to get to know almost every week from now until our last CSA pickup of the year, December 10th. Allow us to introduce you…
Sunshine Kabocha: The village beauty. A fiery-red Kabocha squash with sugar sweet and flaky flesh. An all-time farmer favorite that can be cooked any which way. Exceptional for pumpkin pie and straight roasted eating.
Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin: The supreme pie pumpkin in lacy lingerie. The only pie pumpkin that can compete with a Sunshine Kabocha. We'll distribute this one around Thanksgiving with our go-to pumpkin pie recipe.
Black Futsu: A beloved Japanese delicacy, this bite sized, mini Butternut relative has bright orange flesh with unique fruity flavor and edible skin with a gorgeous frosted look.
Butternut: The solid, reliable, bring-’em-home-to-Daddy squash with a nutty charm.
Bonbon Buttercup: The girl next door. Unassuming, humble, and cute as a button. BonBon Buttercup is, in farmer David’s opinion, the best squash ever. Marriage material.
Delicata: A real heartbreaker. The sweetest. Easiest to cook, even easier to eat.
Marina di Chioggia: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder for this warty wonder. A beloved heirloom squash from an island in the Venice lagoon, we'll include some tips on how to handle this bombshell when we distribute it later on.
Jester Acorn: A Delicata type that looks like a fancy Acorn Squash. A good Jester can be among the sweetest of squashes.
Sweet Jade: A real cutie — a personal-sized grey green Kabocha.
Set the table, poor the wine, and light the candles — we hope you fall in love with a winter squash this autumn!
See you in the fields,
David
CSA BASICS
Drive slow! Please drive slow on Cooper Rd. and in our driveway / parking lot area. Kids at play!
No dogs: Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on the farm.
What time is harvest pick-up?:
Saturday harvest pick-ups run from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Tuesday harvest pick-ups will run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to u-pick and enjoy the farm.
Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.
Where is the food? The produce pick-up barn is just to the right of the solar panels and above our big greenhouse. You can’t miss it!
2024 CSA program dates: Our harvest season will run from Saturday, June 15th through Tuesday, December 10th this year.
