THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

In a nutshell: Kim-chi week! And the Winter Squash train starts rolling

Arugula, Mustard Mix, Little Gem Lettuces, Assorted Head Lettuce, Rainbow Chard, Bok Choi, Celery, Nabechan Scallions, Napa Cabbage, Daikon Radish, Sweet Peppers, Romance Carrots, Sunshine Kabocha Winter Squash, Summer Squash & Zucchini, Elsye Yellow Onions, Bintje Potatoes, Heirloom & Red Slicing Tomatoes

U-PICK

Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins: 1 pumpkin per person in your share — season limit
Albion Strawberries: 2 pints per share
Cherry Tomatoes: 3 pint per share
Jalapeños: 5 peppers per share | If you like your jalapeños hot, look for peppers with checking (little cracks) on them
Buena Mulata Peppers: 1 peppers per share | Usable at any color, but with more fruity flavor when ripe red or orange
Habanero Peppers: 5 pepper per share | Ripe when orange
Aji Limo Peppers: 4 pepper per share | Ripe when yellow. This citrusy Peruvian pepper is traditionally used in ceviche. Sometimes called Lemon Drop in the US.
Goldilocks Beans: Gleanings
Herbs: Italian Basil, Thai Basil, Tulsi Basil, Parsley, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Oregano, Marjoram, Culinary Sage, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso (Perilla), Culinary Lavender, French Sorrel, Violas, Thyme and Mints.
Flowers!

HARVEST NOTES

This is likely the last week for Tomatoes and Summer Squash! We hope you’ve indulged in Summer to its fullest and are now ready to enjoy the rich bounty of Fall.
Sunshine Kabocha: The village beauty. A fiery-red Kabocha squash with sugar-sweet and flaky flesh. An all time farmer favorite and down for anything. Exceptional for pumpkin pie and straight roasted eating. Beautiful in soups, curries and pumpkin bread. See the Farmer’s Log below for a description of all the varieties of Winter Squash we’re set to enjoy this year!
Napa Cabbage & Kimchi: Welcome to Kimchi week, the week when Kayta’s magical crop planning skills make Napa Cabbage, Scallions, and Daikon Radish align together on the harvest table! We’ll include a recipe below for classic mak kimchi, where the cabbage is chopped before being seasoned. For a more mellow version without red pepper, check out this white Kim-chi recipe sent to us by CSA member Robin Kim. Robin made a vegan version of the white Kim-chi recipe for us last year that was one of our all-time favorite farm preserves. She substituted the salted shrimp and fish sauce with Bragg’s aminos / soy sauce and also omitted the alliums. It was mellow but still packed with flavor. For the jujubes, chestnuts, pine nuts, and rice flour, Robin recommends visiting Asiana Market in Cotati or Asia Mart in Santa Rosa.

KIMCHI Recipe

by Amy Kim of Kimchi Mom, via Steamy Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

7 pounds of napa cabbage
about 1/3 cup kosher salt
1 cup sweet rice flour (Mochiko is a popular brand)
2 cups water
3/4 cup red pepper flakes, medium coarseness
1/4 cup chopped saewoo jjut (salted shrimp)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
A scant 1/2 cup sugar
5-7 stalks green onion, chopped
2 ounces ginger (2-inch long, 1-inch diameter piece), minced
8-9 medium garlic cloves, minced
3 medium carrots, julienned
1 medium-sized daikon or 1 small mu (Korean radish), thinly sliced in 2-inch sections
water

INSTRUCTIONS

Preparing the sweet rice flour paste:

Whisk together the sweet rice flour and water in a small saucepan. Keep whisking the mixture until bubbles form on the surface. Once this occurs, take the saucepan off the heat and set aside to cool.

Preparing the cabbage:

Discard any wilted or discolored leaves. Starting at the base of the stem, cut the cabbage about one-third of the way down. Then pull apart the cabbage halves to completely separate them. Do the same with the halved portions - cut and pull apart. Repeat for all the cabbage heads. At this point, you can give the quarters a quick rinse under running water and shake off any excess water.
Trim the core at a diagonal. Cut the quarters into 2-inch wide pieces and place in an oversized bowl (I used a 12 qt. bowl) or use a couple of large bowls. Sprinkle generously with salt. Alternate layers of cabbage and salt. Once all the cabbage is cut, give the cabbage a toss and sprinkle more salt on top. Place a weight on top of the cabbage. Two dinner plates works well for me.
Let the salted cabbage sit for at least 3 hours. Don't worry if you go over (in the video, I let mine sit overnight since I couldn't tend to it at 3 hours). After 1 hour, give the cabbage another toss.

Preparing the sauce:

While the cabbage is close to being ready, prepare the red pepper sauce. In a medium bowl, mix kochukaru (red pepper flakes), water, saewoo jjut, fish sauce, green onions, sugar, ginger, garlic, rice flour paste, and about a 1/2 cup water. Mix thoroughly. Taste. It should be balanced – not too salty, not too fishy, not to spicy and not too sweet. Adjust seasonings at this point. The consistently should be akin to very thick batter. Add a bit more water if necessary. Mix in carrots and radish. Set aside.
Once the cabbage is ready (the volume of the cabbage should have decreased, and it should be a bit wilted), rinse the cabbage under cold running water and let drain in a colander. Once drained, place the cabbage in a large bowl.
At this point you may want to put clean plastic gloves on especially if you have sensitive skin. Add the sauce to the cabbage. Thoroughly mix the sauce and cabbage and make sure every piece of cabbage is coated with the red pepper sauce. Taste. If it needs more salt, add a bit of fish sauce. But you don’t want it to be too salty.
Transfer the cabbage mixture into a large glass jar. Press down on the cabbage as you are filling the jar. Leave about 1-inch of space from the top.
Don’t throw the empty bowl in the sink just yet. Pour in about 1 cup of water into the bowl. Add about a teaspoon of salt to start, and stir. Swirl the water around to make sure you get all the remaining pepper mixture. Taste. Again, you don’t want it too salty – just a hint of salt. Fill the jar with the water until it barely covers the cabbage.
Press down on the cabbage again and make sure the liquid has made its way throughout the jar. Close the lid tightly.
Leave the jars at room temperature** for about a day away from direct sunlight. I leave mine out for about 24-30 hours. This is when the magic happens. You may want to place the jar in a shallow bowl or plate in case there is leakage.
After those 24 or so excruciating hours, sample the kimchi. There should be a slight tang. At this point it is ready to be refrigerated. You can eat the kimchi right away, but I prefer to wait at least a week to indulge. The kimchi will continue to ferment at a much slower pace in the refrigerator and will keep for about 4 weeks. The kimchi will turn really sour at this point and if you have any left in the jar, it will be perfect for jigae, fried rice, ramen or jun.

*Morning light on our Fall veg field with the dried sweet corn stalks in the distance.*

FARMERS LOG

AN ODE TO WINTER SQUASH

Last week, we penned an ode to the mighty Potato. In few weeks we’ll serenade Corn. 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 the protein rich and medicinal seeds to the sweet flesh and winter hardy skins. Botanists note at least six separate domestication events. (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 by a roaring fire 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 December 19th. Allow us to introduce you…

2023’s Winter Squash crew: Top Row from L to R: Sunshine Kabocha, Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin, Black Futsu, Butternut /// Bottom Row from L to R: Bonbon Buttercup, Delicata, Marina di Chioggia, Jester Acorn, Sweet Jade Kabocha

Sunshine Kabocha: The village beauty. A fiery-red Kabocha squash with sugar sweet and flaky flesh. An all time farmer favorite and down for anything. 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. New to the farm this year!
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 your farmer’s opinion, the best squash ever. Marriage material.

Delicata: A real heartbreaker. The sweetest. Easy to cook, even easier to eat.
Marina di Chioggia: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder for this warty wonder. A beloved squash of Venice, Italy, 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 stunner, we’re excited to taste this new to us, personal-sized grey green Kabocha.

So set the table, poor the wine, and light the candles — we hope you fall in love with one of these Winter Squash this Autumn!

See you in the fields,
David & Kayta