In the Box

  • Broccoli
  • Haricot Vert
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Delicata Squash
  • Parsley
  • Roma Tomatoes
  • Hot Peppers
  • Cucumbers
  • Lemon Balm
  • Cutting Celery

As we head into mid-September, the summer veggies are waning while the fall vegetables are coming in strong. This will be the end of the green beans and the beginning of the fall broccoli. Tomatoes are still being harvested, but the quantities are getting smaller.

Red peppers are the exception. We are having a bumper crop this week. Remember that peppers are very easy to store for the winter. (Refer to last week’s newsletter for details). Roasted peppers are very easy to make and freeze. They are very expensive to buy, so take advantage of our surplus and roast some of your own.

Monday morning (our CSA harvest day) dawned cold and drizzly. One of the advantages of the rain is it keeps down the mosquitoes. But the down side of a rainy Monday is that we cannot harvest basil, as it will turn black. So we cut some different herbs for your boxes. Parsley is a familiar herb. Lemon balm has been in your boxes once before this season. You can use it to make iced or hot tea. Or you can chop it up and add it to fish, chicken, or roasted vegetable dishes about 1-2 minutes before the dish is done.

The other herb in your boxes is called cutting celery. It looks just like Italian parsley, but smells like celery. True celery is a very hard crop to grow in our climate. Every time I’ve tried the result has been very strong flavored celery. So I’m trying the cutting celery. Just chop it up (including the leaves) and use it wherever you would use celery. I’ve used it in soups, egg salad, tuna salad and pasta salads.

You also got several delicata squash in your box. We are having some problems with our winter squash. You may remember my writing about the squash maturing earlier than normal. We had to harvest it much earlier than we expected. Well, it has been out in too much sun and rain. We did try to erect a tarp about 4 feet above the squash to cast some shade. It has helped some, but the delicata is still showing some stress.

So we gave you lots of delicata squash this week. They may have a few spots on them, but I thought it was better to give them to you now instead of composting them. They are a very tasty squash and should be cooked right away. Just cut them in half, lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and any spots. You can bake or steam them until they are tender. You can freeze any excess for use at a later date. By the way, the skins are edible as well. If you don’t want to eat them, try giving them to your dogs or cats. Mine love delicata squash.

The rest of the squash seem to be doing better. There will be more of them in the weeks to come. It does look like I need to build some more vegetable storage space as we are currently using all we have. One more thing to add to the list…

This Week’s Recipes


News from the Farm

This last week I have discovered that a farmer’s sanity is directly proportional to the number of mosquitoes buzzing around her head. We all looked like colorful bank robbers out in the fields. We had to be covered everywhere except our eyes. Wind, rain, or midday sun helped as did bug spray.

About 25 folks braved the mosquitoes to come to the farm party on Saturday. We had a great potluck with dishes falling into 2 food groups - tomatoes and chocolate. All of it was delicious. Thanks for coming.