CSA Week 11: Return to Summer

With cooler days, clouds, and breezes that felt distinctly like fall, last week seemed like fall was coming early. But this week promises to be lovely hot summer weather. I prefer when summer weather continues well into September, so that we can continue to enjoy summer crops and be sure that the winter crops reach their full maturity. 

Despite the summer weather continuing, the tasks around here are transitioning towards end-of-season rituals. Last week we pulled all the storage onions from the fields and laid to dry under the shelter of our greenhouse. Once the onion tops have dried down completely, we will trim them and place in bulb trays for storage. On good years, we can store enough good quality onions to last our family through the winter and up until the first green onions become available the next season. Like the cucumbers, the onions got downy mildew this year so we may not be able to store them for as long but you shouldn’t notice any difference with the onions you receive in your shares. While we wait for these onions to be ready, you will receive a couple weeks of fresh white bulb onions.

Self-sufficiency is one of the main reasons we farm and live the way we do. Although there is so much more I would like to ‘put away’, we are able to save a large portion of the food we produce for the winter months. This weekend, I roasted an oven full of eggplant, which is then frozen for roasted eggplant dip in the winter. If you are overwhelmed with the eggplant in your shares, roasted eggplant freezes beautifully. Simply roast for 40-50 minutes at 400 degrees. Let cool and place into freezer bags. I’ve included the recipe for roasted eggplant dip in the recipe section below. Just make sure to pierce the skin of the eggplant in several places before roasting. I made the mistake of forgetting to do this once and let me say that scraping exploded eggplant flesh from the interior of the oven is not a fun task!

In addition to the eggplant, we spend a lot of time preparing for storage. So far this season I (with lots of help from Erin and Kimmy) have added chopped tomatoes, minced jalapenos, shredded zucchini,  and blanched green beans and broccoli to the freezer. I’ve also canned 3 types of jam and pickled beets. Normally, I do lots of pickles and relish but the dearth of cucumbers prevented this.  There is something immensely satisfying about the sight of a fully stocked larder!

Rob is king of the dehydrator in our house and he uses as many leafy greens as he can get his hands on, dehydrates them and grinds into a powder to be used in our smoothies in the winter months. He also dehydrates various herbs and plants such as anise hyssop, peppermint, nettle, burdock root, dandelion root, and raspberry leaves to be used in teas year round. 

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Rob and Kimmy have also been very busy picking and packaging seabuckthorn berries (also known as seaberry). Seabuckthorn are tart, citrus like berries that are considered a superfood. They have the highest Vitamin E content of any plant and have much higher levels of Vitamin C than an orange. Click here for more details of their health benefits. Primarily, we use them in smoothies but we are experimenting with seabuckthorn powder, fruit leather, and jelly this year. We will be selling frozen berries to share members at a later date for $4 for 100 grams with bulk discounts available. Stay tuned for more details! 

A reminder to share members that ordered chickens – they will be delivered with your shares this week. I have sent an email to each of you with further details.  

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Weekly Share Contents:


Leaf Lettuce or Spinach
Red Potatoes
Zucchini
Green and Yellow Beans
Eggplant
Green Peppers
Onions
Tomatoes
Ground Cherries or Tomatillos

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Recipe Ideas:

Roasted Eggplant Dip
1 medium eggplant
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 - 3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp coriander
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.