That's all folks! See you next year!
Gosh. The CSA season just flew by for us. It is hard to believe we are already at the end. And it is harder still to believe how much food we harvested this past week. We had a really difficult time deciding what to squeeze into the boxes! But before we tell you all about your Finale Box, let us say a ginormous THANK YOU! You are the reason we get to do this wonderful work, Farm Members, and we are endlessly grateful for your support of our little homestead venture here at Circle M.
We really wanted to highlight the fall superstars in this October box, so we've loaded you up with those colorful root crops: red beets, golden carrots, deep orange sweet potatoes and pink radishes. In addition we have a small hard squash for each of you, to celebrate the harvest season. Of course, no Circle M box would be complete without multi-hued greens, so we've got mixed head lettuces in green, speckled, red and maroon, as well as our ever-popular kale bouquets. But we had a few late summer surprises we popped in as well: dill and Napa cabbage!
Unfortunately, there was a lot out there we couldn't squeeze into the boxes, or we couldn't pick because it wasn't quite ready yet. We may offer a limited amount of Fall Bounty Shares again this year, so let us know if you are interested in that. But we want to invite all of you to come out and pick your own after-the-box goodies as they become ready. We'll stay in touch with the blog, facebook and email and let you know what looks good in the fields. Then you just give us a call if you want to come out and glean with the crew.
We do hope to see you at our Wild and Wooly Farm Festival, this Saturday, October 19 from 2 til night. We will have felting and spinning activities set up to play with all day, and we'll be taking farm tours to visit veggies and animals. In addition, there's a big potluck with live bluegrass music at 6pm and bonfires with s'mores all evening. Come on out and see us!
Here's what's in the box:
Head Lettuce - We love growing special lettuces that would never make it to the grocery store, or even to the farmer's market, because they are so fragile. We've given you heads of different colors and textures this week so you can mix up a beautiful tasty salad several times this week. Add some leaves from your arugula bunches, too, and top with sliced radishes or thinly shaved fennel. Dress with a lemon balm vinaigrette and take advantage of all that early fall has to offer!
Napa Cabbage (Full Shares Only) - Yay! A crunchy fresh treat. Sorry, Shorties, these were just too big to fit in your boxes. Our European cabbage took a terrible hit from cabbage moths this year, so it was all too buggy to pack for you, but these pretty Asian open-head cabbages are gorgeous and somehow escaped the worms from moth larvae. Our Amish friends enjoy these leaves spread with peanut butter, but we tend to mostly make them into Asian-flavored slaws or shred them into rice paper spring rolls.
Arugula Bunches (Shortie Shares Only) - Ah, the arugula gets so mild and sweet in the fall weather. I LOVE arugula salad with eggs for breakfast. Think I'm crazy? Try this dressed with buttermilk and sprinkled liberally with pepper and goat or feta cheese crumbles. Breakfast!
Eggplant - We certainly hope you aren't sick of these yet. They are so good this year, we really can't get enough roasted or grilled.
Peppers - A colorful bunch of all sweet peppers for you this week.
Fennel (Full Shares Only) - These barely grew big enough for us to harvest this year, so y'all each are only getting one. Try sliced thinly over salad or roast and enjoy the soft, sweet sections with a bit of blue cheese dressing.
Radishes (Shortie Shares Only) - So pretty, tender and sweet.
Kale - Prettier and sweeter then ever. We've gotten so much great feedback on our mixed Kale bouquets this year, so it's our great pleasure to pack them again.
Herb Bags: Dill, Oregano, Lovage/Celery, Parsley, Sage - All of these herbs should last a week or two, but drying them for the winter is never a bad idea. Our dill is quite incredible. Not sure why, but it was extremely happy in the fall plot and we are delighted to bring it to you. Cut over your salads or season glazed carrots or roasted beets. Yum!
Carrots - Boy o boy are we proud of these carrots. Not just beautiful but sweet. What a year for them! And now after a few frosts, they'll be extra sweet. Roast, snip dill over and drizzle lightly with honey and vinegar.
Beets - Did you know that frost makes root crops, and other hardy winter veggies, sweeter? Basically the whole idea of what doesn't kill you makes you sweeter. The beets were good last week, now they are GREAT. Try roasting with the carrots for a pretty side dish or mound over lettuce for a wilted salad. Terrific with dill. Don't forget to save and eat your greens! Mix in with kale if you don't like the taste of the beet greens, which is very similar to swiss chard. I love them with eggs for breakfast. Saute, add eggs, sprinkle with Parmesan or Gruyere cheese.
Sweet Potatoes - Gorgeous, tasty, unique. These white and garnet sweet potatoes will look gorgeous on the plate. So enjoy, but NOT YET! Sweet potatoes must cure for a week or two to develop the full sweetness in the tubers. So hold off for a little bit.
Hard Squash - We had an absolutely AWFUL melon and squash year. Not sure why, actually. Bug pressure was minimal. The semi-drought was a bit stressful, but we had drip tape on the vines. In any case, we've got just these little squash for you, but it worked out OK since the boxes were so full!
Please do head over to the Farmer Kriss Pinterest page and our Box 10 Recipe Blog for lots of ideas on eating all of this yummy produce.