CSA Week 15: The grateful edition with recipes from the CSA potluck

In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables: Slicing and paste tomatoes, carrots, German extra hardy garlic, gold potatoes, parsley, braising mix, arugula, yellow onions, green pepper, summer squash, and green cabbage. Half shares in Duluth will receive a delicata squash; everyone else will get a delicata next week.

This newsletter includes a roundup of news from the farm as well as information and recipes. Feel free to jump to the bottom of the newsletter to find the section titled, “This week’s veggies and recipes.”

News from the farm

On Sunday morning, we slept late. It was cool and still and very quiet. A cup of coffee and then out to the spot we call The Grove to clean up from Saturday’s end-of-season potluck. 

The cleanup took a while, not because there was a lot to do, but because there was so much to be distracted by. Overhead, migrating raptors glided south, sometimes forming into spiraling kettles. In the high tunnel, a trio of juvenile cedar waxwings were flitting about, eating bugs. On the ground, a white-crowned sparrow joined them. Each day in September, surprising birds show up as they join the mass migration south. 

Heather-Marie’s flowers were alive with brilliant colors of rust and yellow and signs of early fall. But, they were also just alive: sparrows and goldfinches joined bees, wasps and other pollinators on every blooming flower.

We paused for a moment and looked across the fields that slope down the hill, framed by the rolling hills and trees beginning to turn color at the edges of the farm. 

It’s been a long season, and we are tired. We suspect some newsletter readers may be tired of hearing us document the challenges of this growing season and of growing vegetables at 45.6 degrees North, what the USDA calls Zone 3b, one of the coldest growing zones in the United States. 

So, on this Sunday morning (and in this newsletter), we want to pause for a moment and express our gratitude – for this farm and this land and this life we are privileged to have.

But the farm itself is secondary to the people who have helped us get to where we are.

It’s easy to let the work overshadow everything else. 

At our potluck on Saturday, we excitedly walked the fields with CSA members who had come to help us earlier in the season, so they could see the result of their efforts. We got to show a 9-year-old girl how to harvest her first carrot, dig her first potato and pluck her first sweet pepper. That night we sat around the firepit we constructed from rocks that were cleared from our land by those who lived here before us, joined by a handful of friends and family.

A rich life. It’s a saying we repeat often, echoing the voice of John’s stepfather, Jack Dalton. 

It’s important to take time to be grateful. In fact, research suggests you’ll live longer if you do. 

Images from the week

This week’s veggies and recipes

We decided to dedicate this weeks’ newsletter to the food and recipes that people brought to the potluck.  It was quite a feast!

Parsley: Mark Bittman’s Chimichurri Sauce

We have been saving this recipe for a delivery when we had both garlic and parsley. Normally, this is a sauce used on grilled meats, but we have found it is a wonderful sauce to spoon on roasted or grilled vegetables. We make this sauce A LOT.  Make it in batches and freeze it!

John made this sauce over roasted purple potatoes and red peppers for the potluck.

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped parsley
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 T fresh lemon juice
• 2 T minced garlic
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper, optional
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Grilled vegetables, optional

Instructions

In a bowl, or blender, mix the parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and crushed red pepper; season with salt and pepper. Serve right away, passing the chimichurri sauce at the table.

Braising mix and arugula

We’ve mentioned before how much we love this braising mix, or as we like to call it, “magic greens mix”.  It’s so versatile!  And now it’s paired with another love of ours: arugula.  It just tastes so…fresh!  We love it on pizza but are also fans of eating it raw in salads.  So, for the potluck, Heather-Marie found this recipe and decided on a nice fresh, green salad for the potluck.  

Herby Sun-dried Tomato, Greens and Arugula Salad

From Half Baked Harvest Everyday

• ⅓ c mixed seeds, such as pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and pine nuts
• 1 T salted butter
• 1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
• 1 T chopped fresh oregano
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 1 bunch kale, or braising greens
• 4 c baby arugula
• 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1 8-oz jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, oil drained and reserved, tomatoes chopped
• ¼ c fresh dill, roughly chopped
• ¼ c fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• ¼ c fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 T chopped fresh chives
• 6 oz goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 or 2 avocados

Make the salad:  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden and tasted, 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer the seeds to a plate.

To the same skillet, add the butter, chickpeas, oregano, and pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are crisped all over, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large serving bowl, combine the kale, or braising mix, arugula, cucumbers, sun-dried tomatoes, dill, basil, parsley, and chives.  Add the crispy chickpeas and toss to combine well.

Make the vinaigrette:  In a medium owl, whisk ⅓ c of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil with the lemon juice, vinegar, and honey.  Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad.  Toss to coat.  Top the salad with the toasted seeds, goat cheese, and avocado.  Serve. 

Kraig’s Summer Squash Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs summer/yellow squash, chopped
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 1/4 cups dry herb stuffing (the brand is up to you, we used Stovetop!)
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons butter, not melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Saute squash and onion together in the two tablespoons of butter until veggies are soft

Drain well

Combine veggies with soup, sour cream, salt, and pepper

Add half of the stuffing and all of the cheddar cheese into the mixture and spread into a greased 9×13 casserole dish

Mix remaining herb stuffing with melted butter and sprinkle over the top of the casserole. You can also add  some unsoftened stuffing for a little extra crunch. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown. 

Heather-Marie did not make this for the potluck but she did make it this past week.  A fall favorite. 

Curried Potato/Zucchini Soup

Heather-Marie has been making this soup for ages.  It’s one of her favorites.  In the recipe there are instructions for making your own curry powder.  Heather-Marie hasn’t bought curry since and she gets a lot of compliments on it.  Enjoy! 

• 4 T butter
• 2 large onions, coarsely chopped
• ½ tsp curry powder (from homemade mix of ½ tsp each of turmeric, cayenne, black pepper, cumin and ground     ginger; 2 tsp ground coriander)
• 6 c water
• 3 tsp chicken bouillon, or vegetable
• 3 tsp mushroom or vegetable bouillon
• 3 c diced potatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 6 c chopped zucchini

Cook the onions with the curry powder in the butter until soft.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook until potatoes and zucchini are soft.  Purée and taste for seasonings.