BGF NEWS - September 20, 2022 - VOL. XLVIII, NO. 16

In this week’s box:

Beans: Provider (green) & Carson (yellow) Mix
Butternut Squash

Cherry Tomatoes: Jubilee Mix (see description on 8/2)
Head Lettuce: asst
Kale Bouquet: asst varieties

Scallions

Sweet Peppers: asst.
Tomatoes-Slicers: asst. (see description on 8/2)

Turnips: Hakurei

and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)

Broccoli Florets (with edible leaves)
Eggplant: Orient Express, Asian Delight or Listada (last time)
Okra: Candle Fire and Burgundy (last time)

Herb It! option: sweet basil, sorrel, anise hyssop
Bread Share: Rosemary Raisin Bites

Featured Recipes:  

Turnip, Apple & Butternut Squash Soup

Braised Kale and Turnips

BGF Squash and Sausage Bake **BGF favorite!** see below

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 1.5" (farmer & crop happy dance!)

The big news of the past week was the glorious rain on Saturday. Luckily we missed the hail that hit both north and south of us. The fall crops are already looking better and the recently sown oat cover crop is starting to germinate.

While the fall crops are stepping into the spotlight, many of the summer crops are calling it quits. This is the last week for both okra and eggplant. They have stopped putting on new fruits and the cooler weather later this week will likely finish them off. The field basil will likely be offended by the mid 40° temps that are forecast, so it will probably be farewell for it too, but we hope to pull the high tunnel basil through for another couple of weeks.

The ground cherries are done, the bed cleared and will shortly be in oats. The tomatoes are still producing, but they have slowed down quite a bit and probably only have a couple of weeks left. It is a time of change around the farm for sure! If you aren't doing enough you're likely to get "recycled"!

We are sending out Butternut squash this week and we're feeling a bit embarrassed about it. It was a rough season in our squash patch and the majority of them failed. Winter squash is such an iconic fall vegetable and we wanted folks to get to enjoy them but these are not squash we are proud of, merely the survivors. While they are edible, nearly all our butternuts had imperfections, so please use your squash in the next week or so as we don't think they will keep very long.

In the past couple of weeks, folks have started asking about the end of the season, so I guess it's time to talk about it and a couple of other dates of interest. The final CSA delivery is Tuesday, Oct 18th, so we still have 4 deliveries after today. After that date,we would be more than happy to continue to supply you with produce (and our other products) through our custom-order VegEmail program. Currently VegEmail is delivered weekly on Saturdays to the same location you pick up your CSA box. In November we will switch to our winter VegEmail schedule, which delivers every 2 weeks on Tuesday evenings, still to the same locations. 

I hope this answers your questions about the season transition. If you have any other questions about the CSA or about VegEmail, don't hesitate to ask.

Important Dates Ahead:

Tuesday, Oct 18, Final 2022 CSA delivery

Saturday, Oct 29, final Saturday weekly VegEmail delivery

Tuesday, Nov 8, first bi-weekly winter VegEmail delivery

A little detail on your produce this week:

Beans: Fresh beans are an easy "store." Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer. Can last up to 2 weeks.

Broccoli & Cauliflower: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If you soak broccoli or cauliflower in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.)

Eggplant: prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters. Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild. Many people like to peel, salt, and drain their eggplant to draw out any bitter flavor; however, bitterness develops only in eggplant that has been stored for a while, so with farm-fresh specimens this is generally not necessary. Many recipes call for salting in order to make the vegetable less watery and more absorbent—much like draining tofu. Salting is not an essential step, but it can greatly enhance the taste and texture of your dish and is well worth the extra effort.

Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."

Peppers: Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.

Scallions (green onions): are best kept upright in a glass with about 1" of water in it, more like flowers than vegetables. Loosely cover the tops with plastic and you will be amazed at how long they will keep. We like to throw a handful of chopped scallions into nearly any savory dish, right near the end of the cooking time.


Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.


Turnips: keep best if separated from their greens. Greens are stored in a plastic bag and can be cooked like mustard or collard greens. Trimmed roots can go into a lidded container or zip-close bag. These aren't your grandma's turnips. These are a sweet, Japanese salad variety that is particularly tasty for fresh eating. They will still work great in cooked dishes, but we love to eat them raw, often right out of hand, like an apple. One of the farm crew's favorite mid-field snacks.

Winter Squash: Store winter squash in a cool, dry, dark place with good ventilation for up to a month, depending on the variety. Once squash has been cut, you can wrap the pieces in plastic and refrigerate them for five to seven days. To make it easier to prep winter squash for your recipe, try the prebaking method: pierce the squash to allow heat to escape while it is in the oven, then bake the squash whole at 350° F until it is just barely tender to the poke of the finger, 20 to 30 minutes. This softens the shell and makes cutting and peeling much easier.

A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.  

** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..."  These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time.  We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item.  On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.

Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you? Do you want to read more about our life on the farm and see more pictures? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm or on Instagram at bluegatefarmfresh. CSA members can also connect with other BGF members to share recipes or ask questions on our FB community page at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That's about it for now.

If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know.

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and the whole BGF crew)

Sky, Wallace & Gromit

BGF Squash & Sausage Bake

2 1/2 pounds butternut squash or other winter squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup canned coconut milk

3 sage leaves (can sub rosemary or thyme)

2/3 cup finely grated parmigiano-reggiano

2 links Italian sausage, precooked, cut into rounds (this recipe is also tasty without the sausage)

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.

Toss squash with coconut milk, sage, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Bake, covered, 30 minutes.

Stir in half of cheese and sausage. Sprinkle remainder of cheese on top. Roast, uncovered, until squash is tender and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving (cream will thicken).

Cooks’ notes: •Butternut squash can be cut 1 day ahead and chilled in sealable bags.


Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm, adapted from www.epicurious.com