BGF News - September 24, 2019-Vol. XLII, No.17

BGF News - September 24, 2019-Vol. XLII, No.17

In this week’s box:

Baby lettuce bouquets

Beans: Carson (yellow) and/or Provider (green)

Butternut Squash

Carrots: Mix

Cherry Tomato Mix  

Garlic: Farmer's Folly

Scallions 

Sweet Peppers: Assorted

Tetragonia

Tomatoes: see descriptions in 7/30 newsletter post

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

Broccoli: Imperial or Belstar

Eggplant: Orient Express (dk purple) & or Orient Charm (lavender)
Okra: Bowling Red and/or Candle Fire

For those with the Egg option [Full & Half shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)

For those with the Herb option: Thai basil, pink celery, thyme

Featured Recipes:  ** indicates a BGF favorite 

Fresh Tomato Vinaigrette**

Garlic Roasted Peppers and Butternut Squash
BGF Squash & Sausage Bake** see Recipe below

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 1.9 "

After a very dry start to September, we were pretty pleased with our nearly 2" of slow & steady rain this weekend. It was just what the fall crops needed and we hope it marks the end of "irrigation season." The week does mark the end of the season for a number of crops. So far we've cleared the 2nd sowing of beans and the pole beans, nearly all of the basil, and the early broccoli,  chard and kale. Since we have more recent planting of most of those crops, you should continue to see them in your boxes through the end of the season. The exception is the basil, it came crashing to an end this week, so herb share will see one last taste of it today but that will be it until next year. We still have one last sowing of beans that is producing nicely, so those should continue for at least another week or so. We have been harvesting a good number of tomatoes, but the plants are really starting to show their age. We're glad we got the Salsa Box delivery in last week, because the volume of tomatoes is about to start to drop. The peppers and eggplants continue to do quite well, though they are slow to ripen.

The big crop that is finishing up now is the winter squash. We've spent a fair number of hours in the past week working on getting those out of the field. I think it might be the best winter squash crop we've had, across all of the varieties, which is nice. Now we just have to figure out where to store them all!

 The end of the season is drawing near, so here's the current plan:

October 15-  Final CSA delivery

October 26- Final Farmer Market

November 5-  First VegEmail Sale

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.

Buttercup Squash:

One of the most popular winter squash varieties, buttercup squash has a sweet and creamy orange flesh.  Containing more than 200% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin A, it is also high in vitamins C and B.  An added benefit is that buttercup squash is an excellent source of dietary fiber.
To prepare, wash the outside thoroughly.  Cut in half and remove the seeds and stringy pulp.  Place cut side down in a baking dish, add 1/2 cup of water and cover with aluminum foil.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until tender.  Buttercup squash can also be easily micro-waved.  Follow the above instructions, cover with wax paper, and micro-wave on High at 5-minute intervals until tender.  Serve with butter , salt and pepper or brown sugar.  Try a little parmesan cheese for variety.

Broccoli: Wrap broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak broccoli, 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 in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

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. A light "squeeze" is the best test for ripeness. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

 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 and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm and/or share your recipes, experiences and questions with other BGF members at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Luci, Indigo & Sky)

BGF News - August 27, 2019-Vol. XLII, No.13

Sharing the tomato love!

BGF News - August 27, 2019-Vol. XLII, No.13

In this week’s box:

Beans: Carson (yellow) and/or Provider (green)

Cherry Tomato Mix

Cucumbers: Lemon (round, yellow), Marketmore (English-type) or Suyo Long (long, Asian)

Delicata Squash

Shallots: Ambition (tan) and/or Prisma (purple)

Sweet Peppers: Ace (green to red), Islander (purple to orange)

Summer Squash: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini),  Patty

      Pan(scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)

Tetragonia: bundled greens with triangle-shaped leaves

Tomatoes: see descriptions in 7/30 newsletter post

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

Broccoli: Imperial or Belstar

Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget

For those with the Egg option [Full and Half shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)

For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, chives, lemon balm

Featured Recipes:  ** indicates a BGF favorite 

Roasted Delicata Squash

24 Best Delicata Squash recipes

Aussie Alfredo with Warrigal Greens (Tetragonia)

Green Beans with Shallots

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.1"

What a week it's been! This time last week we were wandering around the farm post storm, mostly in shock and disbelief. Fruit and landscape trees downed, part of the house roof in the front yard, high tunnels damaged and just general mayhem. However all the people and animals were safe, if a bit stunned, and we were trying to remind ourselves that is what is important. Now, thanks to help from family and friends, the debris is gone and if you weren't familiar with the farm, things don't look that unusual, until you look at the house. The roof is covered in high tunnel plastic (well, that at least, is convenient) the master bedroom is down to stud walls and the office is boarded up and stripped of carpet and drywall. This is currently our biggest challenge. There is also a large high tunnel standing naked in the field, but we try not to point that out. We hope to have it "re-clothed" within a few weeks. 

The business of the farm is moving forward, crops are recovering or have been cleared. The early summer squash and beans were winding down, so they have been sent to compost and those beds prepped and replanted with fall crops. More of that "recycling" will happen this week, as is the normal cycle for this time of year. The tender greens (lettuce, kale, chard) were pretty beat up in the storm and some will likely be thanked for their service and moved on, but others have rallied and we are sending a new one out to you this week. 

Tetragonia

Tetragonia (aka New Zealand Spinach) is a great summer spinach replacement, young leaves can be used raw, more mature leaves benefit from light cooking and can be used in any recipe calling for spinach or other mild greens. Though it may look like we forgot to clean it, Tetragonia hates to be washed before storing, so we made the choice to send it out dirty to keep it at top quality. Please wash just before using. We hope you enjoy this fresh, new green! 

Delicata Squash

While some of our mid-season crops like tomatoes are peppers are starting to mature and produce like crazy, others are slowing down after a long season of service, including cucumbers, melons and summer squash.  It looks like the winter squash crops weren't terribly offended by the storm and are mostly still going strong. We are excited to be sending out the first Delicata squash this week. We haven't grown this one in almost 15 years and are so pleased with it's performance this season. The first sowing of beans was cleared this week as the storm really finished those off, but the 2nd sowing is going strong...so strong in fact, that you are getting a double bean share this week. We hope you enjoy them! If you can't get through that many in a week, consider refrigerator pickles or blanching and freezing for winter enjoyment!

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: Wrap broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak broccoli, 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 in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

Cantaloupe:  If your cantaloupe seems a bit short of ripe, keep it at room temperature for a few days or until there is a sweet smell coming from the stem end. Once the melon ripens, store it in the refrigerator. It is best not to cut a cantaloupe until you are ready to eat it. If you need to return cut melon to the refrigerator, do not remove the seeds from the remaining sections as they keep the flesh from drying out. Use within 3-5 days.

 Cucumber: Store unwashed cucumbers in a sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin for about a week. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus—these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration. You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, but when it is young, fresh (and unwaxed), it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems tough or bitter you can remove it; if the seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out.

Delicata squash is a winter squash with green stripes, pale yellow skin, and sweet, orange-yellow flesh. Although considered a winter squash, delicata squash is in the summer squash family. Like summer squash the skin of the delicata is edible, although the seeds are usually removed. Delicata squash has a sweet flavor and is best enjoyed right after harvest unlike other storage variety squash. Delicata squash is most commonly baked, but can also be sautéed or steamed. Delicata squash is perfect for stuffing. The seeds of the squash can also be eaten, toast after cleaning the pulp. Delicata squash is a good source of dietary fiber and potassium.Store delicata squash in a cool, dry place like a basement or cellar for a few weeks.  In the refrigerator or on the counter use within a week or two.

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.

Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go!

Tetragonia:

also known as New Zealand spinach, it is highly nutritious and excellent sautéed, stirfried, quickly steamed, or in soups or stews in any recipe calling for spinach or other mild greens. Store in the refrigerator in a ziplock bag with a damp paper towel for up to a week. Extra leaves may be frozen as well for long-term storage. Try adding it to your next salad or burrito!

Tomatoes:

 always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. A light "squeeze" is the best test for ripeness. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. 

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 and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm and/or share your recipes, experiences and questions with other BGF members at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Luci, Indigo & Sky)