CSA News for the Week of September 14th

This Week's Vegetable Share:

• Beefsteak Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Arugula
• Assorted Sweet Peppers
• Broccoli
• Romano Beans
• Cilantro
• Celeriac
• Carrots
• Scarlet Turnips
• Fresh Thyme

This Week's Fruit Share:

• Bartlett Pears
• Green Grapes
• Purple Grapes
  

Next week is the final week of the fruit share. If you'd like to register for the 4-week fruit share extension, please return your registration form by Thursday, September 24th. Thanks!

Farm Journal

According to the kitchen clock it's 7 o'clock and the accumulated heat of a hard day's work has finally begun to dissipate. A cool breeze slides in through the window as I scoop sliced peaches into plastic bags and ladle lemon-honey syrup over the top. The last bag goes into the freezer and I turn to stir the pot of applesauce that's bubbling away on the stovetop. I extinguish the flame under the pot before bending down to pull a tray of roasted tomatoes out of the oven. Once the tomatoes have cooled I'll put them into plastic bags and slide them into the freezer next to the peaches. I've finished for today, but the work will resume tomorrow and will continue until I've filled every square inch of our freezer.

This is one of my favorite times of year. Yes, the process of preserving, pickling, jamming, freezing, etc, is a lot of work, but there's nothing quite so satisfying as putting up food for the winter that's been grown right here within sight of my kitchen window. The abundance can be almost overwhelming this time of year, and I've found that it helps to stick to processing techniques that are as simple and quick as possible. (For this reason, I don't tend to make jam in the summertime. I freeze fruit now and then make jam during the winter when I've got more time.) In the case of our tomato crop, we realized early last week that we really did have more than we could handle ourselves, so we happily called on the real professionals to help us make the most of the unexpected abundance. The professionals in question are the folks at Contract Comestibles, a small-scale food processing plant in East Troy, Wisconsin. We've worked with Contract Comestibles each fall for the last 5 years in order to turn our excess tomatoes into packages of tomato puree for our fall CSA members. Matt drove up to East Troy to deliver 4 pallets of tomatoes on Monday, and he stuck around long enough to snap some pictures as they began the process of sorting, washing, grinding, screening out the skins and seeds, and then pumping the pureed tomatoes through a serious of tubes into big cooking vats.

The process bears little resemblence to my own humble preservation activities, but I do feel the same sense of satisfaction when I think about it. It's all about minimizing waste, maximizing good taste, and feeding our families and our friends. What could be better?!

Have a good week. --Peg

Above: I roasted these beefsteak tomatoes by cutting them into quarters, placing them in a single layer (cut side up) on a rimmed baking tray, drizzling with olive oil and salt and roasting at 275 degrees for 3 hours. Once they've cooled they can go straight into freezer bags. They're perfect for marinara, soups, stews, casseroles, etc.

Above: Employees of Contract Comestibles prepare our tomatoes for processing.



Above: The pureed tomatoes are being pumped to the cooking vats.

Notes from the Farm Kitchen

The flavor of scarlet turnips is a nice combination of sharp and sweet. They can be cooked in many of the same ways as potatoes - boiled, mashed, roasted, scalloped, etc. Nutritionally speaking, turnips top the charts. They are a great source of vitamins A, C and B complex as well as the minerals potassium, magnesium and calcium. Use turnip greens within a week. Turnip roots will keep for months in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

There are endless uses for fresh thyme. It can be used to enhance the flavor of many different vegetables, meats, poultry and fish. Try mixing it with butter and honey and tossing with steamed vegetables such as carrots, turnips and potatoes. I also like to add it to lemon vinaigrette and use it as a dressing for a salad of fresh tomatoes and arugula. To dry thyme, simply hang the whole bunch in a warm, dry place for a couple of weeks. Store in a glass jar with a lid or in a freezer bag in the freezer.

Celeriac, also known as celery root, is a somewhat homely (but very tasty) relative of celery. Don’t be put off by its knobby exterior. Use a sharp kitchen knife to trim the outside layer from the celeriac bulb before chopping it. Because celeriac has a wonderful mild celery flavor, it can be used in place of celery in many soups and stews. In fact, I prefer the flavor of celeriac over stalk celery in many dishes. Celeriac will store for a long time in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Here are some ways to use celeriac:
--Roast with carrots and potatoes and serve with roast chicken or pork.
--Boil celeriac pieces and mash them with an equal amount of boiled potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and butter.
--Combine with grated carrots, shredded cabbage, or other root vegetables to make flavorful autumn slaws.

A true conversation piece for your next dinner party-- a freshly harvested celeriac bulb with greens still attached.

Pears are one of my absolute favorite fruits. I love them partly because I am sentimental and they make me think of my grandpa and the trees he planted in his backyard way before I was born. I also love pears because they are such a versatile fruit in the kitchen. They can be used in sweet desserts as well as in savory meat dishes and vegetable salads. Mick Klug, the farmer who grows your fruit, picks his pears on the firm side in order to prevent bruising during harvest. Store them in the fridge until a few days before you want to eat them. Then allow them to ripen at room temperature. Placing pears in a paper bag at this point will speed things up because it traps the ethylene gas that pears naturally emit during the ripening process.

This Week's Recipes

Cornish Pasties

Carolina-Style Turnip Greens

Scalloped Turnips

Roasted Turnips in Red Wine

Celeriac, Carrot & Pear Salad

Moroccan Chicken & Vegetable Stew

Carrot Spice Cake Loaves




Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)... tomatoes, leeks, eggplant, kohlrabi, lettuce, radishes, peppers, swiss chard, red onions, broccoli, garlic, apples, raspberries, plums and more!