Field of Radicchio in the fall sunshine.
THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• Radicchio
• Mustard Greens
• “Lamon” Berlotti Shelling Beans
• Fresh Thyme
• Carrots
• Golden Beets
• “Spaghetti” Squash
Click on the links above for information and recipes about these crops.
COMING SOON:
Kale
Arugula
Parsley
The U-pick pumpkin patch is ready for our CSA families. Please come on our usual pickup times on Tuesday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. If you need to make arrangements, please let us know ahead of time. Limit of 2 pumpkins per family, or 1 per child, until the end of the month.
It’s hard to believe that our Summer season is nearly over—3 weeks to go. Our Winter season starts directly after Summer ends, so if you’re not signed up yet, let us know ASAP. We’re nearly at our membership limit.
After all that spectacular summer weather, we’ve had some strange business the last few weeks. Usually we don’t have much rain until the end of October, but we sure got it the end of September—several inches in just a weekend. It made a mess, but no lasting damage. Still no frost yet, and that too is unusual. But, we’ll just keep rolling with what we get.
We are happy that our winter carrot patch is looking solid enough that we can pick carrots until January and distribute them in our CSA every week until then. That’s a first for us. We typically run out of carrots early. But, we know better than to count our carrot bunches before they’re pulled out of the ground, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.
We’ve started picking our fall greens, and we elected Mustard Greens to be first. I’ve provided a link to our “Cooking Greens” page in the list above, and in the sidebar. Don’t mistake the Radicchio heads for cabbage—they definitely taste different! We’ve been enjoying the bountiful radicchio grilled or roasted. But if you slice and soak the leaves in water for 30-60 minutes before eating, much of the bitterness will wash away. Be sure and check out the page of recipes, also linked above.
Spaghetti Squashes
We tried a Spaghetti Squash for dinner last night, and it was delicious! I just cut it in half lengthwise, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and baked it at 350° until tender, and fluffed out the strands, tossed with a dab of butter and grated Parmesan cheese on top. Surprisingly tasty!
We finally got our Farmiversary T-Shirts printed! Let us know if you would like to purchase one—they’re $15, and we have adult sizes S, M, L, and XL, and youth M and L.
It’s hard to believe, but our Winter Season starts in just 4 weeks! I’ve got the application form updated, and you can find it here:
Winter CSA 2013
Please let me know if you have any questions, and let us know ASAP if you are interested, because there are just a handful of spots left.
Whistling Train Farm 
We made a delish Winter Root Slaw with the beets and carrots–recipe from PCC and super easy! Recipe from PCC Natural Markets:
Raw Winter Root Slaw
Ingredients
2 golden beets, peeled and grated
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 apple, grated
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 ounces mixed greens
4 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Preparation
Combine beets, carrots and apple in a large bowl.
Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over beet mixture. Add mixed greens, pumpkin seeds and parsley; toss to combine.
They have some wonderful recipes! Thanks Mike and Shelley!
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