In your box

• Celery
• Eggplant or summer squash
• Garlic
• Kale, “Scarlet”
• Leeks
• Potatoes
• Sorrel
• Sweet Peppers
• Tomatoes

Farm News

It’s hard to believe, but there’s just four more weeks of our CSA season after today. Thankfully the good weather has been holding up, we’re getting some needed rain this week, and there’s no frost in the forecast. We hope you enjoy the rest of the season!

This week’s box

After several weeks of similar produce in the boxes, this week’s box is finally a little more varied. As the weather cools and the fall harvests start coming in, we should have an exciting variety of crops to finish out the year.

One new crop this week is Celery. Our celery has a more distinct flavor than anything in grocery stores, and is perfect for soup and stew recipes. Celery keeps well in the fridge for up to two weeks. It also freezes easily–in the past we’ve simply chopped it up and placed it in bags to freeze for a couple months. The texture isn’t the same, but the flavor keeps well for soups in winter.

Our other new crop this week is Leeks, a close relative of onions and garlic. The whole of the leek plant is edible, but the central white root portion is most commonly used. Leeks are especially delicious in soup, where their rich earthy flavor works well with potatoes in particular. Leeks keep best in the fridge and stay fresh for a few months. If you put a leek in the fridge but can’t find it and see only a puddle, there’s a good chance someone has taken a leek in your fridge. Ha! Did you really think I would skip a year with my favorite leek-based potty humor? The year I miss a chance with leek puns is the year I’m too boring to be a farmer any more. I do plan to give leeks once or twice more this year, so if you would like to submit a leek pun I would be delighted to include it.

Cream of Leek and Potato Soup

from jenniferskitchen.com

Ingredients

• 2 leeks, cut into thin slices
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 to 4 medium potatoes
• 3 cups water or very mild broth – divided
• 1 teaspoon dried onion
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
• pinch dried sage
• 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh kale
• 1 cup milk (dairy or alternative)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot, sauté leeks, onions, and celery in oil over medium heat for 5 minutes or until onions begin to appear translucent.
2. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and dice into 1/2- to 1-inch dices.
3. Turn heat on high and add potatoes to pan along with 2 cups of the water and the seasonings.
4. Cover and bring to boil. When soup comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are just tender, but not too soft (about 4 to 5 minutes).
5. Meanwhile, wash and chop kale.
6. When potatoes are tender, remove 2 cups of the soup mixture from the pan and pour it into a blender. Set aside to cool slightly.
7. Stir remaining cup of water and chopped kale into soup. Cook uncovered at a low boil for 5 to 7 minutes or until kale is tender. Stir occasionally.
8. While soup is cooking, add milk and salt to blender mixture and blend until smooth.
9. When kale is tender, stir in blender mixture. Cook until thoroughly heated.

Serve hot.

Notes: Leeks can sometimes get dirt trapped between the layers of their leaves. To clean the leeks, thinly slice them into rounds, place the slices in a colander, and run under cool water, breaking apart the rings as necessary to remove dirt.

Coming up

Next week we are expecting red onion, arugula, carrots, basil, lettuce, turnips, aronia berries, sweet peppers and tomatoes.