In Your Box:

  • Bok choy or tat soi
  • Broccoli or broccolini
  • Carrots
  • Garlic
  • Leek
  • Red Onion
  • Spinach
  • Sweet pepper
  • Winter squash, Butternut

Farm News

At long last the heat of our never-ending summer has finally moved on, and it actually feels like October now. It’s a good reminder that we only have one more week of CSA delivery. Our last Tuesday box will be delivered on October 14th, while our Thursday sites will be delivered on Wednesday, October 15th to accommodate anyone traveling for MEA weekend. Times and locations will be the same, but we’ll move it up a day for just that last delivery.

Thanks so much to everyone who made it out to the farm last weekend for our fall party! We had our highest attendance since the pandemic, and it was wonderful to have so many families out to the farm for a great evening together.

This week’s box

This week’s winter squash is my personal favorite, Butternut. Butternuts are a great stand-in for pie pumpkins and are delicious baked into breads or pancakes. Our favorite use for butternut squash is the soup recipe linked below, which we make nearly weekly all through the winter. Butternuts store very well at room temperature and will easily last until March most years.

To bake a winter squash, first preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the stem and slice the squash down the middle the long way. Scoop out any seeds and place the squash flesh-down in a casserole dish. Add water to about ½-1” depth in the dish and bake for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of the squash.

The carrots this week are a multi-color mixture featuring purple, red, orange, and yellow carrots. They’re fun to harvest and cook with, but I do find they aren’t as sweet as our usual orange carrots and have a flavor more like parsnips. Personally, I prefer them in a stew or soup rather than raw or as a side.

Spicy Peanut – Butternut Soup

from New York Times Cooking

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and diced (about 1½ cups)
  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and chopped
  • ½ habanero or bird’s eye chile
  • 2c. butternut squash, baked and pureed
  • 3 cups water (or use chicken or vegetable stock)
  • 1 (13-ounce) can coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon agave or honey (optional)
  • ¼ cup unsweetened natural peanut butter
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons sliced fresh chives (optional)
  • ¼ cup crème fraîche or yogurt (optional)
  1. In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring frequently until softened and just beginning to brown around the edges, about 4 minutes. Stir in the chile and squash, and whisk in the water or stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer on low, giving an occasional stir, for 20 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened. Remove the chile after the soup simmers if you don’t care for much spice.
  2. Add coconut milk, agave or honey (if using), and peanut butter to the pot. Using an immersion blender or working in batches in a standing blender, purée the soup until smooth. Season with salt and keep warm over low heat. Do not bring soup up to a simmer or boil at this point. (This reduces the risk of the oils in the peanut butter separating and breaking the soup’s smooth texture.)
  3. Divide soup between bowls, sprinkle with the chives and a dollop of crème fraîche or yogurt, or a drizzle of olive oil to make it vegan. Serve with a warm crusty baguette or chunks of warm sourdough for dipping.

Coming up

We are expecting garlic, chard, cabbage, carrots, onion, Brussels sprouts, winter squash, celery and spinach.

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