Issue #16 September 24, 2016
The Share
Winter Squash
Garlic
Potatoes
Celery
Escarole
Lettuce
Peppers
Tomatoes
Radish
Picking Garden
Oregano Thyme Sage
Chives Mints Sorrel
Summer Savory Marjoram
Zataar Oregano Parsley
Basil Cilantro Borage
Shiso Hot Peppers Cherry
Tomatoes Tomatillos Husk
Cherries Red Noodle Beans
Flowers
Zinnias Ageratum
Bachelor’s Buttons
Nasturtium Amaranth
Cleome Tithonia Statice
Strawflower Sunflower
Summer into fall
The summer to fall transition is a wonderful time for us. We are still harvesting tomatoes, peppers and other warm weather crops, but since the heat has diminished, lettuce and greens are again abundant. Long season crops, such as celery, are also at their peak. Winter squash are also beginning to tumble in. It’s my favorite time of year. Here are a few highlights this week.
Escarole
A fall favorite, escarole appears to be a kind of lettuce, but it’s so much more. It is in the chicory family, best known as roadside weeds with azure blue flowers. Escarole has a bitterness and depth of flavor that lettuce does not, and is best cooked. It cooks down like spinach, and is great mixed with potatoes or pasta.
Celery
We’re all familiar with this one, but celery is a fall-only vegetable for us, since it takes such a long time to grow (we start celery in March!). Our celery tends to be more fibrous than commercial celery, and has a much stronger flavor. The outer ribs are the toughest, and are best for cooking. The inner ribs, or the heart, are tender and good to eat raw.
Winter Squash
We will be harvesting our squash and pumpkins a few hours after I write this, a much anticipated event around here! Some kinds of squash (butternut) have to cure for long term storage, so you won’t see them until October. Others (acorn, delicata) don’t need to cure and we’ll give them out right away.
-Aaron
Celery Tonic
I haven’t tried this but it sounds good.
Makes 1
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tbsp sugar
1 oz lemon juice
2 oz gin
lemon twist
Muddle celery with sugar and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker for 1 min. Add gin, fill with ice
and shake about 30 seconds. Strain into a glass filled with ice and garnish with lemon twist.
recipe from bonappetit.com
"Summer ends now; now, barbarous in beauty, the Stooks arise
Around; up above, what wind- walks! what lovely behavior
Of silk-sack clouds! Has wilder, willful-waiver
Meal-drift molded ever and melted across skies?”
- Gerard Manly Hopkins,
Hurrahing in Harvest, 1918
"Crown'd with the sickle, and the sheaten sheaf,
While Autumn, nodding o'er the yellow plain,
Comes jovial on."
-James Thomson, Autumn, 1730
Utica Greens
1 head escarole
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c prosciutto or bacon, diced
1/2 c onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 hot pickled peppers, chopped (fresh peppers use less!!)
1/2 c water
salt and pepper
1/3 c bread crumbs
1/4 c romano cheese, grated
Rinse escarole and chop into small pieces. Bring salted water to a boil and blanch 2 minutes. Drain in colander and rinse with cold water.
Heat oil in large pan. Add prosciutto and onion and cook 5 mins. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add drained escarole, peppers and water. Stir and salt to taste. Cook until escarole is wilted, about 7-8 mins.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese and broil 2 minutes to brown the top.
recipe from upstateramblings.com
Creamy Celery Soup
1 head celery, chopped, leaves reserved
1 large waxy potato, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup butter
salt
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/2 cup heavy cream
Combine celery, potato, onion and butter over medium heat, season with salt. Cook until onion is tender. Add broth, simmeruntil potato is tender. Puree in blender with dill, strain. Stir in cream. Serve topped with leaves, sea salt and olive oil.
recipe from bonappetit.com