| Apples– We harvested these apples from an old tree in our yard and our friend’s orchard (Cattlena Ranch – they are at the Appleton market with grass-fed beef and over 100 heirloom apple varieties), There is a blend of varieties (Bottle Greening (big, green), Mystery (maybe Snow), Red Baron (yellow, red streak).
Butternut Squash – A fall classic with sweet orange flesh. Great roasted, and pureed in sweet or savory dishes. Black ‘Schwarzer Runder’ Radishes – Notable for its jet black skin and rich, spicy white flesh. Often eaten in Germany as a “beer radish”, served thinly sliced with salt and paired with a light beer. Will store ALL winter. Roasted they have the effect of a steamed potato. Slicing Tomatoes – These are the last of them for the season. Let them ripen out on the counter for a few days. Cherry Tomatoes – Also the last of the season. |
Carrots
Parsley Kale Hot Shot Mix Onions Shallots Garlic |
News from Field Notes Farm
I put down winter rye on seven of our 24 active plots today. Three plots are covered in 1-foot tall oats that will winter-kill and one plot is in red clover. Later this week we will harvest our last plot of carrots and begin turning over the hoophouses. Garlic will follow the carrots and each hoophouse will be planted with clover.
We did well cover-cropping going into last fall and benefited from the investment this season. With all of the rain this year the weeds definitely got away from us. A good winter cover is a kind of reset, taking back some of the slack from the peak of the season. Over time the cycle of cover-cropping will mean less work, higher yields, and beautiful soil. As usual, our first investment in the next season happens well before this season ends.
As we wind up the final harvests and get ready for fall shares we are already thinking about next season. Our first seed purchases take place in December, we plan to apply to FairShare CSA Coalition before the end of the month, and we’re thinking about how many trees we should plant (500 or 2000?). We’re pressing our first apple cider for our hard cider venture this weekend, we’re thinking about buying a tractor, and we still have a few trees left to plant. Look forward to a review of our hard cider plans, and how you can get your hands on a case of it in next week’s newsletter. Until then, enjoy the produce! -Oren
What to do with the Black Radishes?
RAW
Slice/Dice/Shred with:
-apple, carrots, lemon juice, mint
-celeriac (coming next week), pomegranate, pecorino
– carrots, arugula, thyme
ROAST
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Peel radishes and chop into similar size pieces, approximately ¾ inch big. Coat lightly with olive oil, salt, and chili flakes.
Roast for 20 minutes. Toss them around the pan 10 minutes into the baking process.
Radish ‘Chips’
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
Wash and scrub the radishes. Peel them with a vegetable peeler.
Slice the radishes thinly — very thin slices will be more chip-like, slightly thicker slices will be moister — and put the slices in the baking dish.
Pour a little olive oil and a little vinegar, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and piment d’Espelette. Toss to coat. Adjust the amounts so all the slices look comfortably dressed, but not drenched.
Put in the oven to bake for about 20 minutes, until the chips are golden and their edges start to crisp up. Serve warm, as an appetizer or a side.
Butternut Squash Pie-Cake
Adapted from food52.com
It’s not every week you can enjoy a tasty vegetable based dessert!
For the pie-cake:
2 cups (9 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
For the roasted squash filling:
2 pounds peeled and cubed butternut squash (1/4- to 1/2-inch cubes)
2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
Zest and juice of 1/2 orange
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/3 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
In a food processor, pulse the flour with the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the 2 sticks butter and pulse until it forms pea-sized crumbs. Pour in the egg and pulse until the dough just comes together and forms large clumps.
Flatten ⅓ of the dough into a disk. Flatten the remaining dough into a disk. Wrap each piece well and refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Now start on the squash. Preheat the oven to 425° F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the squash with 1 tablespoon brown sugar and all of the ingredients except the hazelnuts. Make sure it is well coated in the oil, spices, and sweeteners. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once, until the squash is tender but not falling apart (it should be cooked to the point right before you’d want to eat it). Remove the squash from the oven and allow to cool.
Turn the oven temperature down to 350° F. Grease a 9-inch pie dish. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the larger disk until it’s 1/4- to 1/8-inch thick. Transfer it to the pie plate. You won’t be able to transfer the dough in one go (as it crumbles apart), so just remove thin pieces and press them into the pie plate until you’ve got the whole thing over. Make sure the dough is uniformly thick around the bottom and edges of the pan. Reserve any scraps.
Mix the hazelnuts into the cooled squash, then dump it into the prepared pie dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of brown sugar evenly over the squash.
Roll out the other piece of dough (it can be slightly thicker than the first piece—I rolled to about 1/2-inch thickness). Pinch off small pieces of the this disk and scatter, along with the scraps from the bottom dough, all over the squash, creating shingle-like pieces. (You might have some extra dough—I shaped mine into cookies and baked them for about 15 minutes!)
Bake the cake until golden brown and bubbling in the center, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool completely before serving