Potato success
Thank you to all who came on Monday to help with the potato harvest. I haven’t figured out how much we have harvested, but it is certainly over 1,000 lbs. Now they are resting in the cool barn, where they will toughen and heal any minor wounds that occurred during harvest. In 1-2 weeks we will sort them into sacks and put them into long term storage at ~40 degrees with high humidity. Potatoes usually keep for about 10 months this way.
Golden beets
We’ve got a treasure trove of beets for you this week. These gold colored beets can be used for any recipe calling for red beets. They don’t stain as much as red beets do, and have a milder flavor. If you like raw beets, you may want to use them that way. I prefer all beets cooked, and I think these would be nice in salads, since they won’t stain everything else. Don’t forget about the greens, they can be used as you would chard.
Winter squash blues
This year we had our smallest harvest of winter squash in recent years. We will have a very small amount available, but it will not come close to what we have been able to give out in the past. Why such a poor harvest? I suspect that several factors were involved, such as soil nutrient deficiency, sopping wet soil, a heat wave during flowering which may have reduced fruit set, and once the plants were weakened, insect pests weakened them further. Thankfully we have many other crops for this fall that are doing very well. -Aaron
Vegetables
Lacinato kale Golden beets Cucumbers or fennel Peppers Lettuce Tomatoes Onions
Herbs
Upper Garden: Mint, Oregano, Sage, Thyme, Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Hyssop, Catnip , Winter savory, Lovage, lemon balm
Lower Garden: Parsley, Marjoram, Cilantro, Dill, Summer Savory, cutting celery, Borage, Basil
Flowers Nasturtium, Snap Dragon, Shasta Daisy, Dahlia, Sunflower, Amaranth, Dyer’s Coreopsis, Echinacea, Nigella, Zinnia
Summer vegetable bread pudding
1 large tomato, diced
1 onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
2 tsp salt
1 red pepper, diced
5 eggs
1 carrot, grated
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 lb cheese, grated
12 cups dried bread cubes
2 sprigs sage, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 sprigs thyme, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
black pepper
Combine tomato and zucchini with salt in a colander, drain for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350, lightly grease a 9 or 10 inch springform pan with butter. Whisk together eggs and milk. Add bread cubes, let soak while you prepare vegetables. Melt butter with the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and bell pepper and sauté until softened. Add zucchini, tomato, and carrot, cook until all are tender, another 3 minutes. Add these vegetables, the cheese and herbs and zest to the bread mixture. Toss gently, season generously with pepper. Pack into prepared pan, place on a baking sheet and bake about 1 hour, until the top is crusty and a knife comes out clean. Cover with foil if it is browning too quickly. Let cool before serving. fom Serving up the harvest by Andrea Chesman
Sauteed grated beets
4-5 medium beets
3 tbsp butter
1-2 tbsp lemon or orange juice
salt, pepper
Peel and grate beets using food processor or box grater. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add beets, stir to coat with butter. Add 1 tbsp juice, cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add more juice if beets stick. Cook until tender but not mushy, 7-10 minutes. Remove cover, season to taste.
Roasted beet salad with beet greens & feta
6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. minced garlic
7 med.-lg. beets (about 3 inches in diameter) with greens
1 cup water
2 tbsp. chopped drained capers
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)
Preheat oven to 375¡F. Whisk oil, vinegar and garlic in small bowl to blend. Season dressing generously with salt and pepper. Cut green tops off beets; reserve tops. Arrange beets in single layer in 13x9x2-inch baking dish; add 1 cup water. Cover; bake until beets are tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Peel beets while warm. Cut beets in half and slice thinly. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in capers and 1/4 cup dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Cut stems off beet greens; discard stems. Wash greens. Transfer greens, with some water still clinging to leaves, to large pot. Stir over high heat until just wilted but still bright green, about 4 minutes. Drain greens; squeeze out excess moisture. Cool; chop coarsely. Transfer greens to medium bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange beets in center of platter. Surround with greens; sprinkle with feta. Drizzle with any remaining dressing. marqita.com