thanks giving

classically crisp day
creamy potatoes and loads of pie
can't make the stuffing as amazingly as my parents
thank you. and you.

final distribution of season

Veggies this week:

BEETS OR TURNIPS
yellowstone CARROTS
CELERIAC
small GARLIC
KALE
RED ONION
SUNCHOKE/JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE
Delicata  WINTER SQUASH
last but not least! the ever inexhaustible PUMPKIN

Another very fruitful garden morning.

We were drinking hot cider and eating before noon!

 

 

 

mulching garlic

protecting barn roof

cleaning up broc plants

mulchy steaminess

post-work rest

beet salad recipe

Thanks for sharing this recipe, Carolyn.

Garlicky Roasted Beet Salad
 I've fallen in love with this salad. My comments afterwards. 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of boiled or roasted beets(red or yellow), with skins removed and sliced (or 2 cans of sliced beets, drained)
• 2 -3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
• sea salt (optional)
• fresh ground pepper (optional)

Preparation:

Combine beets, garlic, oil, and vinegar in a bowl and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste, and refrigerate covered for several hours before serving.  

Notes:

• Try this salad with a dollop of thick yogurt on top or on the side. It's delicious!
• I prefer this salad well seasoned with salt and pepper but it tastes delicious even without.
• The proportions of beets/garlic can be approximate, of course. Don't stress over amounts. I often add an additional clove or two of garlic anyway!
• It is a must to marinate the salad. Marinating overnight is great.
• I often cook up a large batch of beets, peel them and put them in the refrigerator to use as needed. Then any night I want a beet salad, the beets are ready, which saves a lot of time.

Enjoy!

Pumkin bread or muffin recipe

Thanks to Jenny Townsend for this tasty recipe.

Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips 
     Original recipe from Runner's World (my adaptations below)

3 1/2 cups flour
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
 4 eggs
1 cup oil
2/3 cups water
2 cups pumpkin puree

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine dry ingredients (except for chips) in large mixing bowl
3. Slightly beat the eggs with a whisk in smaller bowl.  Add remaining wet ingredients, stir well. 
4. Combine with dry ingredients- do not over-mix
5. Fold in chips.
6. Bake in 2 bread pans or as muffins
7. 50-60 minutes for bread, 25 minutes for muffins

Jenny's notes- to make this a healthier recipe, I usually do 2 cups unbleached all-purpose white flour and 1 1/2 cups wheat flour.  I also usually do 1/2 cup of applesauce and 1/2 cup oil (sometimes more applesauce and less oil).  I also reduce sugar to 2 cups instead of 3 cups.  Sometimes I reduce the chips to 1 cup.  I use big chips when I make muffins, smaller chips for bread.

Do folks have any other favorite fall recipes? 
Pass them along and we'll share them.

final GARDEN MORNING this SATURDAY

Help us close this bountiful season with communal work and a hearty meal.

WHO: littleGrasse shareholders + friends
WHAT: group morning in the garden with potluck to follow
WHEN: Saturday November 9th  at 9:00 am, with potluck at noon
WHERE: share barn at 309 Miner Street Road
             no on-street parking-all cars in barnyard/house driveway

For the potluck we'll be roasting some pork and making a veggie/rice casserole.

For a November day, the weather is looking manageable, in the 40's with small chance of precipitation. Wear layers. 

Last chance of season for social farm event.

share details- first week of november

one more week of pickup
garden morning this saturday 9 am-noon with potluck lunch to follow

parsnip harvest

This week in Veg:

BRUSSEL SPROUTS
CARROTS
judy's KALE 
red ONIONS
PARSNIPS (first and last offering)
butterball POTATOES
PUMPKIN (think beyond the pie to soups, curries, raviolis!)
you cut ROSEMARY

golden autumn stroll

“I dont hate it he thought, panting in the cold air, the iron New England dark; I dont. I dont! I dont hate it! I dont hate it!” 

                                                                -William Faulkner

What.Is.This?!

As you've probably noticed, the  chillier temperatures have brought veggies in from the fields of many shapes. Lots of variations on round (potatoes, turnips, beets and more). These grow underground and are the roots of the plant. Roots are known for their awesome roasting flavor and long storage. They brought many of our ancestors through chilly winter periods when not much was thriving above ground.

Two I wanted to mention as they may be the least familiar are: SUNCHOKES and CELERIAC. One you received last week and the other is coming soon. What's so great about these and why do we grow them? Both are very well suited to the North Country climate.

jerusalem artichoke flower

Sunchokes (also called jersusalem artichokes) are the tuber of a perennial flower in the same fam as sunflowers. If we don't dig the whole patch up, the tubers left in ground will produce more fall flowers the next season. This is cool and labor saving. The peel is edible.

What about celeriac? The is the same family as celery and though a root instead of stalk, the flavor is reminiscent. Celery stalks do not store through the winter. Through the ages, folks bred a strain with increasingly large roots. And the roots do store! Peel off the gnarly outer peel and use the smooth interior. Great in soups also edible raw.

Fall is an emotionally strange time. If you are a winter sport lover, the snow can't come soon enough. I do not fall into that category. But the foods of this season, though not as sexy as a gleaming tomato, are incredibly flavorful (and forgiving) in the kitchen.

It's worth doing research on the internet or cookbook, for some creative ways to use these vegetables.
Plus nearly all roots make awesome fries!