Summer CSA 2023
Hi everyone!
I hope you had a really lovely week. Thank you so much for the feedback and kind words over the last week. I am feeling so much gratitude for this job! How lucky I am to raise your food. This week you’ll find some fun fall veggies in your box. Everyone received a spaghetti squash. Pearce, his parents, Milo, and I just enjoyed one for dinner, served with homemade roma tomato sauce and meatballs. So nourishing! We also ate cheese and bacon lunchbox pepper poppers, I’ll share the photo and recipe below!
This week on the farm was full of some big harvests. We haven’t received the first frost of the season yet, so all our crops are still alive and producing. We harvested soooo many peppers today and sent many of them to The Food Group‘s food bank program to be delivered all over the Twin Cities. Milo and I snuck in as much rest as possible over the week as well. Pearce and I are definitely feeling the farmer end-of-season burnout. As much as we want to feed the community all year round, we are so grateful the last CSA is next week. Real, healing rest is just on the horizon for us.
I’ll write more next week about what our winter season looks like, what to expect from us in the off-season, and what your involvement with us moving into next season will look like. For now, we’ll just keep enjoying the collide of seasons, the end of summer veggies and the start of fall food.
Read below to find out what else is in the share this week and for recipe inspiration!
In your box….
Here are photos of what you’ll find in your box this week!
Large CSA
Spaghetti squash, french breakfast radishes, cabbage, parsley, onions, purple daikon radishes, pea shoots, garlic, picnic peppers, jimmy nardellos, and sugar rush peach hot peppers.
Small CSA
Spaghetti squash, cabbage, purple daikon radishes, parsley, garlic, onions, pea shoots, lunchbox peppers, jimmy nardellos, and sugar rush peach hot peppers.
Some Inspiration…
There are so many fun and unique items in the box this week! I think the best part of growing for a CSA is we can explore growing specialty items, things you wouldn’t find in the grocery store. Here are some notes and recipe ideas for the unique veggies:
Sugar rush peach HOT peppers:
You’ll find these peppers in the little brown paper bag in your box. We put the hot peppers in the paper bag so you wouldn’t mix them up with the lunchbox peppers. I’ve never grown these hot peppers before, but I must say, they are DIVINE. I’m obsessed. New favorite hot pepper, FOR SURE. The seeds hold the spice, but the yellow flesh holds the flavor. If you scoop the seeds out, they can be used in all sorts of dishes, or you can take a bite of them, fresh! I ate one in the field and they definitely live up to their name. A little peachy, a little sugary, a little spicy…. all the awesome things you would want in a hot pepper!
Typically I ferment hot peppers when I grow them. I think these hot peppers would thrive if fermented of pickled, then put on a pizza! Or eaten on sandwiches or salads. Think, a pulled pork sandwich with a little BBQ sauce and a pickled sugar rush peach hot pepper. Tasty! If you’re thinking of fermenting these peppers, it’s actually super easy. Here is a basic recipe for fermented peppers:
Purple Daikon Radishes:
These are the purple root veggis in your share. Daikon radishes are known for their ability to grow big and store in cold storage for an extended period of time. These purple ones are super beautiful when you cut them open. They are a little crunchier and spicier than a typical radish. I love slicing them thin and quick pickling them in the fridge and eating them on sandwhiches. Here is our recipe for quick pickled radishes:
(also, so sorry they have some rood maggot damage, just cut off the funky bits and the rest of the radish is good to go!)
Finally, I thought I’d share a tasty idea with you for your lunchbox peppers! (low quality photo, but amazing snack/appetizer/meal!) Pearce was craving jalapeno poppers, so we took his craving to the next level and made lunchbox poppers stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped them in bacon. Seriously, one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Here is a recipe to guide you, but it’s a pretty straightforward idea:
Enjoy all of the food this week, after this only one more week! If you only used one vacation day through the season, this is your last week. Let me know if you have any questions!
Lots of love,
Eleanor