Week 19: Winter CSA Sign-ups are filling fast

Cole as the remay Row Cover monster

BRRRR! Well, that was fast. Autumnal chill is in the air (making for easier sleeping!) but I actually turned the heat on in the office this afternoon because I could no longer take being damp and cold anymore. The leaves are turning quickly and I'm looking forward to some Sunday leaf peeping expeditions to other Trustees properties. Tully Lake in Royalston, Fruitlands Museum, Monument Mountain and Ravenwood are all beautiful places to see the fall foliage in all its brilliance (other than at Chestnut Hill, of course). We hope that you had a chance to come out to the Harvest Fest on Sunday the 7th- we had around a thousand people come to play! I know I was kept hopping at both Chicken Plop Bingo and in the bustling farm store where we sold SO many cider donuts and cups of cold cider. It was a beautiful day with lots of fun, thank you for joining us if you came and if you couldn't make it this year, put it on your calendar for next year.

Buy pumpkins!

We still have pumpkins for carving available!!! We also have some mums and sugar pumpkins, so grab those from the farmstand before they are gone.

Fay School Farmer's Market (2 weeks left!) has been my Saturday location for the last few weeks. This is still a tiny market in its infancy, but it is a lovely little market. Last week, the vendors arrived and set up in the drizzling rain, hands curled around coffee mugs and hats tucked over ears, but there were delicious hot crepes and croissant breakfast sandwiches, alpacas, hats, treats, veggies and more. There are two Saturdays left and we highly recommend coming down and checking this little market out.

It is hard to believe that another CSA season is almost gone. Next week is the last on-farm pickup! 
We hope that you have enjoyed this season, our new online signup for next season is getting underway shortly (we are working a couple of bugs out of the system before we launch, but look for it soon!) We would love to have you join us again for fresh, local and delicious veggies! We will also be sending out a short survey sometime soon, please take a couple minutes and fill it out. We love having the feedback so that we can constantly be tweaking the CSA to best meet the needs of the community.

Sign up soon for Winter CSA!
The two shares- first one the weekend before Thanksgiving so that you can share the farm with your family and friends during this special holiday and the second one in the beginning of December so that we can still harvest from the fields (yep! believe it, things grow slowly after the beginning of November, but we are planning for that and can still harvest some veggies). These are bigger shares- usually around a full bushel of veggies (so half again more than our large share) and accompanied by recipes and storing info.

Sweet potatoes, winter squash, carrots, turnips, radish, onions, leeks, beets, garlic, potatoes; greens

Escaped cattle being led home again

such as lettuces/salad, arugula, kale, chard, cabbages, asian greens; apples

We also soon hope to have our new online software open and ready for taking add-on orders from our store for pickup at the same time as your Winter Share. Add specialty cheeses, local cranberries, chestnuts, meats, cider, or more of a specific goodie you know you need more of for the holidays.
If you would like to design more of what is going in a box, this new software will allow you to build your own box as well.


What's in Your Share this Week (maybe):
Escarole
Chinese Cabbage/Napa/Tokyo Bekana
Arugula (spicy!!!)
Peppers (frost will take these down so these are the last)
Butternut/Buttercup Winter Squash
Potatoes, yellow
Carrots
Salad Turnips

Pick Your Own:
Beans
Parsley, Sage, Oregano
Flowers, such as they are so late in the season
Chilies (almost done done done)

Recipe of the Week: Escarole with Sausage on Toast (make sure that toast is dark and the sausages are crispy!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 pound fresh sweet Italian sausage links (or fresh Chorizo links or hot Italian)
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 head of escarole, leaves separated and torn (about 8 cups), divided
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 thick slices country-style bread, toasted
• 1 Fresno chile, thinly sliced into rings (can sub a jalapeno, hungarian hot wax
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan

RECIPE PREPARATION

• Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a Dutch oven or other medium heavy pot over medium-high. Cook sausages, turning occasionally, until well browned and cooked through, 12–15 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Cook onions in same pot, stirring occasionally, until softened and they take on some color, 6–8 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn, 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a simmer. Add half of the escarole in batches, letting wilt slightly after each batch before adding more, and simmer 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cut sausage in half on a diagonal. Mix in lemon juice and the rest of the escarole into onion mixture and place sausage on top. Cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes.
• Place toast in wide bowls and mound escarole mixture on top. Place 2 sausage halves on top of each, then ladle liquid left in pan over. Top with chile, Parmesan, and some cracked pepper; drizzle with more oil.

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  Harvest Fest Success!