Share 18 - week of Sept 14th

In the share this week:

1 butternut squash

2 lbs tomatoes

1 bunch cilantro

2 sweet peppers

1 medium garlic

1 bunch salad turnips

Thoughts from Farmer Anna:

It feels like spring again on the farm, with lots of little baby plants around. Pictured above are french breakfast radishes (left) and red russian salad kale (right). It is so gratifying to see neat little rows of seedlings popping up, especially when there aren't any weed seedlings mixed in (yet). This week we're finally feeling caught up with seeding and weeding. The weather has been perfect for working and we've had lots of help with weeding from Steve's mom, who shows up many days for a few hours for some weed pulling meditation :) It feels like perfect timing for our farm open house this coming Sunday. The farm will be physically ready and looking nice, the goldenrod is peaking on the hillside, and our workload is lightening so we're feeling mentally prepared to gather you all here on the farm.

The veggies are slowly starting to transition to more cool weather crops. We have butternut squash in this week's share. I love these dense and hearty winter squashes and they always grow better than the other winter squash varieties. It looks like we'll have enough to give this week and next so that all of the half shares will get a butternut. These squash typically store well, so don't feel like you have to use it up this week. However, the crops in this week's share lend themselves very well to this awesome African-inspired peanut stew recipe that features butternut squash. In fact, you could really add in the sweet peppers and turnips as well and use every item in your share for this meal:

www.rainsandsun.com

Inner Warmth Peanut Stew

This recipe come from the greatest brew pub ever - The Great Dane in Madison, WI. In addition to great beer, this pub makes some kick-butt food. This is one of my favortie ways to use butternut squash! 3 tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion (diced) 2 tbsp minced garlic 2 tbsp minced ginger 1/2 tablespoon black pepper 2 to 3 pounds winter squash (butternut or acorn), peeled, cubed 2-3 cups tomato juice and/or broth 2.5 cups diced tomatoes 1/2 tablespoons salt 1 medium bunch of cilantro, stems removed,

Our first salad turnip planting of the fall was a little dense, so the roots are on the smaller side. I absolutely love the smell of these turnips when we harvest them, especially when it's been awhile since we've had them. The insect pressure is high at the end of summer (even when the planting is covered with row cover), so these roots aren't the most beautiful of the season, but they are still quite tasty! Throw them into your peanut stew or a curry this week. We also have some radishes, arugula and sugar snap peas coming on this week, that are available for swapping or add-ons. I love the flavors of fall so I'm very excited about the coming weeks!