Week #26

 

  • Lettuce
  • Radishes (giant purple daikon or “Pink Beauty” radish)
  • Leeks
  • Winter squash
  • Peppers
  • Hot peppers
  • Tomatoes (some green and some red)
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Kale or chard
  • Dill or cilantro
  • Parsley
  • Broccoli or cabbage
  • Beets
  • Tomatillos
  • Eggplant
  • Yellow apples (brought to us by Roy and Corrine, enjoy while they last)
  • Brussels Sprouts tops (like collards, tender and sweet, remove the thick stem)

 

Here we are the beginning of October, the final month of our harvest for 2015. It is a race to the end. We are rapidly turning over beds, once the crop is harvested, Juvencio tills the ground and seeds the cover crop. We are putting in Crimson clover and Phacelia(a hairy leaved, purple flowered plant that bees love) to nourish the soil and beat out the weed seed.

We are harvesting the winter squash today with the help of the FMIG (Family Medicine Interest Group) students from OHSU. It looks like a bumper crop, but we will post the pictures once the harvest is finished. We hope to have pumpkins for sale at the harvest festival. The orange globes are visible among the dying vines, I can’t wait to put them see them all together!

We will have our Thanksgiving harvest once again. Pick-up is November 21/22 and the harvest includes all the fall veggies we have available and hopefully beautiful Brussels sprouts. We will have pie pumpkins as well as other veggies. Sign-up and pay early to reserve your spot. Remember to sign-up to help harvest if you can. We have 7 more harvests and need you to lend a hand.

We will continue to harvest for the entire month of October although our harvest festival is October 18th. Please spread the word that the party is on! Our barn turns 100 this year and we celebrate 16 years of harvesting veggies for the community. Please plan on attending .

La Finquita Del Buho presents:

The 16th Annual

Harvest Festival

Sunday October 18, 2015from 2- 6 p.m.

At the farm; 7960 NW Dick Road, Hillsboro 97124

Lots of fun for the whole family:

Swiss alp horns, Traditional Mexican dancing, La Finquita’s own blue grass jam session players, and surprise performance , cider pressing, wood fired pizza oven, potluck, farm tours and festive fall wreaths and bird feeders for sale and much more

Please bring: your favorite pizza topping, a dish to share, a mason jar for cider, plates, cups and silverware for your family, a check book or cash to purchase items and contribute to the performers

MEATY UKRAINIAN BORSCHT

2 pounds beef flanken or short ribs
3 quarts of water
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
1 medium carrot, scraped
1 medium celery root, peeled, 1/4 cut out for broth, remaining cut in
1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, unpeeled, stuck with several cloves
8 whole allspice berries
3 medium-large beets, without tops
2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 medium parsnip, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 medium turnips, cut in 1/2-inch cubes, or 2 cups chopped cabbage
1 large carrot, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
2 medium potatoes, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 well-rounded tablespoon tomato paste
8-10 large garlic cloves, crushed
Juice of 1/2 lemon, or more to taste MEATY UKRAINIAN BORSCHT

In a 5-6 quart pot, bring meat and water to boil over high heat. Reduce to simmer and skim of foam. When foam stops rising, add salt, carrot, 1/4 celery root, whole onion and allspice; simmer gently, partially covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat falls of the bone. Preheat oven to 400°F. Scub beets, wrap in foil and bake for an hour, or until just tender. Poke through foil with skewer to check for doneness. Peel beets; shred on coarse side of grater. When meat is very tender, remove, strip off bones, and cut into small cubes. Place in bowl; cover with foil. Strain broth. Rinse out pot. Place pot over medium heat, warm butter, and saute onion 2-3 minutes. Add cubed celery root, parsips, turnips and carrot. Saute 5 minutes. Add strained broth, potatoes and shredded beets. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Just before serving, while soup is simmering gently, stir in garlic and lemon juice. Remove from heat immediately. Serve pipping hot in flat bowls with dollop of sour cream and generous sprinkling of parsley and dill.

Cooking in the Litchfield Hills

Celeriac and Tomato Soup

4 tomatoes                            2 cups water

2 # celeriac                            ¼ cup lovage chopped (optional)

3  leeks                                   1 onion

1 clove garlic                        1 large carrot

1 tablespoon olive oil         2 T butter

3 sprigs parsley                    6 cups chicken broth

salt and freshly ground pepper

Peel, seed, and roughly chop tomatoes.  Peel sufficient celeriac to make 1 ½ pounds trimmed flesh, then cut into ½ inch cubes and drop into acidulated water.  Wash and trim leeks and, using only the white and light green parts, thinly slice.  You should have 1 ½ cups.  Chop onion and combine with leeks.  Chop garlic.  Thinly slice carrot. Heat together oil and butter and sauté leeks and onion until wilted.  Add garlic and carrot, and cook for 5 minutes longer,  Add one third of the tomatoes and cook until they are lightly browned on the edges and the juice is evaporated.  Add drained celeriac, the rest to the tomatoes and the parsley sprig.  Cook together for 10 minutes.  Add chicken broth, water and lovage (if using).  Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Puree, season with salt and pepper, and serve with croutons on the side.  (serves 8)  For thinner soup only use 1 pound celeriac and 3 tomatoes.

CELERY ROOT BISQUE WITH THYME CROUTONS
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup coarsely chopped shallots (about 3 large)
2 pounds celery roots (celeriac), peeled, woody parts trimmed and discarded, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 5 1/2 cups)
1 10-ounce russet potato, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1/4 cup whipping cream
Additional chopped fresh thyme
Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add celery; cover and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add shallots; sauté uncovered 3 minutes. Stir in celery root cubes and potato, then broth and 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme. Increase heat to high; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly.

Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate.)

Stir cream into soup and bring to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with additional chopped thyme and serve.

Bon Appétit
November 2005

 

 

Farmer John’s Cookbook, John Peterson (family favorite!!)

Serves 6-8

  • 3 T unsalted butter
  • 1 cup chopped scallions (about 6)
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pounds butternut squash, about ½ a large squash, peeled, seeded, cubed
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 14 ounce can whole tomatoes or 2 cups peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes
  • 12 whole curry leaves (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground mace (I skipped )
  • pinch freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the scallions; sauté until soft and wilted, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the parsley, jalapeno, and garlic,; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Add the squash and toss to coat it with the scallion mixture.  Add the stock, tomatoes, curry leaves, all spice, mace and nutmeg.  Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, covered until the squash is very tender, about 45 minutes.  Let cool slightly.

Transfer the soup in batches to a blender or food processor; puree.

Transfer the soup back to the pot.  Stir in the curry powder and add salt, pepper to taste.  Return the soup to a simmer to heat through.  Garnish with the parsley just before serving.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH STAR ANISE AND GINGER SHRIMP
24 large shrimp in shell (about 1 lb), peeled, leaving tail and first segment of shell intact, and deveined
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2/3 cup chopped shallot
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
3 whole star anise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 3/4 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (5 cups)
4 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Garnish: fresh cilantro sprigs
Toss shrimp with ginger in a bowl and marinate, chilled, 30 minutes (do not marinate any longer or enzymes from ginger will begin to cook shrimp).

Make soup while shrimp marinate: 
Cook shallot, garlic, and anise in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot is softened, about 5 minutes. Add squash, stock, and water and simmer, uncovered, until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove star anise.

Purée soup in 2 batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids) until very smooth, about 1 minute per batch, then transfer to cleaned pan and keep warm, covered.

Sprinkle marinated shrimp with salt. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté shrimp in 2 batches, stirring, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes per batch, transferring to paper towels.

Bring soup to a simmer and season with salt and pepper. Divide among 8 shallow soup bowls and mound 3 shrimp in each bowl.

Cooks’ note: 
. Soup (without shrimp) can be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered. If making soup ahead, begin marinating shrimp about 40 minutes before serving.

Gourmet
December 2002

DELICATA SQUASH WITH ROSEMARY, SAGE, AND CIDER GLAZE

This is my favorite way to cook winter squash. You peel, and slice it, then cook it in a skillet with cider and
winter herbs. When most of the liquid boils away, the cider forms a tart-sweet glaze around the now-tender squash.

Delicata is a wonderfully firm-textured squash that’s not too sweet and almost like a potato. Other varieties like
acorn, turban, or kabocha will make good substitutes, but they may not hold their shape quite as well through the
braising.

2 medium delicata squash (about 2 pounds) or other firm
winter squash
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup very coarsely chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 cups fresh unfiltered apple cider or juice
1 cup water
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

  1. Squash. If using delicata squash, peel it with a vegetable peeler, cut it lengthwise in half, and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Cut each piece lengthwise in half again, then crosswise into 1/2-inch -thick slices. Other types of squash should be peeled with a chef’s knife, seeded, cut into 1-inch wedges, then sliced 1/2-inch thick.
  2. Herb Butter. Melt the butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over low heat. Add the sage and rosemary and cook,
    stirring, until the butter just begins to turn golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not brown the herbs. Cooking the herbs in butter mellows their flavor and improves their texture.
  3. Cooking the squash. Add the squash to the skillet, then the apple cider, water, vinegar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat at an even boil until the cider has boiled down to a glaze and the squash is tender,
    20 to 30 minutes. Taste and season with pepper, and additional salt if needed.

Makes 6 servings.

 

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