- Tromboncino winter squash (see the recipes below)
- Celery or celeriac (make the amazing sounding salads below!)
- Radicchio
- Broccoli or cauliflower ( we found some huge ones out there!!)
- Peppers
- Hot peppers
- Tomatoes
- Cherry tomatoes
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Fennel
- Eggplant or ?
- Cucumbers or zucchini
- Herb- cilantro, parsley or thyme
The last harvest of the 2022 regular season. Finally, the rain has come just in time to help our cover, crop germinate, and then hopefully get established before the cold sets in. We hope to be able to till in some new area where we anticipate growing squash and corn next year. The ground squirrels are the bane of our existence. They’re eating squash, pumpkins, radicchio and fennel. And we worry about bringing in new area when we can’t even keep them from our old, but such as farming, we will keep on trying.
Ballots should have arrived in the mail this past week, it’s time for us to re-acert
ourselves and make sure that our democracy is strengthened and valued. With so much going on in the world and locally in our own state, it is vital that we cast our vote. Sometimes that voice feels meek, and like we’re calling into the void, but we must all remember that without our voice we are agreeing with the status quo.
The winter harvest begins next Sunday. I am sorry for those who wanted a tiny break from cooking vegetables at home, but there is just too much beautiful produce out there to wait. The broccoli is coming in weeks after we anticipated. The lettuce is slow, the tomatoes continue to produce until we get our first hard frost. Juvencio and I managed to get our entire winter greenhouse tilled, composted and transplanted. Now to catch the gopher. We hope this week we will be able to pull crops from the field and then cover crop. The ground is still so hard that we can’t prep the areas between the vegetables without covering them with a blanket of dust. I will have to say goodbye to my flowers for now and hope to get cover crops spread in their beds. I still have some beautiful bouquets for sale today.
Each year I seem to take one more bed from the indoor greenhouses to cultivate early and late flowers. Until I get my own hoop house exclusively for flowers I will continue to take a teeny bit of vegetable space. There is a small chance I will get my wish and have a hoop house exclusively for flowers. There is still plenty to do at the farm during these fall days and heading into the winter. It is hard to remain motivated, but we look to the spring with anticipation, and that’s what keeps us going. We have tons of weeding, we have many beds inside the greenhouses that have to be turned over And we have fall bulbs and garlic still to get in the ground time is running out. If you want to get your hands dirty in the fall or winter, just let us know we can point you in the direction of all the beds that need to be weeded. This is mostly indoor or covered work so you don’t even have to get wet.
We still have a few spaces for the winter harvest. There are 12 harvests starting October 30 and running through 26 March. We would love to hear from you about whether or not you will continue in 2023. With rising costs on everything and the threat of recession, it makes sense that you get your vegetables with us. You pay one price for the entire season you know you’ll get high-quality organically grown local produce. We hope you will stick with us and tell your friends and recognize the value of the service that we offer.
We offer a thanksgiving harvest that will include salad, pie pumpkins. Spinach, winter squash and more. The cost is $40 and should be prepaid. We will have treats out for your eyes and taste buds. I am working on ceramics when I am not working on other more pressing things. I will start making winter wreaths next weekend and make as many as I can before Thanksgiving. We will have sunflower face bird feeders and a few wreaths from wheat and the like as well for sale that weekend. I am always open for ceramic commissions and now is the time to let me know so I can have them done by December.
I will sign off for now. We would love your feedback on the season. What did you enjoy? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Send us an email.
Here are some recipes to enjoy:
Sue Kass highly recommends this treat!
Chickpea and eggplant ratatouille
1lb eggplant, cut into large chunks
3/4 lb zucchini, cut into large chunks
1 lb Roma tomatoes cored and chopped or 1 28oz can, drained and chopped
1 onion, sliced
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced
1 large fennel bulb, cut into large chunks
5 cloves garlic, halved
1/4 c olive oil
3 c cooked or canned/drained chickpeas
Salt, pepper
1 Tb chopped fresh thyme or rosemary, or 1/2 c chopped fresh basil or parsley
Heat oven to 425. Combine all ingredients except chickpeas and herbs in a large roasting pan, drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine.
Roast, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes until tomatoes are giving up their juices to create a sauce.
Add chickpeas, stir, and return to oven to heat through, then stir in fresh herbs and taste to adjust seasoning before serving
Here is how to use that huge Tromboncino squash you may get this week:
https://www.pulcetta.com/zucchetta-pomodoro-tromboncino-squash-tomatoes.html
Here is a whole post from another farm on tromboncini and how to use and eat check it out:
https://www.theorganicfarm.net/?p=1106
Excerpts here:
Tromboncino Winter Squash Soup
Use tromboncino that has hardened off and is tan – and not green.
- 5 lbs (uncooked) tromboncino squash or butternut squash
- 1-2 yellow onions
- 3 cubes vegetable bullion
- drizzle of half & half or heavy whipping cream
- olive oil
- 8-12″ rosemary branch
- cumin
- salt
- black pepper
- red pepper flakes
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- cilantro (garnish)
- plain yogurt (garnish)
Cut the squash into 6″ sections and split each one evenly down the middle. Place all sections cut side up in glass baking dishes. Cut onions into wedges and place in a baking dish. Drizzle all vegetables with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake or roast in the oven at 350-400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. While baking, fill a stock pot with 2-3″ of water. Add vegetable bullion cubes, rosemary, bay leaves, garlic, cumin, red pepper, & the ends of the onions. Simmer on low until the squash is finished in the oven. When the squash is cooked, remove it from its shell and place it in the stock along with the roasted onions. Simmer this mixture, stirring and mashing often, for at least 15 minutes, preferably longer, to let the flavors marry. When it’s done, stir in a good drizzle of half & half or heavy whipping cream and mix thoroughly. Add salt to taste and adjust seasonings. Remember to remove woody rosemary stalks and bay leaves before blending. Ladle the chunky soup into a food processor or blender and puree. It will take several batches to get it all so have a second pot ready. When serving, add a couple of spoonfuls of plain yogurt to the center of the bowl and sprinkle with cilantro. Great with a toasted bagel!
Melba’s Tromboncino Casserole provided by Tess Burke (Melba approved)
Ingredients
- Tromboncino Squash, sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices
- Egg
- Bread crumbs or panko
- Parmesan cheese, grated
- Garlic, thinly sliced
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Grated cheese, such as white cheddar or any flavourful cheese
Cooking instructions
Place egg in bowl and beat.
In another bowl combine grated parmesan and bread crumbs or panko.
Place a sheet of parchment paper to the side.
Dip Tromboncino slice into egg batter and then into egg and cheese mixture, pressing into the crumbs to make them stick to the squash. (sometimes I double this step to get a thick crumb coating on the squash).
Lay the coated squash slices on the parchment sheet until all slices are coated.
Heat olive oil in a skillet and fry the slices of squash on either side until crispy but be careful not to burn them.
Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with olive oil and place slices of garlic to cover the bottom of the dish.
Layer fried squash slices on top of garlic, season with salt and pepper and grate cheese over the top of these slices. Create another layer of fried squash, salt and pepper and cheese and cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 mins. Remove foil and bake for another 10 mins until the cheese browns.
I also layer this dish with a layer of sliced fresh tomatoes between the two layers of squash.
This recipe looks delicious for that giant squash:
Tromboncino squash with tomatoes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Keywords: saute side gluten-free kosher low-carb vegetarian vegan tomatoes onion tromboncino squash Italian
Ingredients (Serves 5)
- 1 1/2 pound tromboncino squash
- Extra-virgin olive oil (in a mister)
- A small (3 oz.) onion, possibly of the variety called cipollini, finely diced
- 1 cup / 240 ml slow-roasted heirloom tomatoes
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Wash the squash and cut it into 3/8-inch / 1 cm slices, then cut each sliced into quarters, adjusting your cutting to accommodate the curves of the squash.
Generously oil the bottom of a 10 inch / 25 cm deep sauté pan and warm up, then add the onion and stir well to coat. Let the onion cook on low heat until softened, then add the squash and stir well. Turn up the heat to medium-low and cook for a a few minutes, then cover the pan and turn the heat to low.
Cook until the squash is tender, stirring now and then. Add the tomatoes and stir well. Continue to cook on gentle heat briefly to make sure the tomatoes warm up. Sprinkle the oregano, salt and pepper on the squash and stir well for one last time. Remove from the heat and serve.
An awesome sounding recipe with Celeriac and fennel and parsley:
https://www.feastingathome.com/creamy-celeriac-fennel-soup/
Winter salad with Fennel, celery root (celeriac):
https://food52.com/recipes/35736-a-winter-salad-of-fennel-celery-root-lemon-and-pecorino
Ingredients send grocery list
- 1 small bulb celery root
- 1 large fennel bulb
- 1 small red onion
- 1 large lemon (or 5 tablespoons lemon juice)
- (a shallow 1/2 cup or 15 grams) chopped parsley
- (a heaping 1/2 cup or 80 grams) thinly sliced pecorino cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon crunchy sea salt
- 25 turns black pepper
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 7 tablespoons quality olive oil
Directions
- First, prepare the vegetables. Start by peeling the celery root. If you have a mandoline with a julienne blade, use that to cut the celery root. Otherwise, by hand; aim for pieces 1/8-inch x 1/8-inch. Next, trim the fennel so that just the bulb remains. (If you have fronds, you can chop and add them to the salad.) Cut off the heel of the bulb, and then slice the bulb in half lengthwise. On a mandoline or by hand, slice each half crosswise, more thinly than the celery root. Cut the red onion in half lengthwise, and slice into wispy half moons. Toss the vegetables into a large mixing bowl.
- Juice the lemon into the mixing bowl. With your hands, mix the juice evenly into the vegetables. Chop the parsley, and add it to the bowl. Thinly slice the pecorino–I used a mandoline again, but you can also do this by hand. Add the salt, pepper, pumpkin seeds, and olive oil to the bowl. Use your hands (or tongs) to evenly blend the salad ingredients. Divide the salad between plates; enjoy. You may drink the dressing that collects at the bottom of your bowl. I won’t judge.