Hooray for the Winter CSA!!!! As Thanksgiving approaches, the first share box of the winter season is an awesome perk of supporting your local farm stand via the Winter CSA program. Let’s take a closer look!
- 4 pack Tower Soda
- a bag of acorn squash
- 1 camo pumpkin
- 1 sugar pumpkin
- 1 dozen eggs
- 1/2 gallon of apple cider from Box Mill Farms, Stow MA
- 1 bunch leeks
- 4 broccoli crowns
- 1/2 peck of potatoes
- 1 head purple cabbage
- 7 onions
- 5 carrots
- 1 pound of parsnips from Joe Czajkowski Farm from Hadley, MA
- 10 apples
- 1 bag of cranberries
- 5 yams
We are exited to share this Winter CSA season with you!
Now for a quick word from Jess:
Hi everyone, Jess here. Just wanted to put in a plug for the donation box outside of the Springdell Farmstand. If you have any clothing, or personal care items you’d like to donate, or an extra farmstand item, Springdell will be accepting these until Tuesday! They’ll be delivered to Loaves and Fishes, what a perfect way to give a little this holiday season. Stop by Springdell by Tuesday and, as the sign says get in the spirit of giving! Thank you, Springdell!
With the holidays upon us, what better time than now to brush up on some ideas for cranberry treats? Some of you may have enough fresh cranberry sauce in the pantry, and if that’s the case, here are a few more alternatives!
There’s a nice recipe for scones over at The Kitchn. As and adaptation, I added a few finely chopped apples and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. I did not try the dark rum glaze mentioned in the recipe as these were more of a breakfast thing here, but would be interested in hearing from those that check it out!
A quick pulse of brown sugar with cranberries as directed by Faith Durand over at The Kitchn.
A mix of the dry ingredients as the cranberries and cubed butter prepare to infiltrate.
I took a liberty with this recipe, adding finely diced apple and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to the mixture before baking.
My first batch was a double batch, and I accidentally propped the door of my electric oven open (the cookie sheets were a bit too long to allow the oven door to close all the way) so the heating element stayed on and burned the bottoms. The second run through was much better!
Cranberries, brown sugar, butter, and walnuts. Working together, they make a great topping for a brie (or just about anything, really!)
The cranberries went into a single layer in a baking pan with some brown sugar and a little bit of butter at 350. (I didn’t really measure, I kind of worked from the idea I used here. I just stirred it off and on until the sugar began to caramelize and the cranberries popped.) Toasted walnuts went in in the last minute and on top of the room temperature brie it went!
These cranberry oatmeal cookies are a dish of Sarah’s, available at Whisk Baked Goods. In the background, you also see her pumpkin cinnamon rolls. Yummy!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this cranberry inspiration! Enjoy your night and see you tomorrow at Sarah’s house for dinner!
Hi! This question is unrelated to this post, but I couldn’t figure out how to send you an individual message. Where can I find info about how to do cold storage? I know you’ve written about it before and I tried the search bar, but I couldn’t find it. I want to make sure my squash last until I can use them all! Thanks!
Hi Diana,
Thanks for reaching out! Good questions all around!
You can always reach us via email at Jess at CSA365.org, or Sarah at CSA365.org.
We are actively working on launching a better search system for next year, as we have found a lot of our recipes and tips are lost amongst the other posts with our current setup. Definitely stay tuned, it’s going to have some helpful features!
Cold storage is not nearly as complicated as it sounds, and can take some experimentation to find the best spots to store in your house, temperature-wise (low 50’s) and humidity-wise (60%). My “sweet spots” are in an inner room in our garage, and in the basement near and in the bulkhead.
Some squashes do better with “hardening” first, to toughen their skins up a bit for longer storage (butternut, hubbards, and red kuri’s can store for MONTHS after being hardened). The only problem is that hardening takes them being in the heat for a week and it’s gotten cold out, (I hardened many of mine on a table in the sun in October). It’s not the end of the world if hardening didn’t happen, some of the squash have been kind of hardened already by being in the farmstand bins.
Not all squashes need to be hardened to store, acorn squashes for example generally do not respond well to hardening. Acorns can also tolerate slightly colder temps than the low 50s (sometimes I put them in my bulkhead). Acorns generally keep for up to a month or so but I’ve kept them twice as long and they’ve held up well. If the skin starts turning orange, like, in more than one spot, it’s a signal to use them. If they are ready to use before I am, I’ll roast, puree and freeze them for later use.
Cold storage usually involves checking the squash every few days, as one blemished squash can take a bunch down with it quickly. Use the blemished ones up right away and keep them away from their buddies. Ideally storing the squash in a single layer is best (off the basement floor), but I keep mine stacked in small crates, since I move them around if the temperature shifts drastically.
Bonnie Plants has an informative page on storing winter squash. I hope this all helps! Feel free to check back with more questions, and happy storing! Jess