Hello, my fellow Springdellians and beyond!
We wanted to start this week saying thanks to our farm crew for the amazing bounty they’ve provided so far, and in the face of the greatest drought of our time. Our farm family has provided us with all of this with a smile on their faces, which can not be an easy task in light of the current conditions. We appreciate it more than they know.
In return, action from our side of the farm counter can be taken to help our fellow farmers. Currently, it sounds as if the Massachusetts Commissioner of Agriculture could use a little nudge from us in declaring Massachusetts an agricultural disaster zone. Many of our farmers need help to weather this season and all of the repercussions that it brings, and a call to your local senators and reps would go far in helping this to happen. For further information, please visit the Springdell Farm Facebook Page and check out the post from September 13th which details how many of our local farms are in crisis, or reach out to us here at CSA365 if we can answer any questions.
This photo is actually missing 2 bunches of kale and a bag of spinach, the share this week was bursting with flavors of the fall.
Here comes the breakdown of share box 14:
- butternut squash
- Jess is hoarding hers for Butternut Squash Burritos
- In storage at Sarah’s house
- acorn squash
- Cold storage
- In storage at Sarah’s house
- summer squash
- Grilled
- Summer squash rice bowls
- zucchini
- Slated for Zucchini Bites
- Zucchini Waffles
- potatoes
- Chilled Coconut Corn Soup (second testing)
- In the slow cooker with chicken thighs
- green cabbage
- Okonomiyaki (recipe is coming!)
- awaiting use at Sarah’s house
- butter and sugar corn
- Enjoyed as is, and frozen for winter recipes
- apples
- Apple Pie Cookies
- Spinach Apple Smoothies
- Dipped in Greek yogurt, honey, walnuts (again, so good!)
- Lunch boxes
- Enjoyed with peanut butter
- Apple pie cupcakes
- onions
- Squash Latkes (forthcoming)
- In the slow cooker with potatoes and chicken thighs
- squash bombs
- Squash Latkes
- Stuffed with cheezy polenta for grown-up lunch boxes
- cucumber
- Enjoyed as-is
- habeñeros
- Hanging to dry
- In Jess’ summer squash burrito filling
- Shared with Sarah’s neighbors
- lettuce
- Lunch and dinner Salads
- kale
- Smoothies
- Blanched and Frozen for Future Smoothies
- Tote of honey crisp apples
- Enjoyed as-is, so good!
- 1 dozen farm fresh eggs
- Apple Pie Cookies
- Scrambled and hard boiled for the boys’ breakfasts
- Hard boiled and sliced on salads
- Zucchini waffles
- 2 colorful bunches of zinnias
- red russian kale
- Smoothies
- baby spinach
- Salads, and in 2 spinach and apple smoothies
Here’s a quick run through Jess’ kitchen this week:
A simple dinner of garlic mashed potatoes, cukes, corn, and slow cooked beef stew meat made for a yummy and balanced dinner for kids and grown-ups alike!
Chilled Coconut Corn Soup was tested again this week, I found the taste to be quite similar to Sweet Potato Chowder.
Black beans joined this goulash of tomatoes, peppers, onion, tomatillo salsa and summer squash. Mixed with Mexican seasonings and rice to absorb the liquid, it made for a delicious filling for burritos & tacos this week. Looks a lot like Ratatouille, one of this week’s featured recipes!
Even us CSA folk enjoy Taco Tuesdays!
Here are some grilled Springdell Beef Kabobs, summer squash and grilled jalapeños from the swap box.
Fresh whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon made for a delicious topping for our easy baked apple desserts this week.
Kale Brownies. I know I know. But hey, when Kale is in abundance, this is a sure way to see it disappear!
I’ve been wanting to try out these Apple Pie Cookies for a while. There are several recipes out there, but this one from Cooking Panda was the quickest, and when you have a toddler and a first grader at your heels, quick is key.
I even skipped the caramel sauce, substituting melted butter mixed with brown sugar.
They were a hit!
Now let’s take a whip through Sarah’s kitchen:
This is the “before” shot of my crock pot chicken thighs with sliced potatoes and onion. We are into soccer season so quick and hearty meals are often in the crock pot.
Ok, don’t judge me, but this was actually a lunch of mine this week. This is what sounded good to me, and it totally hit the spot.
These are apple pie cupcakes…um, yes, they are delicious with a little cream cheese frosting.
My other lunches this week were these quick rice bowls. A little soy sauce and sautéed summer squash.
I had squash bombs still from a previous share so I cooked them up together and stuffed them full of cheezy polenta to go in the adult lunch boxes for next week. I’m sure we will enjoy them!
Of course, the last few weeks I have been working on my freezer stash for the winter months and this week was no exception. I was behind on my peppers so here they are along with two more bags of fresh corn. I definitely see corn chowder in my future!
Tune in tomorrow for Sunday night dinner and then we will see you back here for the “show” post on Monday!