We finally pulled all of our irrigation equipment out of the field this week. We also took the plastic “skin” off of the simple greenhouse we built in the field last spring. (We still have to take down the frame.) As soon as things dry out we’ll get around to collecting all of the row cover that’s sprawled across the farm. (Row cover is the white fabric we use to cover the crops to keep our insects and to stave off freezing temps.) After we harvest the last of the crops, we’ll take down the deer fence and maybe take a nap.

Next week we hope to put a roof over Kendra’s oven and to plant our garlic. Last year we only got a chance to plant 3 or 4 pounds before the snow blanketed everything, but we planted another 10 or so pounds this past spring. This year I hope to plant something just over 40 pounds and I hope to do it before I have to chip away at the soil with an ice pick. that should give us plenty to satisfy those of you who love garlic.

This weekend we head to an annual farming conference to learn more about our craft, catch up with friends, eat some really great food, and to reflect on the season. As we wind down, we’re finishing up recording some receipts and catching up on tracking our budget. (Wait … we had a budget?!) Kendra and I will sit down and have a quick meeting about how the farm and the bakery did this year, how we progressed towards our goals, what we should tweak for next year, etc etc. Then we get to start planning for next year, and it all starts over again…

Important reminder: last share of the season is Tuesday, November 4; NEXT week!!

All shares contain:

• Misato Rose Radish
• Parsley
• Celeriac
• Lettuce
• Chives

“Full” shares also contain:

• Green Sweet Peppers
• Lettuce
• an Eastern Rise squash

Veggie Notes

Misato Rose radish – These are gorgeous radishes. They can be white, green and/or red on the outside and they have a deep pink nova of color on the inside. Their flavor is generally spicey with a touch of sweetness from the hard frosts we’ve been getting. A classic preparation for these long keeping roots is to slice them, sprinkle them with salt and saute them in butter. Tonight, I’m eating one raw, sliced and salted, with some home-cured proscuitto and beer.

Parsley – Frosted parsley can be a real revelation. The frost does something to make it really sweet. Try eating a whole sprig of it alone

Chives – We put in some chives this week because we were thinking that celeriac is really good when mashed up in mashed potatoes, and what’re mashed potatoes without chives…

Celeriac – I’ve written a bit about celeriac before, back when we started harvesting it before it was really ready. Sorry about that. But hey, I’m sure someone in Manhattan would have paid a LOT of money for fresh, organic, baby celeriac. In any event, we pulled the last of our celeriac planting this week and — in the intervening month — they’ve sized up quite a bit. In addition to being really good roasted (it takes a long time, though; make sure it’s nice and soft), it’s excellent when sliced and fried (or oven fried) into “chips” and is all really good when mashed up with potatoes. I’ll just take a stab here and say 2-3 parts potatoes to 1 part celeriac. Boil as you do the spuds, then mash together.

No recipes this week…

We hope you enjoy the share!

As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.