From the Garden this Week…

From the Garden this Week…

Bell Peppers, Assorted Eggplant, Radishes and Baby White Turnips, Spaghetti Squash, Green Onions, Mixed Cherry Tomatoes, Salanova Lettuce, Sweet Potatoes, Salad Greens and Fuyu Persimmons

Coming Soon… Snap Peas

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

This week we are sending out our sweet potatoes. As you will soon see, we grew some extra-large ones this year. They can be roasted whole, but they are great for peeling and cutting up into cubes. In the recipe that I included here, I roasted the cut cubes with honey and cinnamon. The cinnamon makes this seem like desert without so much sugar. You can substitute the honey with maple syrup or brown sugar, or try it without any added sweetener and just enjoy the flavor of the sweet potatoes. For a savory taste, I also suggest roasting the sweet potatoes with curry powder or chili powder, both make great combinations. These potatoes should store well in a cool dark location if you would like to save them until Thanksgiving.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey and Cinnamon

4-5 cups sweet potatoes in 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling potatoes after cooked

3-4 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl toss the sweet potato cubes with the oil, honey, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Lay the seasoned sweet potatoes out in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes in oven or until tender. Take sweet potatoes out of the oven and taste, season with a little more salt if desired. Then transfer them to a serving platter. If you need to make this ahead, cover and hold in a warm oven until ready to eat.

Thanksgiving is Coming Soon

Our regular delivery on Thursday, November 28 will be cancelled for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

We have more pumpkins available if you would like one for your next delivery please let us know. They are great for both sweet and savory dishes and for decoration too!

Also, the cold weather will bring an end to the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. If you would like extra will have these for just a few more weeks.

Thanksgiving Harvest…

This year I can celebrate our bumper crop of spaghetti squash with this Thanksgiving inspired recipe adapted from Melissa D’Arabian. It uses the traditional spices of sage and parsley and it would make a great alternative to a bread stuffing if you have guests that are gluten free. We will still have more squash after this week, so let me know if you need a few for your Thanksgiving table.

Thanksgiving Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash, cooked until tender

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 teaspoons fresh sage, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

½ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Cut the cooked spaghetti squash in half (if you cooked it whole), remove the seeds, and put the spaghetti strings in a large mixing bowl. Save the spaghetti squash shells if you would like to serve the squash in the shells. In medium skillet over medium heat, cook the onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the sage, rosemary and garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. In the mixing bowl with the squash add the parsley and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice and pecans, Parmesan cheese and the onion-herb mix. Toss everything together, seasoning well with salt and pepper. For a casserole, place the spaghetti squash mix in a greased baking dish or the spaghetti squash shells. Bake at 375 degrees until the squash reaches a temperature of 165 degrees.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul by Julie Moreno…

It seems that at times that we are growing a buffet for our underground friends. The missing plants in the picture on the right have been sucked underground.

The past two weeks, I have arrived to find significant damage to our new plantings of broccoli and brussels sprouts, just as the plants are getting up to size.

I have lots of patience and in the past have been the one to sooth Cindi when these critters have made and appearance. But this past week, I have been put to the test.

Losing a few carrots doesn’t seem like much, now we are looking at loosing several plants that would have given us our first cruciferous veggies of the winter.

Just as the summer cucumbers and squash have come to an end I get to fret to see if we have will have enough to fill our baskets.

In time I would like to learn to accept these challenges, but for now I’m going to get to learn how to grow microgreens, just in case.