End of Another Farming Season

4:21 PM Adrian 0 Comments

Greetings everyone!

We are thankful and happy to see the sunset of yet another successful farming season, full of long work days and lots of good food.  This week has brought us the most frigid temperatures yet....down in the teens!  The barn cats these days follow us around and yowl, as if telling us to turn up the thermostat.  The pigs are shivering so we've been throwing them lots of extra food for the added calories.  It's also the season of hunting deer and rabbits!  We have neighbors visiting our woods with crossbows in the hopes of pulling themselves a big buck.  Winter is slowly beginning!

We are also proud to announce that all our Echollective garlic this year is planted and tucked away already!  The next few weeks we'll spend tucking them in for the winter with thick layers of mulch, to protect them from winter's deep freeze.  As we wrap up garlic, it seems that our farming season is really coming to a close finally.  We have opted out on season extension this winter, and have only a handful of crops left to harvest for Co-op and restaurant orders, so in some ways we are still chugging along....

...and Fall CSA continues!   Don't worry folks, we still have plenty of yummy vegetables put away in storage (and still fresh greens from the field yet!) to put in your CSA boxes.  There are 3 weeks of Fall CSA left!!!

Fall CSA this week:

• Braising Mix
• Mint bunch
• Garlic
• Leeks
• Onions
• Shallots
• Collard Greens
• Potatoes
• Jimmy frying peppers
• Jalapenos
• Apples
• Daikon Radishes
• Winter Squash
• Carrots

See you at Ginter Ave.!


Recipes

Caramelized Shallots (smittenkitchen.com)
Adapted from Ina Garten

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 pounds fresh shallots, peeled, with roots intact
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a 12-inch ovenproof* saute pan, add the shallots and sugar, and toss to coat. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the shallots start to brown. Add the vinegar, salt, and pepper and toss well.
Place the saute pan in the oven and roast for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the shallots, until they are tender. Season, to taste, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot.
* If yours, like mine, is not ovenproof, it works to start this dish in your frying pan then scrape the shallots and sauce into a baking dish when it’s ready to go in the oven.


Cheese and Squash Souffles Recipe (www.myrecipes.com)

• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 3 cups (1-inch) cubed (winter) squash (about 2 medium squashes)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 shallot, peeled and cut into 6 wedges
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper $
• 1 (1-ounce) slice French bread
• Cooking spray $
• 1.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
• 3 tablespoons grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 3 large egg yolks $
• 6 large egg whites $

Preparation

1. Place a small roasting pan in oven. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Remove hot pan from oven; melt butter in pan. Add squash and next 3 ingredients (through shallot) to pan. Sprinkle squash mixture with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper; toss. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until tender, turning once. Cool squash mixture. Place squash mixture in a food processor; process until smooth. Scrape squash mixture into a bowl.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 425°, and place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven.
4. Place the French bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until fine breadcrumbs measure about 1/2 cup. Lightly coat 5 (8-ounce) soufflé ramekins with cooking spray; sprinkle crumbs evenly over dishes.
5. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Add cheeses; stir until smooth. Stir in squash mixture and egg yolks.
6. Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until medium peaks form (do not overbeat). Gently stir one quarter of egg whites into squash mixture; gently fold in remaining egg whites. Divide mixture evenly among prepared dishes. Sharply tap dishes on counter 2 to 3 times to level. Place dishes on preheated baking sheet; place in 425° oven. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 350°. Bake soufflés at 350° for 45 minutes or until golden, puffed, and set. Serve immediately.