As one season ends and another begins, we are starting to get a full picture of what the final weeks of the CSA will hold. Many things are still growing but a few things may not finish and fully ripen on the vine. We have finally pulled all of our potatoes but still have sweet potatoes going strong in our garden section known as Old World. Our winter squash is still chugging away as well, and we hope to have Delicata and Butternut to share by the end (fingers crossed). Looking forward to showing people the farm at our Harvest Bonfire this weekend! It looks like we will have a limited number of orange carving pumpkins this year but have a wide selection of edible and decorative pumpkins in an array of colors.

Peri Peri Sauce - This fiery red-orange sauce originated in Africa and has Portuguese influence. It relies heavily on peppers, vinegar, and garlic for its smoky, tangy heat. Use it as a marinade on fish, vegetables, or meat. It’s similar to hot sauce so anything you want to punch up with a little more flavor is a good vehicle. Since our batch is freshly made and not canned, keep in the refrigerator and use within a week or so. We slathered it on fish and made some shrimp skewers that came out great. Chicken is a popular choice and this pasta recipe caught our attention but try a dab and get creative (then let us know what you made).
Rutabaga - These big dogs are sick nasty, large and in charge. We were blown away by how big they got. Don’t be scared. Peel one and pop it in the Instapot on a rack with a lil water and cook on high for 15-20min, depending on the size. Slice into rounds, three step bread, and fry like schnitzel. Be warned, they are in the cabbage family and will have a somewhat funky smell. One of the simplest way to enjoy these is to cube, boil, and mash them with butter. Here are a few more ideas to get the wheels turning.
Onions - Nothing new here, just the same delicious cured sweets and reds.
Potatoes - We mined these beauties out of the rich, luscious soil a couple days ago. Enjoy the freshest potatoes earth has to offer. Y’all got ‘Purple Magic Molly’, Russets, and ‘German Butterballs’ this week! (Feel free to return the orange drawstring bags these came in if you do not plan to use them. We utilize these for all sorts of things on the farm and will gladly put them to use.
Lettuce - We would like to believe you eat lettuce everyday of your life. Hence why we gave you anther bag of these delicate greens. Eat up and glow like the sun my friends.
Kale - ‘Lacinato’ - These nutrient dense leaves are reminiscent of dinosaur skin. We recommend blending them in smoothies or massaging them in a salad.
Peppers - Tis the season. We are flush with green, red, hot, sweet, you name it! We loaded you up and made a sauce that will inspire.
Tomatoes - Lordy, lordy, there is no shortage of tomatoes! If you feel shorted, please come out and pick ‘til your heart is content. We started the sauce making process, so get ready to make some fresh noods and get a slurpin’.
Eggplant - Guess what? These can also be made like schnitzel. We recently saw it listed on the menu at Duke’s Inferno in Woodstock and it was so tasty it was already sold out. Theirs featured black garlic tomato sauce, parmesan, and herbs. Emily plans on using the last of ours in a take on Pasta alla Norma.
Summer Squash - Not sure how our haggard plants keep producing these, but we’re guessing this will be the last time you see them. Pretty sure only a few people got them this time but we tried to spread the love as far as we could.
Melons - Aside from watermelons, our melons got ravaged by beetles. Seems to be the same story when scrolling through our fellow farmers’ Instagram posts. We sent out the last of our watermelon harvest. Please save and return any seeds you collect as it means more watermelons in the future.

Herbs: Rosemary, Sage, Mint, Chervil

For our city folk we included some of the final garlic, cipollini onions, parsley and watermelon (see box 7).

September - CSA Box #8

This week's bouquets featured:

Dahlias

Celosia

Marigolds

Honeywort

Amaranth