2014 Fall Share #1

Welcome to your first fall CSA share!  Read below in how to store your veggies properly and as a general rule, wait to wash them until right before you are ready to eat them (this preserves their quality for longer).  Thanks to all of you for a glorious start to the CSA season!

Share Notes:

• Acorn Squash—Sweet Reba variety. These small and delicious winter squash are great baked or grilled.  Leave the dirt on for now, as it contains a thin coating of wild yeasts that will protect against rotting, and just wash them when you’re ready to use them. Store at room temp for up to 3-4 weeks. (You’ll be getting more, so go ahead and use them up!) Acorn squash are actually pretty tough to grow here in humid and buggy East Texas, so we are so thrilled to be sending these out to you! Please enjoy!
• Eggplant—Interesting varieties: fairytale and Japanese.  These eggplants all have a bit of sunscald on them from hanging out on the plants through Blazing September. They’re still excellent for eating! Simply scrape those bits off with a vegetable peeler and you’re good to go. Try one of the several eggplant dishes from our kitchen. Store them in a bag in the fridge where they’ll last several days, or out on the counter at room temp if you’ll use them within 2-3 days.
• Bell Peppers—Sweet and beautiful in green, purple, and a few yellow, orange, and red hues. Store them in a bag in the fridge where they’ll last several days, or out on the counter at room temp if you’ll use them within 2-3 days.
• Radishes—Easter egg variety.  Radishes are delectable when roasted. Try them with this way with the bell peppers and some garlic. Store in the fridge. Did you know the tops are edible too? They’re really tender and delicious right now.
• Kale—Red Russian variety. It’s so young and tender-this is the perfect time to eat it raw in a salad. As the weather cools the leaves will get a bit tougher, so enjoy the wonderfully delicate texture.
• Sweet Potatoes—Try out our favorite use of this vegetable: spicy sweet potato soup with greens.  These sweet potatoes were grown by our friend Jose Gomez in some amazingly sandy soil just a few miles from Red Moon Farm. He’s the best sweet potato farmer around. Store at room temperature in a dry place.
• Hot Peppers—Jalapeno/Chipotle or Serrano. They’ve turned a lovely red as they’ve had all summer to continue maturing on the plant. When the fruits mature all the way to this red hue, they’re called Chipotles! Store sealed in a bag in the fridge.

We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this season. Send us a note or post a comment of how you’ve used your CSA share!

Large Share

Large share (Left to right): sweet potatoes, Easter Egg radish, acorn squash, Chipotle peppers, Fairy Tale eggplant, bell peppers, and Red Russian kale.

Small Share

Small share (left to right): acorn squash, bell peppers, serrano peppers, Easter Egg radish, Fairy Tale eggplant (some shares received Japanese eggplant) sweet potatoes, and Red Russian Kale.

Jessica & Justin