Weekly CSA Newsletter: October 22-28, 2006 (Week #20)

In This Issue:

  1. This week's share may include: ...
  2. Pick-Your-Own Crops and Information
  3. Notes from the Field - 'Thank you, Thank you, Thank you'
  4. Recipes
  5. Upcoming Events: Third Sunday Gathering August 20th at 4 PM
  6. CFO Contact Information

1. This week's share may include

  • Winter Squash
  • Radicchio
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Carrots
  • Rutabaga
  • Turnips
  • Choice of Greens
  • Cabbage

This week is the final distribution! Come pick up winter squash and root veggies for the late fall and winter and say good-bye to the farm for another season.

Winter share distributions are November 19 and December 17 from 2-6 PM under the distribution shelter at the farm.

2. Pick-Your-Own Crops

  • Cilantro / Dill / Parsley

All shareholders are invited to pick your own from 9 AM to 7:30 PM on Sundays and from 3 PM to 7:30 PM on Thursdays. Please visit the PYO station near the red shed for locations of crops and all PYO tools and materials.

3. Notes from the Field

Annie Lamott once said that she knew only two prayers: 'help me, help me, help me', and 'thank you, thank you, thank you'. Farmers are definitely familiar with both prayers. The first is more commonly heard in farm fields in the spring and summer, but this is the time of the year when the second takes center stage.

The last CSA distribution of the season is definitely a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it is cause for celebration: Waltham Fields Community Farm's largest harvest in our 11-year history. Twenty amazing weeks of vegetables, direct from farm to table, for the more than three hundred families that take part in our CSA program. Thirty thousand dollars' worth of organic produce donated to our hunger relief partner organizations, providing fresh food to local folks in need. Acres of beautiful bright-green cover crops planted and growing to add fertility to the soil for next season. Compost rotting away for next year's crops, thanks to many of you. Frost gone by, root crops sweetened up in the ground. A chance to roll all of those winter squashes and sweet potatoes out of the greenhouse and send them home with all of you.

On the other hand, it is hard to say goodbye to the weekly ritual of harvest and distribution, along with the opportunity to speak with each of our shareholders about food and farming. Your CSA member surveys will give us great information to take into planning the farm for next season, and we'll see some of you at our fall and winter celebrations. But it's not the same as the privilege of being able to talk to you - our customers, supporters, and friends - every week, to let you know what's happening on the farm. I hope that all of you know what a tremendous difference you make as shareholders in our farm, and how much we value your input and your continued presence here. Farmers can think and dream about creating new ways of producing and distributing food, but as the people who buy and eat it, you are the real vanguard of change in our food system.

It is also hard to say goodbye to our incredible 2006 farm crew. It is not every day that I'm lucky enough to work with a group of talented, driven people who also enjoy one another, and their work, so much. Their remarkable skill and passion for sustainable agriculture, combined with their joy in each day, made this season a pleasure for me and for the volunteers who worked with us in the fields. They each brought their individual aptitudes and particular flair to their work with us this season: Danny fixed our BCS tiller, helped me rewire our greenhouse thermostats, and organized countless systems in better ways. Meryl managed our hunger relief harvest and the Davis Square pickup site. Jen ran the Thursday harvest and distribution, helped design and plant the flower garden, kept a healthy hive of bees, and taught us all how to make mouthwatering roasted tomatoes. Nate managed the Sunday distribution, helped design and plant the flower garden, helped us stay on track with fertility management, was constantly aware of the big picture of the farm, and became an expert at seeding and cultivating with the tractor. I can't say enough about them except to wish them the best and to let them know that this land will miss them, and so will I.

Our key volunteers also deserve special recognition at this time of year. Constance Moore coordinated all our hunger relief deliveries for the third year in a row. Janet Yeracaris and Betsy Blagdon, along with Constance, drove thousands of pounds of produce to the Salvation Army, Red Cross food pantry, and Sandra's Lodge. Saskia Oosting edited our CSA newsletter. David Kricker, Sarah Dupere and Tanya Both managed our on-farm CSA distributions. Kerrie Harthan and Ian Tosh shared responsibility for the Davis Square distribution. Annaliese Franz brought thousands of hours of volunteer labor to our fields in her role as volunteer coordinator. Seth, Robin and Becca went beyond the call of duty each week as field workshares. Marian Friedman, Allan, Henry and Daniel Feinstein, Rachel Milgroom and her sons, Samuel and Isaiah, and Helene Newberg were among the shareholders who helped us in the fields and at the washstation. And, as always, we don't know quite what we would do without Ben.

This has been a season of real change in our organization, although not much of it is yet visible in the fields. We recently completed a three-year strategic plan that will take us in new and exciting directions while allowing us to increase our investment in what we are already doing well. Many nonprofit organizations operate farms, but, in my experience, not many are possess the combination of ambition, thoughtfulness and realism about the sustainability and capacity of their farms as our board and executive director. We are moving in directions that will enable us to make a greater impact in our community while preserving the health and long-term viability of our farming operation, and that is something to be very proud of.

When I was younger, not long before I started farming, but before I realized that was what I wanted to do, I used to visit a field by my parents' house whenever I went home to Maryland. In the middle of tobacco country, this field had not been used for growing anything for a long time. Wild plants had grown up in it, but it was still wide open, with a border of trees that had lost their leaves by the time I visited in the late fall and early winter. The openness and apparent health in that field, combined with the muted colors of celebration that I found there, made it a place that still stands out in my mind as both joyful and eminently peaceful. It seemed like a place that had been very productive and was now at rest, and one that had been given a chance to be wild for a little while. I get the same feeling walking around the farm these days. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to take a walk around the land before you leave for the winter, to say goodbye and thank you to the fields that have given us so much this season. We all thank all of you, and wish you a healthy and cozy fall and winter. We hope to see you in the spring. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Amanda Cather, for the farm staff

4. Recipes

Pumpkin Spice Cake

This is just perfect with some warm cider, nice chai, or perhaps pumpkin spice coffee :) Something for the news letter... and its really easy to make! - Meena Kothandaraman

ingredients

  • 4 eggs room temp.
  • 14 oz cooked pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup cooking oil (vegetable oil or canola)
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp clove, ginger and nutmeg (each)

Instructions

  • Preheat to 350F.
  • Beat eggs in mixing bowl until frothy
  • Add sugar.
  • Beat until lemony in colour and fluffy - takes a while - about 5 - 7 minutes
  • Mix in oil and pumpkin ... beat well.
  • Add remaining ingredients
  • Stir until moistened - don't overstir, or the cake goes flat.
  • Turn into greased and floured bundt pan, 9" standard.
  • Bake for about 1 hour, or until insert comes out clean.
  • Let stand 20 minutes.
  • Remove from pan to cool.
  • You can frost with cream cheese frosting, or just warm and serve with butter :)

ENJOY!!

Roasted Squash and Caramelized Onion Tart

  • pie weights or raw rice for weighting shell
  • 1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil plus about 2 teaspoons for brushing squash
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 whole large egg
  • 1/2 large egg yolk (1/2 tablespoon)
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup grated Italian Fontina cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces)
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 1 ounce)
  • 1/4 cup crumbled mild soft goat cheese (about 1 ounce)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and marjoram leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup fine fresh bread crumbs

On a lightly floured surface roll out dough into a 12-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Fit dough into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Freeze shell 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell in middle of oven until edge is pale golden, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights or rice and bake shell 10 minutes more, or until bottom is golden. Leave oven on. Cool shell in pan on a rack.

Halve squash and scoop out seeds. Lightly brush each cut side with about 1 teaspoon oil and on a baking sheet roast squash, cut sides down, in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until soft.

While squash is roasting, thinly slice onion and in a heavy skillet cook in 1/2 tablespoon butter and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Cool squash and scoop out flesh. In a food processor purée squash. Add whole egg, egg yolk, and cream and blend well. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in cheeses, herbs, onion, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour filling into shell, smoothing top.

In a small skillet melt remaining tablespoon butter and stir in bread crumbs until combined well. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture evenly over filling. Bake tart in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool tart in pan on rack 10 minutes and carefully remove rim.

Serves 6 to 8.
Gourmet
You Asked For It; Dahlia Lounge, Seattle WA
November 1998

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger

Source: Bon Appetit Magazine, October 1998

Yield: 8 servings

  • 2 butternut squash (about 4-3/4 pounds total) halved lengthwise and seeded
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups thinly sliced onion
  • 1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic - coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cinnamon stick
  • 5 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
  • chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil baking sheet. Place squash, cut-side down on baking sheet. Bake until squash is very soft, about 50 minutes. Using paring knife, remove peel from squash, discard peel. Cut squash into 2 inch pieces.

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Mix in onion, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and cinnamon. Cover pot and cook until onion is tender, about 15 minutes. Add squash and 5 cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Discard cinnamon.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate.) Return soup to pot. Season soup with salt and pepper. Bring to simmer, thinning soup with more broth if necessary. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

5. Upcoming events

Sunday November 19th - Harvest Potluck

CFO's Annual Meeting - January 2007 (date TBD).

6. Contact Information

To reach us:

Community Farms Outreach is a nonprofit organization dedicated to farmland preservation, hunger relief, and education.

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