Full Share:  Russian Banana Fingerling Potatoes, Music Garlic, Rainbow Carrots, Eggplant, Winter Squash, Kale, Tomatoes, Bell Pepper, Red Onion, Sweet Onions, and Brussel Sprouts

Partial Share:  Everything in smaller portions less winter squash

Hello CSA Members!

It’s Week #19 of a 20 Week CSA season!  You know the work load is getting bad when the quote you give your crew on Monday morning as a motivational speech is:

“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”  Theodore Roosevelt

Yep, things are getting desperate 🙂 We’ve been busy around here at the farm trying to get ready for fall by bringing in all the onions, potatoes, carrots and winter squash in addition to the CSA’s and Farmers Markets each week.  And thanks goodness we’ve been hustling, because mother nature is about to drop the hammer on us tonight.  I’m guessing we’ll see 21 degrees at the farm by sunrise.  It’s a huge relief that all of the frost sensitive crops have already been harvested and given out to CSA, so there is not much at risk of being lost tonight.  Here’s a little bit of trivia for you.  During last year’s extremely long, hot, and dry summer, guess which day the first hard freeze hit (21 degrees)?   You might be surprised to hear that it was this same week in September!

It’s certainly a short growing season here in northwest Montana, but hopefully we’ve been able to surprise you this season with the diversity of vegetables that can be grown here.  As a CSA member, you have taken a bit of a journey down the road of seasonal eating, which is something most Americans don’t do anymore.  And we hope you have enjoyed the experience. Here’s another bit of trivia for you…Did you know that the original carrot was not orange?   The carrot was first documented in Ancient Egypt over 5,000 years ago and was primarily found in purple and yellow. The reason I bring this up is that your rainbow carrots this week consist of the orange variety you know and love, as well as purple and yellow.  And if you eat them raw, well, you’ll notice they not all carrots are created equal, and there was a reason orange has become the favorite.  But while these other colors may not be great raw, they really shine when cooked.  We give out these multi colored carrots precisely one time each year so that you can experience them, and I highly recommend you roasting them.,,,check out these beautiful options. And for those of you who have not had Russian Banana Fingerling potatoes before, they are basically the most tender and delicious variety out there.  You don’t need to get fancy with them….just roast them in the over with olive oil and sea salt.  Or try a couple of these variations.

Ok….last trivia question….What happens when you accidentally shut your black lab in the high tunnel greenhouse and then call her for dinner?

Yep…no greenhouse film will stand between my lab and a meal.

Freeze aside, the rest of the week’s weather looks terrific, so enjoy.  And we’ll see you at CSA distribution.

Todd and the Two Bear Farm Crew.