Full Share:  Jelly Potatoes, Salad Mix, Carrots, Sun Gold Tomatoes, Slicing Tomato, Cucumber, Shishito Peppers, Acorn Squash, Red and Sweet Onions, and Garlic

Partial Share:  Arugula, Sungold Tomatoes, Acorn Squash, Jelly Potatoes, Red Onion, Garlic, and Carrots.

Hello CSA members!

See you at CSA Pickup!  Haha.  Ha. Ha.  Boy, I’m tired.   Who the hell grew so many cabbages, potatoes and carrots?   Unfortunately, I think I’ve more than adequately covered the topic of this season being a butt kicker, so no need to drone on about that.  Hmm, What to talk about…

The sight of yellow school buses coming down the road each morning is a sure sign that the CSA season is nearing an end.  It also brings me back to my childhood.  You see, I cut my teeth on this whole farming thing as a kid growing up in a family that happened to have a 2-acre vegetable “garden”.  I was a shy kid.  And it’s no wonder.  When I was first entering school, we all got run through exams and assessments, and that first year the doctors told my parents, with me sitting in the room, that I had a “lazy” eye, a speech impediment, and possibly scoliosis.  It’s a miracle I ever got out of bed again.  Thank goodness kids are resilient.  I figured I had the perfect solution to all these ailments….I would spend all my time outside, and never talk to anyone.  That more or less worked until I was about 30.  Fortunately, my eyesight ended up being fine, the speech issue was quickly fixed  in 1st grade by a speech therapist, and the scoliosis….well, the back is still a work in progress.  But my love for being outside has not abated.  And it is one of the many, if not one of the simpler, reasons that I enjoy farming so much.   So in spite of me griping this season about how tired I am due to the farm being under-staffed, I still wouldn’t trade it for anything.  And wouldn’t you know it, Rebecca now accuses me of being long-winded!  Guess I saved up all my talking for my 40’s.

This week we have a beautiful new potato variety, named Jelly (sorry to ruin all the jokes, but no, they are do not have a jelly filling),  that performed really well for us.   And the tomatoes are still going strong….definitely our best tomato year ever.  With only a couple of weeks left of CSA, we will also be adding some winter squash to each remaining share.  This week we are starting with Acorn, which is probably the most recognizable winter squash for most people.   Most often, it is cut in half, seeds scooped out, and then baked face up in the oven with maple syrup, or butter and brown sugar on it.  It’s also quite popular for the first soup of the fall season.  Did I ever tell you the story of how I spent 3 months living in a cabin in the Russian Far East eating nothing but soup?  It’s true…so I try to avoid soup recipes at all cost.  But I thought I’d throw the idea out there for you nonetheless.   Have you tried searing the shisito peppers in a hot frying pan yet, adding a pinch of sea salt, and eating them whole?  Lots of positive feedback on that one, and this may be your last week try it if you haven’t done so already.

Hard to believe it’s going to start getting dark by the end of CSA pickup….See you there!

Todd and the Two Bear Farm crew