CSA Harvest: fennel, tomatoes (lots of beautiful heirlooms of all shapes and colors), basil, onions, root crop bundle (beets, carrots, turnips), beans, peppers (sweet and spicy), eggplant (Group A), strawberries (Group B), cucumbers, squash, dill (if you want to pickle this week), salad mix (spinach, lettuce, mizuna, baby kale), kale

Wow, the harvest list keeps getting bigger. We had a wonderful family farm dinner last night with roasted fennel and root vegetables and wanted to be able to pass that opportunity on to you. The dinner was done Dixon style: without opening a recipe book. We coarsely chopped beets, turnips, carrots and fennel, tossed it with olive oil and salt and roasted it at 300 degrees in the oven until slightly browned and tender. We also chopped some fresh tomatoes and basil and drizzled aged balsamic over them. Yum, I could eat that every meal.

We have some fresh salad greens to offer you again after a few weeks drought in that category. Finding the space to successively harvest greens to get them to you every week has been a challenge for us this year, but one we hope we can overcome next year by opening up a few more beds for greens. This week’s mix is beautiful, baby lettuce, mizuna, baby kale and spinach.

Believe it or not, our strawberries are still here – not in large numbers, but steady just the same. The alpine varieties come in late season, but they are the tastiest so that is what we like to grow. One of the greatest privileges of our farming life is to bring a few berries home to Raina at the end of the day and watch the look on her face when she sees them.

Lastly, if you get the urge to preserve some tomatoes for the winter you can always (until frost!) order a 25 lb. box for $40. That’ll make 12 quart jars of sauce or 6 quart jars if you decide to strain the liquid. Freeze some basil, onions and peppers to add when you open the jars and it’ll be better than anything you find in the store. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions about how we go about canning our tomatoes, it’s not as daunting as it seems.  See you tomorrow!