BLUE GOOSE NEWS SepTember 19 - 21, 2017 – Week 16 From the Farmer… I must confess that I wanted to cheat this week. On Sundays I usually go through the fields and figure out which vegetables are ready and what I can use to put in the box for the week. It’s also the time I collect my thoughts and figure out what I want to write in the newsletter. For some reason, I was particularly tired on Sunday and just couldn’t organize my thoughts. I offered to pay my daughter, Sarah, to be my ghost-writer. Without hesitation, and very much tongue-in-cheek, she said she could not write and sound as pessimistic as I do. And there it is. I guess I need to change my attitude! This is perhaps why I have children…to make sure my head doesn’t get too big. When it comes to filling the boxes, my overall plan for each week is to fill them with mostly basic and familiar vegetables with maybe one or two items that you typically would not find in your grocery store, like the scapes, kohlrabi, or Romanesco. So I have strived to improve the familiar vegetables, which I think are turning out well. One of my many goals this year was to produce better broccoli. I think it has been much better than years past. The color is consistent, the size is nice, and the flavor is good. I am happy with the increased production this season. Some of the broccoli heads are quite large. What’s nice about this is that you often can use the one head in two different recipes. Everyone knows what to do with broccoli – soup is one of our favorites! And we do have a “Recipe Addition” for a new casserole idea to try. If you think you might not use your broccoli now, you can freeze it for later. I was hoping to have Romanesco in the box this week, but it is not quite ready. If you haven’t received Romanesco in your box yet this year, it is a blend of cauliflower and broccoli – but the head spirals outward into points. According to the seed catalog, Romanesco is best for fall production. I was happy with how it did in the summer. And it looks good for the upcoming week, just needs a little more time to grow. The list of vegetables this week, though, are as basic as they come. You are getting the staples of every kitchen: celery, carrots, onions, garlic. Potatoes and tomatoes. Everyone knows what to do with all of these. We often try to provide a recipe that gives a boost to the ordinary preparation of these basics, but sometimes it’s good just to keep it simple and enjoy the vegetables the way nature intended – boiled, steamed, and with a bit of butter. However you eat your veggies, we hope you like them. Have a wonderful week! Scott & Chrissy Farabaugh www.bluegoosefarmnicktown.com
IN THE BOX THIS WEEK
Broccoli Butternut Squash Carrots Celery Garlic Onions Potatoes Tomatoes
NEXT WEEK’S BEST GUESSES
Butternut Squash Carrots Celeriac Leeks Potatoes Romanesco
Noah and Will Subich with Sarah at Farm Day.
Finally… our beloved butternut is here!
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The Subich Family Members since 20 We are Jason and Jessica Subich, and we feed our three growing boys – Noah (6), Will (4), and Ben (2) – with our CSA produce. I am a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, and my husband is a 911 dispatcher. The most fun part of the CSA vegetables for me is learning how to make foods I have not eaten before or would pick up in the grocery store, and my husband likes to pack our creations in his work lunches. I also appreciate being able to feed my children locally grown, organic produce, and I’m challenged to get my sons (and sometimes my husband!) to eat vegetables that may be a little intimidating otherwise. Some of my strategies include throwing a handful of Oshaped noodles from the Italian store into beans and greens made from Swiss chard and cannellini beans and of course making a lot of soup since that’s a favorite here – especially cabbage soup with zucchini, green beans, and carrots. For my husband and I, we like eating salads for dinner that not only include the variety of nutritious greens provided but also the different weekly vegetables mixed in. I like to freeze what I can for the fall and winter to make meal preparation easier when we’re both working and juggling our schedules to accommodate caring for our boys. My fondest CSA memories involve preparing dishes from the weekly boxes at home with my children. I remember the first time I let the boys try chopping kale… www.bluegoosefarmnicktown.com
…and scooping out zucchini seeds for a stuffed zucchini recipe. We had kale and zucchini pieces everywhere, but they loved being involved. Most importantly to me, they tried what we made. In the red-dye-40-world of processed food we live in, I love that I can feed my family produce from a family farm right here in Cambria County! While the rain for the CSA Farm Day in July may have been a deterrent to some, our sons thought walking around with umbrellas and splashing in the mud was a highlight! They loved getting to know Sarah, doing the scavenger hunt, walking through the fields, and Ben didn’t want to stop playing in the corn. They had a lot of questions about the farm and keep asking to go back to the “goose farm” to play! We first learned about Blue Goose Farm through our neighbors, and we’ve stayed because of the quality and variety of produce we receive throughout the seasons.
ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP (by Jessica Subich) 1 butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeds removed and reserved 1 t plus 1 T olive oil, divided 1 large Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apple 1 large onion, diced 3 stalks celery, diced 4 medium carrots, diced 1 t chili powder ¼ t ground cumin ¼ t garlic powder ½ t black pepper Dash hot pepper flakes 6 C chicken broth 1 (15 oz.) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed Preheat oven to 425F. Line baking sheet with foil. Brush 1 tsp. olive oil over the cut sides of the squash halves; place cut side down on foil. Roast until knife tender, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Meanwhile, peel, core, and dice the apple. Heat the remaining 1 T olive oil in a large pot (or Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add apple, onion, celery, and carrots and cook until softened; stir occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add seasonings: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, black pepper, and hot pepper flakes. Add chicken broth; simmer on low until vegetables are soft. When squash is cooked through, allow it to cool enough to handle. Using a large spoon, scoop the flesh into the pot with the soup; discard skin. Add cleaned beans and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until the squash is tender and the flavors meld. Stir occasionally and break up any large pieces of squash. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. (Alternately, the soup may be pureed in a blender in batches or in a food processor.) Serve garnished with roasted seeds (see below), if desired. To roast the squash seeds, rinse scooped-out seeds removing all the stringy flesh. Sprinkle with chili powder (about ½ t) and a dash of garlic powder. Roast them in the heated oven for 10 minutes on the same foil used for the squash. Remove and allow to cool until the soup is ready. EAT WELL. EAT OFTEN.
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