13th CSA Week

Today's harvest day went a little big smoother than last week's, I had my truck back, it was not raining and my helper was not sick. Much smoother.

This weeks large share included leeks, mixed tomatoes, red & yellow onion and a shallot, lettuce mix, swiss chard, green peppers (and the odd purple pepper), cucumber, zucchini, winter squash (buttercup, butternut or blue hubbard), parsnips, carrots and cabbage (green or red). The grab box had dill, cilantro, parsley, beets, rutabaga, and more of the above mentioned veggies.

If you still have leeks left over try out last week's potato leek soup, its a yummy one.

Winter squash can be cooked several ways. Check out the following sites for how to instructions.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2896_make-thai-green.html
http://allrecipes.com//HowTo/winter-squash-how-to-cook-it/Detail.aspx

Parsnips are typically much sweeter after they have gone through a few frosty nights but since we have quite a few in the ground I thought I would start digging a few for you to enjoy. Last evening I peeled and cut a few bigger ones and boiled until soft, then I mashed them with a bit of butter and salt & pepper. yum yum yum. A touch of brown sugar or maple syrup would sweeten them up for those that might find them a bit bland this time of the year.

If you have any amount of zucchini hanging around why not try this pureed soup recipe reccomended by Melanie, thanks for sending this along!!

Roasted Zucchini and Carrot Pureed Soup (with Curry) - From Nova Scotia Cooking Cook Book

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Large Carrot
2 Medium Zucchini
1 Medium Onion
4 Cloves Garlic
1 tsp. Curry
Salt and Pepper to taste (a little pepper goes a long way)
4 Cups Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup heavy cream (35%)

Cut zucchini, carrot and onion in 2 cm dice. In a medium sized Dutch Oven, heat Olive on medium heat and add carrots, zucchini, and onion. Cook for 7 minutes - stir occasionally. Add garlic, curry, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover and transfer to a preheated 375 F oven for 15 minutes. Remove and add chicken stock and cook for another 7 minutes. Remove from heat, add cream and blend until smooth.



Beautiful mixed tomatoes


Buttercup Winter Squash


Winter Squash


Butternut Winter Squash


Blue hubbard winter squash

I'll leave you with a few recent pics of the boys. We went to Pleasant Farm on Sunday for the open farm day and the boys loved seeing the baby pigs, calves, and all the kids playing around the farm. It was a great day.

The boys getting to sit in Grampy's big blue tractor


Me & my boys


Jake staring down the camera