14th CSA Week

Another CSA harvest day is here again. It was a bit on the damp side for most of the morning but all in all everything went fine. The count down is on as we only have four weeks left and now the trick is to make sure we have enough vegetables to finish off the CSA season but also keep some for ourselves for the winter. Every year we always seem to make sure everyone is taken care of and often forgot about our own vegetable needs until its too late and then we end up having to buy our veggies from neighbours and friends for the winter. We'll still end up doing that for some vegetables but hopefully not all.


This weeks grab box - yummy

I always heard that pea shoots were very tasty so I grew just a small patch of snap peas just for the sole purpose of cutting off the small tender shoots for the fall CSA baskets. I'm hoping to get feedback from the members as to how they liked them as I would grow lots more next year if they are wanted. They are great chopped into a salad or added into a stir-fry.


Yummy pea shoots


Back this week are radish, they are so pretty when they are tiny like this.


Bush Delicata winter squash. This squash is often called the sweet potato squash, because it's flavor and texture is pretty close to a sweet potato. They will store well for weeks.
To cook place unpeeled pieces cut sides down on a shallow baking dish and bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes or longer. Check for doneness by piercing with a fork. When tender, remove from the oven and allow the pieces to cool. Spoon out the soft flesh and mash with a fork or process in a blender or food processor. Peeled pieces can be cut into cubes and boiled until tender. Use with any recipe calling for cooked, mashed or pureed squash. Or microwave the squash pieces on high for 15 minutes or longer.

I made a very yummy spaghetti sauce this week. I had about 4-5 large tomatoes along with a handful of cherry tomatoes and I took the skins off the larger ones. This is easily done by making a small X in the bottom of the tomato and putting into boiling water. Just leave it there for about 30 seconds and then put it into a dish of ice cold water and the skins will come right off. I chopped up the tomatoes and set aside till I was ready to use them. I sautéed garlic, onions and 2 leeks in a frying pan until the onions were soft and added in the tomatoes, a handful of cilantro and a few shakes of cumin. I let the sauce cook away for about 30 minutes and then added some cooked ground beef that I had leftover in the fridge. I must say it was very tasty!! The boys love tomatoes so they really liked supper that night.

This coming Sunday is the 7th Annual Organic Harvest Festival taking place in Charlottetown from 1-4pm at the Experimental Farm off of Mt Edward Road, by the roundabout. Tickets are $35.00 including tax and admission for children under the age of 12 is free. It promises to be a great event. Tickets are available at the following locations:
All Sobeys stores across PEI
Charlottetown Farmers Market (Island Sunshine booth)
Summerside Farmers Market (Emmerdale Eden booth and Red Isle Farm booth)
Timothy's, Charlottetown
The Turning Point, Montague
The Dunes Cafe
Off Broadway Restaurant
Merchantman Pub
By calling 894-9999

The menu looks like this
Sweet and Spicy Carrot Salad
Crunchy Cabbage Slaw
Buried Treasure Potato Salad
Fresh Breads from the Wood Fired Oven
Mixed Green Salad w/ Apple Vinaigrette
Roasted Pumpkin and Ginger Soup
Bountiful Harvest Beef Stew with Homemade Biscuit
Ida Red Apple Flatbreads with ADL Organic Cheddar and Mustard Cream
Cranberry and Sage Stuffed Sirloin Roast with Caramelized Onion Mashed Potato
Lamb Kofta Curry or Tofu Kofta
Curry with Mint Yoghurt Sauceand Naan Bread
Old Fashioned Apple Crisp with Cane Sugar Caramel
Candied Apples
Sounds pretty awesome to me. We're planning on going unless the barn is ready for the steel.


The boys were up checking out the barn progress tonight with Derek and they found a very dirty mud puddle. Derek said they splashed around and made a great big mess and had a great time. They each now have a pair of rubber boots so they are loving the puddles now even more than before.

Ben & Jake enjoying the sunny fall day