Happy Fall! Wild Hare Organic Farm will still be open on Tuesdays 12-7 and Wednesdays from 10-5 from now through December 11th, and we're looking forward to sharing another great season with our CSA Members and local customers! (No Saturdays until next Summer, though). Remember—you don’t have to be a CSA Member to shop at our Farm Sand, and it will still be stocked with an array of organic seasonal produce and local foods. I just lined our shelves with a freshly-roasted batch of coffee beans from Grounds For Change and Jody brought us another golden batch of HONEY. Every Fall, we look forward to providing an opportunity for people to taste and cook with a variety of Winter Squashes, Pumpkins, Pears and Apples at their peak. And I really mean it—there are TEN varieties of Organic Washington Apples available at the Farm Stand this week, many of which are heirloom varieties that we only get to enjoy for a short window each Fall. So, if you’ve been craving the sweet snap of a new-crop Apple, you’ll want to get over here.
As is custom, we're going to kick off our Fall CSA season with the humble yet mighty Acorn Squash. We typically begin with Acorns each Fall, because they're a manageable weeknight serving size, they're versatile, and they have a nutty flavor that you can take in both sweet and savory directions. Acorns don't have the hard exterior of the longest storing varieties, but that's why we enjoy them sooner as opposed to later. They can be served stuffed, or even roasted in wedges or rounds, and eaten with the skins on. (Permission to not peel, granted...and encouraged!) You can even toast up the seeds like you would with a pumpkin. We’re picking a lovely assortment of Mustard Greens (great for stir frying), the final ears of Sweet Corn, and tossing a few Green Tomatoes into the mix harvest-wise now that the temps are cooling off overnight. We’ve also got a patch of fresh Fennel bulbs to harvest in the morning. Because folks ask, yes--the feathery fronds are beautiful and edible, but they don't carry as much flavor as the bulb and stalks. If you're on the fence about Fennel, or the flavor seems too intense, I recommend cooking or caramelizing it with another aromatic vegetable like onion or garlic. It mellows the flavor while bringing a really incredible sweetness to a meal. You can also roast it up, nice and crispy, as a flavorful topping for your first squash soup of the season, a la Alice Waters. And did I mention that it tastes fabulous with Apples? Overall, we're really excited about this week's harvest offerings, and as usual, I'm sharing the first of many weekly selections of recipes to help you get started with Fall.
Many Thanks,
Katie
PS: If you're taking the Fall off from the CSA but intend to return for a future season, be sure to keep an eye peeled for a Priority Registration Link in early November.
IN THE FARMSHARES THIS WEEK:
Acorn Squash
Green/Cherry/Roma Tomatoes
Mustard Greens Mix
Liberty/Spartan/Mutsu Apples
Fennel
Last Ears of Sweet Corn!
RECIPES & SEASONAL TIPS
DILL PICKLE “ANYTHING” (Including those green tomatoes!) - Urban Farm Foods
13 BEST GREEN TOMATO RECIPES - Food Network
GREEN TOMATO SALSA VERDE
Martha Rose Shulman
1 pound green tomatoes
2 to 3 jalapeño or serrano peppers (more to taste)
½ medium onion, preferably a white onion, chopped, soaked for five minutes in cold water, drained, rinsed and drained again on paper towels
Salt to taste
½ cup roughly chopped cilantro
¼ to ½cup water, as needed (optional)
BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SQUASH & MUSTARD GREENS
Claire Saffitz
4 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 12), patted dry
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 scallions, white and pale green parts sliced into 1-inch pieces, dark green parts thinly sliced
4 dried chiles de árbol1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, sliced ½ inch thick
1 bunch mustard greens, tough stems removed, leaves torn
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Cooked white rice (for serving)
CONTINUE TO RECIPE
A VERY CRUNCHY SALAD
FEAT. FENNEL, APPLES & PECANS
Alison Roman
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more
1 cup raw/untoasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon fennel seed
2 tablespoons honey
2 crisp, tart apples, such as honeycrisp or gold rush, thinly sliced
1 large or 2 medium fennel bulbs, very thinly sliced lengthwise, or 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2–3 cups bitter greens, such as radicchio, castelfranco, endive, or a peppery green like arugula
½ cup herbs, such as tarragon, dill, or chives
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or fresh lemon juice, plus more
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
SAUSAGE & APPLE STUFFED ACORN SQUASH
Minimalist Baker
2 small acorn squashes, or 1 large
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, chopped
½ lb sausage
1 apple, chopped
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
½ cup parmesan cheese
APPLES & HONEY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
Jake Cohen
Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing
3 Honeycrisp apples, cored and sliced into 8 wedges each
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup honey, plus more for garnish (optional)
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed (100g) dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (270g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Whipped cream, for garnish (optional)
AIR FRYER FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
Southern Living
3 medium-size green tomatoes, sliced 1/2-in. thick
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup (about 2 1/8 oz.) all-purpose flour
1 cup whole buttermilk
1 cup plain yellow cornmeal
1 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1 1/2 Tbsp. Creole seasoning
Cooking spray
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
CONTINUE TO RECIPE