Hello Members! Please click on "Continue Reading" to see our whole newsletter. please read the whole thing!!
Welcome to the first box if Fall Shares! If you are half share, your box is delivery every other week. Please remember to check if this is your week or not. Full shares are delivery every week. When your box is delivered on Thursday, a delivery email is sent out. EVERY one at that dropsite gets that email, even if you do not get a box that week. So it is important for you to know which weeks you pick up. Please email me with questions. Here is information on how to access when and where to pick up your box
This week you will notice that you can sign up for Organic Honeycrisp Apples! Our very good friends down the road from us Earthsong Fibers, have lovely organic apples for sale that we will be sticking in the box if you sign up. If you are like me, it is hard to trust what happens to apples before they get to your kids mouths. These folks don't use any sprays and also have apples that are not "perfect" because of it. They are varied in size and have specks and odd shapes sometimes, but they taste great and store well, too. They also raise goats and sheep that they graise under their apple trees! These apples are very good!
You will also notice we have mushroom add-ons as a option this week! Northwood Mushrooms has Shiitakes, Lions Mane, oysters and Nomeko for sale in 4 oz containers. We will also have these as an add-on option on October 17th.
Please mark your calendars for our Annual Harvest Party and Pig Roast Saturday, October 5th:
3 pm- late
Potluck, bonfire, pig roast, wagon rides, pumpkin picking, self-guided tours of animals and fields, apple cider pressing and The Beez Kneez's own Kristy Allen will be sampling honey and have honey for sale!
We hope you and your family can make it out! Please RSVP by emailing us at blackbrook.farm.llc@gmail.com
You can always just show up, but it is nice to get an idea of how many people to expect!
As always, here are a few things for you to remember about the CSA and the boxes:
You can still return your boxes, as we will continue picking up empty boxes for the next 4 weeks because of the Fall shares.
ALWAYS take the box with your name on it that is from BLACKBROOK FARM! If someone is picking your box up for you, please tell them to take the box with your name on it from BLACKBROOK FARM! This is very important.
IF you can't pick your box up on THURSDAY, please communicate with me about this so I can arrange for it to be kept at the dropsite instead of donated or used.
Please return your box either the same week (bring a bag to empty your veggies into) or the following time you pick up your box. Please collapse your box and neatly stack it or put it where the other boxes are.
We also have 100% Pastured Pork One-time Shares for sale that we home deliver to your door. This is a great way to load up on all the cuts of a hog and get your good healthy fats! You can find our sign up share HERE . Let us know if you have any questions! Raising animals is a large part of what we do at Blackbrook Farm!
In the box this week you may have:
Orange Carrots- Our carrots this fall seem to have many more funny shapes than usual. We think this is due to the saturated ground and they are having a harder time finding their way straight down! These will store for months in the fridge in the bag.
Swiss Chard- This is the last week for chard as there is an impending frost and chard does not like a frost!
Radish- Our new succession of radishes are in and they are gorgeous! We recommend washing them again as we have been harvesting in heavy mud and although we soak them and spray them, there may be some residual dirt on them.
Fried egg on Toast with Salted Herb Butter and Radishes
Spinach- This spinach and thick, crunchy and very tasty- it is NOT baby spinach. Great for chopping for a salad or wilting for another dish. Very good for you! Wash again first please!
Cilantro (instead of Arugula)-Our arugula has bolted (with some oddly hot days mixed in there) and our cilantro needed to be cut again before the frost, so it made sense to give this to you instead. These are nice big bunches as we had to harvest it all!
Winter Squash (a mix of buttercup and/or carnival sweet dumpling and/ or acorn)- You will have gotten either Carnival (colorful) and buttercup (bluish black with funny bottoms) or black acorn (acorn shape, dark).
Yellow Onions- These can store on your counter and will store for months.
Peppers- We will harvest the rest of our peppers this week before the frost. So you will definitely get them next week, too.
Hot Peppers- You can use the hot peppers and cilantro for the above recipe.
Tomatoes (1-2)-These are the last of them out of the hightunnels. Use this the above recipe!
Garlic- 2 bulbs per box. Tasty, fresh and spicy!
Broccoli- We had a pretty big broccoli harvest this week and everyone will get one nice big head or 2 smaller ones.
Brussels Sprouts- 1 quart, a little over a lb. Cut the tips off them and outer layer will come off, thus cleaning them. Wash them and toss with plenty of oil or bacon grease , chopped garlic and salt and roast for long enough that they are soft and golden brown!
Have a great week and hopefully we will see you THIS SATURDAY!
Your farmers
