This week's newsletter comes to you from Packshed Manager, Sarah.
Farm life is continuing to slow down, a welcome change from the business of the growing season. Dana and I are working on our crop plan for next year, reflecting on what grew well (or didn’t), what produce was in the highest demand, and which new crops we might want to grow next year. We heard on NPR there will likely be seed shortages, a result of continuing COVID-19 supply chain disruptions. So to all you home gardeners out there, get your seed orders in early this year!
Home Delivery Members: Some of you are doing an amazing job setting out your empty boxes. Thank you!! While we recognize that this is a busy time of the year, we like to see more of you routinely set your box out for us to collect. We do reuse them, and need them back in a timely manner so we can sanitize them and then load ‘em up with future shares. Feel free to set the box out the day before delivery when you receive your confirmation e-mail. Please just turn it upside down so rain and snow don’t accumulate. Many thanks! Looks like the weather may be turning colder by next Wednesday/Thursday, so we will likely transition to the insulated bag system for home deliveries beginning next week.
Notes on items in this week’s shares:
Beets will be a mix of red and gold. Many people at farmers’ market asked what the difference is between the two. While I’m always hesitant to answer these types of questions (since taste really depends on the individual’s taste buds) I’d say red tends to be earthier and gold just a little sweeter. And gold has the added benefit of not staining your hands when you prep them.
Tri-color carrots (purple, yellow, orange): We maxed out root colors for you this week: go big or go home, right? It’s the perfect line up for a roasted rainbow root medley.
Cipollini Onions- In their raw form they have the full pungency of a yellow onion. However, they’re loaded with sugar and rich flavor and that comes out when they’re cooked. That characteristic makes them one of the best onions for caramelizing. Their flattened shape makes them a bit more tedious to peel and core - Dana likes to cut them in half vertically, make two angles cuts on each half to remove the basal plate (where the roots come out), and then peel them.
Potatoes this week are a new-to-us variety called Asterix. They have pinkish skin and golden flesh. With a lower water content and smooth flesh, they’re perfect for home fries. They’re small in size: think just a little larger than fingerlings.
Delicata squash was grown at our neighbor’s farm, which the hail storm mostly missed this summer. Some fruits may have a few healed hail pocks that should not impact storage life. Heads up this is likely your last chance to grab some of these this season!
Buttercup and Sunshine are types of kabocha squash. They’re sweet, smooth in texture, and a little drier. They’re great for roasting or putting in soup. You’ll receive one or the other in your share this week. Both of these were grown at our farm and have healed hail damage. Since you don’t eat the skin of these types of squash, it shouldn’t impact their usability. This is likely the only distribution we’ll have these available for. The buttercup squash also has some sunburn (a result of being defoliated by the hail), so it will look a little different than what you’re used to.
Spinach this week was part of our final field harvest of the season. It is frost-sweetend with medium to large size leaves that will work raw (you may choose to cut them up a bit) or cooked.
Arugula Microgreens have a mild, peppery arugula flavor. Try them on eggs or in salads, sandwiches, etc.
This week's Hot Sauce/Salsa Add-on is Double Take Salsa's Signature Hot Sauce. They describe it this way: "A versatile hot sauce made from pureed vegetables and exotic peppers. Add it to anything to boost the flavor, and you’ll understand why this is our signature hot sauce."
