In your boxes this week…

onions

shallots Don’t be afraid to use these to flavor your dishes.  Cut one up and fry up with your onions.

delicatta squash Our sweetest squash.  We have heard of people microwaving these for two minutes to make them easier to cut in half.

peppers Probably the last of summer peppers.

salad mix

spinach

herbs cilantro and parsley

Down on the Farm

We finally finished our fences.  Now we just need to wait for the pasture to establish well enough to feed some animals.    Ben put a wood stove in our basement for supplemental heat.

We also raked a billion leaves onto one of our garden plots.  One of our farming principles is: Don’t waste carbon.  We try to use and re-use every bit of carbon on our property, including, leaves, compost, wood, etc.  Even paper from the mail box.  Better to compost it and grow food with it than burn it and add to our atmosphere, which scientists say is already carbon-overloaded.

Recipe of the week

Turn your salad mix into a meal with this recipe.  It recently won a “15 minutes or less” award from Growing for Market, our favorite magazine.

Large bowl of cut salad mix and/or baby spinach
Toss with a few tbsp of Paul Newman’s Organic Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (or make your own, but takes more time)
Add:
Handful of dried cranberries
Handful of walnuts
Handful of crumbled feta cheese

Serve on plates with warm, crusty wheat or grain bread.

Done!  15 minutes (or less).
If you have more time or inclination, add cut pieces of grilled chicken breast.