2016 CSA Week 17

Hi everyone,
We're at Week 17! That means 3 more weeks of veggies, and then our season comes to a close. Of course, Sue and Claude will continue to have their farm stand open on weekends (Friday-Sunday, 9-6, I think) and they will be participating in the Cazenovia Winter Farmers Market as well, so the end of the CSA doesn't have to mean the end of fresh veggies!
But we've still got a lot of great things planned to give out before the CSA is through.
This week, you have:
Arugula
Kale
Summer Squash
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Red-Skin Potatoes
Celeriac (aka Celery Root)
Beets
Eggplant
Edamame (aka fresh soy beans)

Celeriac is an old-world root vegetable with a pleasant celery flavor. The root, once peeled, can be roasted, mashed or boiled and it's great in stews, soups, roasts and can be used anywhere you want some celery flavor. You definitely want to peel it first (though it's probably too much for the average vegetable peeler. You'll probably be better of slicing off the outer skin with a knife and getting down to the creamy white interior. Here's a website (thank you, BBC!) that talks about celeriac, how to store it and recipe ideas.

And our other new veggie this week is Edamame. If you've been out for sushi, you may have had Edamame as an appetizer. It's delicious when the pods are boiled up until tender, then salted and set on the table. Eat them by putting the pod up to your mouth, then popping the beans out with your teeth, and sucking a little of the salt of the pod at the same time. Try it, I bet you'll like it :) My husband loves edamame so much that he'll eat a whole plateful at a time.
Also, the shelled beans are great as a substitute for lima beans. They have a sweet, nutty flavor that I love in a veggie stew with corn and tomatoes.

For the beets, if you haven't tried it before, put them in a roasting pan with a lid in the oven (covered up to keep them moist and tender) and roast for an hour or so (could be shorter or longer depending on the size of your beets). You can skin them and chop them up before that, or just roast them whole with their tops and bottoms cut off. They'll slip right out of their skins once they're cooked. They are so delicious like that! If you'd like more detailed instructions than that (and I admit, those are pretty vague), here's a website with some good directions.

Here are some recipes:
1) Here's a great-looking Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese, Roasted Beets and Balsamic Reduction. My mom loves this, with as much balsamic as she can get on it.

2) If you find you have some eggplant piling up, try using it in this great Indian dish called Baingan Bharta. It's one of my favorites!

3) And a website with some more useful Eggplant recipes.

It's apple-picking time! Go out and support some of the smaller orchards who are working hard to offer organic apples. Two that I have been enjoying are Adams Acres in Jamesville and Deer Run Farm in Lafayette. And the fritters are Deer Run are superb...

Have a great week!
Sarah VanNorstrand
for Lucky Moon Farm