Week 22

Indeed, this is the last week of our CSA season. We don't consider membership to a CSA suited for everyone, but we hope nonetheless that everyone took something positive away from the experience—whether it meant you found yourself eating healthier, were inspired to cook new things, or simply enjoyed having an abundance of produce picked-that-day fresh. We try hard to provide great shares week after week and hope that, in general, we succeeded. It was a hard growing season, as any of you who keep a garden would know.
Expect soon a year-in-review letter from the farm. We'd like to share with you thoughts on how we would have liked to do better (i.e. more winter squash), why we we may have been short on certain things (aka historically disastrous summer weather), as well how we hope to do some things differently next year. We'll also include a short survey so that we can find out from you what you really liked, what you could live without or would like to see us do differently. Your feedback really counts.

Meantime, this week’s share included:
½ pound spinach
2 pounds potatoes
1 quart Brussels sprouts
1 large yellow onion
1 bunch Toscano kale
1 head of read leaf lettuce
1 bunch leeks
1 bunch parsley
3 green bell peppers (see note below)
1 green cabbage (see storage note below)
1 pound garlic (see storage note below)

Bell peppers. Lately, for every pepper we slice or dice for dinner (or for a morning omelet), we chop one or two extra, slip it into a zipper-sealed bag and stash in the freezer. It’s a nice ingredient to have on hand through winter.

Cabbage. Don't feel like you have to use your cabbage this week. Or next week. Or the next. Cabbage has incredible staying power when stored in the fridge. At some point, however, you might want to use it to try Molly Stevens’ recipe for Braised Cabbage with Maple and Ginger (don’t worry that it calls for red cabbage; use your green one). After trying this recipe, you may feel compelled to seek out her book All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking, which includes this recipe. This cookbook was recently included in the Village Voice's list of “Our 10 Best: Cookbooks" and has won awards from the esteemed James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Garlic. Unlike the garlic you get at the supermarket (often grown in China), our garlic keeps. So tuck it somewhere dark, dry and cool (not in the refrigerator). If you don't use it all beforehand, it will last until next May or even June—around when fresh garlic starts to appear in the following year's shares.