Greetings CSA Members,

Including this week’s delivery, we have 4 weeks remaining in the 2009 CSA season. It is difficult for me to believe that those long dark nights and cold wintry mornings are within our reach – seems a bit too soon, wouldn’t you agree? We will offer a winter Vegetable Box this season. Pick-ups will be at the Troy Market and at the Farm on the following dates: 11/7, 11/21 and 12/5, 12/19. The order form will be on the website by October 20th. Please contact me if you have any specific questions. But for this week, there is no goat story or weather to be reported. You are in luck. Eileen Hebert (A Massage Therapist and farm crew member) has beautifully written a piece for your reading pleasure. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I arrive at the farm on this overcast October day with the cobwebs of sleep still hanging in my brain. Ruby, the Denison’s Australian Shepard, comes bounding over to greet me, barking a hello, as she wiggles with excitement. Today is Wednesday, and this morning will be devoted to the CSA pack-up, an event that I have participated in for over a year, and still thoroughly enjoy. Today the “crew” will be counting, bagging, sorting, washing, and eventually packing the vegetables and fruits that we’ve harvested over the last few days on the farm. We will be weighing and measuring exact quantities, carefully calculating parts per person; tying bags, lugging totes and bins, checking and rechecking allotments; assigning packers to corn, broccoli, or cabbage; forming assembly lines, pulling and pushing boxes down the line, and performing final inspections before closing, labeling, taping, hoisting, and loading each box.

On occasion, the members of our farm crew increase in number, like during the summer when Brian hires on extras from the ranks of college students set free from the halls of academia for the summer. This summer, for example, our staff included Sara, Lauren, Holly, Wes, Elena, and the Denison’s daughter, Maggie. All, except Holly, who elected to stay on part-time until November, have returned to school now. Sometimes, CSA members who have bought “working shares” will be available to help pack the CSA boxes on Wednesdays. This is a special treat for us, as we get to meet some of the individuals who help to support the farm. And inevitably, these members come away with a new appreciation for the amount of work that goes into orchestrating CSA packing and distribution. Somehow, being part of that work, even for a day, lends a sense of accomplishment and meaning that enhances their share that week.

Today, there will be twelve of us, Brian, Rebeca, Eric R., Ben, Eric O., Bonnie, Julie, Fidelia, Errol, Walter, Tim and myself assembling in the barn to perform the myriad tasks associated with CSA packing. For many of us, it is a routine we know well, and we are, for the most part, efficient and accurate, all hands working at a pace and rhythm that resembles a colony of worker drones, each one performing a specific task and handing it off to the next in line. We are typically well synchronized and coordinated, but there is never a sense of boredom or drudgery. Our tasks, though menial in nature, are never relegated to the realm of the merely perfunctory, or subject to militaristic regimentation. Instead, we often crack jokes, tease and mildly harass one another, share stories and opinions, sing and dance, and otherwise keep the mood and our spirits light. While we are packing, I like to think about our interconnectedness with the plants and the earth, and the members whose bodies and minds we nourish. I like to think that we infuse the produce in each box with our spirits and this sense of interconnectedness, and that this infused essence is released upon cooking and consuming the contents.. A little “something extra” that we pack each Wednesday morning to be delivered to the CSA members of Denison Farm. (Eileen Hebert)

Have a great week – Justine

This week in your share, you will most likely find: Butternut Squash, Broccoli or Cauliflower, Mesclun or Lettuce, Tomatoes or Tomatillos, Chinese Cabbage or Broccoli Raab, Sweet Potatoes, Bunched Turnips or Red Onions, Scallions, and Cilantro or Parsley.

Chinese Cabbage/Broccoli Raab, Carrot and Broccoli/Cauliflower Stir-Fry

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 1/2 teaspoon peanut oil

1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger

1/2 cup thinly sliced Chinese cabbage

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots

1/2 cup broccoli florets, blanched and cut into small pieces

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1. Heat a skillet or wok large enough to accommodate all the ingredients over medium-high heat.

2. Add the garlic, peanut oil and ginger, and stir quickly for 30 seconds.

3. Raise the heat to medium-high/high. Add the cabbage, then the carrots, then the broccoli, stirring quickly after each addition. Season with pepper.

4. Add the soy sauce and cook until the vegetables are slightly tender.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup (looks delicious, but I haven’t tried this – send me your comments)

1 butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped

1 yam or sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped

2 pears (bosc works well), cored and roughly chopped (not overly ripe)

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup coconut milk

6.5 cups vegetable broth

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 to 1 inch ginger root, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

1. Combine squash, sweet potato, cinnamon stick, and ginger in a soup pot. Add 6 cups vegetable broth (save 1/2 cup for later), bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

2. While vegetables are simmering in soup pot, cook onions in olive oil in a pan over medium heat - about 5 minutes or until caramelized.

3. Add chopped pears and 1/2 cup vegetable broth to onions. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until broth is reduced; then add pears and onions to soup pot..

4. When squash and sweet potatoes are tender (takes about 25 - 30 minutes), add coconut milk. Remove from heat and take out cinnamon stick.

5. Use a food processor, strong blender, or a hand-held blender to blend all ingredients together until smooth. If you use a food processor or blender, you may have to do this in batches.

6. Add sea salt and pepper, to taste..

Salsa de Tomate Verde (Green Salsa)

1-2 Jalapeno peppers

½- ¾ pound Tomatillos

1 -2 cloves Garlic

1 Tablespoon Vinegar

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup chopped Cilantro

1/3 cup chopped Onion

1 Avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed (optional)

Place the Jalapenos in a large saucepan of boiling water. After 5 minutes, add the tomatillos.

After about 3 minutes, remove the jalapenos and tomatillos and drain.

Puree the jalapenos, tomatillos, garlic, and vinegar in a blender.

Add the salt and cilantro and blend for 2 short cycles.

In a bowl, combine the puree, avocado, and onion.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups