Cheesy Acorn Squash!

Ingredients

• 1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place squash cut side down in a glass dish. Cook in microwave for 20 minutes on HIGH, until almost tender.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add celery and onion; saute until transparent. Stir in mushrooms; cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley. Divide mixture in half, spoon into the squash and cover.
4. Cook 15 minutes in the preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and put back in the oven until the cheese bubbles.

Sweetened Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a large baking dish with aluminum foil.
2. Generously spread the softened butter over the flesh of the squash; lie in the prepared baking dish with the cut sides facing down.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Flip the squash and put about half the butter and about half the brown sugar in each of the cavities of the squash halves. Return to the oven until the outer shell is soft, about 10 minutes more. Spoon the flesh of the squash into a bowl to serve.

Week 16 Items: C.S.A. Items!!!!

Sorry I am late getting a blog out. This is the busiest time of the year. I have basically been on a tractor almost all week until this rain we got today. The C.S.A. looks great as always. You know my by now they are all pretty good and we do our best to take care of your needs.

Items:

2 Brussel Sprouts
2-3 Winter Squash
Bag of Green Tomatoes
Cucumber
Bag of Eggplant
Bag Of Peppers
Herbs Always available if you pick up.

Please pick heavy on the herbs this and next week. It is going to get cold soon!

Thanks Chris

C.S.A. Member Potluck!

Hello Again,

I almost forgot to mention in my last farm update about the C.S.A potluck. The potluck will be on September 30th. It will start @ 12:30. Please bring a dish of your choice and chairs. I don't think that I have enough chairs for everyone. The potluck will be held around our firepit and after we eat we will take a tour of the farm on the wagons where we can all talk about what we liked, didn't like etc... Or if you have any questions this is the time to ask. You can also get your pumpkins before the general public @ this time. I will set up tables for the food & start the fire. It will be a good time to come out and enjoy the farm. If you can't make it that is ok. You can still come out to the farm whenever to get your pumpkins and to say HI!

Thanks For Reading,

Chris

P.S. If you have not signed up for C.S.A next year and plan on it please do so before Dec. 31st if you want the discount. This year we had around 100 members. The farm needs 150 to be sustainable, so tell your friends!!!!!! The last day for sign-up this year will be March 31st. of 2013. This is due to the fact that the farm purchases most if not all of our inputs in the fall. Also it is a mini castastrophe taking on forty to fifty members in the last two weeks of May!!

Farm Update C.S.A. Members~~!!!

Hello All,

Week 15 is here already. The farm has been bustling this time of year as usual. We are preparing for the pumpkin season, cleaning up the field and also picking the veggies for the C.S.A. I just got off the phone with my web developer and he has put the discount on the web for the 2013 C.S.A, so if you sign up before December 31st, you will receive an instant discount. We are offering this incentive because most of the inputs for the farm we purchase in advance. Their is a ton of planning that is involved. The veggies are coming to a slow halt as you can imagine with the changing weather. This will be the last week for Summer Squash. I stretched them out as long as I could and we have had a ton of them. I hope you were all happy with them. The peppers are still going crazy. They seem like they could grow until xmas:) Their will be a lot of peppers this week in the box as well as habanero's. The sprouts are doing excellent and we will be amping them up in your box this week. We will give you 2 stalks of sprouts. They are so good, I love to saute mine. This will also be the last week of the small orange tomato's that you have been receiving in the pints. Their will also be tomato's in the box this week as well. The winter squash will be a regular the rest of the season. We are going to go past week 16. The boxes will still be full week 17 and possibly 18. They might just be full of winter squash, pie pumpkins, pepper's etc... Their just won't be the variety that you received during the regular season. These are extra weeks that we will be distributing. When you receive these extra boxes please think of how hard we work to provide YOU, with chemical free produce!!!! This week's pick-up is very important there will be a survey that we ask that you fill out @ the farm. They are totally anonymous, we would really appreciate it if you took the time to fill them out. We like to get feedback so we can improve. Anyone who thinks there is no room for improvement will never improve, @ the farm we strive to get better every year. That is one of the great things of being a member. You can see the improvements that are made each year and how they improve the whole experience for everyone. Many of you have been members with me for years and I appreciate it so much. Many of you have asked how pumpkin season works. Well since you are all members you can pick out 3 pumpkins anywhere on the hill. We pick our pumpkins and put them out on October 1st. I don't care if they are small, giant, medium, if that is the one you want that is the one you can have! You all have three punches on your card. These are for the pumpkins. During the entire month of October we offer free Hay-Rack Rides on the Weekends. Every hour on the hour. Also tell the little ones that we will have a hay-bale maize set up in the waterway. I will actually be baling the hay for the maize next week. This pumpkin season is going to be great. My dad and I will be installing slingshots @ the Farm this weekend to launch things!! (Just Wait & See) It will be sweet! We also have a blow-up pumpkin that has a trampoline in it. This is on only on the weekends. The best part is this is all FREE!!!!!


Thanks For Reading,

Chris

P.S. I will post a full list of items that we will distributing tomorrow.

Acorn Squash With Apples!

Ingredients

• 1 acorn squash
• 2 apples, cored and sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. To easily peel the acorn squash without losing a lot of vegetable, gently drop the squash in a large pot of boiling water, and boil for 15 minutes. Pour off the boiling water and fill with cold water and let sit 5 minutes to cool. When cool enough to handle, use a knife to slice off the peel on the ridges and use a teaspoon to dig out the peel in the valleys. Slice the squash in half and remove the seeds and stem. Then slice the halves into sections and finally cut into 1 inch chunks.
2. Place the squash chunks into a large microwave-safe bowl along with the apples. Dot with pieces of butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar, walnuts, salt and cinnamon over the top. Cover with plastic wrap, and poke a few holes in it for ventilation.
3. Cook in the microwave for 7 1/2 minutes on full power. Remove, uncover, and stir. Return to the microwave, and cook for another 7 1/2 minutes on full power, until tender. Serve hot.

Shredded Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound sliced bacon
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup pine nuts
• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, cored and shredded
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons grease, crumble and set aside.
2. In the same skillet, melt butter in with reserved bacon grease over medium heat. Add pine nuts, and cook, stirring until browned. Add Brussels sprouts and green onions to the pan, and season with seasoning salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until sprouts are wilted and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in crumbled bacon just before serving.