We’ve finally had our first frosts of the year, and they were legit. Even today, the ground remained solid until luncthime, which meant that a great deal of our harvest was pitched toward the end of the day, which is the opposite of how we typically roll on Mondays. But, the crew rallied and harvested a modest amount of Arugula for the CSA only this week—it suffered a bit of cold damage over the weekend, but the crew has pulled in just enough to bring a little pep to some roasted Squash and gorgeous jewel-toned Beets that are hitting the share tables this week—Red, Golden and Chioggia “Candy.” If you haven’t done anything with your Celery Root from last week just yet, Beets are a wonderful pairing. As is custom for many of our root harvests in Fall, we’re enjoying some now and preparing the rest for storing an enjoying this Fall and Winter. This year’s harvest is looking solid, but Mark is starting to worry that we’ll run out of room in our Root Cellar.

We have not one, not two but THREE choices of Winter Squashes for the CSA this week—Red Kuri, Green Kabocha and an old squash that will be new to many of you Thelma Sanders’ Sweet Potato Squash

I have much to learn in this life, but I can tell you one thing—Pumpkins bring a whole lot of joy to a whole lot of people.  People of all ages lose their minds at the sight of Pumpkins. Don’t even get me started on their adjacent spices. The sweet little edible pie Pumpkins that we grow every Fall are adorable, and I will admit, they’re worth every bit of adoration.  Smaller in size than the big decorative carving types, these cute little orange babies are often called Sugar Pumpkins, because they're naturally very sweet and are the basis for many seasonal baked goodies.  But don't think you have to bust out a pie to make them worthwhile. You can still enjoy these sweet little Pumpkins in savory ways too. 

I don’t know how else to say it…I’m having a lousy Monday. (Maybe you are too). But case of “The Mondays” aside, I was able to make a wonderful pot of soup to share with my little Italian grandmother today, with Escarole no less, which is one of her favorites and mine. We couldn’t have asked for better timing on that crop in the field, because she’s celebrating a birthday, and the ten minutes or so that I spent rinsing and chopping the leaves, dicing an onion, three cloves of garlic and two tiny carrots to sauté in olive oil offered as much peace as I could have asked for. I added a can of white beans to the vegetables in the, along with a scattering of salt, black pepper and a pinch of chili flakes before adding the chopped up Escarole and a quart of Chicken Stock, simmering the liquid and wilting the leaves down for a few minutes. I like to squeeze half a lemon over the top of the pot, and it should go without saying that each bowl gets topped with as many heaping tablespoons of Pecorino or Parmesan as the eater would like. It is a simple soup that tastes like the sum of its parts, and it hit just right on a drizzly day (My grandma thought so too). I hear folks toss around the phrase, “food is medicine” quite a bit, but I will argue that there are times when the preparation—the chopping, the aromas, the stirring, the waiting—can do as much good as the finished meal does. At least it does for me sometimes, which is why I’m extra thankful that this week’s harvest centers around some crops that have very special places in our hearts and in our fields that I hope will give you a moment or two of solace in between meetings, practices, and all of the other trappings of life.