CSA week #15

This is a picture of all the zinnias that we harvest to take to market with us on a Saturday. Here you see 60 bunches of 16 flowers... it's a lot of work, but well worth it!

Preserving the Harvest

As the farm season ends, there are many ways to make sure that you have veggies to eat throughout the winter. Sure you could go to the grocery store and buy tomatoes from there, but they have no flavor and sometimes they even look nice and red outside, but are just mush on the inside. Wouldn’t it be nice to have things from the garden all winter long? Well, it is possible! You have options too: canning, freezing, and dehydrating all help.
Freezing things is pretty simple, but just make sure that you look it up before you do. Some produce needs to be blanched first before it is frozen to stop the enzymes from breaking it down. For example, corn will continue to turn the sugars to starch unless blanched before freezing. If not, corn will taste bad when you take it out of the freezer.
If you have the freezer space, they suggest placing things in a single layer on a cookie sheet to freeze and then putting them into bags to ensure that everything isn’t stuck together. Just remember that veggies will not be as crisp as they were when you put them into the freezer. These are used for soups, stews, jambalaya perhaps.
Dehydrating is more space efficient as everything shrinks down when dehydrated and can just be placed in an airtight container afterwards. This does require a dehydrator, but they aren’t that expensive for the time that it saves you not having to can the produce. Also, you can build a solar dehydrator and use that on a warm day. We recently replaced some old windows so we were able to use the glass and the screens from those to make a solar dehydrator. There are plans for it online if you are interested. You just have to make sure that it is a hot, sunny day if you are going to use the solar one. We tried drying some tomatoes on a cloudy day and they molded, so beware!
The other option that you have is canning. If you are a beginner, I suggest finding someone who knows how to can so that you can follow their methods. It was much easier for me to learn hands on then to read about it. Then you will learn all the little tricks about it too, which can be helpful to save you time. Many things can be canned, but without proper acid content, it needs to be pressure canned rather than just using a water bath. You will read more about this as you can. Also, if you have any questions I would be more than willing to help. I’m still fairly new to canning, but I learned from someone very experienced.
The benefit of preserving your harvest is that you don’t have to buy so much from the grocery store. Why have processed tomato sauce, when you can just pull some out of your pantry and feel good about eating something that you produced? It’s very rewarding to feel less reliant on the grocery store, especially if you get snowed in!

What’s included this week?

1. Watermelon- it’s supposed to be pink inside, so don’t think it’s not ripe… it’s delicious!
2. Swiss chard
3. Bell peppers
4. Spinach
5. Radishes
6. Acorn Squash- don’t put this in the fridge, can store up to 3 months on the counter

Recipe of the Week

Heavenly Squash Casserole

3 c. mashed acorn squash

1/2 c. white sugar

2/3 stick butter, softened

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs, well beaten

TOPPING:
1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 stick butter

1/3 c. flour

1/2 c. pecans, chopped

Combine squash, white sugar, butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat well the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and eggs. Combine all thoroughly. Place in a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Combine topping ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle over the squash and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Good for dessert or as a side!

Thank you for your support,
Gretel and Steve