The squash harvest is in! These plants were young transplants during the cold, rainy start of summer, and they never truly recovered from that stressful beginning. But we’re happy to have enough to start you off with spaghetti squash this week. If your squash still has a greenish hue to it, let it sit on your counter for a week or two before eating it. In general, winter squash gets sweeter the longer it sits. It give more time for the starches in the fruit to turn to sugar. If it has a brown spot that is expanding, though, it’s time to crack in and eat it, regardless of how long it has been!

This week also brings another one of my absolute favorites — shallots. Before we started to grow shallots (and therefore before I began to cook with them), I always wondered what was the big deal. Shallots were basically onions, right? Yes, and no. You can use shallots in place of onions in any recipe, but they’re also kind of magical. They instantly improve whatever you cook with them. This week you’re receiving fresh shallots, just harvested from the field. We’ll be giving you cured shallots before long, but for now enjoy this rare treat of the season.

For those of you who were worried about missing the Monohanako pottery sale, don’t worry! The sale isn’t for another two weeks. It begins on Sunday, September 19th.  See below poster for details.

We’ll begin fall CSA sign-ups in a couple of weeks, and this year we have an additional fall CSA treat to look forward to. Our apprentice Zoë Mason, who in past summers has baked for Treats and Hootenany bakery, will be offering a bread share through the fall CSA! She’ll bake a different loaf each week for the four weeks of the fall share, and we can’t wait to share her baking with you all.

Bulk tomatoes are still available (10 lbs for $15) at all CSA pick-up locations. We’ll also start to have bulk garlic for seed and storage available (2-1/2 lbs for $20).

Let us know if you have any questions, and enjoy your meals this week!

Reba and the HCF crew

Week 14 of 18: Spaghetti Squash, Shallots, Green/Red Peppers, Kale, Arugula or Mesclun, Potatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Slicing Tomatoes, and depending on day Green Beans, Eggplant, Cukes, Zephyr Squash

Week Fourteen Cheese Notes have yet to arrive in my in-box… I’ll forward them along as soon as I receive them!

This is a chicken, egg, pork and beef CSA week

This week’s recipes: Massaged Kale Salad with Apricots, Avocado and Parmesean, Moroccan-Spiced Spaghetti Squash

Winter squash (Butternut, Spaghetti, Carnival) curing on the left and front right. Shallots curing in the back right.