P i c k l i s t
CARMEN PEPPER - CORN - CHERRY TOMATOES - MELON - COLLARD GREENS - RED ONION - GARLIC - FLAT PARSLEY - RASPBERRIES - GREEN BEANS - DILL FLOWERS!!!
Edgewater update: Yall, these cold mornings are really shocking my system. I am not prepared for the inevitable, are you? I just got word that Stitchdown Farm- our buddies up in Bethel- got a light frost early (last) Tuesday morning. I suppose I should be more resilient at this point, but nothing gets me more down than a September frost. Edgewater’s O.G. Pooh, on the other hand, keeps a very different perspective. To him the frost is an obvious marker to slow down and let go. Whenever a crop is showing disease or a new pest is showing signs of damage, he can’t help but happily hint at the prospect of frost in our future and end to the season.
Unfortunately for him the next gen at Edgewater is nowhere near ready to pump the breaks. The pepper and eggplant crop is still producing, the raspberry harvest is back on track, we just planted up a few greenhouses for season extension and Fall CSA, and above all we got a lot of melons to eat. Bottomline here, frost be damned you are not welcome anytime soon.
However, there is a shift of season happening. September is the month I transition from Sunday river swims to Sunday canning/freezing/fermenting, “putting up” if you will, etc… The aforementioned chill truly drives the point home that it’s time to start planning for the 1 bajillion days of Winter ahead. One way to keep it cute come January is to have your pantry lined with jars of salsas/sauces/pickles/jams and your freezer full of chimichurris/roasted peppers/ whole tomatoes/blanched green beans. This list! I could go on for daaaays.
This week, I encourage you to lean into dilly beans!! See Farmy foodie pro-tips for deets.
IF you do find yourself riding that harvest season high, and you are pumped about canning/freezing etc, reach out to the farmstand to order your fave veg in bulk. We have Roma tomatoes by the box, beets and green beans and any pepper you can imagine by the bushel, cherry tomatoes and raspberries by the flat, etc…
Place your order by calling 603-298-5764 to schedule your pick up.
FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS:
The following recipe was crafted specifically for this week’s CSA by our friend and hyper local chef (he lives just up the road), Mitchell Davis. if you are curious about alllll the recipes he has to offer, see his substack:
OR check out his cookbook!
Muhammara
Makes about 1 ½ cups
JENNY’S NOTE: save this recipe over the next few weeks as you become overwhelmed with peppers
While hummus has taken over whole aisles of the grocery store, why hasn’t anyone marketed muhummara? Hummus’s sultry meze cousin, muhammara is a flavorful spread made from roasted peppers, toasted walnuts, and pomegranate molasses that’s more flavorful and satisfying. Traditionally made with red bell peppers, you can use the
rainbow of colored peppers in this week’s CSA. The color won’t be as beautiful, but the taste will be divine.
About 1 pound sweet pepper (perhaps 3 to 6, depending on size), preferably red, or other dark colors, but orange and even deep green poblano’s will work
¾ cup walnut halves or pieces
2 small slices stale sourdough bread, crusts removed
1-inch piece red onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (concentrated pomegranate juice), plusmore, to taste
Juice of ½ lemon
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Up to 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or other chili flakes, according to your spice tolerance
½ teaspoon ground toasted cumin
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Begin by roasting the peppers. Preheat the oven to 425°F., or fire up a grill. Roast the peppers, turning occasionally, until black and blistered on all sides. Place the hot peppers into a small bowl and while still warm, cover tightly with plastic wrap to seal them in. Allow the peppers to cool to room temperature. Remove plastic and then peel
off the skin, rinsing your fingers under cold water from time to time to remove any char. Discard the stems and seeds and set the “meat” of the roasted peppers in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade.
Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in the hot oven for 5 minutes or so, just until they begin to smell nutty. Don’t let them burn. Cool and add to the food processor along with the stale slices of bread, the red onion, and garlic. Pulse the processor to finely chop the ingredients. Add the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, smoked paprika, Aleppo
pepper, toasted cumin, and salt, and continue pulsing to blend. Let the machine run to create a purée, while you slowly drizzled the olive oil through the feed tube to make a smooth paste. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and/or pomegranate molasses, as desired.
Serve swirled on a plate, drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of toasted cumin for garnish with plenty of bread to mop it up.
DILLY BEANS!!
Get ready for the season ahead by treating yourself to a preserving cookbook. My very favorite one is called TART AND SWEET: 101 Canning and Pickling Recipes for the Modern Kitchen by Kelly Geary and Jessie Knadler. Get yourself a cope and immediately flip to the dilly bean page for an easy break down of info on pickling and canning. And if you are not ready to take that leap into a pantry lined with jars on jars on jars, trying your hand at fermenting:
Servings: 1 quart jar Author: Marisa McClellan
Ingredients
1 quart filtered water
2 tablespoons very finely milled sea or pickling salt
12 ounces green beans
4-5 garlic cloves peeled and gently crushed
1 tablespoon dill seeds
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes or more for a spicier pickle
Instructions
Combine the water and salt in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well so that the salt dissolves into the water.
Wash the beans and snap off the stem end.
Place the garlic cloves, dill seed, and red chili flakes in the bottom of a clean, wide mouth quart jar.
Pack the beans into the jar above the spices and cover them with the brine.
Set a weight on the beans (clean stones, pickle pebbles, or a quarter pint jar will all work). For this batch, I used a Kraut Source, but whatever your favorite fermenting set-up will do.
Set the jar on a small plate and tuck it into an out of the way spot that doesn't get direct sunlight and is neither too hot or too cold. I just keep mine on the kitchen counter.
Let the pickles sit for about a week and then taste one. If you like the level of tang, then they are done. If not, let them sit a bit longer. I find that they are best when the beans have faded in color a bit and take on a uniformly drab olive color.
Once you like where they are, remove whatever pickling apparatus you set up, put a lid on the jar, and pop it into the fridge.
They'll keep for months in cold storage.