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Fall is in the air. Of course the change of weather plays a large role, the shorter days, the lower sun... but today I especially felt it as I was harvesting the last of the corn. Walking through the corn fields with a bucket in one hand, shucking with the other hand, the crew in the beds right next to you but you can't see them because the corn is above your head...You can hear the corn shuffle in the wind. It reminds me of fall nights sneaking out of my bedroom window and through the cornfield outside my house as a kid. I would get so scared thinking that someone was following me, but would realize it was just the wind blowing the corn stalks feet away from me.
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The sauerkraut class was great! Though it rained just in time for us not to want to walk out to the muddy fields and each harvest our own head of cabbage, it was nice weather inside the commercial kitchen at St. Johns. Angel shared with the class all the benefits of lacto fermented vegetables and showed us how to make our own sauerkraut. Everyone left with a jar of unfinished sauerkraut to ferment at our own homes.
Sauerkraut is a great food to eat because it is ripe with health and probiotic power! Fermenting cabbage not only preserves the nutrients of the cabbage in it's freshest state, but it also it breaks them down into more digestible forms and provides transportation for the good bacteria (as a result of the fermenting process) to get to your intestines, where they will thrive and do good work. Interesting fact: Sauerkraut is rich in Vitamin C, so much so that sailors would take it on their long voyages to prevent scurvy.
What used to be a way to store the bounty of the harvest through the long winter has become a delicacy, and if you haven't tried it yet, I encourage you to do so. If you have, I encourage you to make some! We'll be sending you cabbage in this week's box.
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This weekend we went to the Steam and Gas Engine Show. The festival highlighted agricultural practices and equipment throughout the last 150 years. It was neat to see how inventive farmers were, and had to be, to survive! We watched farmers walk behind horses to plow with a single bottom plow, thresh and winnow oats (as in the pictures above), grind flour, mill wood, blacksmith tools, and more. I left with a feeling of gratitude for how "simple" farming has become. Though simple is a relative term...let's just say this, we sure have it easier than the farmers of previous generations.
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This week in your box:
Pepper
Kale
Swiss Chard
Cabbage
Broccoli/Cauliflower
Onion
Carrots
Head lettuce
Herb bundle
Summer Squash
Jalapeno
Pepper
Flower
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Recipe of the week: SQUASHY JOES!
This recipe comes from a friend who has found a brilliant way to use her summer squash! It's delicious, I promise, plus a fun and creative way to use the abundant summer squash.
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
2 cups diced summer squash (peeled only if the skins are tough)
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
as many of the jalapeno seeds as you think you can muster
1 teaspoon sweet paprika or smoked paprika (pimentón)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/4 cup barbecue sauce or ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
Kosher salt, to taste
6 hot slices of Texas toast or garlic bread or 6 buns, for serving
6 slices provolone or other sandwich cheese
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrot and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the squash and another pinch of salt and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes more. Transfer into a medium bowl.Add the meat to the skillet and cook, breaking up the meat with the spoon, until no longer pink. Stir in the ancho chile, paprika, and cumin and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and squash mixture. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is very thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Spoon over the Texas toast, top with slices of cheese, and serve hot.
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