I'm listening to the drip, drip, drip of rain. Rain falling from the sky, rain dripping off the roofline, rain dripping oft the trees . . . this is what we needed.

Our soils are saturated, our ponds are recharging, and our sense of security is returning. As of last week our second irrigation pond had dried up. We were preparing for the worst. Now I can't wait to see our fall-seeded crops literally double in size by Friday. We have an excellent stand of fall carrots, we've put so much work into getting them to germinate, keeping them weeded, and giving them what little water we could afford to keep them alive - and they are going to soak up this water and grow like crazy! 

If you haven't signed up for our fall share, now is the time - it's a great share. October brings lots of late summer crops like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants but also sweet potatoes (which look fabulous this year), carrots, winter squash, leeks and lots of great salad and cooking greens. It's my favorite time of year to eat locally because there is so much variety and it's not so hot out!

We still have a few shares available. You should sign up!

It was Labor Day Yesterday, and we labored in the rain. Wouldn't it be nice for me to be able to give the crew labor day off? Unfortunately that's not how plants work . . . but we otherwise are really flexible about time off - which I think makes up for it. This profession just isn't the kind of profession where everyone can take the same day off. At a bare minimum one person has to do about 3 hours of work each day. It's easier for the whole farm for us to stager our time off, and if we didn't work Monday, there wouldn't be time to get everything harvested and packed for Tuesday.

Kevin and I really need to work on our time-off game. On Saturday, after I got home from market we drove to Good Harbor Beach, arrived at 4:20, played for two hours, went to a friends house for supper and then walked down to see the fireworks. Harvey was up late (It was 9:45 when we got to the car!) and as we were walking back he said, "That was the best day of my life." It was wonderful to hear but also . . . the best day of his life started at 4:20pm . . .

One of my biggest goals is to build staff capacity so we can take more time off. Rest is so important for physical and emotional well-being. I know that when I am rested I can make better decisions. We are going to get there, but this is a really hard profession to get there in. 

Harvey starts Kindergarten today. That's a whole other box of emotions. I feel very, very lucky that he has an excellent teacher and that he already has a year of pre-K under his belt. He's going to love it, but wow, how is he already in Kindergarten? Time flies! I can't wait for him to tell his class what he did for labor day!

He was in the field with us, in the rain (he insisted, he was so eager to gear up and get out there), following Lindsay around who is currently his crew member of choice. When she was picking lettuce he saw how the lettuce oozes a white liquid (it's actually latex) when cut, and he was calling it lettuce blood and trying to wipe it on people. I'm pretty sure that's a great day for a five year old.

All right, there is a little farm stuff in there, but I'm mostly talking about my kid, time to finish the rest of my work so I can get out into the field and finish harvest for distribution today! As always, thanks for being with us!

Flower Share

This is the last week of the flower share - thank you so much for participating!

We are offering a limited number of extended season flower shares! Sign up today!

Fruit Share

Learn more about the fruit in your share this week: click here to visit the Autumn Hill CSA page.

So . . .What's in the (Vegetable) share?

Tomatoes: 1.5 pounds! We will keep tomatoes in the share long into October, but the wave of lots of 

Ripe Sweet Peppers: 1 pound (mixed varieties)! I put some on my pizza on Friday (see pic above) sautéed with garlic, onions and half a pint of cherry tomatoes!

Head of Lettuce: It's coming in strong, now!

Choose 1: Extra head of lettuce, pea tendrils!, micro greens

Choose 4 more items:

I can make no guarantees about any of these items being available when you show up for your share! I promise I'm doing everything I can to have the greatest variety available. Please be flexible this week. Our swiss chard looks great, you should eat some!

Swiss chard

Carrots

Basil

Mixed savory herb bunch: sage, thyme, oregano

Cherry tomatoes

Mini sweet pepper quart

1 pound mix: zucchini, eggplant, green peppers (very limited)

1 pound onions, yellow, white and red mixed (you should take onions, it would help me out!)

garlic, 1/3 pound

Honeydew or watermelon

Spaghetti squash

Recipes

Hi - Jess Girotti here. If you have a recipe that you love that you'd like to share with other members or if a recipe link isn't working for you, feel free to email me at jgirotti@live.com. (Please note that I can't re-print a recipe from a cookbook that isn't already online.) Don't forget to check out the recipe pages on the Upswing website if you need more ideas for your other veggies.

KETCHUP - FROM FRESH GARDEN TOMATOES

Did you know that a tablespoon sized serving of Heinz ketchup has more sugar than your typical chocolate chip cookie? When I realized that, I started looking for low-sugar ketchups but was never able to find one we enjoyed. A few years ago, I decided to try making my own and, while it is a bit of a time commitment (especially if you’re going to can it so it’s shelf-stable), it is soooooo worth it. This is not your typical bottled ketchup. This year I'm going to add some rosemary as well after trying a rosemary ketchup at a restaurant.

SAUSAGE & PEPPERS FOIL PACK

This would be great if you're camping or if you just don't feel like doing dishes! 

SWISS CHARD AND WALNUT STUFFED TOMATOES

Sauteed swiss chard, pancetta and the sweet-tart hit of balsamic vinegar.

QUICK PICKLED PEPPERS

These are SO good! We put them on hot dogs, tex-mex pasta salad, quesadillas, tacos, and sandwiches. You can use sweet peppers, hot peppers or a combination of both.

ROASTED BEETS & CARROTS

This is a gorgeous way to use your beets and carrots. The parsley adds a brightness and a pop of green and you'll want to make a double batch of the maple-dijon vinaigrette. Yum.

EGGPLANT OR ZUCCHINI TART

Recipe courtesy of Iris Klaus

Here is an easy recipe for eggplant, that works also with zucchini.

Puff pastry

Eggplant, chopped into 1-inch cubes (or zucchini, or a mixture) about 2 cups

Water/wine/chicken broth as needed

Onion, diced

Olive oil

Spices (I use cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and Turmeric, but really anything goes)

A little flour and some tahini

Preheat oven to 375F

Sauté the onion in some olive oil. Once translucent add spices and then eggplant/zucchini. Add about a half cup of water, or wine, or chicken broth. Cook until most of the liquid is evaporated and vegetables are a little soft.

Roll one sheet of the puff pastry and place it in an oiled and floured 9*13 baking pan (I use pyrex, It is easy to cut afterward). Spread the cooked mixture on top. Drizzle Tahini on top, or place another rolled sheet of puff pastry on top (make sure to cut a few lines in, to vent) or both. Bake until the puff pastry is flaky, about 20 minutes. Can be reheated, served cool, or eaten immediately.