Greetings CSA Members,

Today, as I stare out my window, I am wishing I were kicking up leaves instead of searching for poetic words to write. I read The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver during the early summer and have been saving this passage until this week as we draw closer to the end of both Autumn and the CSA season. This novel is so beautifully written that I encourage you to read it. I hope that you treasure her writing as I do. She paints a superb picture of what I am so fortunate to experience on this amazing Fall day.

Next week (October 27th) will be the final CSA distribution for the 2010 season. I will email you all a 2011 membership agreement form by mid-November.

Have a great week – Justine

“A glittering shower falls at a slant across my window. Some form of god has come to visit our dark autumn tunnel, like Zeus making himself a beam of light to impregnate Danae. In this case, it is not really glittering light but beech leaves. You’ve never seen anything as dramatic as these American trees, dying their thousand deaths. The giant beech next door intends to shiver off every hair of its pelt. The world strips and goes naked, the full year of arboreal effort piling on the sidewalks in flat, damp strata. The earth smells of smoke and rainstorms, calling everything to come back, lie down, submit to a quiet, moldy return to the cradle of origins. This is how we celebrate the Day of the Dead in America: by turning up our collars against the scent of earthworms calling us home.”

Chili-garlic Roasted Broccoli

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

5 to 6 cloves garlic, coarsely

1 tablespoons chili powder shopping list

1 tablespoon paprika

Salt, fresh-ground black pepper, and some red pepper flakes (these are hot & spicy – so use cautiously)

1 large head broccoli, cut into thin, long spears

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place olive oil, garlic, chili powder and paprika in the bottom of a large bowl.

Add the broccoli spears. Toss to coat broccoli evenly.

Transfer to a large nonstick baking sheet. Roast the broccoli until ends are crisp and brown and stalks are tender, 17 to 20 minutes. (Excellent as a side dish or on its own with fresh steamed quinoa with a little butter and tamari sauce.)

Butternut Squash Custard

Custard:

2 eggs

1 cup cream

1 cup butternut squash puree

1 tbsp unsulphered molasses

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Soft butter for greasing

Crust:

1/2 c hazelnut pieces, lightly toasted

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp whole wheat flour

1/3-1/2 stick melted butter

Cook butternut squash until tender and puree until smooth.

Strain if desired and allow to cool to room temperature. Toss nuts in a skillet over medium heat, shaking often to prevent burning. Allow to toast until lightly golden and aromatic.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease the bottoms of four ramekins with softened butter. In your food processor, pulse hazelnut pieces, flour, and brown sugar to combine, avoiding turning nuts into dust. Add melted butter and combine until just moist. You should have a nice crumbly mixture.

Divide hazelnut mixture into four even portions and press into the bottom of each ramekin. Bake 10-15 minutes or until crust browns. Allow to cool completely.

Combine eggs, cream, butternut squash puree, molasses, cinnamon, and nutmeg well. Fill ramekins half way. Bake ramekins in a water bath 20 minutes or until nearly set. Allow to cool to finish setting before serving.

*** Remember to check our website (www.denisonfarm.com) for more recipes – Especially the Butternut-Pear Soup and the many Broccoli Recipes.

This week in your share, you will most likely find: Butternut Squash, Yellow Onions, Cauliflower or Broccoli, LaRatte Fingerling Potatoes, Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage or Broccoli Raab or Bok Choi, Sweet Peppers, and Garlic

*** The photograph this week shows 3 generations of

Denisons packing CSA boxes in the barn –

Brian’s Mom Doreen, Maggie (our daughter), and Brian

*** Winter Vegetable Box Order forms are due November 4th. The first of 4 pick-ups begins on Saturday November 6th. The forms can be found on our website or you can email Justine directly.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

(Rachel Ray’s 4-star recipe!!)

2 pounds small fingerling potatoes

6 cloves garlic, crushed

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, 1 to 2 tablespoons

Salt and pepper

Heat oven to 500 degrees F. Spread potatoes out on a cookie sheet. Scatter garlic over potatoes. Coat lightly with extra-virgin olive oil and season potatoes with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 20 minutes.

Onions

Storage: Keep sweet mild onions in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a week or two, but beware the fatal moisture accumulation that causes them to spoil. Keep red and yellow storage onions in any cool, dark, dry place with adequate air circulation for several months if they have been cured.

Handling: Rinse raw chopped or sliced onions in water before use, as this takes away the unpleasant bite.

Spicy Onions and Bell Peppers in Yogurt Sauce over Corn Bread

The key to the creamy sauce in this recipe is yogurt, which perfectly balances the intense flavors of the onion, garlic, and spices. Recipetester Larry says that whole-grain bread works well in place of the corn bread and that nondairy yogurt can be substituted. The sauce also goes well with curried basmati rice. Farmer John (adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook).Serves 4

1 loaf corn bread

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter

2 cups thinly sliced onion (about 3 medium onions)

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 medium bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin freshly ground black pepper cayenne pepper (or less, to taste)

3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)

1/2–3/4 cup yogurt

Set the oven to its warm setting or preheat it to 200° F. Wrap the corn bread in aluminum foil and place it in the oven to warm.

Heat the oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and salt; cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is very soft and just beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the bell peppers, cumin, and black pepper and cayenne to taste. Cook until the bell peppers are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.

Remove the skillet from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup of the yogurt. If you would like a creamier sauce, add the rest of the yogurt. Tear the warm bread into chunks and place it on individual plates. Spoon the onion sauce over the bread. Serve immediately.