Well, we can admit it now: summer is definitely over! With brutally cold (for October) temps tonight, our tomatoes have finally kicked the bucket, all crops are out of the field, and it’s time to think about a whole different approach to using those CSA vegetables. (Soup, anyone? I know we’re thinking it….)

With this in mind, this week’s box is meant to give you a little “break” from the summer stuff, and help you stock up on those “stock” needs. (Pun intended!) We’re giving you a little extra potatoes and onions to get ahead, plus parsley (fantastic in stock!) and a much larger head of garlic to get the dang thing done.

Just because we’re talking about soup so much (because we have soup and chili on our minds in this cold weather….), doesn’t mean you have to be making soup, though! With some greens (red kale), spring radishes, and green peppers, there are still some “summery” (or “spring-ey”) things you can make if you’re just not ready to let go of the warmer times….

This week, CSA will contain:

• Potatoes (1.5 pounds)
• Red kale bunch
• Green peppers
• Spring radish bunch
• Yellow storage onions (1 pound)
• Garlic (1 large head)
• Kabocha squash (Japanese pie pumpkin) New!
• Shallots (2 cloves)
• Parsley bunch

Our past couple days pulling out and doing an inventory of the season’s last veg will give you a little preview: we’ll have tons of root veg on the way! Turnips and storage radishes are one of our favorite bits of of fall produce to share with people. We know most people don’t like them, but we’re convinced it’s because most people haven’t eaten them the RIGHT way! And we’ll have lots of ideas to share with you.

And around the corner, we’ll have lots of squash, cabbage, and leeks, plus some of the season’s last carrots, too (we can’t help but start thinking of soup again…especially with leeks in that lineup!)

And since it’s Halloween, we couldn’t resist sneaking our members a pumpkin! Specifically kabocha, which is a bright orange Japanese type of pie pumpkin. Completely edible too, and one of our top favorite squash because of its sweetness and creaminess when you roast it (almost sweet potato-like). Perfect for pumpkin pie, soups, or even just roasted (yep, just like a butternut).

Not quite ready to eat pumpkin yet? That’s OK. You can use your kabocha decoratively and set it some place in your home at room temperature– the kitchen table is a nice spot! Kabocha has a long storage life and you can wait almost another month to eat it, especially if you’d like to think of more ideas of what to do with it.

Just make sure to eat it quickly if it shows spots or its skin starts to look a little wrinkly. Even in that stage of its storage life, it’s still mind-blowing to eat.

Wellness Spotlight On: Parsley

So, it’s a little crazy that I haven’t talked about the health benefits of parsley yet. Because, as a healing herb (in the field of herbalism), a nutritious vegetable, and a culinary seasoning, it really makes for a killer combo and a triple threat.

Parsley’s flavor, whether fresh or dried, makes it so the herb can really be at home in just about any dish. Though we really tend to associate it most with eastern Mediterranean dishes like tabbouleh, baba ganoush, things like that….you can really put it in just about anything and reap the benefits. (Try roasting or mashing potatoes sprinkled with parsley. Understated but super yum.)

And you know what health nuts are starting to do? Put parsley in their juices and smoothies. Yes, it tastes good. Yes, you could think of it as a “superfood.” No, it’s flavor doesn’t really interfere with the enjoyment much. I mean, if you already hopped on the celery bandwagon for all that vegetable’s health benefits, then you’ll soon be crazy about parsley. (Parsley has similar flavor but is more “carroty”, less watery.)

Even more so than celery, parsley is nutrient-dense. Rich in vitamin K, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, potassium, and even some stunning antioxidants that are superb for your heart, fighting cancer, the whole she-bang.

Parsley’s got its own history in herbalism, too, and a pretty impressive arsenal of health benefits. It’s great for inflammation and allergies, helping keep histamine down in the body. Great for digestion, too. (If you’ve ever eaten a sprig of parsley you might have noticed it calmed your stomach a bit, didn’t it?)

For women, it can be estrogenic and good for balancing hormones, especially the parsley root. (If you ever get your hands on parsley root, toss it into soup stock – yum!) But men should also be aware that it’s great for balancing your hormones, too. And if you’ve ever heard of that pesky pseudo-condition “Adrenal Fatigue,” parsley is supposedly great for helping smooth that over with a little energetic nutrient “boost.”

As always…

If you EVER have questions about items in your CSA or farm share box, please let us know! Whether it’s how to use them, what they are, or anything that might make you curious.

We love to talk food! | – jupiterridgefarm@gmail.com –

Thank you for choosing us to be your farmers!

Adrian & Will | Jupiter Ridge Farm

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