Autumn arrives this week and I have really been feeling it in the air. This past week’s rain felt amazing, but caused a bit of trouble over at Willowbrook Farm. They received an inch of rain in a short amount of time, which caused an irrigation ditch to overflow and flood their fields with thick mud. It has been quite the season for extreme weather, but hopefully this is the last of it.
Despite the flooding, we still have amazing produce this week, including Asian pears from Plum Nutty Orchard in Camp Verde! Spaghetti squash is finally in our baskets after weeks of teasing you with pictures of its growth. We usually eat ours just like spaghetti with a traditional red sauce and meatballs, but I’ve included a creative recipe below that sounds amazing! Also new this week are Whipstone Farm’s roasted green chilies. We opted for the mild variety, so hopefully all of you will find a way to enjoy these delicious chilies.
This Wednesday, my daughter, Hazel, turns 10! Hazel was born on our former mini-farm in Camp Verde and her very first outing was to visit the Verde Valley Farmers’ Market when she was just one day old. I spent my pregnancy with her building moveable pens called chicken tractors, in which I housed the 60 meat birds that arrived just a week before her birth. When she was just a few months old, I began working for Verde Valley CSA, so the CSA season has always been a part of her life. Her early years included weekly visits to Willowbrook Farm, raising pigs and cows, and collecting eggs from the chicken coop. Although we no longer raise farm animals and a lot more of our food comes from the grocery store now than it did when she was younger, I am grateful that Hazel can remain connected to where her food comes from through the CSA. I hope that all of you are able to feel some of that same connection to our local food web as you read this newsletter and enjoy your produce each week.
Have a happy week!
Meghan
What’s in your basket – September 20th
Cucumbers – Willowbrook Farm
Head lettuce – Willowbrook Farm
Kale – Willowbrook Farm
Roasted green chilies – Whipstone Farm
Salad turnips – Whipstone Farm
Spaghetti squash – Willowbrook Farm
Summer squash – Whipstone Farm
A little more than 10 years ago I was busy getting ready for the arrival of sixty chicks and one baby.
Last lettuce planting of the season now covered in mud.
This week’s head lettuce looks amazing though.
Purple beans in bloom.
Once a farm baby, always a farm baby.