Vegetarian Holiday Main Dish, Posted by Melinda

Ultimate Stuffed Acorn Squash (photo source)

This is based on the idea of the "Three Sisters," a Native-American food tradition comprising corn, beans, and squash. Though the torrential rains of earlier this summer did in our own Three Sisters (from powdery mildew, no surprise there), we're getting great acorn squash, and I don't know about you, but I still have some of our corn in the freezer--there's nothing like pulling out summer corn as the weather starts to cool!!!! If you're vegetarian, this would make a wonderful main course for Thanksgiving.

Ultimate Stuffed Acorn Squash--This serves 8, but obviously you can make less by halving or quartering.

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tsp minced garlic, divided
• 4 acorn squash, halved lengthwise & seeded [to prevent halves from wobbling or tipping over on baking sheet or plate, cut a thin slab off the bottom of each half so it sits flat]
• 1/2 tsp ancho chile powder, plus more for sprinkling squash
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander, plus more for sprinkling squash
• 3 cups fresh or frozen organic corn kernels, divided
• 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tbsp melted butter or olive oil
• 3 oz soft goat cheese or low-fat cream cheese (1/3 cup)
• 3 oz grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (3/4 cup) plus more for garnish (optional)
• 1 & 1/2 cups cooked black beans or one 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (btw, Vegetarian Times says Trader Joe's house brand canned goods do *not* use BPA in the can linings--good to know)
• 1 large poblano chile pepper or 1 small red sweet pepper, diced (1 cup)
• 8 green onions (scallions) white & green parts, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine oil and 2 tsp minced garlic in small bowl. Brush squash flesh with garlic oil and sprinkle lightly with ancho chile powder and coriander [coriander is the seeds of cilantro plants after they flower!]. Season w/ salt/pepper if desired, and place on large baking sheet. Pulse 2 cups corn kernels in food processor till finely chopped & milky. Set aside. Whisk 1/2 tsp each of coriander & ancho chile powder into cornmeal, along with sugar, baking soda, salt, & cayenne in medium bowl. Set aside. Whisk together buttermilk and eggs in separate bowl. Whisk (into buttermilk mix) butter [or oil], then pureed corn, then the remaining 1 cup of corn kernels, goat cheese, Cheddar, and remaining 2 tsp minced garlic. Fold in cornmeal mixture with a spatula, then fold in black beans, poblano chile, and green onions. Divide filling among squash halves. Sprinkle each half w/ extra Cheddar, if desired. Bake squash halves 30 to 45 min, or till squash are tender and filling is set. Sprinkle w/ green onions. Squash can be prepared 24 hrs ahead, then reheated 20 min at 325 F. Serve and enjoy!  (source: Vegetarian Times, Nov. 2013)

Blog-a-Roo, by Angela

(Source)

I saw this little boy pretending to chomp down on the rays of sunshine that beamed through the church windows during the sermon. Ah, the sweet taste of long desired sunshine is what this week is all about. Hitting our first 100 degrees at 2pm on Monday, we stopped working early due to our newly adopted standard in accordance with OSHA precautions ("Occupational Safety and Health Administration"--click here for more).  Out of concern for the safety of farm employees, fieldwork will not extend beyond CSA harvests and critical farm tasks if the heat index exceeds 103 degrees or actual temperatures exceed 95 degrees. Share pickups will continue as usual because there is relief from the heat in the shade of the barn.

Brendan weed-whacking the walking paths
in the U-Pick

To help you see the U-Pick amongst the weeds, Brendan has been skillfully mowing down the aisles of the U-Pick field (see above) with the weed-whacker, making the produce and flowers far easier to identify alongside the intrusive weed invaders.

I'm learning a lot about the whole Three-Sisters application with the winter squash, popcorn, and dry beans. First off, it's a crazy zoo of stalks, vine, and weeds at this point, as the squash are climbing the corn among the weeds that blasted forth with the continuous rains. The zoo is not so bad, as all these items get harvested once they have dried back. Secondly, the location in which the experiment was planted gets a fair amount of morning shade due to the neighboring woodlot. So the squash has developed more vigorously closer to our main driveway, where it resides in the row; and I am afraid that the plants near the woods may truly be too far behind for good production, given the additional shade from the burgeoning corn stalks. All in all, it is a space saver, but when I glance over at the row of acorn squash (see below) all by itself next to the peppers in full sunlight, they are farther advanced than those winter squash competing with the corn and bean companions.

Exuberant acorn squash vines to the right of the peppers

Our "Two Sisters" corner (immediately to your left as you enter the farm), companion-planted with sweet corn and melons, lacks the vital addition of a nitrogen fixer like beans (for info on nitrogen fixing, click here). To assist these plants with all the nutrients they require, we have been "fertigating" (injecting fish emulsion into the irrigation lines). Fish emulsion is a time-honored, OMRI-approved (Organic Materials Review Institute) organic application of concentrated nitrogen. The plants feed on nitrogen much in the same way that we require carbohydrates for fuel. Corn is a heavy feeder of nitrogen and hence the reason Mid-Western mono-crops tend to result in a rotation of corn followed by soybeans (beans of all sorts help make nitrogen more readily available in the soil for the crops that follow the beans). If you were around the farm last year, you may have noted that the current location of the peas and green beans in the U-Pick field was the home of our sweet corn last season. We are following simple crop rotations in the same manner (but on a smaller scale) that benefits everything in the long run.

Molly fertigating the corn (injecting fish
emulsion into the drip-tape lines for nitrogen

Week #2 Pickup, Thoughts and Ideas, by Angela

Second-Week Share

This year we're trying an experiment on the farm that connects us to the classic traditions of companion planting. The "Three Sisters" (corn, squash, and beans--see below) benefit each other in the use of space and nutrients. The corn will grow up, the squash grows out, and the beans climb the corn. (For more info on the Three Sisters, click here.)

The start of a "three sisters" planting--corn, squash & beans

Our winter squash this year has been planted alongside popcorn and dried beans (see above). It tickles my fancy to witness these plants thrive as they increase in girth and vitality. Among other things, this field is faring quite well in our eruptions of rainfall.

Unhappy lettuces

Like a forgotten bag of wet lettuce, our lettuce heads in the field (see above) have been turning to slime on the bottom, with too much hydration; good thing we plant in successions!

Grass groves next to the tomatoes

Unintentionally, the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants have cover crops, between the rows, of some dormant ryegrass seeded far too late last season (see above). As the picture here shows, it's a bit unruly at the moment, but I have a good feeling it'll be under control by the power of the weed- whacker soon.

Workshares Mary & Sandy washing
salad greens

Josh washing fennel bulbs

All in all, we're coming together over good fresh food. Let us continue to work together both in the fields and in our thoughts.