October 6th Whole Farm CSA

Full Share: Asian Greens, Red Cabbage, Fennel, Daikon Radish, Kabocha Squash, Shallot, Cilantro

Half Share: Asian Greens, Red Cabbage, Fennel, Daikon Radish, Kabocha Squash, Shallot

Bouquet: Dahlia, Statice, Gladiolus, Strawflower, Cosmos, Black Wheat

The second weekend of this year’s fall festival is officially in the books! We hope you were about to get out and enjoy the perfect weather this weekend, and this week’s share is packed with delicious fall flavors to get you in the spirit of the season. For the month of October, all shares will be boxed up and waiting for you in the cooler, even if you come to pickup on Tuesdays! As a reminder, throughout this month you have 12 ciders and 4 pumpkins as a part of your share, just make sure to indicate how many you’ve gotten on the sheet. Kabocha squash are making their debut this week, after curing in the warm greenhouse for a few weeks, they are perfectly sweet and ready to become the star of your table. Warm storage triggers chemical changes that turn the starch in the squash into natural sugars, creating the rich, sweet flavor the squash is known for! The word kabocha comes from Japan, where Portuguese sailors introduced the squash in the mid-16th century. Because the sailors arrived from Cambodia, the Japanese mistakenly called the squash kabocha, derived from a phrase meaning "southern melon."

With the snow and a hard frost in the forecast, it’s looking like this will be the last week for fresh flowers, and we’ve been working all season long to build our dried flower inventory so we’ll still have some colorful blooms for you throughout the changing of the seasons. The vegetable crew is cranking away at harvesting storage crops such as parsnips and carrots, and the upcoming frost will be especially beneficial to the sweetness of the parsnips. Today they harvested tons of purple cabbage which has made it’s way into storage and will be used throughout the fall. Cider was pressed today so we have plenty available in the marketstand cooler! On Friday, Matt will travel up to Moss Farms in the Flathead area and return with new apples for everyone to enjoy!

Stuffed Kabocha Squash

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 kabocha squash

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 14 ounces corn drained

  • 1 diced onion dice

  • 14 ounces diced tomatoes

  • 14 ounces black beans drained and rinsed

  • 2 teaspoons ground chili powder

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

  • ½ cup cheddar cheese

PREPARATION

  1. Preheat the oven to 375º F.

  2. Cut the top off the kabocha squash and remove the seeds. Brush with one tablespoon olive oil and bake for 20 minutes. (Bake the lid stem side up too!)

  3. In a pan, heat the last tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes.

  4. Add the corn, tomatoes, black beans and seasoning. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

  5. Remove the squash from the oven.

  6. Stuff the corn mixture into the squash. Top with the cheese or cheese substitute. Put the lid onto the squash and bake for another 20 minutes.

  7. Serve hot in slices.

Jacy Rothschiller