Slowly slipping into fall

This is the first week of the season that we start to see fall overlapping with summer in the crops that we're harvesting. Mornings out in the field have been feeling noticeably more chilly and sunset has been catching me off guard at the end of the day. The leeks and radishes we'll be bringing in this week are the harbingers of future harvests of kale, carrots, and beets deeper into the fall.

While radishes are a fast-growing crop, seeded in the field only about a month ago, our leek crop has been a long project, starting in April when we first seeded them into little cells in flats in the

Baby leeks in the greenhouse this spring.

greenhouse. They grow slowly, taking lots of time to stretch their roots out into the soil, and develop from spindly little grass-like shoots into sturdy, flavorful vegetable stalwarts. This prolonged adolescence in leeks gives the competition (ie, fast growing and ubiquitous weeds) lots of time to get established and give the crop a run for its money (or its soil nutrients and solar access). During the mid-summer months we spent lots of time weeding and hoeing in the leek field, beating back the weeds and trying to give our leeks the edge. With a healthy and abundant crop in front of us, it looks like our work paid off.

Farm Fresh Yoga this Saturday (9/20) at 11am celebrates the Autumn Equinox. Bring your mat and get ready to enjoy a sunny yoga class on our beautiful hillside. Guests are welcome with a sliding scale donation to our Food Access Fund.
In your share this week: more heirloom and red slicing tomatoes, red potatoes from Moraine Farm, leeks, first radishes of the fall, husk cherries, tomatillos (for fresh salsa verde!), Pick Your Own cherry tomatoes and Pick Your Own flowers. Please bring back any pint and quart containers you might have at home so we can reuse them!

Recipe of the Week

Since we have both potatoes and leeks in the share, this week's recipe showcases this classic duo in a soup perfect for the first weeks of fall.

Leek and Potato Soup
from Anna Thomas' The New Vegetarian Epicure

2 1/2 cups sliced leeks, white and light green parts only
1 Tbs butter
2 lb potatoes
2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups vegetable broth
1-2 Tbs chopped fresh dill
1-2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
juice of a quarter of a lemon
freshly ground black pepper
optional: milk or cream to taste

Wash the leeks, quarter them lengthwise, and slice them thinly. Melt the butter in a large non-stick skillet and cook the leeks in it over medium heat, stirring often, until they are limp and just hinting at the idea of coloring.
Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them in a 1/2-inch dice. Combine them in a saucepan with the 2 cups of water and the salt, adding a little more water only if needed to cover them. Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer the potatoes until they are completely tender.
For a more intense potato flavor, cook the peels in a separate pot, in just enough water to cover. When the potatoes are tender, strain the water off the peels and add it to the soup.
Add the cooked leeks to the potatoes, along with the vegetable broth, chopped herbs, lemon juice, and pepper. Cook everything together for about 10 more minutes, then taste and correct the seasoning with more salt or pepper if desired.
If you like a chunky soup, it's ready. If you want it less chunky, use a potato masher. If you want it smooth, puree it in a blender in batches, but be sure to blend very briefly, as potatoes suffer from overprocessing. For a creamier soup, stir in a little milk or cream now.