Above the lower plants it towers,
The Fennel with its yellow flowers;
And in an earlier age than ours
Was gifted with the wondrous powers
Lost vision to restore.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “The Goblet of Fire”
Week 12 produce list
- Fennel
- Red torpedo onions
- Potatoes
- Cucumbers
- Peppers – bell/wax/jalapeño
- Eggplant – Italian/Japanese
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Genovese basil
- Squash – full/single
- Honeydew melon – single
- Kale – full
- Dill – full
Farmer notes
- Welcome to the beautiful month of September
- Fall sign up for our Fall CSA Share is open through our website – previous years offerings are archived under our ‘newsletters’
- Endless combinations using basil, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic
- Dill with the cucumbers or the potatoes
- Enjoy the sight and smell of the fennel – it is our ‘vegetable of the week’ and we will pass on some recipes for using it
- We are taking a break from sweet corn for this week – the 3rd and final planting should be starting next delivery
- We are back to pesto basil now for 2 weeks before the temperatures dip much below 50 degrees
- Red onions are small, but hey, they do look like a torpedo
- We are having the first entire week without rain for a long time
- Wash the produce before you eat it
Feeling like Autumn
The temperature is hovering around 50 degrees this morning and the daylight is only now dispersing the night at 6 o’clock. The high for today in ‘good ole Spring Valley, MN.’ is set for 71. These signs do not go unnoticed by us at Earth Dance, nor by all of the produce in our fields.
The amount of daylight is one of the main factors that effects which crops grow in a certain location, how much they grow, and how well they produce. We are definitely moving away from the mid-summer crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers and summer squash. Others, like basil, will only perform in temperatures above 50 degrees. Peppers, melons, corn and eggplant, will succumb to the first decent frost.
Crops that thrive in the shorter, cooler days of fall are the brassicas such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower etc., and root crops like carrots, beets, parsnips. Hardy greens like kale, chard, collards and spinach do just fine until a hard freeze.
You will slowly begin seeing these crops in your forthcoming boxes along with winter squash, pie pumpkins, apples and other sure signs of the changing season!
Veggie of the Week: Fennel
You may notice a sweet scent (similar to anise) the moment you open your box up this week. The feathery fronds that fill your box are the leaves to your fennel. It looks like – and is a similar species to – dill. Longfellow referred to the aesthetic and curative elements of Foeniculum vulgare. Indeed, records proclaim the medicinal benefits of fennel going back to Anglo-Saxon witchcraft (the Nine Herb Charm), back to Greek mythology (“marathon” means plain of fennel), back to Latin etymology (foeniculum, the diminutive of hay) . Even today, the seeds blend into the complex herbal liquor absinthe and the Indian breath-freshening snack mukhwas.
Back to your own feathered bulb, take a moment to decide if you want to shave it into a raw salad with a citrus vinaigrette (salt, black pepper, lemon juice, olive oil) or cook it into a tasty dinner (roasted as a warm side dish, creamy-crispy with potatoes, grilled for pizza toppings). In warm dishes, heads up: when you poke it for doneness, check the heart/core (unless you prefer a chewier dinner). Omelette lovers could use the bitter leaves and the red torpedo onions to make eggah for breakfast.
In case you enjoy trimming your veggies but don’t know where to begin, here is a simple step-by-step to get you started:
- Trim off the fennel stalks.
- Cut the bulb in half.
- Cut the halves into quarters.
- Peel off any wilted outer layers.
- Slice the fennel crosswise.
- Shave the fennel (optional).
- Use or store the fennel: Fennel is ready to be used right away.
(Instructions source and more photos/info)
Crispy Cream-Braised Potatoes and Fennel
- potatoes – cut into irregular chunks
- fennel bulbs – trimmed (with tough/bruised outer layers removed), then cut lengthwise into wedges about 1.5″ wide (leaving core intact)
- half-and-half or cream (enough to cover the vegetables)
- salt + freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil
- In a 3 to 4 quart pan, combine potatoes and fennel wedges. Add enough half-and-half to fully cover. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Over medium-high heat, bring the half-and-half to a simmer, then lower heat to just maintain the simmer. Cook until the potatoes and fennel are soft and tender, about 20 minutes. Take off the heat. The potatoes and fennel should be fully cooked at this point.
- While potatoes and fennel are braising, preheat broiler to medium-high.
- Remove potatoes and fennel wedges from the half-and-half with a spider or slotted spoon, and transfer them to a gratin or casserole dish. Some of the half-and-half will cling to the vegetables, which is a good thing. Make sure to generously coat the bottom with olive oil to prevent sticking. Taste the potatoes and fennel for seasoning – if you need more salt or pepper, add them now. Toss with olive oil (about 1 tablespoon). Arrange the potatoes and fennel wedges in a single layer to promote even browning.
- Place the casserole dish under the broiler (about 6 inches away from the source of heat). Broil for about 3 to 5 minutes or until the potatoes and fennel are caramelized and crispy around the edges.
(Recipe adapted and simplified from Food52 – if you enjoy getting more spice happy, look here)
