A Sweetening Frost

THE WEEK

On Wednesday, we awoke to the first frost on the field—luckily it was a sweetening frost, not a killing one, but a reminder of what’s to come. We’ve lit the woodstove the past few nights, and with an inner groan, I hauled down a bag of hats and mittens from the attic. Today, we watched a skunk lumber down the hedgerow, stopping to nibble apples. I’ve been similarly scavenger-minded: lately our kitchen is a-stick with apples in various stages of pie or sauce production.

Yesterday, against the backdrop of another stunner October afternoon, we harvested the first fall carrots (they’re as good as a carrot can hope to be), crisp mizuna (perfect for salads and sautes), hakurei turnips (their cream white flesh straight out of the dirt a pleasant shock), radishes, leeks, broccolini, fennel, tender red russian kale, curly kale, lacinato kale, collards, chard, spinach, and heaps of lettuce.

New this week: our saute mix—a great blend of mizuna, tatsoi, and baby Red Russian kale, ready for eating out of the bag, or pan frying. From partner farms, we have sweet potatoes, cauliflower, delectable winter squashes (honeynut, koginut, kabocha, carnival, spaghetti, butternut, acorn), russet and new potatoes, and from John Bunker—heritage apples, and seckel pears.

NB: A number of you have asked how long the farm store will be open. We will remain open during our regular hours (Tues-Sat) through the end of this month. In November, we resume our winter market—accepting pre-orders on Sundays for pick-up at the farm (and otherwise, more details to come next week) on Fridays, when the store will be open for shopping. We look forward to providing great locally grown organic food to you through the winter months.

HAPPENINGS

10/22, 4–6 p.m.: Join Knox County Food Council and Maine Network of Community Food Councils for a discussion of Food Sovereignty and Food Security in Maine. Light refreshments will be served. This event is free, but please register here.

Our next community pizza night with Uproot Pie Co. is coming up on Saturday, 10/24 at 5 p.m.! We’ll have a bonfire and music. This event is free and open to all, but we encourage registration for an accurate headcount for pie-making. Please register here.

WEEKLY

Wednesdays — Demetra Bread @ 11
Thursdays — Spark Bagel @ 11
Fridays — Demetra Bread @ 11
Saturday — Camden Farmers Market 9–12

FROM THE PANTRY

RANCHO GORDO With fall officially in the air, I’ve restocked the store with all our favorite Rancho Gordo beans and lentils for curries, soups, tacos, and stews. My current favorite is the King City Pink, which is a hearty soup bean, and a favorite for tacos.

ON OUR TABLE

With a wealth of fallen fruit at hand, I’ve been a production line of one, peeling and quartering apples. With the high sugar content in ripe fruit, nothing more than a splash of water (to prevent pan sticking), a stick of cinnamon, heat, and time are needed to yield a rich, silky sauce. Our fall tradition is to pair fresh applesauce with latkes.

This is a simple recipe which I more or less follow (I spin shredded potatoes in a salad spinner, squeeze all liquid out of the onion, and sub a shake of potato starch in for matzo meal). To gild the lily, top with smoked salmon.