Looking forward to our upcoming projects

As Julie was mentioning in the last blog post, the farm is switching gears to embrace the end of the season. Only 3 ore weeks of CSA (2 for basket members that did not skip a week - we'll email you)!

You know we are planning to keep going to the Lunenburg market every Thursday and are trying out a little extension of the season.

We will have 2 tunnels hopefully full of greens and will work less hours starting November.

Our cute display at the market

Two major projects will happen in the next months on the farm : the creation of a pond and the construction of the first greenhouse.

We talked about it previously, the pond is destined to help with the watering on the farm. We didn’t want to pump into the existing pond as it has been there for a long time and is home to a lot of wildlife. It made sense to create a new one, on an area of the farm where there isn’t much on the go currently.

For the greenhouse building we will likely have some help. The location has been decided and Rebecca is currently doing a bit of research so we have an idea of the major steps that will happen. For example, it’s likely that the soil that will be dug up for the pond will serve as the base of the new greenhouse. It’s very exciting for the whole team to add a permanent building to the farm!

At the end of October, we will have a big season review, talking about every success and every failure we faced in the past months. Of course, the goal is to keep doing things that were great but particularly, we want to improve and find solutions for what didn’t go that well.

It’s a time of reflection, brain storming and team building as we discuss the ups and downs of the season. The team overall is feeling good, but the constant heat and sun from the summer has been hard on the bodies… and the crops. The gardens are still very dry, the yields aren’t great and some crops just didn’t grow and sized up at all the way they should have. 

We are raising our beds for the coming garlic planting :)

That being said, we will still have delicious veggies for you in the next share that should inspire you for Thanksgiving! Here are a couple of recipes using swiss chard, radicchio and butternut squash.

Try an easy and quick sautéed swiss chard (from Love&Lemons)

Ingredients: 2 bunches of swiss chard (about 1 pound); 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; ¼ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste; ground black pepper; lemon wedge, for squeezing.

Start with slicing the stems off the chard leaves and chop the stems into ¼-inch slices. Coarsely chop the leaves.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chard stems and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Add the chard leaves, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the leaves are wilted.

Turn off the heat, squeeze a little lemon juice over the chard, and toss. Season to taste and serve.

A comforting warm squash and radicchio salad

Ingredients: 1 butternut squash; olive oil, for cooking; salt and pepper, as needed; 6 to 8 pitted dates (or to taste), roughly chopped; 1/3 cup pomegranate arils (or to taste); 1/2 head of radicchio, leaves separated (alternatively, you could chop it); 5 tablespoons of butter; 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F with the rack adjusted to the center position.

Place the unpeeled squash directly onto the oven rack and roast for 40 minutes. Allow it to cool until you can handle it, and then peel it if desired. Halve it lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and slice into 1/2-inch-thick discs/half moons.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Season the squash all over with salt and pepper. Add the squash to the pan and cook on both sides until browned and crusty; about 6 to 8 minutes per side to get things nice and tender, and beautifully brown. 

Arrange the radicchio on a large plate or tray (or individual plates) and top with the cooked squash. Add the butter to the skillet along with the dates. Allow the butter to melt and then brown, stirring occasionally as it does; takes about 5 minutes. 

When you can smell the nuttiness of the browned butter, add 3 more tablespoons of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix and to get those dates crispy and caramelized. Spoon this warm vinaigrette over the squash/radicchio and top with the pomegranate seeds.

I hope you enjoy those recipes!

Until next time, take care. 

Raphaëlle and the Spring Tide team