Shoulder Season Harvest

This Week's Share:

Beets, Celery, Rosemary, Frisee, Romaine Lettuce, Onions, Delicata Squash, Garlic

The whole month of September we are straddling the seasons both in our field work and in our diets. I'm trying to get in as many tomatoes and zucchinis as I can glean from the garden not to mention eggplant and red peppers. We're trying to balance out the share with the last of these treats from the summer with the first of our fall crops: beets, carrots, winter squashes, bitter greens. Salads are great for mashing up the best of both seasons.

Frisee Salad with Rosemary Roasted Beets

Roast beets in a 400 oven in foil packets for about 45 minutes depending on the side. Put a sprig of rosemary in the packet. When beets are tender peel and slice. Dress with shallots, dijon mustard, freshly chopped rosemary and some balsamic vinegar. Toss all together with torn up frisee. Some creamy chèvre from Lost Ruby Farm would be delicious here as well as some of the nuts from the following recipe.

Fall Caesar with Roasted Delicata Squash

Add roasted garlic, roasted squash, grilled onions and some sweet and toasty walnuts and you have one heck of a delicious, hearty fall take on your regular ol' Caesar salad.

I used this dressing (and nuts) from the smitten kitchen as my leaping off point. The sweetness of some delicata is a nice balance to the acidity and creamy richness of the dressing. Preheat your oven to 400. Cut your delicata in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place on a rimmed baking tray, cut side down and pour a little water on the on the tray. This gently steams the squash. After about 20 minutes I flip the squash over to finish cooking. Meanwhile cut some nice half inch or so slices of onion and grill them or cook them over high heat on a cast iron pan until nice and charred. To assemble wash and spin your romaine and lay out on a platter topped with onions, nuts, and sliced delicata. Season with salt and pepper and top with dressing. Croutons and protein of your choice would put this nice salad over the top for a full and quite hearty meal.