Week #27, 2025
Fennel
Kale, collards or chard or spinach or arugula
Napa cabbage or other cabbage (sorry we expected it last week but it just wasn’t ready.
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Sweet peppers
Hot peppers
Onions
Potatoes
Basil
Zucchini or Cucumbers
Cilantro or parsley
Eggplant or tomatillos or padron peppers (you will have choices.)
Celeriac
Today we will celebrate the fall harvest, the ending of the 2025 season (we still have one final harvest next week). Rain or shine the festival will go on. I made 15 recipes of pizza dough last night. The resting dough was put in the walk in cooler and by 9:00 it had almost risen out of its containers. I rushed out to pull off half of each container into a large bowl to keep it from spilling onto the cooler floor. We hope you will all join us for pizza, cider pressing, music, farm tours rain or shine this afternoon from 2-6 pm.
In the barn we have fall wreaths, bird feeders, dried flower arrangements, artist prints and t-shirts and totes for sale. If you want to commission a wreath or bird feeder, reach out to me in email or text. I still have material to make those orders but time is running out. Ceramics are on the back burner until November but I fully intend to be in my ceramics studio soon. I love to create especially for you so you are welcome to place your orders and I will aim to get them done by Thanksgiving.
Kris Schamp, our former member and local mushroom forager has bags of fresh chanterelles for sale. $8/half pound. You can send payment for his mushrooms to his venmo: kris-schamp@venmo. Our venmo is Lyn_jacobs@lafinquita. We always welcome cash or checks and understand that sometimes one makes a spontaneous purchase.
On the farm we are still hoping to get the garlic in the ground this week. With all the prep for the party and the continual drum beat of the fall farmers market we are struggling to keep up. Winter shares are full as we wait for the fall brassicas to come along. The beds of broccoli and cauliflower are stunted and lack luster. We keep our fingers crossed they will produce by next week but time is running out and what a disappointment.
Update on BESS - the battery storage facility slated to get teh greenlight just 1/4 mile from the farm. The County has refused an in person meeting, but has now decided to open a room , provide staff for those that want to gather at the County and use that method. This is the best we will get, and this may be why the hearing was extended and changed to October 30th, 2025- via zoom. We will have details but hope that you will join via zoom on that morning at 0900.
No Kings Day! October 18, 2025. Join anyway you can. Here is the map of events and a way to sign up and show that you will be on the streets: https://www.nokings.org/ .We need 3.5% of the population on the streets to protest the autocratic rule of Trump. Please join me at the Beaverton March from 2-4 if you are not attending in another location. Meet me at my booth with Pumpkin Ridge Gardens at 1:30 and we will all walk over together.
We put out the word for an extra harvest on 10/26 in between the regular season and the winter harvest. Please sign up on the google doc to get your share for $40. Thanksgiving harvest 11/23 is another opportunity to stock your pantry with yummy veg.
Well, unfortunately there is a lot of harvesting and prep to still work on so I will sign off and pull on the rain gear. We will pull off some of the last tomatoes and peppers as summer veggies wind down and we gear up for greens and winter.
Recipes to enjoy this week:
Roasted Whole Celeriac
Makes 4 servings
Active time 15 minutes
Total time 2 ½ hours
Ingredients
One 1 ½ pound celeriac, washed and scrubbed well
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds, lightly crushed
1 ½ teaspoons flaky salt, such as Maldon
3 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Heat the oven to 335 degrees.
Use the tip of a paring knife to poke the celeriac about 20 times. Transfer the celeriac
to a baking dish.
Lightly crush the coriander seeds. Mix them with the flaky salt.
Rub the olive oil all over the celeriac to completely cover it. Then press the coriander salt
mixture onto the oil.
Roast for 2 hours 15 minutes until the celeriac is golden brown and soft all the way to its core.
Just out of the oven, cut Celeriac Roasted Whole with Coriander and Olive Oil into wedges.
Serve them with a wedge of lemon and a drizzle of any oil or spices left in the baking dish.
Celeriac and Kale Salad with Walnut Brittle (can also just use toasted walnuts)
The maple walnut brittle adds a welcome sweetness and crunch to this salad, but toasted walnut halves make a fine alternative. If you do make the brittle, it’s worth using (or investing in) a sugar thermometer: they’re not expensive (from about £7) and take all the guesswork out of the equation. If you make the brittle by eye, it’ll be more a case of trial and error to get it to the “hard crack” stage. Serves four to six.
180g cavolo nero, thick stalks removed and discarded (or save them for soup), leaves cut into 1cm-thick slices
1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly crushed with the flat of a knife
Finely shaved peel of 1 lemon, plus 2½ tbsp lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
½ large celeriac, peeled and coarsely grated
10g parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
60g pomegranate seeds (ie, from ½ medium pomegranate)
For the maple walnuts
50ml maple syrup
25g caster sugar
60g walnut halves, lightly toasted
Yotam Ottolenghi’s slow-cooked chicken recipes
Start with the walnuts. Put the syrup and sugar in a small, heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat. Stir in a tablespoon of water, then leave to bubble gently for five minutes, resisting the urge to stir, until it comes to 145C. The mixture will at this stage be golden-brown, foamy and bubbly. Quickly stir in the nuts, then pour the lot on to a tray lined with greaseproof paper and leave to set. Once the brittle has hardened, roughly chop and set aside while you get on with the salad.
Mix the cavolo nero, garlic, lemon peel, lemon juice and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl, massaging it all together until the cabbage turns a bright, dark green and begins to soften and look cooked rather than raw. Set aside for 10 minutes, for the flavours to meld.
Pick out and discard the garlic and lemon peel from the salad mix, then add the celeriac, parsley, vinegar, oil, an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and a generous grind of pepper. Mix to combine, then transfer to a platter or individual plates. Scatter with the pomegranate seeds and the brittle and serve.
Savory Fennel and Celeriac Crumble
Crumble Filling
1 lemon - juice and zest
1 medium celeriac
2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into thick juliennes
1 large fennel bulb - sliced
4 cloves garlic - trimmed at the thicker end
100 g feta cut into cubes
30 g walnuts optional
1 tsp dried oregano
2 cups stock of your choice - hot (brought to the boil)
80 ml cream optional
salt and fresh ground pepper
Crumble Topping
120 g all purpose flour
40 g rolled oats
90 g butter
½ tsp crushed fennel seeds
pinch crushed green peppercorns
pinch salt
30 g shaved parmesan
Instructions
Crumble Filling
Preheat the oven to 180°c.
Juice and zest the lemon into the baking dish.
Peel and cube the celeriac and toss it into the lemon juice.
Add the carrots, chopped fennel, garlic cloves, walnuts, salt, pepper and oregano. Drizzle with olive oil. Toss and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until soft.
While the vegetables are in the oven, make the crumble and heat the stock.
Remove the roasting veg from the oven, pinch the garlic cloves from their casings, and squish them back into the baking dish, pouring over 2 cups of hot stock* (see notes). Check for seasoning. Whisk in the cream if using. The stock should cover the vegetables - add more if necessary.
Crumble Topping
Rub the butter into the flour and oats. Mix in the fennel seeds, pepper and a generous pinch of salt. Fork in the parmesan - try not to break it up too much.
Assembly
Cover the roasted vegetables with the crumble and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Celeriac and Fennel Soup
1 1/2 C diced white onion
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 C chopped fennel
4 1/2 C chopped celeriac
7 C low sodium vegetable stock
salt and white pepper to taste
1 C parsley plus more for garnish
4 Tbsp crème fraîche for garnish (coulé use greek yogurt or sour cream)
4 tsp olive oil
Prep all of the vegetables.
Melt the butter and soften the onions, fennel and celeriac over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Then add a few dashes of white pepper and cook one more minute.
Add 7 C of low sodium vegetable stock to the pot, bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer about 45 minutes or until the celeriac is beginning to fall apart and the fennel is tender.
Puree the soup until it's smooth using a hand mixer or a blender.
Next, blend in 1 C of curly parsley until the herb is broken up into small pieces, but not completely pureed into the soup.
Add more salt and white pepper to taste.
To serve, divide among 4 bowls. Garnish each with a Tbsp of crème fraîche, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprig of parsley. Serve hot.