Final CSA of Colorado Bounty

"Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country."-William Jennings Bryan

On behalf of all our farmers, it has been our honor and privilege to provide the CSA community with the best in South Central Colorado foods.  And to our CSA working shareholders Eric Havelock-Bailie, and Alex DeCarli (pictured top left and right respectively) and Byron Williams (pictured on the left), thank you for your efforts and artist's eye!  And to our driver and warehouse ninja Dave Swain (pictured above) thanks for getting those boxes to where they needed to go with humor and diligence!

Here's the box:

Apples, Early Jonathan, "Akane," Conner Orchards, Hotchkiss                   3.57 pounds
Dragon Tongue Beans, White Mountain Farm, Mosca                              0.89 pounds
Beets, Chioggia, WMF                                                                         1 bunch
Eggs, Ab Yoder Family Farm, Alamosa                                                     1 dozen
Leeks, WMF                                                                                       1 leek
Mixed Baby Greens, Ring a Ding Farms, Howard, CO                             0.5 pound
Sweet Baby Greens, RAD                                                                   0.5 pound
Peaches, Black Bear Orchards, Palisade, CO                                              2 pounds
Potatoes, Red, WMF                                                                          3 pounds
Potatoes, Yellow, WMF                                                                      3 pounds
Quinoa, WMF                                                                                    1 pound
Acorn Squash, Antonio Garcia, Alamosa                                                  1.5 pound
Winter Squash, Antonio Garcia                                                             4.5 pound
Sunflower Oil, Colorado Mills, Lamar, CO                                                1 bottle
Colorado River Beans, Dove Creek Bean Company, Dove Creek, CO             1 pound
Tomatoes, Graber's Produce, Alamosa                                                   1.78 pound
Zuchinni, Oretga's Mini Market, Rocky Ford, CO                                  0.84 pound
Cucumber, Ortega's Mini Market                                                           1 cucumber
Jalepenos, Ortega's Mini Market                                                            0.27 pound
Garlic, Absmeier High Alitude Garlic, Alamosa, CO                                   1 pound

Cooler Return this week only!  Bring 'em back to your CSA pick up location ASAP.  These are on loan from White Mountain Farm so let's all please show our appreciation and bring them back.

Online CSA Market Orders available for MOSCA PICK UP every week year-round!

• Yes, Valley Roots meats, dairy, grocery, and frozen available every week
• Order Deadline Wednesday 4 pm, $50 minimum order
• Orders Available for pick up in Mosca on Thursday between 3-5 pm
• 5401 Terry St Mosca, CO 81146
  
• https://valleyrootsfoodhubcsa.localorbit.com/users/sign_in
  

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From Megumi's Kitchen
Wow! What a bounty! I think Nick, the Food Hub manager extraordinary, was making sure that we do not go into shock when the Fresh Box stops coming next week. The box this week had many items that can be stored and sustain us for a long time.  Thank you, Nick!
Yesterday evening (Thursday, September 15th), I had an opportunity to witness how my heroes worked to assemble our boxes.  Unfortunately I did not have my camera and my old cell phone does not take good pictures.  So I beg you to use your power of imagination… 
Imagine you are in a big room that was once a school cafeteria.  On a long wall is a line of coolers and boxes —yes, the ones we receive each week—- lined up from one end to the other and continue to the next wall, all 60 or so of them.  When you turn your eyes to the center of the room, various produce in cases occupy big tables. At one table, one guy is stuffing plastic bags with salad greens. On the other end of the room, another is washing eggs at the sink. All 6 guys are moving swiftly between the tables, walk-in coolers, and the boxes on the wall delivering various item to each box.  

What a beautiful view it was to see a work of great team!  They’d been there since 7:30 AM, and at around 7PM they finished loading the refrigerated truck with our boxes to be delivered next day. And they’ve done it every week for all through the summer… sometimes working till 9PM.  At the end of this CSA season, I would like to offer a huge round of applause and heartfelt appreciation to the each and every one — farmers, producers, ranchers, drivers, assembly team, and the manager— who made yet another great CSA season.  Thank you!
To commemorate the end of the season, I decided to cook something special with ingredients from the box this week.     

---  Quinoa Stuffed Winter Squash ---

- cook approx 1/4 cup of quinoa in 1/2 cup water. set aside
- chop the white part of the leek and sauté till nice and soft
- dice 1/2 tomato to small pieces, add to the leek, sauté a few more minutes, season with salt, pepper, crushed garlic, thyme and whatever other spices you may like. set aside
dice cheese --any melting kind of cheese would do. today I had some cheddar cheese in my refrigerator 
- cut off the top of the squash and scrape out the seeds
- salt and pepper the inside of the squash. mix quinoa, leek/tomato, and cheese and stuff the squash
- poke the squash from outside with a folk, rub with oil, and place an aluminum tent.
- bake the squash in the oven at 350-400 degree for about 45 minutes or until the squash is soft. folk should go though the skin without much forcing.  cooking time varies depending on the size of the squash and the thickness of the squash wall.
​Wishing you a bountiful and beautiful fall season!