Week 23 October 17, 2025

camasswalefarm
Oct 17
7 min read

Recipes: Kabocha squash snack cake, Chicken habanero soup

"Season Due"

They are unforgiving and do not ask mercy, these last

of the season flowers: Chrysanthemums, brash sultan dahlias a-nod

in rain. It is

[October]. Pansy

freaked with jet be

damned: it takes this radiant bitterness to

stand, to take the throb of sky, now sky

is cold, falls bodily, asaults. In tangled

conclave, spiky-

leaved, they

wait. The news

is fatal. Leaf by leaf, petals

by petal, they brazen out this chill

which has felled already gentler flowers and herbs

and now probes

these veins for a last

mortal volley of

cadmium orange, magenta, a last acrid floor

of perfume that will drift in the air here once more,

yet once more, when these stubborn flowers have died.

by Rosanna Warren, 1986

WHAT'S IN MY BOX?

Italian Kale - 1 bu

Escarole - 1 ct

Tetsukabuto squash - 1 ct Tetsukabuto squash is a Japanese hybrid winter squash, a cross between kabocha and butternut squash, that has a dark green rind and sweet, nutty, and creamy yellow-orange flesh. The name "tetsukabuto" means "iron helmet," referring to its hard skin, which allows for long storage of up to six months or more. This versatile squash is great in both sweet and savory dishes, from baked goods and soups to simply being roasted and eaten on its own

Orange Carrots - 1 lb

Red Potatoes 1.5 lb (smalls) 2 lb (fulls)

Roulette Heatless Habanero Peppers (mild) 1/3 lb

Onion - 1 ct

Radishes 1 bu or 1 pint (fulls only)

Savoy or Green Cabbage 1 ct (fulls only)

Salad Lover's Add-On - salad mix

Egg Add-On if you ordered eggs pick them up in the egg add-on box at your pick up site this week!

HOW TO ORDER ADD-ONs: The CSA store is open for add-ons. You can use a debit card or your Farmigo credits https://csa.farmigo.com/store/camasswalefarmcsa. Please order 3 days before the desired delivery day.

"Dirt Cake"

Autumn is here, change in the fields is upon us!

Canning has commenced, for some it has ended.

Last week for pickling peppers....

On the underside of leaves, praying mantis egg sacks abound,

Carrot and beet roots pulled from the ground.

Greens are in their glory.

hurry hurry-- broccoli for Crop Share holders

Chunks of brownie batter looking soil,

a reminder to turn the oven on....

It's baking and soup time.

Dirt cake with a side of -- it doesn't matter,

You've hauled and hoed plenty,

Taste the sweetness you desire!

by Sungold, 2025

Photos of Fall....

Tetsukabuto Squash Snack Cake

by Wild Flower Bakery

Ingredients

2 cups (240g) whole grain pastry flour (or AP flour)
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
¼ tsp clove
1 cup (198g) sugar
½ cup (109g) vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups Tetsukabuto squash puree (or other sweet pulp squash)
3 Tablespoon milk

Directions

Heat oven to 350F.

Grease and flour a 9” x 5” loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt.

In another bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla until well incorporated and lighter in color. Slowly drizzle in oil while whisking quickly. Gently fold in squash puree.

Sift dry ingredients over wet ingredients and gradually fold in until no dry streaks remain.

Evenly pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean, 50-60 minutes.

Transfer loaf pan to a wire rack and let cool for five minutes. Run a knife along edges and invert onto a plate, then let cool completely, topside up, on a rack.

Enjoy!

Chicken Habanero Soup

from big oven recipe Blog

1 Whole Chicken ; or your favorite cuts (e.g. leg quarters)
1 Roulette Heatless (mild) Habanero chile ; 2 at most!
1 stalk celery ; chopped
1 ripe tomato ; chopped
1 half onion ; chopped
3 cloves garlic ; chopped
1 can chicken broth
1 carrot
2 potatoes
1 delicata squash, or half of a testukuboto squash
1 bunch spinach or escarole or italian kale
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro ; chopped including the stems (eyeball it)
1 pinch oregano
1 roasting pan
Cayenne Pepper Flakes or powder
1 salt and pepper ; to taste
Garlic salt with parsley ; to taste
Knorr Chicken Flavor Granulated Bouillon ; to taste
Chef Merito Chicken Seasoning ; to taste

*Heat a 6qt pot on low. When heated, add the celery and tomato and stir until soft (Don't let the tomato dry out!). Add the onions and garlic and mash everything with a spoon. It doesn't have to be perfect! Just mash it roughly.
Add the broth and scrape any of the vegetables from the bottom of the pan, so it gets incorporated in the soup. Raise the heat to medium-high and add water. About 3 quarts so the water line is halfway. **Add some salt, pepper, garlic salt with parsley, and Knorr Chicken Flavor Granulated Bouillon to taste (Don't go overboard; it's better to add more later than to end up with salty soup). Add the washed chicken whole without the innards. Trust me on this one. ;)
***Add the whole habanero chile (for mild soup), then cover the chicken, and let it boil for about 30 minutes.
****Take this waiting time to cut the carrot, squash, potatoes, and chayote into about 1 inch pieces. Leave soaked in water so they don't get brown.
Take out a roasting pan, and place it on the counter right next to the pot of soup. Don't do anything to it! Just take one out so it's ready for the chicken. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees right before taking out the chicken.
After the 30 minutes are over, take out the chicken carefully! I use a serving fork to hold the chicken on both ends.
*****Place the chicken on the roasting pan and season it with salt, pepper (very, very, lightly), Chef Merito Chicken Seasoning (generous), garlic salt with parsley (lightly), and cayenne pepper flakes or powder (as much as you can handle!). Stick it in the oven.
While the chicken is roasting, turn back to the soup. Take out the excess fat with a spoon, and then taste the soup. If it needs more salt add more or add more Knorr. Add the chicken innards (if you want them). Add all the vegetables except for the spinach.
About 10-15 minutes later, check to see if the vegetables are tender. If so, turn off the heat and add the spinach by breaking it into pieces with your hands (otherwise it's really long). Add the cilantro and the oregano. You're done with the soup!
Don't forget to check the chicken after this. It will take about 30-45 minutes for the chicken to roast (depending on its size). Once the skin is crispy to the touch you know it's done.
Enjoy!

CSA Member Calendar

Last Summer CSA Delivery

Friday October 31

First Fall CSA Delivery

Wednesday November 5th

(Wednesday delivery for all)

RSVP here

ABOUT PICKING UP YOUR CSA

Bring your own bag. Pick up at your pick up location and day (Wednesday or Friday) from 12-6pm. If you ordered an add-on, it will be packed in a separate labeled tote.

HOW TO PICK UP YOUR CSA

#1: Sign-in! the golden rule

Find & Sign-off your name on the sign-in sheet each week and please ONLY take the items listed next to your name.

This vital step helps ensure everyone goes home happy, including our site hosts and farmers, week after week.

#2: Locate your shares

Boxes are labeled as Small or Full. Summer Salad Lover Add-on shares are in a large tote labeled "Salad Add-ons"

#3: Unpack your tote & stack the empties

Please bring your own reusable shopping bag to transport your items - we’ll pick the totes up next week for reuse! We can use them for multiple seasons, reducing waste one box at a time.

USING THE WEEKLY SWAP BOX?

Swap boxes are green with flowers painted on them. Swap boxes are labeled and will stand out! If your pick up site has a swap box, please feel free to swap an item you may not want in your box with an item in the provided and specifically-labeled SWAP BOX. Please limit the swaps to one item for one item per week.

UNABLE TO FIND AN ITEM?

(Please do not supplement it with something else!) Contact the farm directly before taking something else. The sooner you reach out the sooner your item may be located.

SOMEONE ELSE PICKING UP FOR YOU?

(Please share all the details of how to pick up with them BEFORE they attempt to pick up -- BYO bag, take from the right size box, check off the right name). Friends and family picking up for others is the number one cause of pickup mistakes, and we thank you in advance for your consideration.

CSA FAQS PAGE

Since our hands are often tied up with roots, soil or kids we keep this information on our CSA FAQS web page.

VACATIONS

Every CSA member can put their share on hold in trade for a $20 credit per week, up to two. Login to your account and select your vacation dates or email us. Please request your vacation at least three days in advance to receive the credit.

REDEEMING YOUR VACATION CREDIT

Go to our Online Store to see availability for add-ons this week and to double check the value of your credit. You'll need to login to see your credit amount. In the 2025 season you can use your vacation credits to purchase add-ons electronically or apply the credit to a Fall Share. But as always you can also just email the farm. Thanks!

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

Your current season of newsletters and many of our newsletters back to 2012 are on our website here. Find recipes from previous seasons. Friday CSA members can go to this link on Wednesday and see what this week's CSA has to offer.