Week Sixteen: Time for Fall crops!

Hello everyone!
I'm back from Sacramento (great wedding, fun times with family, etc) and it looks like all the CFK workers did an amazing job with last week's ambitious menu. I hope you're all doing well and enjoying the gradual change of seasons. This Wednesday harvest morning was still summer-y warm, but you could sense the change of season in the crops and the feel of the morning. We were talking a lot about the Fall Festival (coming up on Oct 4) and the Grand Finale harvest (scheduled for Nov 1)--fall is here; winter is coming. We haven't had a frost yet, so we're still enjoying summer crops in abundance--basil, eggplants, and pepper, but we're beginning to clear the fields of those kinds of things. The fall crop of kale is beginning to come in and I think we'll be having broccoli and cabbage very soon. At the same time, new things are in evidence-- a broody chicken has hatched an egg and the farm now has a sweet baby chick. While washing the basil I rescued a gorgeous praying mantis--she's probably just getting ready to lay her eggs. On the whole it's great to be back after my break.
Here's the harvest for the week:
Choice of 1/2 lb potatoes or 1 eggplant
Hot peppers - 1 plant (!) (more hot sauce...)
Oriental greens (arugula, mizuna, or tatsoi) - 1 bunch
Choice of 1 bok choi or 1 bunch of turnip greens
Kale - 1/2 lb
Winter squash - 1
Basil - 1 plant (!)
the last Lettuce - 1 head
Garlic - 1 head
Eggplant - 1
Sweet peppers - 6
Jack-o'lantern pumpkin

Menu:
Vegetarian Groundnut (peanut) Stew from Simply in Season p. 207
Turnip Greens with Misa sauce from Farmer John's Cookbook p. 91
Eggplant Nicoise from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd p. 405
Pesto from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd p. 267
**hey guys, I don't usually do the same recipe week after week (or even more than once, if you haven't noticed) but pesto is so great, it keeps really well in the freezer, and makes for a delicious taste of summer all winter long, so I thought no one could have too much. Plus it's by far the best thing I've ever heard of to do with huge amounts of basil, so I hope you'll forgive me. Enjoy!**
The End of the Summer Salad with the last of this year's lettuce and oriental greens
Folks who didn't get a pumpkin last week will get one this week! :-)

See you Friday!
peace
Mary
Photo explanations: 1. Mary visiting the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco 2. Baby chick! 3. Bug-found-on-food-of-the-week: praying mantis 4. Beautiful Kristin shares beautiful raspberries 5. Freshly extracted honey is available for sale at the farm. 6. My car is full of vegetables