5 days ago

Winter #2 CSA Newsletter Week Nov 10-16, 2024

A recent skillet dinner breakfast with breakfast sausage, carrots, Swiss chard, a couple frozen tomatoes, garlic. After taking the photo, I stirred in some chunks of leftover baked potatoes and squash also.

VEG SHARES

(Photo of the "Default" FULL Share below. See listings to see which share size has what, how much, along with info, guides, recipes.)

FULL VEG SHARE:

LETTUCE MIX (¼ lb) - Store in a plastic bag in your fridge. Often considered a “1st Priority Vegetable” with a shorter shelf life than the other vegetables in your share, however if you put a paper or cloth towel in the bag to absorb moisture, our freshly harvested lettuce will often lasts more than a week! Guide & Recipes

SPINACH (1/4 lb) - This green is very versatile (and YES! You can eat the stems, in fact they are very tasty too. ;) It can be eaten cooked or raw, requires little prep, works with sweet or savory ingredients, stands up to other hearty ingredients, and pairs well with rich, fatty foods such as cheese, butter, bacon, and cream. Raw is popular in salads with, or without, pecans, dried fruit such as cranberries, chunks of cheese, sunflower seeds, and roasted beets. Other possibilities are steaming, boiling, stir-frying, or sautéeing with butter or olive oil. Known as a longer keeper than lettuce, store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a week or more. Note - Cooks down in size considerably. Guide & Recipes

SWEET POTATOES (2 lbs) - Store them on the counter and use within a couple weeks. You many notice some brown patches on your sweet potato skins. This is call "scurf" and while it doesn't look attractive, it's a superficial discoloration and won't affect the eating quality of the root.

SALAD (Hakurei) TURNIPS (1 bunch) - These popular white golf-ball or smaller size roots are juicy, sweet and less starchy than an average turnip, with a texture that deserves to be eaten raw or barely cooked. Hakurei turnips have the tender, almost creamy texture of a spring radish, but without the sharp heat of a radish, their more mellow turnip flavor shines through.They are crisp and tender. Use them in salads, sandwiches, stir frys, sautes, scrambled eggs or sauces. Remove the edible tops (use in salads or lightly sauteed) and store them separately in a plastic bag in the fridge (or the root will get soft). Best used within 3-4 weeks but will keep a long time! Guide & Recipes

KALE (1 bunch) RED RUSSIAN - Store in a plastic bag (a Debbie Meyer Green bag if you have one) keep it in the fridge. Use within a week. This crop technically falls into the category of “1st Priority veggies” If you can’t use them in the next few days, freeze them. OR DINOSAUR - (Also known as Lacinto or Toscano.) Dino kale has an earthy, nutty flavor. It doesn't have the same strong bitterness as other varieties of kale, though it is still there. The sweetness helps offset that and makes it more approachable.This green can be used just like any other kale. Every part of the leaf is edible, though really thick ribs take longer to cook, so they're often discarded. The kale can be cooked whole, cut into thin strips, or chopped, depending on your recipe and use. Store in a plastic bag (a Debbie Meyer Green bag if you have one) keep it in the fridge. Use within a week. This crop technically falls into the category of “1st Priority veggies” to be used in the next week. If you can’t use it in the next few days, consider freezing it. Guide & Recipes

BRUSSEL SPROUTS (3/4 lb) - Kind of like tiny baby cabbages, Brussel sprouts are earthy, and sometimes slightly bitter, although the smaller ones have more sweetness. They are best when cooked until tender but still firm and bright green. Cooking with dry heat, such as roasting or sautéeing produces caramelization and brings out the sweetness of the sprouts. To roast Brussels sprouts, halve them, toss with olive oil, and season with Kosher salt, then roast in a 400 F oven for about 20 minutes. To sauté, halve the sprouts and cook in a medium-hot skillet for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender and crispy. Another tip: avoid cooking or dressing the sprouts in acidic sauces or dressings, as this can increase the pungency of the sprouts. Brussels sprouts pair well with fats and oils, and Brussels sprouts with bacon are a popular combination, as the smokiness and fat are a favorable match with the sprouts' earthy bitterness. Store loose sprouts in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

GARLIC (2 bulbs) - Ready to be used now or later, this is “cured”, or dried garlic, and as such should be stored on your counter out of direct sunlight.

WHITE CHEDDAR CHEESE (8 oz) - Semi-hard Cheddar that carries a tanginess along with smooth, consistent flavor. Great table cheese used for grating or grilling. Pairs well with: Champagne or Chardonnay *NOT organic. (from Meister Cheese)

HALF VEG SHARE: (see Full VEG Shares above⬆ for info on each item)

LETTUCE MIX (¼ lb)

SPINACH (1/4 lb)

SWEET POTATOES (1 lb)

SALAD (Hakurei) TURNIPS (1 bunch)

KALE (1 bunch)

BRUSSEL SPROUTS (3/4 lb)

GARLIC (1 bulb)

WHITE CHEDDAR CHEESE (8 oz)

2 OPTIONAL ITEMS this week: CARROTS (1 lb) & YELLOW ONIONS (1 lb)

Other items available in DESIGN MY SHARE:

CARROTS (1 bunch) - Store the roots dry and unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. Guide & Recipes

ARUGULA & TATSOI (3 oz) - Peppery salad greens. Tip: If you don’t like the spiciness, using dressing with dairy and/or adding cheese will lessen the heat. Arugula is more perishable than lettuce and often only lasts about 4 or 5 days so this should be one of the first items eaten from your share. That said, adding a paper or cloth towel to the bag to absorb moisture will extend the time it lasts by several days! Store in the fridge. Arugula Guide & Recipes

YELLOW ONION (1 lb) - Store on your counter or in your pantry out of direct sunlight. Onion peels can be put into a freezer bag with other vegetable scraps to make soup stock later, as they are full of antioxidants. To freeze: Cut or slice onions to desired size and place in Ziplock bag. Remove all the air and seal. It helps to freeze them in 2-3 cup increments. These are a good all-around onion, great for cooking and flavoring dishes. By far, they're the most popular onion sold in America and versatile enough for just about anything. Yellow onions are a smart choice for caramelizing, which draws out their natural sweetness.

RED ONION (1 lb) - Colorful and spicy-to-mild flavor. Because of their bright color and crispy texture, they're great for salads, salsas, and other fresh recipes. They're also excellent sliced for sandwiches. With cooking, the color fades, but they're still delicious cooked. Store on your counter or in your pantry out of direct sunlight. Onion peels can be put into a freezer bag with other vegetable scraps to make soup stock later, as they are full of antioxidants. To freeze: Cut or slice onions to desired size and place in Ziplock bag. Remove all the air and seal. It helps to freeze them in 2-3 cup increments.

DAIKON RADISHES (1 lb) - Daikons are generally milder than regular table radishes. Store dry in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for weeks - these are long keepers!. Radishes are also delicious roasted - our favorite way to eat them - because it takes out their heat and makes them sweeter! Try also sliced in rounds or matchsticks with your favorite dip or hummus. Adds crunch and great flavor to any stir fry recipe. Guide & Recipes

GREEN CABBAGE - Store this in your fridge. Cabbage keeps for quite a while. (If the outside leaves get yellow or floppy, just peel them off and discard to reveal good cabbage underneath!) Shred it for cole slaw or sauerkraut. Saute it with some garlic and olive oil for a tasty side dish. Guide & Recipes

GOLD RUSH RUSSET POTATOES (1 lbs) - Fully russeted skin with dry, white flesh perfectly suited for classic baked potatoes. Guide & Recipe s

GERMAN BUTTERBALL POTATOES (2 lbs) With a brown peel and flesh that's a vibrant yellow to gold and is firm, waxy, and dense. German Butterball Potatoes are most commonly used as baking potatoes but can also be fried or roasted. When cooked, they're creamy with a smooth consistency and offer a rich, buttery flavor. Guide & Recipes

FENNEL (1 bulb) - Remove the stem and fronds from the white bulb. Store the white bulb in the fridge crisper in a plastic bag. Use within 2 weeks. The fronds have a licorice taste, and can be chopped and frozen for later use in seasoning. The stem is also edible. Chop it up finely for cooking, or flash freeze it. Guide & Recipes

SWISS CHARD (1 bunch) - Put it in a bag to store in the fridge. Use within a week. This crop technically falls into the category of “First Priority Vegetables” or ones with a short shelf life - use it within the week for maximum efficiency. To revive limp chard, cut a sliver off the bottom of the stems and soak in very cold water for a few minutes. Guide & Recipes

KOHLRABI - (1 large) - Store in a plastic bag for up to a month. 6 Ideas for Use: 1. Slice in rounds or sticks for veggie platters, 2. Eat plain with a light sprinkling of salt, 3. Grate into salads or slaws, 4. Steam slices 5 to 10 minutes and drizzle with oil, lemon juice, and dill weed, 5. Slice or cube and add to stir fry or to a hearty soup/stew, 6. Grate and saute in butter with herbs or curry.

CELERY (6 ribs or stalks) - Celery is a herbaceous plant, in the same family with parsley, carrots, dill, and fennel. It’s crunchy, juicy, and aromatic, with a grassy, sweet, spicy flavor, and is regarded as a so-called "aromatic" vegetable, like onions and carrots, and is widely used as one of the three components of mirepoix (along with onions and carrots). Celery is also combined with onions and bell peppers to make up the "holy trinity" of Cajun cuisine. These mixtures are generally sautéed or roasted, and form the flavor base of innumerable sauces, soups, stocks, broths, stews, and other dishes. Celery will go limp if it isn't refrigerated. Remove the band holding the bunch together, put in a plastic bag or wrap the bunch loosely in paper towels, and store it in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for about a week or so. Alternatively, trim off the very bottom of the ribs and put them in a glass of jar with an inch of water. Store the glass in the refrigerator and replace the water every couple days.

PURPLE TOP TURNIPS (1 lb) - Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and these will keep for months if you aren’t ready to use them now.

RUTABAGA (1 lb or more) - Nutritious root vegetable with dense sweet-tasting flesh also known as Swedish turnip or neep. When you buy at the store, rutabagas are often coated in wax so they need to be peeled before cooking. Since these are organic and not waxed, peeling is optional. Can be used in hearty soups like beef barley or chicken noodle, stew, and casseroles, boiled, mashed (with potatoes and/or cauliflower, or on their own), and are excellent roasted, either alone or, with other root veggies like carrots, radishes, turnips, potatoes, onions, etc. This long storing veggie can be stored in the refrigerator, in the crisper drawer. Or if you’ll be using within a week or two, these can be stored like potatoes and onions in a cool, dark place on the counter.

PARSLEY (1 bunch) - Snip the bottom of the stems off and store on the counter in a glass of water. Or if you plan to use it in the next day or so, you can store the bunch in a plastic bag in the fridge.

BLUE ROOF ORCHARD APPLE SECONDS (1 lb) - variety= Galarina -Red apple. Sweet and simple, long storing. Best for fresh eating but okay baked/cooked. (certified organic)

BLUE ROOF ORCHARD APPLE SECONDS (1 lb) - variety= Sundance - Yellow with wonderful citrus flavor. Good for baking or eating or sauce.

MES SHARES - off

EGG SHARES

WEEKLY = 1 Dozen

BIWEEKLY = 1 Dozen

APPLE SHARES

Weekly & Biweekly = 3.6 lbs total

3.6 lb of Goldrush- Tart now and getting sweeter over time. Spicy delicious flavor. Good for baking or eating or sauce. yellow, very long storing, tart now, becoming sweeter with time. Very spicy delicious flavor, especially after a month in storage. Good for baking or eating or sauce.

RECIPES:

In the Field and On the Farm

With the warmer fall weather, the laying hens have been able to stay out in the field longer. Here they are scratching through the mulch and wood chips on the raspberry beds and depositing some valuable fertilizer at the same time. 😉