Winter CSA Newsletter Week #12, January 28 - February 3, 2024 “B” week
What would you do if you found yourself out in the pasture waiting for the water tank to get full?
Well, if you're Aidan, you lay on the back of your favorite cow Bonnie to look at the sky and contemplate life and farming. (photo by Liam)
Newsletter Table of Contents:
This Week’s Shares with Guides & Recipes- VEG, MES, EGG, APPLE
Recipes - Easy Stir Fried Purple Top Turnips x2, Sprouted Lentils Recipe, Vegan Stew with Sprouted Lentils, Purple Top Turnip Mash
Field News & Photos from the Week - Zombies -Figuring It Out
VEG SHARES
(Photo of FULL Share. See listings below to see which share size has what, how much, along with info, guides, recipes.)
FULL VEG SHARE:
PURPLE TOP TURNIPS (2 lbs) - Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and these will keep for months if you aren’t ready to use them now.
YELLOW ONION (1 lb) - Ready to be used now or later, this almost “cured” or dried onion should be stored on your counter or in your pantry out of direct sunlight. If you don’t use it in the next week, it’ll cure more and store longer.
to desired size and place in Ziplock bag. Remove all the air and seal. It helps to freeze them in 2-3 cup increments. from Gwenyn Hill Farm
DARK RED NORLAND POTATOES (1 lb) - Excellent flavor. With red skin and white flesh, this variety is good for baking or boiling. Store in a paper bag, or out of the light, in your pantry or on the counter away from onions.
AND/OR GERMAN BUTTERBALL POTATOES 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 (from Mythic Farm)
CARROTS (2 lbs) - Store the roots dry and unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Will keep this way for months. Guide & Recipes (from Red Door Family Farm)
LENTIL SPROUTS (1/2 lb) - Packed with nutrition, lentil sprouts are great crunchy healthy snacks that can be munched on as is or added to salads, sandwiches, and other meals or used to garnish almost anything.
TETSUKABUTO WINTER SQUASH (1) - A delicious cross between Butternut & Kabocha squashes, this variety was bred in Japan during the middle of last century. The translation of the Japanese name is “iron helmet,” after the famed hardness of its rind. It stores well - up to 6 months. And is fabled to just get better and better over time - we know this to be true! Store as you would any other winter squash. Guide & Recipes
HALF VEG SHARE: (see Full VEG Shares above⬆ for info on each item)
PURPLE TOP TURNIPS (1 lb)
YELLOW ONION (1 lb)
DARK RED NORLAND POTATOES and/or GERMAN BUTTERBALL POTATOES (1 lb)
CARROTS (1 lb)
LENTIL SPROUTS ( lb)
TETSUKABUTO WINTER SQUASH (1)
OPTIONAL ITEMS: for FULL & HALF Shares - choose one or both:
BEETS (2 lb) - Store in the fridge in a plastic bag for up to 2 months. Guide & Recipes
PEA SHOOTS (3 oz.) - Pea Shoots are microgreens, or baby pea seedlings, that smell & taste like peas. They are versatile and can be used like fresh salad greens (they pair well with parmesan cheese & lemon!), stir fried lightly, used in sandwiches, on pizza, or as a garnish. Store in a plastic bag or wrapped in a slightly damp towel for about a up to two weeks. Guide and Recipes (2 different PDF’s)
MES SHARES
Week 4 of the rotation so MES is at Big Sky this week.
FULL: 1 ground beef, 1 breakfast sausage, 2 dozen eggs
HALF: 1 ground beef, 1 breakfast sausage, 1 dozen eggs
EGG SHARE
Weekly Shares = 1 Dozen Biweekly Shares = 1 Dozen
PREPARED FOOD & RECIPES:
We LOVE fried beets! They're so simple to make - heat the pan, add the healthy fat (we use butter or lard), cut the beets, throw in the pan, and stir every once in a while until the beets are done to your taste. Yum!
This recipe & other ideas for Purple Top Turnips are from recipes.net
Stir-Fried Purple Top Turnips
For a quick and nutritious side dish, stir-frying purple top turnips is the way to go. Definitely consider adding carrots with the turnips. And for a pleasing crunch, stir your lentil sprouts in the warm pan of stir fry just before serving!
Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan or wok over medium heat.
Thinly slice the purple top turnips and add them to the hot pan.
Sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the turnips are tender-crisp.
Add soy sauce, a touch of honey, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds for extra flavor.
Toss everything together until well combined, then remove from heat.
Serve the stir-fried purple top turnips as a side dish or add them to stir-fry noodle dishes for a burst of color and taste.
Field News & Photos:
Figuring It Out
Our trusty delivery vehicle - an old Dodge Ram Van - has been out of commission for several months. Bill and Aidan feared it to be done for.
Besides being a headache to replace it made me sad since I like it so much.
Quick side story ➡ I really like the Dodge as it's an old one-of-a-kind!
When we were looking for a delivery vehicle, Bill gravitated towards the big practical closed in box trucks or vans. Ones that would hold a lot of whatever we needed to haul be it CSA shares, bins of farmers market produce, lumber, or feed. The ones we found were out of our price range or too big.
My wish list included one that all five of us could fit in if necessary.
We spotted this one at a local used car lot, and I was immediately drawn to it.
Really, how could I not be?
Amongst all the borrowing boxy utility-type ones we saw, it had personality with cute little window awnings and a zombie emblem on the hood. And upon closer inspection, there were even removable bench seats meaning we could transport us or other stuff, whichever we needed!
I was sold.
It took a bit Bill a bit longer to come around. But once he looked under the hood, test drove it, and agreed with the owner on an affordable price, we had ourselves a delivery vehicle.
(You might enjoy this side story on top my side story as much as my kids do.
I'm absolutely not a zombie aficionado and pretty ignorant of all things zombie, so the hood emblem reminded me of goat horns. And since we have goats on the farm, I took that as a sign the van was meant for us. Had to be! I loved this "personal" detail and was only enlightened of my cultural ignorance by my kids when driving the van home when one of them said they were surprised I was okay with getting a van with "zombie" on it.
What? I was astonished! I hadn't even noticed the words on the emblem! I chalk it up to only seeing what I wanted to see.
They still tease me about it once in a while, but to this day, I still contend they're goat horns!)
Well, that was all at least six years ago.
The van has served us well, and I hated to think we couldn't use it anymore. Fast forward to this week and the warmer temperatures. Aidan and Bill decided to take a closer look. They found the problem to not be to onerous to fix and went to work.
Guess what?
Great news - we have the van back!
During the month or so it was parked, we've been making due with this used Subaru. We've been using it for CSA deliveries to Madison and also for the smaller winter farmers market on Saturday.
One day when Bill took the truck to get grain because he couldn't use the van, and unbeknownst to us, Aidan and Liam even made it work to take a round bale of hay to the cows up on the ridge.
I wouldn't have believed it if Liam hadn't recorded their shenanigans for me.
Examples like squeezing a big bale of hay in the car to go feed the cattle are why I find the motto on our chalkboard - "We'll figure it out, we always do."
so appropriate!
We've been figuring it out without the van, but I sure am grateful to have my quirky delivery vehicle back to deliver shares to our AWESOME members this week!
(Did you see that on our list too?
We love you guys almost as much as I love the zombie van! 😘)
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