Winter #4 CSA Newsletter Nov 23-29, 2025

Stacey Feiner
3 days ago
10 min read

Recently I climbed atop a stack of round bales to see what the farm looks like from above. The Kune Kune x Idaho Pasture Pig cross pigs were foraging below me. They love grass even in late November. 😋

This week's share

VEG SHARES - Weekly + "B" week for EOW

CRUNCH-A-BUNCH APPLE 2nds - These apples are 2nds (or seconds) because they don't look quite perfect. But they're still perfectly good! And this variety can be used for baking, fresh eating, or sauce. Their sweet-tart flavor has the slightest hint of pineapple. from Blue Roof Orchard's organic apple trees.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH - These have a pretty long shelf life - several months if you store them properly in a cool, dark place. Their characteristic “noodle-like” flesh gives them their name. These can be cut in half and steamed upside down in a sheet pan filled with water. To use, cut the squash around the middle (belly button) of the squash. This will ensure you get the longest “noodles.” Guide & Recipes

BUTTERNUT SQUASH (1) - Store this winter squash on your counter or in a cool dark place. The longer you store it, the sweeter it gets. Butternut is a long keeper - in the right conditions, it will still be good in 4 to 6 months! Roast it, bake it, or add it to soup. Remove seeds. Eat the pulp. We use butternut to make pie filling or for pumpkin muffins. After roasting, you can freeze for later use. Roast the seeds too! Guide & Recipes

ACORN WINTER SQUASH - Mild, buttery flavor that pairs well with a wide variety of seasonings, both savory and sweet. May be baked, broiled, roasted, steamed, stuffed, sautéed, pureed, or even used as the surprise ingredient in a pie. Stores for up to a couple months in cool, dark place like your garage - just don’t let it freeze! Guide & Recipes

DELICATA WINTER SQUASHES (1) - These have thin skin that is edible so there is no need to peel! Will store for a month or two at room temperature. Great steamed. Cut in half, scoop out seeds, and lay them face-side down in a sheet pan filled with a bit of water. Bake/steam at 375 for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on size, until the inside is soft. Or roast the lazy way - put the whole squash in the oven in a shallow pan, on a cookie sheet or sheet pan & roast. Carefully remove from the oven when a fork or knife can easily be inserted, slice in half, and scoop out seeds. Serve in the skin with butter or brown sugar. You can also microwave Delicata for 3 to 5 minutes. Or prepare in a toaster oven @ 425F for 20 to 25 minutes. Guide & Recipes

RED RUSSIAN KALE (1 bunch) - Store in a plastic bag and keep it in the fridge. Use within a week or so. Because this kale was still in the field and experienced a couple of frosts, it'll be extra sweet and tasty! Guide & Recipes

CELERY (at least 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.

CELERIAC or CELERY ROOT (1 or 2) - Remove the hairy skin with a chef’s knife. Then chop and use it like celery. Concentrated celery flavor. You can also grate the root. Great addition to soups. Store in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge for several weeks. Cooked celeriac will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. It can also be frozen for up to three months.

BRUSSEL SPROUTS (1 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. Store loose sprouts in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. (from our farm & Whitefeather Farm)

ADIRONDACK BLUE POTATOES (1 lb) - Blue flesh and skin with a slight purple tint. Great flavor, hold color when cooked, and contain lots of healthy anthocyanins. This variety is good for boiling, baking, and mashing, and can be used for brightly coloured salads. Store in a paper bag in your pantry or on the counter for a month. Guide & Recipes

GOLD POTATOES (1 lb) With a golden peel and flesh, these potatoes have a sweet, buttery, and earthy flavor suited for cooked applications such as roasting, grilling, frying, mashing, sautéing, and boiling. The tubers retain their color when cooked, and the skin can be peeled or left intact, depending on preferences. Guide & Recipes

CARROTS (1 bunch) - Store the roots dry and unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. (from our farm & Red Door Family Farm)

Guide & Recipes

RED BEETS (1 lb) - Store in the fridge in a plastic bag for months. Guide & Recipes

CHIOGGIA BEETS (1 lb) - Pronounced kee-OH-gee-uh after a town in Northern Italy, and also known as “Candy Cane” or “Bullseye”, Chioggia have an especially sweet and mild earthy flavor—and don’t ‘bleed’ as much as regular beets. You can use them just like red beets. Often put in salads to showcase their eye-catching stripes. If boiling, add a little bit of lemon juice or white vinegar to prevent the stripes from fading! Store in the fridge in a plastic bag for months. Guide & Recipes

SUNCHOKES - Also known as Jerusalem Artichokes, sunroots, or earth apples, this is not an artichoke; it's the crisp, delicately sweet tuber of an Italian sunflower. Its texture is crispy, like jicama and water chestnuts, and it has the earthiness of a real artichoke. Sunchokes are edible raw or cooked, including the skins. The thin skin is difficult to peel, and they turn brown/grey quite quickly, so a good scrubbing is a better option. If you peel, to help prevent browning, soak the tubers in a mix of 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or ¼ cup vinegar) and one quart water. Sunchokes can be eaten raw, cooked, baked, pickled, and fermented.

Suggestions for use:

They’re tasty air-fried. Toss them in some olive oil and fry till done.
They go well with artichokes and tomato sauce.
Try them baked with olive oil for 30-40 minutes.
Substitute for water chestnuts in your favorite stir fry recipe.
Add to a vegetable tray as part of a meal, not a whole side dish.
Steam whole sunchokes for 10-15 minutes. Shorten steaming time if cubed or sliced. Serve with butter and a sprinkle of parsley, or a dash of lemon and dusting of nutmeg.
Thinly slice sunchokes and drop into hot oil. Fry chips until lightly browned and drain on a paper bag. Salt and season warm chips to taste.
Or roast with other root vegetables like beets, carrots, or potatoes.

Note*** Sunchokes are known for producing gas because they are high in soluble fiber (inulin). Inulin is a type of starch that although not digestible by humans, acts as a prebiotic in the digestive tract, feeding our beneficial bacteria. It’s become a widely used filler in many foods to bump up the fiber counts. It also increases calcium absorption in the body, and doesn’t spike blood sugar. There are even sweeteners made for diabetics made out of sunchokes. Soluble fiber is good for us, but the side effects (gas) can be unpleasant. Some sources claim that eating a large amount of sunchokes may lead to mild gas for those who are not used to it. They have even been nicknamed, “fartichokes”. However, not everyone reacts to sunchokes. If you have never had any, find out gently by having just a little bit. Good advice is that the most effective approach to avoid side effects is to go light on the sunchokes by adding small amounts to a dish, instead of as a main dish. This gives your digestive system time to build up the right bacteria to deal with the extra inulin. Some suggest to first eat some sunchokes raw, without scrubbing all the dirt off as some of the soil microbes that come with will help aid digestion. Some also believe spring sunchokes are less problematic as the winter frosts naturally break down some of the inulin.

Storage: Because of their thin skin, sunchokes can’t be “cured” for long storage like potatoes can be. Keep them in a bag or container in the fridge and plan to use in about 10 days.

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

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

FENNEL - 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

KOREAN MOUNTAIN HARDNECK GARLIC - This full flavor variety is fairly spicy, impossible to ignore and yet, not overwhelming like some varieties. The initial bite is a hot burst, though it soon mellows into a smooth aftertaste. from Little Chet's

YELLOW ONIONS (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. (from our farm & Gwenyn Hill Farm)

RED ONIONS (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. (from Gwenyn Hill Farm)

ALL PURPOSE BOLTED FLOUR - Best applications include but are not limited to cakes, crackers, pizza dough, and breads.PROTEIN CONTENT= 10.5%. (from Meadowlark Organics)

RYE FLOUR - Whole grain rye contains 100% of the grain - the nutrient dense germ, starch filled endosperm, and fiber rich bran. It’s a hearty cereal grain used extensively in the baking of northern and eastern Europe. Use it on its own for a dense, flavorful sourdough, or blend with all purpose or bread flours for cookies, pastries, pizza dough, and breads. (from Meadowlark Organics)

DAKOTA BLACK POPCORN (1 lb) - This richly flavored popcorn has a deep purple kernel that pops into a bright white and tender treat. (from Meadowlark Organics)

DAPPLE GREY BEANS - Also known as Appaloosa Beans, these feature a striking pattern with mottled speckles. Their smooth texture and mild, nutty flavor make them versatile in the kitchen and are ideal for soups, stews, and salads. They hold their shape well during cooking. (from Meadowlark Organics)

MES SHARES - Week B4

EGG SHARES - all Weekly & appropriate Biweekly

Recipes:

BRUSSELS SPROUTS Tips

^➡️To Roast: 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.

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.