- Nov 1, 2023

Winter CSA Newsletter Week #1, Oct. 29-Nov 4, 2023 “A” week

some of the Brussels sprouts harvest

Newsletter Table of Contents:

This Week’s Shares with Guides & Recipes- VEG, MES, EGG, APPLE
Recipes
Field News & Photos from the Week

VEG SHARES (see FULL and HALF list for which share has what, how much, along with info, guides, recipes)

FULL SHARE:

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

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.

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

BRUSSELS SPROUTS (½ lb) - Kind of like tiny baby cabbages, Brussel sprouts are earthy and sometimes slightly bitter, 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.

MINI BROCCOLI (½ lb) - More tender with a milder flavor than standard head broccoli, all of the parts of the mini broccoli, also called baby broccoli, in your bag is edible. It can be steamed, sautéed, roasted, stir-fried, or even puréed into a sauce. And while it makes a good side dish when cooked, broccoli can easily be used raw in salads and crudités. Store in your fridge in a plastic bag for a week, although spears will go limp (still edible!) the longer you keep them. You can often revive them by soaking in very cold water for 10 to 20 minutes. Guide & Recipes

CARROTS (2 lb roots) - Store the roots dry and unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. Guide & Recipes

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.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH (1)- 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

OPTIONAL ITEMS:

SALAD TURNIPS, SWEET PEPPERS

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

SWISS CHARD (1 bunch)

RED ONION (~1 lb)

BRUSSELS SPROUTS (½ lb)

MINI BROCCOLI (½ lb)

CARROTS (1 lb roots)

GARLIC (1 bulbs)

SPAGHETTI SQUASH (1)

MES SHARE at LEUCC this week (unless we made other arrangements)

FULL : 1 pkg breakfast sausage, 2 doz

HALF: 1 pkg breakfast sausage, 1 doz

EGG SHARE Weekly Shares = 1 Dozen Biweekly Shares = 1 Dozen

RECIPES:

Click the link to go to a printable pdf of the recipe.

Field News & Photos:

The freezing temperatures coming in the end of last week found us up early - before the moon had even set - to bring in the last of the field vegetables.

It was a long day, and we had our trusty supervisor Smudge with us for much of it.

Salad turnips were pulled and piled up.

Below Liam comes to Marlee's rescue with an empty bin.

Purple top turnips look so happy in their "field nest" before we rudely pulled them so Bill and Aidan could remove the tops and pack them in a bin

I caught Liam bringing in the Brussels sprout harvest.

With the walk-in cooler getting fuller and fuller as the day turned to evening and we loaded more and more in - salad and purple top turnips, daikon radishes, beets, broccoli, green onions - in next to all the carrots, broccoli, and beets already in there,

We realized that many of the Brussels sprouts would need to be popped off their stalks before

they could be squeezed in too!

Bill strung up a light and he and Aidan were on it as the dark and cold fell on us.

And yay! Only about half the harvest had to be done before we could get them in AND shut the door!.

I don't think another thing would have fit.

It's the fullest our little cooler has ever been!

As we finally walked in the house looking forward to supper and warming up, I made the comment is we grow any extra crops next year (and we already have plans for several in the works because we're addicted to growing food and want to grow even MORE ;) we'ill definitely need a second walk-in cooler.