Share Notes 11-30-17

Share Notes 11-30-17

CSA Share Notes:

The fall crops are doing really well with more new varieties ready every week. Our lovely head lettuces and first cabbages are now mature, and more root crops are on their way. We should have carrots in just another week!

Now on to this week’s Vegetable line-up.

  • Sweet potatoes—with this nice fall weather, we’ve been enjoying our favorite fall soup recipe: Spicy Sweet Potato Soup with Greens.
  • Radish—Watermelon radish. This crop is sure to surprise! The outside is a pale pinkish-green, and the inside a vibrant magenta. Chefs love this radish variety. Sometimes they can be quite spicy, and other times really nice and mild, it just depends on the weather.
  • Cabbage—Napa Cabbage. Everyone received a head of our hearty Napa cabbage which is fantastic in asian soups, stir fries, fried rice, curries, or in traditional slaws and saurkrauts.
  • Pac Choi—Two weeks ago we gave you tiny young heads, and now they’ve grown quite a lot in this short time! You’ve received plenty to make my favorite pack choi dish: Thai yellow curry, with coconut milk, potatoes, and chicken.
  • Head Lettuce—Fresh heads in an array of pretty varieties. You may have received Speckled Trout, Skyphos, or New Red Fire.
  • Arugula—This planting is really quite large, so you’ll want to tear to chop it up to make a super flavorful and delicious salad. We like to pair arugula with a flavorful cheese like parmesan or chevre, a nut like pine nut or pecan, and sweet, tart fruit like fresh apple or dried cherry.
  • Hakurei Turnips—Hakurei Japanese turnips went to each large share. Try them fresh and raw in a salad. They’re fantastic.
  • Purple Top Turnips—The small shares received Purple Top turnips, with large bunches of healthy greens. The traditional way to cook southern turnips is to sauté your chopped roots in butter or bacon fat with garlic and onion for a few minutes, and then toss in the chopped greens to cook a few minutes longer.  Add hot sauce and you’ve got an authentic southern mainstay.
  • Winter Squash—Large shares received the end of our acorn squash, and this concludes our fall winter squash harvest. Savor these last few!

Veggie Storage tips:

Winter squash and sweet potatoes will prefer to stay at room temp. Everything else will keep longest stored in the fridge sealed up in a bag.   All root crops should be severed from their tops to keep the roots from getting rubbery.   Everything will need a gentle washing before cooking, but leave the dirt on until you’re ready to use them to prevent spoilage.

We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this week. Send us a note or post a comment of how you’ve used your CSA share.

Your farmers,

Jess & Justin

Large Share

Large Share:  (top left to right) Pac Choi, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, watermelon radish, and hakurei turnip. (bottom row) Napa cabbage, arugula, and lettuce

Small Share

Small share: (top left to right) purple top turnip, arugula, pac choi, and Napa cabbage. (next row) lettuce, watermelon radish, and sweet potatoes.