Share Notes Nov 21st, 2024
For the past 20 years, Thanksgiving has been an intentional time for our family to give thanks for the farmers and ranchers who grow and raise the food we eat. We’ve tried to ensure at our Thanksgiving feast that we have local farms represented on the table, and that we express out loud to our family members who are not as informed about the importance of a healthy local agriculture, how pivotal our farmers and farmworkers are to our health and happiness. We cultivate gratitude for all they contribute to a nourished culture and community, and a cared for eco-system.
Even though we know we’re a bit biased, we have believed for many years longer than we’ve even been farmers, that our farmers are key to a healthy future and healthy planet. We hope you will express your gratitude for those who raised and processed your turkey, those who grew your potatoes and corn, who grew the wheat, milked the cows and churned the butter, grew the pumpkin and harvested the pecans. How many dozens or even hundreds of farmers and farm-workers are represented on your feast table? Are any of them local to you and you know or can find out their names and shake their hands? We’re so glad that WE know YOU and that we might get to be a part of your family’s feast.
So happy almost Thanksgiving! We are immeasurably grateful for you, and we hope the feeling’s mutual. Enjoy your week and share our fresh produce with your extended family!
Here’s your vegetable line-up:
- Broccoli – Enough for everybody this week!! Some of the largest, prettiest broccoli we’ve grown. We’re very excited to bring this to you! We think we’ll still have this beautiful crop for you a few more times! We know it’s a customer fave, and we always grow as much as we possibly can for you. If you got the variety that produces long stems, remember the stems are VERY MUCH edible! They are sweet and delicious and got turned into a fantastic Thai Peanut Crunch salad at our house this week: our salad included match-sticked broccoli stems, a match-sticked kohlrabi bulb, a grated carrot, and a whole bunch of cilantro and green onions, and was topped with this wonderful dressing, which we sometimes make in a super big batch and keep in the fridge for quick salads through the week. Add a grilled chicken breast and you’ve got lunch or dinner, easy peasy.
- Cauliflower – Everyone is also receiving a head of cauliflower. This crop is pretty hard to grow, but this fall it’s doing incredibly well. We should have it for you one more time at least, we’re pretty sure. We kind of can’t believe our luck! We’ve never had such gorgeous abundant cauliflower.
- Arugula – For the Regular and Mini shares
- Spring Mix – for the Large Shares
- Kohlrabi – We used our kohlrabi in the Thai peanut salad we mentioned above and it was phenomenal. They are also amazing roasted, partner then with your turnips if you like.
- Head Lettuce – This is probably the end of the head lettuce for this season. This week we’ve got beautiful iceburgs and butter lettuce. Perhaps use the iceburgs to top some killer tacos, and your butter lettuce to make some fancy chicken lettuce wraps? We’ll cover the last of the lettuce heads to protect them from frost and bring our final heads to this weekend’s farmers markets in Tyler and Longview (which, btw, this is the last week of the farmers market this season!)
- Radish – Large and Mini shares both received a nice big bunch
- Cabbage – Nice dense cabbages for everyone! Time for delicious crunchy salads and slaws. Toss in your radishes, salad turnips, kohlrabi, and broccoli stems!
- Turnips – Large shares received our Purple Top turnips. These are a southern heirloom, and are very good prepared the traditional way. You can do this with your collards, too, or our Asian Spring Mix (which is also in the turnip family). Look back at last week’s share notes for the full rundown of how to prepare these Southern Style.
- Regular sized shares received our FAVORITE turnip variety we are so excited to introduce to you: Hakurei turnips. These are a Japanese salad turnip and they are very special indeed. Think you don’t like turnips?? Please give these little lovelies a chance! Note: you eat these salad turnips RAW like a radish, but they are 10-fold better than any radish or turnip you’ve ever tried. So just slice and put atop a salad, or dip in melted salted butter, or just chomp right in like my 3 yr old does. She can’t resist the Hakurei turnip.
- Kale – Large shares received Red Russian kale, Regular shares received Lacinato, and Mini shares received Winterbor kale. This crop is good for the freezer if you can’t eat it fast enough.
- If you haven’t made a massaged kale salad yet with seasonal blackberries, raspberries, pear, or *persimmon*, what are you waiting for?! Slice your kale into ribbons, generously top with good olive oil and kosher salt, and with well-scrubbed hands, begin rubbing and massaging those leaves together in handfuls until they are silky and smooth. Once the cellulose is a little broken down and everything is a super vibrant green, top with your fruit of choice, a little red onion, a bit of feta perhaps.
- Bell Peppers/ Italian peppers — Large and Regular shares received these. This is the end of them! We’ve yanked them out to plant that space with winter crops. This crop is a good one for the freezer if you can’t eat it fast enough.
- Sweet Potatoes — Grown by our friend and neighbor Tony Philips of Grand Saline. Best quality ‘taters in Texas, I’m tellin’ ya! That sandy soil our here is just perfect to grow these beauties with ease.
Veggie Storage tips:
- Everything wants to be washed well before cooking, but keep the dirt on till then, to prevent faster spoilage.
- Peppers, radishes, turnips, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and all the leafy greens want to be in your fridge. Seal them up in a bag or container to retain moisture for longest storage life.
- Roots will store best when severed from their tops, and stored separately (remember the tops are edible, too!)
We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this week. Tag us on Instagram or Facebook, showing us how you’ve used your CSA share.
Your farmers, Jess & Justin
Regular Share
Regular Share top left to right: Lacinato Kale, Cabbage, arugula, Skyphos lettuce, (2nd row) Kohlrabi, Italian and bell peppers, hakurei turnips, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and broccoli.
Large Share
Large Share top left to right: Red Russian Kale, cabbage, Spring Mix, iceburg lettuce, bibb lettuce, (2nd row) kohlrabi, purple top turnips, mixed Italian and bell peppers above radishes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower.
Mini Share
