Winter 2022 CSA - Week of December 12th

Full: Chard, arugula, spicy micros, choice of sunshine, spaghetti, or autumn frost squash, blush onions, watermelon radishes, beets

Half: Chard, arugula, onions, sunshine, spaghetti, or autumn frost squash, watermelon radishes, beets

Hello!

I hope everyone’s enjoying this balmy 20 degree week ahead of next week’s negative temps. We’re definitely making the most of it here at the farm; Monday was spent digging dahlia tubers (I recently learned that dahlias were first cultivated by the Aztecs, who used the tubers as a food crop, “but this use largely died out after the Spanish Conquest. Attempts to introduce the tubers as a food crop in Europe were unsuccessful.” Roasted dahlia tubers for dinner tonight?) and starting to prep the flower greenhouse to close down this weekend. We’ve all been skiing up a storm on the track around the farm and welcome you all to do the same! Pay what you want and warm up afterwards (maybe several hours later…) with some hot cider - frozen jugs are in the standing cooler and outside. 

Notes 

  • Wreaths! Whole Farm members can pick up a wreath from the market stand. Whatever we have out is up for grabs. We also have wreaths for sale for non-whole farmers for $60, which can be left in the honor jar.

  • Whole Farm members who get meat all at once can pick up this week.  There are labeled boxes outside on the right hand side of the barn.

  • If you haven’t picked up your full share of cider, please do so.

Produce

Watermelon radishes: “An heirloom variety of Chinese daikon radish. They get their name from their bright pink interior and green skin, not their taste. Members of the mustard family, they’re firm and crunchy, with a mild, peppery flavor.” (Love and Lemons) That link has a lot of info about watermelon radishes and several recipes to try. I’ll definitely be quick pickling some this week and am excited to try them tossed onto a roasting sheet with other winter veggies.

Beets: “Beets are best described as having an earthy flavor with a surprising amount of sweetness for a root vegetable. Some people describe the earthiness as tasting like dirt and dislike beets for that reason. However, when cleaned properly and cooked, that earthy taste typically goes away.” (The Spruce Eats - more good info and recipes on this link, too).

  • Borscht - if you haven’t tried borscht, don’t be scared off by its consonant-heavy pronunciation! Borscht is essentially beet soup and a popular dish throughout Eastern Europe with Ukranian roots. It definitely has one of the most robust wikipedia pages I’ve seen for a soup, so check it out if you have a minute. Below are a simple vegetarian borscht recipe as well as an updated one that adds meat. 

Recipes

That’s all for this week. See you all tomorrow!

Sasha

Jacy Rothschiller