December 4th Whole Farm and Winter CSA

** CSA pick-up is back to Wednesday like normal this week! **

Full Share: Chard, Red Cabbage, Pea Shoots, Daikon Radish, Beets, Fingerling Potatoes, Sunchokes, Garlic, Cilantro

Half Share: Chard, Red Cabbage, Pea Shoots, Daikon Radish, Beets, Fingerling Potatoes

Happy December! The time has been flying by and we are in full holiday mode here at the farm! Our market stand has lots of goodies and gift cards that would be perfect stocking stuffers or presents for your friends and family. We will also be continuing to make holiday wreaths with a mix of greenery and our own dried flowers for the next few weeks. Stop in and grab one to add the finishing touches to your holiday decorations!

The big project underway on the Rocky Creek side of the farm this week is preparing our dahlia tubers to be put into storage over the winter! Storing the tubers over the winter walks the fine line between not wanting them to get too wet/moldy and wanting them to have enough moisture to ensure they’ll survive the winter. We started this process a few weeks back before the ground started freezing. We trimmed the stems/flowers off of the plant and dug the tubers out of the ground. To prepare them for storage this week, we are washing off the excess dirt and trimming the smaller roots and stems off of the tubers. This creates less of a risk of the tubers getting moldy while in storage. From there, we pack the tubers in bags filled with vermiculite and then place them in our cold room to lie dormant over the winter months. When springtime comes once again, we will take the tubers out and separate them by their eyes, similar to the ones that a potato has. We can then plant the eyes in the ground and the beautiful dahlias that we all love will be in full bloom all season long!

Your CSA boxes this week were designed with a “cleansing” theme in mind as we are all returning to our normal schedules after the busy Thanksgiving holiday. Your boxes are filled with fresh goodies that are packed with nutrients and vitamins to help your body recharge and revitalize as we continue to move into the winter season. We’ve including some recipes to try preparing some of these veggies in new ways below!

Recipes:

Green Curry with Brown Rice Noodles and Swiss Chard: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/green-curry-with-brown-rice-noodles-and-swiss-chard

Simple Daikon Radish Salad: https://www.platingsandpairings.com/daikon-radish-salad/

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Walnuts, and Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette: https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/roasted-beet-salad-with-goat-cheese-walnuts-honey-dijon-vinaigrette.html

Farmer Cooking Hack!

I LOVE adding microgreens to my morning smoothies! I used to think it would throw off the fruity flavor, BUT it serves the same purpose as adding spinach or kale would and adds loads of nutrients to start your morning off right! Try it with the pea shoots in your box this week :)

Happy holiday season!

Lucy