CSA Newsletter – 2009: Winter Week 3

 In CSA Newsletter

Hello all REG and EO members! Welcome to week 3 of the CSA. This is the last box for EO members, and it’s full of more yummy veggies!

This week you will be receiving rutabaga. This is a round root crop around baseball sized. It’s best stored in a plastic bag in your fridge. Its appearance is similar to the celeriac you received in the past, except this one won’t be quite so knobby. Rutabaga are white colored with purplish shoulders. In general, rutabaga is great for roasting, mashing, and soups.

See recipes on page 2 for some cooking ideas. If you still have a celeriac, the soup on back calls for both celeriac and rutabaga. Try it!

Also new in your box this week are beauty heart radishes. These are one of our favorite winter treats. These roots are white on the outside with green shoulders. Inside they are a gorgeous magenta! They are a beautiful accent to any salad for both the eyes and the tastebuds. These radishes are best raw, and have a very mild, sweet taste ” not nearly as spicy as a summer radish.

Another fun treat in your box this week is spinach. Each of you will get just over a half pound of these sweet leafy greens. Spinach absolutely loves colder weather ” the colder the weather the sweeter the leaf. This spinach was grown in our hoophouse. There it is protected from the winds, resulting in extra tender leaves. Spinach is great for so many things ” sandwiches, salads, quesadillas, omelettes, etc. With these sweet leaves, we encourage you to think past savory dishes too. Early spring and late fall spinach is fantastic for smoothies too. Blend with frozen fruit for a nutritious snack!!

In this week’s box, many of the root veggies that you receive will already be bagged (like beets, carrots, and radishes). This time of year, when things really slow down and we have less labor at the farm, we bag many of these vegetables several days before the pack. It is quite possible that some

of the bagged items you receive will have some condensation inside the bags. This condensation can encourage the growth of root hairs over time. So for long term storage it’s a good idea to take the veggies out of the bag, wipe off any moisture and root hairs, and then rebag into a dry bag (or let the one we gave you dry out).

Of all the storage veggies you receive, the squashes will store the shortest amount of time. Remember to keep your eye on them and prioritize their use (butternut squash makes excellent pie by the way!).

Last but not least, despite our best efforts, some of the kennebec potatoes may have some green spots on them from sun exposure. While these spots are usually only skin deep and don’t affect the rest of the potato, you should avoid eating the green bits by shaving or cutting them off the rest of your spud.

Enjoy!!!!

Sincerely

Mike, Cassie, Zea and Crew

In The Box:

  • Acorn Squash
  • Beauty Heart Radish
  • Beets (Red and/or Gold)
  • Butternut Squash
  • Carrots
  • Garlic
  • Leeks
  • Onion (Yellow and Red)
  • Parsnips
  • (white, similar to carrots, large at top, very small at bottom)
  • Potatoes (Kennebec)
  • Red Cabbage
  • Rutabaga
  • Spinach

REGS and EO’s boxes will all be the same. EO’s only pickup on weeks 1 and 3.

Thanks for joining us, EOs!

Happy winter to you all.

We hope to feed you again next season!

Winter Week 3:

Wednesday, Dec. 2nd – Last pick-up for Everyothers (EOS)