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Madison, WIMadison, WI Madison, WI Madison, WI
  • Home
  • Our Farm
    • Customizable CSA
    • Events
    • Directions
    • CSA Handbook
  • Shares
    • Is CSA Right for You?
    • Summer Share
    • Winter Share
    • Market Share
    • PickUp Sites
    • Dirty Hands Share
    • Egg Share
    • Rebates and Assistance
  • Market
  • Farm Journal
    • the Crossroads Companion
  • Work
    • Dirty Hands
    • Seasonal Employment
  • Recipes
    • Recipes
    • Veggie Guide
  • Contact Us
  • Sign Up

the Crossroads Companion

Home » the Crossroads Companion
By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted March 13, 2018

Greenhouse Night Nurse: February 2018 update

Yesterday morning we began to seed the first plants of the season in the greenhouse – onions. When I walked outside with my seed tub in hand and headed toward the greenhouse, I heard a redwinged blackbird call. It startled me almost, to [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted February 13, 2018

Jonnah Shows Us the Rainbow: Winter CSA 2017 – Delivery #4

Recently, Madison Magazine published a wonderful story on eating locally, written by Jonnah Perkins of Vermont Valley Community Farm. It’s entitled 5 Ways to Eat Locally After the Frost. She did a great job and gave a shout out to several [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted November 28, 2017

The Farmer’s Cookbook: Winter CSA 2017 – Delivery #3

When the farm work slows down, each year around this time I find myself in a distinct home mode: de-clutter and organize.  This feeling is akin to the crazy housecleaning phases I would go into just before the birth of each of our daughters.  [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted November 14, 2017

Celebrating Complexity: Winter CSA 2018 – Delivery #2

In our family, Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate family, friends, food, and the many other blessings of comfort we enjoy. I imagine it is similarly celebrated like this is your family too. However, as the coloring pages of turkeys and Pilgrims [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted November 14, 2017

Carrots, Then Rest: Winter CSA 2018 – Delivery #1

I looked across the dinner table at my husband, and he had a familiar look of stress on his face.  “Stressed?” I asked.  “We gotta get those carrots out before it freezes,” he said.  “We’ll get them [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted October 19, 2017

And with a Frost, We Say Goodbye: Summer CSA 2017 – Week #20

Yesterday morning I found myself scraping the windshield of our little harvest vehicle. Crates loaded, and off I drove into the field to harvest greens. I had to chuckle at myself as I looked down at lettuce laced with frost. Despite my action [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted October 10, 2017

Ready for the Kiddos: Summer CSA 2017 – Week #19

The craving I feel for time with my kids this year is intense.  I miss them so much throughout the season.  While I see them every day and make time for them, I can’t help but feel like 6 months of their lives just flew past me. In a farmer’s [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted October 3, 2017

Stay With Me: Summer CSA ’17 – Week # 18

My dear veggie lover, I received your letter the other day. It breaks my heart that you want to leave our relationship. It’s my hope that you’ll read this letter and I may be able to convince you to stay. I think I can change. In [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted September 26, 2017

The Game of Life: Summer CSA 2017 – Week # 17

The other day I read Ta-Nehisi Coates essay in the Atlantic entitled the First White President. If you’ve never heard of Coates, he is very talented, very eloquent writer who writes about the experience of being a black man in [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted September 25, 2017

A Head Pat, A Donut, and a Thank You: CSA Summer 2017 – Week #16

For the sixth season in a row, we raised pigs on our farm this year. We get them from a conventional breeder in Waunakee when they are about 40 lbs. We transfer them from their farm to ours in dog crates and then I drive them in a pick-up truck [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted September 12, 2017

Customizing CSA: CSA 2017 – Week #15

In the age of Whole Foods being bought by Amazon, technology keeps intersecting into the food industry. It leaves farmers like us wondering how much we need to think about adding customization as a dimension of our CSA. Mike and I constantly [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted September 5, 2017

Our UW Farm Video: Summer CSA 2017 – Week #14

Summer CSA: Week #14 Wednesday, September 6th: All REGs & Group B – EOs Mark your calendar for our Annual Barn Party, Saturday Sept. 23rd. 5:30pm. Catered cash taco bar by Stack foods. Musical guests, the Soggy Prairie Boys – 7pm [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted September 5, 2017

Magic or Bribery?: Summer CSA 2017 – Week #13

Summer CSA: Week #13 Wednesday, August 30th: All REGs & Group A – EOs Potato harvesting time. Can’t resist the heart-shaped taters. “Your kids must be great veggie eaters, seeing as you farm and all!”   I hear this comment so [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted August 22, 2017

Intention: Summer CSA 2017: Week #12

Intention I don’t go to yoga classes as much as I’d like to. My life feels so busy and it’s hard to make it to the classes. Plus I have this yoga app that has short classes and there’s Youtube classes too that I can take on my own– at my own [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted August 17, 2017

Exhale: Summer CSA Week #11

Exhale If I could give mid to late August a name, it would be Exhale. While there is still so very much to do at the farm, this time of year marks a real transition. The edge, the intensity lessens. The vast majority of crops are in the ground [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted August 15, 2017

A True Summer Vacation, Part 2: CSA 2017: Week 10

My trip to Rock Island with our girls was so very special. Just got home at 10pm and put their dirty, lovely little camping bodies in bed. I’m grateful to be home. Grateful to Mike for making it possible for us to have this adventure. [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted August 1, 2017

A True Summer Vacation, Part 1: Summer CSA Week #9

Summer CSA: Week #9 Wednesday, August 2nd: All REGs & Group A – EOs Please Note: Next week’s newsletter will arrive later than usual. I’ll be sending it late Tuesday evening.  We are loving these dry, pleasant days! Perfect [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted July 25, 2017

Taking Things as They Come: CSA 2017 – Summer Week #8

Summer CSA: Week #8 Wednesday, July 26th: All REGs & Group B – EOs We’ve never seen our fields this wet. It’s not great, but things could always be worse. Last week we received about 7 inches in just two days. Plants are [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted July 18, 2017

You’ve Got This!: CSA 2017 – Summer Week #7

Summer CSA: Week #7 It’s that time in the CSA season, where you may need a reminder on how to use everything without getting overwhelmed! Johanna Voss posted this nice article, entitled “11 Enlightening Ways to Get More Out of Your [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted July 11, 2017

Gratitude in 3 Quick Verses: CSA 2017 – Week # 6

We are so thankful for CSA and the local food movement. The hail storm we had last week was one of the most destructive hail storms we’ve ever experienced. Very few crops were spared from the unasesthetic markings that would make them [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted July 11, 2017

At the End of the Rainbow: CSA 2017 – Week #5

This past Sunday fun day, we enjoyed the weekend with some friends and their kiddos down at Mt. Horeb’s little gem, Stewart Lake. The kids played in the sand, hunted for painted turtles, and waded out into the cooling, soothing water. [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted June 27, 2017

Michele & The Fairy Garden: CSA 2017 – Week #4

Michele & The Fairy Garden You ever met someone who just about always takes that extra step and does something kind for others, unasked?  Michele is one of those people. Michele is on her 2nd year on the pack line. Every Wednesday for 20 [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted June 20, 2017

Glean & Screen: CSA 2017 – Week #3

These 3 little girls are so excited for you to come visit the farm! Our first on-farm event of the season is coming up on Saturday, July 1st, 1:30 – 4pm.  We call it the Strawberries and Silkscreens event, though the rhymer in me wants to [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted June 13, 2017

Intensity: CSA 2017 – Week #2

During certain moments of every farm season, you can suddenly find yourself stuck in intense mode. You know it’s going to happen. You plan for it with staff. You prep your friends for your imminent dissapearing act. And then you wait… It kind of [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted June 6, 2017

Less Choice in a Choosy World: Summer CSA Week #1

The other day Edie was very upset to find herself at a beautiful sandy lakefront beach without a swimsuit. We’d camped out at a friends’ farm in Argyle, and Mom remembered everything but the bathing suits. Edie was super upset. I [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted May 30, 2017

Preseason Playbook #4: Stock Your Pantry

  Our final preseason installment is a short, sweet one taken from an article entitled, Getting Hooked on Cooking with CSA by Katherince Deumling (author of Cook With What You Have). A CSA share offers a plethora of produce every week and [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted May 30, 2017

Preseason Playbook #3: Substitution Style Cooking

Until I became a farmer, I treated recipes as rules. (My mother taught me this.)  If I didn’t have the full list of ingredients for something, I wouldn’t make it.  If I found myself half way through cooking something and realized I was missing [...]

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By Cassie Noltnerwyss
In CSA Newsletter
Posted May 9, 2017

PreSeason Playbook #2: MadLib Meals

Remember MadLibs? I loved these as a kid. They were little stories that had a main theme and structure, like going on a vacation or to the fair, but you got to fill in some of the nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The result was a story that [...]

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By admin
In CSA Newsletter
Posted May 2, 2017

CSA Preseason Playbook #1 – Veggie Roshambo

The Pre-Season CSA Playbook At a systems level view, CSA is an incredible, beautiful thing. You support our local, organic family farm. We support the health of your body and the planet. And we travel the season together. However, when we switch [...]

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By admin
In CSA Newsletter
Posted April 4, 2017

Winter on the Farm: Winter CSA Delivery #4

Winter on the Farm Wednesday, December 16, 2016 A common question we are asked by customers, members, friends, and family alike is… “What do you do during the winter?” I like to tell people we do the 4 Ps. Pack, Plan, Parent, and Play. First and [...]

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Crossroads Community Farm
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CONTACT US

Mike and Cassie Noltnerwyss
4144 County Road J
Cross Plains, WI 53528
P: (608)798-0219
To place wholesale orders, call Mike at 608-698-1340.

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