10/18/22 – CSA Week #19

CSA Membership Renewal

Thank you to those that have already renewed for 2023. I will have your bonus pages and digital cookbook copy once the final recipes are complete during the final week of deliveries.

Did you know?? Our farm runs on CSA Membership. We deliver 94 CSA Shares weekly and provide membership to 105 households including biweekly members. Early renewal is necessary for us to purchase supplies for the upcoming season and helps us with our crop planning. We start our first seeds in March long before the first CSA Share is delivered in June. If you are unable to pay in full, we understand. We are all feeling the financial pinch. If possible, consider one of our payment plan options so we can add you to our crop plan. Many of you know that our available labor on the farm is changing now that our kids are moving on with their own life adventures. It is possible that we may need to hire outside help for next season. This will incur a significantly increased expense and depending on our renewal rate we may need to make decisions on reducing our membership maximum or increasing it significantly. If you do plan to renew, please let us know.

How to Renew:

Our CSA Membership page has all of the details for the 2023 CSA. Including our delivery locations & times, 2023 Weekly & Bi-weekly Membership forms, Bi-weekly delivery schedule (Weeks A & B), and payment options.

2022 CSA continues until Week #20

This week in your CSA Share:

• Rutabaga**
• Celeriac (Celery Root)
• Broccoli
• Arugula
• Butternut Squash
• Curly Kale
• Mustard Greens (Greenwave & Mizuna)
• Green Cabbage (Savoy)
• Parsley**
• Onion (Yellow)**
• Garlic
• Bell Pepper
• Jalapeno

Each item in the list is a direct link to the Vegetable Directory which has more details about storage and recipes. On each page, you will also find a link to a Pinterest Board for that vegetable. **Featured in this week’s custom KP Holistic Chef recipes or past weeks with links below.

Rutabaga-Rutabaga is a close relative of the turnip, though sweeter and more tan. They have yellow flesh, with a slight purple tinge near the top. It can be used as a substitute for turnips. To store: Keep unwashed rutabagas in a plastic bag in the fridge for a month or longer. To prep: Peeling the skin is optional. To cook: Rutabaga can be grated raw into a salad. Or steam 1-inch chunks for 35 minutes until tender. Mash and serve with butter and pepper. This vegetable really shines when it is roasted in olive oil at 400 F. You can also boil rutabaga in 1-inch chunks for 25 minutes until tender, and add to casseroles or stuffing mixtures, or mash cooked rutabaga with carrots and potatoes. To freeze: Freeze by cutting into cubes and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. Cool, drain and pack into freezer containers or freezer bags.

Cabbage – To store: Place dry, unwashed cabbage heads in the refrigerator, preferably in the vegetable bin. The outer leaves may eventually get floppy or yellowish, but they can be removed and discarded to reveal fresh inner leaves. Store for up to 3 months! To use: Eat raw in salads, steamed, braised or fried. Turn raw cabbage into coleslaw or sauerkraut. Roast cabbage steaks/slices at 400 F drizzled with olive oil and salt. Or try stir-frying shredded cabbage in olive oil until wilted with a little bit of minced garlic.

Parsley – To store: For short-term storage, stand upright in a container with an inch of water. Then cover the herbs loosely with a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. To prep: Chop the leaves and stem before cooking. The stem can be used to flavor soups and stews too. To dry: Place a piece of paper towel on a glass plate. Layer the parsley evenly around the plate being sure not to overlap. Cover with another piece of paper towel. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Leaves will be dry. Crinkle them with your finger and place them in a dry container, such as a Mason jar with a lid. To freeze: Chop parsley finely and freeze in ice cube trays with water. Pop out frozen cubes and freeze in a freezer bag.

Celeriac– Celeriac, also known as celery root, has a flavor like celery, and both its root and stalks/leaves are edible. Don’t be put off by celeriac’s ugly appearance. To store: Store unwashed celeriac in a plastic bag in the refrigerator where it will keep for 6 months! Celeriac leaves can be dried into an excellent seasoning or used for flavoring stocks, stews, roasts. To prep: Slice off stalks at the root crown. Soak the root in warm water to loosen dirt, then scrub with a brush. Peel skin with a sharp knife. Peeled celeriac will darken when exposed to air. To slow the darkening, toss with lemon juice or soak in water. To use: Use in place of celery as a base for soups or casseroles. Add raw celeriac in grated beet, carrot, or apple salads. Or serve raw celeriac with a creamy dipping sauce. Combine celeriac with other winter roots in stews and gratins. Add cooked celeriac to mashed potatoes: peel and quarter celeriac, then boil until soft, 20-30 minutes, before mashing it into potatoes or dice and boil with potatoes.

Arugula – We did not wash it. It will store better. Wash before use if needed. Great in salads, sandwiches or quickly wilted in to pasta or veggie sautés or on pizza.

Broccoli- please soak in cool salted water before cooking to dislodge/remove any inhabitants. Hey-it’s organic and no pesticides. Excellent broccoli soup – use stems too! If eating peel outer skin of stem for tender inside.

Jalapeno Pepper – Refrigerate peppers unwashed in a sealed plastic bag in the crisper drawer for 1-2 weeks. You can also dehydrate peppers for long-term. To prep: Be careful when preparing hot peppers of any kind. For greatest safety wear rubber gloves while chopping and handling them. Do not touch your eyes, nose, mouth or other places. Wash hands thoroughly when finished. Slice off the top of the hot pepper, including the stem. Since the heat in chili peppers is concentrated in the seeds and membranes, you can cut out the heat-filled seeds and membranes for a milder heat. To freeze: Wash and dry peppers. Keep whole, or cut into bite-size pieces and place in a Ziploc freezer bag.

Weekly Recipes: KP Holistic Chef – Katie Peterson has created 2 custom recipes to compliment your CSA share. The recipes are always listed on her website www.kpholistichef.com @KPholisticchef

Don’t forget that you can look back to previous recipes as many veggies appear more than once!

GRATITUDE GATHERING 2022

We had excellent weather. The food was delicious. It is a special treat to enjoy everyone’s cooking and conversation. Our sincere gratitude for taking the time to spend a few hours with us and fellow CSA members.

Cheers!! Thank you for coming to the farm!!

FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM tag us in your photos: @egfcsa @KPholisticchef

We have a new Facebook Page. We will continue to post on both pages for a while as we transition to using just one. Please like and follow our new page

We have also added a new private Facebook Group. We are up to 23 members!! We would like this to be a place where we can all share general cooking and preservation tips, CSA-related ideas, recipes, and photos of our culinary creations made with our CSA veggies. It is set up so you can post anonymously if preferred. You can request to be added at the link below.

MEET THE FARM CREW:

This season’s produce is brought to you by this crew. We are a small family farm and grow 4-7 acres of over 40 varieties of vegetables. This bunch works hard to get your veggies to you every week.