Forum

In the share: 4 lbs scarlet turnips 3 lbs rutabaga 3 lbs carrots 1 lb salad turnips or kohlrabi 1 lb watermelon radishes 1 bag salad mix 1 bag baby kale Thoughts from Farmer Anna: We are excited to have this bonus last share of the season for you this year! Our fall crops did really well, so we have so many beautiful root veggies to share with you. These are also the sweetest root veggies of the year, because they concentrate sugars in their roots when the temperatures dip below zero. Root veggies are great because they can keep for several months if stored properly. This link below gives some great info on how best to store your root crops. Ideally, you should store them in the refrigerator in a humid environment, but if you're basement is cool enough, you could get away with storing them in a box that allows for airflow, but still can keep some humidity. Read on for more ideas in the link: https://modernfarmer.com/2015/08/how-to-store-root-crops-for-winter/ I've included pictures of the scarlet turnips and rutabaga in case you are having trouble identifying the roots in your share. The watermelon radishes have a greenish pink hue on the outside (they are bright pink inside) and the salad turnips are white. Both of those roots will be bagged. As for what to do with all of these lovely roots, the simplest way to cook them is roasting. I love a good roasted roots mix with a winter meal. Just chop all of your roots into 1-inch pieces, coat with oil and sprinkle with salt, then roast in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. I did this with rutabaga and carrots last week and my son thought the rutabaga smelled like roasted broccoli. Honestly, it tasted really similar to roasted broccoli stem (they are related vegetables). I'm quite impressed with the rutabaga this year! Other ideas, include making a root veggie puree soup, or adding chunks of root vegetables to a hearty beef stew. I've included several links to recipes below to give you some ideas of delicious things to make with your bounty. Thanks for your end of season support this season! Even though this holiday season will different and a bit more lonely than usual, we hope that you find some joy in the slow and simple. Recipe Ideas: https://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/rutabaga-gratin/ https://www.bijouxandbits.com/2015/05/carrot-and-turnip-mash-recipe/ https://www.shelikesfood.com/roasted-root-vegetable-soup/ https://www.peelwithzeal.com/pickled-watermelon-radishes/

In the share this week: 2 lbs rutabaga 1 bunch salad turnips 1 bag carrots 1 head treviso radicchio 2 lbs sweet potatoes 1 bag arugula (pictured below) 1 bunch lacinato or red curly kale Thoughts from Farmer Anna: The end of the CSA season has really crept up on me all of a sudden. A couple of months ago, it seemed like the season would go on forever. Of course, I was a lot more tired at that point and I was still adjusting to having the kids at home for school. Now, with this weirdly warm weather, it doesn't feel like the season should be ending. The birds are singing like it's springtime and I almost feel too hot in the afternoons. The plants know it's fall though. The hours of sunlight each day are getting shorter and shorter. In fact, it's just about this week that the day length falls to 10 hours per day at our latitude. This period of less than 10 hours of sunlight lasts until late January here, and has been coined the 'Persephone Period'. Typically you'll have very little plant growth during this period. I've read in the past that plants don't grow at all during this period, but I've found that to be untrue. If we have warm or sunny enough days, our hoophouse greens definitely put on some growth during this time. It's also true that they start to speed up growth as the day length really starts to increase at the end of January. We do have some crops left in the field that we'll continue to have available for pick up at the farm, the Ft. Thomas farmers market, and possibly some limited delivery if there is enough interest. Crops available over the next few weeks include carrots, turnips, rutabagas, radishes, kohlrabi, cabbages, sweet potatoes, salad mix, kale, herbs and spinach. Thinking back over the growing season, I have to say that it was certainly our best year yet. We had an awesome team - many of which had returned for a second year. We streamlined our work so that it was more efficient and enjoyable and we really focused on crops that members and customers really like and tend to do well for us. I think we gave you all some pretty awesome, balanced shares this year. My thoughts are only part of the equation though. We would love to hear your thoughts about the season. What you liked, what could have made the experience better for you, and any other thoughts or suggestions you have. I will send another email with a link to a survey sometime next week. We very much appreciate your feedback, as it helps us to improve our shares each year! This last share of the season includes plenty of long storing root vegetables: sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips and rutabaga. If you've never had rutabaga before, it's pretty similar to a hearty turnip. One of my favorite rutabaga recipes makes an excellent side dish at Thanksgiving: Rutabaga Gratin . It's cheesy and creamy, and the flavor of the rutabaga really shines against those rich ingredients. If you want to use your rutabaga in something more everyday (and much less heavy), Maria's root vegetable puree soup would be wonderful on a chilly fall day with some crusty bread. The other half of this weeks share is hearty greens: kale, radicchio and arugula. If you haven't used your radicchio from last week, you could combine these two to grill or roast together. Or you could mix radicchio in with some of your other greens, all sliced thinly, for a hearty cool weather salad, like the recipe Maria has below. Well, to finish up I wanted to thank each and every one of you for supporting our farm this season. You are the backbone of our operation. Knowing that the veggies we grow are getting out to so many tables in our community makes all of our hard work feel really worthwhile. Thank you so very much!! I know this winter will be tough for many, so if you ever need a place to get outside, walk around and get some fresh air, please feel free to stop by the farm. Just send me an email letting me know you'll be coming. We want our farm to serve the community, even during the cold months! Recipes from Maria: Root Vegetable Puree Ingredients 2 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup chopped onion 2 large rutabagas peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks 1 parsnip or carrot peeled and sliced 3 cups vegetable broth 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves 1 tablespoon honey Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Chopped red onions or sliced scallions to serve Instructions In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for about 4 minutes, until tender. Add the rutabagas and parsnips and stir, then pour in the broth, raise the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the vegetables to a food processor or blender. Pour in about 1/2 cup of the remaining cooking broth and puree with the sage leaves and honey until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add more liquid until you’ve reached your desired consistency, as thick or thin as you like (you may not use all of the broth). Serve hot with the onions or scallions sprinkled on top. Radicchio & Arugula Salad with Dried Figs, Walnuts & Pecorino Ingredients Dressing 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon honey ½ teaspoon dried coriander ¼ teaspoon salt ⅓ cup olive oil Salad 1 medium head radicchio sliced in ¼ inch thick ribbons (about 6 cups) arugula, approximately 4 -5 cups 1 cup walnuts, toasted ¾ cup dried figs, stemmed and sliced ½ cup grated pecorino Instructions Dressing Whisk together lemon juice, honey, coriander, and salt in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil, season with salt and pepper as desired. Assemble immediately before serving Toss radicchio, arugula, and walnuts with two-thirds of dressing. Add figs (reserving a few for garnish) and cheese. Add more dressing if desired. Toss. Top with remaining figs.

In the share this week: 1 bunch watermelon radishes 1 head red napa cabbage 3 ounces ginger 1 bag carrots 1 bunch green onions 2 kohlrabi bulbs 1 head radicchio 1 fennel bulb Thoughts from Farmer Anna: Hopefully everyone was able to get out and vote today, or early in-person over the last three weeks, or by mail. I have to say that the increased access to polls this year has been such a heartening side effect of the pandemic. Our Independence Farmers' Market is next to the senior center in Independence, which has had Saturday voting hours these last three weeks. It was great to see so many folks lined up to have their voices heard. I hope that we continue to have this greater voting access in the future. Our communities are stronger when more people participate! On a completely different note, Steve and I were chatting about house building this weekend. We have been dreaming for years of building a straw bale home up on the hilltop, but it has been hard to devote enough time and mental energy to planning for it to actually get started. Also, we've had to take one step at a time. First - get a driveway built (last year); Next - get a pack shed built (this year) and finished (hopefully by spring); Finally - start on house project! There are so many unknowns with this project and it is really important for us to keep a tight budget so that we can afford the house and support our family with solely farm income. As the calendar turns to November, we'll have more time to get this project moving. Our hope is that we'll be able to start building in fall next year, or spring 2022. I'm telling all of you this, so that I can keep myself accountable :) It is very easy to let the mundane urgencies of everyday life take precedence over longer term projects. We have some really nice shares for you these last two weeks of the season. New items this week include watermelon radishes, radicchio, and a red variety of napa cabbage. Watermelon radishes earned their name because they have a greenish rind with a bright pink interior. This makes for an especially beautiful presentation if you slice them into rounds. Here is a link with lots of good ideas on how to use these hearty radishes: watermelon radish ideas . Radicchio is an italian vegetable that you will sometimes see in salad mixes, but has become more popular in cooked dishes like the grilled radicchio recipe Maria had below. If you want to learn more about radicchio and how to use it check out this link: radicchio info . This is the first year we've tried this red napa cabbage variety and it's so pretty! I've always loved using napa cabbage in a fresh, sweet and vinegary asian salad and this variety would be perfect for it. Maria has a great recipe below that includes a bunch of the share veggies this week and a dressing made with the fresh ginger as well! Hope you all have a great week :) Recipes from Maria: Grilled Radicchio with Blue Cheese Ingredients 2 heads radicchio, trimmed and quartered, leaving stem ends intact ⅓ cup white balsamic vinegar ¼ cup olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ½ cup crumbled blue cheese or feta (2 oz.) Instructions Place radicchio in a large resealable bag set in a shallow dish. For marinade: In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, oil, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Pour over radicchio. Seal bag, turning to coat. Chill 1 to 2 hours. Drain, reserving marinade. Grill radicchio on the rack of a covered grill directly over medium 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally until each side is lightly charred. Turn wedges cut sides up; sprinkle with cheese. Grill 2 to 3 minutes more or until cheese is softened. Drizzle with reserved marinade. Serves 8. Ginger Garlic Dressing 1/3 c rice vinegar 1/3 c olive oil 1/4 c honey 1 tsp sesame oil 2 T ginger, fresh, grated* 2 cloves garlic, finely minced salt and pepper (to taste) Combine all ingredients in a air-tight container with lid. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Shake well before serving. Store in refrigerator for up to a week. *Freezing ginger root makes it a snap to grate for recipes. Napa Cabbage Salad 1 large head napa cabbage 1 1/2 cup carrots, shredded 1 bunch green onions, chopped 1 cup cilantro, chopped 1 cup slivered almonds, toasted 1 cup chow mein noodles Cut about 2 inches from base of cabbage, separate leaves, rinse and spin in salad spinner to remove water from leaves. Stack leaves and cut in half lengthwise. Then stack halves and rotate to thinly slice leaves. Add carrots, green onions, cilantro, almonds and chow mein noodles and toss with Ginger Garlic Dressing or if you prefer, have salad dressing on the side.