One of the things that I love about winter vegetables is their capacity to satisfy my sweet tooth…but with the added bonuses of fiber, vitamins and minerals thrown in there too. Some winter vegetables, like Brussels Sprouts and Parsnips, really come into their prime flavor-wise after they’ve experienced a frost. When temps drop low, the plants go into defense mode against the cold, sending all of their natural sugars into the roots and shoots. As a result, they become sweeter in flavor, and they roast up like a dream. So, if you do nothing else this week on the vegetable cooking front, heat the oven up and get your squashes, sprouts and roots roasting!
Best,
Katie
The Greatness of the Humble Rutabaga →
We’ve had some frosty nights here in the valley, and I barely took two steps off the porch stairs this morning before I wanted to go back inside. When it is cold like this, I crave things that warm and nourish me. And while I know that it is probably the farmer in me talking, I happen to find a great deal of comfort in Rutabaga, which is the root that we’ll be pulling from the cellar for week two of the Winter CSA. I never knew I’d become such a champion of the rutabaga year after year, but I think they’re a humble cornerstone of the Winter diet. Bit by bit, people are catching on and finding the love too. I’m also learning with every year what it is that Rutabaga lovers like to do with them—case in point, there’s a treasured recipe for Cornish Pastys that long time members Naomi and Jerod were kind enough to pass my way. I’m sharing this recipe, and many others this week, so be sure to scroll through. You’ll be able to do some good cooking and eating over the long weekend for sure!
Read moreA New Year & A New Season →
Today, we reported back to our first real full day of work for 2019—our 5th year in business to boot! There’s always a bit of inertia to overcome when we get back to it, but we’ve been beyond thankful for the opportunity to take a break from our routines for a few weeks. Though I will say that walking out to a field of sunshine and just enough cabbage certainly helped!
A new year tends to bring about a certain level of resolve and good intention. We’re looking forward to spending the coming weeks pruning and planning for the year ahead, and we’re always eager to dive into the seed catalogs, our growing notes and our cookbooks this time of year. It is what gets us through the next few months on our farm—the leanest months of the year. This is why we’re extra thankful for our Winter CSA members and their willingness to cook up shares of roots and storage vegetables of all kinds. We’ve done our best to get a punch of color and flavor put up into the root cellar this year (those Red Daikon and Black Spanish Radishes being great examples), but we know that it takes a bit of creativity and an extra dose of willingness to tackle eating in season over the Winter. A couple of months ago, after growing hundreds of pounds of them, Mark started grating and soaking black radishes and onions, draining them and serving them with sour cream or cream cheese on dark grainy bread. I stole this idea and put the mix on my avocado toast too—gamechanger. Be sure to check out the links and recipes below for some more helpful insights about these vegetables.
Hazel, who just turned eight over the break, wanted to make sure that I let you all know how good random root vegetables are sliced and rolled up into Fresh Salad Rolls—and she’s right—packed with cabbage, carrots, and daikon to go with her herbs, tofu and avocado, these made for a fun, gorgeous, delicious and refreshing for dinner last night. She assembled more than a dozen herself, and I lost count of what portion she consumed. The worst part is that I have had the rice paper wrappers in the cupboard for ages and never thought to bust them out in the middle of Winter. This video was a great inspiration. Here’s to learning from one another and trying new things in 2019!
Best,
Katie
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