Winter - Week 20 (the last)

Big things afoot the last couple weeks.  In addition to new babies and season endings, we've done a website revamp, decided to have a longer season (24 weeks) starting earlier (April 15th), put together the sign up for the summer, and written an article for a magazine.  Not bad for a volunteer staff!  The signups should be available in a day or two at http://www.zoegarden.com/, we're handling them all in-house this season, and I'll let you know as soon as there's more info.

Thank you all so much for being with us through our first winter CSA season.  David learned a lot, especially about getting more variety in the ground in the late summer so that there's a large enough volume of greens to get into the winter.  Each season a little better!  We're looking forward to having you in the summer.

spinach
banana squash
onions
potatoes
turnips
beets
parsnips
shallots
garlic
frozen fruits (either berries or peaches, depending)
microgreens and bean sprouts

MEAT: ground beef, lamb leg or loin


No pictures again this week.  It just doesn't seem so urgent when the vegetable variety is smaller than the summer.  Which is the case historically, too.  The vegetables that are in season through the winter are far fewer in number and variety -- it must have been really boring and bland in the February of 1732!

Winter - Week 18 (Feb 07)

Sorry, I didn't get a chance to post yesterday -- there was a lot of running around to be done.

Spinach
Turnips
Potatoes (red and gold)
Parsnips
Beets
Garlic
Onions
Shallots
Microgreens
Pickles (!!!)

MEAT: ground beef


We hope to have the signups available through our new webpage for the summer season by the end of next week.  Weekly prices aren't increasing, but David is shooting for a longer season this year (25 instead of 20 weeks).

Winter - Week 17 (Jan31/Feb1)

Onions
Red Pontiac Potatoes
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Beets
Turnips
Parsnip
Shallot
Garlic
Banana Squash
Fresh frozen Fruit (mine was peaches... or apricots - I'll have to taste)
Spinach
Microgreens

MEAT: Leg of lamb, Ground beef, Ground lamb - this should be the last week of replacement extras

Winter - Week 16 (Jan 24/25)

I want to thank everyone for bearing with us in our first winter CSA shares.  On the whole, I think it has been pretty successful so far.  While David has been serving restaurants in the winter for a couple of years, it takes a few seasons to figure out the timing / logistics / varieties that work best for a consumer level of expectations.  Meat, potatoes, spinach, and winter squash seem natural for the colder months, and we all have good supplies of local staples that keeps for a few months and can be supplemented with just a little bit of green stuff from California.

Onions
Garlic
Shallot
Yukon gold potatoes
Pontiac red potatoes
Beets
Parsnip
Spinach
Hubbard squash
Roasted peppers (frozen)
Turnips

MEAT: Ground beef, Lamb shank, and an extra Lamb loin roast

Winter - Week 15 (Jan17/18)

David said time was short, so you'll want to wash things well.  Also, please return your boxes.  This week's share looks like borscht again.  I think I'll try out a recipe tonight and post it for you all -  the weather seems appropriate as well.

Yukon Gold Potatoes
Red Pontiac Potatoes
Turnips
Beets
Parsnips
Onions
Shallots
Garlic
Cabbage
Spinach
Banana squash
Frozen strawberries
Microgreens

MEAT: ground beef, ground lamb, lamb rib, lamb shank

Winter - Week 14 (Jan 10/11)

Keep those potatoes and onions someplace dark and cool-ish.  They should keep until well after the CSA ends in February.  Check periodically and remove any gone squishy, gooey, or off.  The rest will keep better that way.

Spinach
Hubbard Squash
Beets
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Red Pontiac Potatoes
Yellow Onion
Turnips
Baby Daikon Radish
Garlic
Shallot
Turnips
Parsnip
Roasted peppers *

MEAT: ground beef, lamb rib, ground chuck**, lamb shank**

* The peppers are roasted, frozen versions of the peppers from the summer.  They are an (unfortunately unlabeled) selection of red bell, marisol, poblano, and anaheim.  None of those are terribly hot, but some bags will have a little more heat than others.

** Double meat this week to help pay back the meat shares.  Expect a little more lamb and rib shank in the next couple of weeks, so that larger families can gather up enough to make a full meal.

Spinach, hubbard, roasted peppers, onions, baby daikon
shallot, parsnip, garlic, turnip, beets, red and gold potato

Winter - Week 13 (Jan 3/4)

Welcome back meat!

Spinach
Frozen pears
Apples
Beets
Turnips
Yellow Onion
Red Pontiac Potatoes
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Banana Squash
Shallots
Cabbage

MEAT:  beef roast

Top: Red and Gold potatoes, onions, shallots, banana squash
Bot: spinach, beets, turnips, apples, cabbage, [beef roast]

Winter - Week 12 (Dec 27/28)

A couple of days late, and no pics... sorry.  Nothing new anyway, but after getting off the plane, it was all I could do to get the veggies in the fridge.  I know I'm getting a minor backlog of winter squash, and even though it keeps great, we want to use it up.  I will post some tested recipes for winter squash tomorrow.

Beets
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Red Pontiac Potatoes
Yellow Onions
Turnips
Parsnip
Shallots
Garlic
Hubbard Squash
Spinach
Fresh Frozen Peaches
Honey

David says this week was a little light (volume-wise) because of the honey.  It retails for $15 a jar.  He wanted to change it up a little as the waves of greens and salad stuff come and go.  Expect it to increase a little in variety and volume again as the weeks progress.

MEAT UPDATE!  The lamb will be done today, the beef will be done Friday or Monday.  There will be meat in the boxes starting with your next pickup.

Winter - Week 10 (Dec 13/14)

Nothing new this week.  What do you think of the "frozen fresh fruits"?  I really enjoyed the peaches with vanilla ice cream and cinnamon.  The raspberries can go right back into the freezer for pancakes or ice cream.  The spinach and winter squash can go right into the recipe from last week with barley etc.  Try that cabbage sauteed with apples, or maybe made into soup with the radish and some miso.

Spinach
Hubbard squash
Spaghetti squash
Beets
Turnips
Yukon gold potatoes
Pontiac red potatoes
Yellow onions
Garlic
Shallots
Cabbage
Fuji apples
Macintosh apples
Golden delicious apples
Black radish
Frozen fresh raspberries

Meat processor is due to deliver next week.  Don't worry -- you'll be compensated for the weeks that haven't happened.

No labels this week

Winter - Week 9 (Dec 6/7)

Pontiac Red potatoes
Yukon Gold potatoes
Yellow onion
Turnips
Parsnips
Black radish
Beets
Spinach
Salad Mix
Red Kale
Banana squash
Fresh frozen peaches
Golden delicious apples
Fuji apples
Macintosh apples
Granny Smith apples

Kale -- cut away the center stem and the thicker veins.  Cut the leaves into thinner ribbons when cooking to be sure they get tender.  Saute ribbons with garlic and shallots until tender; fold into omelette.

Frozen peaches -- if they're still mostly frozen, you can keep them in the freezer for a couple of months.  If they're starting to thaw, they'll keep in your fridge for several days at least.  Eat as fresh, with cream or mascarpone, or blend into smoothies.  Fresh peach taste!

Tomorrow I'll post a fantastic (and easy) risotto recipe using the onions, garlic, banana squash, and spinach.

No meat this week, sorry.  When the butcher gets caught up, so will we!

TOP: spinach, salad mix, red kale
MID: black radish, turnips, parsnip, yellow onion, garlic, shallots, banana squash
BOT: gold & red potatoes, beets, golden delicious, macintosh, granny smith, Fuji

Winter - Week 8 (Nov 29/30)

Pics in a bit...

Parsley
Spinach
Buttercup squash
Hubbard squash
Red Pontiac potatoes
Yukon Gold potatoes
Yellow onion
Winter kale
Parsnip
Turnip
Black radish
Kohlrabi
Granny Smith apples
Red Delicious apples
Yellow Delicious apples
Beets
Rutabaga

MEAT:  honey  (The meat processor delayed AGAIN!  David is getting quite frustrated.  He'll make it square when the meat finally shows up.)

Winter - Week 7 (Nov 22/23)

Final list.....  At the end of the day, there was a limit to what David hoped to pick and get in the boxes and how that fit into the daylight hours.  Sorry if you were expecting anything different.

The whole holiday box

parsnips, sunchokes, and rutabaga

Turnips
Rudabaga
Parsnip
Salad Mix
Parsley
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Frozen Strawberries
Berry Syrup (made by David with his honey and berries)
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Red Potatoes
Onion
Garlic
Shallots
Sunchokes
Bell Pepper
Poblano Pepper
Mariachi Pepper
Marisol Pepper
Red Delicious Apples
Golden Delicious Apples
French Heirloom Squash (Galeux D Eysines)
Kohlrabi

MEAT:  lamb again -- the processor is three weeks behind with the beef order

That French heirloom squash is famous for its very smooth flesh, which is great for soups and equally great for pies!

Winter - Week 6 (Nov 15/16)

A couple of new items this week...

Hubbard squash (are these more manageable chunks working?)
Spaghetti squash
Spinach
Onions
Red Pontiac potatoes
Yukon Gold potatoes
Black radish
Collard greens
Daikon
Winter red kale
Red beets
Turnips
Red Delicious apples
Golden Delicious apples
Bell pepper
Marisol pepper

MEAT: lamb loin (beef is being portioned out now)

Beets and Turnips -- Remove the greens, scrub the root clean, wrap them loosely in plastic, and keep in the crisper or the bottom back of the fridge.  The root will stay good for weeks this way.  The beet greens are definitely edible (use them like chard or spinach), but the turnip greens always look like hell this time of year.

Daikon -- This is a Japanese radish, and it literally means "large (dai) root (kon)".  The greens aren't bad but aren't great, and you can dispose of them without feeling too bad (or save them for soup stock).  The root is a crispy, mildly spicy radish.  Store loosely wrapped like beets and turnips, but remember they are a little more tender and won't keep as long.  I only ever use them in miso soup, but I make it pretty often.  They are also fairly tasty raw and as a quick pickle.  Try grinding them very fine (think apple sauce texture), mixing in a splash of soy sauce, and serving as a topping for grilled tofu, fish, or vegetables.  Another use:  shredded with carrots and tossed with a mix of sesame seeds, mild vinegar, and soy sauce.

Spaghetti squash -- This is a slightly tender winter squash.  Store it someplace cool and dark.  The flesh inside is stringy (thus "spaghetti"), but when roasted and scraped out, it is great topped with pasta-style sauces.

Potatoes and Onions -- Keep them cool and dark, with your winter squash.  These should keep most of the winter.

Cut winter squash -- David is hoping that the smaller pieces of winter squash are working for weekly use, particularly with the singles and small families who won't use up a whole hubbard in one fell swoop.  It should go right to the fridge, but I find it is keeping there for a couple of weeks if you're careful.

spaghetti squash, hubbard squash, spinach, golden and red delicious apples

top: onions, red potatoes, yukon gold, bell peppers, marisol pepper, black radish
bottom: beets, turnips

daikon, red kale and collards (red kale has red stems, I bundled them accidentally)

Winter - Week 5 (Nov 8/9)

Another typical fall share.  I'm happy to see the salad greens reappearing!  I was just starting to buy salad again in the grocery, so the seasons must be telling us it is time for some raw leafy things.  Salads are a great way to use thin sliced lemon cukes / kohlrabi / radishes / beets / peppers, or change it up and throw some roasted red onions and potatoes / winter squash on there with hummus and olives.

Some simple side dishes for you:
- fry some apple and kohlrabi slices in butter with a pinch of coriander or some other subtle spice.
- chop 3-4 slices of bacon into bits, fry them, toss halved brussel sprouts into the mix, serve when softish.
- the plums are soft.  Halve them, pit them, simmer them gently in a little water and light seasoning (think coriander, nutmeg, or a single clove).  Serve as a topping for pork chops, lamb roasts, or rice pudding.

Beets
Bell pepper
Mariachi pepper
Marisol pepper
Anaheim pepper
Poblano pepper
Kohlrabi
Broccoli
Lemon cucumber (soft, but sweet and crunchy inside)
Black radish
Kale (Siberian like last week, I believe)
Brussel sprouts
Banana squash
Mixed greens (wash 'em well)
Macintosh apple
Italian prune
tomatoes

potatoes and onions (they weren't on the list David put in my box, but they were in my box.  If you don't see them in yours, apologies... they were a small "guy who handles the blog" bonus)

Meat:  lamb roast

Top: Banana squash, potatoes, onions, tomato
Bottom: beets, black radish, plums, Macintosh apples

Top: Broccoli, lemon cukes, bell pepper, brussel sprouts
Bottom: Poblano, Anaheim, Mariachi, Marisol

Salad greens, kohlrabi, kale (Siberian I think)

Winter - Week 4 (Nov 1/2)

I am excited to see more winter squash.  They can keep on the countertop or in the cupboard for months.  The Hubbard is sweet and dry, with good seeds for roasting and eating.  It has a thick skin, meaning it will keep well.  The buttercup lends itself to roasting and turning into a soup.  Both of these go very well in curried squash soups... cut them, remove the skin and innards, cube them, roast them in oil to make the sweet, mash them a bit, boil them with salt, basil, garbanzo beans, and Thai curry paste in coconut milk, mash it some more, and serve topped with cilantro and seeds (pumpkin or sunflower).  Perfect for the current weather.

Anaheim pepper
Bell pepper
Red Pontiac potatoes
Yellow onion
Bok choi
Turnip greens (a little yellow from the frosts, but fine)
Broccoli
Baby turnip
Spinach
Lemon cucumber
Swiss chard
Macintosh apple
Plums (a little wrinkly, but sweet)
Tomatoes
Hubbard squash
Black radish
Red meat radishes
Buttercup squash

MEAT: ground lamb

LtoR: Chard, Macintosh apples, plums, tomatoes, turnip greens

Clockwise starting left: Buttercup, lemon cuke, Hubbard squash
Anaheim peppers, bell pepper, bok choi

LtoR: Spinach, broccoli, baby turnips, black radish, red meat radish

It occurs to me that I put the potatoes and onion away in my potato basket before I got their picture.  There were pre-schoolers involved.

TIP:  Save your cuttings, such as the leaves from the broccoli, the tops of the radishes, and that one tomato you feel was a bit too squashed to eat.  They can be simmered with carrot peels, potato skins, the outer parts of onions, a few cloves of garlic, and herbs, to create tasty stock.  I keep a gallon ziploc in the freezer to collect the parts.  It is soup season -- you'll use them up quick, and it only takes about 30 minutes of simmering pre-soup-start to get a lot of flavor.

Throw in a couple of carrots and some tofu, and we have a full dinner that uses several of our ingredients.  Serve with rice and pickles or a salad.

MISO
dashi soup stock, or vegetable stock (or fish/shrimp/mushroom stock)
1 black radish, peeled, quartered and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, quartered and sliced
1-2 heads bok choi, sliced into ribbons
1/2 block extra firm tofu, cubed
2-6 Tbsp of miso paste

Boil all the veg and tofu together with the stock, until just tender.  Turn off heat, stir in miso paste until dissolved, and serve.  If it sits at all, be sure to stir before serving -- the miso will settle.

SESAME WINTER SQUASH
1 small winter squash, or 12 thin slices of a larger squash
2-3 Tbsp sesame oil
1-2 Tbsp soy sauce
3-5 Tbsp sesame seeds, split into two halves

Slice the winter squash into rounds or half moons, approximately 1/4-1/2" thick.  Toss with oil-soy sauce-sesame seed mixture and place on a cookie sheet.  Roast at 375 until pierced easily with a fork and just beginning to brown.  Serve, topped with the remaining sesame seeds.

Winter - Week 3 (Oct 25/26)

Sorry, no pics.  I was moving the parts to make a new chicken coop while I had access to a truck.  Not a lot new, apart from the varieties of peppers we've received (most about the level of a banana pepper -- not hot) and the banana squash (large and orange, very sweet fleshed winter squash).

raspberries
spinach
tomatoes
San Marzano tomatoes
pears
Italian prunes
Macintosh apples
eggplant
marketmore cucumber
lemon cucumber
poblano pepper (dark green, mildly spicy)
mariachi pepper  (light green / yellow, not spicy)
mirasol pepper  (mid-green / red, not spicy)
green bell pepper
broccoli raab
bok choi
black radish
Chinese red radish
broccoli
baby turnip
banana squash
kohlrabi

MEAT:  ground lamb
    -- the beef is out for processing, but there is a couple of week queue

Winter - Week 2 (Oct 18/19)

Lots of greens this week.  Most of them are pretty hardy, so keeping them loosely wrapped in plastic in the bottom of the fridge should be sufficient.  The sorrel and spinach will want a little more babying, with some paper towel in the bag with the greens (in the crisper).  The radish and turnips can probably be kept loose in the crisper if you remove their green tops first (save for soup stock);  both roots are tasty raw with a strong cheese or roasted.

spinach
sorrel
parsley
pears
peaches
plum
tomatoes
broccoli raab
turnip greens
white pattypan squash
black radish
baby turnip
marketmore cucumber
Japanese cucumber
lemon cucumber
green bell pepper
mixed color miniature sweet bell
blue kale
golden raspberries
red raspberries

Meat share:  lamb loin roast

raspberries, peaches, pears, tomatoes, plums

sorrel, parsley, spinach

blue kale, turnip greens, broccoli raab

Winter - Week 1 (Oct 11/12)

The first winter CSA delivery!!  We've seen almost all of these items before, but most of you are new members.  To get started, I'll give a few basic pointers.

Greens:  Wrap them loosely in paper towels, then in a plastic bag, and stick them in the crisper if you have room.  Hardier greens (broccoli greens, bok chois, cabbages, kales, chards) can handle being on the bottom shelf that way, but more tender items should get preferential drawer space.  If you need something easy to try out the greens, saute a little garlic in olive oil, then toss in a chopped up bunch of [insert green].  If it is bland, add salt and pepper or soy sauce.  If it is too bitter, splash with vinegar.

Summer squash:  All of these can be eaten as is, skin and all.  If in doubt, treat them like a zucchini, but slightly tougher.

Bell Pepper
Japanese cucumber
Marketmore cucumber
Armenian cucumber
Lemon cucumber
white pattypan squash
yellow squash
zephyr squash
black beauty eggplant **
white Swiss chard
turnip greens
bok choi
broccoli raab
brocco-flower
spinach
sorrel
bartlett pear
Oh Henry peach
tomatoes
Italian plum
red raspberries
yellow raspberries

Meat for the week:
ground sirloin (lean, use a little oil if frying)
ground lamb

** They miscounted the number of eggplants picking in the rain.  Three boxes were short -- those boxes will get an extra next week.

Sorrel, raab, and turnip greens all have good descriptions in this post.

LtoR:  sorrel, bartlett pears, peaches, spinach

LtoR: raspberries, tomatoes, plums, Armenian cuke, lemon cuke

LtoR: white pattypan, yellow squash, Japanese cuke,
marketmore cuke, bell peppers

LtoR: chard, turnip greens, bok choi, broccoflower, broccoli raab