csa share – week 1 {may 21}
Welcome to the 1st week of the Pitchfork & Crow 2013 CSA!
Here’s what’s in the share:
- Cabbage
- Baby Fennel
- Leeks
- Radishes
- Salad Mix – a mix of leaf lettuces, a little arugula, and a sprig of pea shoots!
- Potatoes – German butterballs!
- Salad Turnips
Welcome to the fourth season of the Pitchfork & Crow CSA! We’re looking forward to a fantastic year and we’re excited you’ve all decided to join us for the next 28 weeks of eating seasonally! We’re starting out small this week, but don’t worry! The weekly shares will be spilling out of your refrigerator before you know it.
We’re excited to welcome back returning members and to welcome many new members. We’ve grown the CSA from 50 members last year to 70 members this year which is enough of a leap that we’ll be seeing quite a few new faces at the pick-ups. We’re also happy to say that we’ve filled the CSA program! We’re consistently humbled by your support of our farm and we’re working hard to make sure this will be a great season.
Of course in addition to 28 weeks of tasty veggies, we’re already looking forward to the on-farm events. We’ll host an early season tour and potluck in late June so you can visit the farm and see your vegetables growing in the fields. In August we’ll invite you back out for another potluck in the height of the growing season and in October we’ll have the annual pumpkin patch and apple cider pressing day. We love inviting members out to the farm and we’re thinking up some new activities for these farm visits. Let us know if you have any suggestions!
So, here we go! In future newsletters we’ll give you updates on the growing season and goings-on at the farm as well as suggestions for how to tackle the less well-known veggies. This week we’ve got some tasty ideas for radishes and fennel in the recipe section at the bottom of the page. You can also keep up with us on Facebook and Flickr if you’re into that sot of thing. See the links in the sidebar to the right. We hope you enjoy the veggies and we’ll see you here again next week!
Your farmers, Jeff Bramlett and Carri Heisler .Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:
Potato, Leek, and Fennel Soup
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
- 2 cups sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only)
- 2 cups sliced fennel bulb, fronds reserved for garnish
- 4 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
- 2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
Radish-Cabbage Coleslaw
- 1 1/2 pound cabbage, cored and thinly sliced (6 cups)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 5 radishes, thinly sliced
Toss cabbage with salt in a large bowl and let stand, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together oil, vinegar, honey mustard, and pepper in a small bowl until combined.
Rinse cabbage with cold water in a colander, then firmly squeeze handfuls to remove excess water and transfer cabbage to cleaned bowl. Add radishes and dressing to cabbage, tossing to combine.
Pickled Radishes
- 10 red radishes, trimmed, unpeeled, quartered
- 10 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 cups distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Combine first 3 ingredients in a clean 1 quart glass jar. Add vinegar, salt, and sugar. Cover; shake until sugar and salt begin to dissolve. Refrigerate for at least 3 days, shaking once a day. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 month ahead. (The flavor mellows the longer the mixture pickles.) Keep chilled.
winter csa share – week 12 {may 7}
Welcome to the 12th week of the Pitchfork & Crow Winter CSA!
Here’s what’s in the share:
- Arugula
- Radishes – French Breakfast
- Cooking Greens – a mix of kales, kale rapini, and chard!
- Potatoes – Fingerlings
- Pea Shoots! – We suggest eating the tops of these as the ends can get a little woody.
- Spring Onions
- Cauliflower
- Baby Fennel
- Delicata Winter Squash
We’ve made it to the end of our first winter CSA season! Many thanks to all of you who chose to join us for the past 5 plus months. We hope you enjoyed the extended season as much as we did. Most of you have decided to stick with us when the Summer CSA begins in a couple of weeks, so I’m guessing the winter program treated you well. We’re planning on doing it up again next winter. Stay tuned for the details later this summer.
If you’re on our market email list, or you check in on this blog on non-CSA weeks, you likely already know that the past couple of weeks we’ve been busy planting, planting, planting! We have just one more major planting push before we’re caught up. By the end of the week we’ll have the allium field planted out and hopefully the onions, shallots, and leeks will all be happier for it. We’ll be happy when it’s over!
Before long we’ll be ready to plant out summer squash, winter squash, melons, and cucumbers and then tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants after that. We have to keep reminding ourselves that despite the weather it really is early May and things are generally on schedule as planned. Of course we are irrigating a lot more than we’ve had to the past few springs.
As the Winter CSA comes to a close, we find ourselves evaluating the past seasons and looking ahead towards the coming seasons. Did we have enough in storage this year, have we planned enough for next year? Were there major issues this year that we may be able to plan around next year? We’d love to hear your thoughts on how the winter program was for you and if you have any suggestions for improvements we’d love to hear those too! Shoot us an email if you have anything to share.
Enjoy the vegetables! Thanks again to all of you who joined us, and we’ll see most of you in two weeks for the summer season!
Your farmers, Jeff Bramlett and Carri Heisler .Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:
To Stir-Fry Pea Shoots
- 1 pound mature pea shoots, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed with the flat side of knife
- 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
Arugula Salad with Oranges and Caramelized Fennel
- 2 large fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed, each cut vertically into 12 wedges with some core attached
- 6 fresh thyme sprigs
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 4 oranges, all peel and white pith cut away, halved vertically, thinly sliced crosswise
- 2 5-ounce packages baby arugula
Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine fennel wedges, thyme, and 4 tablespoons oil in large bowl; toss to coat. Arrange fennel, cut side down, on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until fennel is tender and brown, turning once, about 40 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Whisk vinegar, mustard, and 2 tablespoons oil in large bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Add fennel, orange slices, and arugula. Toss to coat. Transfer salad to large shallow bowl.
Sauteed Flank Steak with Arugula and Roasted Cauliflower and Red Peppers
- 1 large head cauliflower (2 1/2 lb), cut into 1 1/2-inch-wide florets (8 cups)
- 2 lb red bell peppers (about 5), cut into 1-inch squares
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 (1-lb) piece flank steak, halved lengthwise (along the grain)
- 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 oz baby arugula
- 1/2 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar, or to taste
Add vegetable oil to hot skillet, then add steak and sauté, turning over once, 5 to 7 minutes total for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes.
Reserve roasted garlic cloves and 1 cup roasted bell peppers. Toss arugula with remaining roasted vegetables in pan to wilt, then transfer to a platter.
Blend reserved garlic and bell peppers with broth, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste in a blender until smooth. Transfer sauce to a small bowl or sauceboat.
Holding a knife at a 45-degree angle, cut steak across the grain into thin slices and arrange on platter with vegetables. Pour any juices accumulated on cutting board over meat and serve sauce on the side.
this week at market {may 4}
Hello from Pitchfork & Crow ~
We’re harvesting for the Salem Saturday Market! Here’s a selection of what we’ll be bringing to market:
- Arugula (!)
- Cabbage (overwintered red and red/green savoy)
- Cauliflower
- Cookin’ Greens
- Fennel (baby!)
- Kale
- Leeks
- Potatoes (German Butterball, Blues & Fingerlings)
- Purple Sprouting Broccoli
- Rapini (Cabbage & Kale)
- Rutabagas
- Salad Turnips
- Shallots
- Spring Bunching Sweet Onions
- Winter Squash (Delicata)
We’re headed to Market tomorrow with the usual suspects including an abundance of cauliflower and fabulous arugula. This is a tricky time of year for farming as our overwintered and storage crops are dwindling but our newly planted spring crops are weeks away. We’re appreciating your support and hope you’ll continue to show up to see what seasonal veggies might make an appearance from week to week. This past week on the farm we spent several days in planting mode. We transplanted chard, collards, cauliflower, kale, and salad mix and we direct sowed arugula, radishes, turnips, cilantro, dill, and carrots, plus we got our potatoes in the ground! It feels good to have so many new crops in the fields. We look forward to sharing them with you in the coming months. This week we’ll be happy with what we’ve got in that list up there.
We hope to see you Saturday sometime between 9am and 3pm. You can find us at the Salem Saturday Market near the intersection of Winter and Union streets in downtown Salem.
Thanks!
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett
this week at market {april 27}
Hello from Pitchfork & Crow ~
We’re harvesting for the Salem Saturday Market! Here’s a selection of what we’ll be bringing to market:
- Arugula (!)
- Cabbage (overwintered red and red/green savoy)
- Cauliflower
- Collards
- Cookin’ Greens
- Fennel (baby!)
- Kale
- Leeks
- Potatoes (German Butterball, Blues & Fingerlings)
- Purple Sprouting Broccoli
- Rapini (Cabbage, Collards, Kale!)
- Rutabagas
- Salad Turnips
- Shallots
- Spring Bunching Sweet Onions
- Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes)
- Winter Squash (Butternut & Delicata)
We’re heading into our fourth Market week already. Can you believe it? I keep seeing articles around the internet suggesting folks start looking for Farmer’s Markets to make an appearance in the next few weeks. And here we are, already a month into it! Thanks for knowing where to find us, and continuing to support us. Our fantastic customers certainly make this farming thing worth the effort. This week we’ve been busy sowing squash and cucumber seeds, prepping ground for planting, and transplanting broccoli, cabbage, peas, beets, and bok choy. We’re looking forward to those future veggies. This week we’re happy to bring you that list above, especially the fabulous cauliflower. It’s definitely the star of the show!
We hope to see you Saturday sometime between 9am and 3pm. You can find us at the Salem Saturday Market near the intersection of Winter and Union streets in downtown Salem.
Thanks!
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett
winter csa share – week 11 {april 23}
Welcome to the 11th week of the Pitchfork & Crow Winter CSA!
Here’s what’s in the share:
- Arugula
- Hakurei Salad Turnips – slice ‘em up and eat them raw, or cook them if you have to. And don’t forget about the greens!
- Chard
- Celeriac
- Potatoes – German Butterballs!
- Cabbage or Collard Rapini – this stuff is amazingly tasty! Chop it all up, saute, and add to eggs or over pasta for deliciousness!
- Leeks
- Cauliflower
- Green Cabbage
- Delicata Winter Squash
A couple weeks ago I was lamenting our early spring compost buying decision and wishing things were a little greener in our propagation house. This week I’m happy to report that things are looking up. We transplanted our first lettuce starts this past week and are set to continue the transplanting in the coming days thanks to this sunny weather. Bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, kale, peas, chard, and beets are all headed into the field very soon.
Our plan hinges on multiple successions of most crops and because we rely on transplants for most things, we’ve been spending a lot of time sowing seeds in the prop. house. This leaves a big chunk of time for reflection. Somewhere between thinking about efficiency and speed my mind inevitably turns to the seed at hand.
We purchase seed from a dozen or so seed companies. The list includes local favorites and larger companies and the seeds range from open-pollinated heirlooms grown right here in the Willamette Valley to hybrids grown in Holland. Of course we don’t knowingly grow any GMO seed and we purchase organically grown varieties whenever possible. That said, there are a lot of choices out there. Like many decisions we make as farmers, we think about which varieties work well in our system and on our farm. We think about which varieties we like to eat and which we like to grow. These choices will rarely be the same from one farm to another, though it’s been my experience that farmers like to chat about varieties quite a bit.
When I’m in the prop. house sowing seeds into flats and dreaming of future veggies, I’m also mentally reviewing our choices. I unconsciously smile when we sow seeds from some seed companies who I’ve met folks from personally. We know some true seed stewards and are happy to support them whenever possible. I tend to question our choice when sowing seed from larger, distant seed companies. The origin of the seed is often vague when purchased from larger companies and it often ends up in the rotation due to few alternatives or for some specific trait such as cold-hardiness for instance.
We’re lucky to live in a location where so much specialty seed is grown. Having quality seed available that is adapted to our climate is a very lucky thing. This week we’ll be sowing our winter squash and melon seeds for transplanting next month. These are big plantings for us and it’s fun to see so many different seed varieties from so many seed companies represented. The genetics in those small seeds is astounding too. We’re already looking forward to the sweet summer melons and the fall squash!
Enjoy the vegetables and we’ll see you in two weeks!
Your farmers, Jeff Bramlett and Carri Heisler .Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:
Arugula Pesto
- 1/2 cup (2 oz/60 g) walnut pieces
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 cups (2 oz/60 g) packed arugula leaves
- 1/2 cup (2 oz/60 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Smoked-Turkey Tea Sandwiches with Arugula Mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup (packed) coarsely chopped arugula leaves plus 30 whole arugula leaves (about 4 large bunches total)
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- 12 thin slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts trimmed
- 10 ounces thinly sliced smoked turkey
Mix mayonnaise, chopped arugula, shallot, parsley and lemon peel in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Place bread slices on work surface. Spread mayonnaise mixture on each slice, dividing equally. Top 6 bread slices with turkey, dividing equally. Place 5 arugula leaves atop turkey on each. Top with remaining 6 bread slices, mayonnaise side down, pressing to adhere. Cut each sandwich diagonally into quarters
Double Celery and Potato Soup
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 medium-size Yukon Gold potatoes (about 12 ounces), peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 medium celery roots (celeriac; about 1 1/2 pounds total), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 large fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 5 celery stalks with leaves, stalks thinly sliced, leaves reserved
- 1/3 cup whipping cream
Melt butter with oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks and onion and sauté until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes, celery roots, thyme, and bay leaf. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. Add celery stalks and simmer until all vegetables are very tender, about 12 minutes longer. Cool slightly.
Using handheld blender, puree soup in pot. Stir cream into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill celery leaves. Cool soup slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm soup over medium heat before serving.) Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with reserved celery leaves and serve.
this week at market {april 20}
Hello from Pitchfork & Crow ~
We’re harvesting for the Salem Saturday Market! Here’s a selection of what we’ll be bringing to market:
- Cabbage (overwintered red, green, and red/green savoy)
- Celeriac
- Collards
- Cookin’ Greens
- Fennel (baby!)
- Kale
- Leeks
- Parsley
- Potatoes (German Butterball, Blues & Fingerlings)
- Purple Sprouting Broccoli
- Radishes
- Rapini (Cabbage, Collards, Kale!)
- Rutabagas
- Salad Turnips
- Shallots
- Spinach
- Spring Bunching Onions
- Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes)
- Winter Squash (Butternut & Delicata)
Thanks for another great day at Market last week! It sure is easier to get back into the routine of Market days when we know we’ll get to see so many fantastic folks. The weather people are spreading the rumor of good weather, so hopefully you won’t have to dodge through the Market between rain showers. Yesterday we were able to get in the first transplanting of the season. Hopefully we’ll have salad mix to share in a few weeks! We’ve also been busy locating, buying, and attempting to register our new box truck this week. Our trusty market van has been good to us, but we’re outgrowing it. When loading the van became a game of “how tightly can we pack this thing” we knew something needed to change. This is a big step for the farm. Certainly an investment in farm efficiency, since the pull-out ramp will ease loading and unloading! Tomorrow will be our first trip in the new truck with veggies, so please wish us luck!
We hope to see you Saturday sometime between 9am and 3pm. You can find us at the Salem Saturday Market near the intersection of Winter and Union streets in downtown Salem.
Thanks!
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett
this week at market {april 13}
Hello from Pitchfork & Crow ~
We’re harvesting for the Salem Saturday Market! Here’s a selection of what we’ll be bringing to market:
- Cabbage (overwintered red and red/green savoy)
- Cauliflower (a few tasty overwintered heads!)
- Celeriac
- Chard
- Collards
- Cookin’ Greens
- Fennel (baby!)
- Leeks
- Potatoes (German Butterball & Fingerlings)
- Purple Sprouting Broccoli
- Radishes
- Rapini (Cabbage, Collards, Kale!)
- Rutabagas
- Salad Turnips
- Spinach
- Spring Bunching Onions
- Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes)
- Winter Squash (Butternut & Delicata)
Thanks for a fantastic start to the Market season last week! We appreciate everyone who made it out between rain showers to buy some veggies. It was great to see so many familiar faces and meet new folks too. Hurrah for the Market!
Last season we agreed to grow a few crops for seed for some friends who own a small seed company nearby. We planted their varieties of rutabaga, leeks, and Brussels sprouts and made plans to grow them beyond maturity until they flowered, were pollinated, and eventually set seed. This week we’ve been busy harvesting other varieties of leeks and rutabagas to avoid any cross-pollination with the desired seed crops. We’ve also been busy managing the cabbage, collard, and kale rapini. Many of these overwintered brassicas flower at the same time and will freely cross-pollinate one another. We love the spring delight that is rapini, so it’s hard to imagine mowing these overwintered plants. Instead, we harvest as much rapini as possible and hand cut the rest, preferably before it flowers. Luckily we know you guys love rapini too!
We hope to see you Saturday sometime between 9am and 3pm. You can find us at the Salem Saturday Market near the intersection of Winter and Union streets in downtown Salem.
Thanks!
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett
