Welcome to the 6th week of the Pitchfork & Crow 2015/2016 Winter CSA!

Here’s what’s in the share:

• German Butterball Potatoes
  
• Carrots – Oh winter carrots, you are hardy keepers in the cold ground and sweet and crunchy when pulled.
  
• Scarlet Ohno Revival Turnips – The lovely red turnip with white and red streaked flesh is just the bonus, these were bred with an eye towards the tasty and impressive turnip greens.
  
• Purple Sprouting Broccoli – A winter treat!  Sowed in July, transplanted in August, this sprouting broccoli waits through the darkest months to make an appearance now!  Enjoy!
  
• Winter Salad Mix – A mix of castlefranco, radicchio, tatsoi, arugula, and a little lettuce this week.
  
• Garlic – We’ve noticed some of the garlic is beginning to sprout after a winter of dormancy.  We’ve culled the sprouters when we saw them, but feel free to use them as you would non-sprouters, they’ll be just as tasty!
  
• Turnip Rapini
  
• Leeks
• Black Futzu Winter Squash – One of our favorite winter squashes, a rare-ish heirloom from Japan that is related to butternut squash and has a hint of hazelnut when eaten.  Try it raw in salads for something new.
  
• Autumn Crown Winter Squash – A mini-long island cheese type, looks like a pumpkin on the outside but tastes like a butternut on the inside.
  
• Dried Korean Hot Peppers – On the hot side, it doesn’t take too many to add a little spice to any dish.  You could use scissors to cut them into smaller sizes or use a coffee grinder to make a pepper powder.  Jeff just added some to a jar of apple cider vinegar for future spicy vinegar needs!
  
• Dried Apples
  

About the Feb. 9th/10th Pick-up:  We’ll be out of town at a farmer retreat for a portion of this week’s pick-up.  Please note the pick-up changes for your location below.

Salem Members:  We’ve moved the Salem CSA pick-up to the Sunday, February 7th.  We’ll be set up at our usual spot at the Willamette Heritage Center during the usual 4pm-6pm time frame.  Please let us know if you can’t make it to the Sunday pick-up and we’ll make arrangements to deliver it to you.

COMP-NW Medical School Members:  We plan to deliver on Wednesday February 10th as usual, except boxes will be dropped at the school by 3pm instead of 1pm.  Please let us know if this is a problem and we can arrange for an alternative pick-up.

On-Farm Pick-Up Members:  Regularly scheduled pick-up at the farm.  We’ll see you as usual between 4pm and 6pm on Wednesday February 10th.

As promised in earlier posts, we finally got around to beginning our pole barn building project.  First we laid out the footprint of the building, running strings along the path of each future wall.  We measured and re-measured the lengths of each string and the diagonals, adjusting bit by bit until we were confident that we were square.  We set a stake in the ground at each location where a pole would stand and rented an auger on a walk behind skidsteer to dig the 4 foot deep by 1.5 foot across holes.  We also rented a surveying laser to help determine how much concrete to add to each hole to serve as a slab for the poles to rest on.  Using the laser we were able to keep the poles in the same plane instead of measuring off of the sloping terrain.  We set each of the ten poles in concrete, then connected them using 2x6s to begin our 10 foot sidewalls.

Our barn kit design includes two double trusses (totaling four trusses) on the interior of the barn for constructing the roof.  The end walls don’t have trusses, but instead are constructed of 2X10s called rake beams, cut and nailed on diagonals to form the peak of the end walls.  We got these rake beams in place and set the trusses and then unfortunately some other things called our attention away.

It would seem that farming conference season has arrived, and attending conferences cuts down on time for barn building.  The day after setting the trusses I attended a daylong intensive on seed growing that was held as part of the Organic Seed Growers Conference  in Corvallis.  Although committing to more than a day was too difficult, it was nice to get a little formal instruction on the topic.  We value seed production and hope to give it more attention in the future.

We’re eager to get back to the barn construction after we return from our retreat to the mountains this next week.  We’ve got walls to finish, purlins to fit in the roof, roofing, and siding ahead of us yet.  February already feels like it’s quickly slipping away.

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:

Leon O’Neal’s Turnip Greens

• 1 large bunch turnip greens (try turnip rapini here)
• 1 small turnip, peeled and diced
• Dash of sugar
• 6 slices bacon, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
• Salt to taste
• Louisiana hot-pepper sauce

Wash the greens in several changes of water in the sink until no more grit is seen. Chop the greens coarsely. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the greens, the turnip, and the sugar. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain.

In a large skillet, sauté the bacon until it gives up its grease. Add the onion and cook 7 minutes until the onion is soft. Toss the greens with the bacon and onion. Add the lemon pepper and salt. Serve with Louisiana hot-pepper sauce.

From Epicurious via Cookbook by Robb Walsh, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/leon-oneals-turnip-greens-108862

.

Pastrami and Potato Hash with Fried Eggs

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4 large), scrubbed, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1/2 pound winter squash (such as acorn, butternut, or kabocha), peeled, cut into 1″ pieces
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 2 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 pound pastrami or any leftover braised meat, cut or shredded into bite-size pieces
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup sliced chives
• 3/4 cup sour cream (optional)

Heat butter and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add potatoes and winter squash and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 25–30 minutes.

Add leeks and garlic to hash and season with salt and pepper. Using the back of a spoon or a spatula, lightly smash vegetables. Add pastrami and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is warmed through and flavors have melded, 10–12 minutes.

Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Carefully crack eggs into skillet one at a time and season with salt and pepper. Cook until whites are set and slightly puffed but yolks are still runny, about 2 minutes.

Divide hash among shallow bowls and top each with an egg; scatter chives over top. Serve with sour cream alongside, if desired.

From Epicurious via Bon Appétit, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pastrami-and-potato-hash-with-fried-eggs

.

Quinoa with Moraccan Winter Squash and Carrot Stew

Stew

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika (try dried peppers here for a little spice)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Pinch of saffron
• 1 cup water
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups 1-inch cubes peeled butternut squash (from 1 1/2-pound squash)
• 2 cups 3/4-inch cubes peeled carrots

Quinoa

• 1 cup quinoa*
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrot
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint, divided

 

For stew:

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until soft, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Mix in paprika and next 8 ingredients. Add 1 cup water, tomatoes, and lemon juice. Bring to boil. Add squash and carrots. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

For quinoa:

Rinse quinoa; drain. Melt butter with oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and carrot. Cover; cook until vegetables begin to brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, salt, and turmeric; sauté 1 minute. Add quinoa; stir 1 minute. Add 2 cups water. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; simmer until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.

Rewarm stew. Stir in half of cilantro and half of mint. Spoon quinoa onto platter, forming well in center. Spoon stew into well. Sprinkle remaining herbs over.

From Epicurious via Bon Appétit by Bruce Aidells and Nancy Oakes, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/quinoa-with-moroccan-winter-squash-and-carrot-stew-233714

.

.