Welcome to the 5th share of the Pitchfork & Crow Winter CSA!  Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Mustard Greens
• Purple Viking Potatoes
• Arugula Rapini
• Cabbage – Mostly the purple tinged green January King variety of cabbage this week, with some smaller red cabbages thrown in for extra choice.
• Shunkyo Long Pink Radishes or Hakurei Salad Turnips – Shunkyo Long Pink radishes are a lovely large Asian radish, sweet and mild, even delicious at larger sizes.
• Spinach
• Superschmelz Kohlrabi
• Wolverine’s Orca Dry Beans – A lovely creamy bean with an intriguing history.  Read more about the origin of on the Adaptive Seed’s website.
• Yellow Onions – It’s time for onions to begin sprouting, so you might see some green growth in the center of your onions going forward.  No worries, as long as the onions are firm they’ll still be delicious.  You can eat or discard the green center
• Butternut Winter Squash
• Dried Apples

= Want to continue the vegetable fun into the summer? 2019 Summer CSA memberships are open!  Head over to the Summer CSA information page to get all the details, including a link to the sign-up form.

First off, many thanks to all of the Salem members who have been flexible enough to shift this week’s pick-up from Tuesday to Sunday so I can head off to a farmer retreat for a couple of days. I really appreciate your willingness to accommodate the schedule change! Note that the Wednesday evening on-farm pick-up will continue as originally scheduled.

Well, winter has decided to show up finally. We’ve had a lucky streak of mild weather for the past couple of months, but the wintry weather has arrived. After a chilly, but mostly dryish, harvest day yesterday we woke up to 3″ of fluffy snow blanketing the farm this morning. I’m sure glad I wasn’t planning on harvesting any last minute items from the field today. Our mild temperatures and tiny amount of snow is nothing compared to past years or compared to what folks in other parts of the country are dealing with. I’m thankful we haven’t had to begin sweeping greenhouses clear just yet.

In between winter weather scares, the past couple of weeks on the farm have felt more like spring. Well spring cleaning anyhow. We’re getting ready to start the first seeds of 2019 this week and I’ve been working to consolidate the walk-in coolers in order to use an empty cooler for germinating seeds and cleaning up the barn to free up some workspace. Jeff has been hacking away at invasive blackberry plants that have established themselves along greenhouse edges and near irrigation fixtures. Anywhere it’s difficult to mow really. We also cleared out last year’s tomato house to ready it for spring greens. Slowly but surely the farm is getting into shape for the season ahead

The propagation house will soon be filling up with tiny plant starts and the work of the season ahead will feel imminent. For now, I’m trying to enjoy the slower pace of the season at hand

Enjoy the vegetables and we’ll see you in two weeks!

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Southeast Asian Squash Curry

• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk (do not stir), divided
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen red curry paste
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 (2- to 3-inch) cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• 5 ounces baby spinach (5 cups packed)
• 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce, or to taste
• 1/4 cup salted roasted cashews, chopped

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Sauté squash with cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt until beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to skillet and cook onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup coconut milk from top of can and cook, stirring, until fat starts to separate and look glossy, about 2 minutes. Add curry paste and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

Add squash, water, cinnamon, cloves, and remaining coconut milk and simmer, covered, until squash is tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook, covered, until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in fish sauce. Sprinkle with cashews.

Serve with:jasmine rice

From Epicurious.com via Gourmet by Maggie Ruggiero, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/southeast-asian-squash-curry-350259

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Roasted Kohlrabi and Butternut Squash

• 4 medium kohlrabi (2 1/4 lb with greens or 1 3/4 lb without)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 1/2 lb butternut squash

Put oven rack just below middle position and put baking pan on rack, then preheat oven to 450°F. (If roasting vegetables along with turkey, preheat pan for 15 minutes while turkey roasts, then roast vegetables underneath turkey.)

Trim and peel kohlrabi, then cut into 3/4-inch pieces. Toss kohlrabi with 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Transfer kohlrabi to preheated pan in oven and roast 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel butternut squash, then quarter lengthwise, seed, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces. Toss squash with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in same bowl.

Stir kohlrabi, turning it, then push it to one side of pan.

Add squash to opposite side of pan and roast, stirring and turning squash over halfway through roasting, until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, about 30 minutes total (after squash is added).

Toss vegetables to combine and transfer to a dish.

From Epicurious.com via Gourmet, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-kohlrabi-and-butternut-squash-236414

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Vinegar-Marinated Chicken with Buttered Greens and Radishes

• 2 pounds skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 radishes, quartered, halved if small
• 1 bunch mustard greens, leaves torn
• 4 tablespoons tarragon leaves, divided

Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in a large baking dish. Pour 1/4 cup vinegar over chicken and let sit 15–20 minutes. Remove chicken from marinade and pat skin dry. Reserve baking dish (no need to wipe it out).

Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Working in batches, cook chicken, skin side down, until skin is golden brown and crisp, 8–10 minutes; turn and cook until other side is just browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to reserved baking dish; reserve skillet. Bake chicken until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 165°F, 10–12 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat butter in same skillet over medium-high. Add radishes, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until radishes are browned and tender, about 5 minutes. Add mustard greens and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mustard greens are just wilted, about 2 minutes (they should still have some spring in their step). Add 2 tablespoons tarragon and remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar; toss to combine.

Serve greens and radishes with chicken topped with remaining 2 tablespoons tarragon.

From Epicurious.com via Bon Appétit by Alison Roman, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/vinegar-marinated-chicken-with-buttered-greens-and-radishes-56389531

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