Welcome to the 3rd share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2021/2022 Winter CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• January King Cabbage
• Lacinato Kale
• Arugula Rapini – The greenhouse arugula is trying to go to seed but it’s still peppery and tasty. Just trim any woody stem ends and toss with pasta, into salads, or saute.
• Rosalba Radicchio – A blush pink winter salad treat that stands up to all the creamy dressings, citrus dressings, and hearty toppings you can find.
• Spinach Mix
• Tatsoi – An Asian green that lands somewhere between spinach and bok choy. Eat it in salads or cooked.
• Rainbowish Carrots – Mostly orange, but you’ll find a few purple and yellow roots mixed too.
• Magic Molly Purple Potatoes – Though purple mashed potatoes may be fun, we prefer these as oven fries.
• Kohlrabi – Giant kohlrabi are a winter wonder. Generally not pithy, they’re frost-sweetened and just the ticket for kohlrabi and peanut butter snacks. Check out the Kohlrabi Pudding recipe down below that a winter CSA member shared with us years ago. (Vegans will have your work cut out finding dairy alternatives for this one though.)
• Beet
• Watermelon Radishes – The bright pink centers bring some color to winter salads and roasted root dishes, but they’re spicy too!
• Garlic
• Onion
• Candystick Dessert Delicata Squash
• Long Pie Pumpkin or a regular Pie Pumpkin
• Dried Apples

Summer CSA sign-up time has arrived! We’ve opened up memberships to the 2022 Summer CSA and we hope you’ll join us for a summer and fall of local, seasonal, and organic vegetables. Find all the details and a sign-up form over on the Summer CSA page.

Welcome to a new year of vegetables! 2022 is off to an exciting, if saturated, start. The blustery weather over the past week made for an opportune time to hunker down and get our crop planning finished up and seed orders placed.

Both the large and small seed companies that we purchase seeds from have been consistently overwhelmed by demand the past couple of seasons and we’d already been hearing about some varieties selling out. This past summer’s drought has impacted some seed availability too. Evidently a good percentage of carrot seed is grown in central and eastern Oregon and Washington and the lack of water has limited the seed availability of many standard carrot varieties. I’m sure that’s not the only crop impacted by last year’s weather and the ongoing supply chain issues.

In the past we’d break up the seed ordering into multiple rounds based on when we needed the seed on hand, but the increased demands and limited quantities we keep hearing about meant ordering everything we think we need for the entire season. It felt good to lock in our plan for the season ahead and get those orders in, even if it meant spending $3000 right out of the gate.

While we found projects to finish under cover (seed orders for Carri, tractor maintenance for Jeff) the weather blew lots of rain and wind through these parts. The farm weather station reported another three inches of rain fell last week and we had consistent wind gusts in the high thirties and steady wind in the high twenty miles per hour. Somehow we didn’t lose any greenhouse plastic this time around. Hurrah for that! We did experience some minor flooding in the lowest spots on the farm but they’ve already drained away after a day or two without rain.

In between rain and wind and snow storms we drove up to Cascadia Park to spend my (Carri’s) birthday in the woods. We hiked around, marveled at the big trees, and Jeff tried his hand at gold panning in the river, a new hobby he’s been researching of late. Though he didn’t strike it rich it was nice to get off the farm and into the woods for a day.

With some clear weather coming up in the forecast we’re hoping to get back to that greenhouse building project again. Fingers crossed we’ve got the structure up by the next time we meet in two weeks.

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

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler & Jeff Bramlett

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Winter Salad with Lemon-Yogurt Dressing

Dressing:

• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/4 cup avocado oil or canola oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• Fine sea salt

Salad:

• 8 cups coarsely chopped romaine lettuce (about 8 large leaves) (try radicchio and/or spinach too)
• 1 1/2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled jicama
• 2 small carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, sliced
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup 1/2-inch cubes peeled kohlrabi or peeled broccoli stems
• 3/4 cup canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
• 3/4 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes
• 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds

Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Season dressing to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Toss lettuce and next 8 ingredients in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among plates; sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

From Epicurious.com by Myra Goodman and Sarah LaCasse, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/winter-salad-with-lemon-yogurt-dressing-363722

Dairy Hollow House Kohlrabi Pudding

• Cooking spray
• 2 to 3 small kohlrabi, stem, root and ends trimmed, peeled and quartered
• 2 large eggs
• 4 ounces neufchâtel reduced-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• ½ cup low-fat milk, buttermilk, yogurt, light sour cream, oat or rice milk, or, if feeling devil-may-care and you have it on hand, half and half or heavy cream
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon Pickapeppa sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 or 4 gratings of nutmeg
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ¾ cup (6 ounces) finely grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Spray a 9-inch square baking dish or six individual 6-ounce ramekins with cooking spray. Set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the kohlrabi and cook until slightly softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Place in a food processor and puree. Measure out 3 cups of the puree, saving leftovers for another use (such as a chilled soup). Set the puree aside.

4. Place the eggs with the neufchâtel, milk, cornstarch, Pickapeppa, salt, nutmeg, and pepper in the food processor. Buzz until very smooth. Add the 3 cups puree and half of the Parmesan and buzz to incorporate. Taste and, if necessary season with more pepper.

5. Pour the pudding mixture into the prepared baking dish or into the individual ramekins. Place the dish or ramekins in a larger pan with hot water to come ½ inch up the sides of the dish or ramekins. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top. Return to the oven and continue baking until the cheese is melted and golden and the pudding is firm, browned, and does not stick to your finger when you touch its surface, another 20 to 30 minutes. Serve, hot or warm, cut into squares or inverted out of the ramekins.

From Cookstr via Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon, http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/dairy-hollow-house-kohlrabi-pudding

Silky-Coconut Pumpkin Soup (Keg Bouad Mak Fak Kham)

• 3 to 4 shallots, unpeeled
• 1 1/2 pounds pumpkin (untrimmed), or butternut squash or 1 1/4 pounds peeled pumpkin
• 2 cups canned or fresh coconut milk
• 2 cups mild pork or chicken broth
• 1 cup loosely packed coriander leaves1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce, or to taste
• Generous grindings of black pepper
• 1/4 cup minced scallion greens (optional)

In a heavy skillet, or on a charcoal or gas grill, dry-roast or grill the shallots, turning occasionally until softened and blackened. Peel, cut the shallots lengthwise in half, and set aside.

Peel the pumpkin and clean off any seeds. Cut into small 1/2-inch cubes. You should have 4 1/2 to 5 cups cubed pumpkin.

Place the coconut milk, broth, pumpkin cubes, shallots, and coriander leaves in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the salt and simmer over medium heat until the pumpkin is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Taste for salt and add a little more fish sauce if you wish. (The soup can be served immediately, but has even more flavor if left to stand for up to an hour. Reheat just before serving.)

Serve from a large soup bowl or in individual bowls. Grind black pepper over generously, and, if you wish, garnish with a sprinkling of minced scallion greens. Leftovers freeze very well.

From Epicurious.com by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/silky-coconut-pumpkin-soup-keg-bouad-mak-fak-kham-104372

Penne with Radicchio, Spinach, and Bacon

• 1 whole head of garlic (with about 12 to 14 cloves)
• 6 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound penne
• 8 ounces bacon (about 8 slices), cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-wide strips
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup low-salt chicken broth
• 6 cups (packed) coarsely torn radicchio leaves (from about 2 medium heads)
• 3 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves, torn in half (about 10 ounces)
• 1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves, torn in half (about 10 ounces)
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut off top 1/2 inch of garlic head, exposing cloves. Place garlic head, cut side up, on sheet of foil and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Wrap garlic in foil. Roast until garlic is soft, about 40 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Squeeze garlic into small bowl.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook bacon strips and chopped onion in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Add chicken broth, remaining 5 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, and roasted garlic. Bring mixture to simmer, stirring occasionally. Add radicchio, spinach, and basil and stir to combine. Simmer just until radicchio and spinach wilt, about 1 minute.

Drain pasta and return to same pot. Add radicchio-spinach mixture to pasta. Add 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper; toss to coat. Season pasta to taste with salt and pepper and serve, passing additional Parmesan cheese alongside.

From Epicurious.com by Myra Goodman and Sarah LaCasse, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/penne-with-radicchio-spinach-and-bacon-241093