Welcome to the 7th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2022/2023 Winter CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Salad Mix – Lettuce! In March! Hurrah!
• Bok Choy Rapini – We tried to push these baby bok choy longer than ideal. Instead of perfect tiny Asian green heads we present tender bok choy rapini. Still tasty, still enjoyable, just taller.
• Red Ursa Kale – Harvested from an open ended greenhouse, so more tender than the outdoors kale but hardier than the closed ended greenhouse greens.
• Kalettes – Pop the kale sprouts off the stalk and enjoy them in your favorite recipes. We usually just cut the sprouts in half, toss with a little oil/salt/pepper, and roast at 400 degrees for ~20 minutes, just like Brussels.
• Cabbage – Mostly red cabbages, but some savoys too.
• Mixed Radishes – Tasty raw, pickled, or roasted and we’ll saute bits and throw it in our ramen lunch.
• Parsnips – Great roasted or mashed with other roots but our favorite winter parsnip treat has got to be parsnip cake.
• Yukon Gem Potatoes
• Mixed Small Onions – More mixed red and yellow small onions.
• Garlic – We ask a lot of our storage crops. We harvest them in early fall and then let them sit and wait and wait until they make an appearance in the share. We’re getting better at selecting long storing varieties but there’s just only so long garlic wants to store sometimes. That’s to say, eat your onions before they sprout because spring is just around the corner.
• Winter Sweet Kabocha Squash
• Dried Apples – We’re into apples from the farm now. Not as colorful as the pink apples from earlier in the season, but these are both harvested and dried by us.

It’s been a cold couple of weeks on the farm since we last met. In fact we were headed into the coldest predicted temps of the season two weeks back and we’re happy to report we seem to have made it through as the temps didn’t dip quite as low as expected. Winter has been hanging on though. We’ve woken up to multiple snow days recently, but it was only an inch or two each time. The repeated cold temps have knocked the purple sprouting broccoli back unfortunately. The plants are still alive and we’re hopeful that we will have PSB to share with you in the coming weeks. The ten day forecast looks like we’ll be out of the freezing zone thankfully though the rain is settling in now.

We’ve made it through the worst of the winter weather (hopefully) only to find ourselves in the hunger gap between the dwindling supplies of storage crops and the slow growth of winter-sown crops. We’ve got our fingers crossed that warmer weather over the next couple of weeks will give the January sown greens and roots a bump. Recent cold snaps mean a delay in rapini and sprouting broccoli from the field but in the greenhouse the spinach and radishes are chugging right along.

Jeff managed to get our early greenhouse potatoes in the ground last week. Our Farmall Cub has become key to getting potatoes into the ground efficiently as we’re able to open the furrows and then close them up again with two passes of the tractor. It’s always nice to get some potatoes in the ground this time of year as it will be a while before we’re able to get into the field outside of greenhouses.

Last week also marked the first big propagation push of the season. Leeks, onions, celery, fennel, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and chard have all been started. It’s only the first in a season long number of successions. There will be weekly propagation through the fall! I spent some time on Sunday cleaning up the prop house and now it’s starting to fill up with the babiest of baby plants. Next up, peppers and eggplants!

In the two weeks ahead we’ll be getting a big delivery of organic fertilizer, sowing early summer carrots and peas, continuing on the propagation train, and as always keeping an eye out for a dry stretch to be able to get into the field for ground prep. It looks like we’ll need to be patient for the foreseeable future while we wait for clear skies.

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:

Hearty Kale Salad with Kabocha Squash, Pomegranate, and Toasted Hazelnuts

• 1 Large bunch curly kale, stems removed and discarded, torn into bite sized pieces, washed, and spun dry
• 1 Small kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin), halved and seeded and cut into 1.5 inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons Olive oil, divided into 1 tbsp and 3 tbsp
• ³/₄ cup Pomegranate seeds
• ¹/₂ cup Skinned hazelnuts
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons Lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Maple syrup
• ¹/₄ teaspoon Sea salt
• Black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss the squash in 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast for 30-35 minutes, or until golden, stopping halfway through to stir.

While squash is roasting, place the hazelnuts in a shallow baking dish (or a pie pan) and toast in the oven for 4-6 minutes, or until they are golden. Check them frequently and remove them the moment they start to get brown. Once they’ve cooled a little, chop them roughly and set aside.

Whisk together the remaining olive oil, mustard, lemon, maple syrup, sea salt, and pepper. Pour 3 tbsp over the kale to begin with, and “massage” the kale well with your hands, till it’s coated in the dressing and taking on a soft, almost wilted texture. Add the remaining dressing as needed and according to tastes. Add pomegranate seeds and hazelnuts.

Once the squash has finished cooking and has cooled for 10-15 minutes, add it to the salad and serve.

From Food52.com by Gena Hamshaw, https://food52.com/recipes/20161-hearty-kale-salad-with-kabocha-squash-pomegranate-seeds-and-toasted-hazelnuts

Winter Vegetable Cobbler with Turmeric-Chile Biscuits

• Vegetable Filling
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4 cups diced winter squash (such as delicata, honeynut, butternut, or acorn)
• 3 cups diced parsnips
• 2 large sweet onions, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon jerk seasoning
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup dry white wine, chicken or vegetable broth, or water
• ¹/₂ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley laves

• Turmeric-Chile Biscuits
• 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons (27 grams) light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon (4 grams) ground turmeric
• ¹/₂ teaspoon (2 grams) Aleppo chile pepper or red chile flakes
• 1 ¹/₂ teaspoons (6 grams) baking powder
• ¹/₂ teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda
• ¹/₄ teaspoon (1 gram) fine sea salt
• 6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch/1-centimeter cubes
• ¹/₂ cup (115 g) buttermilk or full-fat yogurt
• 1 large (56 grams) egg, at room temperature

Make the cobbler filling: In a 10 to 12 inch skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the squash and parsnips and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are starting to soften, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes more.

Add the garlic and jerk seasoning, stir well to combine, and cook until the mixture is fragrant, 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Cook until the liquid reduces slightly—it should look stew-like. Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley.

Remove the skillet from the heat to cool slightly while you prepare the biscuit topping. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C with the oven rack in the center.

Make the biscuits: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, turmeric, and aleppo pepper to combine. Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine. Add the cold butter cubes, and toss with your hands so each cube is coated in flour.

Cut the butter into the flour using your hands or a pastry cutter until it is almost completely incorporated—the mixture should look a little like cornmeal.

In a liquid measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk (or yogurt) and egg to combine. Add this to the flour mixture and mix with a silicone spatula until the mixture is uniformly combined.

Use your hands or two spoons to dollop pieces of the dough all over the surface of the cooled cobbler. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the biscuits are lightly browned, and the cobbler filling is bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving warm.

From Food52.com by Erin Jean McDowell, https://food52.com/recipes/87230-best-savory-cobbler-recipe-with-winter-squash-turmeric-biscuits

Raw Kale Salad with Lentils and Sweet Apricot Vinaigrette

• 2 bunches Curly kale, center ribs and stems removed, washed, dried, and chopped finely
• ¹/₄ cup Olive oil
• ¹/₄ cup Apricot preserves
• 1 ¹/₂ tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
• 1 ¹/₂ tablespoons Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ¹/₂ teaspoon Sea salt
• 1 pinch Black pepper
• 1 cup Puy or beluga lentils, (substitute brown lentils if they’re what you have), rinsed and picked over
• 1 cup Red cabbage, shredded

Whisk together olive oil, apricot preserves, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper.

Turn kale into a large mixing bowl, and massage 6 T of the dressing into the salad. You’ll need enough dressing for the salad to be well coated and start taking on a “wilted” texture. Set aside.

Place lentils in a small saucepan with enough water to cover them by 3-4 inches (approximately 2 1/2 cups). Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat, add a pinch of salt, and let the lentils simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but not mushy.

Allow lentils to cool slightly and add them, along with the cabbage, to the kale, and add another 2 T vinaigrette. Use hands to combine. Add extra dressing as needed, and season to taste.

From Food52.com by Gena Hamshaw, https://food52.com/recipes/17866-raw-kale-salad-with-lentils-and-sweet-apricot-vinaigrette