Welcome to the 4th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2023/2024 Winter CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Rosalba Radicchio – Great for robust winter salads with punchy dressings and nuts and strong cheese and citrus. Holds up to a little warming too. We’ll eat it under oven baked salmon, rice, and creamy dressing for a quick dinner. Soaking in ice water can help reduce the bitterness if needed. Click here for some tips if you think radicchio and chicories bring too much bitter to the table.
• Arugula – A peppery green for salads or other dishes. Don’t forget to play the pesto card when you’re looking for a sauce/spread too.
• Romaine Lettuce Heads
• Tatsoi – An Asian green that lands somewhere between bok choy and spinach. Eat it in salads, sautees, or wilted in soups etc.
• Brussels Sprouts – These sprouts were offered up to us by our friend Elanor over at Persephone Farm. The recent ice storm and some scheduled travel meant they rather suddenly didn’t have a destination. We appreciate her generosity and we’re all three happy to be getting them out to you to enjoy. We usually just cut the sprouts in half, toss with a little oil/salt/pepper, and roast at 400 degrees for ~20 minutes.
• German Butterball Potatoes
• Daikon Radishes – These long Korean radishes, traditionally used for kimchi, are sweeter than some other daikon varieties and are also delicious raw and roasted.
• Beets – We are fans of roasted beets but if you’re looking to head in a different direction you might think about pickling some. Pickled beets make for delicious garnishes and sandwich toppers.
• Carrots
• Yellow & Red Onions
• Garlic – This is the point in the winter that I start to remind you to use up your garlic and onions. It may not feel like it everyday, but we’re headed toward spring and these guys want to sprout. They’re generally still edible if you see a small green sprout but eat ’em up sooner than later.
• Butternut Squash
• Black Futzu Squash - A Japanese heirloom variety that’s related to butternut and some say tastes a bit like hazelnuts. Use it like you would other winter squash.
• Dried Apples

When last we met there was snow slush on the ground and many people were still dealing with lingering effects of the ice storm. We hadn’t been able to evaluate the fields after the thaw and didn’t have a good answer when asked how the farm had fared. Thankfully we can now report that while the kale and remaining Brussels both took a big hit most other crops are generally trucking along. 

The lettuce, tucked under row cover in the greenhouse, barely noticed the cold. The chicories, covered with row cover but in the open field, also did exceptionally well. The chard was nipped back but we think will make a recovery eventually. The arugula and tatsoi, both in greenhouses, have decided it’s time to go to seed, which means a little rapini for this week’s share. Enjoy the greens while we’ve got them!

Seed growers call storms like that selection events. The plants that survive the extremes and successfully set seed make for more resilient genetic lines going forward. Getting hit with a big weather event always feels a bit like a selection event for us too. Getting to the other side without too many mishaps (no broken equipment and no broken bones, for example) is a feat. Each winter growing season makes us a bit more resilient for the next one.

The past couple of weeks have been a bit of a re-set after the storm. We spent time evaluating the farm and updating the To Do list. We did some weeding in a greenhouse. We got the first seeds of 2024 in the ground in a greenhouse prepped pre-storm. More spinach, mizuna, bok choy, radishes, and arugula are all germinating and will hopefully make an appearance in future winter shares. Jeff made some wash station improvements including plumbing in hands-free tub fillers, a project that probably should have been done many years ago. What a time saver! 

We also took a little downtime. Jeff made baskets and upgraded his ham radio equipment. I watched too much basketball and read a newly released book called Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley, which was an insightful read and I’d recommend if you’re interested in local history. And now here we are again, harvesting and washing and packing and ready for another round of CSA pick-ups. Hurrah for winter vegetables!

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:

Bagna Cauda Salad

2 small carrots, trimmed and peeled
2 radishes, trimmed (how about some daikon)
2 small turnips, trimmed and peeled
2 small beets, trimmed and peeled
1/4 small butternut squash (the seed end, preferably), seeded and peeled (the black futzu would work well here too)
8 Brussels sprouts, trimmed
1/4 cup whole flat leaf parsley leaves
4 anchovy fillets
2 small (or 1 medium) garlic cloves
Salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
5 tablespoons olive oil

1. Cut the carrot into 3-inch-long, sliver thin batons (I first cut the carrot crosswise into 3-inch lengths; then I cut each piece in half lengthwise; finally, I cut each half lengthwise into 1/8-inch slivers.)
2. Using a mandoline, slice the radishes, turnips, and beets crosswise into the thinnest circles possible – they should be translucent.
3. Put the mandoline to work again: slice the butternut squash into the thinnest ribbons possible. Stop when you have 2 cups of ribbons.
4. Pull the brussels sprouts into leaves – you may need to trim the stem as you go to help the leaves separate, and remember that the leaves tend to wind around the sprout, so you want to pull them off the sprout in an unwinding fashion.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the carrots, radishes, turnips, squash, brussels sprouts, and parsley. (Leave aside the beets until the end; otherwise, they’ll stain the rest of the vegetables.) Mix with your hands to disperse the vegetables. You should have 4 to 6 cups of vegetables.
6. In a mortar and pestle (or in a mini food processor or blender), pound the anchovy, garlic, and a large pinch of salt to a paste. Slowly beat in the lemon juice, followed by the olive oil, adding it in drops so the dressing has time to emulsify. Season to taste with salt, and add more lemon juice or oil if needed.
7. Pour half the dressing over the vegetables and blend with your hands so you can separate the vegetables (they like to cling to each other). Mix and mix and mix! Then taste and adjust seasoning. If it’s good, slip the beets into the salad (but don’t really mix them in), and let the salad rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. Then eat, and feel virtuous.

From Food52.com by Amanda Hesser, https://food52.com/recipes/9739-bagna-cauda-salad

Baked Radicchio & Brussels Sprouts with Tonnato

• For the baked salad:
• 2 heads radicchio, cored and leaves separated
• 1 cup Brussels sprouts, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• ¹/₂ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more to taste
• ¹/₄ cup honey-clustered cereal (like Honey Bunches of Oats), crushed, for garnish

• For the tonnato:
• 5 ounces tuna packed in water
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 4 oil-packed anchovies
• ¹/₄ teaspoon ground smoked paprika
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

1. Bake the salad: Heat the oven to 425°F. On a large sheet pan (or two small sheet pans), arrange the radicchio leaves and Brussels sprouts in an even layer, keeping them spread out. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer sheet pan(s) to the oven and roast for 14 to 16 minutes, or until the Brussels sprouts are tender and the radicchio is wilted.
2. Make the tonnato: Meanwhile, combine the tuna, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, anchovies, and paprika in a small food processor or Vitamix. Blend on medium until smooth. (The consistency should be slightly thin and easily spreadable.) Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spoon the tonnato onto a serving plate and use the back of the spoon to create a swoosh. Top with the baked radicchio and Brussels sprouts. Garnish with the crushed cereal.

From Food52.com by Emily Ziemski, https://food52.com/recipes/89172-baked-radicchio-brussels-sprouts-with-tonnato

Arugula Lasagna

1 pound fresh pasta, cooked, or lasagna noodles, prepared as directed on package
¹/₂ cup Gorgonzola cheese
¹/₂ cup milk, divided, plus extra if needed after cooking
²/₃ cup ricotta
¹/₂ cup heavy cream
1 ¹/₂ cups grated fresh pecorino, divided
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
¹/₂ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
12 ounces arugula, plus another handful for garnishing
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for buttering casserole dish
1 garlic clove, minced
¹/₂ cup toasted pine nuts
2 shallots, thinly sliced and sauteed in butter

1. Preheat oven to 325° F.
2. Prepare 9- by 13-inch casserole dish with butter.
3. Mix together Gorgonzola and 1/4 cup milk. Add ricotta, heavy cream, 1/2 cup Pecorino, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
4. Chop the arugula thinly. Reserve about 12 leaves for garnish.
5. Sauté arugula in 2 tablespoons of butter just until wilted. Add minced garlic and sauté for about one minute. Add arugula mixture to cheese mixture.
6. Add 1/4 cup milk to buttered casserole dish. Cover bottom of casserole with 3 homemade or prepared lasagna noodles. Top with a quarter of the cheese and arugula mixture.
7. Continue layering, ending with cheese and arugula mixture.
8. Top with remaining 1 cup Pecorino, pine nuts, arugula leaves, and sautéed shallots.
9. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes. When you remove foil, if corners look dry, add a little milk to each corner.
10. Let lasagna rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with additional fresh arugula, if you’d like.

From Food52.com by Annelle, https://food52.com/recipes/2734-arugula-lasagna