Winter CSA Share #1

Welcome to the 1st share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2025/2026 Winter CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

Lettuce Mix
Radicchio Head – 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 or light cooking can help reduce the bitterness if needed. Click here for some more tips if you think radicchio and chicories bring too much bitter to the table.
Bok Choy
Lacinato Kale
Brussels Sprouts – Pop the 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. Don’t forget to check out the recipe index here on our website if you’re looking for suggestions.
German Butterball Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes – In an effort to prolong their storage life we’re giving these out unwashed. You may want to give them a soak pre-scrubbing. Also, we don’t suggest refrigerating sweet potatoes as their ideal storage temp is between 55 & 60 degrees F.
Carrots
Celery
Yellow & Red Onions
Garlic
Amish Butter Popcorn – You can knock the kernels off the cob and into a paper bag and pop them in the microwave. Most often we’ll use these directions and pop it on the stove top.
Sweet Mama Kabocha Squash – These are sweet and flaky on the inside, great in pie, curries, soups, or just on their own. Want to know more about these winter squash varieties? We’ve got a page on our site for that! Check it out for squash details and recipe ideas.
Dried Apples – We grew them, we harvested them, we dried them.
Persimmons – These are from our neighbor Walt’s persimmon tree and were generously shared by his family. The softer and darker orange the riper they are. Click here for all the persimmon info.

^{It’s time to get back to harvesting vegetables! The weather has been kind and we’ve got radicchio and celery coming out of the field and lettuce from a greenhouse in addition to a plethora of other things. Hurrah for winter vegetables!}

Welcome to the first week of the Winter CSA! We’re excited to kick off our thirteenth winter CSA season and hope you are too! Whether you’re a returning member who is already well versed in seasonal eating or a new member joining us for the first time, we hope you know we’ll be trying our darndest to bring you the best organic vegetables we can grow to each CSA pick-up over the next five months.

As you know already, winter weather can be unpredictable and growing conditions are the most challenging through the winter months. Ice and snow can be game changers. Short cold days mean not much plant growth is happening at the moment so we’re relying on the planning and planting that happened last summer and fall. That’s all to say that while winter may like to keep us on our toes, there will be vegetables to eat and hopefully they’ll include a wide diversity. So far, so good!

^{We managed to finish up the potato harvest ahead of the start of the winter CSA. Nugget made sure we also played plenty of ball.}

Hopefully you’ve been reading the member emails over the past couple of weeks and preparing for the season to begin. (Check your spam or promotions folders if you haven’t been seeing our emails and let us know if you don’t find them there.) By now most of your questions should have been answered by the CSA Member Handbook. Don’t forget, you can find lots of logistics reminders over on the CSA Member Resources page and extra helpful tips and info about vegetables on the Secret Member Resources page.

^{We’ve had all sorts of weather so far this December including plenty of moody, cloudy days.}

In future newsletters I’ll attempt to keep you updated on farm happenings and give you a behind-the-scenes look at where your vegetables are grown. I’ll also always include a few recipes for combinations of that week’s share items. You can find this week’s recipes at the bottom of this post.

Not sure what to do with a vegetable? Looking for more recipe suggestions?

Check out the archive of recipes on our Recipe page that is sorted by vegetable.
Join in the conversation in the P&C CSA Member Facebook group to query fellow members or suggest great recipes of your own.
Check out the vegetable encyclopedia page for storage tips and a rundown of the various types of vegetables we grow each season.

^{We’ve been busy knocking things off the To Do list, but also made sure there was time for Jeff and Nugget to head out for nightly swimming time too.}

It’s time to get back to the CSA routine after our two week break between seasons. We happily took a couple days off and then eased back into it to make headway on some lingering projects. It’s been a good re-set after the constant push of the summer season. Now we’re ready to see what this winter has in store for us!

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

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler & Jeff Bramlett

Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Mixed Chicories with Persimmons

For the Dressing

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
Coarse salt

For the Salad

2 pounds mixed chicories, such as radicchio, Radicchio di Treviso, Palla Rossa, and frisee, torn into 1-inch pieces (18 cups)
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
3 Fuyu persimmons, peeled and cut into ½-inch wedges
¾ cup pomegranate seeds
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Make the dressing: Gradually whisk oil into vinegar in a small bowl. Season with salt.

Make the salad: Toss chicories, walnuts, persimmons, and pomegranate seeds in a large bowl. Add vinaigrette, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

From MarthaStewart.com, https://www.marthastewart.com/857654/mixed-chicories-persimmons

Incredible Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

FYI: I made this for quick breakfasts this past weekend with some roasted kabocha squash we had in the fridge. It was tasty, though I’d likely skip the brown sugar next time because the squash was so sweet to begin with. Also, we skipped the cream cheese glaze but did add in chopped pecans and some dried cranberries. Enjoy! – Carri

For the wet ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (Or, you know, any roasted winter squash. I used kabocha.)
2 eggs
1 ¼ cup (300g) milk of choice
⅓ cup (51g) coconut sugar (or sub brown sugar)
¼ cup (78g) pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the dry ingredients:

2 ½ cups (238g) old fashioned rolled oats, gluten free if desired
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon salt

Optional mix-ins:

Optional, but recommended: ½ cup (56g) chopped pecans

Optional cream cheese glaze:

2 tablespoons softened cream cheese
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 teaspoons milk of choice, to thin glaze

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×9 inch pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, milk of choice, coconut sugar, pure maple syrup, and vanilla until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients: oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined, then fold in chopped pecans, if using.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 35-45 mins or until the edges are slightly golden brown and the middle is set. Allow to cool for 10 minutes while you make the optional cream cheese glaze, if using.

In a small bowl, whisk together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk until smooth. Drizzle over the baked oatmeal and top with additional chopped pecans, if desired. Cut into slices and enjoy! Serves 6-8.

From AmbitiousKitchen.com, https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/pumpkin-baked-oatmeal/

Tuscan Ribollita

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
¹/₈ teaspoon red pepper flakes (up to 1/4 teaspoon, depending on how spicy you like it)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bunch Tuscan kale (about 10 ounces), stems and tough center ribs removed, leaves chopped
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock, chicken stock, or water
4 sprigs thyme
1 Parmesan rind
1 bay leaf
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cubed day-old or stale bread
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

In a large wide pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes, until partially softened. Season with salt and black pepper. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Stir in the kale and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes, until it starts to wilt. Add the diced tomatoes, stock, thyme, Parmesan rind, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer.
Pour about one-quarter of the beans into a small bowl with a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid and mash them together with a fork to form a paste. Pour the paste and the remaining whole beans into the soup and stir to combine. The mashed beans will help to thicken the soup as it cooks. Simmer the soup with the lid slightly ajar for about 25 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but still al dente. Add the bread and simmer, partially covered, for another 5 to 7 minutes, until the bread starts to dissolve into the soup and thickens it further.
Before serving, remove the thyme, Parmesan rind, and bay leaf. Season with salt and black pepper. Spoon the ribollita into bowls and top with the Parmesan and a drizzle of oil.

From Food52.com by Sonali AKA The Foodie Physician, https://food52.com/recipes/19737-tuscan-ribollita