Welcome to the 4th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2025/2026 Winter CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• 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.
• Baby Bok Choy
• Spinach
• Savoy Cabbage
• 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.
• Huckleberry Gold 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.
• Beets – It’s roasted root season and roasted beets are delicious.
• Celery Root (aka Celeriac) – A tasty root that lands somewhere on the vegetable continuum between potato and celery. It’s great in any dish you’d use potatoes and pairs well with them too. They’re difficult to peel, so we usually just square off the edges with a sharp knife for cubing. Note: Over the years we’ve heard from two members who have had allergic reactions to celeriac. The internet suggests that 6% of the general population have a celery/celeriac sensitivity and that cooking it may not trigger the allergy. This is just to say that if you’re new to celeriac you might want to ease into it slowly, and skip it if you have a known celery allergen.
• Bunching Onions
• Yellow & Red Onions
• Garlic
• Baby Blue Hubbard or Winter Sweet Kabocha Squash
• Dried Apples – We grew them, we harvested them, we dried them.

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

Past members can find a link to the sign-up form in their email and we’ll be opening it up to new members on Jan. 31st. After opening sign-ups to previous members on Jan. 15th we’re now 82% full for the upcoming season so reserve your spot now if you know you want to join us this summer. – (Many thanks to those who have already signed-on for the upcoming season. We appreciate your enthusiasm and support!)

I think the story of the past couple of weeks since we last were here is frost and freezing mornings and bright sunny afternoons. What a lovely close out to January. You can’t deny it’s winter when you wake up to frost blanketing the world and temps in the low 30s or even 20s. Plus there’s no sense in rushing outside in the morning if everything is frozen. This is the sort of winter weather we like. No snow and ice and wind that all can wreak havoc on greenhouses. Looking at the upcoming forecast, we may be in for a change on the rain front though.

It’s been another couple of weeks full of winter projects, but somehow few photos to document them again. There are baby starts growing up in the propagation house on the heat tables that will be transplanted in February for harvesting fresh greens in March and April. All the trucks and tractors got oil changes. Progress was made in last season’s tomato greenhouse to remove trellising, the first step in clearing the space for spring planting. Afternoons were spent hoeing grass out of the garlic beds before it gets too established. And Jeff did a lot of weed whacking to clean up the orchards.

As the calendar flips to February things will begin to get busier around here. Soon we’ll be starting tomatoes and onions and peppers and the heat tables in the prop house will fill up. We’ll likely be getting to some orchard pruning. We’ll finish clearing the grass from the garlic and overwintering onions. Greenhouses will get cleaned out and readied for new crops. And there’s more winter machine maintenance to get done. Winter already feels fleeting.

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:

Kabocha Fried Rice

• Neutral oil, for cooking
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• Salt, to taste
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and diced
• 1 pound (about 3 cups) peeled kabocha cubes
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 4 cup cooked long-grain rice, cooled
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 handful chopped scallions
• Chile oil, for serving (optional)

Step 1 Set a wok or large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the shallot slices and fry until golden brown, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer the shallots to a paper-towel-lined plate. Season with salt.

Step 2 Using the same skillet with the remaining oil, sauté the shiitake mushrooms over medium heat until fragrant and browned, about 3 minutes, adding more oil along the way if the pan looks dry.

Step 3 Add the kabocha and toss in the oil (you can add more oil if needed). Arrange the cubes to sit in a single layer. Pan-fry, flipping occasionally, until the kabocha is starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Pour in the vegetable stock and cover the skillet with a lid. Cook until the kabocha is fork-tender and the stock is fully absorbed, about 3 minutes. Transfer about half of the kabocha to a plate.

Step 4 Add the rice to the pan. Stir in the soy sauce. Toss until the rice is coated, using the back of a spatula to press and break apart any rice clumps. Taste and season with more salt or soy sauce if needed.

Step 5 Fold in most of the fried shallots and scallions and turn off the heat. Garnish with the reserved kabocha and remaining fried shallots and scallions. Serve with a side of chile oil, if you’d like.

From Food52.com by WoonHeng Chia, https://food52.com/recipes/86754-kabocha-fried-rice-recipe

Moo Goo Gai Pan

Chicken Marinade & Sauce:

• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons Shaoxing cooking wine, divided
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup white rice wine
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

Stir-Fry:

• 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (about 20 grams)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 1/2 cup (226 grams/4 ounces) shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced
• 1 1/2 cup (160 grams) coarsely chopped or sliced baby bok choy
• 1 1/2 cup (120 grams) snow peas, strings removed
• 1 cup (60 grams/2 ounces) torn oyster mushrooms
• Kosher salt
• Cooked rice, for serving

Chicken Marinade & Sauce:

Step 1 In a medium bowl, whisk 3 tablespoons of the Shaoxing wine, 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce, and the pepper to combine. Slice the chicken, removing any excess fat, and toss the chicken in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Step 2 While the chicken is marinating, in a small bowl, whisk the water, rice wine, oyster sauce, and the remaining ¼ cup of the Shaoxing wine, 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce; set aside.

Stir-Fry:

Step 1 In a large wok or pot over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil until hot and shimmering. Cook the chicken (leaving the marinade behind), tossing, for 3 to 5 minutes, until just cooked through.

Step 2 Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic, ginger, and sesame oil and cook, stirring, for 5 to 6 minutes, until softened and fragrant. Add the shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, snow peas, and oyster mushrooms, and cook, tossing, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the mushrooms have shrunk and the bok choy and snap peas are tender but still have some crunch.

Step 3 Return the chicken and resting juices to the wok. Stir the sauce once more and add to the wok. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until thickened and glossy. Season to taste.

Step 4 Remove from the heat and serve with the rice.

From Food52.com by Genevieve Yam, https://food52.com/recipes/87264-best-moo-goo-gai-pan-recipe

Sheet-Pan Pasta with Brussels Sprouts & Garlicky Walnut Crumbs

• 1 pound pasta, such as penne or casarecce
• 2 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 1/2 pound Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered depending on size
• 1 large red onion (about 3/4 pound), thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoon water
• 6 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino
• 1 tablespoon juice plus the finely grated zest from 1 lemon (zest before juicing!)
• 8 ounce fresh whole-milk mozzarella, torn into bite-sized pieces

Step 1 Heat oven to 425°F.

Step 2 Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt and pasta; cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup water, then drain the pasta.

Step 3 On a sheet pan, toss the Brussels sprouts and red onion in 3 tablespoons olive oil and 3 tablespoons water (this creates a steam-roasting effect that’s great for Brussels sprouts!). Season well with salt and pepper. Spread in a single, even layer. Roast until crisp-tender and starting to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 4 Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss together panko, walnuts, red pepper flakes, garlic, pecorino, and lemon zest.

Step 5 Remove the sheet pan from the oven, and toss the Brussels sprouts and onions with the cooked pasta, 1/3 cup cooking water, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and a few big pinches of salt and pepper. (Add a splash or two more of the cooking water if the pasta seems dry.) Taste and adjust the seasoning and lemon juice. Scatter the breadcrumbs evenly over the top, then the mozzarella.

Step 6 Bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer until the crumbs are browned and mozzarella is melted. Serve warm.

From Food52.com by EmilyC, https://food52.com/recipes/84984-sheet-pan-pasta-recipe-with-brussels-sprouts-garlic-walnuts