Welcome to the 10th, and final, share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2025/2026 Winter CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Lettuce Mix
• Spinach
• Cabbage
• Overwintered Cauliflower
• Radishes – Check out the Radish Greens Soup recipe we’re sharing down in the recipe section of this post. It was shared by a member (Thanks Scott G.!) and comes to us highly recommended.
• Parsnips or Sweet Potatoes – We’re clearing out the winter roots and didn’t have quite enough of either of these for a share item, so you get to choose.
• 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.
• Beets
• German Butterball Potatoes
• Mixed Small Onions – 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. That’s to say, eat your alliums before they sprout because spring is here.
• Leeks – Some of these leeks include the elongated center scape that would eventually open into a leek flower. At this stage they can be used like leeks, diced up for a little leek flavor.
• Tetsukabuto Winter Squash – A rare cross between butternut and kabocha = the best of both worlds!
• Polenta – We grow a flint corn called Cascade Ruby Gold that grinds partially into flour and partially into polenta when milled. This week we’re sharing polenta and last time we shared the flour. You can use this polenta in recipes calling for uncooked polenta or corn grits like this one or this one. We like to cook it in our rice cooker at a 1 cup polenta to 3 cups water ratio. It’s even better if you stir in some butter and cheese once cooked. We’ve heard from members that the rice setting on an instant pot works too.
• Popcorn – These are kernels from the smallest and wonkiest cobs of popcorn we grew last year. You might notice a slightly decreased ratio of popped kernels from this round of popcorn. You can put some in a paper bag and pop them in the microwave. Most often we’ll use these directions and pop it on the stove top.
• Dried Apples – Wanting to extend the dried apple train we purchased some apples from Washington through the 4 Seasons Farmers Market store just down the highway. They are certified organic Fujis and dried by us.

Many thanks for joining us this season. We hope you enjoyed the past five months of local, seasonal eating. The weeks since we started back in December have flown by and it’s hard to believe we’re already wrapping up another season. Every winter is different and we never know how it’s going to unfold when we begin. Somehow it all came together for another vegetable-filled Winter season.

We’ll see most of you the first (or second for some biweekly members) week of June for the start of the Summer CSA season and we hope to see everyone again next winter. We’ll be sure to reach out to all of you in late summer when we’re ready to sign-up members for next year’s Winter CSA.

Since we last met we’ve been keeping busy attempting to stay on schedule between rain storms. We transplanted the first summer lettuce, spinach, kohlrabi, fennel, and beets plus half the onions before getting rained out last week. We then shifted focus to weed whacking in orchards (Jeff) and potting up eggplant in the prop house (Carri). There was also carrot and beet weeding in a greenhouse, pea and tomato trellising and weeding, garlic and onion cultivating, and more seed starting that all got done. Whew!

With the last Winter CSA harvest finished we’re now looking ahead to the Summer CSA and the work that needs to happen before it begins. Although we will be taking a break from harvesting for the next five weeks we’ve got plenty of other things to keep us busy. There’s ground to prep, transplants to plant, seeds to sow, grass to mow, potatoes to plant, peas and tomatoes to trellis again, crops to cultivate, and the list goes on.

Thanks again for joining us for this past winter of vegetables! We couldn’t do this without you and we’re routinely humbled by your willingness to sign on to this adventure in eating. Thanks for letting us grow your food!

Enjoy the vegetables and we’ll see Summer CSA members in June!

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler & Jeff Bramlett

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Radish Greens Soup

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice 
• 2 bunches radish greens (about 2 cups), cleaned 
• 6 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into1/2-inch dice 
• 4 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 
• 5 radishes, zested 
• Chervil, for garnish 

In a medium stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in onions, and saute until transparent, about 4 minutes. Add radish greens, and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken stock, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 35 minutes.

Working in batches, pass the mixture through a food mill into a medium bowl. Stir in cream, and season with salt and pepper. Strain the pureed mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the original pot. Bring soup just to a simmer over medium heat. Serve garnished with radish zest and chervil.

From RealFarmer.ca by Martha Stewart, https://www.realfarmer.ca/radish-greens-soup/

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Leeks & Spinach

• 2 Large Idaho potatoes, scrubbed
• 4 Leeks, washed well and chopped into 1 inch pieces, white and light green parts only
• 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 ounce very sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cup baby spinach, rough chopped
• 2 teaspoon Fresh thyme leaves, or other herb of your choice, finely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoon Greek yogurt (optional)salt and pepper to taste

Bake potato in 400 degree oven for about an hour, until the the potato flesh is soft and cooked through.

Saute leeks in olive oil with salt and pepper until they are softened and somewhat caramelized. Add spinach and continue to saute till spinach is wilted. Place in casserole dish with butter, about 3/4 of the cheese, herbs, and yogurt or creme fraiche if using.

Scoop potato flesh into casserole. ( Reserve skin as desired to eat separately.) Mix well, but quickly so that potato doesn’t become gummy. Taste and season as desired. Top with reserved cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes till warmed through and cheese on top is bubbly and slightly browned.

From Food52.com by drbabs, https://food52.com/recipes/3027-cheesy-mashed-potatoes-with-leeks-spinach

Fresh Herb Polenta with Parsnip Chips and Maple Butter

Polenta

• 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
• 1 cup (240 ml) water, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 cup (120 g) fine polenta

Parsnip chips, maple butter, and topping

• 3 cup sunflower oil, plus more as needed
• 7 ounce (200 g) peeled parsnips, very thinly sliced on a mandoline
• 1 pinch fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoon (30 g) unsalted butter
• 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup (up to 1 tablespoon as needed)
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (up to 2 teaspoons as needed)
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves (up to 2 teaspoons as needed)
• 1 pinch finely ground black pepper, plus more as needed

For the polenta, bring the milk, water, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Take the pan off the heat, add the olive oil and polenta, and whisk until combined. Place the saucepan over the lowest heat setting and cook the polenta like a risotto, stirring occasionally and adding a little more water whenever the polenta starts to thicken, for 10 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Cover and set aside.Step 2

For the parsnip chips, cover the bottom of a large, heavy sauté pan generously with sunflower oil and place over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, in batches, arrange the parsnip slices, side by side, in the pan and fry for a few seconds per side or until golden and crispy. Lower the heat if they brown too quickly. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season to taste with salt. Repeat with the remaining parsnip, adding more oil if necessary. Step 3

For the maple butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter starts sizzling, add ½ tablespoon of the maple syrup and whisk until smooth. Season to taste with additional maple syrup.Step 4

Divide the polenta among the bowls and drizzle with the maple butter. Arrange the parsnip chips on top, sprinkle with a little rosemary and thyme, and season to taste with pepper. Serve immediately.

From Food52.com by Meike Peters | eat in my kitchen, https://food52.com/recipes/81662-fresh-herb-polenta-with-parsnip-chips-and-maple-butter