Week #2, May 30/31, 2019

Biscuits with green garlic.  Make your favorite biscuit recipe, but add lots of sliced scallions or green garlic. 

Food as love

Our daughter Sophie came home from college for a week before starting a summer internship in Minneapolis.  This is her first summer living away from home. Her visit fell during my busiest week, as we prepared for the first CSA delivery.  My head was spinning with all the details.  After watching us race around, she offered to cook dinner, a throwback to our ‘Wednesday night challenge.’  A few years ago, I challenged Sophie and Ari to cook dinner every Wednesday night.  Actually, it was a command.  On Wednesday, I am busy getting ready for the CSA pack and don’t have time for much else.  The kids were young teens but they took this seriously, making lasagne and other sophisticated meals.  Our kids know how to cook, and have been kitchen helpers since they were young.

For dinner, Sophie made us green garlic biscuits, turkey sausages and a huge mixed lettuce, spinach and arugula salad.  I was thrilled for the help and pleased with her competence.  During her school break this past winter, we sat down with my recipe folder and picked out favorites, choosing a list of 15 recipes she wants to learn.  We accomplished a dozen before calling it quits.  The fridge was stuffed with food and we were sick of cooking.

During the current visit, we added a few more favorites to her repertoire, including Penne with Spinach and Green Garlic.  Tonight, this became the first meal she cooked at her new home in Minneapolis!  The night before leaving, she regretted that we didn’t have time to make her favorite Rhubarb Pudding Cake so I got up early and baked one to send with her when she left.  She wasn’t going to starve on the drive with a rhubarb cake in the car.

Food is central to our family life, so it’s not surprising that I mother my kids with food.  I bet some of you do too.  Beth

Rhubarb Custard Cake, so good warm from the oven.  I’ll type up my recipe and post it in the Facebook page this week.

Sophie’s Penne with Spinach and Green Garlic, with chicken sausages mixed in.

Sophie and Beth (with Steve and Ari off-camera) at our favorite restaurant because it’s OK to eat out sometimes too.

Speaking of food love …

You folks have posted so many amazing dishes and recipes on our Facebook discussion page!  I am in awe, but have been too busy to chime in.  I counted at least 15 rhubarb recipes plus loads of vegetable dishes.  It’s a closed Facebook group, just for our CSA membership.  Go here to join.  Take a look at last week’s posts; many will be useful with this week’s produce.

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
Week #2, 5/30/19
– Weekly shares
– Every-other-week/ green group

Asparagus, ~1 lb
Bok choy, 1 large
Spinach, 1 bunch
Button mushrooms, 12 oz
Red leaf lettuce
Arugula, 1 small bunch
Salad radishes, 1 bunch
Green garlic, 1 bunch
Rhubarb, 1.5 lb

Next week’s box will probably contain asparagus, spinach, escarole, shiitake mushrooms, white salad turnips, Romaine lettuce, scallions.

See last week’s newsletter for storage and cooking information for these vegetables:
Asparagus, spinach, lettuce, arugula, salad radishes, green garlic, rhubarb

Asparagus – This week’s asparagus is from our farm and from LOTFOTL Farm in Elkhorn, run by our friends Tim Huth and April Yuds.  Tim is managing an organic asparagus field that’s larger than they need, and that they don’t have enough helpers to pick.  Our asparagus is less productive this year because of Japanese beetle attacks last summer.  We have the perfect joint solution; Steve, Karen and Kristin went down this week and harvested the asparagus, to deliver to you folks.  This week’s delivery is about half our crop and half LOTFOTL.

Bok choy (large rosette with thick white stems and green leaves) – This Asian green is good for stir-frying or sautéing or in soup.  You can think of the stems and leaves as two separate vegetables.  The stems require longer cooking.  The leaves will cook almost as quickly as spinach.  Bok choy stores well, so feel free to pull off leaves as you need them, or use the whole head at once.  Refrigerate in a plastic bag or other container.

Button mushrooms – These organic mushrooms are from Hidden Valley Mushrooms from Wisconsin Dells.  We bring in mushrooms from Mary every spring, because I think they combine so perfectly with our spring vegetables, for salads, quiches, etc.  
Storage: Here are Mary’s suggestions for storing the mushrooms:
– Store separate from leafy greens, which hasten mushroom aging.  
– If storing for more than a few days, remove from the box and store in a paper bag with holes punched in the side.  Keep dry.  
– Don’t wash to clean, just wipe with a damp cloth.

Storage Tip – Rhubarb

Rhubarb is so easy to freeze for later use in muffins, cakes, stewed rhubarb, etc.  Wash and dry your rhubarb stalks.  Chop into the size pieces you want.  Put in a freezer bag or container and place in the freezer.

That’s it!  No blanching, no need to spread on a cookie sheet.  The frozen chunks will stick together but are easy to break apart by slapping the bag of frozen rhubarb against your counter.

RECIPES

Visit our 2019 Recipe Log or our 2018 Recipe Log or join our Facebook discussion group.

LOCAL THYME/ Comforting Classics
Rhubarb Cream Scones
Asparagus Mimosa with Radishes, Capers, and Green Garlic Vinaigrette
Bok Choy and Tofu Fried Rice with Sesame Oil
Tortellini en Brodo

LOCAL THYME/ Outside the Box Recipes
Rhubarb Butter Glazed Bok Choy and Radish
Miso Roasted Asparagus
Coconut Curry Glass Noodle Soup with Bok Choy, Mushrooms, Radish and Chicken or Tofu
Roasted Trout, Radishes, and Asparagus on Wilted Spinach and Radish Greens

LOCAL THYME/ Quick & Easy Meal
Spinach, Arugula, and Radish Salad with Feta and Tuna or Chickpeas

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

MIDWEST BOK CHOY RAMEN SALAD
Takes 15 minutes.
Serves 2-4.

1 head bok choy, sliced thinly (stems and greens)
1 bunch radishes, greens removed, cut into matchsticks
2 green garlic, white and pale green parts, minced
1/2 cup roasted and salted cashews, roughly chopped
1/4 cup white or black sesame seeds (or a mixture)
Noodles from 1 package of beef ramen

Dressing:
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
Flavor packet from 1 package of beef ramen
Pinch Kosher salt

1. In a large bowl, combine bok choy, radishes, green garlic, cashews, sesame seeds and ramen noodles. Toss to combine.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients until smooth and uniform. Pour over bok choy mixture and stir well to evenly coat. Let sit 15 minutes before eating.

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MUSHROOMS & “LOTS OF GREENS” SHEET PAN QUICHE
Inspired by Smitten Kitchen
Because this is a sheet pan quiche, it’s a little trickier to use store bought pie crust.  I promise you that following the techniques below, you can make pie crust from scratch, but if you really don’t want to or don’t have the time, you could do this quiche in two store-bought frozen 9″ pie crusts.  Trader Joe’s has really stellar frozen pie crust!  You can also go crustless entirely and just make a delicious egg bake in a well-greased pan.

Takes 1 hour, 45 minutes if making the crust from scratch (much of it inactive) or 45 minutes with store-bought (or no) crust.
Serves 12-16.

Pie Crust:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup water
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
2 green garlics, white and pale green parts only, minced
12 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
2-3 cups arugula, roughly chopped
2-3 cups spinach, roughly chopped
2-3 cups radish greens, roughly chopped
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cups whole milk
6 large eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

1. Begin preparing your crust (if you plan to make it; if you don’t skip to step #8). Cut the butter into small cubes and place in the freezer until ready to use. Fill measuring cup with 1 cup cold water and place in the freezer.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. If you have a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt in there. This is my favorite way to make pie crust and it whips up in a snap!
3. Add butter to bowl and use your fingers to incorporate the butter into the flour (or add it to the food processor and pulse until the butter is mostly broken up). You will pinch the butter cubes into smaller pieces until they are about the size of peas and uniformly incorporated. Some pieces of butter will be small and some will be larger; that’s absolutely fine!
4. Remove†the water from the freezer and pour in half. Use a rubber spatula to press the dough together. If it’s still dry (it likely will be) continue to add water until the dough comes together. You may need to knead with your hands a little bit. (Here is where a food processor comes in great, turn the food processor on as you pour in about 3/4 cup of water and just leave it running until the dough begins to come together. It should take about 30 seconds, add a little more water if it seems to not be coming together).
5. Wrap pie dough in plastic wrap and place in freezer for 20 minutes or in the fridge overnight.
6. Remove dough from the freezer and roll out to an approximately 12×16-inch rectangle. Carefully, fold it in half and then in half again. Move the dough to a 10×14-inch baking sheet and unfold. Press gently into pan. Remove any excess dough from the edges. Prick the crust with a fork and place pan in the freezer.
7. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and while you wait for it to preheat, begin slicing your mushrooms and chopping your greens!
8. Once the oven is preheated, line your pie crust with foil and fill with pie weights (or dried beans or rice you don’t plan to cook). Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake 5 minutes longer. If using store-bought crust, follow package directions for pre-baking.
9. While the crust bakes, melt the butter for the filling in a large, deep saute pan (the larger the better, you’re going to be throwing a lot of greens in here– if you don’t have a large saute pan use a soup kettle) over medium low heat. Add the green garlic and cook for a couple minutes until fragrant. Add mushrooms and saute until soft, about 10 minutes more. Add all the greens, water, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to your pan. Saute until the greens are well wilted.
10. In a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the milk and whisk until smooth. Add the eggs, two at a time, again whisking until smooth after each addition. Stir in sauteed mushrooms and greens along with the cheeses.
11. Pour filling into the prepared, prebaked crust and bake until filling is set, about 30 minutes.

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Week #1. Let’s get started!

Simone leads a windswept rhubarb harvest, while she and Raul (back, right) train new employees.  Our training program is simple.  We pair new employees with experienced folks, and have them work side-by-side.  There are so many details when you grow 40 crops and 400 varieties.  We are fortunate to have enough returning employees to outnumber the new people 2:1.  That eases bringing new people on board during the spring rush.

First Delivery!

Welcome to our CSA!  Deliveries begin this week for:
– Weekly members,
– Every-other-week/ purple group
– Sampler/ moon group
Go here to check the delivery schedule for other shares.

Things you need to know.

♦  We post this newsletter/blog each Wednesday night, with a list of veggies for the week, quantities, information about storage and preparation, news of the farm, recipes, and a forecast for the next week’s box.  We alert you by email on Wednesday night once the newsletter is posted and ready to read.
♦  Want earlier notice of what will be in the box?  Check the sidebar on our website homepage around 7 p.m. on Wednesday night.  I’ll post the list under “Box Contents.”  I also provide a tentative list for the following week in the Veggie List section of this newsletter.  The next week’s list is rarely complete but the items listed are ones we feel confident about.
♦  EOW, sampler and weekly members, we assume you read all the newsletters, even on your “off” weeks.  This newsletter (and our emails to you) are our means to communicate with you.
♦  The first few boxes of the season are often the lightest.  EOW members, do not worry that you have signed up for the wrong share!   Our deliveries get heavier and more abundant as the season progresses.
♦  We will sometimes write “OR” in the produce list, e.g. green leaf OR red bibb lettuce.  You will receive one of these crops.  All the boxes at each site are identical; we pack the same crops for all the members at each site.  Please don’t open other members’ boxes.
♦  Wash your produce well this week to remove grit.  It has rained a lot lately, driving grit into the asparagus and anything that forms a head (lettuce, arugula, spinach).  Our crew took extra care with washing but expect to wash everything.  You should always wash your produce!
♦  On Thursday, we deliver CSA boxes to Evansville, Fitchburg, Madison, McFarland, Middleton, Oregon and Verona.
♦  On Friday, we deliver CSA boxes to Brookfield, Janesville, Mequon, Milwaukee, Waukesha and Wauwatosa.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes
May 23/24, 2019 (Th/Fri sites)

Asparagus, 0.6 lb
Spinach, 1 big bunch, ~1.5 lb
Green leaf lettuce, 1
Arugula, 1 bunch
Salad radishes, 1 big bunch
Green garlic, 1 bunch
‘Goldrush’ russet potatoes, ~3 1/2 lb
Rhubarb, ~2 lb

Next week’s box will probably contain asparagus, spinach, button mushrooms, lettuce,  green garlic, bok choy, salad radishes, and rhubarb.

Asparagus – The asparagus is growing slowly because of the chilly weather, especially the cold nights.
Enjoy this spring treat!  Your asparagus will be green or purple.  The purple variety turns dark green when cooked.  Its flavor is almost identical to normal green asparagus.  Wash your asparagus thoroughly to remove hidden grit.  Submerge in water with the tips pointing down, soak briefly, then swish vigorously and pull out of the water.  The draining action helps pull the grit out of the asparagus tips.  Repeat several times.
Storage: Asparagus is perishable, so eat it as soon as possible.  Store in a paper towel, cloth or paper bag, then wrap loosely in a plastic bag.  The paper bag protects the asparagus tips from direct contact with the plastic bag.  The plastic bag keeps the asparagus from wilting.
Preparation: We snap our asparagus at harvest, rather than cutting.  Therefore, there is no need to snap the stalks to remove fibrous ends.  For the same reason, it is not necessary to peel the asparagus stalks.  It’s OK to trim the cut end a bit.
Cooking:  If your asparagus stalks vary greatly in size, you will want to cook the thicker ones longer.  Put an empty steamer pot over water, and bring the water to a boil.  Add the asparagus.  Cover and steam over medium heat until just tender.  Use two forks or a spatula to turn the asparagus during cooking, rotating the bottom spears to the top.  Drain and serve.  Alternatively, you can lay spears flat in the bottom of a broad pan, with ½ inch of water.  Also excellent broiled or grilled.  Good dressed with vinaigrette, or with lime juice, salt and pepper.

Lettuce and spinach – Wash your greens to remove grit splashed into the heads by rain.  Cut to the size you like, submerge in water, swish gently, then pull from the water and drain in a colander.  Some weeks, you will need to repeat in fresh water.  I find it useful to use a kitchen tub for this job, so you don’t have to run an entire sink of water.
Storage hint – To extend the storage life of your tender greens, wash them, dry in a salad spinner, then store in a dry container or bag.  Lettuce, spinach and arugula last much longer when handled this way.

Arugula – (bunch of green leaves with pungent scent) – This is a spring treat!  Arugula is good mixed with lettuce or spinach in salads, or added to cooked dishes such as lasagne or quiche.  I love it on sandwiches.  This arugula is thin-leaved and tender and will not store for long.  Eat soon.  Cover and refrigerate.

Salad radishes – These are so good right now; tender, crisp and not too spicy.  They are great in salads or thinly sliced on sandwiches.  A few years ago, I was served open-faced radish and butter sandwiches on toast and was impressed with how tasty they were.  Use good quality butter.
Storage: cover and refrigerate.

Green garlic (looks like scallions, tastes like garlic) – Last fall, we planted garlic cloves that grew into the stalks we harvested this week.  If left to grow until mid-summer, the slim white bulb on this week’s garlic will divide and form the usual cluster of cloves in a garlic bulb.  This year’s green garlic is robust.
Preparation: Green garlic is more pungent than scallions, so slice thinly and use sparingly when raw.  It mellows when cooked.  Chop and add to any cooked dish that would benefit from garlic.  Use the white bulbs and pale green stems.  Avoid the dark green stems and leaves, as these are fibrous.

‘Goldrush’ russet potatoes –  Please refrigerate these potatoes.  They are in great shape now but will sprout within days if stored at room temperature.  They’ve been stored all winter and want to grow.  Store in a paper bag to protect from light, even in the fridge.  We grow everything we send in our CSA boxes except potatoes and mushrooms, both of which we buy from organic growers that we trust.  We purchased these potatoes from Jesse Perkins at Vermont Valley Farm.  ‘Goldrush’ are good all-around potatoes with outstanding flavor.  With the predicted weather this weekend, you might want to make potato salad!  Jesse says the potatoes have a higher sugar content because of starch to sugar conversion during cold storage.  The potatoes taste a bit sweet, and will blacken slightly when fried.  It’s a harmless color change due to the sugar conversion.

Rhubarb – Refrigerate in a plastic bag.  FYI, 2 lb of rhubarb yields 6 – 6.5 cups when chopped.
Stewed rhubarb:  This is the simplest way to prepare rhubarb.  Chop rhubarb into one inch chunks.  Stir over medium heat with a small amount of water in the bottom of the pan.  The rhubarb will release moisture as it cooks.  Stew until it softens and falls apart.  Sweeten to taste with honey or sugar.  Eat warm on its own, over vanilla ice cream, on pancakes, etc.

Recipes from chef Pat Mulvey at Local Thyme

Comforting Classics
Quinoa Salad with Spinach, Radishes, and Green Garlic Dressing
Turkey, Arugula and Cranberry (or rhubarb) Chutney Wraps
Rhubarb Sorbetto
How to make a great salad

Outside the Box Recipes
Velvety Lemon Pasta with Spinach
Green Garlic Arugula Pistachio Pesto
Caramelized Rhubarb
Spinach Salad with Rhubarb Vinaigrette

Quick and Easy Recipe
Hummus, Radish, Spinach and Arugula Pesto Wraps

Recipes from Lauren

SPRING NICOISE SALAD

Takes 45 minutes
Serves 4

4 eggs
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into rough 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon Kosher salt plus more for seasoning
Lettuce, washed and cut into rough pieces
Arugula
1/2 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces, steamed
2 5.5-ounce cans Italian or Spanish tuna, packed in olive oil, drained and shredded
2-4 radishes, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup favorite olive, preferably kalamata or nicoise, optional
Freshly ground black pepper

Creamy Green Garlic Dressing:
3 green garlic, white and pale green part only, minced
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3/4 cup olive oil

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Carefully lower eggs into water using a slotted spoon. Cook for 9 minutes. Remove to an ice bath for a couple minutes so they are easy to peel.
2. Refill pot 1/2 full with water along with 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and boil for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork but not beginning to fall apart.
3. While cooking, peel and slice hard-boiled eggs.
4. Whisk together green garlic, vinegar and mustard together in a small bowl until smooth. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking mixture until dressing becomes emulsified (thick and creamy).
5. When ready to serve, combine lettuce and arugula into four bowls. Top with eggs, potatoes, steamed asparagus, tuna, radishes, capers, and olive oil. Drizzle with dressing and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

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SPINACH, RADISH & GREEN GARLIC DIP
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Takes 30 minutes
Serves many

2 tablespoons butter
2 green garlic, white and pale green parts only, minced
1 bunch radishes, roots shredded and greens, roughly chopped
Spinach, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
8-ounce cream cheese
2 ounces Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add garlic and saute for 1 minutes over medium heat until very fragrant. Add radishes and cook, tossing, until well-coated in butter, 1-2 minutes longer. Add spinach and radish greens along with salt. Cook until wilted and most of the liquid is cooked off., 5-10 minutes. Add cream cheese and cook until melted. Stir in Parmesan and pepper until melted and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings.
2. Serve warm with toast, in a bread bowl or with crackers.

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Forward motion

Spring farm awards

We are making progress here.  Let’s recognize our outstanding players.

AWARD: Best posture
AWARD: Cutest hats

Scallions win two awards!  Each ‘hat’ is a seed coat stuck to the tip of the plant’s first leaf.  So stylish!

AWARD: Beauty Queen/King

‘Red Sails’ lettuce wins the beauty contest every year for her gorgeous speckled leaves and green to red shading.  We coddle these babies, nurture them in the field and … then we eat them.  This lettuce will be in the first or second CSA box.

AWARD: Favorite place on the farm

Hands down, it’s greenhouse #1.  The thermostat is set to 74 degrees but the greenhouse warms to the mid-80’s on a sunny day.  We’ve got two greenhouses in operation now.  For a cooler place to eat lunch, greenhouse #2 is perfect, set to a pleasant mid-60’s.

AWARD: Most welcome

These tiny crocuses are the first flowers each spring.  They’re in a sunny, warm spot in our yard.

AWARD: Most perseverant

It’s a tie!  Both these plants shrug off cold winters.
At left, even a little sunshine gets the moss growing.
At right, brilliant rhubarb buds emerge even when there’s snow on the ground.

AWARD: Most displaced holiday

We celebrated Easter very early this year, while our daughter was home from college.  Left, Steve hides eggs in my flower garden.  The farm has many hiding places; egg hunts are epic in length.  The eggs at right are dyed with red cabbage (blue eggs) or onion skins (brown eggs).  Steve jokes that we should hide the afikoman matzoh, and celebrate Passover early too.

It’s time to sign up for your CSA share!

Our shares are selling quickly this year.
– New members, go here to enroll. 
– If you were a Tipi CSA member in the past, enroll here.

Storage share, November 15/16, 2018

We are ready to wrap up this season.  Then we’ll enjoy the winter, with lots of cooking, ice skating and skiing (we hope!) before beginning to plot next year.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Beth & Steve

Storage Share this week

Take one box labelled “A” and one box labelled “B”.

Things you need to know about your winter share

* Your delivery will consist of two different boxes, labeled “A” and “B”.  Take one “A” box and one “B” box.  The boxes contain different vegetables.
* Please pick up your boxes on the day of delivery, during the normal hours for your site.
* Outpost members, pick up your boxes on Friday.  This is the busiest weekend of the year for the Outpost staff, so they WILL NOT hold boxes past Friday, nor can they handle special requests.
* Members at unheated sites, please replace the blankets carefully.  That keeps everyone’s produce in good shape.
* The boxes are heavy!  Bring lots of bags to take your produce home.

Veggie List and Storage Info (Storage share, Nov. 15/16, 2018)

We hope you enjoy this shipment of veggies.  Strategize to use them well, as some will last longer than others. 
* These are the most perishable vegetables: kale, cauliflower, Romanesco.
* These are the next-most perishable: Brussels sprouts, cabbage, leeks, turnips and onions.  Keep an eye on your butternut, potatoes and sweet potatoes.  The last two are susceptible to drying out.  Expect the largest butternuts to last the longest.
* These will last the longest: Beauty Heart radish, beets, carrots, celeriac, garlic, parsnips.

Box “A”
Refrigerate everything in this box.

Beauty Heart winter radishes, ~1.5 lb
Beets, 3 lb
Brussels sprouts, on stalk
Carrots, 6 lb total
….. orange ~4.6 lb
….. yellow ~1.5 lb
Celeriac, 1
Green cabbage, 1 medium
Kale
Leeks, ~1 lb
Parsnips, 2.5 lb
Turnips, a few
Mixed Romanesco and purple or green or white cauliflower, 3 – 4 lb total

Box “B”
The Brussels sprouts and onions need refrigeration.  Everything else in this box can be stored cool or at room temperature.  See notes below for more detail.

More Brussels sprouts stalks
Butternut squash, 6 – 7 lb
Garlic, 2 beautiful bulbs
Potatoes, Amarosa fingerlings, 2 lb
Potatoes, russet, 5 lb
Potatoes, Satina, 5 lb
Sweet potatoes, ~10 – 11 lb
Onions, 5 lb total
….. ~1.5 lb red
….. ~3.5 lb yellow

Beauty Heart radishes (round, white with pale green shoulders and bright pink interior) – Refrigerate.  The interior color is lovely.  Slice thinly and add to salads, cook lightly in mixed vegetable medleys or cut into matchsticks and add to pasta salads.  We enjoy grated carrot and Beauty Heart salads all winter.

Beets – Refrigerate in a bag or container.  Beets will store for two months or longer.

Brussels sprouts – Pluck from stalks and refrigerate in a bag or container.  Do this the day you pick up your CSA boxes.  Eat within 2 to 3 weeks.

Butternut winter squash –  You will receive 6+ lbs of squash total.  Store your butternut in a cool, dry place.  55 – 60 F is ideal.  Do not put in a plastic bag.  Expect the largest butternuts to store the longest.  Inspect your squash frequently and cook promptly if you see any soft spots developing.  You can cook, mash and freeze the squash for future use.  I find that you can refrigerate cut raw squash for up to one week.  This runs counter to the accepted way to store squash, but is useful if you want to cook just half a squash.  Try microwaving your squash for one to two minutes before cutting or peeling.  This softens the squash and makes a large butternut easier to handle.

Cabbage – Refrigerate.

Cauliflower (white, purple or green) – Refrigerate in a bag or container.

Carrots, orange.  Refrigerate in a plastic bag.  Will keep for several weeks.
Carrots, yellow.  This variety is pretty AND they taste good.

Celeriac – Will store for months in your fridge.  Cut off chunks as needed.  Peel before using.  I find it easiest to cut the celeriac into flat slices, then peel.

Garlic –  Store at room temperature.

Kale – This mature kale is best cooked, rather than used in salads.

Leeks.  Refrigerate and eat within three weeks.  Leeks are not a long-storage crop.  You may need to strip off one or two outer leaves to freshen the leeks before you cook them.

Onions: Refrigerate or store in a cool, dark spot and protect from light.  Exposure to light stimulates sprouting.  If you have the room, it’s safer to store the onions in the refrigerator.  After the wet season, they might not last as long as usual.

Parsnips (These look like large white carrots.) – Refrigerate in a plastic bag.  Parsnips will store for two months but will darken in color.  That is a harmless change.

Potatoes, fingerlings, russets and Satinas – Can be stored at room temperature or in a cool spot, but must be kept in the dark so they do not turn green.  A cloth or loose plastic bag draped over the paper bag will help avoid moisture loss, but do not close the plastic bag.  All three types will store longer if kept cool.  Around 40 – 50 F is ideal.  The potatoes were grown by the Igl family near Antigo.
Amarosa fingerlings – This is a new addition to the Storage share for us.  These fingerling potatoes have red skin, marbled red flesh and a creamy, velvety interior when cooked.  They are delicious fried, baked, boiled, or steamed. Fingerlings really shine when simply roasted.  Cut in half, oil well and roast at 400 F until soft.  Don’t try to make mashed potatoes; they will turn gluey.
Russets– We got the big ‘baking’ grade so you have nice bakers for Thanksgiving.  Excellent for baked or mashed potatoes.
Satinas– These are good all-purpose potatoes, everything from roasted to potato salad.  I really like this variety of yellow potato because they oven-roast so well and because they are less sweet than other yellow varieties such as Yukon Golds.

Sweet potatoes – These are a mix of the Beauregard and Covington varieties.  All types have developed excellent flavor and sweetness.  Store at room temperature, no lower than 55 F, but 60+ F is better.  Keep them on your kitchen counter where it’s easy to keep an eye on them.  I like to keep ours in a paper bag so they don’t dehydrate.  Cook promptly if they start to soften.  The roots come in a wide ranges of sizes and all are good.

Turnips (white roots with purple shoulders and white interior) – Refrigerate.  Scrub clean but do not peel.  Excellent roasted, or mashed or scalloped with potatoes.

Beauty Heart winter radish (left) and turnips (right).
These roots look similar but are quite different.  Beauty Hearts are winter radishes with a beautiful magenta interior.  Their shoulders are green, white or blush pink.  In contrast, turnips (right in photo), have purple shoulders and a white interior.

What are you cooking for Thanksgiving?

We are creatures of habit when it comes to Thanksgiving.  Here are our plans so far:
– brined roast heritage turkey from our friends Jen and Bryce Riemer (Beth),
– Brussels sprouts with garlic-mustard vinaigrette (Steve),
– roasted sweet potatoes with garlicky yogurt sauce (Sophie),
– glazed butternut squash (Beth),
– crunchy carrot-Beauty Heart salad with sesame-seed dressing (Steve),
– some kind of slow roasted onion relish (Beth),
– homemade applesauce (Ari), and
– apple pie (Sophie).
I’ll probably make stuffing with lots of celeriac and onions but that might be overkill.  Yeah, we tend to go overboard.  We love celebrating Thanksgiving and the end of harvest season.

Menu Ideas

This is a great time of year to gather recipes to enjoy all winter.  Online cooking sites post Thanksgiving menus and recipes, many suited to your Storage share vegetables.  Peruse and bookmark the recipes soon; Thanksgiving collections are taken down quickly after the holiday.

Food52’s Thanksgiving Menu Maker.

♦ IMHO, the lively Food52.com site has the best Thanksgiving recipe collection this year, possibly of all time.  It’s titled AutoMagic Thanksgiving Menu Maker, and is beautifully organized by type of dish. Go straight to Section 3, “Orange Sides”, with multiple subheadings such as “Bright and Crunchy Salads” or “Roasty and Caramelized.”  Move on to “Something Green” or “Gravies & More” or other tempting sections.  I plan to gather a suite of recipes to try this winter.
♦ Smitten Kitchen is our go-to site for dessert recipes but has excellent veggie recipes too.  Blogger Deb Perelman often posts her own plans for new Thanksgiving feast. This year, she has simply posted a collected list of Thanksgiving recipes from previous years.  It is extensive!
♦ 101cookbooks.  Always has good vegetarian and whole-grain recipes.
♦ The Dishing Up the Dirt site doesn’t have a specific Thanksgiving section, but many of her recipes are tailored to Storage share produce.
♦ Finally, remember that we can use Local Thyme recipes all winter.  Check them out for Thanksgiving ideas.

Extension share, Nov. 8, 2018

Such a busy week

Temperatures are dropping sharply tonight, and tomorrow night, and every night for the next week.  This brings a sudden end to our field season.  We hustled all week to finish our field work.  It has been a sprint.

Garlic planting.  We planted much more garlic than usual, with plans of having more garlic for the CSA boxes next year.  First, I chose our best garlic bulbs.  Then we cracked them into individual cloves.  Each clove will grow into one bulb.  We’ll mulch the field with straw soon, to protect the plants from fluctuating temperatures this winter.

Cabbage harvest.  The heads are small this year, but almost all are perfect.  This is good news.  After the rainy summer and fall, we worried there would be rot in the cabbages but it has not been a problem at all.  We also harvested all the remaining broccoli, cauliflower and Romanesco.  We’ve been waiting for these cool-loving crops to size up, but they are out of time.

Rutabagas were our final root harvest for the year.  Steve cleaned the harvester thoroughly this afternoon.  Tomorrow, he’ll take it to the neighbor’s shed for the winter.

Even with a mechanical harvester, we still pick up dropped roots by hand.  It’s worth our time.

Maggie washes beautiful purple daikon for you.

Our farm cat Charlotte abandoned her kittens on Monday, leaving me to bottle-feed them during a very busy week.  I don’t look too dismayed, do I?  Charlotte evaded capture when we got cats neutered earlier this year but we’ll try again.  Both kittens are available for adoption.

Daylight saving shortens our work days.  We will finish a few harvests tomorrow, then our outdoor work in finished for the season!  Beth

Veggie List and Veggie Notes
Extension Share, Nov 8/9, 2018

Sweet potatoes, ~2.5 lb
Butternut squash, 1 medium or 2 small
Portobello mushrooms, 2 – 3
Savoy cabbage, 1 medium
Carrots, 2 lb
Beets, 2 lb
Red mustard greens, 1 bunch
Purple daikon, a few
Broccoli OR cauliflower, about 1 lb total
Yellow onions, ~3

Portobello mushrooms – These beauties are from Mary at Hidden Valley Mushrooms in the Wisconsin Dells.  We will pack them in brown paper bags.  Mary says to store them in your fridge in the paper bag.  Eat soon; they are fresh, lovely and perishable.

Purple daikon – These Korean radishes are so pretty.  Slice or cut into matchsticks to add to cabbage or carrot salads.

RECIPES

Visit our 2018 Recipe Log or our 2017 Recipe Log or join our Facebook discussion group.

LOCAL THYME/ Comforting Classics
Moroccan Sweet Potato Soup
Braised Cabbage with Prosciutto
Chickpea Salad with Roasted Beet and Sunflower Seeds
Mustard Green Caesar with Chicken or Chickpeas

LOCAL THYME/ Outside the Box Recipes
Sunny Curried Sweet Potato Salad
Pasta with Cabbage and Meat Sauce
Beet and Cabbage Kraut
Mustard Greens and Turkey Salad

LOCAL THYME/ Quick & Easy Meal
Breakfast Bahn Mi Sandwich with Daikon and Carrot Pickles

LOCAL THYME/ Daikon recipes from July
Cabbage and Daikon Fried Rice
Curried Daikon
Fish and Cabbage Tacos with Quick Pickled Purple Daikon

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & BEET PIZZA
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest
I love love love the pizza dough recipe linked to below (by Pioneer Woman). It is my go to crust every single time I make pizza. I especially love it because it doesn’t only prefer to be made in advance, it actually gets better the longer you wait to use it. I am always making a batch on Sunday and waiting until Thursday or Friday to make a quick pizza. The way it slow ferments in the fridge makes a perfect crust every time (plus no kneading necessary!). If you don’t want to make a crust at least 24 hours in advance, than I recommend you use whatever recipe works for you quickly or getting a batch of store-bought dough instead.  Lauren.

Serves 4-6
Takes 1 hour, 15 minutes

1/2 batch favorite pizza dough (see note above)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups cubed butternut squash
2 cups cubed beets
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup warm whole milk
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmsean
1 apple, thinly sliced
1 ounce blue cheese
1 cup shredded Gouda cheese

1. At least a day before you plan to make this pizza, make the pizza dough. Unless you have a quicker crust you prefer (see note above).
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
3. In a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, maple syrup, cayenne, red pepper flakes and cinnamon.
4. Spread the squash and beets out on a single layer and drizzle with olive oil mixture. Toss to coat. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
5. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions, cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until softened. Add cider slowly (about 1/4 cup at a time) so that each addition soaks into the onions, caramelizing them slightly, before adding more. Cook onions until caramelized to your likely, about 20 minutes total.
6. Meanwhile, prepare your sauce. Melt remaining butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until incorporated. Let bubble and brown slightly for a minute. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the warm milk and salt. Stir consistently for the next 5-10 minutes until thickens into a thin sauce. Add Parmesan.
7. Roll out dough into the size of your pan (round or rectangle will both work fine). Spread sauce over crust followed by half the roasted vegetables. Evenly distribute onions, apples and blue cheese over crust followed by the remaining roasted veggies and finally the shredded cheese.
8. Bake for 30 minutes until crust is golden and crisp.

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SWEET POTATO BIBIMBAP

Serves 4-6
Takes 1 hour

2 cups water
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided
1 cup brown rice
2 tablespoons white miso paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups cubed sweet potato
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound portabella mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch ginger, peeled and minced
1 bunch mustard greens, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 daikon, cut into matchsticks
1-2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
Soft-boiled or fried eggs, optional

Sauce:
2 tablespoons tamari
1-2 tablespoons sriracha
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the rice. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45-50 minutes until rice has absorbed water.
3. On a baking sheet, combine sweet potatoes, olive oil and white miso as best you can. There will likely be some small chunks of miso in places. Don’t worry about that too much. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes until browned.
4. In a large heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and remaining 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt. Saute for 10 minutes until softened but still maintaining some bite. Remove to a small bowl.
5. Add garlic and ginger to the same pan you cooked the mushroom in. No need to wipe it out (you don’t want to lose any of those delicious mushroom juices). Saute for 2 minutes over medium low heat until fragrant. Add mustard greens. Wilt over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add toasted sesame oil and saute 3 minutes longer. Finish with sesame seeds and continue cooking until greens are as wilted as you like.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients. Use 1 tablespoon sriracha if you aren’t a big fan of spice. Use the full 2 tablespoons if like a bit of heat.
7. Serve cooked rice with sweet potatoes, mushrooms, greens, raw radish, raw carrot, a drizzle or two of sauce, and a cooked egg if you please.

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