October 17, 2024 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Parsnips

 

What's In The Box

Porcelain Garlic: We’re changing up the garlic variety this week with one of our porcelain varieties. Porcelain garlic is characterized by having larger cloves, but fewer per bulb compared to Italian garlic. So, when a recipe calls for a clove or more of garlic, use your own judgement based on your tastes and preferences for how much you will use since we know all cloves are not the same size!

Yellow Onions: This week we are delivering “Talon” onions, our highest performing storage onion this year! This onion has a nice thick, strong, copper skin which facilitates long term storage and allows us to have onions for you into December!

Red & Orange Italian Frying Peppers: This is our final delivery of peppers for the 2024 season. You will find these sweet peppers to be particularly sweet and flavorful as they were at their peak of ripeness when we picked them just before the frost settled into our valley.

Jalapeño Peppers: Please note your box may contain green and/or red jalapeño peppers. These are hot peppers, so be careful not to confuse a red jalapeño with a red Italian frying pepper. The frying pepper is larger and longer than the jalapeños and has a pointy tip. The jalapeños are smaller with a round tip. If you don’t have a use for all of them this week, pop them into the freezer or turn them into a small jar of pickled jalapeños so you can enjoy them later! Of course, you might want to use one to make the Creamy Peanutty Thai Carrot Soup in this week’s Cooking With the Box suggestions!

Baby Arugula: This is the time of year when the flavor of arugula is at its best, still spicy but a bit more mild when the nights get cool. Enjoy it as the base of a salad along with fall fruit such as pears or apples!

Spinach: This week you will find a big bunch of spinach in your box. This more mature spinach is packed with flavor and may be eaten raw or cooked. There is flavor and nutrition in the stems as well, so don’t throw them out! 

Rainbow Chard: Chard is not a frost tolerant green, so we did one final harvest earlier this week so we could include this in your box one more time. Notice how vibrant the colors are this time of year. Not only is this chard beautiful, but it’s also some of the best tasting of the season as the same compounds that give it color also give it flavor! 

Broccoli: Our fall broccoli production is starting to slow down, but we’re not done! Broccoli is frost tolerant; we just have to wait for it to thaw before we harvest it! Check out this week’s recipe suggestions for more broccoli uses!

Orange Carrots: This year’s carrots are particularly tasty, making them the perfect quick snack. While we’re accustomed to eating celery and peanut butter, carrots and peanut butter is a less familiar pairing but delicious none-the-less. Give it a try!

Russet or Gold Satina Potatoes: This week we are washing the last of our Russet and all gold potatoes. Russet potatoes have a darker brown skin whereas the gold variety has lighter, more smooth skin. Russet potatoes are more dry which makes them a great option for mashing. Gold potatoes are more waxy which is a better fit for pan-frying, roasting or sautéing.

Black Futsu Pumpkins: This is a Japanese specialty variety that is revered by Japanese chefs. While it resembles a pumpkin in appearance, and despite its’ name, it’s really a winter squash. The skin on these is still pretty fresh, thin and is actually edible. It’s most delectable when roasted as the skin becomes crispy. If you prefer to bake your black futsu, you may do that also by cutting it in half and baking the halves. Once cooked, it’s easy to scrape the flesh out of the shell. Peeling is possible, but not advised.

Cilantro: We are nearing the end of our cilantro season, one of our biggest staple crops! Use this week’s cilantro as a garnish to a warm curry dish or a plate of fajitas!

Baby Parsnips: We have been washing a lot of parsnips over the past two weeks and we’re finding a lot of very nice, but very small parsnips. These little baby parsnips are great because they require minimal prep and trimming and they cook faster! Simply toss them with oil, salt and pepper and spread them on a roasting pan OR check out this week’s recipe for a flavorful alternative!

BONUS: White Cauliflower or Broccoli Romanesco, or Sugar Dumpling Squash—You will receive one of these bonus items in your box this week!

Recipe Suggestions & Inspiration For This Week’s Box Contents

Curry Roasted Parsnip Fries with Liquid Gold Sauce (See Below)

Roasted Parsnips with Chili-Maple Butter

25 Delicious Vegan Broccoli Recipes

45 Amazing Broccoli Recipes Even Broccoli Haters Can’t Resist!

Easy Broccoli & Cranberry Salad with Sweet Peppers and Sesame Ginger Dressing

Sicilian Broccoli & Cauliflower Pasta

Arugula, Prosciutto and Grilled Pear Salad

Spinach & Arugula Salad with Candied Pecans, Apples & Poppyseed Dressing

Carrot Sticks with Peanut Butter

Curry Roasted Carrots with Peanut Sauce

Creamy Peanutty Thai Carrot Soup

Broccoli Garlic Mashed Potatoes

15 Minute Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes

Cilantro-Lime Chicken Fajitas

Cilantro-Jalapeño Hummus

Fresh Spinach Dip

Palak Soup (Indian Spinach Soup)

Maple-Sage Roasted Black Futsu Pumpkin

Creamy Cider & Black Futsu Pumpkin Soup

Vegetable Feature: Parsnips

Parsnips have a distinct flavor that some people love and others are still learning to appreciate.  We start harvesting parsnips late in September or the first part of October.  While we harvest the majority of our crop in the fall, we also leave a small amount in the ground every fall.  Parsnips can survive in the frozen ground over the winter.  We dig them early in the spring as soon as the ground thaws and dries out.  Overwintered parsnips are much sweeter than our fall-harvested parsnips.  Over the course of the winter starches are converted to sugars and sometimes they’re so sweet they taste like candy.

Storage Tips: Store parsnips in the coldest part of your refrigerator in a plastic bag. They will store for several weeks under these conditions, so don’t feel like you need to eat them all right now. When you are ready to use them, Scrub the outer skin with a vegetable brush and trim off the top and bottom. Peeling is optional and totally up to you.

Preparation & Usage: Parsnips are very versatile and there are many ways to incorporate them into your meals. I seldom peel parsnips when I use them. I usually just give them a good scrubbing and then cook them. If you are making a dish where you want their bright whiteness to shine, you can peel them similarly to a carrot. The flavor of parsnips can be best highlighted when they are cooked, bringing out their sweetness and softening the texture. They can also be eaten raw as more of a salad preparation. Shred the parsnips and toss with a lemon vinaigrette and fresh herbs. Let the mixture set for a while to allow the lemon to soften the parsnips.

One of the easiest things to do with parsnips is slice them up and sauté them in butter or toss them with olive oil and roast them until they are golden brown.  Parsnips also make a creamy, silky puree that can be served similarly to mashed potatoes.  But if you’re still learning to appreciate the flavor of parsnips, you might find their flavor a bit too parsnip-y for your liking.  There are many other things you can do with a parsnip.  Small amounts added to soups and stews add a nice background flavor.  You can also try to maximize their characteristic sweetness and use them in sweet preparations such as muffins, cakes, and even pie!  Parsnips add not only sweetness, but moisture to baked goods.  The sweet, earthy flavor of parsnips pairs well with maple syrup, Dijon mustard, apples, oranges, onions, parsley, chives, raisins, ginger and warm spices such as coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Overwintered parsnips especially pair well with mushrooms, asparagus, sorrel, sunchokes and chives.

Cultural & Historical Background: Parsnips are more common in Europe, but are gaining popularity in the U.S.  In the Middle Ages parsnips were a staple vegetable in Central and Northern Europe because they could be used as a starch and a sweetener.  In the 19th century, the English and Irish folks used parsnips to make a wine which turned out similar to sweet Madeira.  They even made parsnip beer in Northern Ireland!

Growing Information: Parsnips are a very challenging crop to grow and have a long growing season. We plant the seeds early in the spring when the soil is still cold.  It can take as long as two to three weeks for the seeds to germinate and push through the soil.  Unfortunately the weeds never have a problem growing, which is one of the challenges we have over the course of their long season.  We invest a lot of time cultivating and hand weeding our parsnip crop so we can have a healthy crop to harvest in the fall.

 Curry Roasted Parsnip Fries with 5-Minute Liquid Gold Sauce

This simple recipe may be made with parsnips of any size, large or small. For even baking, it’s best to cut the parsnips into similar sized pieces.  The thinner the pieces, the crispier the fries. This recipe calls for “curry powder” in general. There are different curry powder blends, so choose the blend you prefer or, for added fun, make your own! These fries are good on their own, but they are even better with this plant-based, vegan dipping sauce. If you have extra sauce, serve it with other roasted vegetables, drizzle it over greens, grain bowls, etc. 

Photo from www.minimalistbaker.com

Yield:  4 servings 

1 pound parsnips

1 ½ Tbsp avocado or vegetable oil

½ tsp sea salt

1 pinch black pepper

1 tsp curry powder (blend of your choosing)

5-Minute Liquid Gold Sauce

½ cup cooked chickpeas (rinsed and drained)

1Tbsp nutritional yeast

2 small cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp tahini

¼ tsp sea salt, plus more to taste

¼ tsp ground turmeric

¼ tsp curry powder

⅛ tsp ground cumin

1 dash cayenne pepper

2 tsp maple syrup

⅓ cup water, plus more as needed

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Prepare parsnips by washing and trimming away the tops. If using small parsnips, cut in half or quarters lengthwise. If using larger parsnips, cut into thin strips.
3. Add the parsnip 'fries' to a bowl and drizzle with oil then season with salt, pepper, and curry powder. Toss to coat evenly, then spread them out in a single-layer on the prepared baking sheet. 
4. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and toss/flip. Return to the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes more, or until browned on the edges and slightly crisp. The longer they bake, the more golden and crispy they will become. 
5. While the parsnips are baking, prepare the Liquid Gold Sauce for dipping. In a small blender or food processor, add chickpeas, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon, tahini, salt, ground turmeric, curry powder, ground cumin, cayenne, maple syrup and water. 
6. Blend on high until creamy and smooth. Add more water as needed until a thick, pourable sauce is achieved.
7. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more salt to taste, curry powder for spice, tahini for creaminess, lemon for acidity, cayenne for heat or maple syrup for sweetness. Set aside. 
8. The parsnip fries are best served fresh, right out of the oven, with the Liquid Gold Sauce on the side. Store any leftover fries in the refrigerator 1-2 days. Reheat in a 350°F oven until hot and crispy. Store any extra sauce in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. 

Recipe adapted from www.minimalistbaker.com. 

May 11, 2023 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Parsnips

 

Cooking With This Week's Box

Overwintered Parsnips:  

Gluten-Free Spiced Oat Flour Pancakes with Parsnips (See Below)

Photo from www.food52.com

Parsnip, Potato & Horseradish Gratin (See Below)

Carola Gold Potatoes:  

Smashed Potato & Ramp Frittata 

Crispy Roasted Potatoes with Mustard & Horseradish 

Chives:  

Walnut Crusted Roast Asparagus with Zesty Chive Sauce 

Chive and Chicken Orecchiette in a Rosemary Lemon Sauce 

Wild Ramps:  

Ramp Pesto 

Ramp Butter 

Breakfast Casserole with Sausage & Ramps 

Photo from www.wildwalks-southwest.co.uk

Nettle & Mushroom Pizza with Ramp Cream 

Nettles:  

How to Work With Nettles 

Indian-Spiced Stinging Nettle Soup 

Chickpea and Nettle Burgers 

Nettle Ginger Ice Cream 

Dairy Free Nettle Berry Ice Cream 

Spring Pasta with Nettle Pesto 

Watercress:  

Kim-chi Pork and Scallion Pancake with Watercress-Radish Relish 

Salmon and Watercress Tart 

Vietnamese Beef with Watercress 

Photo from www.appetizeraddiction.com

Asparagus:  

Charred Asparagus with Horseradish Dip 

Parmesan Asparagus Pastry Twists 

25 Delicious Asparagus Recipes 

Horseradish Whips:  

Prepared Horseradish 

Horseradish Cream Sauce on Charred Asparagus 

Smoky Oven Baked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce 

Green Garlic:  

Alice Water’s Spaghetti with Green Garlic 

Green Garlic Risotto 

Overwintered Spinach:  

Cream of Spinach Soup 

Creamed Ramps & Spinach 

Welcome to the second week of our 2023 CSA delivery season and this week’s Cooking With the Box article!  If you are joining us for the first time, welcome! Every week I will use this space to provide you with recipe suggestions and ideas for how to use every single vegetable in your box as well as 1-2 featured recipes! This week we’re going to start with our featured vegetable, overwintered parsnips, and this week’s featured recipes.  The first recipe is for Gluten-Free Spiced Oat Flour Pancakes with Parsnips (See Below). Whether you choose to eat a gluten-free diet or not, these pancakes are quite tasty and an excellent way to start the day! They have a nice texture, and the combination of spices complements the unique flavor of the parsnips.  They also reheat well, so leftovers are a bonus! The second recipe is for Parsnip, Potato & Horseradish Gratin (See Below). This is a hearty, comfort food type of recipe, but well-suited for spring given it is infused with the flavor of horseradish and uses chives in the breadcrumb topping. I used 3 Tbsp of freshly grated horseradish whips to yield a mild horseradish essence. If you like a stronger horseradish flavor, you may wish to use more like 4-5 Tbsp of fresh horseradish.

Photo from www.dishingupthefirst.com

We are nearing the end of overwintered spinach and ramp season. This week’s spinach is full of flavor, but the leaves are a little less tender than our earlier harvests. As such, I recommend you cook the spinach which will make it nice and silky, perhaps in this recipe for Creamed Ramps & Spinach!  Before ramp season closes, may I suggest a few of our longtime farm and member favorites? In our private Facebook Group several members have already shared that they made Ramp Pesto and Ramp Butter! These are two simple recipes to capture the full essence of ramps and may be used in a variety of ways plus you can freeze them for later use! The other recipe I want to mention is this delicious recipe for Nettle & Mushroom Pizza with Ramp Cream.  You will not be disappointed, trust me!

It’s our first week for asparagus!  If you’re looking to try some new recipes, check out this collection of 25 Delicious Asparagus Recipes which includes this recipe for Parmesan Asparagus Pastry Twists.  I bet even your picky eaters might try these!  We also just started harvesting green garlic. Green garlic has a bright, vibrant flavor that is excellent in either of these two simple preparations for Alice Water’s Spaghetti with Green Garlic and Green Garlic Risotto. Sometimes keeping it simple is the best approach.

As we look ahead to next week, we have more delicious spring vegetables to add to the mix.  Our first little red radishes will be ready along with our first crop of baby arugula! Our sorrel crop took a bit of a hit with the repeated frosts we had this spring, but I took a peek at it this week and it’s coming.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to send some your way within the next few weeks.  Rest assured, there’s always something delicious to look forward to!  Have a great week—

Chef Andrea 

 

Vegetable Feature: Parsnips

by Andrea Yoder

Overwintered Parsnip Harvest

Parsnips fill an important place in our seasonal Wisconsin diets.  We harvest parsnips both in the fall to sustain us through the winter months, but we also harvest them in the spring as “Overwintered Parsnips!” Earlier this spring, we dug these parsnips from the field where we left them from last fall. It’s a little risky to do this as you never know what may happen over the winter, but it’s well worth it to have these unique, sweet and delicious spring-dug, overwintered parsnips!  Over the course of their winter in the ground, they develop more sugars to act as an antifreeze.  The side effect is that overwintered parsnips are even more sweet and delicious than they are in the fall.  Parsnips are often described as being a white carrot and, while they do resemble carrots, they are not just a white carrot! They have a distinct flavor that is much different from a carrot. 

Parsnips are a versatile vegetable that can be prepared in a variety of ways. Their sweetness really comes out when they are roasted, which is one of my favorite ways to prepare parsnips. They also make a nice addition to a root mash or mix them with other vegetables in hearty soups and stews. You can also use them in baked goods such as cakes, cookies, and bread, similar to how you might use carrots.  

Parsnips all washed up and ready to go!

Parsnips pair very well with other root vegetables, wine, shallots, apples, walnuts, and a variety of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger as well as dairy products, toasted nuts and maple syrup.  Some people really like the distinct flavor of parsnips, while others may still be learning to like them. If you’re in the latter group, I’d recommend that you start by using parsnips in a baked good or in this week’s recipe for Gluten-Free Spiced Oat Flour Pancakes with Parsnips.  

Store parsnips in the coldest part of your refrigerator in a plastic bag. They will store for several weeks under these conditions, so don’t feel like you need to eat them all right now.  When you are ready to use them, Scrub the outer skin with a vegetable brush and trim off the top and bottom. Peeling is optional and totally up to you.   

Gluten-Free Spiced Oat Flour Pancakes with Parsnips

Photo from healthynibblesandbits.com

Yield:  4 servings

1 ¼ cups oat flour*

1 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup milk

2 large eggs, beaten

3 Tbsp maple syrup, plus more for serving

1 cup grated parsnips**

3-4 Tbsp vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 180-200°F. In a large bowl, mix the oat flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and maple syrup. Stir well to combine, then add to the dry ingredients. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined into a batter. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes. 
3. While the batter is resting, grate the parsnips. Gently fold the grated parsnips into the batter.
4. Heat a large non-stick skillet or a griddle over medium heat. Add enough oil to the skillet or griddle to just coat the surface with a shimmer of oil. When the oil is hot, add the pancake batter, about ¼ cup at a time, and use a spatula to smooth out the batter into a circle. This batter is a little thick, so you may need to use a spatula to smooth out the batter into a circle and spread it to a thickness of about ¼- ½ inch. 
5. Cook each pancake for 2 to 3 minutes, until the edges of the pancake are puffed up and bubbles have formed on the top surface of the pancake. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Put the cooked pancakes on a rack on a sheet tray and hold them in the warm oven while you finish cooking the remainder of the batter. This will serve to finish cooking the interior of the pancake while also keeping them warm until you are ready to serve them.
6. Serve the pancakes warm with butter and warm maple syrup. You may also wish to serve them with fresh berries, baked apples, or baked pears as a fruit topping.

*Oat Flour:  You can either buy oat flour, or make your own by blending rolled oats in a blender or food processor.  Check out this article for details: How To Make Oat Flour.

**Recipe adapted slightly from Lisa Lin’s recipe found at www.healthynibblesandbits.com. Lisa’s original recipe used half parsnip and half carrot. These two vegetables may be used interchangeably in this recipe. When I (Andrea) made this recipe, I did so using parsnips only.

Parsnip, Potato & Horseradish Gratin

Yield:  6 servings

Photo from www.bbcgoodfood.com

2 cups whole or 2% milk

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp finely chopped green garlic or ramp bulbs

½ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp ground or grated nutmeg

3 Tbsp freshly grated or finely chopped horseradish root

6 cups diced potatoes (approximately 2 pounds)

1 ¾ cup diced parsnips (approximately 1-1.25 pounds)

2-3 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 Tbsp melted butter

¾ cup dry breadcrumbs

½ cup chopped chives

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 2 to 2.5 quart baking dish with about 1 Tbsp of melted butter and set the dish aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, heavy cream, green garlic/ramps, thyme, nutmeg, freshly grated horseradish, 2 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and set aside to infuse the flavors for about 10 minutes.
3. While the milk and cream mixture is infusing, cut the potatoes and parsnips into medium dice. Add the vegetables to the cream mixture and return to the stovetop. Heat the mixture over medium to medium-high heat just until the liquid starts to simmer.
4. Pour the vegetables and the liquid into the prepared baking dish. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. You may wish to put a sheet tray under the baking dish in case the liquid bubbles over the edge of the dish.
5. While the vegetables are baking, prepare the breadcrumb topping. In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp melted butter with dry breadcrumbs, ½ tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Stir well to combine. Fold in fresh chives and set aside.
6. Once the vegetables are tender, remove the foil. Spread the breadcrumb topping evenly over the surface and return the baking dish to the oven. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden.  Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from www.bbcgoodfood.com.

April Farm Update…..Ramps, Overwintered Spinach and the start of a new CSA Season!

By Andrea Yoder & Richard de Wilde

Rows of gorgeous Green Garlic!

Spring is here and we’re just 3 weeks away from the first CSA deliveries of the 2021 season!  Every day we see a little more green filling our valley as our wooded hillsides come out of winter hibernation.  Despite the fact that we’ve had a quite chilly week with temperatures in the low thirties overnight, we would still describe this as an early spring.  Things are changing quickly and the growing season is starting to take shape.  Here’s a little glimpse of what’s happening on the farm.

Remember those gorgeous sunny, warm days back in March?  Those were the days that jump started the garlic crop and we had to strip back the cover and loosen the mulch to make sure the sprouts could push through!  The green garlic looks quite nice and we are planning to start harvesting some next week.  Richard can’t remember ever putting green garlic in the first CSA box of the season, but it will be in the first boxes this year!

Unloading our first ramp harvest this week!

You cannot talk about spring happenings at Harmony Valley Farm without talking about ramps and overwintered spinach.  These are two crops many people, ourselves included, look forward to every spring.  We started harvesting overwintered spinach last week and yesterday we did our first ramp harvest!  We know everyone would like to receive these two items in the first few CSA boxes in May, and we hope we’ll be able to include them.  Unfortunately, we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature and the season for both of these crops is starting a little early this year.  So if you are one of those people who needs to get your fill of ramps and overwintered spinach before their short season is over, we encourage you to head to your local food co-op and stock up on these items now!  If we are still able to harvest ramps in May, they will certainly be in your box.  And that overwintered spinach?  We are doing our best to manage the crop and hope to be able to time it just right so we can do a second harvest off these plants for the first few CSA deliveries.

Antonio hand-harvesting
Overwintered Spinach

We are also happy to report we had a very good harvest of overwintered parsnips and sunchokes.  The parsnips are so sweet and delicious, they need nothing more than to be tossed with oil, salt and pepper before roasting them.  Our spring sunchoke harvest was very plentiful and we’ve been staying busy washing and packing them for our wholesale partners.  Not only are they an important part of our spring diet, they also help us financially while we’re getting the season underway.

Last week we did our first plantings of salad mix, baby spinach, arugula, cilantro, radishes, baby bok choi, dill, hon tsai tai and baby white turnips.  While we plan to plant these crops in the first week of April, we seldom have the opportunity to actually do so!  The radishes are already up and we’re crossing our fingers that they will be ready for the first week of deliveries!

While we are anxious to plant more crops, it takes awhile to get fields ready in the spring.  Over the past two weeks the guys have been working hard to spread compost and minerals, subsoil, rototill and shape beds for planting.  This year we partnered with a new supplier for our compost and we’re very pleased with the product.  We had to pay a little more for it, but it is well-made, easy to spread and for the first time in many years we have had favorable conditions to be able to spread compost on all of our fields in the spring!  We also invested heavily in mineral applications, including trace minerals.  Adequate fertility in the soil is a key to producing delicious vegetables, but it’s also important for producing healthy plants that pass their nutrients on to us!  We were also able to put minerals on our pastures where we graze our animals as well as the fields where we grow hay to feed them in the winter.  Just like humans, animals can taste the difference and always favor the mineral rich parts of the pastures.  I guess you could say they are grass connoisseurs and definitely have discerning palates!

Germ testing beet seed in the
greenhouse to test seed quality

As we finish preparing fields, we’ll move on to planting.  We hope to see warmer temperatures next week which will be more favorable for direct seeding beets, carrots, parsnips, chard and possibly even the first peas.  We did start transplanting onions a week ago.  It takes quite awhile to plant all of our onions and we hope to finish them today.  We are anxious to transplant more crops including the first broccoli and cauliflower, kohlrabi, cabbage and leeks.  We are also anticipating a shipment of strawberry and asparagus plants today, purchased from Nourse Farm in Massachusetts.  It’s already time to plant next year’s strawberry field!

While we’ve completed about three-fourths of the plantings on our greenhouse plan for this year, we still have plenty of greenhouse work to complete over the next few weeks.  Next week we’re scheduled to plant our first tomato seeds in the greenhouse and we hope to plant zucchini before this week is finished.  It’s also time to transplant the herb packs we’ll deliver for you in mid May!

Leonardo, Antonio and Isidro
transplanting peppers 

So who is doing all this work?  Good question!  We welcomed back 24 of our field crew who comes from Mexico on agricultural guest worker visas.   We were happy to see them on March 29, but from a distance as they had to quarantine due to their recent travel.  Thankfully they had an uneventful quarantine period and everyone remained healthy and well without so much as even a cold!  While we all wish the pandemic would move into the past, we also acknowledge it is still very much a concern at present.  Our crew members understand the importance of how our individual choices impact the work we’re able to do at the farm and they did their part to minimize their risks of exposure both before they departed their homes as well as during their travels.  Their efforts were clearly effective and we are thankful they are all in good health, ready and eager to work!  We are looking forward to welcoming another group of workers the last week in April and have our fingers crossed that they will arrive without any delays.  We are also grateful for the opportunity to work with Family Health La Clinica, an organization that offers mobile health services to migrant workers.  They have been an invaluable resource for our farm as they have helped us navigate managing our workspace throughout the pandemic to keep our workers safe.  They will be coming to the farm to administer vaccinations to any crew members who would like to receive it.  In the meantime, we continue all of our precautionary practices to do the best we can to remain healthy so we can all keep farming!

We’ve received several emails from CSA members inquiring about the use of plastic liner bags in the CSA boxes this year.  Just as we are continuing our precautionary practices on the farm, we will also continue to take a precautionary approach to CSA deliveries as well as with CSA pick up procedures.  While we hope that we’re collectively making forward progress in moving past the pandemic with vaccinations, etc, we also feel that we need to continue to be precautionary and would like to continue to offer a safe pick-up option for all our members knowing some of you are high-risk individuals or live with high-risk individuals.  We realize the concerns for transmission of the virus on touch surfaces may be less than we thought one year ago, however using the plastic liner bag in the CSA boxes serves other purposes as well.  We want to limit the time each member is in the site and continue to ask that only one member enters the site at a time.  The use of the bag also helps achieve a quick in and out pick up.  Thus, we will continue to use the plastic liner bags for now.  We’ll certainly reassess as the year goes on and if at some point we feel it is appropriate to discontinue using them we will do so.

Repurpose CSA bags as covers for
storing artwork!

In the meantime, we do ask all CSA members to continue to follow the pandemic procedures we laid out last year to facilitate a quick, safe CSA pick-up.  This includes wearing a mask when you go to pick up your share, physically distancing at the site and only one person enters the site at a time.  As for the bags, we encourage you to find ways to repurpose them in your own homes or communities.  Last year we compiled a list of ways you, our members, were creatively repurposing them in your homes.  You can view that list HERE, and we ask that you continue to send us your creative ideas as you find more ways to repurpose them.  If your collection goes beyond what you can use in your own home, you may also consider checking with other organizations in your community such as your local food pantry, schools, community centers, etc.  They may be able to use them for projects, etc. in their organizations and might appreciate the donation!  At the very least, the bags are recyclable.

Transplanting onions one week ago....
just before it started to rain!

This certainly is not everything we are doing on the farm, but at least it gives you a snapshot.  We are looking forward to growing food for you and your family this year and hope you are ready to start cooking and eating some tasty meals!  We do still have room to accept more sign-ups for all of our delivery areas, so if you haven’t signed up yet we encourage you to do so!  If you have a friend, neighbor, or know of someone who is interested in joining, please refer them to us.  We will keep adding members until we’re officially sold out!

Enjoy the rest of April and we’ll see you in May!

October 24, 2019 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Parsnips!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Italian Garlic: Red Lentils with Winter Squash and Greens; Crushed Potatoes with Cream & Garlic; Suspiciously Delicious Cabbage; Sweet Potato Kimchi Pancakes

Broccoli OR Cauliflower: Roasted Cauliflower, Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomato Salad with Chickpeas

Orange Carrots: Carroty Mac and Cheese; Carrot, Feta and Almond Salad

Peter Wilcox and/or Mountain Rose Potatoes: Green Cabbage Soup with Potatoes and Sour Cream; Crushed Potatoes with Cream & Garlic

Red Onions: Red Lentils with Winter Squash and Greens; Suspiciously Delicious Cabbage; Sweet Potato Kimchi Pancakes

Red Mustard: Red Lentils with Winter Squash and Greens; Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Spinach or Salad Mix: Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Burgundy Sweet Potatoes: Sweet Potato Quesadillas; Sweet Potato Kimchi Pancakes

Mini Butternut Squash: Red Lentils with Winter Squash and Greens; Roasted Honeynut Squash

Parsnips: Parsnip Oatmeal Chocolate Cherry Cookies (see below); Parsnip, Lemon and Poppyseed Muffins with Lemon Drizzle (see below)

Green Savoy Cabbage: Green Cabbage Soup with Potatoes and Sour Cream; Suspiciously Delicious Cabbage

Last week at market it seems like our customers were finally ready to embrace root vegetables.  For the first time that I can remember in the history of HVF, we sold out of both parsnips and rutabagas!  This week we’re facing our first hard frost with temperatures dipping into the 20’s, which makes us all ready to make the transition to hearty fall and winter fare.  Lets kick off this week’s chat with dessert—why not?!  Parsnips are delicious in soups, stews and other savory preparations, but they’re also delicious in baked goods and desserts such as these Parsnip Oatmeal Chocolate Cherry Cookies (see below)!  This recipe is the creation of my friend, Annemarie of Bloom Bake Shop in Madison.  I asked Annemarie to make a special sweet treat for our Harvest Party and the one requirement was to include parsnips.  She knocked our socks off with these delicious cookies.  If you weren’t able to join us for the party, be assured these cookies are worth making!  The other recipe featuring parsnips this week is Parsnip, Lemon and Poppyseed Muffins with Lemon Drizzle (see below).  I made these muffins for the market crew earlier this year when we had overwintered parsnips.  They were so delicious!  Both of these recipes are good ones to tuck away and use for your Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations.  A bit non-traditional, yes, but both recipes that will impress your guests!

Carroty Mac and Cheese, photo by Andrew Scrivani for epicurious.com

While we’re talking roots, lets tackle carrots.  Everyone loves a good mac and cheese, so why not try this recipe for Carroty Mac and Cheese.  It’s rich and creamy, but the carrots add a sweet, earthy balance.  Serve this as a main dish or a side.  If you’re looking for something a bit more on the lean side, consider this recipe for Carrot, Feta and Almond Salad.

Did you notice how gorgeous the red mustard greens are this week!  This is my favorite time of year to enjoy red mustard and one of my favorite recipes to use it in is this one for Red Lentils with Winter Squash and Greens.  You could also use spinach in this recipe, but mustard greens are always my first choice when making this recipe.  It also makes use of this week’s butternut squash.  If you don’t use your butternut squash in the lentil recipe, then consider making this simple Roasted Honeynut Squash.  If you aren’t familiar with Honeynut Squash, this title is referring to a specific variety of mini butternuts called Honeynuts.  They are a personal-sized mini butternut as well.  In this recipe you do nothing more than bake the squash and top them off with cinnamon, salt, pepper and butter.  They are so delicious you don’t need anything more than these few simple ingredients.

We’re always excited to kick off sweet potato season, so pull out all of your favorite sweet potato recipes and lets get started cooking!  We featured this recipe for Sweet Potato Quesadillas featured back in one of our 2007 newsletters.  You build a quesadilla with mashed sweet potatoes, cheese and greens.  You could use either spinach or red mustard in this recipe.  Prep all the components in advance and you can pull off a quick dinner in about 10-15 minutes!  I am also going to mention one of my all-time favorite sweet potato recipes.  If you’ve been with our farm for awhile this recipe will likely not be a surprise, but it’s so good I want to share it with everyone again!  Try these Sweet Potato Kimchi Pancakes.  They are so delicious!

Suspiciously Delicious Cabbage, photo by Julia Gartland for food52.com

Before we move to above ground vegetables, we need to talk about potatoes.  This recipe for Crushed Potatoes with Cream & Garlic is one of my favorite, simple ways to eat potatoes.  I also really like the simplicity of this Green Cabbage Soup with Potatoes and Sour Cream, a recipe we featured last year.  This soup is very simple, but very satisfying.  If you don’t use all of your cabbage to make this soup, consider trying this recipe for Suspiciously Delicious Cabbage.  With a name like that, I have to try it!  There’s a video link for this recipe as well….and you’ll have to check it out for yourself to find out what makes it so delicious!

Now that we’ve dealt with most of the vegetables that grow underground, we can turn our attention to the last item in the box.  Use this week’s cauliflower and broccoli to make this tasty recipe for Roasted Cauliflower, Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomato Salad with Chickpeas.  Enjoy this salad as a main dish for lunch or serve it in a smaller portion as a side dish.

It’s hard to believe, but after this week we only have five more CSA boxes in the 2019 season.  I’ve already started planning the contents of our final boxes and I have to tell you, we have a lot of vegetables to try and squeeze in before the end of the season!  Have a good week and I’ll see you back here next week for more delicious recipes!—Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Parsnips

By Chef Andrea

Parsnips fill an important place in our seasonal Wisconsin diets because of their ability to store well through the winter, both in our refrigerators as well as in the field.  Parsnips are one of our largest crops and this year we planted 3.5 acres.  That may not sound like very much, but in the world of parsnips it is quite a lot and will yield tons of food!  Parsnips are a challenging crop to grow because their seeds take about 2 weeks to germinate and we have to plant them early in the spring when the soil is still cold.  They also have a very long growing season which means more management in the field to keep them healthy and keep the weeds under control.  Parsnips are often described as being a white carrot.  While they do resemble carrots, they are not really just a white carrot.  They have a distinct flavor that is much different from a carrot.  They also have the ability to survive if we leave them in the field over the winter.  We’ll harvest most of this year’s crop this fall, but we will leave some parsnips in the field with plans to harvest them next spring.  It’s a little risky, but parsnips can be overwintered in the field and when we dig them in the spring they are even more sweet and delicious than they are this fall!

Spiced Honey Parsnip Bread
photo from dishingupthedirt.com

Parsnips are a versatile vegetable that can be prepared in a variety of ways.  Their sweetness really comes out when they are roasted, which is one of my favorite ways to prepare parsnips.  They also make a nice addition to a fall root mash or mix them with other vegetables in hearty soups and stews.  You can also use them in baked goods, similar to how you might use carrots.  I’ve used them to make parsnip muffins that are similar to carrot cake and this week we are featuring a recipe for Parsnip, Lemon & Poppy Seed Muffins (see below)!  You can also use them to make quick breads such as Andrea Bemis’ Spiced Honey Parsnip Bread.  You can also use them in cookies.  Make sure you check out the recipe for Parsnip Oatmeal, Chocolate, Cherry Cookies (see below) in this week’s newsletter!

Parsnips pair very well with other root vegetables, wine, shallots, apples, walnuts and a variety of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger.  Some people really like the distinct flavor of parsnips, while others may still be learning to like them.  If you’re in the latter group, I’d recommend that you start by using parsnips in a baked good or use them in small quantities mixed with other vegetables in soups, stews or a simple root mash.

Store parsnips in the coldest part of your refrigerator in a plastic bag.  They will store for several weeks under these conditions, so don’t feel like you need to eat them all right now.  When you are ready to use them, Scrub the outer skin with a vegetable brush and trim off the top and bottom.  If you are making a pureed parsnip soup and want it to be snow white, I’d recommend peeling the parsnips.  If you aren’t looking for an art display presentation, I would recommend skipping the peeling part of the process.  

Parsnip Oatmeal Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Yield:  approximately 40 cookies (2-3 inch diameter)

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp cinnamon

⅓ tsp nutmeg

1 ¾ cups oatmeal

½ cup vegetable oil 

1 cup light brown sugar 

½ cup plus 2 Tbsps white sugar 

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups parsnips, shredded

1 cup finely shredded coconut

1 pkg (10 oz) chocolate chips (1 ¾ cup)

¾  cup dried cherries 

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Stir in oatmeal and set aside.  
2. In a separate bowl, combine vegetable oil, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Mix until smooth and well combined.
3. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, incorporating well after each addition.  Add the parsnips and stir to combine.
4. Last, fold in the coconut, chocolate chips and dried cherries.  The dough is going to be very stiff and you may feel like you are not going to be able to incorporate all of these last ingredients.  Trust the recipe and keep working them in.  It will come together!  Don’t forget to scrape down to the bottom of the bowl!
5. Drop by the tablespoon full onto a cookie sheet.  Do not flatten the cookies, they will spread out as they bake.  Bake in a 350°F oven for 14-16 minutes.  The cookies should still be a little soft in the middle when you take them out of the oven.  They will set up nicely as they cool.  If you want a crispier cookie, bake them a little bit longer.  Let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

This recipe was created by Annemarie Maitri, owner of Bloom Bake Shop in Madison, Wisconsin.  Annemarie dreamed up this cookie recipe when I asked her to make a sweet treat for our Fall Harvest Party this past September.  She was so pleased with the creation that she added it to her cookie menu for the fall!  Thank you Annemarie!

Parsnip, Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Drizzle

photo from veggiedesserts.co.uk

Yield:  12 Muffins

5 oz raw parsnip (approx 1)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 Tbsp poppy seeds

½ cup butter, softened (plus extra for greasing)

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup plain yogurt

¾ cup powdered sugar

4-5 tsp lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line a muffin tin.
2. Peel and finely grate the parsnips. Set aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the poppy seeds and parsnip.
4. In another bowl, use an electric mixer or wooden spoon to beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each in well. Beat in the zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract, blend well and then add the yogurt and combine.
5. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, alternating three times.
6. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups, filling them ¾ full.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
8. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes in the tin and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Make the drizzle topping:  Stir lemon juice, teaspoon by teaspoon, into the powdered sugar until it is a runny consistency. Drizzle over the completely cooled muffins.

This recipe was borrowed from veggiedesserts.co.uk, a very interesting food blog written by Kate Hackworthy.  If you like this recipe, check out her blog where you’ll find more delicious baked goods featuring parsnips as well as other vegetables!