February Farm Update: It’s Planting Time!

A bin of potting soil in the foreground and 
empty greenhouse tables ready to be filled!

February always seems like the month that sneaks in and out so quickly.  It’s here and gone before we know it and that’s probably because we’re too busy to notice!  Our small winter crew has had their hands full as they’ve continued to balance washing vegetables and packing wholesale orders while also moving forward on our winter cleaning and repair projects.  While we still have several more weeks of winter remaining, the pace of the farm is starting to pick up and we thought we’d share a little glimpse into what we’ve been up to this month!

Regardless of the number of years of farming that are behind us, the day we plant the first onion seeds in the greenhouse in February is always an exciting day!  Well, today’s the day!  As I finish up this article, Gerardo and Moises are filling flats and preheating them on the tables in the greenhouse.  Simon is in the packing shed working with the precision of a scientist to hot-water treat some of our onion seeds.  This afternoon Simon will transition to the greenhouse and together, this powerhouse team of three will start planting green onions!  Why is this so exciting?  Because these onions will be ready to go to the field in about eight short weeks.  Those weeks will go fast, but trust me, spring is just around the corner!

Winter crew doing the "top to bottom" cleaning 
in our Nursery greenhouse.

Before we can plant the first seeds, there are a lot of parts and pieces to the puzzle that have to be laid out.  Last week the crew spent several days cleaning the greenhouse from top to bottom, including washing all of the tables and every supply we use to set everything up.  Once everything is in place, we all clear out and then fog the building with a peracetic acid mist with the intention that any lingering plant disease that may have been present with last year’s crops is killed.  Disease prevention is just part of maximizing the potential of every seed and every crop.  This is also the reason we invest time to hot-water treat some of our seeds, in particular those that are most likely to carry plant disease on the coating of the seed.  Ana and Antonia have also been hard at work washing and sterilizing all of our harvest containers, seed storage totes and they’re working on the greenhouse flats now.  As you can see, we do a lot of cleaning in the winter!

Simon setting up the "Seed Sterilizer" 
apparatus to hot-water treat seeds.

Last fall we had been warned that some seeds may be in short supply and/or there may be problems getting seeds delivered in a timely manner.  All of the issues with the supply chain from packaging to labor to import issues apply to seeds as well, however given the time sensitive nature of what we do with them we wanted to do everything we could to secure our supplies early.  We hustled and completed most of our seed orders by the end of November.  Thankfully, we’ve received the majority of what we need for this season.  We’re still waiting on some things to come through, but the quality of what we’ve received appears to be good and right now there are no major deficits with varieties or supply that we can’t overcome or correct.  We still have more seeds to receive, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that the remainder come through by their assigned back order dates!

Labor is a huge part of what we do and when spring rolls around we’re going to need many more hands on deck to get everything accomplished!  We’re actively recruiting for a few key positions that are currently vacant including two on-farm positions for Office Support as well as Packing Shed Support.  These positions have a variety of responsibilities, all of which help us keep all the little details organized and help us run at maximum efficiency!  If you know of anyone in our area who may be interested, please send them our way!  We also have openings on our delivery teams in both the Twin Cities as well as Madison.  So, if you know of anyone who resides in these areas who may be interested in a part-time, seasonal job, please encourage them to apply!  Of course, we’ll need a lot more hands in the fields as well so we’ve been lining things up for the return of our H2A crew members.  Richard and Rafael have already started making “to-do” lists for things that need to be done once we can return to outside work and they’re working on some training topics for this spring.  There’s always something to learn and ways to improve!

This year could be a drought year, so Richard has been hard at work setting up all of our irrigation needs.  This includes securing permits with the DNR as well as making sure we have all of the necessary supplies, pumps, etc.  Rafael has been working in the shop doing some maintenance and repair projects, building a running gear for a new harvest wagon, and a whole host of other random projects!  Richard and Rafael have been getting their daily dose of fresh air working together to keep our goats, ducks and chickens fed and cared for as well as checking in on the cows every day.  In addition to all of that, they are laying out the plans for where all the crops will go this year as well as making sure we have all the supplies we’ll need in the field.  Any day now we’re hoping to receive shipments of row covers and rolls of mulch and drip tape that we use on some of our fields.  They are also working on laying out plans for some new fields we’ll be farming this year and they’ve spent some time strategizing about how these pieces of land will be best managed.  And at the end of the day, I think they both do a little bit of field work in their dreams throughout the night!  

Late summer CSA box

Kelly has been working diligently to receive and process all of the CSA orders coming in.  Our sign-ups have been going pretty well and we’re around 45% of the way to full capacity.  That means we have PLENTY of room to accept more CSA members and sign-ups!  We do appreciate receiving your sign-ups early before the start of the season as it helps us better plan and have more time to process your order.  The closer we get to the first delivery, the busier we get!  We’d also like to ask for your help as we recruit new members for this season.  We have a pretty high retention rate from year to year, however every year some people don’t return for a variety of reasons like relocating or retiring and spending more time traveling and gardening!  Your “word-of-mouth” advertising is the strongest way we have to reach people.  So, if you’ve enjoyed your CSA experience we’d appreciate it if you’d share that with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, or simply leave a review for us!  

Facebook
Local Harvest
Google

We have also found that neighborhood social media platforms are a great way to share information about CSAs and we have tools to help you do that very easily.  Send us a quick email and we’ll provide you with any resources that will make this easy for you!

We continue to keep our finger on the pulse of the pandemic.  While we have not made any final decisions as to what we will be implementing for pandemic precautions at our sites this year, we will be assessing that and making some decisions very soon.  We really appreciate the input we received from many of you in response to the survey we did at the end of December/early January.  The focus of the survey was getting your input on the pandemic and the precautionary measures you’d like to see in 2022.  Of course we realize the pandemic is a moving target, so we’ll try to look at the overall big picture of where we are before we start the season and will continue to do our best to make decisions that are in the best interests of our members as well as our crew.

2021 HVF Crew Picture.....with face masks.  What will 2022 hold?

As we move through the rest of February and welcome in the month of March, rest assured we’re doing everything we can to get ready for an awesome 2022 CSA season.  We’re already starting to crave spring greens, as I’m sure some of you are as well.  Enjoy the remainder of winter, cook up the last of the sweet potatoes and winter squash, and we look forward to sending those first spring CSA boxes your way in May!  

Reflections on Value As We Celebrate the 30th Year of CSA at Harmony Valley Farm!

By Andrea Yoder

Strawberry Day 2011:  Farmer Richard in the field
discussing the details of farming with CSA kids

2022 will be our 30th year of CSA deliveries.  Folks, that is a reason to celebrate!  Over the course of the past 29 years we’ve watched young families join our CSA, raise their children on CSA vegetables and farm visits, send those kiddos off into the world with a value (and palate) for “real” food with connection to the place from which it came.  We’ve received reports from these families about how appalled these kids are when they get their first exposure to dorm food at college, “Can you believe they served me asparagus in September and didn’t even know where it came from!?”  Many of those kids have now grown into lovely adults with their own families, careers, contributions to society and their own CSA memberships.  

CSA Vegetable Shares
at a Pick Up Site

While times may have changed, the basic concept of CSA has not.  It continues to be a model that feeds and enriches communities, builds relationships and connection, and serves both farmers and eaters at a time when support and nutritious food is paramount.  There really is something to connecting members of a community to the agriculture that produces their food.  It was important 30 years ago and it’s important now.  In fact, it may be one of the most important contributors to our business that has allowed us to even reach this milestone!  Perhaps CSA could also stand for “Community Sustained Agriculture!”  So before we go any further, we want to say “Thank You” for coming along with us on this journey, whether you’ve been with us for 30 years, 3 years or you are looking forward to your first year with our farm in 2022.  This is not our accomplishment alone, it is a reflection of the strength of the CSA model and its ability to remain sustainable over time.  It’s evidence that changing “Me” to “We” makes a difference and is a key component to a sustainable, resilient food system that can withstand the test of time.

Packing CSA boxes in 2018

It’s no secret that the world around us is shifting and changing.  These changes are catalyzed by a variety of factors but the largest one being the global pandemic we’ve all been living with for nearly two years now.  I think for many people it’s been a time to pause and really think things through, to figure out the “whys” behind actions and decisions, to consider the pieces of life that one is grateful for and to imagine a better future.  When all the noise around us is tuned out, what really matters?  What are our core values?  What do we want to invest our time, money and energy in?  

The past two years have brought a lot of uncertainty for our society, and we too have faced that uncertainty at the beginning of the past two growing seasons.  With the onset of the pandemic, we didn’t know what was going to happen.  All of our plans for crops and markets were in place, but when the world shut down we didn’t know if we’d be able to grow, have employees, or even who we were growing for or if we’d even have any customers to feed!  We kept on going and, thankfully, there were many mouths to feed!  As our industrial food system began to fracture, the need for local producers rose to the forefront and our phone was literally ringing off the hook.  We kept moving forward, doing what we do best, growing food for our community.  Our mission didn’t change even if our policies and appearances did.  The basic human need to have access to food hasn’t changed, despite the changes in the world over the past 30 years.  

2021 Harmony Valley Farm Crew

But two years later, we still enter this year with a bit of uncertainty.  Our CSA membership more than doubled back in the Spring of 2020.  We were thankful to have a very high retention rate for 2021, allowing us to attain higher levels of efficiency, defer the costs of the overhead to operate a CSA program over more shares, and most importantly to have the opportunity to grow healthy food for the members of our community.  What will this year hold?  Will our members value their CSA shares as much this year as they did two years ago when the pandemic first started?  Are people tiring of cooking at home and ready to return to the convenience of prepared foods, eating out, etc?  Of course, we want every member to believe in CSA as much as we do!  We want CSA to impact every person and family in positive ways and for each person to realize CSA is so much more than just a box of food.     

CSA Box Contents, September 2018

My job is not to convince anyone of anything.  I’m simply here to lay it all out and bring attention to it.  I’ll leave it up to you to decide if and how CSA fits your personal values for this new year.  So on that note, there are two ways to approach the word “Value.”  As a verb, we can say, “The value of a Weekly CSA share is $1,110.”  In terms of dollars, that is what it will cost you to purchase 30 CSA boxes for 2022.  Is it really worth the expenditure?  Well, let me tell you what last year’s boxes looked like.   In 2021, the cost of a Weekly Vegetable share was $1,050.  Each year we have a CSA member who gathers price comparison data each week from a food coop as well as a natural foods grocer.  Last year’s price comparison data demonstrated that if the contents of the CSA share were purchased at either of these retail stores, an individual would have paid 27-43% more than our actual cost of the share.  That translates to $280-$450 more dollars of produce delivered than was actually paid for.  How is this possible or sustainable?  This is where it pays to go direct, which reduces the costs associated with distribution.  As a CSA member you also share in both the risks and the bounty of each and every growing season.  When we have a productive year, you benefit!  Even in a challenging year where we may have crop losses, members typically still receive a value of produce greater than what they paid for because we have flexibility with what we pack in the box.  We are able to cover the loss of one vegetable by packing something different that is available.  

CSA Box Contents, August 2021

But the conversation about value doesn’t just stop with the dollars conversation.  As a noun, the word “value” means “a person’s principles or standards of behavior;  one’s judgment of what is important in life.”  We always encourage CSA members to look beyond just the dollar value of the produce received, but this is where you have to reflect on what is important to you personally.  Here are a few points to consider.  First of all, based on last year’s boxes, a CSA member who received our weekly vegetable share received over 85 different vegetables!  That doesn’t even account for the fact that within some general selections, such as winter squash or head lettuce, we sent more than one variety.  We have heard from members over the years that they value the wide diversity of foods they eat simply because they show up in their CSA box, including things they would never have selected for themselves or thought they didn’t like. When it’s in their kitchen they are more likely to try it and sometimes even find they really like things they didn’t think they liked!  We also know that consuming a diet with a wide variety of plant foods is beneficial for your health and we’ve had members tell us they eat far more vegetables when they are participating in a CSA than they do when they make their own selections at a grocery store or farmers’ market.  

Wild Rice & Butternut Squash Salad 
with Tat Soi (November 2021)

Having a refrigerator full of vegetables doesn’t do you any good unless you eat them, which is why we also feel it’s important to provide support and resources for you with each week’s deliveries.  In 2021 we provided more than 54 recipes in our weekly newsletters over the course of the delivery season.  But we didn’t stop there!  Each week we provided additional links to even more recipe ideas on our blog with the weekly “Cooking With the Box” article.  On top of these resources, I also received calls and emails from members from time to time who had specific cooking or preparation questions and utilized the option to tap into my culinary expertise.  That’s right, you can pick up the phone and call me.  Ask me any question and I’ll do my best to answer you.  I have been cooking seasonally now for over 15 years and am a professionally trained chef.  I do my best to combine my culinary skills and insights with day-to-day practicality in the recipes and resources I provide.  Of course, you can also reach out to other CSA members too if you choose to be a member of our private Facebook Group created and facilitated solely for the purpose of sharing recipe ideas, asking questions and engaging in communication with other members!

While these are tangible resources that come along with each CSA share at no additional cost, there are some other less tangible benefits that add value to your experience with eating out of a CSA box.  Some of these values may not be as obvious to you until you spend a little time reflecting on your own experiences.  As you consider the value you get from your CSA experience, here are a few reflective questions you may ask yourself:

How has my health or the health of my family members changed since I/we started participating in a CSA?

How have my eating practices changed since starting to participate in a CSA?  Do I prepare more of my own meals and buy less prepared foods, take out, etc?  Have I incorporated more vegetables into my day, including even breakfast?  Do I enjoy eating my own food more than the prepared foods or restaurant meals I previously purchased?

Has participating in a CSA changed the way my family members interact?  Do we spend more time together preparing meals and/or eating together?  What benefits have my children received as a result of CSA?  Do they simply eat more vegetables now?  Are they more likely to try new foods and experience new flavors?  Have we been able to use CSA as a way to teach our children and each other about different cultures, different things in nature, seasonality, etc?

Do I appreciate the transparency of knowing where my food came from and who worked to grow it?

Lorenzo & Ascencion
Working in the Tomato Field

Is it important to me that the dollars I spend on food support a local economy?  

Is it important to me that the farm that produces my food also has extensive food safety practices to ensure my food is safe and wholesome to eat?

Do I value knowing that my farm invests in caring for the health of the soil and plants so the food I am eating is nutrient dense?

Do I want my food dollars to support a growing system that is safe and regenerative for the environment, promotes biodiversity and supports pollinating creatures?

How do I feel about the people who work to produce my food?  Do I care if they are treated fairly, paid fairly, have a safe working environment and are respected?

If CSA has been a valuable part of your life, we would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.  Your stories are our connection to you and they fuel our work on days that may be less than ideal and are what will keep us going for another 30 years!

If you’ve already signed up for your 2022 CSA share, thank you for your commitment!  We are grateful for the opportunity to grow for you this year and hope you’ll share your experiences with others in your circles who may be interested in participating in a CSA.  Every year we have some members who do not return, for a variety of reasons, but also welcome new members.  For our CSA program to continue into the future for another 30 years, we need to continue to maintain our membership.  Honestly, the most effective "advertising" we've observed over the years is simply when members share their experiences with others!

HVF Co-Owners:  Rafael, Richard & Andrea

If you are still considering whether or not you want to participate in our CSA this year, we hope you’ll weigh your options with a broad view and perhaps a bit of reflection about the value CSA can offer you beyond just the box of vegetables.  But rest assured, we have learned a few things over the past 29 years and we are pretty good at what we do!  With our experience to back us and the humility to know we'll never stop learning and improving, we'll do everything we can to make sure that box of vegetables will not disappoint! 

December 16, 2021 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Horseradish!

 

Cooking With This Week's Box

Horseradish Whips:  

Prepared Horseradish (See Below)

Fresh Horseradish Roasted Potato Salad (See Below)

Norwegian-Style Cod (See Below)

Horseradish Deviled Eggs 

Horseradish Hash Browns 

Speedy Shrimp with Horseradish Butter 

Red and Yellow Onions:  

Roasted Beet, Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Tart 

Photo from migrainereliefrecipes

Red Onion & Blood Orange Salad 

Italian and/or Porcelain Garlic:  

Raw Honey Garlic Lemon Shot  

Garlic-Honey Toddy for Cold & Flu Season 

Covington Sweet Potatoes:  

Sweet Potato Curry 

Sweet Potato Kim Chi Pancakes 

Potatoes (Russets, German Butterball, Gold Carola or Asterix):  

The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

Easy Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes 

Tetsukabuto Squash: 

Kabocha Squash Bread with Toasted Walnut Cinnamon Swirl 

One-Pot Kabocha Squash & Chickpea Curry 

Photo from everydayhealthyrecipes

Kohlrabi or Heart of Gold Squash:  

Polish Kohlrabi Soup 

Orange Carrots:  

Carrot Scones with Walnuts 

Roasted Root Vegetable Soup 

Red Beets: 

Classic Beef Borscht 

Carrot & Beet Morning Glory Muffins with Honey & Hazelnuts 

Celeriac:  

26 of the Best Celeriac Recipes 

Meatballs with Celeriac and Apples 

Beauty Heart Radishes:

Beauty Heart Radish Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette 

Beauty Heart Radish Toasts with Cream Cheese, Lemon & Honey 

Photo from halfbakedharvest

Scarlet Turnips:  

Root Vegetable Casserole (Freezer Friendly) 

Cornish Pasties (Meat Hand Pies) 

Green Savoy Cabbage:  

Crispy Sesame Ginger Egg Rolls 

Palestinian Style Stuffed Savoy Cabbage Rolls

Hello Everyone—

This is it, the 30th vegetable box of the 2021 CSA Season!  Can you believe it?!  We’ve gone all the way from ramps and asparagus to fresh sweet corn and tomatoes and now we’re wrapping up the season with a box full of storage vegetables to carry you into a new year!  Thank you for journeying through another CSA season.  I truly hope you’ve enjoyed the meals you’ve created and perhaps you’ve gathered some new recipes to add to your collection of favorites!

We’re going to wrap up this season with a bold feature vegetable—horseradish!  My top suggestion is the same every year we put this item in the box.  I think the easiest thing to do is make Prepared Horseradish (See Below) that you can keep in your refrigerator and use as needed.  But this week I challenged myself to find some other interesting recipes and included this Fresh Horseradish Roasted Potato Salad (See Below) and Norwegian-Style Cod (See Below).  

Root vegetables is the name of the game for the next few months, so here’s a few recipes I wanted to share with you.  First, if you don’t know what to do with celeriac, check out this article entitled 26 of the Best Celeriac Recipes.  Make a big pot of Classic Beef Borscht and put those red beets to use!  I think it’s time to switch from cold sandwiches for lunch to these Cornish Pasties (Meat Hand Pies).   They are easy to make and you can put nearly any root you have in them!

Photo from allthatjas.com

I also wanted to highlight a few recipes that were shared in the Facebook Group lately.  I can’t wait to try this recipe for Palestinian Style Stuffed Savoy Cabbage Rolls.  I’m also looking forward to trying this Polish Kohlrabi Soup.  Thank you to everyone who participates in the group.  I love seeing what you’re cooking and it’s exciting to find new recipe resources!

Finally, as I sign off for the winter, I want to wish you a winter full of rejuvenation, rest and good health.  Keep eating your vegetables, every day.  They are our nourishment, but they are also our daily medicine.  If you feel like you need a little extra immune boost, maybe garlic is what your body needs.  I have this recipe for Raw Honey Garlic Lemon Shot and also this 

Garlic-Honey Toddy for Cold & Flu Season tucked away and plan to pull them out with the first sniffle!

Ok, that’s a wrap!  We look forward to growing for you again in 2022, so don’t delay.  Take care of that 2022 CSA Sign up in January or February and you’ll earn our Early Bird Coupon to use for a future HVF purchase!  Have a great winter and I’ll see you back her in 4 short months!

--Chef Andrea 

Vegetable Feature: Horseradish

by Andrea Yoder

Description: Horseradish is a bold, pungent vegetable that has the power to make you cry, take your breath away and open every nasal passage you have—that is if you work with and/or eat it in large quantities.  The powerful plant compounds in horseradish that make you do all those things are also the compounds that give horseradish its peppery flavor, have the ability to attack cancer cells and boost our immune systems. 

Harvesting Horseradish

Growing Information: Horseradish is a perennial that we plant in the fall from seed pieces that are taken from cuttings when the previous crop is harvested.  A nice seed piece is a straight piece usually about 8-10 inches long with the diameter of a fat pencil or a thin marker.  Seed pieces grow off the main horseradish root which is the most saleable portion of the plant on the wholesale market.  Any pieces that are smaller than is needed for wholesale or seed are called whips.  Whips are usually thrown away, but this is actually the part of the root I prefer to work with for several reasons.  First of all, I think the skin is thin and tender enough on these pieces that you don’t need to peel it.  The less you have to handle horseradish, the better!  I also think the whips are a more manageable size to deal with instead of a big root.  This week your box contains a 4 ounce bundle of horseradish whips.  

Richard in the Horseradish field

Preparation & Use: Horseradish is intended to be used in small quantities, as a condiment or an accompaniment to enhance foods.  It may be freshly grated or chopped and added to foods, however once you start cutting, grating or chopping horseradish you release the volatile oils that give horseradish its bite.  This is when you need to make sure you have adequate ventilation to decrease the chances of your eyes tearing up.  Also, make sure you wash your hands after handling horseradish so you don’t accidently get these peppery oils in your eyes.  While many recipes tell you to grate the horseradish on a box grater, this is difficult to do with the smaller whips.  My recommendation is to just cut the whips into 1-2 inch pieces and chop them finely in a food processor.  You could also use a blender, a hand chopper or a basic chef’s knife.  

When using fresh horseradish, it’s important to chop or grate it as close to when you’re going to eat it as the volatile oils will dissipate into the air and disappear.  Once it’s chopped, you either need to eat it right away or stabilize the oils so the flavor and spice remains.  Often times you’ll see a recipe that calls for “Prepared Horseradish.”  This refers to horseradish that is pre-chopped/grated and stabilized in a vinegar solution which sets the flavor and prevents it from dissipating.  This week I’ve included a recipe for prepared horseradish.  You can keep prepared horseradish in the refrigerator for several weeks in a sealed jar before it will start to lose its pungency.  This can be super handy to have as you can just take a teaspoon or two as needed for different recipes without having to chop it fresh every time.  

Horseradish Whips

Horseradish goes well with rich and fattier foods such as salmon, beef, sausage and ham.  It also goes well with more acidic foods such as tomatoes, apples, lemons and other citrus.  It’s a good accompaniment to bland foods that give it a base, but make horseradish look and taste good—foods such as sour cream, cream, butter, seafood, potatoes and root vegetables.    

Lastly, if you don’t like spicy things or don’t think you’ll like horseradish, just start small.  Stir a little bit of freshly chopped horseradish into mayonnaise and spread it on a sandwich or make horseradish cream and drizzle it lightly over roasted root vegetables.  

Storage: On the internet you’ll see references that say horseradish should be eaten within 1-2 weeks…..my friends, I think that’s wrong.  Your horseradish whips will store much, much longer than 1-2 weeks if you keep them in a bag in the refrigerator.  To give you a frame of reference, we harvest horseradish the latter part of October.  In many years, we’ve held horseradish in cold storage for months and sell it all throughout the winter!  Don’t be afraid of a little fuzzy white mold on the surface either.  It’s not uncommon to see this after extended time in the refrigerator.  If you see that happening, but the integrity of the root is still good, just wash it off. 

Prepared Horseradish

Yield:  1—half pint jar 

3 oz fresh horseradish whips

4 Tbsp distilled white vinegar

¼ tsp salt

Sugar, pinch

1. Cut the horseradish whips into chunks and place them in the food processor.  Pulse to grind.  It will be a bit dry, something like coconut.  Add the vinegar, salt and sugar.  
2. Have a clean and sterilized jar with a lid and canning ring available nearby.
3. Add the vinegar, salt and sugar.  Blend to combine well.
4. Pack the horseradish into the jar and refrigerate.  

Recipe adapted from The Kitchen Ecosystem by Eugenia Bone.

Norwegian-Style Cod with Horseradish

Yield:  2-4 servings

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 pound cod fillet

1 tsp salt

½ cup freshly grated horseradish

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until the butter begins to brown.  Throw down ½ tsp of salt into the hot pan and immediately place the fish over it.  Sprinkle the top of the fish with the remaining ½ tsp of salt.  Cover the skillet (if your skillet does not have a lid, use a lid from another pot or just a piece of aluminum foil) and cook over medium-high heat until the fish begins to look opaque, about 4 minutes.
2. Remove the lid, and with a spatula as long as the fillet, carefully flip the fish.  Sprinkle the horseradish over the fish and lower the heat to medium.  To be sure the fish doesn’t burn, it’s a good idea to check that there is enough fat remaining in the pan;  add a bit more butter if necessary.  Re-cover the pan and continue to cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until the fish is flaky but still moist.  Using the large spatula, carefully transfer the fish to a platter.  Serve immediately.

This recipe comes from Darra Goldstein’s book, Fire & Ice:  Classic Nordic Cooking.  

Fresh Horseradish Roasted Potato Salad

Yield:  4 servings 

1 pound potatoes, cut into ¾” cubes

1 pound sweet potatoes, cut into ¾” cubes

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp sour cream or crème fraiche, plus more if needed

1-2 Tbsp freshly grated horseradish

1 handful fresh dill, chopped or 2 Tbsp dried dill

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.  In a large bowl, combine both kinds of potatoes, 1 tsp salt, freshly ground black pepper, and olive oil.  Stir or toss to coat well.  Pour onto a sheet pan and spread out into a single layer.  Roast on the middle rack, turning every so often until nicely caramelized, about 30-40 minutes.  
2. When the potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and let cool for about five minutes.  In the meantime, grate the horseradish into the sour cream and stir.  Pour over the potatoes and combine well.  Adjust for salt and pepper and dill.  Serve immediately at room temperature or eat it chilled.

Recipe borrowed from food52.com.

December 2, 2021 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Shallots!

 

Cooking With This Week's Box

Shallots:

Roasted Beets with Shallot & Mustard Vinaigrette (See Below)

Butternut Squash, Shallot and Coconut Milk Soup (See Below)

Roasted Garlic Potato Soup
Photo from familystylefood.com

How To Cut Shallots

Italian Garlic:

Creamy Garlic Brussels Sprouts with Bacon 

Roasted Garlic Potato Soup 

Burgundy Sweet Potatoes:

Ginger Coconut Sweet Potatoes 

Vegan Sweet Potato Cookies 

Peanut & Sweet Potato Soup 

German Butterball or Red-Gold Potatoes:

Crispy Roasted Parmesan Potatoes

Oven Roasted German Butterball Potatoes with Rosemary 

Autumn Frost or Butterkin Squash: 

Butternut Squash Pancakes 

Chai Spiced Squash Bread 

Orange Carrots:

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies 

Carrot Cake Granola 

Red and/or Gold Beets:

Baking with Beets:  5 Surprisingly Delicious Recipes 

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting 

Gingery Beet Soup 

Fresh Ginger Cookies
Photo from allrecipes.com

Brussels Sprouts:

Brussels Sprouts Risotto Ottolenghi 

Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pizza

Baby Ginger:

Fresh Ginger Cookies

How To Freeze Ginger

Kohlrabi:

Sage Brown Butter Kohlrabi Noodles 

Kohlrabi Custard 

Chicken Kohlrabi and Cashew Stir-Fry 

Red or Purple Daikon Radishes:

Vietnamese Pork Bahn-Mi Sandwiches 

Soy Pickled Daikon Radish 

Can you believe it?  We’re down to the last two deliveries of the 2021 season.  Think back on all the different vegetables and delicious meals you’ve enjoyed over the past seven months!  I haven’t counted yet, but I’m sure you’ve enjoyed 60-70 different vegetables, or more!  But we’re not done yet!  This week’s box was a tricky one for us to pack.  Simon came to me on Monday and said “Andrea, we have a problem.”  I went to look at the sample box he was packing and saw what the problem was.  Three of the vegetables didn’t even fit in the box!  It’s a good day when you have so much bounty it doesn’t all fit in the box!  Ok, lets get started cooking!

Photo from somethingnewfordinner.com

This week’s featured vegetable is a quiet, subtle one, Shallots.  This week’s featured recipes include Roasted Beets with Shallot & Mustard Vinaigrette (See Below) and Butternut Squash, Shallot and Coconut Milk Soup (See Below).  Both of these are simple, nourishing recipes where shallots don’t stand out as the main attraction, but rather lay a gentle foundation of flavor.  You can also put those shallots to use in this recipe for Brussels Sprouts Risotto Ottolenghi.  I’ve never made risotto with Brussels Sprouts, but any Ottolenghi recipe I’ve ever made has been excellent, so guess we’d better give this one a try!

I was reminded of a few favorite recipes from past newsletters and thought I’d pull them out and highlight them for you this week.  Some of you may remember them from past years, but in case you aren’t familiar with them I recommend you check them out.  This recipe for Ginger Coconut Sweet Potatoes is one of my all-time favorite sweet potato recipes, especially using baby ginger.  I also really enjoy this very flavorful Peanut & Sweet Potato Soup.  A member in our Facebook group recently reminded me of this delicious recipe for Chai Spiced Squash Bread.  I also included the recipe for Kohlrabi Custard that was shared with us by a longtime member several years ago.  It’s a nice, cozy, silky dish that really accents the flavor of the Kohlrabi.

Speaking of the Facebook Group, there’ve been a few recipe recommendations that popped up recently that caught my eye.  You have one more chance to use your fresh ginger to make these Fresh Ginger Cookies!  I’ve added this recommended recipe for Butternut Squash Pancakes to the winter brunch list!  Of course you can use Butterkin or Autumn Frost Squash in place of butternut.  

Ok friends, it might take you a little longer to get to the bottom of the CSA box this week, but that’s ok.  Take a little extra time and attention to make sure your vegetables are stored properly and you’ll be eating them well into the new year!  As always, please share your recipe and meal ideas in our Facebook Group.  We love to see what everyone else is cooking and eating!  Have a good week—Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Shallots

by Andrea Yoder

Description:  Shallots are similar in appearance to an onion, but they are not “just another onion.”  The variety we grow has a rosy pink skin with thin, purple layers on the inside.  Shallots are both strong and delicate at the same time.  We like to describe it as elegant and sophisticated, meaning the flavor remains bold, but balanced and soft around the edges.  It’s kind of hard to explain, but pay attention when you start to use them and I think you’ll understand what I’m talking about!  

Preparation & Use:  Shallots are a key ingredient in many French sauces such as Hollandaise, Béarnaise, and Bordelaise as well as vinaigrettes. Shallots really shine in these applications, not so much as the main event, but rather for the flavorful foundation they lay for these preparations.  The flavor of the shallots infuses into the sauce and while you can’t specifically taste the shallot, you would know if it were missing.  Shallots may be eaten both raw and cooked.  When cooking, keep the heat gentle so as not to burn them.  They do have a natural sweetness to them that can turn bitter if you burn them.  That natural sweetness also makes them a great candidate for roasting and caramelizing!  They are tasty incorporated into egg dishes, braised meats, sliced thinly and added to fresh vegetables, and incorporated into marinades.  Crispy fried shallots also make a delicious garnish for soups, sautéed greens, and mashed roots. 

Storage:  Shallots store well throughout the fall and winter if kept in a cool, dry, well-ventilated location.  If you notice a sprout starting to shoot up, just remove it and use the remainder of the shallot.

Roasted Beets with Shallot & Mustard Vinaigrette

Yield:  4 servings

For Roasting the Beets:

4 medium to large raw beets, peeled and cut into small wedges

Photo from irenamacri.com

½ tsp ground cumin

2 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

For the Vinaigrette:

2 small or 1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1 Tbsp wholegrain mustard

1 clove garlic, grated or finely diced

4 Tbsp red wine vinegar

8 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp water

¼ tsp salt

Pinch, freshly ground black pepper

To Serve:

¼ cup toasted almonds or other nuts, finely chopped

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Peel the beets and trim the ends.  Cut them into small wedges.
3. Transfer the beets to a bowl and toss with olive oil, cumin and salt.  Transfer onto a flat baking sheet lined with parchment paper or lightly greased with olive oil.  Roast for 45 minutes, or until tender.  Rotate the tray and stir the beets about halfway through the cooking time.
4. In the meantime, prepare the dressing by mixing all the of the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl.  Set aside to marinate at room temperature.
5. Once cooked, transfer the beets to a large plate and drizzle all over with the shallot dressing.  You can use half, to begin with, and serve the rest on the table.  Garnish with nuts and chopped herbs.

Recipe borrowed from https://irenamacri.com/recipes.

Butternut Squash, Shallot & Coconut Milk Soup

Photo from food52.com

Yield:  4-6 servings

2 Tbsp coconut oil

½ cup chopped shallot

½ cup chopped scallion, white and greens kept separate*

1 cup peeled potato, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 ½ cups vegetable broth

3 cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped

¼ to ½ cup coconut milk, plus more, for drizzling (optional)

Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

1. Heat the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the shallot and scallion whites (if using) and cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the potato, ginger, cayenne, bay leaf, ½ tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring, until the potatoes are well coated, 2 to 3 minutes.  Pour in the broth and bring to a simmer.
2. Add the butternut squash and simmer until the potatoes and squash are tender, about 20 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a simmer.  Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaf and let cool at least 5 minutes.  Carefully puree until smooth using either an immersion blender or a blender.  
3. Stir in the coconut milk and reheat the soup if necessary, adjusting the consistency with water and seasoning with additional salt and pepper as needed.
4. Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped cilantro and scallion greens and a drizzle of coconut milk if desired.

*Chef Andrea Note:  Scallions are not typically available as a seasonal ingredient in the Midwest at the time of year when we may typically make this soup.  It would be appropriate to either substitute an additional ½ cup of chopped shallot or yellow onion in place of the scallions.

Recipe borrowed from www.foodnetwork.com

Wrapping up 2021 and Rolling Out 2022!

By Farmer Richard

Rolling out row covers on the Strawberry Field!

Here we are, ushering in the final month of the year and wrapping up yet another bountiful CSA season.  We have already started working towards the next growing season and as we look ahead to 2022, it’s a promising outlook.  We have had a very busy, but very productive fall.  About 90% of our fields are going into winter with established cover crops.  We value cover crops greatly and rely on them to keep our soil in place over the winter while also building fertility for next year!  We are hopeful for next year’s garlic crop which was planted using very nice bulbs we selected from this year’s harvest.  We are confident we’ve given it a good start and we’re happy to report it already has 2 inches of roots protected under a nice layer of mulch!   We also have a nice field of spinach to overwinter for harvest next spring.  It is covered with a big field blanket for a little extra protection over the winter and we anxiously await that day in the spring when we can peel it back and look for that sweet, new growth!  Nearby we also have a very nice, new field of strawberries that we will harvest for the first time in only about 7 ½ short months!  That crop is also nicely mulched and all of these fields are surrounded by deer fencing to deter our four-legged friends from entering them over the winter!

Compost Temperature Reading

We’ve also spent a considerable amount of time doing some field and land maintenance in preparation for next year.  Earlier this year we had the opportunity to purchase a new piece of land that gained us a very nice 12-acre organic field.  Having a secure land base upon which to grow vegetables well into the future is always at the forefront of our minds.  As we go into next year we will be losing some land that we have leased for many years, but we also have some new land we’ll be leasing.  We’ve invested some time this fall into cleaning up the perimeters of some of these new parcels of land as well as making sure roads are accessible for the work we’re going to need to do early in the spring.  We did soil tests this fall and will use that valuable information to formulate a solid management plan we’ll implement next spring including applications of compost, minerals, etc.  On that note, Silvestre has been diligently managing our compost windrows this fall.  He’s closely monitored the temperatures and has been very timely in turning the rows to keep the piles “hot” to make some very nice compost.  These are just a few of the many things we’ve been working on in the luxury of this very nice, mild fall.  We know the snow will be flying soon, so we’re just trying to maximize every nice day!

Compost Turning

The pace of the farm is changing as we slowly say good-bye to our H2A visa crew.  We’re down to the final group of crewmembers who will help us put the finishing touches on this year with our final CSA deliveries before they return to their homes in Mexico for the winter.  We are hopeful that each and every one of them will be returning to work with us again next year.  Labor shortages are a very real struggle in the produce industry and have only become worse in recent years.  We hear stories about produce rotting in the field because there aren’t enough hands to pick it and we are even more grateful to have a skillful, experienced, longtime crew that is dependable and an overall joy to work with.

As we prepare for the new growing season, of course it’s time to also start signing up for the 2022 CSA Season!  This week our “Rollover” email will go out to all of our CSA members who pay through our monthly electronic withdrawal option.  If you are one of those individuals, watch for that email to land in your inbox!   As we put together our offerings for 2022, we are not making too many changes.  The majority of our CSA site hosts will be working with us again next year, however there are a few changes to our delivery sites.  We are also not making any changes to our Vegetable share offerings and a few minor changes to our meat share packages.  While most things will remain consistent with this year, we have decided to increase pricing for both our vegetable shares and meat shares for the 2022 growing season. This is the time of year that we have to assess profitability as we project (guess) what next year will hold.  It’s very difficult to set a price and make a one-year commitment to deliver on that price and it’s no secret that the cost of many things in our economy have increased, and in some cases may continue to rise.  In our business, we’ve seen significant increases in packaging costs this year, but also fuel, fertilizer, and the list goes on.  Just this week I saw reports coming from AgWeb that fertilizer costs are up 43% and seed cost is up 7%.  We don’t want to fuel inflation with increased prices, but we also want to remain profitable and viable so we can continue to feed families into the future.  

It is also worth mentioning that labor is almost half of our annual expenses.  I mentioned earlier how much we value our crew members and they deserve to earn a fair wage for the work they do.  Their wages are set by the government and have increased each year since 2018 with annual increases ranging from 2% to 6.3%.  The 2022 wage rates will be announced soon, but initial thoughts in the industry based on labor surveys are that we’ll see another significant wage increase of as much as 6% for 2022.  This next wage increase will take them over $15 per hour, plus with the H2A visa program we are also responsible for providing free housing, cover all their visa fees and transportation.  

2020 Fall CSA share box

The last time we increased our vegetable CSA share prices was in 2018.  Each year since then we’ve chosen to hold our price and instead focus on building efficiencies and increasing our membership so we can defer the overhead costs of operating a CSA program over more shares.  While we didn’t plan for a pandemic to be the catalyst that brought our CSA numbers back up to a sustainable level, it did make a huge difference in the profitability of the CSA portion of our business.  Unfortunately, we can’t absorb wage and input costs forever and still remain viable.  Thus, for the 2022 season we did increase our vegetable share prices by 5%.  While we haven’t finalized our meat share pricing for 2022 yet, we are planning to increase our meat prices as well.  We are thankful to have a dependable processor, but they raised their processing costs earlier this year and we anticipate we’ll see another increase after the first of the year.  

As we confidently move forward into another growing season, we acknowledge there is a big unknown on our shoulders.  We know the pandemic brought us many new customers and, thankfully, many of you stayed with us for a second season!  But the unknown we face is whether those members will come back for a second or third season.  Will people continue to value CSA as a safe, reliable way to source their food and recognize the value in sourcing locally or will a large percentage of individuals choose to go back to “business as usual?”  We also hope members will consider the actual value of produce packed in the boxes this year.  Based on our secret shopper pricing data to date, if you were to purchase the items in your CSA box at a local food co-op or a national natural food store, you would have paid an average of 32% more for the same quantity of food.  Of course, some items are not always available organic and there are some items we include in boxes that you will seldom to never find on a store shelf.    This is the nature of CSA—when there is bounty, members reap the benefits of a bountiful year by receiving full boxes packed with so much goodness!  Plus, you receive weekly communications, recipes, the opportunity to take advantage of special offers, and most importantly a connection with the source of your food.  This is a very precarious time for our business, but it is also a precarious time for our nation, our economy and our supply chain.  The pandemic has shown us the vulnerabilities in our supply chain and, at the same time, it has become even more evident that a local food system is a more sustainable and reliable system to support.

Gerardo packing CSA boxes 2021!

I suppose any conversation about a new growing season and a new year would not be complete with out mentioning COVID.  What will 2022 hold for us from the perspective of the pandemic?  It’s been a long and challenging two years for all of us.  As business owners, the amount of pandemic-induced decisions, considerations and costs has been overwhelming at times.  Thankfully, we have been able to move forward in good health and continue to do the best we can to make decisions that are in the best interest of our employees as well as our customers.  We’ve done due diligence in minimizing risks of exposure on the farm, but also at our CSA sites.  We know there are differing levels of comfort and opinions about what is necessary.  We continue to assess our practices on the farm as well as the protocols for our CSA sites.  We will be sending out a short survey within the next week or two and would value a few minutes of your time to gather your input.  We want to get your feedback about our COVID related protocols for CSA sites and what your opinions are about what is necessary moving forward into a new year.  

We know many of you would like to see the use of the plastic liner bag be discontinued.  We agree and hope we can resume our previous method of packing vegetables directly into the boxes with members doing a quick transfer of the contents to their own reusable bag, cooler, etc when they pick up their box.  Over the past two years we’ve received some emails from members who are concerned about the amount of plastic and packaging we use to pack our CSA shares.  Couple this with the worldwide use of single-use plastic due to the pandemic and we agree, we can do better.  Over the winter we will be looking at ways we can decrease plastic use in our CSA shares as well as other ways on our farm.  There are some new packaging products available now that are more eco-friendly and may be appropriate for packaging some items we now put in plastic.  One example is a new recyclable cardboard clamshell some growers are using to package small items like grape tomatoes and berries.   Of course, if you have suggestions for packaging vegetables in a CSA box, we’ll gladly consider your input!  

Every year holds a new set of opportunities and I am certain 2022 will not disappoint.  Regardless of what evolves with the pandemic, wage rates, the cost of fuel, etc, we plan to remain steadfast to our goal.  That is to produce the healthiest food we can for our community so all of you can continue to contribute to our world in positive ways.  We hope you enjoy the final deliveries of 2021 and we look forward to growing for you again in 2022!