Well then, that’s that

Winter 15/16 April 14, 2016 Winter CSA #8

Well, the weather is changing just in time for the end of the winter season. Summer CSA had it’s challenges but there was one advantage that we don’t have with the winter CSA, namely the ability to grow as you go. If you have lousy carrots in the spring, plant them again for the fall! With the winter CSA it is more like shoving of on an exploration of Antarctica. Everything you will need for all of the deliveries must be ready to go on the first of November. If the onions decide not to make it through until spring (the reason there are so few in your box) there is not much we can do about it in December!

At this point, we are cleaning out the freezers and root cellars. You will notice a lot of this OR that in the box list. Every box will probably end up a little bit different from the others. It’s also the time when our counting skills prove themselves...or not. That box of frozen broccoli that is la-beled “55 bags” but only has 45 can really throw us for a loop and send us scrambling back to the walk in freezer to see what else might be hiding! At the time of this writing, the Thursday boxes are packed and it all went to-gether….hope you like what you got!!

Speaking of you opinion, we will be sending out a survey using Survey Monkey in the next week or two and would really appreciate any feedback that you could give us on the

...more on reverse

From the field: Potatoes: russets. Just a very few small buds starting. They shouldn’t affect eating quality but don’t leave them in a warm place for too long as they are breaking dormancy and will send out shoots. Carrots:: Onions: Just an onion or two, sorry to say they’ve run there course. Spinach: Nice big bag, we’ve been cooking with it a lot. Kale; super tender from the hoop houses, keep it in plastic or it will go limp very quickly. Great steamed lightly or fresh. Scallions: ooohh, Almost didn’t put these not-so-pretties in. They were an experiment that we need to improve! Hard to clean, some yellow tips but still, maybe be nice cleaned up and sprinkled in eggs or on a burrito.

From the kitchen:

Granola: coconut maple again. Raisin Rye with chocolate chips: A sweet bread but not too sweet to eat in a Ruben. Fabulous toasted with cream cheese. Sour Kraut: pint for that Ruben Crunchy Kim Chi: Not quite as spicy this time Humus: African Sweet potato soup with PEANUTS Apple Sauce: Just leave it overnight to thaw then eat it fresh or use it in baking. Tomato sauce: Dilly beans or Green Salsa: Frozen Spinach or Swiss Chard: use them interchangeably or together if you need to for a lasagna or some such thing. Frozen Green beans: If you like your green beans al dente, these might be a disappointment. They actually need to be cooked a bit and then covered with butter from a cow and salt/pepper. Or, use them in a soup or stew. Frozen Sweet corn or broccoli or roasted tomatoes or green beans: hope you get what you like! Frozen Red pepper slices: pan fry with onions and a dash of red pepper Frozen cubed butternut squash: 2 packages: Coat with oil (will keep squash from drying out as it cooks) salt, pepper, garlic pow-der and bake at 400 till tender.

New Growth….Another Chance

Spring Share??? At the time of this writing, we

are just about full, give us a call or email soon if you want to give it a try. Still experimental as we have never grown during this time of year. Almost all out of the high tunnels, mostly greens and salad type stuff. Maybe some heavier things by the last of the four deliveries. 4 deliveries, 180.00 More info on the website at www.foxtailcsa.com

Winter CSA. When we look back over the deliveries, we feel that in many areas, we have improved from years past. We still feel that we are learning in leaps and bounds and fig-uring out what works and what doesn’t. Of course, learning on the fly like this is a little bit like changing the tires on a moving car!

Most CSA farmers think when they start this kind of farming that their CSA members choose the farm. Over the years, we’ve fig-ured out that it is the CSA that chooses the members. This is done (generally uninten-tionally) by designing a box that appeals to a certain group of people. It is very, very tempting to try to guess what the members want but in the end it just leaves us scattered and confused because there are all kinds of tastes out there in memberland. We have to move forward with what we think we are good at, try to make it a good value and hope that, over time, we can select for a member-ship that loves it!

As we plan and plant for next winter we are already trying to figure out what to change, what to try to improve and maybe what not to do at all! We are committed to figuring out how to increase the amount of fresh veggies in the box throughout the win-ter, after all, that is the whole point of CSA. That commitment means discovering or re-discovering storage methods, varieties and tricks that allow us to keep it all alive. We are also trying to increase the amount of items from the kitchen that you can use as ingredients for your own cooking. We realize that for every item we prepare, a third of you will love it, a third will think it ok and a third will not like it at all. Items like the roasted tomatoes we tried this year will be more com-mon in the future and we hope more useful as they can be used in so many different ways.

We also understand that being a CSA member can be a challenge. Kind of like be-ing on “Iron Chef” every time a box comes. We appreciate your flexibility and your crea-tivity. It is not always easy to figure out what to do with the “surprises inside”!

What we all probably share is an under-standing that our food system is a shambles. You can be sure that we are doing our best to try to offer a healthy alternative to that sys-tem. Have a great summer and hope to see you next fall!

...continued

*Foxtail grown **Certified organic ingredient

Raisin Rye with Chocolate chips: ** White flour,, ** Whole Rye flour, **Whole wheat flour *honey, Molasses, honey, **olive oil, Cocoa powder, **Raisins, Chocolate chips, yeast, sea salt. Granola: Organic oats, organic canola oil, organic maple syrup, Almonds, Walnuts and or pecans, coconut, Vanilla, (Vanilla bean, alcohol, water) sea salt. Sour Kraut: *Cabbage, sea salt. Kim Chi: *Radishes, *turnips, *beets, *cabbage, *Kohl rabi, **ginger, *onion, Hot pepper flakes, salt. Sweet potato PEANUT soup: *Sweet potatoes, *Onions, *Carrots, **Tomatoes, Peanut Butter (peanuts), **Garlic, *Fresh ginger juice, Chili powder Humus: Chick peas, *garlic scapes,**olive oil, **Tahini, lemon juice, Salt. Tomato sauce: *Tomatoes Dilly Beans: *Green beans, *garlic, vinegar, sea salt, *jalapeno peppers, *dill Salsa Verde: *Tomatillos, *jalapenos, *onions. *garlic, lime juice, sea salt, cumin, *cilantro. Frozen Red pepper slices: *Red pepper slices Frozen Broccoli: *Broccoli Frozen Spinach: *Spinach Frozen Green Beans: *Green Beans Frozen Sweet corn: *Sweet corn Frozen Butternut squash: *Butternut squash Apple Sauce: Apples We make everything in a kitchen that also processes, nuts, wheat, soy and dairy.

Butternut Squash Burrito Filling One package frozen butternut squash cubes 1/2 cup uncooked rice, brown or white 2 tsp olive oil 1 chopped onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 red pepper chopped (frozen will do nicely) 1tsp cumin or to taste (I like less) Salt and Cayenne to taste (or hot pepper sauce) 1 15 oz can of black beans drained and rinsed 3/4 cup cheese or cheese sub. Tortillas Coat squash cubes with oil and salt and pepper then roast @400 for about 45 min or until tender, meanwhile cook rice. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté oil, onion and garlic for several minutes, add other seasonings and stir well. Add chopped red pepper, black beans, rice and sauté for another 10 minutes. When squash is cooked, add to skillet. Just before removing from heat, add cheese. Heat tortillas and fill. Top with sour cream, green or red salsa, avocado, spinach, etc….