2020 CSA Share ~ Week #23

November 13, 2020

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

RESERVE YOUR SHARE FOR THE 2021 SEASON!

If you would like to secure your CSA Share for the 2021 season, we are reserving shares with a $25 deposit. You can send a check to the farm, or we can use a debit/credit card info on file if you like. Otherwise just call/email the farm to have your share reserved. SNAP recipients will be exempt from the deposit but we can still reserve the share for you.

WHAT’S IN YOUR SHARE THIS WEEK:

  • Apples ~ Gravenstein 
  • Carrots
  • Pac Choi
  • Daikon radish
  • Collards
  • Romanesco
  • Lettuce ~ Red or Green Butter
  • Onions 
  • Acorn Squash

RECIPES:

Frosty start to the week!

As the season draws to a close, we can hardly believe we have all actually survived this crazy, chaotic, ever changing year…..and it’s not over yet! With just a couple of deliveries left, I would like to send a few reminders for you:

  • If any of your CSA Share boxes have make their way home with you, please do round them up and bring them to your delivery site this week, or next. We tally up all of the bins at the end of the season to see what our needs will be in the new year. Having boxes returned helps us to keep the CSA costs down, as we factor that cost into the share cost each season. You have all been doing a fabulous job at returning them this year so far!
  • If you have a balance with us for your share this year, we would appreciate if you would bring your account up to date. I will be sending out reminder emails soon, with your statement attached. If you do receive an email, you can send a check for payment, or contact the farm with your credit/debit card info. If you have any questions, or need to make any special arrangements, call/email the farm office.

We have a few new additions to your share this week!

Romanesco….the alien of the brassica family!

ROMANESCO is one of those vegetables that many people steer away from, just because it looks so weird, and they don’t know how to cook it. It is really quite tasty, and can be cooked and prepared in any way you would use cauliflower or broccoli. I found a couple of recipes that look enticing, so I hope you will try one…let us know how you like it!

Blanch the florets and then shock in an ice bath to lock in that vibrant color. (They’ll become muted if you skip the shocking step.) Add the pre-cooked Romanesco to salads, veggie trays, or even cold noodle dishes. Trim off any outer leaves before cooking. Store unwashed in fridge in a plastic bag for up to 1 week.

Whenever we give out Romanesco, I like to share with members how it’s one of the most perfect examples of the Fibonacci Sequence. The Fibonacci sequence is one of the most famous formulas in mathematics.

Each number in the sequence is the sum of the two numbers that precede it. So, the sequence goes: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and so on. The mathematical equation describing it is Xn+2= Xn+1 + Xn. A mainstay of high-school and undergraduate classes, it’s been called “nature’s secret code,” and “nature’s universal rule.” It is said to govern the dimensions of everything from the Great Pyramid at Giza, to the iconic seashell, and to many plants, flowers and vegetables.

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Many sources claim it was first discovered or “invented” by Leonardo Fibonacci. The Italian mathematician, who was born around A.D. 1170, was originally known as Leonardo of Pisa, said Keith Devlin, a mathematician at Stanford University. Only in the 19th century did historians come up with the nickname Fibonacci (roughly meaning, “son of the Bonacci clan”), to distinguish the mathematician from another famous Leonardo of Pisa, Devlin said. [Large Numbers that Define the Universe]

But Leonardo of Pisa did not actually discover the sequence, said Devlin, who is also the author of “Finding Fibonacci: The Quest to Rediscover the Forgotten Mathematical Genius Who Changed the World,” (Princeton University Press, 2017). Ancient Sanskrit texts that used the Hindu-Arabic numeral system first mention it, and those predate Leonardo of Pisa by centuries.

Daikon Radish is not a veggie we usually give out to the CSA but our regular radish crop didn’t do too well this fall, so we thought we’d substitute this gem for you. I put some recipes in the Blog for you to try, and you can use it and store it just as you would any other radish!

Hope you enjoy this blustery weekend ahead, and you’ll have plenty of recipes to try while staying indoors!

Linda and all of your Winter Green Farmers