CSA 2014 Week #1

• Turnips
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Strawberries

Vegetable Storage and Preparation Tips:

TURNIPS/RADISHES: We are really excited to be able to give you both turnips and radishes this week. We usually give one or the other, but the plantings were just too beautiful not to harvest both! We also wanted you to know that you can eat your turnips raw in a salad, but can also roast or sauté them with a little butter and onion to bring out their delicate sweet flavor, enjoy!

Cut turnip greens from their roots and store the roots separately. Keep dry, unwashed greens in a sealed plastic bag in your fridge. Thicker greens will keep up to two weeks, tender ones should be eaten within a week. To store turnips and radishes, place them unwashed in a plastic bag in the crisper bin of your fridge. Due to high water content, turnips and radishes may deteriorate quickly, but most should keep for a week.

SPINACH: Rinse Spinach leaves in cool water and pat dry with a towel or “spin dry” as you would lettuce. Store in a damp towel or plastic bag for up to a week. Spinach can be steamed, sauteed, eaten raw or added to soups at the last minute. For long-term storage, spinach may be frozen. Blanch for 1-2 minutes. Spinach cooks quickly, so be careful not to overcook. Look for a bright green color. 2-3 lbs. of fresh spinach will reduce to 2 cups cooked.

STRAWBERRIES: Rinse Strawberries just before eating to clean off any grit that may still be on the berries from the field. To freeze berries, spread them out on a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, store them in a Ziploc bag or plastic container until ready to use. Fresh or frozen berries can be used to make cakes, breads, & muffins, as well as added to yogurt, ice cream and smoothies.

LETTUCE: Store your lettuce in a plastic bag in your refrigerator and when you are ready to eat it, wash the leaves in cold water and spin or pat dry. The variety you are getting this week is a red oak leaf lettuce.

Recipes!

Spring Turnips and Their Tender Greens from Natural Health Magazine

Strawberry Recipes from Martha Stewart

The Best Baked Spinach from Smitten Kitchen

Welcome to our 23rd CSA season here at Winter Green Farm! We have had an absolutely beautiful spring and the farm is bursting with delicious vegetables to share with you. I wanted to start this season’s blog by introducing you to the people who will be involved in the CSA program this year on the farm.

My name is Sara Davies and I write and take most of the photos for the blog. This will be my thirteenth season at the farm and my roles have evolved over the years, from harvest crew, greenhouse, farmers market vendor, to bookkeeper and blogger. My most important job these last few years has been mother, to my now 3.5 year old Ella, and joining me in the office and on the farm this year, my two month old daughter Genevieve! I am excited to be able to share photos, recipes, farm news, and more, to provide you with a link to where your food comes from. I hope to create a connection for you, so you feel like you know your farm and the people growing your food.

Jabrila Via is one of the owners of the farm and has been managing the CSA since the beginning of the program. With her vast depth of knowledge and experience,  she is the one who plans the CSA crops, manages the greenhouse, coordinates the transplants, manages the CSA harvest crew, and designs each box every week throughout the season.

This year, her CSA assistant manager is Tyson Davies (who also happens to be my handsome husband). This is Tyson’s tenth season at the farm and his roles have also evolved over the years, from farmers market vendor and harvest co-manager, irrigation coordinator, wholesale coordinator, and pesto production, to co-managing the cattle herd.

You have all probably had the pleasure of speaking with Linda Davies, our amazing Office and CSA coordinator (and Tyson’s mom…it’s a family farm!). She is the one you will talk to when you call the farm office and will have all the answers to your questions! This is her tenth season at the farm, and she handles all the CSA logistics, as well as many other farm office responsibilities. She is the queen of mulit-tasking, and an integral part of making sure your CSA experience is a good one!

The crew this year is a great group of hard-working folks, and I will be sharing their stories throughout the season here on the blog. They are up early every morning to harvest, process, pack the boxes, and deliver them to you and your families. Without them, we couldn’t do what we do, and we are so grateful for all their hard work and positive attitudes.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the beginning of the CSA season! For those of you who have been with us before, we are honored to be growing your food once again. For those of you who are new to the CSA, welcome! Thank you for making the choice to support your local food system and farmer this year. We truly couldn’t do it without you!  We hope you enjoy the bounty of the season with us, we are so happy you all chose us to be your farmers this year.