CSA 2014 Week #19

• Apples
• Potatoes
• Leeks
• Carrots
• Radishes
• Parsnips
• Onions
• Kale
• Delicata squash

Special Announcements:

*The apples in your box are from Mt Hood Organic Farms, a wonderful certified organic farm up in Mt. Hood, Oregon. We have been working with them the last three seasons to bring you the apples and pears in your CSA share, as we are not in a prime location here on the outskirts of the coastal range to grow tree fruits. The variety you are receiving is “Gala” and will be delicious on their own as a healthy snack, added to salads and stir-fries for a bit of crisp sweetness, or baked in any delicious fall dessert.

*We would like to remind everyone again about the end of season harvest celebration here at the farm! It will be THIS Saturday, October 18th, Noon to 4pm. We will begin with the annual potluck…bring your favorite dish to share with your fellow members if you would like to participate. After the potluck we will begin hayrides down to the pumpkin field to pick out your pumpkins! We’ll also have other fun activities and will press fresh apple cider. We hope you will join us to celebrate the amazing season we’ve had!

Vegetable Handling and Preparation Tips:

PARSNIPS: Parsnips will store well for several weeks unwashed in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. When ready to use, scrub under running water (no need to peel). Parsnips have a naturally sweet flavor that is brought out by roasting.

Parsnips taste wonderful in curries with ginger or try them in soups and stew with squash. Try adding sage, leeks, onions, or greens to your dish to accent the sugars. Grate raw into salads or mix with potatoes for pancakes or hash browns.

For a delicious snack, try parsnips cut into sticks and then fried like French fires in olive oil until golden. Add a pinch of salt or soy sauce for flavor on size. Or you can bake the sticks at 350 degrees on a cookie sheet until tender-firm.

Recipes!

Roasted Delicta Squash with Quinoa Salad from foodandwine.com

Baked Parsnip Fries with Rosemary from epicurious.com

Parsnip Spice Cake with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting from epicurious.com

Apple Recipes from Marthastewart.com

News From the Field

It is the last week of the regular season! I can’t believe how quickly these nineteen weeks have passed us by! It was a gorgeous morning on the farm. The fog filled the Poodle Creek valley and as the sun came up and the mist began to evaporate, I walked over to the leeks to take some photos.

The crew was busy digging up the leeks, making piles of ten, and then trimming off the roots and cutting back the leaves to make them easier to wash later up at the barn.

It really has been an amazing season here at the farm. We had such an abundance of so many crops that in the true CSA fashion, we were able to share this bounty with you and give you more than we had planned for. That is one of the best parts about joining a CSA. You are all choosing to support a farm, at the beginning of the season, taking on some of the risk with us. There are so many variables in farming, the weather, the soil health, predators and insects. Your support helps us to know that we have people behind us, willing to make a choice to not only know where their food comes from, but to make a connection with their farmer and farm, getting insight into everything it takes to grow food.

By belonging to the CSA you help us to buy the seeds and plant crops for you that we know are already sold. It is a system that has very little waste, and has proven year after year to be a viable and sustainable enterprise here at the farm. For those of you who are returning members, and long time members of the Winter Green CSA community, you know that there have been some challenging seasons, when rains have lasted until July, but we always strive to make the CSA experience positive and fruitful, using all the tools and years of farming experience and knowledge that we have.

So when we have a year like this one, we love to celebrate and share the bounty that we have been blessed with! For those of you who are not continuing on to the extended season we want to say farewell and thanks again for being a part of the farm this year, we hope that you chose to support us again next year and let us continue to grow your food for you. Have a safe, warm and happy winter!

-Sara and all the Winter Green Farmers