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  • Creamy Dreamy Cauliflower Soup

    Fast and easy, 6 ingredient soup. No roasting anything, just dump-simmer-blend-eat.

    What’s not to love?. You cut up your vegetables and add-in whatever liquids you like, simmer for about 30 minutes, blend it and dinner is ready!

    You can add roasted vegetables like leeks and make cauliflower leek soup or serve it with grilled cheese ‘croutons’ or leftover rotisserie chicken for a hearty meal. I chopped up some roasted green chilies and added cheese for a really delicious souper (haha) easy meal.

    Cauliflower Soup slightly adapted from a recipe by Recipe Tin Eats.

    • 1 medium cauliflower, florets broken off
    • 2 small potatoes (peel if you like) roughly diced
    • 1 onion peeled and chopped
    • 2 cups milk any kind, non dairy or dairy
    • 2 cups broth, any kind or even water will work
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • endless optional add-ons like roasted leeks or any other vegetables-carrots, leeks, rutabagas, celeriac. Top it with cheese, herbs, roasted chilies or even things like apple slices would be great

    Put everything in a pot and bring it to a simmer for about 30 minutes (that round thing at the top of the photo is frozen chicken stock and some milk splashed on it…just reference for what you are looking at)

    When the potatoes and cauliflower are soft enough to mash use and immersion blender or just a potato masher and blend the soup. This photo is before I blended it when the vegetables were all done.

    Taste the soup and add salt and pepper and if it is too thick add more milk or just water and anything else you want to make it your own creation. I doubt it will be too thin. If it is just simmer it a little longer.

  • Thank you for another season!

    To be honest, I am normally burned out by this time of year. There are so many ups and downs throughout the season. The hail storm in July was a big loss for the farm. We (mostly Wyatt) have been struggling with big irrigation problems for the past two years. I’m exhausted from working the last 4 months at our farm store with only 2 or 3 days off. There have been some large unexpected expenses and this is the time of year when I sit down to the unnerving task of figuring out if we made enough money to cover our expenses. And there are more and more headwinds for small farms and small businesses in general. You would think it would be easier to run a farm after doing it for 22 seasons but it feels like it’s only gotten harder.

    All of the struggles can overshadow the many bright spots. We had a great crew again this year and I am so thankful for our workers from Tapias de Santa Cruz, Mexico. Growing our cucumbers in our screened-in greenhouse successfully protected them from the cucumber beetles that have been decimating our crops for a number of years. Our caterpillar tunnels protected the plants inside them (mostly tomatoes) from hail and we’ll likely continue to grow more crops in tunnels. I had a lot of fun working on our u-pick flowers with Mo and we’re already making plans for improvements next year. I’ve learned that high school boys make good, reliable farm store employees and I’ve had fun working with my nephew and his 10th grade friends at our store.

    The biggest thing that lifts me out of my end-of-season burnout is going to the last week of our CSA pickups. I went to the pickup at Nevei Kodesh last night and my attitude was completely turned around in about 15 minutes. People talk about all of the great food they’ve made over the summer and tell us that the CSA pickup is the highlight of their week and they tell us how much they will miss us over the winter. I get to see how much the kids love the food and I feel like we’re helping to teach them to be good vegetable eaters!

    My job feels like a public service to me and I am proud of the work that we do at Red Wagon. Our CSA members are our partners in making this wonderful thing happen–local food and family farms. You have my sincerest gratitude.

    Amy

  • Instant Pot Chicken Chile Verde

    Pretty much every Colorado Native, most Transplants and every Red Wagon CSA member and employee I know has Green Chile running through their veins. We eat it on, and with everything!

    There is no wrong or right way to make or eat it. This is just one simple recipe I like that is adaptable and really fast because it uses an Instant Pot/Pressure cooker and only 4 ingredients if you don’t count salt and spices.

    Chicken chile verde is a great base for lots of quick meals like burritos, nachos, tacos or tostadas.

    You can substitute the tomatillos with fresh or canned tomatoes if you like, and you can substitute pork for the chicken.

    Chicken Chile Verde

    • 1-2 pounds chicken thighs or breasts. You can also use any cut of pork, though perhaps that might be a different blog post…?
    • 1 pound of tomatillos or tomatoes, fresh or canned
    • 1 pound, about 6 or 7 roasted green chilies
    • 1 medium onion
    • garlic and spices are optional, I used 1 teaspoon each of cumin and oregano
    • salt and pepper to taste

    I used a pressure cooker, the times and directions are pretty much the same for Instant pots.

    1. Place the chicken in the instant pot or pressure cooker to brown the skin, you aren’t cooking it, just browning it. You will remove the skin and any bones after cooking but I like to leave it in now for more flavor. If you are using skinless/boneless just brown the meat.

    2. Put the rest of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and whiz that up for a minute or so.

    Hey look, you made salsa verde!

    3. Dump the salsa verde in with the chicken and cook it under medium to high pressure for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes slowly release the pressure. Remove the meat and when it is cool enough to handle discard the bones and skin and shred the chicken.

    In about a 1/2 hour you have some lovely chicken chile verde delicious as is or ready to make into any number of meals through the week.

    This is easily doubled or tripled and freezes beautifully.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Cauliflower with Béchamel Sauce

    *this is an updated post by Mo. The original was posted 2014 by Amy.

    This recipe is adaptable to using Romanesco and or cauliflower. Both are very similar in texture, flavor, cooking methods and time. Béchamel is a basic creamy sauce that is used in many classic dishes. When I worked in restaurants we called Bechamel sauce ‘Culinary Duct Tape’. It pulls textures and flavors together, and upgrades dishes from simple to special, like magic.

    This is super simple and fast dish to make. Gather your (very white if not using Romanesco) ingredients.

    Recipe

    1-2 heads Romanesco and/or cauliflower cut into manageable sizes
    2 Tbsp butter
    1/4 cup flour any flour will do, even gluten free or corn flour
    1 1/2 cups milk, any type of milk works
    1/2 cup grated cheese, plus more to sprinkle on top. This is optional again, any cheese works here. This is where you can get really fancy, try Blue cheese or Brie or English Cheddar or whatever you love. It’s super fun to customize.
    White pepper
    Salt

    Steam the Romanesco and cauliflower until almost tender for about 5 minutes in a covered pan. They will cook more in the oven, so you want to leave them a little bit firm. Romanesco takes a little longer to get tender so check after 5 minutes for cauliflower and 7 or 8 for Romanesco.

    To make the Béchamel sauce. Melt the butter over medium-low heat then whisk in the flour to make a roux.

    Add 1/2 cup milk, whisking constantly. Whisk until the lumps dissolve and you have a smooth, thick paste. Add the remaining cup of milk, 1/2 cup at a time. Each time you should whisk until the sauce thickens. When you can draw a line that stays on a spoon the sauce is the right consistency.

    When the sauce has thickened (roughly the consistency of thin gravy), stir in the cheese, white pepper, and salt to taste. Remove sauce from heat.

    Place half of the florets on the bottom of your baking dish and half of of the Béchamel sauce.

    Put the remaining half of the florets on top of the first layer and cover with the remaining Béchamel sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

    Bake in a pre-heated 375F degree oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

    This is a great side dish for simple weeknight meals or a fancy holiday celebration.

  • Winter CSA 2025/2026

    We are excited to announce our 2025/2026 Winter CSA! Click here to join.

    Details:

    • Two Pickup Locations:
      • Wednesdays at Red Wagon Farm at 7694 N 63rd St, Longmont (near Niwot).
      • Thursdays at Red Wagon at Thomas Open Space at 1640 W Baseline Rd, Lafayette.
    • Pickup times: 3 to 6 pm.
    • Pickups are from 10/29/25 – 1/29/26
    • Weekly Veggie Share $643.50 (13 pickups)
    • Biweekly Veggie Share $346.50 (7 pickups)
    • Mushroom and Coffee Shares also available.
    • Prices are prorated if you join after Oct 29.

    Possible crops we will have (depending on weather and availability):

    • Greens: lettuce, spinach, arugula, bok choi, kale, chard, collards
    • Onions, garlic, leeks
    • Potatoes
    • Carrots
    • Beets
    • Cabbage
    • Roasted chiles
    • Winter squash
    • Pie pumpkins
    • Herbs
    • Rutabagas
    • Celeriac
    • Winter radishes
    • Turnips

    Select here to see what was in our Winter CSA shares every week last year.

    Click here to join now!
    Email csa@redwagonfarmboulder.com with questions.

  • Casualties of Hail: Melons and U-Pick Tomaotes

    On July 11 in Lafayette we had the worst hail storm that I think Wyatt and I have seen in our 20+ years of farming in Boulder County. It can be difficult to tell how bad the damage is right after a hail storm. Some plants have strong root systems and will eventually grow through the hail damage, though with lower yields. With other crops you don’t see the full extent of the damage for several weeks. The hardest hit crops from this hail storm were our melons and our U-pick tomatoes (among other crops) and we will feel the effects of the hail storm for the rest of the season.

    Diseased tomato plants

    On July 12 the tomato plants looked damaged but they were fairly well established and we thought they would eventually recover. However, in the few weeks after the hail storm the plants were in a weakened state and therefore more susceptible to disease. Now over 75% of the tomato plants in our U-pick area are dead and it is a sad sight! There are still some tomatoes out there are we are holding U-pick events on Saturday mornings. But you really have to hunt for the tomatoes and it is not the bounty we had planned for! The good news is that the tomatoes we have for our CSA members are in caterpillar tunnels and were protected from the hail. That’s why we are still able to bring beautiful tomatoes to you every week! We are now leaning towards putting our whole U-pick area into tunnels next season. It just feels too risky to plant tomatoes outside.

    Battered melon plants

    Our melon plants were also badly damaged and we could see that right away. Before the storm the foliage was thick and lush. After the hail most of the leaves were stripped off and the plants were mostly stems. This was our first melon succession of the season and by far the largest. Usually we would be harvesting hundreds of melons from those plants right now. But this year we’re just getting a trickle off of the plants. We always plant a second and third melon succession but those are much smaller plantings. So the short (and sad) story is that there will be a small melon harvest this year.

    Other crops were damaged but not as badly. The tender zucchinis that were on the plants during the storm all had hail marks. You might remember the beat up looking zucchini the following week! But the plants mostly recovered. The beet leaves were shredded and the beets aren’t forming the way they should. The pepper plants had each put out their first pepper or two. Those peppers were damaged and had to be removed from the plants. We had to wait a few weeks for the plants to recover and put out the next peppers which is why we don’t have any red ripe peppers yet—like Carmens.

    Caterpillar tunnels
    Caterpillar tunnels

    We’ve used row cover for years. For a long time we mostly used a lighter weight row cover and much of that was shredded in this hail storm. But it did provide some protection for the plants that were under the cover. In recent years Wyatt has started using a heavier and more durable row cover. That paid off and there were hardly any holes in the heavier cover!

    It’s more expensive and requires more work to build caterpillar tunnels every year or to use what feels like acres of row cover. But when we’re facing challenges like hail or cucumber beetle infestations we really see the benefit. We will likely keep adding more tunnels to our farm in future years.

    Just a few minutes of hail can greatly impact our whole growing season. It’s a constant source of stress that you just have to live with as a farmer. The good news is that we plant crops all throughout the growing season. We still have a lot of beautiful veggies in the field and will be able to feed you for the months to come!

  • Fundraiser for Tapias de Santa Cruz, Mexico

    For the next couple of weeks, you’ll see a donation can at your CSA pickup. Just a dollar or two will make a difference!

    Tapias de Santra Cruz is an impoverished agricultural town in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas with a population of 1,400. Red Wagon has had a long relationship with Tapias. If you’ve been with Red Wagon for a while, you’ve surely met Javier who has overseen growing operations here for the last 15 years. Tapias is Javier’s hometown. In the past few years Red Wagon has struggled with the shortage of qualified agricultural workers. Last year Javier came through for us and found a few friends and family members from Tapias who were willing to come to Colorado on work visas and work at Red Wagon. This year we have 6 people from Tapias working in our fields!

    We are now trying to help with a fundraiser for the church in Tapias. The church is the center of this small community. Among many other things, it acts as a safety net and performs charitable work for residents in the community.

    The Reina de Tapias de Santa Cruz is a young woman who spends a year acting as the ambassador for Tapias and is responsible for fundraising for the church and the community. Javier’s daughter, Andrea, is a contestant to be the next Reina of Tapias. We are trying to help Andrea raise money to provide for her family and community in Tapias. We hope you’ll join us!

  • Carrot Top Pesto

    We have loads of pesto recipes here on this site each one highlights a season or ingredient. Might as well add one more!

    Carrot top pesto highlights the first carrots of the season because it is best made with tender young tops. Older long season carrot tops are tougher and a little bitter and will be a bit chewy.

    Carrot Top Pesto

    • 2 cups washed young tender carrot tops, stems removed
    • 1 clove garlic
    • 1/2 cup nuts or parmesan cheese, or both!
    • Salt and pepper
    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime (optional)

    Place the carrot tops, garlic, nuts and or cheese, salt, and pepper and lemon or lime juice in a food processor. Pulse several times. Scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula then slowly add the oil-presto! You made pesto!

    Use this with grilled fish or vegetables, mix it in pasta or beans or just spread on bread.

     

     

     

     

  • Rhubarb Salad Dressing

    Here is a simple salad dressing using rhubarb. It is tart and sweet thanks to the honey and bright and clingy so it is suitable for heavy greens like kale or sturdy lettuces.

    You need only a few ingredients and a blender.

    3/4 cup chopped rhubarb
    2 garlic cloves or green garlic
    1/4 cup of whatever onion you have. I had walking onions, use what you have
    3 tablespoons honey
    3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1 teaspoon oregano fresh or dried
    Salt to taste
    Freshly ground black pepper to taste

    Chop the rhubarb and garlic and onions and put everything except 2 tablespoons of oil in the blender. Blend everything and thin the dressing with the oil you held back. This is a thick dressing!

    That’s it. Dress your salad. I used kale and I like to have cheese and fruit or protein in salad so I added feta, dates and pistachios, but use what you like. Apples and chicken would be delicious with this dressing. Use your imagination.

  • Thank you Winter CSA Members!

    We are delighted that you joined us for our Winter CSA! It makes us happy to be able to feed you for a few extra months each year. I hope it has warmed up your winter to have local veggies to take home. All of the roasted veggies and soups. And the fresh greens that you just can’t get anywhere else this time of year.

    Things are quieter at the farm in February. Wyatt and I will be busy with indoor work like ordering seeds and doing repairs on equipment. The rest of our crew takes most of the month off. But we start things up in the greenhouse the first week of March. The first crops we start are things like onions, kale, and tomatoes. We also do our first outdoor planting of peas, radishes, and arugula in the middle of March. There aren’t many months of the year that we don’t have something growing even though we’re in Colorado!

    The crops we start growing in March are what we feed you when our Summer CSA starts in late May. You can join now and look forward to warmer weather and fresh veggies. That always helps to get me though the final cold, dark months of winter.

    Our CSA members are the foundation of our farm. We plan everything around our CSA and you’re the ones that keep us going year after year. It is beyond challenging to keep a vegetable farm running and we have so much gratitude for all of your support in this journey.

    Amy