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Category: 2023

  • Winter CSA Week 10

    Hello CSA Members!

    Welcome to the last CSA pickup of 2023–but fortunately NOT the last pickup of this season’s winter CSA! We’re excited to have so many greens in our winter tunnels and greenhouses out in Longmont to share with you, like the tender, sweet kale that we started harvesting last week.

    Here is a list of what we hope to bring you during week 10 of our winter CSA.

    1 – Greens Zone
    2 – Potatoes or Celeriac
    3 – Roasted Peppers or Winter Radish
    4 – Carrots or Beets
    5 – Turnips
    6 – Allium or Herb Choice
    7 – Winter Squash

    PLEASE NOTE: This year, we are holding our pickup from 3pm-6pm (an hour earlier than summer CSA).

    If your friends and family still want to join our winter CSA, you can have them Click here for the sign-up link. CSA runs through January 25th, 2023 (January 18th for Biweekly A members).

  • Shaved Apple Kale Salad

    This seemingly simple kale salad has been on the menu at Oak at Fourteenth restaurant for over a decade. I think it is because it is a perfect balance of salty-tart-sweet-crunchy-and a little bit of spice.

    The chef-partner Steven Redzikowski has shared the recipe in local magazines and on social media several times. I have used his recipe and made it dozens of times and it is truly a restaurant quality salad if you don’t stray too far from the suggested portions and ingredients. I’ll copy the recipe below and put my comments in paratheses.

    • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    • Zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
    • 2 cups thinly sliced kale (any kale works, just slice it thinly)
    • 1/4 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
    • 1/4 cup roughly chopped candied almonds (you can use any candied nut (I use honey roasted peanuts sometimes) or even seeded granola if you can’t eat nuts. The sweetness from the candied nuts adds a much needed balance to the tartness in the salad. If you aren’t using candied nuts or granola add a little honey or agave or some other sweetener.)
    • 1 apple-sweet not tart apple (slice it very-very thinly-you want a thin slice of apple in every bite)
    • About 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
    • About 1/4 tsp. pepper
    • Ichimi togarashi* or red pepper flakes (*available the Asian area of the grocery store. You can use any red pepper flakes but the togarashi is really nice mild finely ground spice. The spice is a nice balance to the tartness of the apples.)

    • Whisk together oil, zest, cheese and lemon juice in a medium bowl.

    • Add kale, apple and almonds, then toss to coat.(Really-really-really toss this salad. I use my hands to tumble it in the bowl to make sure every single nook-and-cranny of the kale and apples are coated with the dressing and the candy coating from the nuts is ‘melting’ a bit to become one with the salad.)

    • Season with salt, pepper, and ichimi togarashi and pile it high on a serving dish.

    Like I said, don’t stray too far from the suggested amounts or ingredients. The beauty of this salad is the clean simplicity and balance; kale, apple, nut, salty and a hint of spice in every bite. Thanks for the recipe Steve, Chef’s kiss.

    Mo

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Winter CSA Week 9

    Hello CSA Members!

    Happy holidays! It’s been a great holiday season so far. Hard to believe that we’ll be writing “2024” in just two weeks. The sunny “springtime” weather has been delightful, and great weather sure makes for fun harvesting.

    Here is a list of what we hope to bring you during week 9 of our winter CSA.

    1 – Greens Zone 1
    2 – Greens Zone 2
    3 – Cabbage or Kohlrabi
    4 – Carrots
    5 – Turnips or Celeriac
    6 – Winter Radish, Herbs or Leeks
    7 – Winter Squash (Butternut)

    PLEASE NOTE: This year, we are holding our pickup from 3pm-6pm (an hour earlier than summer CSA).

    If your friends and family still want to join our winter CSA, you can have them Click here for the sign-up link. CSA runs through January 25th, 2023 (January 18th for Biweekly A members).

  • Seed (and Nut) Crusted Delicata

    This time of year I can’t get enough roasted winter squash.

    We celebrated Hanukkah this weekend I made these cute little seeded delicata rings and they were gobbled up as fast as the latkes! Everyone loved them!

    These are super easy to make.

    Preheat your oven to 400F. Cut two delicata squash (that’s how many fit on my sheet pan) into 3/4 inch rings and scoop out the seeds and rub them really well with olive oil and salt and pepper. I used garlic too, I don’t think I would use garlic again.

    In a food processor I added;

    • 3 tablespoons of turbinado sugar (you can use any sugar you like, coconut or maple would be nice here if you have it, or just brown sugar would work too.)
    • 1/4 cup almonds (use what you like, or just use all seeds)
    • 1/4 cup sesame seeds. I used white and black.
    • You could add cinnamon or herbs, I didn’t but I will next time.

    Pulse all that in the food processor until it is like sand then press one side of the oiled squash into the seed mix and arrange on a baking tray seed side up.

    I baked these for about 1/2 hour covered and uncovered for another 10 minutes. I covered the tray with another tray so they wouldn’t dry out and so the sugar in the crust wouldn’t get too dark. I wasn’t sure what would happen. I’d never made these before so I was cautious.

    You could roast them uncovered and they would be more caramelized and crunchy than mine were.

    I also roasted a couple delicata “boats” while the oven was hot and added the last bit of the nut/seed/’sand’ mix to the hollow of the squash. Yum.

    I will be making this again and again. It was easy and very very tasty everyone love them.

    Mo

     

     

     

  • Winter CSA Week 8

    Hello CSA Members!

    We’ve been so impressed by our members’ love for radishes! Did you know that radishes are full of vitamin C and other antioxidants as well as lots of fiber?

    Here is a list of what we hope to bring you during week 8 of our winter CSA.

    1 – Greens Zone
    2 – Radishes or Herbs
    3 – Cabbage or Kohlrabi
    4 – Carrots
    5 – Turnips
    6 – Potatoes
    7 – Winter Squash

    PLEASE NOTE: This year, we are holding our pickup from 3pm-6pm (an hour earlier than summer CSA).

    If your friends and family still want to join our winter CSA, you can have them Click here for the sign-up link. CSA runs through January 25th, 2023 (January 18th for Biweekly A members).

  • Lemon Garlic Bok Choy

    Bok Choy! It’s not just for stir fries and Asian dishes!

    Bok Choy is a brassica and is related to broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts so when life gives me Bok Choy and I don’t want a stir fry, I cook Bok Choy like broccoli or kale or, prepare it raw like cabbage in a slaw.

    Probably everyone has prepared kale or Brussels sprouts by heating olive oil in a pan, add garlic, salt and pepper-add vegetables and sauté until done to your liking-squirt some lemon on it and you’re done. Super happy right?

    Let’s cook our Bok Choy like that, sort of channeling sauteed lemon garlic broccoli, (except I didn’t have any garlic how do I not have garlic? :-/ I used a shallot).

    I wanted my Bok Choy to be reminiscent of  broccoli so I left the stalks long and chopped the shallot like I would garlic.

    Heat a pan to medium high add some olive oil and the shallot (or garlic).

    Then I added the Bok Choy and some salt and pepper. It looks like a lot but it cooks down.

    Let that sear for 3 or 4 minutes, don’t mess with them, then turn them with some tongs.

    Let them sear on that side for another 3 or 4 minutes (don’t fuss with them) and turn again until they are done to your liking. If some of the pieces get done before the others move them to a plate until the rest are done.

    When they are all cooked through plate them and give them a squeeze of lemon and little more salt and pepper and voila. Lovely side dish.

    The different textures of the stalk and the leaf of the Bok Choy are really nicely contrasted in this method of cooking. It really is very reminiscent of broccoli  prepared this way.

    One of the challenges of being a CSA member is thinking outside the box with your weekly bounty, when you do, the reward is the joy and satisfaction of a simple delightful satisfying dish.

    Have a great week.

    Mo

  • Winter CSA Week 7

    Hello CSA Members!

    We’re still working hard to get all of our crops out of the field before real winter arrives. Though you probably don’t see him often or at all during CSA pickup, Javier works day in and out to bring you all your amazing root vegetables this winter CSA season. We wanted to say a special thanks to him for always bringing us great food and a jolly smile!

    Here is a list of what we hope to bring you during week 7 of our winter CSA.

    1 – Greens Zone 1
    2 – Greens Zone 2
    3 – Allium Choice
    4 – Carrots
    5 – Turnips or Beets
    6 – Potatoes
    7 – Delicata Squash

    PLEASE NOTE: This year, we are holding our pickup from 3pm-6pm (an hour earlier than summer CSA).

    If your friends and family still want to join our winter CSA, you can have them Click here for the sign-up link. CSA runs through January 25th, 2023 (January 18th for Biweekly A members).

  • Honeynut Squash

    This week we have a fun novel offering, Honeynut squash!

    Below is a photo of some Honeynuts with their bigger cousins, a couple of Butternut squash.

    Honeynuts are not small butternuts they are hybrids developed from butternut and buttercup squash. They are about the size of a medium/large sweet potato (about one pound) and much sweeter and more creamy and dense than a butternut. You don’t need to peel Honeynuts the skins are edible. If you don’t like to eat squash skin, still leave the skin on, it serves as a handy ‘bowl’ so you can easily scoop the tasty flesh out.

    When roasted, Honeynuts have a caramel malty rich flavor. The flesh is smooth and tender without any of the stringiness you get from larger squashes. They’re the perfect personal or two person-size squash and are absolutely delicious.

    Roast these much like any winter squash; Preheat your oven to 425F, Wash the Honeynut and cut them in half and remove the seeds, rub them all over with olive oil, salt and pepper.

    I roasted some of these cut side up and some cut side down to see if I liked one way more then the other. Up and down were both great. I have no preference other than if you want to put something in the cavity like syrup (the cut side up ones I put a little maple syrup in the cavity) or nuts or cheese-roast them up.

    Cook these  for 30-40 minutes, start checking to see if they are done at 30 minutes by sticking a sharp knife into one. If they aren’t tender, check again ever 10 minutes until they are done.

    Have fun with these little treats. They are one of my favorite crops we have had this year.

    Mo

     

     

     

  • Winter CSA Week 6

    Hello CSA Members!

    We’re still working hard to get all of our crops out of the field before real winter arrives. Though you probably don’t see him often or at all during CSA pickup, Javier works day in and out to bring you all your amazing root vegetables this winter CSA season. We wanted to say a special thanks to him for always bringing us great food and a jolly smile!

    Here is a list of what we hope to bring you during week 6 of our winter CSA.

    1 – Greens Zone 1
    2 – Greens Zone 2
    3 – Allium Choice
    4 – Carrots
    5 – Turnips
    6 – Potatoes
    7 – Kabocha or Honeynut Squash

    PLEASE NOTE: This year, we are holding our pickup from 3pm-6pm (an hour earlier than summer CSA).

    If your friends and family still want to join our winter CSA, you can have them Click here for the sign-up link. CSA runs through January 25th, 2023 (January 18th for Biweekly A members).

  • Winter CSA Week 5

    Hello CSA Members!

    We’re excited to see you next Tuesday for a our Thanksgiving week pickup. Here is a list of what we hope to bring you during week 5, so you can start ideating and prepping for cozy, scrumptious, farm fresh dishes on Thursday.

    1 – Garlic
    2 – Greens Choice
    3 – Celeriac or Cabbage
    4 – Carrots or Rutabaga
    5 – Onions
    6 – Potatoes
    7 – Pie Pumpkin or Butternut Squash

    PLEASE NOTE: This year, we are holding our pickup from 3pm-6pm (an hour earlier than summer CSA).

    It’s still not too late to sign up for the rest of our winter CSA season! Click here for the sign-up link. Let your family and friends in on it!