THE BEET: Volume 15; Issue 21
FULL SHARE & GREEN HALF SHARE PICK UP TONIGHT
Pick up today: 5pm - 7:30pm at PS 56 on the corner of Gates and Downing
FINAL PICK UP NEXT WEEK FOR FULL & YELLOW HALF SHARES
FINAL PICK UP FOR FRUIT SHARES & GREEN HALF SHARES TONIGHT
Reminders & Links:
Winter Share Sign up HERE!
Lewis Waite CSA Extras: They have a lot of new fall products; including flours, organic chickens, lamb, half baked pizzas, mushroom teas and cheeses! Sign up for extra goodies to fill out your final share for next week!
Please take a few minutes to fill out our end of the year survey HERE. It helps us and Ted prepare for next year's season.
Anniversary Party Postponed! We (The CHCSA Core) have decided to postpone the 15th Anniversary Party for a little bit, we will send everyone a proper invite when the time comes. In the meantime- if you signed up to volunteer for the party- we would welcome your help at next week's pick up instead. There is a bit more set up and clean up involved on the final night- as Ted sends the vegetables in plastic bags & cardboard boxes. Thank you!
This Week's Share:
- Spinach and ‘Lollo Rossa’ lettuce or a lettuce mix
- Leeks, garlic and onions
- A choice between potatoes and beets
- Your choice of three greens: kale, choy, chard, escarole, collards and a ‘Tokyo Bekana’ mix
- A last taste of summer – peppers, chiles, cilantro and a tomato
- Fruit Share: Cortland Apples & Bosc Pears
Letter From Windflower Farm:
It has rained for two days and now a cold wind is blowing. The brilliant red and orange leaves of last week have fallen, and, although our young cover crops are a bright green, the larger landscape is becoming a more muted gold. A light snow is expected on Thursday morning. We are all taking a little more care with our clothing selections – gloves, hats, sweaters and rain gear litter the staff room. The tunnels have been battened down and soon we’ll apply additional layers of covers over our baby greens. The field season is clearly winding down. The local farm staff is looking forward to a short break before preparation of winter shares begins. The staff from Laguna Prieta, in Mexico – Martin, Monica and Martin Jr. – are excited to be heading home, where family and sweethearts await them. And after their reunion, and a week or so of rest, they have a family farm to attend. Martin grows the subsistence crops, corn, beans and squash, with which he feeds his family and their livestock, and the cash crops, onions and cabbage, which he barters at the local store. Soon, it will be harvest time there, but because his family is large, Martin says, the work does not take long and there is plenty of time for relaxation and festivities.
The “off season” for us means turning our attention to the tractors and equipment that require maintenance. That and a small barn upgrade will keep me busy this winter. But Nate has some more creative endeavors in mind for his spare time. He is a part of the “makers” movement, and is interested in small DIY electric planting and harvesting aids and tractors. So, he’ll be in our workshop for much of the time from November through next April, and I’m really curious to see what he makes for our next season. When she’s not catching up with the farm’s accounting, Jan, too, will keep busy in her workshop. But, her interests are a little more multidimensional than ours, and she’ll be focused more on art this winter.
I hope your “off season” is every bit as exciting as ours.
Best regards, Ted
Recipes to warm you up:
It's definitely time to put your slow cooker out on the counter if you haven't all ready done so. Coming home to a hot, home made meal is one of the most satisfying feelings. There's a lot of things you can do with a good slow cooker that you may not have thought of such as:
Apple Crisp. By using paper towels under the lid; you can keep the top crispy, and the bottom warm and gooey. Here's a guideline which you can alter however you want to make your family's crisp just right.
Chocolate- Pear Cake. It's just as good as it sounds. And sometimes it's ok to have cake for dinner, or at least before.
Spice up your holiday party with some slow cooker mulled cider. Mulled cider goes well with all fall and winter festivities or to warm up the family after a long day out in the snow/ colder weather.
Finally- here's a great comprehensive list of 50 delicious slow cooker meals put together by ohmyveggies. I love this list because it's organized by courses: Mains, sides, breakfasts & desserts.