2023 CSA Farm Update: Week 19
From the Farm: Romanesco Cauliflower
Hello Everyone and welcome to week 19 of the Katchkie Farm CSA. Temperatures have been dipping into the 40s in the morning, which makes for some chilly early morning picking, but there has only been a glint of frost in patches on the farm. The rain has also subsided allowing us the opportunity to plant the last of our cover crops this year.
The drier weather also allowed us to plant most of our garlic crop, which is a huge relief. Last Thursday, the skies were bright blue with a slight fall nip in the air, and we made our way up and down the rows planting one clove after the other. With over 25,000 cloves that are hand planted, dry soil conditions keep this job under a day and a half of labor. We just have a few more beds to plant this week, and the garlic will be in for 2023! This year we added another variety known as “Chesnok Red”. This is a stunning red skinned garlic with a delicate flavor. We will see how it does this year, and hopefully we can add it to our garlic repertoire.
This week also looks to be a dry week, so we will work to get the remaining bulk crops harvested and tucked away for the coming weeks of CSA distribution. We have celeriac, cabbage, red beets, gold beets, potatoes, winter radish, and a plethora of carrots to harvest while we have favorable weather. The sweet potatoes have finished curing, which frees up our cooler to use for our storage crops.
There are a few first-time appearances this week in the share. Last year, our Romanesco Cauliflower did not make heads before the colder weather set in, but this year it did, so some of you will see it in your shares. If there were any vegetable that represented the golden ratio, this would be the one! I may also add it is quite delicious as it has a slightly nuttier flavor than standard cauliflower. Others of you will get our Lavendar Cauliflower, which has a milder taste.
After a week of curing at 90 degrees and high humidity, the sweet potatoes are also ready to make their way out into the world and to your table. Shunkyo Semi-Long Radish is a traditional Chinese specialty radish that is known for its sweetness as well as its spice. The tops are very gorgeous and tender. The roots from both fall plantings are not as picturesque as I would like, but the taste is worth giving them a chance. Lastly, there is such a bounty of lemongrass in our greenhouse that I could not resist harvesting it for the CSA this week. It adds a wonderful floral lemony flavor to soups, stews, and a very comforting tea.
Until next time,
Farmer Jon
WEEKLY HARVEST INCLUDES*
Lemongrass
*We try our best to provide the most accurate CSA list in the newsletter! However, there’s always a chance of last minute substitutions in some bags if we don’t harvest enough of a vegetable.
BRAISED CABBAGE
Ingredients:
1 medium head green cabbage (about 2 pounds)
1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, cleaned or peeled if necessary and cut into ¼-inch rounds
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup chicken broth or water
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly oil a large gratin or baking dish.
Peel and discard any torn, tough or discolored outer leaves from the cabbage. Core the cabbage, cut it into eight wedges and arrange them, in a single layer or overlapping slightly, in the dish. Scatter the onion and carrot over the cabbage, drizzle with the oil and broth and season generously with salt and pepper and pepper flakes.
Cover the dish tightly with foil and place it in the oven. Cook until quite tender, about two hours, turning after one hour. Add water by tablespoons if the dish seems to be drying out.
When the cabbage is tender, remove the foil, increase the temperature to 400 °F, and continue to cook until the vegetables begin to brown. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkle with sea salt.