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Dear Common Thread Winter CSA Share Members, 

 

The first winter share box is today!  The vegetable list is on our website on the what's in page.  We also have a few hardy herbs left in the field that are open for pick your own for anyone who wants to come by when it isn't too dark or snowy.

 

We've already had some very cold nights and snow, so you might find a just bit of frost damage on a few of the vegetables from the fields.  At the same time, the cold will have made several of the vegetables sweeter.  We have covers on a number of hardy crops out there and are hoping that several of them will make it through several more weeks of the cold.  Kale and spinach are the hardiest of the greens so we hope to have them for longer.  We have a good variety of storage crops in our coolers so as the variety from the fields goes down, we will pull more of the different storage crops out for distribution.

 

The winter share boxes are planned to last for about 2 weeks so proper storage of your vegetables is important.  In general:

  • Greens will last in plastic bags in the refrigerator for about a week.  Cooking greens can also easily be blanched by being steamed for a few minutes, cooled and put in ziploc bags in the freezer.
  • Roots will last in plastic bags in the refrigerator for months
  • Winter squash should be kept dry and above 50 degrees and will keep a few weeks to a few months, depending on the variety (Acorn isn't a storage squash, Butternut is, with the rest somewhere in the middle)
  • Onions should be kept in a dry place.  They will keep several weeks on the counter and for longer storage should be kept in a cool place.
  • Potatoes should be kept in a dry, dark place.  They will start to sprout after a couple weeks in warm temperatures, so if you want to store them longer than that, they should be kept in a cool place (35-50 degrees).  It is important that they be in the dark so they don't turn green and become unhealthy to eat.
  • Cabbages will last quite a long time in the refrigerator and can also be made into sauerkraut which will also keep a long time.
Savoy Cabbages are a beautiful type of cabbage that have very crinkly leaves. Savoy cabbage is named for the Savoy region, a medieval duchy on the border of Italy, France and Switzerland. They can be used in the same types of dishes that other cabbages are used for (slaw, sauteed, stuffed, sauerkraut, kimchi, borscht).  Asher's dad's family has a family recipe that they brought from Hungary:
 
KELKAPOSZTA aka SAVOY CABBAGE
1 small head    savoy cabbage
3-4 medium potatoes
     salt
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2 Tbsp  oil
2 Tbsp  flour
2- 3 large cloves garlic, mashed
    salt to taste
    black pepper to taste

1)   Trim head of cabbage as necessary.  Cut cabbage into small squares.  Blanche cabbage with enough boiling water to cover.  Let sit while you prepare the potatoes.

2)    Peel and cut potatoes into large chunks.

3)    Discard the blanching water from the cabbage.  Put  cabbage and potatoes into a pot and just cover with fresh cold water.  Add salt.  Boil until potatoes are tender.

4)    Drain water from cooking pot, reserving much of the liquid.

5)    Puree the cabbage and potatoes either with a Foley food mill or a blender, adding small amounts of the cooking water.  Put the potato/cabbage puree in a heavy pot.

6)    Using a heavy skillet make a roux by tanning (browning) the flour in the oil, stirring continuously.  Add the mashed garlic before the roux is too brown and continue cooking until the mixture is a light to medium brown.  

7)    Add roux to cabbage and potatoes, adding back some of the cooking water to bring mixture to a smooth consistency of "runny" mashed potatoes.  Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring steadily.  (At this point the mixture sticks to the bottom of the pan if not stirred frequently.)

8)    Adjust salt and ground black pepper to taste.
 

Yours in the field, Wendy and Asher