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Dear Common Thread Winter CSA Share Members,
The fourth winter share box is ready tomorrow, Friday, December 20. The pick up ti mes are 2-7 pm at the farm and 4-7 pm in Dewitt. The vegetable list is on our website on the what's in page. The remaining two pick-ups will be back on a Tuesday schedule, on January 7 and 21.
It has felt like deep winter here for the last couple of weeks - lots of snow and temperatures not getting above freezing. It's nice to have lots of fresh food in the coolers. We have some kale and spinach under our covers but we haven't had a non-freezing window to try to harvest it, so we hope we have a thaw prior to one or both of the next boxes. Kale and spinach are some of the most cold hardy greens - they can survive freezing but you can't pick them when they are frozen or they'll turn to mush.
So it's a great time of year for crazy looking but very tasty roots: parsnips, celeriac, rutabagas, carrots, daikon radish and beets are all in the standard shares this week.
Gigante Kohlrabi is not a root but it is crazy looking - and kind of ugly - but it is tasty. It is similar to the smaller kohlrabi we grow during the warmer months except that it is a great winter keeper and it is quite large. I don't usually use one all at once, but it stores well in pieces, so it doesn't need to be used all at once. Raw kohlrabi can be sliced onto to salad or veggie plate or grated into salads or coleslaws. It can also be steamed, roasted, or mashed with potatoes.
Kohlrabi prepared in traditional Chinese style
From one of our former CSA members, Ed Pan
Kohlrabi
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup wine vinegar
6 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
Combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and oil. Peel and cut kohlrabi into small pieces and soak in marinade. Refrigerate. Serve. Chinese cooks also use this sauce to soak cucumber slices in after the seeds have been removed.
Kohlrabi Soup
Adapted from Marian Morash's Victory Garden
3 lb kohlrabi
1 lb celeriac
½ lb potatoes
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onions or whites of leeks
2- 2½ qt chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup light cream (optional)
salt and pepper
nutmeg
Peel and chunk kohlrabi, celeriac and potatoes. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and cook the onions or leeks until wilted. Add the vegetables and 2 quarts of broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 25-30 minutes. Puree the soup in batches until smooth. Return to heat, add the cream, salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg. Good hot or cold. Makes 2 ½ quarts
We also have celeriac this week for the first time this season. Our crop didn't do so well after the rainy spring period but we have a few that we have saved for this time of year when it adds some welcome variety. Celeriac is the same species as celery, but it has been bred for the root rather than the stems. I don't peel very many roots but these ones require peeling, after which you have a lovely, mild celery flavored root that goes well raw or cooked in a wide variety of dishes including soups, coleslaw, roasted or mashed roots.
Happy Holidays to you all!
Yours in the field, Wendy and Asher
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