Dear Common Thread Winter CSA Members, 

Today is our Friday pick -up, during the regular times.  The next pick up will be Tuesday, January 6.  

You can see in the pictures above that we started harvesting kale (and spinach) out of the caterpillar tunnels.  There was enough snow that we could only harvest fresh crops from the bigger tunnels (we couldn't access the low tunnels).  We're hoping the last of the leeks and brussel sprouts will hold a little longer and we'll get a melt sometime soon to get them out.  We also had some bok choi in the hoophouse - the outer leaves were damaged by the cold but when we peeled 4-5 leaves off, the inner leaves are lovely. Have you ever wondered where the slugs and snails go in the winter?  Well, we've seen quite a few curled up in the leaves of the spinach and bok choi.  We did our best to flick them off when harvesting and then wash the rest off, but please make sure to wash your greens carefully.  

Many thanks to Chris Henke for helping us pack the boxes!

Watermelon radishes are a type of winter storage radish. They don't look very interesting from the outside, but they are a beautiful rose color on the inside.  They taste like a radish, but more mild than summer radishes.  They are beautiful grated or sliced thin on a salad.  They can also be roasted or put in soups.  

Celeriac is a lesser known vegetable that gets passed over a lot by CSA members but we also hear from people excited to discover such a great vegetable.  It has a mild but pleasant flavor.  It can be eaten raw, sliced thin or grated, in salads or coleslaw or added to soups and roasted vegetables.  I often substitute it for celery in recipes during the winter when I don't have celery but I have celeriac.  They have a very different texture, one being a stem and the other a root, but a similar flavor.  

This is the best time of year for soups.  Here's one of my favorites:

Beet Borscht

• 1.5 cups thinly sliced potato
• 1 cup thinly sliced beets
• 4 cups water
• 1 to 2 Tbsp butter
• 1.5 cups chopped onion
• 1 scant tsp caraway seeds
• 1.5 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
• 1 stalk celery or half a celeriac, if available
• 1 medium sized carrot, sliced
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dill, plus extra for garnish
• 1 to 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 to 2 Tbsp brown sugar or honey
• 1 cup tomato puree

Toppings: sour cream or yogurt, extra dill

1. Place potatoes, beets, and water in a medium-sized saucepan. Cover, and cook over medium heat until tender (20 to 30 minutes).

2.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a kettle or Dutch oven. Add onion, caraway seeds, and salt.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent (8 to 10 minutes).

3. Add celery, carrots, and cabbage, plus 2 cups of the cooking water from the potatoes and beets.  Cover and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender (another 8 to 10 minutes).

4.  Add the remaining ingredients (including all the potato and beet water), cover, and summer for at least 15 more minutes.  Taste to correct seasonings and serve hot, topped with sour cream or yogurt and a light dusting of dill.