THIS WEEK'S HARVEST
Autumn Crown Winter Squash, Delicata Winter Squash, Desiree Red Potatoes, Duganski Hardneck Garlic, Cured Cabernet Onions, Dino Kale, Rainbow Chard, Green Cabbage, Cauliflower & Romanesco, Green Magic Broccoli, Red Round Turnips, Loose Rainbow Carrots, Loose Beets, Red Butter & Little Gems Lettuce, Escarole, Spinach
Note: If you nobody in your share was able to pick up your Floriani Red Flint Cornmeal last week, please let us know and we’ll give you your bag!
HARVEST NOTES
Autumn Crown Winter Squash: What happens when you cross a Crown Prince squash with a butternut? You get this beautiful miniature pumpkin with dark orange flesh and amazing flavor. Gives off the aroma of sweet melon when cut. Use as you would any sweet winter squash (in soups and stews, pie, or roasted and eaten straight!)
Escarole: A staple in Italian kitchens, this leafy chicory (think radicchio) is a hardy, sweet, and slightly bitter green that’ll help invigorate your digestion and add punctuation to a rich and fatty Thanksgiving feast. Our favorite way to prepare it is to quarter the head, slather the leaves in olive oil and to broil it in the oven until it is wilted and the tips are nice and crispy. Toss with garlic and lemon juice and wallah!
U-PICK
Herbs: Herbs are winding down for the year, but check out the Rosemary, Lemon balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, French Sorrel, Chives, Tarragon, Oregano, Thyme, Culinary Lavender, and Lemongrass
Flowers: Bouquets can still be foraged! There are some nice sunflowers and cosmos in the East garden. It is time of our gardens to go bed to for the winter so you will notice things dying back and beds being mulched over the next 3 weeks.
END OF SEASON CSA BRUNCH POTLUCK!
Sunday, December 8TH: 11:00am - 1:00pm
CSA members Carl Jaeger & Sarah Salamon are so sweetly planning a celebratory end of season CSA community Harvest Brunch Potluck in the big party barn on the south end of the property on December 8th! Come mix and mingle, eat scrumptious fare, see your farmers in non dirt-stained clothing. Find the invitation in your inbox for more details and to RSVP. We hope to see you all there!
FLORIANI RED FLINT POLENTA RECIPE
In case you haven't used your polenta from last week. Making an unforgettable polenta from your cornmeal is extremely easy — the trick is in the timing, the ratio of liquid to cornmeal, and in incorporating fats and other goodies.
Go with a ratio of 1 part cornmeal to 4 parts liquid. For example, 2 cups cornmeal to 2 cups water and 2 cups Bramble Tail Milk. Try bone broth or stock. For vegans, try veggie stock. The idea is, the more scrumptious the liquid is, the more scrumptious the polenta will be.
Bring the liquid to a boil. Once you have a rolling boil, whisk in the cornmeal slowly, bit by bit. Once it’s all in, turn the heat down low immediately and continue simmering and stirring occasionally either as long as you have time for or until the polenta reaches a creamy consistency.
Now add fat. Try some Bramble Tail butter, or for vegans, try copious amounts of olive oil. Whisk the fat into the polenta.
For savory polenta, try adding slightly roasted GVCFarm garlic, sundried tomatoes, rosemary and other herbs, or Parmesan. (Try adding them all!) One chef we knew added loads of blue-cheese to make an incredible polenta. And don’t forget to salt to taste.
Pour any leftover polenta into a shallow pan and refrigerate. After it sets, it can be sliced and pan fried!
DAR’S BLESSED BEE HONEY
Our friend Darlene Taylor will be selling her “Blessed Bee” honey made by happy bees in her backyard in Graton! This bee-utiful gift of liquid gold is over-flowing in her kitchen, and she’s excited to share some with members of Green Valley Community Farm! Help boost your immune system with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals or simply add a little sweetness to your days. She has 3 sizes of jars available: 6 oz for $5, 12 oz for $10, and 16 oz for $13. Cash payment please.
NOTES & REMINDERS
When does the CSA end? The last week of our 2019 CSA harvest season is the week of December 14th. The last Saturday pick-up is December 14th. The last Tuesday pick-up is December 17th
Say No to Single Use Plastic: We will no longer be supplying plastic or plastic-substitute bags at farm pick-up. Please bring your own plastic produce bags. Or use our recycled bag station in the pick-up barn. If you have a bunch of extra clean plastic bags at home, please bring some to help fill our recycled plastic bag station for others to use.
FARMER’S LOG
We hope you all had a cozy holiday week with Green Valley vegetables there to support you. We’ve had an interesting couple weeks in the fields, sidestepping torrential rain, below freezing temps, and holidays to accomplish our last few major Fall tasks.
This Monday we spent pre-harvesting for Tuesday’s big Thanksgiving share and getting all our water sensitive equipment and supplies under cover. Tuesday’s rain held out just in time to get everything harvested before that no-holds barred entrance of Winter 2019-2020.
Wednesday found us working hard with Anna and Sora in the freshly saturated landscape finishing up mulching 2020’s garlic and strawberry pathways. We are contented seeing that soil covered under the carbon rich wood and pine needles and are excited to see the mycelium strands develop over the winter as the garlic stretches high and the strawberries leaf out.
2020 garlic and strawberries all covered up. Highgarden is going to a fun area next year!
We spent a nice Thursday with friends over at New Family Farm and are enjoying having Kayta’s cousin, his wife, and their band of traveling creatures (including a 4 week old kitten named Walter) visiting for a few days after almost a year of travel abroad.
Today, we enjoyed a nice brisk harvest and wash day with Anna under a beautiful changing and cloudy sky.
Now, the fire is roaring, the crops out there are only getting sweeter in the cold, and we have lots of stories to hear…
See you in the fields,
David and Kayta
