END OF SEASON CSA BRUNCH POTLUCK!
This Sunday, December 8TH: 11:00am - 1:00pm
Join us for 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. We hope to see you all there!
Directions: It will NOT be held at our usual CSA pick-up barn location. The potluck will in the big white barn down the main driveway of the property which is the first driveway marked 13024 if you are coming from Sebastopol with the big stone entry marker and paved driveway.
THIS WEEK'S HARVEST
Hopi Blue Heirloom Cornflour, Butternut & assorted Winter Squash, Le Reine Fingerling Potatoes, Italian Softneck Garlic, Celery Root, Cured Yellow Onions, Broccoli Spigariello, Napa Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Loose Hakurei Salad Turnips, Bolero Carrots, Loose Beets, Sugarloaf Chicory, Winter Salad Mix (with Spinach, Radicchio, and Lettuce)
Floriani Red Flint Cornmeal: Season Limit 1 lb (or one bag) per share
Hopi Blue Cornflour: Season Limit 2 lbs (or two bags) per share, one this week and one next week
HARVEST NOTES
Hopi Blue Heirloom Cornflour: This beautiful corn flower is from the tall stand of corn that watched over our cherry tomatoes all season long and was harvested by members! Ground last week and then frozen, this is a rare, heirloom cornflour with a freshness and flavor that only fresh ground corn can have. Store frozen to preserve the fats and oils. See below for our go to Hopi Blue Corn pancake recipe. Enjoy!
Celery Root: Aka celeriac, aka turnip celery, is a variety of celery cultivated for its starchy bulbous stem. It is like a turnip that tastes like celery. Try adding it to a hardy winter stew. We’ve also heard legend that celery root fries (i.e. deep fried celery root sticks) are the best thing ever.
Sugarloaf Chicory: Another varietal of radicchio, these conical beauties are a hardy, sweet, and slightly bitter green that’ll help invigorate your digestion and add punctuation to a rich meal. Our favorite way to prepare radicchios and other chicories is to quarter the head, slather the leaves in olive oil and salt and to broil it in the oven until it is all wilted and the tips are nice and crispy brown. Toss with garlic and fresh lemon juice and eat as a side!
Brussels Sprouts: We’ll be offering you these Fall treats as fresh as can be, still on the stalk!
U-PICK
Herbs & Flowers: As the sun goes South and we put the garden to bed for the year, the herbs and flowers are winding down. Herbs that are still available are Rosemary, Lemon balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Oregano, Thyme, Culinary Lavender, and Lemongrass
MISSING HONEY MONEY
Our beekeeping friend, Darlene Taylor, is missing some payment money for the honey she was selling in the barn. If you took some honey but forgot to pay, please bring cash this week to put in her box. The prices were 6 oz for $5, 12 oz for $10, and 16 oz for $13.
HOPI BLUE CORN PANCAKES
Ingredients
1 cup blue cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup boiling water
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted (coconut oil would be a delicious, dairy-free substitute)
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans, toasted (optional)
DirectionsIn a medium bowl, mix together the blue cornmeal, salt and sugar. Stir in the boiling water until all of the ingredients are wet. Cover, and let stand for a few minutes.
In a measuring cup, combine the milk, egg and melted butter. Stir the milk mixture into the cornmeal mixture. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the cornmeal mixture until just incorporated. If the batter is stiff, add a little more milk until it flows off the spoon thickly but smoothly.Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, and grease it with a dab of oil or butter. Use about 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake. Quickly sprinkle a few pignoli (or other nuts if using) onto each cake. When the entire surface of the pancakes are covered with bubbles, flip them over, and cook the other side until golden.
Serve immediately with maple syrup or fruit preserves.
NOTES & REMINDERS
When does the CSA end? The last week of our 2019 CSA harvest season is next week! The last Saturday pick-up is December 14th. The last Tuesday pick-up is December 17th
Say No to Single Use Plastic: We are weening ourselves off of single use plastic bags. 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. Thank you!
FARMER’S LOG
Dragging the sky behind them
Corn has been inspiring poets for thousands of years. This year’s stand of Hopi Blue Corn inspired the poem below by CSA member Rebecca Harris.
* * * * *
The Symphony of Harvest
by Rebecca Harris
I go down to the
Corn stalks just to listen
To them.
The way you might go
To hear the ocean.
Or bear a child to share
Laughter.
Here in a world that feels
Like a desert,
I hear rain in this
Corn-
Hear voices-
Melted with sunlight,
Made soft and strong-
Such a wild way-
The corn dances,
As strange
As lions
Dancing,
Or finding a melody in the
Dirt,
Or light in a cave.
Here,
They reach so tall,
They are browning,
Golden and green-
The farthest cousin from
The sea-
Yet I hear them murmur
The same words.
And I am bathed
In music.
Weeks later,
I heard that children were stamping
On the corn
After harvest,
Finally allowed to run tender and
Wild through and over the stalks.
I imagine they blew through them like
Wind colored with blue,
Dragging the sky behind them.
Blue corn sits in baskets
Like fallen arrows
Waiting to dance.
Now,
I see the corn stalks and as I
Let go of the sea wind that it
Brought into my hair
I am filled with children and their
Games
And the memory in my body
Joining them,
As beautifully as the corn and I
Make music.
See you in the fields,
David and Kayta
