We hope you and your loved ones are safe and have been able to access all of your needs after the recent flooding.
This week we watched in awe as the Little Campbell River, which runs through our property, flooded well above levels we have ever seen. Fortunately, our farm and property has been relatively unaffected by the atmospheric river, and we feel incredibly lucky. Our soil was able to drain quickly enough and all of our crops and infrastructure survived. But our prayers and thoughts go out to farms all around us who have lost so much due to flooding or loss of access to resources, and are navigating in such challenging situations. Farming is hard in the best of times, and this season has proved challenging with all sorts of extreme weather events. We also feel the value of local food systems even more in these times when the fragility of our larger more industrialized systems becomes more evident.
This event also gave us a bit of affirmation as we move towards a no-till system and creating resiliency as we anticipate more dramatic climate changes in the years ahead. As building organic matter in the soil (a main principle of no-till) dramatically increases the water holding capacity of the soil and allows for better water retention in drought and better drainage in flood.
This week we also had a beautiful moment on the farm that we wanted to share with you. The TATALU Little Campbell River is also a salmon spawning river and so as the salmon spawn and die in the river all of the Eagles come around to feast. We have enjoyed viewing tons of eagles soaring above A Rocha and perching in the trees, and on Tuesday afternoon as we were harvesting one of them made its way over to our field and swooped down and landed in the parsley! Here are a few shots one of our team members, Hannah Mae, snapped that afternoon:
In other news, as the season winds down and Hannah and I head into the office to plan away for the next season, our crew is slimming down. Our interns are moving to doing more work with our conservation science team restoring habitat around the watershed through removing invasive species and planting native trees and shrubs. And we just said goodbye to Sabrina, our last full time crew member.
Sabrina came to us from Ontario and quickly became a crucial part of the team. She is a hard worker, a fast learner and full of curiosity and joy. She has stepped up in leadership and never complains about whatever tasks she is assigned. She has been known to start some of the most interesting conversations on the farm, as she loves to ask fun and thought provoking questions while working alongside others. We will miss her over the winter and hope to get to have her back next season!
Things are winding down and getting frosty, but we’ve still got plenty of fresh wintery veggies for you - and some get even sweeter as the cold weather kicks in! This week in your share we will be offering a mix of these winter veggies: Brussels sprouts, acorn and delicata squash, leeks, onions, chard, rutabaga, kale, mustard greens, arugula, salad mix, black radishes and our first bitter greens (and one of my favorites) of the season - chicory!
With more time and a bit more freedom to gather I have been really enjoying cooking this fall. I thought I would share a favorite recipe of mine with you that I made the other day and is always a hit: it’s a Swiss Chard Crostata from Joshua McFadden’s cookbook ‘6 Seasons’. I served this alongside a chicory salad with a caesar dressing and it was lovely.
Have you found any new favorite recipes this winter? Please share them with us - we love to hear about what your cooking up with all your A Rocha produce!
Swiss Chard (or other hearty greens) and Leek Crostata with Walnut Crust:
** Feel free to mix this recipe up and substitute different cheeses and greens based on what you have on hand
Ingredients:
Crust:
- 4 oz butter (cold!) butter
- 1 2/3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cold water
Filling:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese (I subbed cottage cheese in a pinch and worked just fine)
- 1 cup parmesan
- 4 small leeks, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch swiss chard or kale, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 T olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup mixed fresh herbs (such as parsley, cilantro, mint etc)
- 2 tsp lemon zest
Instructions for the Walnut Dough
- Add the walnuts to a food processor and pulse until very fine. Add flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse. Add cubed butter and pulse until butter is pea-sized. Drizzle in cold water and pulse a few times until the dough comes together and feels a little moist. (If it doesn’t, add a few more drops of water.) It should be fairly well blended, but not over blended.
- Pour the dough out onto the counter and shape it into a ball. Does it look well mixed? Yes, then no need to knead. No, then knead it a little. Do not knead or overwork the dough. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap it in plastic wrap.
- Store at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before using, or up to two days. You can also freeze it for up to three months.
Instructions For The Swiss Chard and Leek Crostata
- Have the walnut tart dough completed before starting on the crostata.
- Separate the stems of the Swiss chard from the leafy greens. Chop the chard stems into one-inch pieces and wash well. Chop the greens into one-inch pieces and wash well. Keep them separate.
- Remove the greens from the leeks and discard, or use them for soup stock. You can keep them in the freezer until needed. Slice the leek whites in half lengthwise and chop the lengths into quarter-inch pieces. Wash well and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet on medium-low and add olive oil. Add garlic and sauté until nicely browned, but not burned. (This caramelization adds a key flavor.) Add Swiss chard stems, leeks, salt, black pepper, and chili flakes. Cook about 8–10 minutes until the chard stems and leeks are soft.
- Add Swiss chard greens and continue to cook for another 8–10 minutes. When I made this, I covered the skillet for a few minutes to help the vegetables cook faster, but if you do this, you must be sure to evaporate all the liquid before turning off the heat. Allow vegetables to cool at least 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, fresh herbs, lemon zest, and eggs in a large bowl and mix well. Add the cooled vegetables and mix well.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Remove the walnut tart dough from the fridge and let it rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile cut a piece of parchment paper to fit onto a baking tray. Place the parchment on your counter and sprinkle with flour.
- Roll your crostata dough out on top of the parchment to a size of 9 by 12 inches. The vertical shape allows it to fit on your baking tray. Now pick up the dough using the parchment and set it down inside the tray.
- Transfer the Swiss chard and leek mixture onto your dough, leaving about 3 inches along the edges. Gently lift a section of the dough up and around the filling. It is helpful to use a pastry cutter, or any edge to help you lift.
- Place in the hot oven and bake until the crust is starting to brown (about 25 minutes). Reduce the heat to 325 and continue to bake until the crust is fully browned and the filling is set (about 20 minutes).
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for ten minutes before cutting it into pieces with a serrated knife.
