It's the time of year for all that "other" stuff, from crop plans and seed orders to accounting and hanging out with friends and family. I wanted to grab a nice growing summer picture of our radishes and carrots for you this month. Sometimes the winter feels too easy, but then I remember that we had to grow it all first ;) I'm very grateful for the quieter winters, without the careful planning ahead we wouldn't be able to get through the crazy summers! While we're wrapping up the year and planning ahead, we wanted to reach out to all of you for some feedback via a short survey. Please take a moment to share and help us improve our CSA! Link to the google form: https://forms.gle/MNKVdwhcRKHrdHKe7
Veggie of the Month: Radishes! Did you know we've got three types of radishes in wintertime? None of them are the classic little red ones ;) I think the most comparable flavour bursts are with the black radish, the queen of winter storage. If you find it a bit strong, try slicing it and drizzling with vinegar and a sprinkle of salt. If you let it sit a little while, it reduces the spice. Roasting or putting in a stir fry also brings down the heat. Daikon is the classic cooking radish, absorbing flavours nicely it's the long skinny white ones. Finally, watermelon radish I think of as the mildest of the three and best as a raw treat. It adds glorious colour to salads (we use Napa as our winter salad base once the lettuce is gone). Did you know the spice is mostly in the skin? Try nibbling the green and you'll see! Don't peel them if you love that spice... or peel it off if you prefer go without. We also enjoy all our radish varieties as veggie sticks with dip, or crackers for a soft creamy surface ripened cheese.
Heather's quick notes:
- Carrot Seconds are back! Broken or blemished, these are great for juicing and cooking if you don't mind chopping them up.
- Lots of potato varieties to choose from this month: Iowa Red is a classic waxy red potato, All Red is a floury potato with a pink hue inside, Russet is the classic white floury mashing, potato pancake, and french fry potato, and Nicola is a yellow waxy multi purpose one we love roasted.
- It's the time of year veggies love to start sprouting, but the worst trigger of all is going from cold storage to your counter! Please tuck everything you can in the fridge, or the coolest spot possible without freezing. Two notable exceptions: squash and sweet potatoes prefer your counter. They're the only two we keep at 15C, everything else is around 3C to extend its storage life.
- Something strange happened with our extras pricing last month, Harvie and I are trying to figure it out but a few of our prices and veggies got mismatched. I've double checked it is all correct this month ;)
- Some items may show on the swap list but not on the extras. When we're low on stock I keep them for people swapping to fill their box before making them available for extras.
- Summer registration is opening soon! You'll be the first to know, we'll send out an e-mail to announce it.
