Greetings,
As we approach box #6, the 7th and final share of the season is in sight - the final deliveries will be made February 2-3. This is the time to use up any remaining credits you may have by adding extra veggies or value-added products to your remaining shares. You can view your "Harvie Balance" at https://www.harvie.farm/account/credits.
We enjoyed a short stretch of mild weather this past week and checked off a couple of outdoor projects that have been on hold for a month or more. Looks like a cold Saturday and then another little warm up - we'll take it!
Our family is finally getting back into the swing of things after our trip to Seattle. We self-quarantined all of last week, keeping the kids home from daycare and limiting outings. In many ways, it felt like March/April 2020 all over again (albeit with double the children). Thankfully, we have continued to be healthy and have now returned to our usual routine. Thanks again to Justin and Kara for picking up the slack while we were away!
Notes on selected items in this week's share:
- Purple top turnips: We suggest roasting turnips - as noted in this roasted turnips recipe, "turnips can be a little sharp in their taste, but something happens when you roast these peppery veggies from the mustard family. Roasting mellows the flavor of turnips and concentrates their texture into a tender, melting vegetable." They're also great combined with other veggies, like carrots or sweet potatoes.
- Salad Mix: We scouted the remaining salad mix in our high tunnel and, despite a fair amount of cold damage, there is enough nice lettuce out there to harvest. However, there'll only be enough for about half of members to receive it and bags will be slightly smaller than usual.
- Spinach: While the crop is a bit smaller than we had hoped, resulting in lower yield, this is some beautiful, sweet spinach. Like with salad mix, only about half of members will receive spinach this week - these bags will be packed at about 3/4 the weight that we usually pack spinach, but pricing is adjusted accordingly.
- Tetsukabotu squash: Returning winter share members may remember this tongue-twister from last winter. This long-storing squash is our staple midwinter variety and it's delicious! It has sweet, nutty flavor, deep orange color, and smooth texture.
- Jester and acorn squash: You've seen these two varieties before, and this is the last of them. Per usual, the acorn squash have continued to turn from green to orange, so they'll look a little different than they did six weeks ago. But I ate one for dinner last night, and still tasty.
- Carrots: Back to straight orange carrots this week. Frost-sweetened carrots are sure to please eaten raw or cooked, even the very large ones.
- Garlic: We are nearing the end of the garlic, and this share's allotment will be smaller bulbs.
- Cipollini onions: These flattened onions are a specialty Italian variety with incredibly rich flavor, the best of any onion I've tried. They're high in sugar, but this comes through once they're cooked (they're fairly pungent raw). They are superb caramelized or slow roasted, but you can use them any way you choose. Cipollini lower-yielding and more finicky than other varieties, so they are higher value than yellow or red onions, but they're worth it!
- Sweet potatoes: We will likely distribute the majority of our remaining sweet potatoes with this box, so enjoy them! Should be similar to last box's sweet potatoes. We may have some 2nds available for the final box.
- We are also offering celeriac and watermelon radishes as swap-in items that can be added to your share, but won't be included automatically. Celeriac lovers, you know who you are!
Have a great week!
Dana
