February 7, 2023
What’s in this Week’s VEGGIE BOX: Carrots, Tangelos, Lemons, Potatoes, Rosemary, Escarole & Chard
Bread this week: Round Lavain OR Sourdough Baguette your choice of one
!!NEW QUARTER!!!
Spring Quarter payment is due February 13
The new quarter begins February 21/25 and ends May 16/20
~Please let us know if you DO OR DO NOT plan on continuing
~Please do not leave payments at drop sites
~Please let me know if you would like a PayPal invoice
!!Special order!!!
Tangelos ~ 5# for $9 or 10# for $18
&
Oranges ~ 5# for $8 or 10# for $16
If you would like some citrus please let us know by 5pm Friday February 10th for a February 14th delivery
This week on the farm
Good morning! Another cold morning greeted me at my door as I left woodland to head to work. There was some twinkling frost on the ground and my windshield again, and the car thermometer registered 37 degrees as I drove the back roads of Yolo. I have always enjoyed the cold, I love my scarves, insulated Carhartt overalls, and coming into a warm house at the end of the day. I love the way sounds carry differently in the cold, especially the chirps from the birds which carry further over the still air.
This winter as been full of cold mornings, more than I think is normal, but after a massively hot September I continue to be grateful for the cold weather, and appreciate how good it feels to have a longer winter, with intermittent rains and frosty mornings. However I am not the only thing that is affected by the cold, the plants are almost dormant without the light and heat that they want for growth. The flowers which are usually starting to get bushy and push buds are still looking pretty small, while the leafy greens and other plants are not re-growing with their usual vigor either. Luckily, neither are the weeds! We don’t have to worry so much about our crops bolting, or getting too big to sell. For better or for worse, this prolonged cold has slowed everything down.
January and February tend to be a time when we get a bit short of product in the average year. The 40-50 beds of produce we planted in the heat of august is now dwindling, you might notice an abundance of a few things (like carrots) that we still have a good amount of. You might also notice this week that there is a bunch of gorgeous rainbow chard, and giant creamy potatoes in your box. Some of our members who have been with us a while might be thinking, “Jeff doesn’t grow rainbow chard” or “They only send us potatoes in the dead of summer”. Those members are very right. When times are tough for us, we are lucky to have a community of organic farms that we can lean on in these times to keep making sure your boxes are full of good food. So this week you have Full Belly Farms Potatoes, and Durst Organics rainbow chard.
This is California however, and the cold won’t last long. The 34 beds of spring veggies I planted last week will begin their journey from seed to seedling, to adult plants, pollination and finally production. Often here in our beautiful climate we forget that planting vegetables in January or February is only possible in a few places. That most people in our country don’t get options for year round CSA’s, and farmers have three to four months in the winter when growing in the ground is not an option. I will never forget my CSA in Boston, which was 20 weeks, and about 5 of those weeks the box had nothing but lettuce. We live in an incredible place, where in the first week of February we can send a box with citrus, leafy greens, roots, and herbs all from our farming community here in Yolo.
One of my close friends, who was also a member recently moved to Virginia, and each time he calls we talk about the difference in the food available. At grocery stores, farmers markets, and restaurants, and he does not stop reminding me that we are living in a special place that gives us the gift of year round fresh organic food.
So forgive us for our month or so of light items, enjoy some goodies from our neighbors, and remember to breathe in the “cold” California winter air. Have a great week! ~Ali
Creamy Lemon Linguine
Source:blueapron
½ lb Fresh Lemon Linguine Pasta
3 cloves Garlic
Wash and dry the fresh produce. Heat a medium pot of salted water to boiling on high. Peel the onion and cut into large wedges; separate the layers. Peel and mince the garlic. Separate the chard leaves and stems; roughly chop the leaves and thinly slice the stems, keeping them separate. Using a peeler, remove the yellow rind of the lemon, avoiding the white pith; mince the rind to get 2 teaspoons of zest (or use a zester). Quarter and deseed the lemon. Roughly chop the walnuts. In a large, high-sided pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium until hot. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add 1 tablespoon of water and cook, stirring frequently, 2 to 4 minutes, or until browned and very tender. Stir in an additional tablespoon of water, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan; season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and chard stems to the pan of onion; season with salt and pepper. (If the pan seems dry, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.) Cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant and the chard stems are slightly tender. Add the chard leaves; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until wilted. Remove from heat. Using your hands, carefully separate the strands of the pasta; add to the pot of boiling water. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until al dente (still slightly firm to the bite). Reserving ¾ cup of the pasta cooking water, thoroughly drain the cooked pasta. To the pan of vegetables, add the cooked pasta, yogurt, butter, lemon zest, the juice of all 4 lemon wedges and ½ cup of the reserved pasta cooking water; season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until thoroughly combined and heated through. (If the sauce seems dry, gradually add the remaining pasta cooking water to achieve your desired consistency.) Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the finished pasta between 2 dishes. Garnish with the cheese and walnuts.
HOT SAUSAGE WITH POTATO AND ESCAROLE SOUP
Source:debragga
3 Tablespoon olive oil
1 lb Hot Sausage, 5 links
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 potato sliced to bite sized pieces
1 c white wine
1 bunch escarole, trimmed, washed, torn into pieces
4 c chicken stock
½ c chopped parsley
¼ c freshly grated parmigiana
1 Tablespoon butter melted with 1t excellent soy sauce
Break up sausage and sauté until browned in olive oil. Remove sausage, leaving drippings. Add potatoes to sausage oil and sauté on medium hi heat for 10 minutes, stirring often. Deglaze with wine, scraping up the sausage from the bottom of the pan, add onions, garlic and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until potatoes are almost fork tender. Add escarole and stir well. Add broth and sausage and reduce to a simmer, cooking for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add melted butter and soy sauce mixture and stir well. Spoon into a bowl and top with chopped parsley and grated parmigiana, and even a drizzle of excellent olive oil.
Tangelo & Honey-Glazed Salmon
Source: blueapron
2 Skin-On Salmon Fillets
1 Tangelo
Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling on high. Once boiling, add the farro and cook, uncovered, 16 to 18 minutes, or until tender. Drain thoroughly and return to the pot. Set aside in a warm place. While the farro cooks, wash and dry the fresh produce. Pick the rosemary leaves off the stems; discard the stems. Peel, core and medium dice the apple. Cut off and discard the root ends of the scallions; thinly slice, separating the white bottoms and green tops. Halve the tangelo and squeeze the juice into a bowl, straining out the seeds. While the farro continues to cook, in a medium Pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the rosemary and cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until crispy and fragrant. Leaving the oil in the pan, transfer the fried rosemary to a paper towel-lined plate. While the farro continues to cook, add the apple and white bottoms of the scallions to the pan of reserved oil; season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium-high, stirring frequently, 3 to 4 minutes, or until slightly softened and fragrant. Transfer to the pot of cooked farro. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pat the salmon fillets dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper on both sides. In the same pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the seasoned fillets, skin sides down, and cook 4 to 5 minutes on the first side, or until browned and the skin is crispy. Flip the fillets and add the tangelo juice, honey and 2 tablespoons of water. Cook, occasionally spooning the glaze over the fillets, 2 to 3 minutes, or until the salmon is coated and cooked to your desired degree of doneness. Turn off the heat. Stir the vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil into the pot of cooked farro and apple; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the finished farro between 2 dishes. Top with the glazed salmon fillets. Drizzle with any remaining glaze from the pan. Garnish the salmon with the fried rosemary and green tops of the scallions. Enjoy!
lemon tangelo tarts
Source: Joaniesimon
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
zest of 4 tangelos
zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup tangelo juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbs melted butter
5 eggs (room temperature)
Confectioner’s sugar
Preheat oven to 325F. Combine 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup sugar in a mixing bowl and then add 1 cup flour until you get a soft crumbly consistency. Evenly divide dough between 12 muffin cups and smash down with a cup that is equally sized to the muffin cups. Bake muffin tin at 325F for 10 minutes until the “crusts” puff up slightly and cooked through, though not very browned. While the crusts bake, make the lemon filling. Combine the 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 2 Tbs melted butter and 5 eggs in a large mixing bowl and vigorously whisk, adding air to the eggs. Once the crusts are done baking, take them out of the oven to cool for at least five minutes. Add in the lemon and tangelo juices and the lemon and tangelo zests to the egg mixture then pour evenly into the 12 muffin tin cups filled with crusts. Place the tarts into the oven at 325F for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake an additional 4 minutes, rotating the pan every 2 minutes until the centers of the tarts no longer jiggle when moved. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the counter for 10 minutes then place the pan uncovered into the freezer to stop the cooking process and preserve the soft, gooey center. Keep in the freezer at least 20 minutes then transfer to the fridge until ready to serve. When ready to serve, pop the tarts out of the pan by running a knife along the edge of each tart. Garnish with a dusting of powdered sugar and seasonal fruit as desired.