Holiday Box - November 16, 2011

 The holiday box went out yesterday.  It was definitely a two-box pickup.  I was so busy I forgot to take pictures in the beginning but luckily Kathleen reminded me around 5:45.  So many of the veggies had already been picked up but you can still get an idea of what was here.

Toby & Zane - these guys know their veggies!

The spicy pepper and herb section.

Some of the veggies toward the end of pick up.

Sheryl washing parsnips 

The rain on Monday was a big one.  I didn't re-set the rain gauge so I'm not sure how much rain we got but it had to be close to 2".  It made digging the root crops a bit of a challenge.  Sheryl and I had a lot of washing to do and got much of it done Tuesday.  The remainder of the harvest was done yesterday.  Nick, Sheryl and I wrapped up the harvest just as members started to arrive at 3:30.  Here's what we distributed:

1. A bunch of leeks
2. A daikon radish (or 2)
3. A nice bunch of beets with the tops or a bag of baby beets.  These will be great roasted.  Don't forget to remove the tops and store separately from the root.
4. A nice bunch of carrots - also with tops.
5. Up to 2 lbs. of parsnips.  We hope you enjoy these.  They've been in the field since April and have had a lot of care over the year.  Some are really large which was so exciting for us to see.  And they smell fantastic.
6. A kohl rabi
7. One rutabaga and 2 turnips
8. A bunch of brussels sprouts or a bag of broccoli
9. A bag of salad mix - this is mizuna, tatsoi and yukina savoy and lettuce
10. Either kale or mustard
11. A head of napa cabbage
12. 1 pound of sweet peppers - these are still nice and firm - they were recently pulled from the hoop
13. One or 2 acorn squash and a butternut squash or hubbard squash
14. A pound of garlic
15. A pound of onions
16. 5 pounds of potatoes
17. Up to 15 spicy peppers - the pablanos are beauties!
18. Herbs including rosemary, thyme, chocolate mint and sage
19. Either a bunch of parsley or a bunch of celery - the celery is smaller than you are probably used to but it packs a punch in the flavor department.
20. Up to 4 stems of amaranth - use this as a decoration - it will drop seeds (which are edible) so be aware of that in your choice of location.  Some people were recommending a festive entry-way display.

Have a great Thanksgiving.  There really is so much to be thankful for.

Hope to see you all next year!

Fall - Week 4, Nov. 9, 2011

It was another bountiful harvest yesterday.  Here's what we included in the box:

1. Tatsoi - sautee this like you would choi
2. Senposai - this is a mix between cabbage and mustard.  It looks a lot like collards.  We sautee but you could do almost anything with it - soup, wraps, etc.
3. Tomatillos - the last for the season.  They've been in storage & I tried to sort the bad ones out but check to make sure they're firm before you use them.  Give them a good rinse as well.
4. Sweet peppers
5. Spicy Peppers
6. Salad mix - a mix of mizuna, baby lettuce (romaine), tatsoi and yukina savoy.  Yum.
7. Beets
8. Beet greens or chard
9. Parsley
10. Daikon radish
11. Leeks
12. Baby bok choi
13. Garlic
14. Kohl Rabi - we peel, slice & eat fresh with a little salt.  This is "Gigante" so it's supposed to be HUGE (5 - 10 pounds) but it's not that large.  So don't worry about it being too big.
15. Potatoes
16. Herbs including rosemary, thyme, mint & sage

Enjoy!  Next week is the Holiday Distribution.  If you did not receive an e-mail from me earlier this week about the projected box contents, please let me know.

Fall, Week 3, Nov. 2

We were still able to distribute a few tomatoes and a lot of peppers this week.  We'll see how long they hold up in storage - maybe we'll have some next week as well.

The box this week contained the following:

1. Red Choi
2. Potatoes
3. Mustard
4. Lettuce
5. Broccoli
6. Carrots
7. Sweet Peppers
8. Spicy Peppers
9. 1 pint tomatoes
10. Onions
11. Garlic
12. Chard
13. Sorrel
14. Dill
15. Various herbs
16. Optional sunflower head
17. Optional chives
18.