Hi everyone,
Get ready – this newsletter’s a long one. Please bear with me.
First, all of the shares will be delivered this week. Christine (Tinyshop) will be at The Plant’s Reuse-a-Palooza in Back of the Yards on Sunday so we will not be at our usually location for pick-ups. We’ll aim to deliver all of the shares between 9am and 11am. Please let us know if there are any issues with that and we can coordinate.
As we come up to the penultimate share of the season, it feels like we’re fully past the last sprint of summer and things are winding down now. At Nichols Farm the cooler days have been appreciated as they work to harvest carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, potatoes and other storage crops that they will have available all winter long.
I was hoping to be able to announce our plans for the winter in this newsletter but to be honest, we just haven’t quite made those plans yet. The closer and closer we get to the end of the season, the more and more I find myself looking forward to a break. We are definitely planning towards a second CSA Club season next summer but we’re going to keep it a little less structured over the winter. We’re hoping to use this time to gather ourselves and plan towards next year. But don’t worry, Gard Mo won’t be completely silent; we’re hoping to winter markets, pop-ups, dinners, and other fun (if not entirely yet planned) things this winter so keep an eye out.
We’ll also still be keeping close with Nichols Farm and other local growers and producers throughout the winter. With that, we will have knowledge of and access to whatever is available so if you find yourself looking for any local groceries in particular, reach out! If someone asks you where you got those delicious veggies, you’ll be able to say “I got a guy”.
Anyways, enjoy the veggies this week!
-Ben
*Apple Addendum*
Due to a logistical complication with Nichols, we weren’t able to enough of the Jonathan and Jonagold Apples that we needed for all the shares. But have no fear! We we’re still have to secure fresh apples from Nichols Farm, just some additional varieties. I can’t promise each share will include all five varieties, but I wanted to make sure and share some info on each of the varieties.
Info on the remaining items in the shares, as well as some important updates were included in an earlier newsletter so be sure to read through that if you haven’t already.
Enjoy!
-Ben
Idareds are a cross between Jonathan and Wagener apples, first grown in 1791. Small in size they have a nice sweet-tart balance and hold up well when baked.
With dark crimson-red skin, Arkansas Blacks are rather large apples. They have a thicker skin and are very firm. Through storage, the color will deepen and the flavor sweeten so do not rush to eat these.
Bred by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association , Ludacrisps have a medium size with rose gold colored skin. They are tart and their flavor is tropical-fruity, almost reminiscent of Juicy Fruit gum.
Jonathans are an old school apple. The origin story for it is a bit misty, but they’ve been around since at least the early 1800’s. With a relatively thicker skin, Jonathans have a nice sweet tart balance mild aromatics.
Jonagolds are a cross between Golden Delicious and Jonathon bred at the New York State Experimental Station. A little less tart than the Jonathan, its similarly sweet but comes off a little flatter.
Beauregards have brick-orange skin with deep orange creamy flesh.
Nichols has had one of their best Sweet Potato seasons, harvesting nearly 30,000 lbs. Sweet potatoes are first cured at 85F for 10 days, then they can be held at 60F for nearly the entire winter.
The simplest way to enjoy these is by baking whole at 375F for ~1hr.
Potatoes for potato season. Yukons are a solid all-purpose potato. Use for any of your potato needs.
Earlier in the season I mentioned that receiving cabbages in shares is always nice as a rainy-day item. It will keep in the refrigerator for months, and you can always just cut a portion off the head to use, and put the rest back in the refrigerator for later (in a unsealed plastic bag). I’ll reiterate that here.
We’re at the point in the season that these onions were just about fully cured to the point that they could have been kept in the pantry…..however I trimmed them a bit. In an effort to trim the roots and remove some of the dirtier outer layers of skin I’ve exposed the less fully cured layers. They’ll keep fine like this stored in the crisper box in the refrigerator though for quite a while.
The first time we’ve seen radishes since the first share of the season. If you think you don’t like radishes, give them a try roasted. They develop a nice soft-juicy texture and the flavor mellows.
I love how peppery this arugula is. On a sandwich, in an omelet, or as a simple salad, it is delightful. If you don’t like the spicy zesty-ness of raw radish, you might not like raw arugula as much. In that case, try roughly chopping and sautéing it with some leek. I’m a little torn on which way I like it more.
In the last share you all got celery root, now here is some celery. Greenhouse grown celery is usually a little nicer than field celery for eating as less exposure to sunlight means less chlorophyll development and a less bitter celery.
Nichols referred to this a ‘Biker’ Leek, and in my due diligence, I typically research any particularly named variety. In that effort, I occasionally come across some pretty fun descriptions/reviews. Here is one from seedway.com on biker leeks:
This summer leek features a very straight long shaft and remarkably erect leaves that make it easy to bunch.
The last eggplant of the season, these are some nice smaller ones.
Celery leaves, dehydrated and ground with salt. The bright green color is a stark comparison to the drab brown that any celery salt you’ll find at the grocery store will be. Use to season popcorn, meat, or a Chicago-style hot dog.
