Fresh and Value-Added Items:
- Carrots 2#
- Potatoes 3#: crock pot beef stew
- Celeriac: Celeriac Pasta
- Onions, 1.5#
- Fresh Spinach 1/2#:
- Coleslaw Mix 1#: Cabbage Omelette
- Eggs-1 dozen
- Pickles 10 oz…a little spicy this time
- Dried Tomatoes, ~2 oz: Chicken in Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
- Raspberry Jam, 1 pint
FROZEN ITEMS:
- Vegetable Stock 1 Qt: water, onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, rosemary, sage, thyme, bay leaf, salt & pepper.
- 2 quarts of soup (Garden Vegetable & Roasted Butternut), or your customized items
- Rhubarb 1 Qt: Rhubarb Crumble
- Zucchini 1 Qt: Zucchini Pie
- Broccoli 1 Qt
- Roasted Spaghetti Sauce 1 Qt
The sunshine is getting stronger by the day and the 10 day forecast shows temperatures reaching into the 40s. We know winter isn’t over yet, but it feels as if we have left the claws of deep winter and are nearing milder conditions. By the end of the month, we will be seeding onions in the greenhouse. Time just continues to march on to a beat that I’m not quite keeping up with at times, but regardless the seasons continue to cycle as we ebb and flow through life.
The bonus item this winter season is rhubarb. Somehow we squirreled away an overabundance of rhubarb. I hope you are finding a way to add it into your sweet treats. I find I can toss it in along with most crisps, crumbles, or pies and it acts as a filler to go along with other fruit. I know some make a savory rhubarb chutney as well.
Ericka, a CSA member from Alma, shared the zucchini pie recipe above. Somewhat like a quiche but an alternative way to use the zucchini. Just be sure to drain the zucchini well after thawing. If you have a recipe you’d like to share with the rest of our members, please send me a link and I’ll pass it along. Perhaps I’ll even get a Member Tips/Recipes page created on this website to spotlight some of the very useful member generated tips for using their CSA items.
Our Winter CSA share price has increased for the 2016-17 season. We have kept track of our costs more closely and over the years the contents of what we are consistently putting into the winter shares has increased without an increase to the share price. The average value of the CSA shares you have been receiving this winter have been between $78-$85 while we have charged $55 for the bi-weekly shares. This margin of difference has steadily increased over the years as we have varied the options and volume of produce stored and preserved for the winter shares. For next season, the price per delivery will increase to $70 which still allows for some bonus value to our members but also makes sure that we are sufficiently compensated for our goods and services.
If you are planning on signing up for a Fall or Winter CSA share for the 2016/17 season, please do so soon. On March 1st, I will open up the Fall and Winter CSA sign-up to the general public to fill our remaining available shares. We want to give our long standing members the first chance to continue their CSA shares with our farm before opening up the enrollment. Here’s the link for sign-up: https://suncrestgardensfarm.com/csa/sign-up/
Eat Well. Smile Often.
Your Farmer,
Heather