In Your Share (Oct 14th edition)

IMG_0342I love this photo of the fall brassica fields –  cabbage, brussel sprouts and romanesco in all their glory and so many shads of light green, dark green and grey green. We’re especially appreciative of the brassica family through  the fall and winter months. Many of these broccoli family crops are originally from northern europe which is several degrees of latitude north of us, but we have similar winter temperatures since the gulf steam warms them up. Well, warm is relative. The winter brassica varieties thrive in the 40 degree weather so common here. They can tolerate dips down into the 20’s but they won’t make it if it gets much colder. The last few summer share pickups will include some of these varieties and the rest will feed us through the winter. The winter share is looking VERY BOUNTIFUL!! If you haven’t signed up yet, you’ll find all the info here.

Last Summer Share pickups: SE Portland Tuesday Oct 22nd & Luscher Farm Thursday Oct 24th

First Winter Share Pickups: SE Portland Tuesday Nov 5th & Luscher Farm Thursday Nov 7th In Your

Recipe Packet this week you’ll find recipes for red cabbage, anaheim peppers and giant collards!

This week your share may include…

  • Cabbage: Nice heads of red cabbage is beautiful, sweet & crunchy.
  • Collards: Incredibly large leaves are tender & tasty.
  • Fennel: Nice big bulbs.
  • Garlic: These would be great roasted with the Jimmy Nardellos and sauteed kale and poured over pasta.
  • Lettuce: Tender succulent heads of green leaf or red butter lettuce
  • Jimmy Nardello Peppers: These long skinny red SWEET Italian frying peppers are one of my favorites! It is on the endangered list in the Slow Food Arc of Taste and you can read more about it here. It is a sweet, thin walled Italian frying pepper which can be eaten raw (and I do eat them all the time in the field) but is incredible when sauteed – becomes melt in your mouth creamy and delicious.
  • Hot Peppers: Three kinds – green jalapeño, czech black, and bulgarian carrot. The first two are about the same heat level and the last is hotter – more like a serano pepper. If have any leftovers make a paste with some olive oil and freeze single serving size like you would pesto.
  • Frank’s Peppers: Finally a few Stocky Red Roasters & Gathers Gold developed by our friend Frank Morton at Wild Garden Seeds.
  • Green Peppers: The last of the ANAHEIM peppers this week. These have a variable amount of heat – some are hot and some are not. Cut in half & roast them under the broiler skin side up until they’re charred. Let them steam for a few min in a covered container, then peel the skins off. Use them to make salsa, soup, or with rice & beans. They add an interestingly complex (& possibly spicy) flavor to any dish that calls for green peppers. They’ll keep in the fridge for a few days or freeze them after roasting to use over the winter. 
  • Onions: We had a bumper crop of red onions this year. Redwing is our storage standby and you’ll see a few other trial varieties over the winter season.
  • Parsley: Beautiful big bunches of Italian flat leaf parsley
  • Potato: Both red & yellow potatoes in the share this week.
  • Tomatillos: The last of the summer’s tomatillo’s!

Coming soon… The Winter Share!