Fall CSA Week 7 | Cozy mode veggies

Week 7: October 23 - October 26

We are well and truly frosted now - a solid frost last night and a harder freeze tonight will send the farm packing into its winter mode. We’re ready. Thanks to hard work from our tireless crew of farmers we got the last of the fall roots harvested and cleaned before the cold weather hit this week. 

As we’ve been harvesting these fall roots - celeriac, turnips, rutabaga, watermelon radishes, purple daikon, beets, and endless carrots - we have been marveling at how their readiness seems to dovetail with our desire to eat these types of crops. They come into our market, our pantry, our kitchen at what we fondly refer to as “soup season.” These are the months where we have more time, and more desire, to fire up the oven and roast a tray full of veggies, or let a stew develop flavor, slow and low, over the course of a long afternoon. These are cozy vegetables.

They also require a little more work, it’s true. You can’t slice a rutabaga, sprinkle it with salt, and call it a makeshift salad, the way you can with a tomato or cucumber. And because they require a little more work - and often have in-earned connotations as food from a bygone era - they can be overlooked and misunderstood. So we wanted to take a quick moment to extol the virtues of some less familiar crops you might find in your bag in the next few weeks. 

Celeriac - Like celery, without the strings! Less bitter and assertive than celery, celeriac (also known as celery root) adds a great note to soups, stews, roasts, and mashes. And it stores longer in your fridge than its above-ground counterpart!

Rutabaga - Affectionately known as “baggies” around these parts, rutabaga are like a potato that doesn’t fall apart when cooked. We once bartered with a beekeeper whose grandma said “It’s not a real soup if it doesn’t have rutabaga in it.”

Turnips - These beauties add a peppery note to roasted roots - amazing on a kale salad. Or add them into mashed potatoes (and put them on shepherd’s pie?!) for a little spice in your life. And if you’re really against eating them, you can always carve them - they were the earliest jack-o-lanterns!

Watermelon & Purple Daikon Radishes - Think of these like your spring radishes with a little extra sweetness from the crisp fall air. Plus, they’re absolutely stunning and will store in your fridge for much longer than their traditional red counterparts. 

I won’t spend too long hyping up carrots, beets, and sweet potatoes, even though we appreciate them just as much. Hopefully you’re familiar with those! We hope you enjoy these fall stalwarts - let us know your favorite ways to use them, so we can pass the love along!

Have a cozy week, 

Chris, Ashley, Hallie, and the 10th Street Farm Crew

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In Your Bag This Week

Purple-Top Turnip: A fall beauty that mixes peppery radish and earthy potato-like flavor. Versatile and long-lasting. Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Celeriac: A nuttier celery flavor, without the bitterness or strings! Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Carrots: These carrots are sweet, crunchy, and oh so addicting! Remove tops and store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Flavor Mix microgreens: Mild and tasty, these make an easy salad on their own or can add some color to any other salad. Try them on eggs or sandwiches – or anything, really! Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Garlic: The best cooking advice we ever received? When a recipe calls for a clove of garlic, use two or three! Store on your counter.

Persephone Mix salad greens: Our fresh-cut winter blend of lettuce and cold-hardy greens. Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Napa Cabbage: An asian cabbage that is fresh, crunchy, and delicious. Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Onion: A pantry essential. Onions make a flavorful start for soups, sautees, or a sheet pan of roasted veggies. Store in a cool, dark place.

Winter Squash (full share only): Your choice of butternut, koginut, or tetsukabuto squash! Store on your counter.

Beets (full share only): These earthy beauties are good in sweet and savory roles alike. Boil, roast, or grate into baked goods! Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

What should I make with what’s in the bag?

We’re loving the sound of this celeriac and apple salad - a fresh use for celery root that will brighten plates. Or go in a deeper, roasted direction with some roasted roots with walnuts and thyme or a root vegetable soup. Or maybe a turnip and carrot mash?

We’ve also got napa cabbage in the bag - one of the last field greens snagged before the frost. This citrus cabbage salad recipe is calling out to be made!

If you've found a recipe you're loving, please send it our way. We're always looking for new things to cook and share with other members!

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We wash everything in your bag but we wash them in bulk so some things may need an extra rinse at home. Thanks!