Welcome to Week 4!
After this week, we'll be half way through our 8-week Winter CSA. I don't know about you, but I find that a continuous infusion of super fresh, local produce keeps me going through these colder, darker days. While these winter veggies tantalize our taste buds, they also provide a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals that can help keep us healthy and happy. For instance, everybody knows that oranges are high in Vitamin C, but lots of winter veggies are great sources, too-- such as cabbage, chard, mustard, spinach, broccoli, radishes, collards and kale. Yay!
In case you haven't heard-- our 4-week "Mini March" CSA is available for signup. This is the shortest CSA season we offer and a great opportunity for people to give us a try... so please feel free to tell your friends, coworkers and neighbors about it!
Produce Highlight - Daikon Radishes!
Radishes don't get a lot of love. Being in the mustard family, they do tend to have a strong flavor, but that's part of their charm as well! And it seems that a lot of people don't realize that there are MANY ways you can prepare a radish-- you don't have to just eat them fresh! Let's talk about daikon radishes for a minute...
See those beautiful purple roots up top? Those are our beloved purple daikon radishes. Daikon-type radishes are native to Asia, where they have been cultivated for thousands of years. In Japan today, they are the most commercially produced vegetable grown and are a staple in many dishes. The flesh is crispy and crunchy and the flavor varies from mild to medium heat-- the ones I've tasted lately have had a medium heat that comes at the end. Here are a few ways you can enjoy them:
- Make a different kind of coleslaw-- check out this recipe from Weelicious.
- Roast them! Add them to your next pan of roasted vegetables. Daikons mellow out when roasted into a caramelized, sweet treat.
- Slow cook them! Combine them with some meat and other veggies, turn on low and let the juices and flavors start mixing for an all-in-one meal.
- Make radish hashbrown cakes. In Japan these are traditionally known as Daikon mochi-- they are made by combining shredded daikon radishes, rice flour, various shredded or chopped vegetables, and dried shrimp. Here's a recipe!
As always, you can find more info in the Produce Guide on our website... including how to best store your veggies. Proper storage will keep your produce fresh longer!
Artisan Spotlight - Antonio's Fresh Pasta
I am SO excited about this new offering.
Italian born, but in the Athens-area since 1988, Antonio has been delighting our community with his superb hand-made pastas for years-- you might recognize him from the Athens Farmers Market, and now you can add some pasta to your Collective Harvest order! The varieties will change, and they will be available in limited quantities, so please hop on it if you'd like to add some to your order.
We're starting out with Antonio's Spinach Tagliatelle... a wide noodle made with only organic flour, organic semolina, local farm-fresh eggs from pastured chickens, and spinach. These half pound bags come frozen and contain two hefty portions, or three smaller portions.
Independent Baking Co Bread Share - French Country Loaf
Mixed grain bread of the French countryside with stone-ground wholegrain wheat, spelt, and rye flours. A lovely, versatile loaf.
Farm Update -- Full Moon Farm/Farmcart
The folks from one of our founding farms, Full Moon Farm, decided to change directions last year and focus mainly on their other business-- the Farmcart! Originally, Farmcart was a food truck business and made hundreds of Athens Farmers Market shoppers verrrry happy every Saturday with their locally sourced biscuit sandwiches and other breakfast goodies. Last year, they opened up a brick-and-mortar location on Baxter Street. I asked owner Iwalani Farfour for an update for Collective Harvest members:
"Hello from the Farmcart. In 2019 we had this crazy idea to open up a restaurant so we could serve our delicious biscuit sandwiches and lunch six days a week. The community response has been amazing. We are so thrilled to see so many in our community that appreciate our mission to source our food from local, sustainably managed farms.
We take our responsibility to be the leaders in Athens sustainable food movement seriously. We know that life is full of choices and food choices come with a complicated string of attachments. Our job is to make delicious food that celebrates our local food producers so that choice can be easy for you.
Some of you may be familiar with our farm, Full Moon Farm. We are in the process of creating more infrastructure to get our farm up and running again, we took a year off to get settled into restaurant life, and hopefully will be able, in the next few years, to supply our restaurant with most of our fruit and vegetable needs. Currently, you can find our farmer at the Farmcart taking orders, talking to customers and getting a feel for restaurant life. Come by and say hi!"
Let's gather 'round the table and eat!
