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November 30, 2015
Winter Share #1
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Letter from a Farmer,
It is a cold morning here on the farm, it feels like winter today.  The farm is "put to bed" for the winter; all our tractors and equipment are cleaned & parked under cover, barns, sheds, the office is clean and organized, and the crew is mulching the garlic as I write this letter.  It is a good feeling to have everything tucked away waiting for spring.

This month we put together our supply orders for spring: potting soil, compost, cover crop seed, vegetable seed, crop protectants, irrigation supplies, etc.  We also get our cropping plan mapped out and our greenhouse and seeding schedules written up.  

Our daily work is at a slower pace; feeding and caring for the animals and packing vegetables for the winter share.  Leaving us time for repair & construction projects and updating the website and dreaming about other farm improvements.  I don't know how California farmers make it without a winter to slow down and have time to reflect & plan for the future.  I am very grateful to have a bit of down time in front of our wood stove fed from logs from the farm, especially on these very short days.

We hope the winter share veggies provide you a bright spot in these dark days of winter.   ~Jody
Loki, the farm dog, surveying the cover crops.
Winter Share Storage Tips

Unwashed root crops store for a longer period of time, so keep them dirty until you are ready to cook them.

Potatoes:  Store potatoes in a dark location.  Exposure to light turns their skin green.  Potatoes will store at room temp for 3 to 4 weeks.  For longer term storage keep them at 45 to 50 degrees.  Humid locations work fine for potatoes

Winter Squash:  Store them in a dry location.  They will keep for a month at room temperature.  For longer term storage keep them at 55 degrees

Onions: Keep them in a dry, cool, dark location at 40 to 50 degrees for long term storage.  Onions will keep at room temp. for about a month.

Carrots, Beets, Watermelon Radishes, and Rutabaga:  Keep them in a vented plastic bag in your crisper drawer in your fridge.

Cabbage:  Keep the outer leaves on during storage.  Peel the leaves off when you are ready to cook.  Store in your crisper drawer in your fridge.  Once you cut the cabbage keep the remaining half in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Sweet Potatoes:  Keep you sweet potatoes at room temperature for about a month.  For longer term storage keep in a cool, dark, moist location between 55 and 60 degrees.
WATERMELON RADISH
 
Watermelon radishes are one of my favorite winter veggies.  It is like a fresh, green vegetable in a root crop.  I thinly peel the radishes before I use them raw or in cooking.  It is great sliced or shredded raw in all kinds of salad or sliced raw and used in a crudites platter.  They can be used instead of diakon or other radishes in stir fries.     
Garen's Watermelon Radish Slaw

For the slaw:
3 medium watermelon radishes
1 carrot
1T fresh ginger root (or more to taste)
1 medium red onion (1/4 cup grated)
 
For the dressing:
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons yogurt or mayonnaise (or more if desired)
Splash of Thai fish sauce (optional)
 
Grate all the slaw ingredients.  Blend the dressing ingredients together.  Toss slaw and dressing together and serve on a bed of greens.  Add shredded carrots, cabbage, or other root veggies of your choice.
http://savoringtheseasons.blogspot.com/2010/11/watermelon-radishes-there-ought-to-be.html
Getting the barn set up for packing winter shares.
IN YOUR WINTER SHARE BOX: 7 lbs of potatoes, 3 lbs of onions, 5 lbs beets, 5 lbs carrots, 4 lbs sweet potatoes, 2 lbs watermelon radish, 1 or 2 cabbages, 1 or 2 winter squash
 
SIGN UP FOR YOUR 2016 SHARE: You can now sign up for your 2016 share online or download a paper form.  If you pay for you vegetable share in full by the end of December you can still pay the 2015 share price!
Raw Root Veggie Salad

1 watermelon radish
1 golden beet (or any beet but it will color everything red)
4 large carrots (or about 3 cups)
1 small head red cabbage or green cabbage
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 small onion chopped finely
3 broccoli stems or other root veggie that you like & have on hand
Handful cilantro
Coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp agave (or honey)

Chop or shred all ingredients or place in food processor to chop.  Whisk dressing ingredients and pour over salad mixture.  Add dried fruit or nuts if you like.
http://www.floridacoastalcooking.com/2013/05/vivians-rockin-raw-root-veggie-salad.html