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Week 23 of 28 from Valley Flora!

Beet Box -

Week 23 of 28 from Valley Flora! Apple Medley! Treviso Radicchio! Delicata!
Thanks for eating locally from our family farm!
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What's Cookin' at the Farm...
  • Treviso, Apple Medley, Delicatas
  • Winter CSA Sign-Ups!
  • November Farmstand Hours
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What's In Your Share This Week:*
  • Leeks
  • Redleaf Lettuce
  • Carrots
  • Beets
  • Treviso Radicchio
  • Romanesco
  • Kale
  • Delicata Squash
  • Apples
On Rotation:
(Some locations will receive it this week; others in a future week)
  • Radishes
*Harvest Basket contents may vary between pickup sites in a given week depending on what's ripe and ready on the farm. Don't worry - if something is on the list but not in your tote, you'll get it soon!

The VF Crystal Ball - What might be in your share next week...
  • Onions
  • Carrots
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Lettuce
  • Potatoes
  • Tomatoes?
  • Asian Pears
  • Turnips?
  • Butternut Squash

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Treviso, Apples, Delicatas!
In the spirit of practice-makes-perfect, you're getting another chicory this week so you can continue honing your radicchio skills. This time it's a Treviso-type: upright, dense, and the color of a nice red wine. I'm inspired to use it in this recipe I stumbled upon last week, using the end of a loaf of sourdough from Farmstead Bread in Myrtle Point. For any of you who have not yet gotten your hands on a loaf from Farmstead Bread, you must! They sell through Coos Head Food Co-op, the Port Orford Co-Op, at various farmers markets, and a handful of other places. I'm not a big sliced bread eater - it doesn't make me feel so great - but the slow-rise wild sourdough that Farmstead handcrafts is a completely different beast. My belly loves it, my tastebuds love it, and we are incredibly lucky to have an artisan bakery of such caliber in our rural community.

Apples are finally showing up in your share this week. It wasn't a gangbuster apple year for us and because we haven't had a huge harvest of any one variety it means you're getting a medley of some of our favorites this week: Liberty (smooth, matte-red with green skin), Sweet Sixteen (large, shiny red and green skin), and Topaz (waxier skin with red streaking over yellow). Our acre-and-a-half of orchard contains 285 trees and almost a 100 different varieties, not quite half of which are apples. Most of them are varieties you'll never find in a grocery store, and all of them are apples that we chose because we love their more complex flavor (i.e. there are no Red Delicious in our orchard :)....).

And finally in your tote, the belle of the winter squash ball, Delicata! It's the favorite for good reason: this is our sweetest squash and probably the easiest and most versatile to prepare. It'll be perfect in the treviso salad recipe above, but it also stands on its own halved into boats, baked and eaten with a little pool of melting butter inside.
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Winter CSA Sign-Ups!!!

Remember, it's time to reserve your spot for our upcoming 2020 Winter CSA season! We have a limited number of spaces available - we offer just 40 winter shares compared to 100 main season shares - so we encourage you to sign up in a timely fashion to guarantee your spot. We'll give current CSA members a two-week priority sign-up period, through November 6th, after which we'll open it up the general public.
 
Our winter CSA has a slightly different rhythm than our main season: starting the week of January 6th we pack shares on an every-other-week schedule (weather permitting), through the week of May 11th. We have a pickup location at the farm and another in Bandon (we do not offer delivery to Port Orford or Coos Bay in the winter). You'll get ten shares total over a 20 week period, replete with a remarkable abundance of diverse seasonal produce. Over the past few years I've been amazed at the rainbow-array of food the farm can put out during the darkest, coldest time of the year. Some of our members have even confessed that they like the winter CSA better than summer... :)

To learn more and get signed up, follow this link to our website!

Thanks for eating with us year-round!
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November Farmstand Hours
 
Every Wednesday, Rain or Shine
10 am to 1 pm
(No more Saturdays until next June)

Fresh Produce
Homemade Jam & Hot Sauce

Please bring your own bags!

Directions to the Farm
For Recipes & Cooking Inspiration:
 
Valley Flora Recipe Wizard
Our own collection of recipes gathered over the years.
 
Epicurious
A vast collection of recipes, searchable by one or multiple ingredients
 
Full Belly Farm
Recipes from one of my favorite farms in California, pioneers of the organic movement since the 80s.

Farm Fresh to You
A storehouse of recipes, searchable by ingredient.
 
Helsing Junction Farm
A Washington farm that has a good collection of seasonal recipes geared toward CSA members.
Copyright © 2019 Valley Flora, All rights reserved.


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Week 22 from Valley Flora!

Beet Box -

Week 22 from Valley Flora! Radicchio! Pumpkins! Acorn Squash!
Thanks for eating locally from our family farm!
View this email in your browser
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What's Cookin' at the Farm...
  • Radicchio Season!
  • Winter CSA Sign-Ups!
  • Pie Pumpkins and Acorn Squash
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What's In Your Share This Week:*
  • Red Onions
  • Little Gem Lettuce
  • Carrots
  • Tomatoes
  • Radicchio
  • Fennel
  • Hakurei Turnips
  • Pie Pumpkin
  • Acorn Squash
  • Celery
  • Chojuro Asian Pears
  • Broccoli
On Rotation:
(Some locations will receive it this week; others in a future week)
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Cauliflower
  • Radishes
*Harvest Basket contents may vary between pickup sites in a given week depending on what's ripe and ready on the farm. Don't worry - if something is on the list but not in your tote, you'll get it soon!

The VF Crystal Ball - What might be in your share next week...
  • Leeks
  • Carrots
  • Beets
  • Lettuce
  • Romanesco
  • Tomatoes?
  • Collards
  • Apples
  • Delicata Squash

    •  
Radicchio Season!
Ever since spending a couple days with a fellow Washington farmer who is deeply passionate about chicories (the family of plants encompassing radicchio, endive, escarole and frisee), I've fallen under their spell, awed by their remarkable contribution of color, flavor and texture to our fall produce lineup. Radicchio and its chicory cousins are a wondrous thing in the shortening days of fall and the dark days of winter. They are incredibly hardy, achieving full, glorious maturity when most things on the farm are on the slimy slope of senescence. They come in a fantastic range of shapes, colors and forms: tight, freckled, cabbage-like balls; tall, smooth, wine-dark mini-obelisks; loose-leafed sprays; whorls of serration; blanched cones. Best of all, though, is the surprise that many of them hold inside, like the variety you are getting this week: a pale green exterior gives way to a core ablaze in color and designs not normally found in the vegetable world: bridesmaid pink; creamy yellow; polka dots! They are a headstrong contrast to the muted tones of fall, and I love it.

Radicchio is mildly bitter, which scares some people off, but if you play with it in the right way its bitterness can be a fantastic culinary element in a dish. When I bring radicchio home to my kitchen, I assume I'm going to do one of three things:
  1. Cook with it (yes, radicchio holds up to heat really well and cooking tempers the bitterness. People add them to risotto, soup, pasta, or seared to accompany a slab of protein).
  2. Eat it raw as a salad, paired with something sweet, something rich and something assertive (I'll candy some nuts, slice some pear, add some cheese, make a creamy vinaigrette.)
  3. Eat it raw as salad, but slice and soak it in cold water first. This step leaches out the bitterness and allows you to use your radicchio like regular lettuce.
There is a treasure trove of mouth-watering radicchio recipes on Epicurious.com, all of which make me want to hole up in my kitchen for a week and eat nothing but chicories. I hope you'll give it a chance and join the fan club of folks like me who've realized that radicchio deserves a center-stage spot on the dinner plate come fall. 
 
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Winter CSA Sign-Ups!!!

It's time to reserve your spot for our upcoming 2020 Winter CSA season! We have a limited number of spaces available - we offer just 40 winter shares compared to 100 main season shares - so we encourage you to sign up in a timely fashion to guarantee your spot. We'll give current CSA members a two-week priority sign-up period, through November 6th, after which we'll open it up the general public.
 
Our winter CSA has a slightly different rhythm than our main season: starting the week of January 6th we pack shares on an every-other-week schedule (weather permitting), through the week of May 11th. We have a pickup location at the farm and another in Bandon (we do not offer delivery to Port Orford or Coos Bay in the winter). You'll get ten shares total over a 20 week period, replete with a remarkable abundance of diverse seasonal produce. Over the past few years I've been amazed at the rainbow-array of food the farm can put out during the darkest, coldest time of the year. Some of our members have even confessed that they like the winter CSA better than summer... :)

To learn more and get signed up, follow this link to our website!

Thanks for eating with us year-round!
 
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Pie Pumpkins and Acorn Squash
Even though Halloween is around the corner, the little pumpkin in your tote this week is not really intended to become a jack-o-lantern. It's a variety that lends itself to homemade pumpkin pie. That's not to say you can't decorate the house with it for a couple weeks until the trick-or-treating is over, and THEN bake it and turn it into a scrumptious, creamy pie. You can also bake it, scoop out the flesh, and freeze it so you're one step readier for the Thanksgiving pie-baking bonanza.

You also have a couple acorn squash in the mix, ideal for cutting in half and baking, maybe heaped with a stuffing of some sort or filled up as soup tureens. Acorns have an especially tough skin, so take care when cutting them in half.
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October Farmstand Hours
 
Every Wednesday & Saturday (rain or shine)
10 am to 1 pm

Fresh Produce
Homemade Jam & Hot Sauce

Please bring your own bags!

Directions to the Farm
For Recipes & Cooking Inspiration:
 
Valley Flora Recipe Wizard
Our own collection of recipes gathered over the years.
 
Epicurious
A vast collection of recipes, searchable by one or multiple ingredients
 
Full Belly Farm
Recipes from one of my favorite farms in California, pioneers of the organic movement since the 80s.

Farm Fresh to You
A storehouse of recipes, searchable by ingredient.
 
Helsing Junction Farm
A Washington farm that has a good collection of seasonal recipes geared toward CSA members.
Copyright © 2019 Valley Flora, All rights reserved.


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Apologies for the Misfire!

Beet Box -

96 Apologies for the Misfire!
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Whoops!

We accidentally just sent our weekly freshsheet email intended for our wholesale customers (stores, restaurants, caterers) to our CSA list.

Apologies for that. Please disregard, and look for your usual Beet Box newsletter on Wednesday!
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Copyright © 2019 Valley Flora, All rights reserved.


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Valley Flora Freshsheet - October 21st

Beet Box -

96 Valley Flora Freshsheet - October 21st Radicchio!
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Fresh Local Produce from the Banks of Floras Creek


Fresh from the Farm This Week:
  • Radicchio
  • Fiesta and Sweet Sixteen Apples
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Good morning! A reminder that Abby's Greens and all baby bulk greens will only be available for Wednesday delivery for the remainder of the season (no Saturday delivery of these items).

The freshsheet is updated for the week of October 21st:

http://www.valleyflorafarm.com/content/valley-flora-freshsheet

The password is fresh

Notes on this week's harvest:
  • Head Lettuce is becoming more limited. Please check the list this week before ordering. This will be the final week for greenleaf, available only in limited quantity (no case quanitities). Redleaf should be available for another couple weeks, weather depending.
To place your order:
ORDERING DEADLINES:
  • 2 pm on MONDAY for Wednesday deliveries to Langlois, Bandon and Coos Bay (and Port Orford pickup from our cooler).
  • 2 pm on THURSDAY for Saturday deliveries to Langlois, Bandon and Port Orford.
Thanks for your business, and for choosing local produce from our family farm!

The Florettes
Bets, Abby & Zoë
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DELIVERY SCHEDULE

Wednesdays
  • Langlois by 10 am
  • Bandon by 12 pm
  • Coos Bay by 2 pm

Saturdays
  • Port Orford by 9 am
  • Langlois by 10 am
  • Bandon by 12 pm
Chicory season is upon us!
Copyright © 2019 Valley Flora, All rights reserved.


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Week 21 from Valley Flora!

Beet Box -

Week 21 from Valley Flora! Savoy Cabbage! Spaghetti Squash!
Thanks for eating locally from our family farm!
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What's Cookin' at the Farm...
  • Don't be Scared...it's just a SPAGHETTI SQUASH!
  • A Word about Winter Squash
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What's In Your Share This Week:*
  • Yellow Onions
  • Head Lettuce
  • Carrots
  • Tomatoes
  • Savoy Cabbage
  • Red Potatoes
  • Cilantro
  • Spaghetti squash
On Rotation:
(Some locations will receive it this week; others in a future week)
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Radishes
*Harvest Basket contents may vary between pickup sites in a given week depending on what's ripe and ready on the farm. Don't worry - if something is on the list but not in your tote, you'll get it soon!

The VF Crystal Ball - What might be in your share next week...
  • Onions
  • Carrots
  • Radicchio
  • Lettuce
  • Collards
  • Tomatoes?
  • Celery?
  • Hakurei Turnips
  • Acorn Squash
  • Pie Pumpkin
  • Fennel

    •  
Don't be Scared...
This week everyone is getting a spaghetti squash, some of which might fill half your tote and weigh more than your cat, but don't be afraid! Spaghetti squash is maybe the easiest of all the winter squashes to handle, in part because the main way you handle it is pretty hands off: just bake it whole. Aside from piercing it with a knife a few times so it doesn't explode in your oven or pressure cooker, you don't have to risk life and limb try to peel, hack, slice and dice and get it recipe-ready. And if you're afraid to even stab the thing once or twice, pop it into your microwave for 5 minutes to soften it and then pierce it with a sharp-tipped knife. That is, if you can fit it in your microwave...

But speaking of recipes, there are lots of exciting ideas for how to eat a spaghetti squash, more everyday in this new gluten-free era.

If you belong to the Instant Pot or pressure cooker club, this is a pretty clever way to make "spaghetti" and sauce all in the same pot, in under an hour:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/one-pot-turkey-bolognese-with-spaghetti

If you are a sucker for fritters (my hand is in the air right now), then try these:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spaghetti-squash-fritters

And if you love salami and cheese like a good Italian should, this might be right up your alley:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cheesy-baked-spaghetti-squash-boats-with-salami-sundried-tomatoes-and-spinach

It seem like most recipes calling for spaghetti squash use it as a vehicle for cheese, tomato sauce, and other delights. But you know, they also taste pretty good on their own if you want to just cook it naked and keep it simple.
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A Word (or two) About Winter Squash
I haven't given squash season it's proper introduction like I usually do. I assume a lot of you are familiar with winter squash and adept at handling them, but on the off chance that they're an entirely new kitchen adventure for you, here are a few tips:
  • Store your squash on the counter, or somewhere cool and dark with good airflow. Not in the fridge, unless you cut one in half and save some of it to cook with later. Most varieties of squash will store for weeks, if not months. The last variety you'll receive in December - Tetsu - could keep for over a year. I just had a CSA member from last year send me a picture of her 2018 Tetsu, cut in half and still perfect inside.
  • Squash skin is edible, but not necessarily palatable. The exception is Delicata, which has a thin enough skin it doesn't interfere with your eating enjoyment too much. That said, I tend to peel even my Delicatas in order to enjoy the smooth texture to its fullest. Acorns are tough to peel due to their hard ribs, so I mostly cook them in their shell.
  • When cutting into uncooked squash, be careful! If you have a microwave you can precook them for 5 minutes to soften them up and then go at it with the knife. I'm confident with a knife and we don't have a microwave, so my approach is usually:
    1. Peel with a peeler, if it's a peeling type (butternut, delicata, sunshine)
    2. Using my big kitchen knife with the sharpest, pointiest tip, I insert the tip of the knife into the belly of the squash and then carefully work the blade of the knife around the middle of the squash to cleave it in half.
    3. Once I've halved the squash, I scoop out the seeds and put the cut side down on the cutting board so it's stable. Then I slice and dice into whatever shape/size I'm after.
  • If it's a spaghetti, acorn, pie pumpkin or Tetsu, I skip the peeling step but do everything else the same.
And finally, if you want a quick read about winter squash in general - and a guide to all the different kinds - check out this link:
https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/a-visual-guide-to-winter-squash-varieties-article

You won't see all of those varieties from us this fall, but we have grown all of them over the course of the past decade. We've narrowed our squash lineup down to the varieties that taste the best, store the best and yield the best on our farm. I hope you like them!
 
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October Farmstand Hours
 
Every Wednesday & Saturday (rain or shine)
10 am to 1 pm

Fresh Produce
Homemade Jam & Hot Sauce

Please bring your own bags!

Directions to the Farm
For Recipes & Cooking Inspiration:
 
Valley Flora Recipe Wizard
Our own collection of recipes gathered over the years.
 
Epicurious
A vast collection of recipes, searchable by one or multiple ingredients
 
Full Belly Farm
Recipes from one of my favorite farms in California, pioneers of the organic movement since the 80s.

Farm Fresh to You
A storehouse of recipes, searchable by ingredient.
 
Helsing Junction Farm
A Washington farm that has a good collection of seasonal recipes geared toward CSA members.
Copyright © 2019 Valley Flora, All rights reserved.


unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

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