CSA Newsletter

the humble rutabaga

Greetings from the Garden!  This box has potatoes, sweet potatoes and /or squash, lettuce, daikon radish, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, and leeks.

Field Notes.  Our pigs went to the meat locker this week.  Ken is pulling fence and picking rock where they were last.  Now our animal population is thinned for winter.  Animals are a crucial part of any farm.  Pigs clear and till, chickens eat insects, ticks and weed seeds, geese mow the lawn.  And their bedding is one component of the compost used in the garden.  This is one of our main nitrogen sources.

Men and compost

Ken has been planting and planning for the season ahead.  There are greenhouses and hoopettes to plant.  Some space will be left open for early season crops next year, too.  

The irrigation areas expansion project progresses.  Those big pieces of machinery can do a lot in a short time.  And we all feel better about having places to hold water as it seems we are getting either too much or none.  We did get some rain and flurries on Monday and with the short dreary grey days of November the push is on to prioritize and complete outdoor tasks.

Ken and Loyal are attending the Biodynamic conference in Madison next week.  Ken leaves on his 60th birthday.  The schedule and speakers look really promising.  I will be here feeding remaining animals, root cellaring, catching up on book keeping, computer work, and getting our seeds inventoried, so I can hit the seed catalogs and order early.  Delay means several varieties could be sold out or back ordered past intended plant date.

From the Kitchen.  I have been sick.  Ken has been making his own interesting meals.  One was a cabbage, potato and leek soup.  I got some as I felt better before it was all gone.  He used goose stock - very rich in flavor.  I came back to the living through a brown rice gruel - brown rice cooked in soup stock to the very soft stage.  I added miso just before serving to boost my probiotics.

We have also been eating organ meats as we butcher.  Ground gizzards in tomato sauce with onion, garlic and pepper sauce is great with eggs in the morning.  Or with pasta at night.  Liver pate.

But back to vegetables!  Ken makes a sweet and white potato scalloped potatoes using a standard recipe - it is great.  And Squash soup with spicy sausage is tasty.  Rutabagas are delicious au gratin with potatoes - or mashed with potatoes.

'Til Next Week!