Here is a picture of my most recent share of produce from Sweetwater Organic Community Farm. Our pick-up included: several types of lettuce (including butterleaf, red romaine, magenta leaf, and arugala), joi choi pac choi, carrots, kale, eggplant, tomatoes, kohlrabi, cabbage, radishes, beets, and curly endive.
I made a hearty vegetable soup using the kale, cabbage, and carrots. We have also enjoyed fried curly endive. It's better than french fries! However, it's a little bit too oily, and I wonder how many nutrients remain in the endive after the frying process. We will also enjoy another week of the best salads I've ever eaten. The arugala and radishes are so delicious! They are like none I've ever had before.
According to the weekly email we receive from the Farm Manager at Sweetwater, we have fully transitioned into winter crops. That means no more salad greens, eggplant, or tomatoes. I really appreciate these weekly emails. They contain a list of the produce they expect to harvest, which makes it easier to plan ahead. I also learn some interesting tid bits about organic gardening. For example, here is an excerpt from last week's email:
"Our next planting of carrots is ready to harvest and should give us sweet tasting 'Nelson' carrots for about a month. First we start by harvesting the baby carrots in bunches as a way of thinning the rows. This gives the remaining carrots space to size up, later on we will harvest in bulk without the tops."
The Sweetwater website also contains a forum for swapping recipes, but there are very few posts on it. I would love to see them send weekly emails with recipes and information about some of the more unusual produce. In the meantime, I've been having fun researching things online and sharing recipes with friends.
Click HERE for my previous posts about Sweetwater. Click HERE to find CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in your area.
