In The Box

• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Sweet Potatoes
• Pie Pumpkin
• French Breakfast Radishes
• Braising Greens
• Garlic
• Hot Peppers

The big stalk poking out of your bags is a Brussels sprouts plant. Just imagine a leaf coming out underneath each little sprout. I always wonder who thought of developing this odd looking little plant. Whoever it was had a vivid imagination.

Snap each sprout off the stalk. Then steam or sauté the Brussels sprouts. If you don’t think you like this veggie, please try them again. They are really different from the frozen ones you may have had in the past. I’ve been told that the tops of the stalks are also edible (they are being marketed as Brusselini). I haven’t tried them yet, but I would treat them like cabbage.

I gave you a sauerkraut recipe that I thought might be fun for kids to make. When I was little, my Grandma always had several crocks of sauerkraut “going” in our basement. While I never liked going into the basement (too scary), I did like looking at the sauerkraut. The bubbling and the formation of the scum always fascinated me. (So, ok, I was an odd child!) Plus I think that the fermented food was alive and very good for us to eat.

Sweet potatoes are in your boxes this week. This week I did not wash them up. I think they keep a little longer if the water has not washed off their protective skin. If you keep them in a cool (50-60 degrees) and dry location, they will easily last until Thanksgiving or even longer. However, as one person told me, they will be lucky to have any sweet potatoes left by Friday.

Recipes for the Week:

• No-Fault Pumpkin Pie
• Soda Bottle Sauerkraut

Riley Writes

Recap of the Season

This has been a really good farming season. We did not have any weather extremes. We had good rain and good heat without having floods or droughts. The weeds did win the contest out in the fields, but we still pulled lots of good veggies out of the weeds. The other difficulty this season was the increase in gas prices. That affected not only the obvious issues of gas for trucks and tractors, but also the costs of plastic bags, containers, irrigation and all sorts of things.

I had great help and I am very grateful to all the employees, CSA members, friends and family who supported the farm this season. I could not do this without lots of help. And I’m very grateful to Riley for the comic relief when I needed it the most. Most of all, thanks to all of you for belonging to the CSA and being part of Luna Circle this year. I hope you all will be back next year.

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I am going to miss everyone coming out to the farm. Every morning I start looking out the window waiting for my friends to arrive. Then when they arrive, I get so excited that I RUN AROUND IN CIRCLES UNTIL Mom lets me out the door. Then I jump all over them. Now I will miss them. I will also miss the drive to deliver your boxes and seeing my friends along the way. But I’ve had a great time this year and can’t wait for spring. Have a good winter!!!

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