Bay Ridge CSA

News from the farm – part 9

Here’s the latest news and recipes from Hearty Roots:

Featured vegetable:  Arrowhead Cabbage

This week you’ll have seen some unusual pointy-shaped green cabbage in your share.  This type of cabbage used to be more common and is renowned for its tenderness and good flavor.  It makes and exceptionally good summer slaw.  Unlike many of the round cabbages that we grow, this arrowhead cabbage does not store well for long periods of time (although it’s fine for a few weeks, just not a few months), so enjoy it soon.  

Sweet and Sour Cole Slaw

1 arrowhead cabbage, shredded fine or chopped (6 cups)
1 large carrot , peeled and grated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
Ground black pepper

1. Toss cabbage and carrots with sugar, salt, and celery seeds in colander set over medium bowl. Let stand until cabbage wilts, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

2. Pour draining liquid from bowl; rinse bowl and dry. Dump wilted cabbage and carrots from colander into bowl.

3. Add oil and vinegar; toss to coat. Season with pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Can be refrigerated 5 days.)

News from the Field

Hey everyone!  This is Bennett Haynes, another member of the Hearty Roots crew, I’m here for the rest of the season and am enjoying the new fall-like weather!  

Things at Hearty Roots are going very well.  It seems that we are “ahead” of the weeds for right now, and the soils have been relatively nice and moist from some rain and lots of cool, moist mornings.  We’ve improved many of our harvesting systems – we are now piling squash, cucumbers and tomatoes in the pathways before picking them up with harvest totes, this helps to take care of the sensitive produce and manage the quantities we harvest more efficiently.  We also gained a new friend at the farm, Anne Margaret, who will be working with us for the month of September, focusing on key skills like harvesting squash and the art of the hoe.  “Anne Marg” as some call her, has added a new energy to the team and we are getting things done!

We also have very few seedlings around the hoop-house these days – the rest of our crops will be directly seeded for the remainder of the season.  Fall crops like turnips, carrots, radishes and spinach don’t like to be transplanted by hand, so our fun with the waterwheel transplanter is mostly over for this season.  And just as Zoe and I were getting the hang of it…

That’s all I’ve got for you.  Have a great week and enjoy the last of August!

Bennett

Tags: arrowhead cabbage