Box Contents:

2 pcs Red and Purple Daikon

1 hd Bok Choi

.75 lb Spinach

1 bu Tokyo Turnips

1 bu Red Beets

1 bu Curly Kale

1 bu Cilantro

2 hds Lettuce

***Heads up on December Schedule:

Riverdog Farm Winter Break: December 23, 2022 to January 2, 2023. Our last market of the year will be at the Berkeley Farmer’s Market on Thursday, December 22, 2022. Our last day of CSA deliveries in 2022 will be Friday December 23rd. Berkeley Farmer’s Market and CSA deliveries will resume on Tuesday January 3rd, 2023. All Store Access and Frog Hollow Fruit Box deliveries will be closed at this time.

 Farm Notes:

We are very much hoping to see rain this week, maybe even snow?!? Not just because we need the rain, especially for our dry farmed wheat, which has germinated but will be much happier with another drink soon. But also because if this storm misses us we are likely to see some very cold temperatures down into the low to mid 20s - never a happy temperature for vegetables!   We are still spinning sprinklers on an almost daily basis here due to the continued dry.  It is very exciting to see water subbing back up to the surface in Cache Creek!  It has been a rock garden in our stretch of the valley since July so even a few cubic feet per second is amazing.  Hopefully the Egrets and Herons who were creek less for the summer and specialized in hunting gophers in our fields will continue their amazing services!   Neighbors already saw some otters, who must be following the water down so fish must be moving down too. The water is beginning to surface in the river again. It has surfaced as far south as County Road 68 but we are still waiting for water in the river to appear further south at our Brooks field where the hogs live.  We are all so ready for the rain here!

Box Notes:

Don’t let the Red and Purple Daikons intimidate you, they are delicious raw and make fantastic quick pickles. Some folks like to cook them but that pleasure escapes me.  The Tokyo Turnips play well both ways and the tender little beets are quite delicious cooked. With both the Turnips and the beets, remember to Eat Your Greens!  The cilantro has so many uses but we’ve been really enjoying it in both kale and lettuce (hybrids too!) salads. Enjoy the rain and the veggies!!  

-Riverdog Tim

Webstore Features:

·       Pastured Half Ham, Smoked

·       Greens: Braising Greens, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach

·       Raw Mission Almonds and vegetable items are available by the case.
Visit: https://csa.farmigo.com/store/riverdogfarmcsa to place your orders. Please place your orders by noon, 2 days before your delivery day to ensure same week delivery.

The weekly veggie box contents are subject to change. We include a list of box contents in the newsletter to give you an idea of what to expect but it may differ from what is packed. Crop quality, daily yields and weather conditions will determine final box contents each week.

Please pick up your veggie box on your delivery day. Please pick up your CSA order on your delivery day so that it stays fresh and we can ensure quality. CSA site hosts may donate any unclaimed items no sooner than 24 hours after the original pick up day and time of 3pm. After 24 hours (3pm the following day) unclaimed orders may no longer be available and the subscriber absorbs the subscription cost for that week’s order.

 New CSA Announcements:

1. Chicken subscriptions are available. The whole chickens (with head and feet) are $6 per lb. The average weight is 3.5 to 7 lbs. All meat raised on the farm is pasture fed. The animals are CCOF certified organic but cannot be labeled as organic due to being processed in a facility that is not certified organic. Your account is updated weekly with the actual weight packed for you. To begin a chicken subscription, add a chicken to your account 48 hours before your delivery day. Your account is deducted with the actual price of the chicken at midnight the day after delivery.

1. Webstore Orders: There are chickens available on the web store. Try out a chicken with no subscription commitment. If you like it then add it to your account as a weekly subscription. There are also a limited supply of half, smoked hams available.

2. Site hosts: Please email the CSA manager by the morning following the delivery day about any unclaimed CSA boxes. This way, we can contact CSA subscribers to remind them to pick up their veggie boxes.

• Please check your CSA account for the most up-to-date information such as your next delivery from our farm.

Riverdog Farm has an Instagram account. Find us via our Instagram handle: riverdogfarm. On our account, we share images of the crops, farming, re-posts of your farm fixings photos and videos and provide market/CSA updates.

Whether you leave the box at the site or take it home to return the following week, please unfold (collapse) your box carefully to keep the end flaps from tearing. Slowly bend the two end panels towards the outer ends first then collapse (flatten) the whole box by gently folding the rest.

Give your account 48 hours to update when making changes. For example, when changing your account status from permanent hold to active by charging your credit card, the process may take up to 48 hours to update. The auto-pay option button is at the bottom of your account page. Please click it for auto-renewal of your CSA subscription and to ensure uninterrupted weekly veggie box deliveries.  

Frog Hollow Farm Fruit Box The weekly fruit box is $29.75. To add the Frog Hollow Fruit box to your weekly subscription,

1) go to your CSA account.

2) Log in then look at the right side of your page at the summary box - at the bottom of that box is your subscription with a darker green box that says "change". Click on change.

3) Below the title "CHANGE SUBSCRIPTION" you have 2 tabs - Click on the -options- tab. You will see the Frog Hollow Fruit box available to add.

4) ALL orders must be in by Sunday at NOON so we have the ability to process the order and deliver it.

The Frog Hollow fruit box will be available to add to your CSA account from Thursday to Sunday by NOON. Due to logistics, the Frog Hollow Fruit Boxes will only be available to the Wednesday/Thursday/Friday subscribers. CSA subscribers who pick up on Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays, at the Berkeley farmers markets may purchase directly from Frog Hollow.  12:00 pm Sunday is the deadline to change your account for the fruit box, if you enter a hold any time after that, we can cancel delivery of the box, but your account will still be charged the full amount for the Fruit box. Frog Hollow CSA boxes come with 3-4 varieties of seasonal tree ripened, exceptionally tasty stone fruits. As part of their commitment to sustainability, Frog Hollow works hard to avert food waste. You can expect to see ripe, cosmetically imperfect fruit and small or large pieces of fruit in the fruit boxes. These characteristics should not affect the deliciousness of what you receive. Visit their web site to learn more about their CSA program, farm, ethos, fruits and recommendations: www.froghollow.com

• Keeping it safe: with the Shelter-in-Place order still in effect in Yolo County, we continue to implement our COVID-19 prevention protocol on the farm per the CDC and Cal-OSHA recommended best practices. Prevention measures include: required face covering and glove wearing, 6-foot distancing in the workplace, hand sanitation and employees are not allowed to work with symptoms of COVID-19.

• Reminder: So that your subscription continues uninterrupted, please make sure your credit card on file is up to date on your CSA account. For those who need to end the CSA subscription before your balance is at $0, you MUST contact the farm through email to request cancellation. You may put your account on a DELIVERY hold if you will be gone for periods of time.

• Please pick up your veggie box on your delivery day. It’s important to pick up your veggie box the day of delivery to maintain freshness.

• For any changes you need to make to your account, the cut off time is 12:00 NOON, 2 days before your delivery day Remember to make any changes to your account such as payment renewal, webstore orders or delivery holds by 12:00 NOON, 2 days before your delivery day. Thank you!

“Delivery hold” is used for short periods of time – you use this option 48 hours in advance to schedule the deliveries you are unable to pick up.

“Permanent Hold” is used for long periods of time – you use this option if you are gone for extended periods of time and wish to resume your account when you get back. You must change your status to “active” when you return in order to resume deliveries.

“Cancel” is used to delete membership details, this means you would need to re-enter delivery status, subscriptions, and credit card information when you resume the Riverdog Farm CSA.

Japanese Pickled Daikon Radish (Tsukemono)



From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H6n1E6doSA

Serves N/A

Ingredients:

250g (9oz.) Daikon radish
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar salt
1.5inch (5cm) Kombu kelp

Directions:

1. Wash and cut Daikon (with skin is ok) into 1/2 or 1/4 slices. Rub with 1/2 tsp. salt and leave for 20 min. Rinse and drain well.
2. In a sauce pan or microwave, heat vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt mixture until it comes to a boil.
3. Wipe and clean dirts from Kombu kelp.
4. Put all the ingredients in a Ziploc bag and keep in the fridge overnight or more.

Perfect Pork Chops

From: https://www.thespruceeats.com/perfect-pork-chops-recipe-995281

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 Pork Chops
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
2 teaspoons high-heat cooking oil

Instructions:

1. Twenty minutes before you start cooking, remove your pork chops from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature.

2. Preheat your oven to 400 F.

3. Thoroughly dry the pork chops with paper towels.

4. Season generously with kosher Heat an oven-proof skillet (cast iron is ideal) on the stovetop for about five minutes. It's really important to get the pan as hot as you possibly can before adding the chops.

5. Once the pan is good and hot, add about two teaspoons of high-heat vegetable oil. The pan will immediately start to smoke, but don't lose your nerve.

6. Add the pork chops to pan and don't move them for three minutes. Now flip the chops over with a pair of tongs and transfer the pan to the oven. Roast 6 to 7 minutes.

7. Now, test for doneness by pressing your thumb in the center of one of the chops. It should spring back firmly against your thumb. If it feels soft, let it roast for another minute.

8. Remove the pan from the oven, transfer the chops to a plate and cover with foil. Let the chops rest for three or four minutes before serving.