Box Contents:

1 pcs Fennel

1 hd Napa Cabbage

.66 lb Arugula

2 pcs Leek

1 lb MeiQing Choi

1 bu Collards

1.5 bu Potatoes

1 pc Butternut

***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 Thoughts:

The rain came and every plant on the farm is thrilled!  We have been irrigating diligently through the year, so plants aren't short on water but they are long on all of the salts that our ground water is so rich in.  So when we get a good inch of rain water it rapidly pushes some of those salts down past the upper root zone and plants respond instantly, you can almost here them sigh in delight.  One of the hazards of drought periods is the accumulation of these ground water salts which increase the alkalinity of the soil and lock up nutrients for the plants.  We spread mined gypsum, calcium sulfate, in the Fall, in the hope of rain so that more calcium is present to help leach some of the salts out but we have seen relatively little rain in the past 2 Winters.  We are hoping for more of this gentle rain which percolates into the still thirsty soil and hopefully recharges our ground water as well.  Our local irrigation district, Yolo County Flood Control will probably not have enough water for any releases next summer, as was the case this year, unless we have a truly wild winter, which is in no one's forecast.  So we have to enjoy as much rain as possible and work to hold as much of it as possible in our fields so that it soaks slowly in and fills the soil profile in a way we have not seen in two years.  Bring it on!  Wheat and cover crops that we have not had water for are poking up happily and our veg crops are a happier shade of green and standing taller.   We are all also grateful that the rain came instead of just the frigid air it came with.  Even with this rain Cache Creek has not re-surfaced further downstream that reported last week - ground water levels are really taking time to recover this year.  

Box Notes:

The fennel is amazingly crunchy and vibrant raw, and cooks into a savory treat when roasted or included in soups.  The tops serve well in stock.  If you see some pealing film on the stalks this is delamination caused by the nights we had in the mid to high 20s just before the rain.  The Napa Cabbage makes an amazing fresh salad; we slice it thinly and dress it with rice vinegar, olive oil and salt in our house.  The leeks go well in that Napa salad too and are delicious in soups.   Eat your greens!

-Riverdog Tim

Webstore Features:

• Smoked/Cured Hams: Pre-order holiday hams for Thanksgiving by emailing csa@riverdogfarm.com

·       asture Raised eggs are available by the dozen to add to your subscription OR as a one-time purchase on the Webstore.

·       All pastured meat orders are delivered frozen to your delivery site or to one of the 4 weekly farmers markets nearest you.

·       Pasture Raised Whole Chickens and Smoked Chickens

·       Pasture Raised Pork Cuts and Pork Shares

·       Pasture Raised Lamb Cuts

·       Variety of Sausages- check webstore for availability

·       Raw Mission Almonds, Raw Hartley Walnuts by the 1 lb and 5 lb bag

·       Vegetable items are available by the case or half case.

Please check your CSA account for the most up-to-date information such as your next CSA delivery date and payment status.

Riverdog Farm has an Instagram account. Find us via our Instagram handle: riverdogfarm. Like us or tag us with all of your yummy Riverdog CSA dishes. We share images of crops, farming, re-posts of your farm fixin’ photos and videos and provide market and CSA updates.

Frog Hollow Farm Fruit Boxes are available to add to your subscription: $33.25 per fruit box. Email the CSA manager at CSA@riverdogfarm.com to get a box. ALL orders need to be in by Monday morning at 8AM – that is when FROG HOLLOW box numbers are finalized and sent. See Frog Hollow info below to learn more about their fruit boxes.

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 with a reminder email to pick up their CSA orders.

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.

* YEARLY subscription that needs to end early will be charged at the $30 box price for boxes already delivered (not to exceed the original purchase price) and the balance may be refunded back to the card of original purchase or a

check will be sent to the Member.

* MONTHLY subscribers –Please finish your subscription commitment. If your balance does not reach $0, then the remaining amount – below $29 - may be refunded back to the credit card or in the form of a check. You can also choose to donate your remainder to the farm. When your balance reaches $0, then you have fulfilled your subscription commitment and your account will automatically go to “permanent hold” status.

* You are able to re-subscribe at any time. Subscribers who are set up for recurring payments need to turn off recurring payment in order to make any cancellations to your account. You must do this on your account before your account reaches $30 or less.

• PLEASE note if your subscription has recurring payments. This can affect the amount of deliveries you are expected to receive. Such as; 4 week delivery plans with some months having 5 weeks.

•Your subscriptions and pre-payments are greatly appreciated. To make this CSA program successful, we count on your advance payment to plan our seed ordering, planting seasons and harvest amounts.

•To ensure that your subscription continues uninterrupted, please make sure your payment is up current on your CSA account. You may also put your account on a DELIVERY HOLD if you will be gone for 1 delivery or periods of time. Your balance will be the same when you return.

•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!

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Special Request: We’d like to encourage subscribers to switch to paying by check instead of credit card as this will reduce the fees that our CSA platform (Farmigo) charges the farm. You can schedule a monthly or quarterly auto-payment by check via your bank. Your bank then mails us a paper check on a schedule that you specify. Thank you for considering this special request.

Please pick up your veggie box on your delivery day so that it stays fresh and we can ensure quality. During the hot days of summer, the earlier you are able to pick up the better

**Riverdog will not give refunds for any missing items/quality issues for pickups made the day after delivery day.** CSA site hosts may donate any unclaimed items after 24 hours (3pm following the day of original pickup time) unclaimed/forgotten orders may no longer be available and the subscriber absorbs the subscription cost for that week’s order. Missing items/quality issues must be emailed within 24 hours of pick up day and time slot for refund consideration. Please include a photo of any quality issues. We appreciate your feedback.

Reminder: A/B delivery schedules are every other week. They aren’t always 1st/3rd or 2nd/4th weeks due to some months having 5 weeks. Make sure your name is on the list AND you only take the items listed next to your name.

Encourage family, neighbors, friends and colleagues to sign-up for the Riverdog Farm CSA. You can create an account for the member and pay the balance with a check sent to the farm or credit card. Print or email the “WELCOME” email or mail your generous gift to the recipient.

The weekly box contents are subject to change (from the box contents listed in the weekly newsletter). 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.

Chicken Announcements:

1. Chicken subscriptions are available. You can choose a desired weight between 3 lbs and 6 lbs. The whole chickens (with head and feet) are $6 per lb. The whole chickens (without head and feet) are $8.50 per lb. 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. 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.

2. Webstore Orders: There are whole chickens and . smoked chickens available on the web store. Try out a chicken with no subscription commitment. If you like it, add it to your account as a weekly or bi-weekly subscription.

Whether you leave the box at the site or take it home to return the following week, please collapse your box carefully to prevent tearing of the end flaps. Slowly bend the two end panels towards the outer ends first then 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.

The Frog Hollow fruit box is available to add to your CSA account. Due to logistics, the Frog Hollow Fruit Boxes are only 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 may 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 philosophy, fruits and recommendations: www.froghollow.com

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, email the farm to request cancellation. You may put your account on a DELIVERY hold if you will be gone for periods of time.

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!

Sesame Soy Braised Mei Qing Choi

From: https://www.prospectheightscsa.org/recipes/2018/1/16/sesame-soy-braised-mei-qing-choi

• 1 head (or 6-8 baby heads) Mei Qing choy

• 2 Tbs peanut oil

• 1 Tbs grated ginger

• 1 Tbs minced garlic

• ½ cup chicken stock

• 1 Tbs toasted sesame oil

• 2 Tbs soy sauce

• 2 tsp rice vinegar

• 1 tsp sugar

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 2 Tbs sesame seeds

Trim the root end off the Mei Qing choy. Slice the leafy portions of the plant from the stalks. Chop both the leaves and the stalks, keeping the two piles separate. Heat very large, heavy skillet or wok until it looks hazy over the surface, 2-4 minutes. Add peanut oil and swirl it to coat the pan. Add bok choy stems; stir-fry about 5 minutes.

Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry briefly. Add Mei Qing choy greens, chicken stock, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until bok choy is tender and glazed with sauce, 5-8 minutes.

Remove cover, sprinkle with sesame seeds, increase heat to medium-high, and cook until excess liquid evaporates, 2-3 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.