January 23rd, 2023 Newsletter

Box Contents:

2 lbs Blue Heron Navels

1 lb Potatoes

1 hd Cauliflower

1 bu Gold Beets

1 bu Carrots

1 bu Spinach

1 lb Purple + Red Daikon

Farm Notes:

Does anybody remember that article from the New Yorker in 2015 about Riverdog eggs? The author, David Darlington, observed the egg lines of the Riverdog farmer's market booth as having, "certain cultlike overtones." Not much has changed since 2015. It's always easy to pick up the agonized undertone when the, "are you out of eggs?", lamentations begin thirty minutes after market opens.

Tonight I interviewed our market leader, Betsy Prescott, who was happy to shed some light on the egg shortage that's been happening. Right now, our shortage is only due to winter being a time when laying hens lay less. We are grateful, utterly grateful, to have a thriving group of hens that are truly out to pasture. About 3,000 of our hens are grazing 10 acres of insect attracting crops, housed in mobile coops that get rotated every three weeks. Okay, okay, so you may have read the article and know that already.

One thing the article does not mention is a special feed we make by soaking tritacale (a hybrid of wheat and rye) berries in whey (milk byproduct) from the oh so fabulous, Cowgirl Creamery. The whey helps breakdown the tritacale berries making it more digestible for the chickens. This feed is just one of the many things that contribute to chicken health and laying success. This, and careful handling by our chicken farmer, Mauricio, who is, "the man,", Betsy notes, "our chickens are stoked..."

-Maya, CSA Manager

Blue Heron Oranges -- Learn the story of Blue Heron Oranges here. Though John has since passed and Gretchen has changed paths. The heart of two extremely hard working individuals lives on and some of the people that helped support that dream still tend those orange trees. We are honored to share these treasures with you and hope you enjoy.

Potatoes -- We grow a whole range of potatoes here at Riverdog that you can also order on our Farm Store. Try em' all and impress your friends with your knowledge of potato varieties. This week you'll find Yellow Finn potatoes in your box. It’s a great idea to store your potatoes in the refrigerator, especially when they’re new and haven’t been cured.
 
Cauliflower – Absolutely beautiful cauliflower from our farm. Cauliflower is a friend to pizza. Ranging from the possibilities of making cauliflower crust or loading your toppings with curried cauliflower like Majka’s Pizzeria of Sacramento has done here. Eat raw, roasted, or extra roasted, steamed or sauteed. Store fresh cauliflower heads in a loosely closed or perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator. Cauliflower needs air circulation, so don't seal or knot the bag closed. Enjoy!

Gold Beets -- Beets savory, beets sweet, beets juiced, and the 26++++ delicious ways to cook with beets. We love our precious deep red roots. With the greens attached to the roots, it's really a two in one. The greens are like a salty chard, easy to stir fry, and deliciously hearty. The beets, like most root vegetables, can last a long time if store correctly. If the beets get soft, no worries, these are still delicious roasted.  Separate the roots from the greens for best storage and store both in plastic bags in the refrigerator.
 
Nantes Carrots – You can "eat the rainbow" here at Riverdog with the variety of carrots we grow. Quick- which varieties do we grow here at Riverdog- we have Red carrots, Red Dragon carrots, Nantes (orange) carrots, Yellow Carrots, Deep Purple carrots, and White carrots. Every time I'm around these carrots I find it's necessary to do research, and eat one of each. Check out what the Spruce Eats has to say about the different carrots here. Carrots can be stored in the refrigerator for one to two weeks, remove carrot greens first.

Spinach – At Riverdog we grow Savoy and Bloomsdale spinach. The spinach is good to enjoy massaged in a salad, lightly wilted, juiced. Somebody at market recently reminded me about Spanakopita, and I can tell you there's nothing better than eating Spanakopita fresh, preferably cooked by a 90 year old Greek mother of five. For storage, will keep in the refrigerator for sometime. You can either transfer to a plastic bag, or put the waxed paper bag in plastic, to avoid wilting.

Daikon – You may know daikon better than you think. Daikon is the white part of the pickle included in a bahn mi sandwich, popularly used in kimchi, and used as salad garnishes, pickles, and other garnishes. You can also make sauerkraut, or pickle with daikon and apple. It’s a member of the radish family and you can use it anywhere you’d use its smaller cousins. Daikon will last up to 2 weeks stored in the fridge, wrap in plastic bag for longer keep.

-Maya, CSA Manager