Winter Week #4
Radicchio ( 4 heads) Rosalba (brilliant and pink), Treviso Tardivo (pointy leaves with sweet white ribs), Lucrezia (light yellow with speckles) and Costarossa (brilliant dark red with red and white ribs- looks unreal!)
Cauliflower (eat early in the week, will not keep due to warm weather conditions)
Brussels sprouts (!!)
Herbs (cilantro or parsley)
Dried persimmons
Winter squash
Leeks
Garlic
Onions or shallots
Fennel or celery
Celeriac
Arugula
It has been an eventful two weeks. Some of you know during the last harvest I got a call that my mom had fallen. She fractured her left hip, “a good brake”, she had a successful surgery the next day. She is now in a skilled nursing facility making slow progress but motivated. I missed the protest of course but did tag team my sister to make it to the radicchio fest. I loved that event. I then went back to spend the night next to my mom. Next steps are uncertain as we try and figure out how to care for her.
We got the news about the BESS and those idiots approved it. They will put in a huge battery storage facility in a neighborhood just ¼ mile from our farm. We are feeling our little farm is doomed. At some point industry will swallow us. For now we will keep plugging away doing what we can for our community. We helped get the highest participation on any proposed land use change the county official had seen. There were over 300 letters in opposition to the battery facility and still they were not swayed.
Wednesday night we had police activity in our neighborhood. The Hillsboro police and Washco sheriffs were out in full force with police dog, and drones. They were looking for a fugitive in a hit and run auto accident. They caught him under my potting table in an outbuilding.
The weather reeked havoc- we lost plastic on another hoop house- now down two😔with no hope of getting it covered before Juve leaves for Honduras in early January . We lost an enormous old apple tree that missed our pizza oven by a few feet! We are pretty ready for 2025 to end!
We harvested you all a huge amount of radicchio. We were going to make you a salad mix but honestly it will keep better and stay unblemished. We hope you will consider it for your holiday festivities. The cauliflower hated the warm rain- we lost about 200 beautiful heads. It is not worth saying how hard farming is. I am including my very special Sile Tardivo radicchio this week. It has been in the dark in water for 2 weeks and the new sprouts are sweet and tender like belgian endives. Please do soak your other radicchio in ice water and make my dressing or Toro Bravo recipe to elevate the taste of this special vegetable.
I somehow managed to get all my ceramics glazed and fired. By noon there will be a new load of mugs, butter bells, mugs and bowls on the ceramic shelf for you to shop local for last minute gifts for that special someone.
We have continued to collect donations of food and craft bags for our community locked in by the illegal actions of ICE. We teamed up with subscribers from pumpkin ridge gardens and got over 40 boxes of food. I will take any additional donations received today to the clinic tomorrow to distribute this week and next around the holidays. There have been so many happenings that I have not been able to light the menorah even once. I think I will do it now just to make sure I get to do it at least once.
Next Harvest is January 4th!
Toro Bravo’s Radicchio salad:
1 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup good-quality balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup good-quality sherry vinegar
3 heads radicchio
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup Manchego, finely grated and divided
1 pinch salt, plus more to taste
Directions
Step 1
In a large bowl, add the balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar, and chopped red onion. Break the onion up into pieces so that all of that oniony flavor gets into the vinegar. (Note: If you want to quick pickle and eat the onions themselves, they suggest adding the honey now too.) Let it sit for 1 hour and then strain out the onions.Step 2
Remove the cores from the radicchio and discard. Chop into 1-inch pieces. Take 1 gallon of water in a large bowl and add enough ice to make the water icy cold. Once cold, strain out the ice and add the radicchio to the water. Let it sit for 15 minutes to remove some of its bitterness, strain and then spin in a salad spinner until dry. Fluff the dried radicchio. (Note: If you don't strain the ice out before adding the radicchio you'll be pulling out ice pieces for half an hour so that you don't have wet radicchio.)Step 3
Add the honey and olive oil to the strained vinegars and whisk.Step 4
Using your hands, toss the radicchio with the dressing until evenly coated. Add 1 cup of finely grated Manchego, salt, and toss again.Step 5
To serve, top the salad in a serving bowl with the remaining 1/2 cup grated Manchego or distribute salad and Manchego among 4 to 8 bowls or plates.
Lyn’s Salad dressing:
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic pressed
Add all ingredients to a Mason jar and cover with a lid. Shake until creamy and well blended.
A great recipe for Brussels sprouts https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes/charred-brussels-sprouts-olive-oil-lemon
Another option:
https://ottolenghi.substack.com/p/in-praise-of-brussels-sprouts