Winter Week #5, 2025-26
Green onions
Leeks
Celeriac or celery
Onions or shallots
Radicchio (take three heads! Pink, red and the Tardivo)
Winter squash
Herb (parsley or cilantro)
Beets or collards
Brussels sprouts (say good-bye - these are the last)
Fennel
Finally we bid farewell to 2025 and welcome in 2026. We hope for a much better year this time around the sun. This will be our only harvest in January. Juvencio will head to Honduras later this week and I will be left to hold it together until the end of the month. I usually start seeding some early crops like onions and spring greens that we will put in the greenhouses. I also hope to do some clean up of my seeding area and make the place look inviting to work in. The long nights and cold weather make working outside less appealing, but hopefully I can push through.
We have begun to fill up for the 2026 regular season. As it will be just the two of us we will try and keep the numbers lower, not above 60 full shares so that we can manage. This is our warning to sign up early so you have a spot.
There are a ton of winter vegetables to enjoy. Radicchio continues to be the star. We will give you quite a bit of fennel as well as we are not sure it will hold well until February. The little baby fennels just under the tough outer leaves are the sweetest and should be eaten even if you toss the tougher outer leaves. We try to eat 1-2 radicchio a day along with raw fennel. I even found a couple of tomatoes in our greenhouse. The plants were all dead but the tomato had ripened enough to give me that sweet taste of summer. A reminder to enjoy every vegetable every day, even if you think you are tired of them. Once radicchio is gone in March we will not see it again until October. Eating with the seasons is a life lesson.
Here is our favorite collard recipe brought to us by Christine: https://cookieandkate.com/quick-collard-greens-recipe/
White Bean Salad with Fennel and Celery
4-6 servings
1 small shallot, chopped
1/4 c lemon juice
1/4 c orange juice
2 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 Tb Dijon
1/3 c olive oil
Salt, pepper
2 14 oz cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced crosswise (about 3 c)
3 c thinly sliced celery, plus some tender leaves
1/4 c chopped fresh dill
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the first 7 ingredients. Season w/salt and pepper.
Add beans and toss until well coated.
2. Rinse the red onion under cold water, drain, and add to the beans. Add remaining ingredients and mix well—the longer it sits the better it tastes
One-pot Mujadara with Leeks and Greens
6-8 servings
1 c green or brown lentils
2 leeks, trimmed, halved and rinsed, then thinly sliced
21/4 tsp salt
1/4 c evoo
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c basmati rice
11/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground allspice
Pinch cayenne
1 bay leaf, 1 cinnamon stick
4 c chopped greens (collards, kale, mustard etc or any mixture)
Place lentils in a large bowl and add warm tap water to cover by 1 inch. Let soak.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add leeks, stirring occasionally until golden brown and crispy. Transfer half the leeks to a bowl asa garnish.
Stir garlic into pot with remaining leeks and cook for 15 seconds, then add rice and sauce for 2 minutes. Stir in cumin, allspice and cayenne.
Drain lentils and stir them into the pot. Add 41/2 c water, salt, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Rinse greens and then spread damp leaves over the lentil mixture. Cover and cook 5-10 minutes more until tender. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before stirring in reserved crispy leeks.
Provençal Green Soup
(hands down my favorite use for leeks)
2 leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced
2-4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 Tbs Olive oil
6 cups coarsely chopped greens—collards, chard, dandelion greens, beet greens, etc)
Salt, pepper to taste
2 large eggs
4 thick slices country bread, toasted
Freshly grated Parmesan.
Heat olive oil in a soup pot, then add leeks, garlic and salt to taste. Sauté, stirring frequently until tender. Add greens and stir until wilted. Add 6 c water and bring to a simmer and let cook for 20-30 minutes until broth is flavorful. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Beat the eggs in a bowl. Whisk a ladle or two of soup broth into the beaten eggs. Take the soup pot off the heat and whisk in the tempered eggs. Allow to sit a few minutes.
In each serving bowl place a piece or two of toasted bread, sprinkle the bread with fresh Parmesan and then ladle the soup over and serve.
Don’t forget this great resource for winter veggies recipes: https://www.portlandfarmersmarket.org/recipes-for-less-popular-winter-root-veggies/