Winter Week #6, 2025-26
Green onions
Leeks
Fennel hearts
Onions
Salad mix
Greens ( collards)
Beets or cabbage
watercress
Celeriac
It is so great to have Juvencio back. We had a fantastic family trip in Honduras. We were accompanied by Diego and Najwa, Luna and Kody for most of the trip. We had a large Argueta family reunion meal in San Juan Intibucá , traveled to an eco lodge and the colonial town of Campa. Then off to Gracias Lempira- the preserve of Celaque and then hot springs. We spent a few days at Finquita Malaika, our small coffee farm in El Rincón, Siguatepeque. We finished our family trip in El Triunfo de la Cruz on the Caribbean coast. The record setting cold weather kept us from sun bathing and swimming as expected but we enjoyed nonetheless. Juve and I stayed a few more days and hosted his family at our Finquita to celebrate his 60th.
We are now back and energized to finish the winter harvest and start in earnest prepping for the regular season. We are over 70% full for the coming season and look forward to gathering the last few subscribers at the upcoming CSA fairs. We will be at Helvetia Market 2/28 from 10-2. And at the Redd in Portland on 3/15 between 11-2. Please come and visit our booth or send friends our way.
We will prune the orchard next weekend on Saturday February 21.Hopefully plenty of people will join us to get things in order for the spring. We will start at 0900 and end when the orchard is pruned, usually around 3-4/ Potluck lunch. Bring any implements that you have including: (label them with your name).
· Clippers
· Loppers
· hand saw
· Gloves
· Chainsaws
· orchard ladders
Supporting our immigrant family, friends and neighbors becomes more important daily. Following our family trip to Honduras I spent Thursday in Salem talking to legislators about conditions and health care in light of illegal ICE actions. I was accompanied by two of my colleagues and over 300 other individuals from across Oregon to lobby our legislators to support the entire Immigrant Justice package being proposed in the legislature this short session. It was powerful to share stories of how the federal government’s actions affect us and what Oregon can do to protect our residents.
Prior to traveling to Honduras I had been strategizing with my VGC team on community needs and how to meet them without stressing out our already taxed team. We have enlisted some local volunteers to collect and deliver some of the food boxes and I created a sign up sheet to get the right number of boxes each week. I will add the sign up sheet here. We are partnering with other CSA’s to get that number of food boxes per week. We are aiming for 20 food boxes per week. We so appreciate all who have lent a hand and spread the word to their networks. I am hopeful this sign-up will widen the net of those who can donate to help those in need. Please feel free to share the link. I have made it through April for now to assess how it goes. Please reach out to me if you have suggestions.
Another way to take action is to help protect our farmland in Washington County. Once again legislation has been introduced to take agricultural land into the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), sign these letters to your legislators and consider contributing to OLCV here: https://www.olcv.org/take-action-stop-the-1700-acre-land-grab/
Lastly; We have two harvests in March to finish the winter season. March 1 and March 15th. Fingers crossed for purple sprouting broccoli to start before our season ends.
Here are some recipes to enjoy:
https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes/lentil-fennel-and-parmesan-stoup-with-charred-tomato-salsa
Celery Root,
Cracked Wheat, and Every-
Fall-Vegetable-You-Can-Find
Chowder
Any and all fall and winter vegetables work well in this soup. The celery root puree keeps the overall flavors from becoming too sweet and one-note. You could use farro or another grain in place of the cracked wheat, but the soup's consistency will be thicker and more porridgelike... not necessarily a bad thing on a cold day.
1 small celery root about ¾ pound)
½ pound onions, sliced 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup cracked wheat
Several sprigs thyme
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 big turnip, diced
1 medium potato, diced
2 cups shredded kale
1 big handful of arugula or other spicy or bitter greens( use the watercress!)
Using a sharp paring knife, cut away all the tough exterior of the celery root; if there are dark fissures remaining, cut those away, too. Cut it into chunks.
Put the celery root, onions, garlic clove, butter, and # cup water in a medium pot with a lid.
Add 1 teaspoon salt and about 20 twists of pepper, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook until everything is thoroughly soft, 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of your chunks. Let this cool for a few minutes, then puree it in a food processor or blender. Set it aside.
Heat the olive oil in a big soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 garlic cloves and gently toast for a few minutes to begin to soften the garlic. Add the cracked wheat, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring frequently, to gently toast the grain and deepen the flavor, 7 to 8 minutes-you'll smell the grain getting toasty; take care not to burn the garlic.
Add the thyme to the pot.
Add the celery, carrot, turnip, potato, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and fragrant but not at all browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
Add just enough water to cover by ½ inch, adjust the heat to a lively simmer, cover, and cook until the vegetables are all tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the kale and cook for another few minutes-the kale should keep a bit of bite to it.
Stir in the celery root puree. The final soup should be nicely thick, but if it seems too thick and porridgelike, add more water. Taste the soup and add more salt if you like, then add lots and lots of pepper so the flavors are mellow and sweet from the vegetables with a bit of heat from the pepper.
Right before serving, reheat the soup and toss in the arugula. Serve hot.
More celeriac recipes:
Ottolenghi’s Celeriac and tart apple salad: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/27/apple-and-celeriac-salad-recipe
The best celeriac recipes: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/15-best-celeriac-recipes-article
Watercress salad recipe: https://www.loveandlemons.com/watercress-salad/
