January Newsletter from Wishful Acres Farm!

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Best Wishes from Wishful Acres Farm!

In this edition of the Farm Fresh newsletter from Wishful Acres Farm: 3 super delicious recipes, farm news, and more! View this email in your browser

Welcome to this edition of the Farm Fresh newsletter from Wishful Acres Farm!  We hope you had a Happy Holiday season!  The weather has been warm thus far, but it's still undoubtedly winter outside so I hope you enjoy the winter comfort recipes included today. We're planning for spring here at the farm, the seed catalogs have poured in and our vegetable seed orders will be sent in soon.  Do you want to eat Fresh, Local, and Organic with food from Wishful Acres Farm for 30 weeks in 2016?  Join our 2016 Community Supported Agriculture Program!  We have new payment options, including credit/debit cards, and even interest-free financing options through PayPal!  Read below for details.  But first, on to the recipes... Oh. my. goodness.  I made this recipe today, and I'm in heaven. I still have plenty of rutabaga & turnips in my refrigerator from our farm fields, and I'm betting many of the 2015 CSA Members also still have plenty.  Time to pull those turnips & rutabaga out of your root vegetable storage!  This recipe is called Turnip Gratin, but you can substitute Rutabaga or even use a mixture of Turnips & Rutabagas! The Pioneer Woman's  "Turnip Gratin" recipe, with pictures and step-by-step recipe right here:http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/turnip-gratin/ .  You won't regret it! Click the image above to watch a video of all 30 shares in our CSA program. Join our 2016 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program & receive 30 weeks of USDA Certified Organic vegetables!  The video above shows our 2014 CSA season, week-by-week, for a perfect example of what our weekly CSA "shares" look like. The CSA Price is always paid in a lump sum, but the price per share breaks down to just $36 per share.  When you see our shares, you'll see that it's a great deal, and the retail value is always valued at more than what you pay. We now offer 3 methods of payment for your convenience: Credit or debit cards (via PayPal) Financing (including special interest-free options & longer payback options, via PayPal) Personal Check  Visit the CSA page on our web site here for more information & to sign up and reserve your share now. News from the Farm Planning for spring is the subject at the farm lately.  In late December, the seed catalogs begin filling our mailbox, and the dreams begin.  I spend many hours each year sitting in front of the woodburning stove with the seed catalogs and my prior year farm journal, selecting varieties of vegetables.  There are many tried & true varieties that I love and will grow every year, but I also add a few new varieties each year.  It's fun to leaf through the pages & descriptions of vegetables, dreaming of the year to come.

Coleslaw with Black Radishes & Carrots Time to pull more of those storage vegetables out of the root vegetable storage bin in your refrigerator!  Late in the fall, our CSA Members receive lots of "storage vegetables" - vegetables that are good keepers, vegetables that our ancestors kept in cold storage (like a root cellar) through the winter.  Not too long ago, these types of veggies were the only fresh vegetables available during winter!  Here at the farm, we keep many storage vegetables that we harvest here for winter eating.  Here is a fine example of how to use the storage vegetables, in this coleslaw.  These veggies were all harvested here at the farm over 2 months ago, and I just pulled them out to make this coleslaw yesterday!  Amazing storage vegetables like these will keep for even longer in storage. 1 head cabbage, shredded (I used a Savoy cabbage) 4 black radishes, shredded on a cheese grater 2 carrots, shredded Combine all the vegetables, then stir in your favorite coleslaw dressing.  I combined mayonnaise, dijon mustard, celery seed, rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt.  The amounts for the dressing will vary depending upon the amount of your vegetables and personal preference.     Frittata Recipe - a great use for our Microgreens! This recipe idea came to me last year from a CSA Member: using micro-greens in a frittata! Here at the farm, we're in the midst of our Winter Micro-Greens CSA program.  The members have been receiving weekly shares of Sweet Pea Greens, Sunflower Greens, Micro-Greens Spring Mix, and optional wheatgrass, all grown here within indoor greenhouse conditions... we really do grow year-round here at Wishful Acres Farm!  If you're not a member of our Winter CSA Program, you can find our micro-greens for sale at Choices Natural Market in Rockford, Illinois. If you're unfamiliar with a frittata, it's an egg dish similar to an omelet, but I think it's even easier to make.  You can put just about any vegetables, meat, or cheese into a frittata.  In the link & picture this week, I found an Alton Brown recipe from Food Network that even includes a short 3-minute video on how to make a frittata.  He uses asparagus & ham, but any of the micro-greens work great in a frittata, just remember to add them at the very end as they don't require much cooking. I find the Sweet Pea Greens to be especially delicious in a frittata. Here is the link to the recipe & video, and I hope you enjoy!   http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/frittata-recipe.html Our 2016 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program begins on May 19 & runs through December 8!  Sign-up is now open, and you can reserve your spot by signing up soon. Visit our web site CSA page here to learn more & select your payment option.

Thank you & Best Wishes from Wishful Acres Farm! You can contact Penny at: wishfulacres@gmail.com or 815-990-2380          Copyright © 2016 Wishful Acres Farm, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list