Welcome to week four of the CSA! We hope we didnt drown you in produce last week, many of you mentioned how big it was at the market and well, the size does always fluctuate a little bit. Two weeks ago the shares were smaller because we didnt want to overload you with food right after Thanksgiving, so then we made up for that decrease in value last week. We also sometimes let whats happening at the other farms dictate the size of the share. Sometimes all the local farms have tons of good stuff so we can't help but get it for you, and other times theres a little less to get excited about so we go smaller. Just know that we are always doing our very best to make sure you are getting the value of your full seasonal payment through the 20 weeks of the program. 

Don't forget about our Farm Open House this Sunday! We do this event for you guys mostly, so we would absolutely love to see you all there. There is a cold front headed our way, so it should be a gorgeous 70 degrees on Sunday, perfect for walking the fields or having a pick nick by our mulberry tree. 

Small Share: 
Avocados from a South Miami Backyard
Kale from French Farms
Scallions from Verde Farms
Yellow bush beans from Verde Farms
Parsley from Verde Farms
Baby salad mix from our fields
Eggplant from Worden Farm

Large Shares:
Avocados from a South Miami Backyard
Kale from French Farms
Scallions from Verde Farms
Yellow bush beans from Verde Farms
Parsley from Verde Farms
Baby salad mix from our fields
Eggplant from Worden Farm
Extra bush beans from Verde Farms
Tat sio from French Farms
Cucumbers from French Farms

We always tend to google around for new delicious recipes that use a few CSA ingredients, just in case you all need a bit of inspiration, and this one for a scallion and parsley pesto looks delicious and easy, plus if you still have your acorn squash from last week then you can make the whole dish from CSA veggies, how cool is that. Pesto also freezes well, so if you are looking for ways to preserve some CSA goodies you can make a pesto out of pretty much any herb we give you and freeze it in an ice cube tray for use later in the year. Another thing you could freeze for later is the green beans, they stay bright and crisp even after freezing. The trick to freezing fresh veggies is to blanch them first. Here is a nerdy yet useful chart of blanching times for most vegetables. 

This weeks Florida Avocado variety is "Choquette" which is one of the most delicious late season varieties. You may be used to seeing Avocados in the late summer but a few varieties produce from October through December, and Choquette is the tastiest one. Each fruit is a few pounds and its flesh isnt watery like the not-so-delicious Florida Avocados we sometimes come across. Have you heard about the big pest issue in Florida's Avocado Industry, the "redbay ambrosia beetle"? Its a big deal and is threatening to collapse Homesteads Avocado groves one by one. It spreads a fungus called "laurel wilt" which kills the trees and spreads quickly. Here is an ABC news article about it, if you're interested in reading more. Because of this issue and many others it can be challenging to find Organic Avocados in the South Florida marketplace, but we got this weeks fruit from a home grower with a very productive tree that doesnt spray pesticides on it.