1/7/26 Happy New Year (& New Babies)
What a start to the New Year with all that rain?! It is quite goopy on the farm although we have not gone under and flooded yet, there has been a lot of water moving through the fields.
Our bottom fields are all ready for a flood with beds and beds of cover crops in them. Keeping the soil in it’s place with their roots and feeding the soil through photosythesis with very different crops than we normally grow there: oats, rye, peas, clover and more (over 16 varieties). We cannot have food crops in these beds because a flood would make them unsafe. That said, we have two beds of over winter flowers growing that are doing fabulously with bachelor buttons, agrostemma, Icelandic poppies, snapdragons and larkspur. Some of these crops are already poisonous… they’re meant to feed our souls, not our bodies. We’re thrilled because it makes for more open space in our beds higher on the property, out of the flood zone. Note: our flower CSA is open for sign ups and we’ll be starting the second week of February, some of the daffodils are already peeking up!!
We’re getting set to start advertise our 2026 workshops. As you know we love Growing Soil, Growing Food and Growing Farmers and in this final one… we really want to grow resilience in these crazy times by having more people growing food for themselves and others. Last year we tried out a Home Farmer Series: Spring, Summer and Autumn and it was a huge success so we’re doubling it this year and adding a couple other workshops. January 31st we’ll be doing a Pruning and Early Season Crop Planning workshop!! And we’ve added a flower workshop as well. You’ll see them every time you go to our store to buy add-ons because they’re there as well.
This year our CSA numbers are dropping. In fact even now… we thought we were stretching to get everyone in for the winter but despite what we think have been nice boxes we are making about 15% fewer boxes than we were anticipating. We know the word on the street is that Singing Frogs Farm has this huge waiting list, but the honest truth is that there are all of 20 people on it currently and we’ll have about 60 openings. We maybe be leaning into you all to share about the CSA with your friends and family. We get the economy is tight but we’re also proud that we’ve gotten more wonderful comments about the quality of produce than most years. We’re trying our best to grow a bounty of food for you and we want to continue to grow food for our community in these times and always!
New Babies! 🐐
On Winter Solstice we welcomed new baby goats! Meet Sunna and Loki (more photos in today’s email). We wanted a sun related name since we got them on solstice and Sunna is a Nordic sun goddess. Loki, well all goats are sort of mischievous and he’s the Nordic god of mischief. They’re 3 months old and awfully sweet. We just took them from 2 to one bottle a day and they are fantastic graziers. They don’t eat as much as our adults (1 stem of grass at a time vs 8) but they are very hard workers. They are super socialized and want to be around other goats (which the adults are slow to warm) or humans.
Our two alpacas Black Futsu and Red Kuri are cute but very much not socialized. We have had troubles with this as well as moving them between pastures and they definitely cannot go on lead rope. This is actually why we got the goaties, we realized how much we love goats and really need them for our system. We’re thinking of giving the alpaca back (the prior owner was very open to such). But they are also good protectors for Sunna and Loki so maybe we’ll wait another couple months.
Sunna and Loki were from a dairy that Goatlandia rescued and was raising for grazing. We’re thankful for the close connection with them. The founders have been CSA Members multiple times and our current CSA member Cynthia heard me mention I wanted baby goats and set this all in motion! Additionally Elizabeth has been consulting with their new farmer as they’re setting up a new no-till farm.
This Week’s Box
Panisse OR Red Butter Lettuce
Light Green: Arugula (SR) OR Escarole (WC)
Brussels Stalk
Black Futsu Winter Squash
Savoy Cabbage
Chesnok Red Garlic
Persimmon (Classics)
Family: Pomagranates & Shallots
More Produce Notes & Recipes
Today’s lettuce is a head of Pannise for most (there were not quite enough) and Red Butter for about 1/5 of you. They’re on the smaller side but they don’t like the wet wet soil so we’re harvesting for you because small is better than not at all!
The Persimmons are weird this year, unripe and then straight to squishy. Everyone has just 1-2 in their box today thankfully it’s a good box otherwise.
There is a small Savoy Cabbage in everyone’s box. Use it like you would green cabbage but it’s a little hardier yet. Savoy cabbage ideas:
Steam and serve with fish, or wrap the fish in the leaves and steam
Sauté it with boiled potatoes, garlic and onions
Stuff the leaves with rice or potatoes and ground meat
Add to minestrone
Make sauerkraut or kimchi
Shred it with carrots and season with apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt to make cole slaw
Sauté cabbage, bacon and onions then toss with egg noodles
Combine with sliced sugar snap peas and a creamy dressing in slaw
Black Futsu is an heirloom Japanese squash. Winter Solstice, Toji, is a celebration based on the concept of yin and yang, acknowledging that while the event takes place on the longest, darkest night of the year, Spring will soon return with warmth, balance, and light. During the solstice, consume warm foods to ward off sickness. Pumpkin, especially the Black Futsu squash, is a traditional food prepared during the solstice and is often paired with red bean in a sweet bean soup to symbolize good luck, sunlight, and protection from evil.
A variety of butternut, Black Futsu has very bumpy ridges and as such can be hard to peel (don’t try). You can certainly cut in half, roast and scoop out. But many recipes just cook the peel and you eat it. Here is one.
Roasted Black Futsu Wedges with a Ginger Dipping Sauce (Culinary Cam)
Wedges
1 Black Futsu squash, seeded and sliced into wedges (use another hard winter squash that you like)
2 to 3 Tbs olive oil
freshly ground salt
Dipping Sauce 1/2 onion, peeled and diced
1-1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 large lemon, sliced into wedges
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
Wedges
Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
In large mixing bowl, toss squash wedges and olive oil together until well-coated. Spread squash in even layer on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Roast 20 to 25 minutes, then flip and roast another 20 to 25 minutes more.
Increase heat to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast an additional 5 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy on both sides.
Serve hot with the dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce
Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir or shake before serving.
We have some pretty big Brussels Sprouts stalks for you! We are thrilled to have these nice fresh Brassicas for you as the rest of our Cauliflower just melted and rotted in the rains middle to end of last month. Here’s a recipe from long time member Peggy. (Hint, we love sharing CSA member recipes!)
Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Sweet Potatoes with Blue Cheese & Cranberries (Adapted from food.com)
1½ lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1½ lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾–1" chunks
3 Tbs olive oil
¾ tsp kosher salt (more to taste)
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp smoked paprika or cumin (optional)
½ cup dried cranberries
3–4 oz blue cheese, crumbled
1–2 tsp balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Toss Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika or cumin if using.
Spread evenly on a large sheet pan (or two pans to avoid crowding).
Roast 25–30 min, stirring once, until sweet potatoes are tender and edges are well caramelized.
Transfer hot vegetables to a serving bowl and immediately toss with dried cranberries so they soften slightly.
Finish with blue cheese and a light drizzle of balsamic if using. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Extra Shares
Lettuce Share: Lettuce Leaf Mix 🥬
Bunched Greens Share: 🌈 Rainbow Chard