The first frost has finally fallen in Hakushu and Takekawa, and the mornings and evenings are getting colder. The first lighting of the wood stove happened on the first day of winter.
It was so warm in early November, but as soon as winter arrived, it felt like a switch had been flipped and it got really cold. I was reminded once again of the incredible intuition of the people of the past who created the 24 solar terms. 
The autumn leaves have finally come down the mountain, and the surrounding trees are beginning to change color. It's nice to have freshly harvested rice and warming dishes like hot pots and stews on the table.
Now, here is the content of this week's vegetable set. Summer vegetables are finally coming to an end, and autumn and winter vegetables are starting to arrive.
This week's vegetable set
Contains 8 to 9 of the following vegetables:
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Wasabi greens It is a leafy vegetable with a beautiful frilly leaf shape and a tangy spiciness and elegant fragrance. It can be eaten raw in salads or as a side dish, or it can be quickly boiled for just one minute and drizzled with soy sauce to bring out its spiciness and make it very delicious. |
Crown chrysanthemum This year, the unusually hot and dry weather has made it difficult for the shungiku to grow, but as always, they are soft and not bitter, and are delicious enough to eat in salads. Please enjoy them raw. They are also great in miso soup, or boiled briefly and dressed with white or sesame sauce. |
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Mizuna Mizuna, a staple in autumn and winter, has thin white stems and a crunchy texture. If you boil it briefly, you can enjoy its spicy flavor and unique texture. On cold days, it is great in a chicken bone-based hot pot. |
Red Rias Mustard Greens This mustard greens has finely cut leaves and is characterized by its pungent spiciness. The beautiful leaves are soft and add a vibrant color to salads. It is similar to mizuna, so it can also be used in stir-fries and hotpots. |
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sweet potato You've all been waiting for this! It's that time of year again. We're bringing you the deliciously sweet Beni Haruka. We send you sweet potatoes that have been aged for two weeks after digging. They're absolutely delicious when baked, so we recommend them. You can also make them into a paste and use them to make sweets. They also go well with coconut milk stews and miso soup. |
Japanese white radish The daikon radish, which had completely stopped growing during the long summer heat, has finally started to grow. It's still small, but the flavor is coming through. Slice it into rounds and use it in stews or roasts, or boil it and then brown it in a frying pan to make juicy steaks. Slice it thinly and use it in salads or hot pots. |
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Yacon Although it looks very similar to a sweet potato, it is a root vegetable native to the mountainous regions of South America. Since it is freshly dug, please leave it wrapped in newspaper for about a week before eating. Just like sweet potatoes, it will develop a sweet flavor. Its subtle sweetness and crunchy texture are almost like a pear. We recommend peeling it, soaking it in vinegar water, and eating it raw in a salad. It is also delicious in tempura! |
taro The taste of autumn. Introducing freshly dug taro! Boiled taro is sticky, and deep-fried taro is fluffy and sweet. The skin of freshly dug taro is soft, so you can enjoy its deep flavor by deep-frying or steaming it with the skin on. |
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Turnip We deliver beautifully grown turnips! The skin is soft, so cut them in half and enjoy them in a stew or saute. The leaves are also highly nutritious, and you can get a lot of vitamins and minerals from them in salads, mixed dishes, blanched dishes, or stir-fries. They're perfect for this time of year when colds are more likely to occur! |
green onions As the temperature drops, the sweetness increases. Matsumoto Ippon Leek is a native variety of Nagano Prefecture that is suitable for cooking. Enjoy it in hot pots, simmered dishes, or roasted dishes. It can also be eaten raw as a condiment. |
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Red core radish The outer skin of this round radish is green, but underneath it's a vibrant pink! Take advantage of its color by slicing it thinly and adding it to a salad. It's also great roasted or sautéed. It's also vibrant when simmered. |
Shandong mustard This year, all of our Chinese cabbages were attacked by insects, but our Shandong cabbage, which doesn't form a head, grew well! It doesn't keep as long as Chinese cabbage, but it has thick white stems and light green leaves, and tastes just like Chinese cabbage. It can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, such as in light pickles, hotpots, and stir-fries. It's also delicious when coated with potato starch and used in shogayaki (ginger pork)♪ |
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Golden turnip A member of the turnip family, this turnip has a firm texture and little moisture. Its sweetness comes out when cooked, so it's recommended to stew, steam, or grill it. It's also delicious in Western-style stews and pot-au-feu, as well as steamed and grilled with seafood. |
Japanese vegetable turnip This traditional vegetable from Shiga Prefecture is characterized by its wonderful aroma, beautiful color, and crunchy texture. It has long been popular as a pickled vegetable, but it is also delicious eaten raw with salt, stewed, or sautéed. |
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Bonus: Apple mint
It has an apple-like scent and a refreshing coolness. Mix it into salads, steep it in water to make mint water, or boil it to make apple mint tea. The scent will last even if you hang it up to dry. |
The state of the fields
We are currently planting onions. This year we planted about 3,000 seedlings. Due to unstable weather conditions, we had difficulty growing the seedlings, so we planted a slightly smaller number than usual, but we managed to produce a sufficient number of seedlings. This is my two-year-old daughter's second time doing this job. It's just an extension of her play, but she's been able to plant them more thoroughly than last year.
We made a bamboo roof over the taro storage hole. Now we can store the taro until next spring without having to worry about it getting damaged by the cold rain during the winter. Next up is digging a hole to store radishes and building a roof to store rice straw!
notice
We are now accepting new orders for our vegetable set subscription.
We still have spaces available for our popular vegetable set subscription, so please share it with your friends, family, and colleagues.
・We plan to start accepting orders for the New Year's special vegetable set and smooth rice cakes from mid-November!
