- Onions, Alisa Craig
- Garlic Cloves
- Celeriac: Celeriac Apple Slaw
- Red Cabbage: Balsamic Roasted Red Cabbage
- Carrots 2#: Curried Coconut Carrot Soup
- Mixed Potatoes 3#
- Kale: Kale and Eggs
- Spaghetti Squash: Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
- Carnival (acorn) Squash
- Salad/Spinach Mix
- Watermelon Radish
- Rutabaga
- Brussel Sprouts 1#: Brussel Sprouts with Walnuts
- Broccoli (last for the season!): Broccoli Potato Frittata
- Eggs
With the approaching cold front pounding down our door this past week, there has been a feverish scurry on many farms to complete harvests and prepare for freeze up. At times, we felt like squirrels in the field collecting and storing all of our goods for safe keeping in order to feed us through the winter. We are so lucky to have weather reports that give us a general heads up of what is coming in order to allot extra time for these preparations.
In this week’s share, you are receiving the last of the broccoli for the year as I don’t foresee the crop surviving the temperatures in the field this week. You might want to use the broccoli cooked versus raw as the chilling temperatures last week did diminish some of the crisp texture, but it is still quite good cooked. Then, say goodbye to fresh broccoli until next summer!
A new item this week is the celeriac. This is the really rough, tan colored root that smells like celery. You have to trim off the tough outer layer and then dice/grate up the inner cream colored root to use as you would in recipes calling for celery. This was an experimental crop for us this season and we had a reasonable harvest for our fall/winter shares.
Another newcomer to the share this week is the watermelon radish. This radish has a white outer part and a neon pink center. It is a beautiful addition to a salad to brighten up our plates during the cold season. If your prefer less heat, peel it and then eat it.
All of the animals have been transitioned to their winter quarters, meaning that we now have 5 heated waterers plugged in to help keep water available during freezing temperatures.
Laying Hens: The lovely layers on the hill have moved to our tomato hoop house. They are enjoying the mulch, little weeds, and old tomatoes leftover from that harvest. As the layers have full run of this house, they are quite lucky to be able to scratch in the dirt, run and fly the length of the tunnel, and even catch a few sun rays this winter.
Calf & Goats: The baby calf and 2 pygmy goats (“Salt” and “Pepper”) are penned together and share a small hut for added warmth in the pole shed. The boys named the calf “Spot” as she has a white circular spot on her forehead. The calf is young and requires a feeding of milk twice a day.
Sheep, Steer, & Mama Llama: The sheep, steer, and llama enjoy digging through the snow to find some nibbles as they can but also share a hay feeder in our pole shed. We had to plan out how to manage the sheep as lambing season will come about for the first time in March this year. Even though this seems a long time away, the ground will be frozen and posts need to be put in now to accommodate lambing jugs later.
Guinneas & Runner Ducks: The fowl make new friends and find themselves in an insulated coop with an outside run. Neither have decided that they particular care for the other species, but I think they are agreeing to mutually ignore each other.
Rabbits: The 2 rabbits were moved to the brooder room in the barn where they also have some shelter, a heated water, and room to hop around instead of being caged in for the winter. It’s always nice to take a little time to snuggle in the straw and pet one of the fuzzy bunnies as the snow flies. Currently, we have two bunnies, Brownie and Bunzy, who are great friends.
Hogs: The 5 pigs all made their trip to town on Monday to Ledeburs Meat Processing. The timing was perfect for their departure as snow, ice, and freezing water makes pig chores much more difficult. We always say goodbye to the hogs and thank them for their contributions to the farm. They provide us with great company and entertainment in the back section of the garden. We also are thankful for the most flavorful meat they will provide our family and our customers in the upcoming season. In addition to helping us use the excess produce during the growing season, the fertilizer left by the hogs will grow a fantastic corn crop next season.
So the animals keep us busy here, but they provide a nice rhythm to our daily schedule. The change in daylight savings time forces us to finish our day a little earlier and begin cooking with all the abundant farm food. Sometimes I get so excited by the ideas of different dishes that I forget we can truly only eat so much in one setting. It’s a good thing I like leftovers as there is always something quick to grab in our fridge here from our hefty dinners we cook.
I hope you are warm and enjoying the abundance in your boxes.
Eat Well. Smile Often.
Your Farmer,
Heather