Fresh and Value-Added Items:
- Carrots 1.5#
- French Fingerling Potatoes 2.5#
- Beets 2#
- Onions
- Salad Mix- 6oz
- Cabbage 2-3#
- Eggs 2 dozen (Extra eggs could be used in the rhubarb bread pudding recipe below, or regular bread pudding is a wonderful old-school treat!) Egg Noodles
- Dried Roma Tomatoes 1/2 pint How do I use Sun-Dried Tomatoes?
- Raspberry Jam 1/2 pt: Suncrest Gardens raspberries, sugar, low-sugar pectin
- Green Beans 1 pt (canned): green beans, water, garlic, salt
Frozen Items:
- Vegetable Stock 1 Qt: water, onions, celery, carrots, parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, salt & pepper
- Minestroni Soup 1 Qt: roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, water, vegetable stock, carrots, zucchini, green beans, beans, olive oil, oregano, basil, salt, pepper (Add freshly boiled noodles to this base if you like, with some parmesan cheese. You could also add meat to this if desired. Or turn it into a pasta sauce!)
- Ginger Carrot Soup 1 Qt: carrots, vegetable stock, onion, celery, coconut milk, butter, minced ginger, salt, lemon thyme, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, white pepper, nutmeg
- Sweet corn 1 qt: corn, butter, water, salt, pepper, sugar
- Asian Broccoli 1pt: roasted broccoli, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, pepper, salt (add it to a stir-fry!)
- Blueberries 1 pt: whole blueberries, keep frozen until you want to use them. Picked from Cain’s Orchard in Hixton, Wisconsin.
- Rhubarb 1 pt+: chopped rhubarb Rhubarb Bread Pudding
I’ve made a slight change to the way the winter boxes are packed. I have separated the frozen and non-frozen items into 2 individual boxes. I will be able to better insulate the non-frozen items under the sleeping bag as the pile will be smaller. The frozen items are perfectly fine outside staying frozen. The change also helps me in packing the boxes on two separate days and storing them in different areas at the farm. This means that you will need to remember to get TWO BOXES: one frozen, one non-frozen.
When repackaging the frozen blueberries, the memory of the day we picked them came flooding back. It had been an early spring and a dry summer. The blueberry harvest was abundant and slightly ahead of schedule. Instead of getting in on the end of the harvest which we typically do as a quick gathering before the season ends, we made plans to get there to experience peak season. We picked a day and marked our calendars; we were going no matter what since it takes planning ahead for Jason and I to coordinate such an event during our busy season. What glory it is to see blueberries covering all the bushes and to pick by the handfuls! This happened to be the only day (it seemed like at least) for rain to come this past summer. So as the boys, Jason, and I picked in the light sprinkles, other people started packing up their cars and leaving the orchard. We nearly had the place to ourselves where just an hour earlier there were hundreds of people and cars there.
The rains continued, harder and the temperatures cooled considerably. We were soaked. Oops, I forgot to pack extra clothes! Rain poured from our elbows. Our buckets were getting heavier with the extra inches of rain in the bottom of them. The boys patience wore thin and they took to the van for a wrestling match over the seats as we vowed to get “just one more bucket!” Picking berries is an slightly addictive pastime for me. Even Jason was ready to throw in the towel as our fingers slowed due to the chill setting in. So in the end, we managed to get 8 gallons of berries picked and packed into freezer bags and stacked in the cooler of ice.
We turned the heater on high and let our clothes dry as we drove to Crystal Cave. The sun came out and all was well. We enjoyed an hour tour of the depths of the cave, mined for gemstones, and enjoyed delicious burgers at a small outdoor cafe in Pepin, WI. What a wonderful day to think back upon. So this is the story of the blueberries that are in your shares this week. They are a treat. Perhaps some of the pleasure of eating foods tucked away for the winter is the warm memories they bring back.
This weekend, Jason and I are packing up the van and heading up to Bayfield for a long weekend stay. We decided that if we were not going to enjoy warmth somewhere else, we would indulge in a true Midwest experience of snow and cold. There is almost guaranteed wonderful cross-country skiing around Bayfield due to the lake effect snowfalls. We also will explore the ice caves by hiking out onto Lake Superior. I’m looking forward to a little escape. The busy activity during the day will make sitting by the fire with a glass of wine at night seem even more wonderful. I’m sure Bayfield is wonderful in a whole different way during the summer, but we’ll enjoy the off-season there and feel like hardy Midwesterners.
2013 Winter CSA delivery dates:
- Feb 6th
- Feb 20th
- March 6th
- March 20th…final Winter CSA delivery
Your Farmer,
Heather
Eat Well. Smile Often.