I suppose it’s not terribly surprising to hear a farmer say that she has food on her mind. But, oh I do. Food is, of course, a pretty common subject of thought around here. We grow it, harvest it, sell it. I’m sure we think about food (especially vegetables) more than most people! But these days, the topic is closer to home.
Specifically, I’ve been pondering this: how to feed our family. I’m sure that from reading our newsletters, it sounds like we’ve got this feeding ourselves things all figured out. And, yeah, we have lots and lots of years of practice with cooking scratch recipes from fresh, seasonal vegetables. But, you know, it’s still hard. It can be challenging to cook delightful, fresh, seasonal meals three times a day every day.
We face all the usual challenges that other families will relate to: trying to figure out what to feed a slightly picky kid, full schedules without a lot of wiggle room for food prep, the challenge of cooking food while simultaneously keeping kids from getting into trouble, and general boredom from repeating the same meals over and over again.
Lately the challenge has increased as Dottie no longer naps during lunchtime (oh, how easy it was to prepare lunch when the toddler was asleep!), and both kids have increased appetites as they grow. I used to be able to cook enough food that we’d consistently have leftovers for lunch, but no more! It almost always gets all gobbled up by these four hungry eaters. This means that lunch requires more creativity and work than it used to — it’s another meal! Bigger appetites for more people is just more work! I suppose it’s no surprise — for most of human history, growing and preparing food has been the basis of human activity (and especially for women!).
Anyhow, when I find myself in these challenging periods lacking in obvious inspiration (or just feeling in a rut), the changing seasons of our diet can be such a delightful way to revive my interest and enthusiasm for making food. As the season shifts, new foods necessarily make their way onto our plates, and I can find myself rejuvenated by those new colors, textures, and flavors. For example, roasting fava beans and whole green garlic together was a big hit this week — so easy, so tasty, and so very spring.
Alas, there were no leftovers from tonight’s delicious dinner of kale and pork roast simmered in tomato sauce with green garlic, sweet onions, peas (from the freezer), and dried mushrooms! We scraped that pot clean!
I also find that making lists and meal rotations helps me a lot. When I feel stymied by what to make, working from a pre-planned list of ideas helps me a lot. I don’t make it complicated, it can just be as simple as “roasted meat + cooked greens” or “egg dish + salad + roasted veggie” Just having those basic formulas on a schedule helps to insure that I have a starting idea and that we eat a balance of meal types over the week (thus helping to eliminate some of the boredom that can come with eating the same thing too many times in a row!). I generally begin to stray for my meal plans within a few weeks, but getting back to a rhythmic foundation can really help me get over the humps. I’m working on a new meal plan for our family right now that better accounts for our new lunch reality of rare leftovers, hungry eaters, and two kids up and awake. For me, this new plan also includes making more time in my day to cook, since having more time to prep so often results in a more delicious, interesting (and less stressful to prepare) meal. I’m still trying to figure this out and am hoping to make better use of our slow cooker for full meal preparation (we use it a lot to cook meat, but then I still spend a lot of time turning that into a meal after the fact!).
Some of our newer farm products are also inspiration to me. For the prior two years of animal product on our farm, we had access to plenty of high quality meat, but it wasn’t ground (because we would have to do that ourselves, which we did … on occasion). Now that we too have access to ground beef again, we’re branching out beyond our staples of roasts into old favorite foods like meatloaf, hamburgers, and tacos!
I’m excited to try some of the new pork products we’re picking up from the butcher tomorrow: ham, Bratwursts, and pancetta (Italian style bacon) — all “uncured” with celery salt (no nitrates added!). I’m already thinking of how good it would be to pair chard, fennel, green garlic, and ham … mmmm, I’m getting inspired already!
So, this week I’ll keep fine tuning my lists and meal rhythms and as spring brings more new foods to our menu I will delight in the changes! I hope you too are enjoying the shifts and keeping up with your own unique challenges! Food can be such a joy — let us be intentional about building a life that makes room for food enjoyment through mindful preparation and eating. Food sustains us and can nourish our bodies and souls. May you find whatever tricks and practices you need to help you find peace and love in the work of feeding yourself and your family!
Enjoy this week’s vegetables!
Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla
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CSA payments due tomorrow! Many of you have already brought us checks for this CSA payment, but if you haven’t yet here’s another reminder! Check your emailed statement for the amount, or you can ask me at pick-up. Thank you, friends!
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Meet this week’s vegetables:
- Strawberries — They are even sweeter this week! And there are more of them! Hoorah!
- Lettuce
- Fava beans — Did you try them? I’ve heard at least one report of success with roasting (as I described in last week’s newsletter). We’ve eaten roasted fava beans several times this week. Our favorite combination is roasted fava beans and green garlic! Put whole green garlic on the pan with the fava beans, and it becomes delicious — all the way out to the crispy greens.
- Fennel — Roasted fennel is pretty awesome too. Just sayin’.
- Kale
- Chard
- Celery leaf
- Potatoes — I know I mentioned recently that my new favorite potato treatment is the old fashioned baked potato. I’ve been keeping a few baked potatoes in the fridge at all times lately. I reheat them by slicing them into thick rounds and then pan frying these in butter (liberally salted). The kids love them, and they’re practically instant food (since they are pre-cooked of course).
- Leeks
- Green garlic
- Garlic
And this week’s extra goodies from the farm: Remember to bring containers when appropriate! Especially for eggs!
- Corn flour — $5 lb
- Walnuts — $5 lb
- Eggs — $4 dozen
- Lamb — We’ve got more lamb! Prices vary depending on the cuts. We have roasts of all kinds and ground lamb available as well. This is going fast, so if you want lamb, I recommend checking out the selection this week. We’ll take more animals soon.
- CANADIAN BACON! — The Canadian-style bacon was a big hit last week! We sold over half of our inventory already and expect to sell out this week. Get it while it lasts! $12/lb
- More pork products — In addition, this week we’re adding more new pork products: BRATWURSTS, HAM, and PANCETTA (Italian-style bacon). Prices vary! Check it out!!!!!!
- Fresh pork roasts & belly — $8 lb. These are cuts that haven’t been cured at all, so “fresh.” We have lots and lots of roasts that make for delicious crock pot meat.
- Pork fat & skin — $3 lb
- Ground beef — Everyone’s favorite staple meat! $7 for 1/lb packages
