Little tiny lettuces growing in one of our high tunnels!
Slowly, very slowly it seems, our days are getting longer. Early next week, we mark “Imbolc” (otherwise known as Groundhog Day), the halfway mark on the march to spring. Oh, welcome day!
I am sure I not at all alone in craving quite a bit more of those rare sunny days and the warmth and growth that come with it. Last Saturday, the fog temporarily lifted from the valley floor, offering us a treat of a day. Our family hiked to the river, where it was warm enough for the kiddos to end up swimming in the water itself (I waded briefly in bare feet and was fairly amazed at their ability to turn frigid water into fun!).
But since then, the fog and cloud cover have returned, so that even with lengthening days it feels dark during most of the daylight hours. We have three high tunnels planted now, and we check on those little itty bitty plants regularly to weed and tend to them. They sit there, growing enough to stay alive, but certainly not bouncing with the thriving earth energy they will have in just a few weeks or months!
A funny planning quirk this time of year is that successions seeds sown in winter and early spring (in the greenhouse or fields) will lose their distance as harvests arrive. We could sow kale today and a month from now and end up picking them at the same time, because that later planting of kale will grow so much faster thanks to the power of sun’s return.
Nonetheless, the winter sun is here. Here in those rare fog-lifting days (or for those of you lucky to live at 700 ft or at the beach, I hear!). But also here in so many miracles around us — in the storage crops we are pulling out of our coolers (sugar = sun’s stored energy!). With every bite of beet or carrot you eat, last summer’s sun enters your body and warms you (literally warms you, through the power of digestion!).
And, here in our little farm house, we get to visit the sun of year’s past every day as we build fires to heat our home. I admit that there have definitely been days when I have wished for another source of heat, but for the most part, I love the winter ritual of building and tending a fire. On a dreary winter day, watching the flames dance in our woodstove inspires me.
For someone who was born and raised in the Pacific Northwet, I sometimes think I’m ill-fitted for our winters with how much I long for the sun! But, as always, these real things in our immediate environment help. And, this is the dregs of the winter — the coziness has worn off (especially for the kids, who are beyond ready for days outside again), and we are eager to see green’s return everywhere. And, while we wait, we order seeds, build fires, plant hazelnut trees, and eat some really good sun-food.
Enjoy this week’s vegetables!
Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla
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Meet this week’s vegetables: Remember to check our recent two newsletters for more servings suggestions and cooking ideas!
- Field greens — Is this a braising mix? Is it a salad mix? You decide! Casey harvested the best of the winter greens growing in the field — kale, chicories, chard, Asian greens, etc. This time of year, the “cooking” greens are sweet and tender enough to be eaten raw … but of course they’re delicious cooked too. If you decide to the salad route (which is probably what we’ll do with our batch), I recommend washing again and then chopping very fine into strips (“chiffonade,” if you will) and then tossing with your salad dressing of choice. For winter salads like this, you will likely enjoy more salad dressing than you might on a spring lettuce salad — the leaves are thicker and can stand up to it. Or chop it all up and saute with butter and garlic and eat with eggs for breakfast. Yum yum either way.
- Brussels sprouts
- Leaf celery — We will have it this week! Last week’s final moments of harvest were interrupted by our cows, who decided to wander away from their enclosure! Jasper and Casey spent those final bits of time getting them back in.
- Parsley — Wondering what to do with parsley? Here’s the cool thing about parsley in winter … it’s green. Like, really really really bright green. At this time of year, our other cooking greens are still all growing very slowly (they will come!), and yet here is this delightfully green, vibrant leafy thing that thrives in the winter! We most often use our winter parsley for making parsley “pesto” — combine parsley with garlic and walnuts and olive oil in a food processor (adjust the ratios to your flavor preference). Delicious! We put a bowl of parsley pesto on the table and let each eater decide how they want to use it. It makes a delicious garnish on most anything.
- Kohlrabi
- Sunchokes — AKA “Jerusalem Artichokes.” They are more often known by this second name, although we can’t figure out why, since these tubers are neither from Jerusalem or related to artichokes! (And oddly they look a lot like ginger — although they share nothing except appearance.) Nonetheless, they are delicious! The texture is crisp and the flavor sweet and light — very reminiscent of Jicama (no relation). Sunchokes are absolutely delicious when roasted. The hardest part is cleaning them up, because those little nooks and crannies can store some dirt. I prefer to chop them with a paring knife in a way that exposes all those little edges, making the final cleaning easier. I do NOT try to peel them, because WOAH that would be hard. I do use my paring knife to trim off any bits that look less appetizing. To roast, I’d put bite size pieces in a pan with butter or oil olive and roast at 375-425°, stirring occasionally, until starting to caramelize at the edges. Add salt, and enjoy the simplicity of this preparation!!!! I must add, however, that some of us unlucky folks experience gas when consuming cooked sunchokes (especially in large quantities). Unfortunately, Casey and I are in that camp, so while we enjoy roasted sunchokes when paired with other veggies (make a big roasted root veggie medley!), we often prefer to eat our sunchokes raw. We don’t get the painful gas that way. They’re delicious chopped fine and added to a cole slaw type salad. In fact, this week, you could make an amazing salad with the kohlrabi, cabbage, carrots, and sunchokes! Sometimes we like to turn a cold salad like this into a meal all its own, and we do so by adding more filling ingredients like tuna or cooked chicken (a great portable lunch).
- Carrots
- Parsnips
- Beets — Beets seem to be one of those polarizing vegetables. To some of us (our family included), a perfectly cooked beet embodies all that is sweet and satisfying. Others taste … dirt? I guess? Since I’m not in that camp, I’m not sure what doesn’t “work” for other folks, but I will offer up this: even I (a devoted beet lover) do NOT enjoy under-cooked beets. To me, an under-cooked beet definitely tastes too earthy for my preferences. And, I’ve also learned over time that beets generally require more cooking than other root veggies (I think they are denser). So when I cook them, I often allow quite a lot more time than I do for something like potatoes or carrots. I love mixing up root vegetables and making what we once dubbed “root parade” (because I lined up all the ingredients in a row before chopping) — basically a roasted vegetable medley. When I include beets, I make sure to chop them smaller than the rest so that they will cook all the way through in the same time frame. When roasting beets alone, I often do it at a slightly lower temperature (375°) so that they cook all the way through before they start to crisp on the edges. A well cooked beet is like candy. To me!
- Potatoes
- Apples — This week, we have more Goldrush apples, as well as the classic Newton Pippin. This is an older type of apple, especially well suited to cooking or making cider (complex flavors!).
- Garlic
And this week’s extra goodies from the farm: Remember to bring containers when appropriate! We will have some jars for sale for kimchi and such at pick-up, but we know you’ve got loads of empty jars in your pantry already!
- Corn flour — $5 lb
- Oat flour — $5 lb
- Walnuts — $5 lb
- Kohlrabi “kimchi” — $5 pint; $3 half pint ~ Still popular! We have another fresh batch available for this week. We’ve been loving this winter treat.
- #2 Apples — 4lb bag for $6 ~ Want extra apples for making sauce or cooking? We’ve got #2 apples available for half price — these are apples that just aren’t perfect enough for us to offer them for fresh eating. They have minor blemishes or imperfect skin.
- Eggs — $6 dozen ~ Volume is up again this week!
- Ground beef — 1 lb packages; $7 ea.
- Pork, roasts & chops — Prices vary ~ We took our first hog to be slaughtered at a USDA facility this week! Check in at pick-up to find out what we’ve got in the freezer! We grow a very unique type of hog: American Guinea Hog, a heritage breed. They offer darker, more flavorful pork meat than most of what you will have experienced. They are also smaller in size and great foragers, making them well suited to a farm like ours and meaning that their fat is loaded with healthy Omega-3s.
- Lamb roasts — We still have many different cuts available, at varying prices (ranging from $5 – 14 lb). Ask Katie at pick-up to walk you through what’s in the freezer!
- Beef organs — $6/lb for beef liver and heart
- Lamb organs — $8/lb ~ These were popular last week! We may have a few kidneys left, but I’m pretty sure all the packages of liver and heart were sold (I will check though).
