Darkness arrives

The kids and I helped bring in the first of the storage cabbage harvest last week. So much sweetness for coming cold months! (After taking this picture, we transferred the cabbages from the Gator bed to the pallet bin where Casey is standing … and then we loaded a bunch more too!)

This weekend marked a profound shift in the season. We observed Halloween, also known as Samhain. Among other things, this marks the approximate halfway point between the Autumnal equinox and the Winter solstice — meaning we’re now in the darkest quarter of the year. And, the very next day (Nov. 1), we all set our clocks back as Daylight Saving Time ended for the year. What a difference that one hour made in our experience of the light in the day! As the sky darkened in late afternoon, I finally realized that — yes — November has truly arrived. It is here. This dark time.

October was so full of warm and sunny days that November’s arrival really did surprise all of us out here. And it’s not just a matter of our perception — those warm days made a difference in the fields too. We picked cucumbers yesterday! I’m not sure that we have ever made it to November without a fire, but here we are on November 4, and we still have not lit one (although today almost seems to warrant one!). It was a warm start to the fall, for sure. But there’s no getting around the shortening days — this is a non-negotiable fact of this time of year.

The kids and I gathered with friends to make lanterns yesterday. This is a very fun and easy craft for those of you looking for something to do with your kids. We ripped up colored tissue paper and adhered it to a mason jar with white glue. I hear you can water down the glue, but for ours we just used the glue straight. We put an extra layer of glue over the paper to finish it off. The glue dries clear, and the tissue paper makes a beautiful and simple stained glass effect that is very magical when a tea light is lit inside. This is the third year we’ve made lanterns in early November, and lighting them before our now-after-dark dinners feels like an important part of finding our way into these quieter days.

Of course, as I’m sure many of you know firsthand, kids don’t always take cues from the season or from the clock. To be fair, neither do Casey and I really. So, now that the clocks are set back an hour, we’re all up earlier. Because our bodies have an internal rhythm of their own. I forget about this each year — how in the winter Casey and I fall asleep earlier, lulled into deep relaxation by the long hours of dark in the evening. And then we wake earlier too — often up before 6 am (kids too), beginning our days again in the dark of morning.

And, tonight the kids and I perhaps spent too much time inside (a danger of the season when curling up inside with books and art projects sounds so very lovely!) — as was made clear by the energy in the house before dinner. So, even though dusk was upon us, we went outside in the chilly evening air and the kids ran sprint “races” all around the yard. “Let’s see who can run to the walnut tree first? Great! Now run around the maple tree five times? Ok, now who can race with this wheelbarrow to the picnic table?” And so we came to the dinner table calmer and with ready appetites.

Casey and I will head to bed soon after I email out this newsletter. It’s necessary when we know we will (in spite of our efforts to train our bodies and kids otherwise) be up again early tomorrow! But we enjoy this different feeling in our house (or, we at least surrender to the inevitability of it!). The darkness is here.

And, of course, lanterns and holidays keep the light alive and present even during these darkest months. We look forward to the string of gatherings that will begin later this month with Thanksgiving. What a joy it is to reconnect with family and friends! We also take joy in being a part of the food that you share with your loved ones during these occasions! So, even though the CSA ends in a couple of weeks (last pick-up is on November 19), remember that we offer two opportunities for you to order extra food to stock up for the holidays! See more in our Holiday Harvest sneak preview note below!

And, for now, enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

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Thanksgiving Holiday Harvest sneak preview: As I have mentioned in prior newsletters, we will be offering our usual Holiday Harvest opportunities this fall. The way these work is that we’ll provide you a list in advance of what’s available — you’ll place your order by email by the night before. Then we harvest specially for you and bring your order to the storefront for you to pick up! We’ll also be open during those hours for egg and meat sales as well.

Our Thanksgiving Holiday Harvest will be Wednesday, November 25, 2-5 pm at the storefront. Orders should be placed by Tuesday evening via email: farm (at) oakhillorganics (dot) com. This opportunity is open to all! (Not just CSA members!)

We’ll finalize the list (and add prices) before next week so you have time to plan your holiday recipes and such, but here’s an exciting sneak peek of what will be available!!!! (We have a lot of options! Some people use this opportunity to stock up a bit for the coming weeks!)

Apples ~ Goldrush, Liberty, Northern Spy
Salad mix
Kale ~ Dino and Red Russian
Chard
Collard greens
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage ~ Red and green
Celery leaf
Winter squash ~ Acorn, Delicata, Butternut, Spaghetti, Marina
Pie pumpkins
Beets
Carrots
Sweet potatoes (These will be in the last 2015 CSA share too!)
Potatoes ~ Yellow Finn, German Butterball, Red
Leeks
Garlic
Popcorn

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Meet this week’s vegetables:

• Apples
• Popcorn — Did anybody make a Halloween treat with your popcorn? This cooler weather makes me want to pop some more to eat beside the fire. We still have yet to light a fire in our woodstove this year (even though it is our only source of heat). It is coming soon though — we can feel the chill now (finally!).
• Arugula
• Asian greens mix — This is a mix of three kinds of greens: Yukina Savoy, Mustards, and Turnip greens. The leaves are definitely tender enough to eat as a salad (and a tossing with a dressing will cut the heat they have when raw); or, you can gently saute them and eat as a cooked green. Because they are so tender, they will cook up quickly, making them especially easy for eating at breakfast (topped with a fried egg!) or for a quick lunch.
• Cauliflower & broccoli — Our household loves these fall crops — it is a major treat for us when they are producing. Our absolutely favorite preparation method for either cauliflower or broccoli (or both together!) was passed on to us by a long time former CSA member. When we were very new to town, she treated us to a spontaneous (and delicious) homecooked dinner after we stopped by to drop off an order of tomatoes. The highlight of the meal for us was the roasted broccoli she made. Why had this never occurred to us? To roast broccoli? Now it is standard fare for us. The key is to chop even sized florets of your broccoli or cauliflower and to not overload the pan (if you do so, they will steam rather than roast). I roast them at 425° in a baking pan with a few big pats of butter. I like to stir a few times, to make sure everything is cooking evenly and to coat all the florets in butter. I cook until the florets are browning on one side and cooked through. Salt liberally before serving.
• Butternut squash
• Pie pumpkin
• Delicata winter squash
• Chard
• Kale
• Peppers — Hot, green, and sweet!
• Beets
• Carrots — We’ve been growing carrots for ten years now. We think we’re pretty good at growing them. Our soil is well suited to beautiful, straight carrots (thanks to its light texture), and we choose varieties that we think are absolutely the tastiest around. You’d think that after all these years, we would be “used to” delicious carrots! Not so! We still find ourselves completely bowled over by a good, crispy, sweet carrot. This week’s carrots are among the best we’ve ever tasted. Just simply divine. (And, if you’re wondering about the nitty gritty aspects of cooking in our farm kitchen, I want to share that I always peel our carrots before cooking or serving. Always. Why? The outer skin of the carrot can be more bitter than the inside, and the texture is certainly less perfect. I just find that our experience of the carrot is magnified if I take that simple extra preparation step.)
• Potatoes — This week’s potatoes are a favorite of ours: German Butterball — a russetted potato with smooth yellow interior flesh (I guess sort of like a cross between a Russet and a Yukon Gold?) . They used to not be available to grow in this country, and we once heard a story of someone so desperate to grow these that they smuggled a few seed potatoes surreptitiously through customs! Thankfully, now there are potato seed producers who grow them out for farmers like us, so we don’t have to go through that extra work. They are a medium sized potato, extremely well suited to roasting (hoorah for us, since that is our favorite way to prepare almost any vegetable, as you may have noticed!).
• Leeks

And this week’s extra goodies from the farm:

• Eggs — $6/dozen
• Ground beef — $7 for 1 lb packages
• Lamb — Roasts and ground lamb are $8/lb. Lamb chops are $12/lb.
• Stewing hens — $3.50/lb ~ A few left for this round! I made a delicious pot of chicken soup this evening with chicken and its stewing broth (of course), chopped chard, leeks, rutabaga, and carrots. Simply outstanding and perfect comfort food for these darker days.