- Shallots
- Parsley or thyme
- Radicchio
- Fennel
- Daikon radish
- Winter squash
- Celeriac
- Leeks
- Brussels
Winter Is Here Period Short breaks in the rain have allowed some of the field to dry out and the river of water from the upper fields to stop flowing through our greenhouses. The Swiss chard is slow to recover after the sheep ate the tops off and the Escarol is also barely recovered. We hope that you will enjoy the end of the winter squash, the radicchio and the Brussels sprouts. We are looking forward to sprouting broccoli in February and March and wondering if anything else will be ready or have survived.
We started seeding for spring and late winter. The heating table is packed with arugula, spinach and lettuce. The sugar snap peas are seeded as we wait for them to sprout. We are glad for the end of January it has been a long and rainy month. You may notice some changes around the barn as we clean up and redesign our garden spaces.
Please do let us know about the regular season. We are taking sign-ups and hope to be full in March. Our season opens April 17th and runs through the end of October. It really helps me to know if you will continue as I can focus on planting, weeding and seeding and not rounding up subscribers for our farm.
If you missed this notice last week:
- Pruning party set for February 5 from 9 – 3:00. We will be outside and each family can take a tree so we can keep our social distance.
- Our arborist friend is on sabbatical so we will be winging it. We are happy to give you some pointers if you have never pruned a fruit tree. We count on a you all to help us prune over 30 fruit trees, so please consider joining us in February.
Here are some basic guide I looked at that seemed good to get some idea of how to prune::
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZG7DTeG2p8&ab_channel=theorganicgarden
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tADEOd64Gmk&ab_channel=MIgardener
- https://dengarden.com/landscaping/How-to-prune-fruit-trees . Now our trees are mature – some over 60 years old. They cannot be hurt, but if cut back too severely it will affect fruit production.
- More info to come as the date nears, but please put this date on your calendar
I made a delicious fennel, radish and fresh crab salad that Juvencio suggested we serve in tacos. Some of the best seafood tacos ever. Using a mandolin for slicing all these fresh winter veggies makes them easy to add to salads, on top of tacos or just to eat raw (my personal favorite).
We wish you and yours health, joy and happiness. We hope you all have your vaccine and booster jab and we look forward to seeing you around the farm.
Here are some recipes to enjoy:
Fennel and apple salad: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019023-fennel-apple-salad-with-walnuts
Simple fennel salad (oh, so good, could add the radishes as well:
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/shaved_fennel_salad/
Use that celeriac:
Use the parsley!!
Tabouli Salad
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup extra fine bulgur wheat
- 4 firm Roma tomatoes, very finely chopped
- 1 English cucumber (hothouse cucumber), very finely chopped
- 2 bunches parsley, part of the stems removed, washed and well-dried, very finely chopped
- 12-15 fresh mint leaves, stems removed, washed, well-dried, very finely chopped
- 4 green onions, white and green parts, very finely chopped
- Salt
- 3-4 tablespoon lime juice (lemon juice, if you prefer)
- 3-4 tablespoon Early Harvest extra virgin olive oil
- Romaine lettuce leaves to serve, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Wash the bulgur wheat and soak it in water for 5-7 minute. Drain very well (squeeze the bulgur wheat by hand to get rid of any excess water). Set aside.
- Very finely chop the vegetables, herbs and green onions as indicated above. Be sure to place the tomatoes in a colander to drain excess juice.
- Place the chopped vegetables, herbs and green onions in a mixing bowl or dish. Add the bulgur and season with salt. Mix gently.
- Now add the the lime juice and olive oil and mix again.
- For best results, cover the tabouli and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. If you like, serve the tabouli with a side of pita and romaine lettuce leaves, which act as wraps or “boats” for the tabouli.
- Other appetizers to serve next to tabouli salad:Hummus; Baba Ganoush; or Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Ingredients in Gremolata
- parsley, coarsely chopped
- garlic, minced
- lemon, organic is best
- lemon juice
- salt
How To Make Classic Italian Gremolata (a 3 Ingredient Parsley Sauce)
- Make sure your knife is sharpened before finely chopping up the parsley and garlic together. Having a super sharp knife will make sure you make clean cuts through the parsley leaves so you’re not just banging at them with a dulled knife blade.
- Add the lemon zest and keep chopping the ingredients up until they’re completely combined and the size you want for serving, i.e. do you want more texture or more of a sauce consistency?
- Add in some lemon juice to taste as soon as you’re happy with the texture. I also like to add some sea salt which really isn’t the norm with this dish but I think it makes it just perfect and brings out all the flavor of the ingredients.