Weekly Farm Happenings
It's a whole new week! Is this cold weather throwing anyone else for a loop - I feel like, in theory it should feel old hat, I mean this is Maine, in January.... But...I feel like we've gotten a little spoiled with the winter being so mild, that it almost felt like a literal slap in the face taking the pooch out this morning. It's also amazing how much this biting cold can slow things down on the farm. In some obvious ways, like the plants in the greenhouses actually grow more slowly when they are freezing cold at night, but also just our bodies feel heavier. Hauling totes of veggies, moving row covers, jumping on an off the tractor are harder when it's this cold, our bodies are more brittle and have to work harder to warm up, and tasks just take longer. It's like the weather is telling my crazy farmer brain to chill out, allow 30% more time than you think something is going to take and just work on not getting frost bite :) And that's not evening mentioning freezing water lines, pre-heating trucks, and checking all the cooler temps a lot more frequently lest they get to cold.
Underneath all the complaining, I actually love it though - because of the tides, you can literally hear the Kennebec freezing from the farm. It's an endless string of crashing and heaving and even sometimes this low moaning sound that sounds like singing, it's wild, and there hasn't been quite enough of it this winter....
Stay warm everyone, and hang in there - it's supposedly going to be 45 in a week!
-------------------------------
We've set the date for sign-ups!
Summer early bird sign-ups open February 8th! For the first week of sign-ups - from February 8th through February 14th - we're offering some incentives to sign-up early!
- $10.00 credit to be used on extras in your summer or fall share (not transferable to sign-ups!)
- Entry into a raffle to win fun farm merch - we're printing t-shirts, hats, and bags!
- Guarantee of getting a share - we've sold out every year so don't wait too long!
- Our farm gratitude as the earlier members sign-up, the easier it is to plan!
You'll get all kinds of notifications and we'll have more emails soon about this summer's details!
Recipe to try
Pasta Carbonara! I make this a lot for the family, so I'm always looking up recipes, and hadn't found one yet that I felt dedicated to, but this one here: Spinach Pasta Carbonara Recipe - Claire Robinson | Food & Wine (foodandwine.com) is easy and incorporates some veggies! I just made this for dinner and topped it with roasted sweet potatoes AND micros from Morning Dew - yummmm. AND to boot - we have pasta, Collinsbrook from Winter Hill, veggies, and the BACON you need! Give it a try!
Cool Veggie of the Week
Carnival Squash! It's an acorn squash- but make it fashion. This squash looks like a sweet dumpling and an acorn squash made a baby, and that's kind of what it's like. It's nutty, on the moister side, and wonderful for roasting. You can roast and scoop it out for a great soup or puree or (our fav) you can stuff with all your favorite things. Enjoy!
Pantry Items of the Week
No-Spray Local Dried Beans -Fairwinds Farm - Bowdoinham, ME
No- Spray Local Popcorn - Fairwinds Farm - Bowdoinham, ME
**Reminder, if you rated "corn" and "beans" a 1 in your preferences, you won't get this item in your share unless you swap it in - contact us if you have any questions or need any help!**
This week we're offering 2 pantry items from Fairwinds Farm in Bowdoinham.... right down the road from Harvest Tide! Talk about local! These items are not certified organic, but are grown no-spray. We have several different varieties of beans, so it'll be a fun surprise to open up your share this week and see which one our crew has packed for you! A little post-holiday surprise ;). Both the beans and the popcorn are included in your share, (unless you've rated either corn or beans as a "1" in your preferences) but feel free to swap in or out either of the items depending on what your needs are!
Fairwinds grows so many kinds of beans, we've got a whole hodgepodge headed out the door - if you get beans in your share you can expect Navy, Yellow Eye, Jacobs Cattle, Kidney or Pinto - all of which are super tasty and healthy.
If you're anything like us, Winter is a fantastic time to warm up with some hearty winter stews, chilies, and all those and comforting one pot meals. They're a great excuse to throw a bunch of winter veggies... potatoes, carrots, onions, rutabaga and kale... into a pot, simmer till the house is filled with delicious smells, and dish it up in a big bowl with a slice of warm bread.
Although dried beans may take a little longer to cook that opening up a can of beans, and tossing it in the pot for a little extra protein, this pandemic (if it hasn't done anything else for us!) has given us a chance to slow down, and cook food more thoughtfully, from home, with intention. And if you're like me, sometimes it's a great way to disengage from everything happening in the world right now and focus on the beauty of creating a wholesome meal from scratch for myself and my loved ones... and sometimes that's just what we need. So in light of that, here's my favorite way to take something as humble as cooking dried beans and turn it into moment to slow down and appreciate the act of cooking.
- Soak - Put a few inches of water in a pot and soak your beans overnight in water. This is a game changer as it make cooking times quicker!
- Simmer - Drain the beans in the morning, and place them in a pot and add enough water to cover the beans with about 2″ of cool water above the bean level. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes, then reduce heat down to a simmer
- Add Aromatics (and some salt) - This is my favorite part as it makes dried beans so much more flavorful than canned! Add a little salt (you'll salt more later) and toss in a few of these aromatics to the pot as well an extra "oomph" of flavor:
- Alliums: onions, garlic, leeks, scallions
- Vegetables: carrots, celery, fennel
- Hard Herbs/Bay Leaf: rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme, marjoram
- Spices: cumin, coriander, fennel seeds
- Olive Oil
- Black Pepper
- Let them hang out' - continue simmering for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour till done. Taste the broth, and season with more salt, or a touch of lemon juice if desired!
Use the beans right away in a recipe, or store in the fridge for up to a week and toss on salads, in stews, chilies or anything else your mind can dream up! If you make a big batch and can't use them all up right away, put the beans in a freezer safe container and freeze. Beans freeze very well. And whatever you do, don't throw out that cooking liquid! It's seasoned, delicious, and starchy, perfect for adding body to soups, stews, braises, and even pasta sauces.
Here are a few recipes to start simmering this week!
Classic New England Baked Beans - toss in some of our new (unbelievably delicious!) smoked bacon from a Small Good Company! A match made in heaven.
3 Bean Vegetarian Chili - Warming, filling and delicious... what more to say!
...And as far the popcorn goes...
Pandemic movie night in, anyone? Toss on some melted butter (or olive oil) and some salt for a classic!
This Week's Add On's
- **NEW ITEM** Cured Bacon with Rosemary and Maply Syrup - A Small Good Company - Rockport, ME - $10.50/10oz package
Not only is this bacon incredibly delicious with a slight hint of savory rosemary and a little sweetness from maple syrup, it also is produced by a local Maine business that really lives up to it's name. A Small Good Company believes in sourcing directly from local farmers that raise their animals on living pasture with the highest level of animal welfare. This makes the taste of their cured products so much more flavorful than factory raised meats, while also letting you know that the animals they were sourced from were given a high quality of life.
A Small Good Company adds local and wild crafted ingredients to their products, believes in using the whole animal, and implements traditional European practices when processing their meats that yield very little waste. We've been asked a lot over the years to add meat offerings for our customers, and there have been a LOT of logistics that have made that difficult, we're excited to dip our tow in and see how it goes.
- Collinsbrook Aged Raw Milk Cheese - Winter Hill Farm - Freeport, ME - A piquant, aged raw milk cheese named for a nearby stream. Aged 3+ months. Tangy, dry, sharp. Reminiscent of an Italian style hard cheese, Collinsbrook is excellent for grating, melting in to a savory dish, or just for snacking on. $9.00
- Valentine's Day Paparadelle - Maine Meal- Skowhegan, ME - Pappardelle is a long, flat, and wide pasta similar to a wide fettucine. This blend is a mix of mildy-beet flavored and plain to create your perfect Valentine's Day blend of pink and white!. Large 1 lb bag $9.50
**Harvie software (which has been giving me trouble ALL DAY) will not let me upload a photo, but trust, it's sooooo pretty!**
- Buckwheat Fusilli- Maine Meal- Skowhegan, ME - The LOCALLY GROWN buckwheat in this fusilli lends a wonderful nutty flavor to this fresh pasta, and pairs perfectly with just about any sauce! Made without gluten. **Made on shared equipment with foods containing wheat** Large 1 lb bag $9.50/lb.
- Farmstead Whole Milk Yogurt - Winter Hill Farm - Freeport, ME - The best Maine yogurt hands down. Made in small batches on their farm in Freeport, this yogurt is addictive! $9.00/quart
- Raw Whole Milk 1/2 Gallon - Winter Hill Farm - Freeport, ME - Milked at their micro dairy, this raw whole milk is cream-on-top wonderful! $5.50/half gallon
- Local & Organic Firm Tofu - Heiwa Tofu - Rockport, ME - Tofu handcrafted in small batches using organic, non-GMO soybeans grown on Maine and New England farms. $5.00/block
- Dark Roast Coffee Beans 1lb bag - Moses Dyer Coffee - Harpswell, ME - Extra dark roast coffee, fair trade, and roasted in Harpswell. $15.00/bag
- Medium Roast Coffee Bean 1lb bag - Winter Hill Farm - Harpswell, ME - Medium roast coffee, fair trade, and roasted in Harpswell. $15.00/bag
- Wild Blueberry Spreadable Fruit - Turtle Rock Farm - Brunswick, ME - Organic wild Maine blueberries are preserved with a touch of organic cane sugar and organic lemon juice. A simple low-sugar spread to celebrate this treasured Maine berry. $9.00/9oz jar
