Greetings,
As I write this, the first major snowfall of winter is underway, with at least a foot of snow likely to fall before morning. While we do have a couple of unfinished outdoor projects that got interrupted by the snow earlier in the week, we're feeling ready for winter to hit us in full force. We got a few more trees (dead elms) brought in from the woods, split, and pitched into our wood shed. That batch of firewood should keep our home warm during the last 4-6 weeks of the heating season.
In family news, we did have to say goodbye to our beloved dog, Jagger, last week. He had developed a large tumor running nearly shoulder to shoulder, surrounding his neck. After a couple weeks of rapid decline—during which time Anneli and I camped out downstairs in our living room sleep with Jagger, who could no longer walk upstairs and usually needed a couple of bathroom breaks at night—he stopped eating and planted himself out in the yard for many hours at a time. We knew his time had come. We buried him in our front yard and marked it with a large chunk of limestone. Below Jagger is pictured this summer with Ani, and two weeks ago on his last walk with us out on the farm.
While we aren't big on holiday traditions, we have made one of harvesting a red cedar Christmas tree from the farm. These opportunistic trees have invasive tendencies in prairies and pastures that are infrequently grazed or burned. They've taken over dozens of acres of grasslands on our farm and we've been working to clear them, little by little, over the last several years. They really don't make great Christmas trees, with their spikey needles and sparse, irregular shape, but I think this year's is one of our best :) See featured image above.
We are excited to see lots of family in late December, some of whom we haven't seen since the beginning of the pandemic. My sister and her family will be coming to visit us from Vermont late next week. Our family will be heading to Seattle after that for Christmas and New Year's with Karin's parents and her three sisters (and families). We are especially happy that Ani will get to spend some time with her two little cousins. The prospect of travelling is a bit nerve-wracking, as the new COVID variants have exacerbated the pandemic since we started planning this trip over the summer. I guess we'll just don our N95s, wash our hands every chance we get, and hope for the best.
Notes on select items in this week's share:
- Salad mix: This will be the first harvest of lettuce from our unheated high tunnel. It got a great start with a warmer-than-average October and is looking nice, despite freezing solid during the frigid nights on Monday and Tuesday. Tender and frost-sweetened, this is some of the best salad of the year.
- Gold Beets: Sweeter and less earthy-tasting than red beets, we call these the "gateway beet" for beet-hesitant folks. We also have a small amount of red beets available this week.
- Watermelon Radish: These winter radishes have less heat than standard red radishes and even a little sweetness. Their crunchy pink flesh is a great salad topper; this is one of our go-to pairings. I wouldn't advise eating the white/green outer rind, which is a bit fibrous.
- Jester Squash: This variety is a new one for us this season. It has super flavor and nice texture, and it tastes (and looks) like a cross between delicata and acorn squashes.
- Small Sweet Potatoes: This week will feature sweet potatoes on the smaller side. Any northern latitude sweet potato harvest will yield a large number of these small "fingerling" tubers, simply because our growing season isn't long enough for all of them to size up. My absolute favorite way to eat these is to simply roast them whole - no need to peel them, prick them with a fork, or wrap in foil. (I would advise lining your baking pan with foil or parchment paper, as they'll leak out some sugary juices that will scorch a pan in a hurry.) After 45-60 mins, let them cool a bit and eat them like French fries, skin and all. To me, they're as sweet as candy. I especially like them cold, straight out of the fridge.
- Carrots: We moved into the 'Bolero' variety storage carrots, and I think you'll be pleased. These were harvested after several hard frosts and are super sweet. These are on the larger side, with a few jumbos in the mix. Even carrots that have a 2" diameter at the top are sweet and tender enough for fresh eating.
- Also available this week:
- Cabbage: Small quantities, likely the last of the season
- Garlic: Same as last week, smaller bulbs of German Extra Hardy.
- Acorn Squash: This is been my favorite squash this fall, sweet and creamy.
- Butternut Squash: Sorted into small and medium classes.
Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season, and Happy New Year!!
Dana
