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First Winter Shares Coming Your Way!

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First Winter Shares Coming Your Way!
Reminders & Announcements
  • This week, we are delivering to Winter Produce and Egg Share members, as well as Eggs from last week's sale.
  • Winter Shares are delivered every other week from January through early April for a total of 7 deliveries:
    • Tuesday, January 8 and Thursday, January 10
    • Tuesday, January 22 and Thursday, January 24
    • Tuesday, February 5 and Thursday, February 7
    • Tuesday, February 19 and Thursday, February 21
    • Tuesday, March 5 and Thursday, March 7
    • Tuesday, March 19 and Thursday, March 21
    • Tuesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 4
  • Tuesday Deliveries:

  • Thursday Deliveries:

  • Winter Produce Shares are packed into wax boxes for protection from the winter weather. Please unpack your shares from these boxes into your bags/containers. We will fold and reuse these boxes throughout the season.
    This Week's Produce Harvest:
    • Winter Spinach 
    • Carrots
    • Honey Crisp Apples - from Mick Klug Farm, St. Joseph, MI
    • Salad Mix
    • Garlic
    • Winter Squash - from Big Patch Farm's Amish Community Growers, Platteville, WI
    • Green Cabbage
    • Red Onions
    • Yellow Onions
    • Beautyheart Radishes 
    Farm Photo Journal
    Good morning! Happy New Year to all from the farm.

    We'd like to share a warm welcome to our Winter Share members! Your ongoing membership allows us to stay actively farming through the winter. Your membership also allows us to share fresh, stored and preserved, locally grown food with you year-round. We value your continued support!
    After a busy end of our fall season, we dedicated the month of December to recharging our bodies, minds and spirits. We continued our farming education (I'll share more about our travels to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, top picture, in an upcoming newsletter) and we cherished time with our family and friends (Happy Birthday, Jeff!). The farm was relatively quiet with only the sounds of several Great Horned Owls communicating to each other in the distance.
    Yesterday, we shuffled the kids back to school and we went outside, giddy with excitement to be in the field again. Tyler and Mark returned to farm to join us in kicking off the winter season. The four of us made the most of some unseasonably warm temperatures by harvesting colorful salad mix and winter spinach from our hoophouse, washing carrots and beautyheart radishes with relative ease (no frozen fingers!), as well as several other projects around the farm. Courtney returned to deliver this week's shares to sites. We're happy to welcome back familiar faces to the farm team!
    We have plenty of goodies planned for you this winter season. Enjoy week's first share and here's to healthy winter eating!

    Your farmers,

    Jeff, Jen and the farm crew
    Notes from the Farm Kitchen
    Overwintered spinach has thicker and sweeter leaves than spring-planted spinach because it gets planted in October and grows throughout the winter. The deep green color come from the warm, southern winter sunshine it enjoys through the plastic walls of the hoophouse. Because of its thick leaves, it is best used in cooked dishes rather than eaten raw in salads. You may notice it’s a bit more textured and that's a good thing! This means that the spinach won’t cook down as much as late spring or fall spinach. 
    Farm Kitchen Recipes

    Winter Spinach Lasagna - This is one of my go-to lasagna recipes from Mark Bittman because its so flexible. I tend to sprinkle in any leftover vegetables I have still in the fridge from the holidays.
     
    12 to 16 dried or fresh lasagna noodles
    3 to 4 cups good tomato sauce
    2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    3 cups cooked winter spinach, squeezed dry and chopped and/or various chopped, roasted veggies (e.g., carrots, cabbage, celery root, tomatoes, peppers, etc.)
    1 ½ cups ricotta
    1 ½ cups coarsely grated mozzarella
    2 cups grated Parmesan
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
     
    If you're using dried pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. If you're using fresh pasta sheets, cut them into long wide noodles approximately 3 inches by 13 inches, or a size that will fit into your lasagna dish. Cook the noodles (6 at a time for dried noodles) until they are tender but still underdone (they will finish cooking as the lasagna bakes); fresh pasta will take only a minute. Drain and then lay the noodles flat on a towel so they won't stick.
     
    Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a rectangular baking dish with the olive oil, add a large dollop of tomato sauce and spread it around. Put a layer of noodles (use four) in the dish, trimming any overhanging edges; top with a layer of tomato sauce, one-third of the spinach, and one-fourth of the ricotta (use your fingers to spread it evenly), the mozzarella and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
     
    Repeat the layers twice, and top with the remaining noodles, tomato sauce, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan; the top should be covered with cheese; add more ricotta and Parmesan as needed. (The lasagna may be made ahead to this point, wrapped tightly and refrigerated for up to a day or frozen. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.)
     
    Bake until the lasagna is bubbling and the cheese is melted and lightly browned on top, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest a few minutes before serving, or cool completely, cover well, and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze. Serves 6.
    (source: New York Times)

    Beautyheart Radish Butter on Toasted Baguette
    Yields: 4 servings
     
    1 lb Beautyheart radishes, outer skin removed, root ends trimmed
    6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
    Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
    1 baguette, lightly toasted
     
    Grate radishes on the small holes of a box grater; place on paper towels, and squeeze out excess liquid. Combine radishes and butter in a small bowl; mix well.
     
    Slice baguette in half lengthwise and place under broiler in oven; toast until crisp and browned.
     
    Remove from oven, and cool slightly. Spread radish mixture on toasted baguette; season with salt and pepper.
     
    Slice each half into four pieces, and serve.
    Next Share's Harvest (our best guess)...russet potatoes, winter spinach, celery root, frozen produce, and more!

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