The Winter Produce Share Harvest: Fresh Winter Spinach Golden Potatoes - Igl Farms, Antigo, Wi Scarlet Turnips Carrots Red Beets Honeycrisp Apples - Mick Klug Farm, St. Joseph, MI Frozen Colorful Bell Peppers  Frozen Broccoli  Frozen Basil (cubes)

Farm Journal

Good evening from your farm!

As usual, we farmers use the winter to recharge after an intense growing season. This winter is no different in that regard, as you can tell from our puzzle progress!

As our ramp up toward spring begins, we enjoy spending time with longtime crew members, Tyler and Arlet, who farm with us year-round. Tyler joins us for his 17th growing season at the Prairie Crossing Farm and Arlet for her 5th growing season. They are both a part of the fabric of this place, in that they truly understand the soils, the community, our farm business, and us.

We're also spending time with our newest feline addition, our kitten Linus. If you were a fall share member, you may recall that we adopted two tiny kittens from a farmer friend in Chicago to serve as our "mouse patrol" in our greenhouse (story here).

Very long stories short: unfortunately, shortly after moving to the farm, little Lucy (on left) became quite sick and lost her battle with kidney failure. We were very sad to lose her, but Linus missed his sister even more.

He needed company to be happy, so we moved him into our house where he met our resident rescue farm cat, Kit Kat. These two have quickly become best friends.

Later this month, we'll spend time alongside six beginning farmers as we all fire up the greenhouses, start putting the first of our seeds into the soil and continue hiring our farm crews for the start of the upcoming season.

Soon enough, the ice will melt and the farm will be buzzing with farming activities! Until then, we take a few more winter hikes, finish another puzzle, snuggle with the cats, and enjoy sharing the winter harvest with you. Warmly, Jeff, Jen and the Prairie Wind Farm Team (and Linus and Kit Kat, of course!)

Notes from the Farm Kitchen

The Klugs invested in a controlled atmosphere (CA) room this past season to better store their apples for cider making. They discovered that many of their honeycrisp apples were too lovely to be pressed, so we decided to share them with you. Surprise! You may find a few small bruises, but you can simply cut them off to enjoy these sweet treats. Honeycrisp apples (pictured on the right) are excellent for slicing and for making warm applesauce, and frozen berries will return for the next winter share.

This week's share contains scarlet turnips that have a mild radish flavor and a delicate sweetness that can be played up in dishes that call for apples, apple juice or honey. You can leave the skin on for a beautiful addition to roasted root vegetable combinations, or use a mandoline to slice into thin medallions and combine with other root veggies for a roasted vegetable gratin.

Seasonal Recipes in the Farm Kitchen Homemade Root Vegetable Chips Simple, Slow Cooker Honeycrisp Applesauce Roasted Root Vegetable Latkes Roasted Frozen Broccoli and Peppers - add peppers to this simple preparation! Vegetarian Beet Ruebens

• Tags: Apples, Beets, Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Carrots, Turnips

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