Hi everyone! Now that the winter is wrapping up, we’ll be working on our site a bit. You’ll notice some changes this week and next–bear with us as we work to get all of our content reorganized and updated.
Thanks for a wonderful winter season! Come visit us at Arlington EcoFest on Saturday, March 24th. Stay tuned for details!
New England is turning more grey and brown, typical of November. Our rainbow palette of fresh food will surely brighten the day, though. Giving thanks to the hard work of all the farms this year–it’s been an amazing harvest!
The hyperlinks on the vegetable names take you to a lot of recipes and information about those vegetables. If you’ve never had popcorn from the farm, please check out the tips at the end of this post and Enjoy!
Use these within a week or so (or blanch or make a dish for freezing):
Brussels Sprouts, bag from Riverland ( roast, steam, braise, or blanch for the freezer),
Spinach from Picadilly (or blanche and freeze, or make pesto and store for weeks in fridge)
Arugula from Picadilly (or make pesto and store for weeks in the fridge)
Kale “curly” Winterbor—2 bunches, from Riverland—great in soups, grated and marinated for a salad, or kale chips!
These will keep for a couple of weeks in your fridge crisper drawer:
Leeks—keep whole or chop for soup and freeze (no need to blanch) from Picadilly
These will keep for many weeks in cold storage (keep moist in bag, with some ventilation):
Apples–storage varieties, 5#, from Cider Hill. All apples today will store well, except for Empire which is good now, but should be used on the sooner side (won’t stay as crisp for as long as others). Most sources recommend storing apples separately from other cold storage items as they have a ripening agent which may hasten other items past their prime.
Carrots – 6#, from Riverland
Cabbage (red or green), from Riverland and Picadilly— sauerkraut or kimchi ideally is made asap
Potatoes – 8#, white from Picadilly
These will keep for many weeks in cool, dry conditions (40-55 degrees), like a shelf in your basement or unheated room as long as it doesn’t freeze; store in paper bags:
Garlic ½ #(can also be stored in a tightly closed jar in the refrigerator), from Riverland
Onions, yellow, 2#, from Harlow Farm in VT
These will keep for a several weeks in your kitchen or in a cool dry cellar:
Winter Squash, 3 pieces, from Picadilly. good idea to inspect these periodically and use (or peel and freeze) blemished ones.
These will keep for months at 50-70 degrees—NOT COLD STORAGE:
Sweet potatoes 4#’s, from Riverland
Popcorn Cellar, cool, damp, or room temperature if using within a couple of months
Once a week, shell a few kernels and try popping them. When the test kernels are popping well and tasting good, shell and store the rest of the kernels in sealed, airtight containers. If stored popcorn fails to pop, it may be too dry. Add 1 tablespoon of water to a quart of popcorn. Cover and shake at frequent intervals until the popcorn has absorbed the water. After 3 or 4 days, test pop a few kernels to see if it is ready. A number of winter shareholders have had good luck putting the cob of popcorn directly into a microwave.
Share contents for Saturday, October 21, 2017
Also check out Jackie Starr’s menu suggestions and recipe links on our website!
Use these within a week or so (or blanche or make a dish for freezing):
Lettuce-1 head, from Riverland
Spinach, from Picadilly
Mixed greens– a bunch or bag, from Riverland (great braised or sauted!)
Kale—2 bunches, from Riverland—soups, grated and marinated for a salad, or chips
Red Italia Peppers-1# Picadilly
Herb bunch, from Picadilly
These will keep for a couple of weeks cold in your fridge crisper drawer:
Brussels Sprouts, pop off the stalk from Riverland
Leeks (2 bunches)—keep whole or chop for soup and freeze (no need to blanche)
Salad (Hakurei) turnips – a bunch (cut off the greens and use them first)
Napa Cabbage—ideally wrap in a wet towel to keep extra moist
These will keep for many weeks in cold storage (keep moist in bag, with some ventilation, back of fridge or cold cellar or garage, 33-45 degrees, humid) Carrots – 5#, from Riverland Potatoes – 5#, white from Picadilly Beets – 3#, from Picadilly Celeriac— from Picadilly, peel and slice or grate as an excellent salad or stirfry ingredient, steam and mash like potatoes, Cabbage from Riverland—(if you are making sauerkraut or kimchi, do that asap)
These will keep for many weeks in cool, dry conditions (40-55 degrees), like a shelf in your basement or unheated room as long as it doesn’t freeze; store in paper bags: Garlic ½ #(can also be stored in a tightly closed jar in the refrigerator), from Picadilly Onions, yellow, 2#, from Riverland
These will keep for a few weeks in your kitchen or in a cool dry cellar:
Acorn/Carnival Squash, 3 pieces, from Picadilly
These will keep for months at 50-70 degrees, in paper bags or box
—NOT COLD STORAGE:
Sweet potatoes 4#’s, from Riverland
Those of us not in the path of direct damage to our homes and towns, and too far away to serve as immediate refuge, still dry and warm here in the sun…we certainly recognize our good fortune on this particular day. But we can also already adopt wide angle vision, consider cause and effect, and ponder or investigate how our own region might react, and invest in ways to prepare now to prevent damage and rebound from a future storm like Harvey or Irma.
Peach trees at Smolak Farms. (WBZ-TV)
This year my family was invited to “rescue” our friend’s two peach trees from too much fruit! (Though the 2016 flower buds froze, the roots, branches, and leaves were largely unharmed.) The trees bounced back, certainly. What about the orchards?
2017 FARM SHARE FAIR!
Wednesday March 29th @ 5:30-8:30PM
The Armory
191 Highland Ave, Somerville
free and open to the public
proceeds to benefit the Urban Farming Institute
more info at www.farmsharefair.com
get connected on facebook and twitter!
I’ll be there along with Bruce Wooster–stop by for a chat! Bring your checkbook to sign up for shares, and/or browse– oyster shares, Dean’s Beans coffees, Soluna Garden farm herbs and teas, etc.
Signup for Shared Harvest 2017-18 is open now for Arlington/Winchester and Jamaica Plain, and includes a discounted share price (through May 15) on whichever months you sign up for.
Info for Summer Shares is also on our website; signup through these individual farms.
Rutebagas usually have a purplish shade on top with a creamy golden interior
Gilfeather turnips are sweet, creamy, and white on the inside
Rutebagas usually have a purplish shade on top with a creamy golden interior
Gilfeather turnips are sweet, creamy, and white on the inside
Immune boosting Reishi Mushroom extract from Fungi Ally
Thanks to Wright-Locke Farm for hosting this week’s share pickup! With forecast saying below freezing temps all day today, we–and the veggies–will be much better with more shelter and the cozy wood stove at the farm.
Wright-Locke Farm is a beautifully maintained historic farmstead and working community farm, adjacent to conservation area trails (also good for XC skiing when there is enough snow) and skating pond. This publicly owned farm and conservation area is a beautiful place to explore in all seasons. A trail map and more information can be found on the farm sign by the road and inside the stand.
During the share pickup, if you do choose to stay a while, please move your car to the soccer field parking lot across the way or park on an adjacent neighborhood street to make room near the farm stand for pickups.
Have you ever seen Brussels Sprouts harvested (or grown them yourself)? For Brussels Sprouts fans, November is a great time of year!
There are 2 stalks from Riverland Farm in each of the shares this week.
Brussels Sprouts at Riverland, stripped of their large leaves, waiting to be cut for the shares.
For those who think they don’t like these little “mini cabbage” greens (like my little brother who used to drown them in applesauce to get them down), fresh Sprouts from the farm in November are definitely worth checking out, esp. roasted with garlic, olive oil, and salt!
In the unlikely event that you have more than you can eat in the next week, Sprouts can be blanched in boiling water for 3 or 4 minutes, or steamed briefly, then frozen for later use in soups, pies, etc.
A rainbow of color in the share again this month!
From Cider Hill Farm: Apples–in the midst of some varieties that store well, the gold and red ones are galas, which are sweet and crispy now but should be eaten soon (Gala is not a storage variety.)
From Picadilly and Riverland Farms: Brussels Sprouts, Red Cabbage, Carrots, Garlic, Leeks, Red Russian Kale, green Curly Kale, red Lettuce, Popcorn, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Squash (butternut), Turnips (Gilfeather), Onions, Potatoes
It’s
Drenching rains may be starting to melt away the hard memories of this summer. With way too many days of challenging irrigation work, steadily learning ever more nimbleness with best laid planting plans, and now persevering through the still demanding “catch-up” workload, our farms have once again yielded a harvest cornucopia as vibrant and colorful as the marvelous foliage that graces our rural mountainsides. Those colors and the gratitude that has come with the return of the rain will surely brighten the outlook (and also what may be a moist., cloudy morning share pickup tomorrow!)–onward to the kitchen with deep gratitude and a rainbow of inspiration!
sweet potatoes ready for harvest, Picadilly Farm
Find a great plan for 3 weeks of deliciously using your October share in Jackie Starr’s October Menu (Jackie put this together for last October, 2015, with a similar list of share contents). Examples of recipes include escarole with white beans, lemon, and parsley, Mexican roasted beet salad, with poblano chili and lime, and Sweet potato and quinoa burgers, with leftover beet salad, With links to recipes for each item, she plots out a nice flow for using the most perishable items first and making and using a pot of stew or roasted veggie dish creatively in several different meals over the weeks. It is a really delicious looking menu, conscientiously made to inspire and be practical. She’s a working mom of 2 kids (at least), so she knows about busy, picky eaters and the helpfulness of a well-thought out week’s menu!
Here are some storage and use hints for this months share contents. There is also much more info under the Storage tips and Recipes Menu
Beets Refrigerator or cold cellar in plastic bag with holes
Carrots Refrigerator or cold cellar, in plastic bag or buried in leaves. Keep dark.
Store in a plastic bag in the back of the refrigerator. Carrots will keep for months this way. After being stored a long time there may be a white root substance on the carrot. Not to worry. Just peal it off. As long as the carrots are bright orange underneath they will taste wonderful. Organic carrots actually gain sweetness when stored.
Carrots and other roots can do quite well also at 33-50 degrees buried in moist leaves or sand (you’ll need to periodically re-moisten the leaves or sand with a watering can.)
Cabbage Refrigerator or cool cellar, or Fermented
Store cabbage in a plastic bag. When you take it out some of the outside leaves may look mildewed but not to worry. Simply strip off the outside leaves and the inside is as good as new. Cabbage will keep this way in the back of the fridge often for three months.
Kale Refrigerator, Freezer, Dehydrated, or Fermented. Kale made into chips (dry pieces in a low temp oven coated lightly with olive oil and salt) gets eaten pretty quickly but leftovers will store several days at room temps in an airtight container. See more info under other leafy greens, too.
Salad greens, Lettuce, Napa Cabbage, Escarole, Collard Greens, other leafy greens, Cauliflower Refrigerator, Freezer, Dehydrated, or Fermented.
These are not long keepers. Best to eat them within two weeks of the delivery. Immerse in cold water, wrap in a cloth dish towel, and place in your fridge. Or, for non-lettuce type greens, remove stems and slice or tear and blanch and freeze. Or, ferment as per directions at the fermentation… link under storage tips menu.
Escarole looks a bit like lettuce but has more succulent and prominent stems, is more nutty flavored than lettuce and good in salads or soups.
Fennel: Refrigerator drawer or other cold, moist storage. Fennel bulbs will last a few weeks if kept cold and moist. (The bulbs are easier to store if you remove the stem and fronds and use those in fine slices for more of an herb type flavor addition to a cooked stew or garnishing a salad.)
Acorn Squash (or other Winter squash other than Delicata) moderate indoor temps, dry pantry Keep in single layers in a cardboard or seedling tray in your kitchen, pantry, or moderately cool basement area. Inspect regularly for blemished pieces and use those first. If you have a lot that needs using right away, consider peeling, seeding, steaming and pureeing or cut in chunks for the freezer for later use. Butternut is among the best for long term storage and makes excellent soups and purees to freeze for soups or pies later.
Garlic Cellar, cool and damp
Store in paper bags or open box. Likes to be stored at temps between 33 and 40 degrees. A closed jar in the refrigerator can work as well.
Leeks Refrigerator or cool cellar, or Freezer
Remove any yellowing leaves, store in a plastic bag or crisper drawer in fridge. Or chop to desired cooking size and freeze.
Potatoes Cellar, cool, damp corner
Potatoes will usually store 2-3 months. Potatoes like to be stored at 45 degrees with high humidity. If possible store on flat trays. The benefit is the avoidance of the “bad apple” syndrome, and one can inspect all the potatoes as you use them up permitting you to take ones that are beginning to sprout. A soft potato usually means that it is rotten, but cut it up to make sure. Plastic bags are not recommended for storing potatoes.
Sweet potatoes Moderate indoor temperature Unheated Entrance, Attic Space or Unheated Spare Room in paper bag or tray
“Sweeties” store best on trays or in paper bags at temps between 55 and 65 and relative humidity around 60-70%. They can do well in these conditions for many months. Plastic bags are not recommended for storing sweeties.
