I love to take barefoot walks through the pasture this time of year. The ground is soft and moist with all the rain, the plants are still small and tender. Even though my feet get cold, I enjoy the oozing mud and the water everywhere. I popped up on the small hill beside the tunnels and was excited to see these rock outcroppings that I had forgotten were there. There are often piles of small bones from the owls and hawks on the top of the big rock. The cows also seem to love the rocks, whenever there are some on the pasture they gravitate towards them. If you have time, come out and talk a walk!
The vegetable seed order is in, the flowers will be ordered this week. By now, we spend less time pouring through the seed catalogues looking for new varieties. Mostly we have settled on varieties that we know work well for this land and that we all enjoy. However, we do make small adjustments, out of necessity and to keep it interesting for all of us!
This Week’s Pick List:
Eggs
Takrima Leeks
Matador Shallots, Cortland Yellow, and Monastrell Red Onions
Tetsukabota, Butternut, Gil’s Golden Acorn, Candystick and Zeppelin Delicata, Spaghetti Winter Squash
Winter Luxury and Pie Pita Pumpkins
Yellow Finn, Red, and Harvest Moon Potatoes
Yaya Carrots
Rhonda Beets
Mars Celeriac
Hablange Parsnips
Purple Top Turnips
Bora King Purple Daikon and Watermelon Radish
Kossack Kohlrabi
Ruby King Red, Primo and Murdoc Green Cabbage (Lots!!!!)
Calypso Celery
Joi Choi
Regiment Spinach
Ruby Red Chard
Various chicories!
Tea Blends and Ground and Whole Chiles (Please bring your own containers!)
Saltonstall Olive Oil (Please bring your own jars!)
Revolution Bread (Friday only!)
One Pot Creamy Pasta and Greens, from nytimes.com
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
5 cups whole milk, plus more as needed
1 lb chopped spinach
2 wide lemon peel strips
10 ounces ditalini, orzo or pearl couscous
½ cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened, 2 to 4 minutes.
Add the 5 cups milk, spinach, lemon peel and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until the spinach is softened and the milk is just simmering, 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the pasta and cook, stirring often and vigorously, until the pasta is al dente, 20 to 25 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. If it looks dry at any point, add more milk. The mixture will continue to thicken as it sits, so it’s OK if the sauce looks a little soupy.
Once the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat, discard the lemon peels, and stir in the Parmesan until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with more Parmesan.