In anticipation of rain, we are sowing cover crop, cleaning up fields, and pausing what little irrigation we have left. Everything feels expectant. The grass is beginning to show through the thatch, and herons and egrets are stalking the fields. Every day the hills look a little greener, and we look to the forecast, hoping for a good storm.
This week we started winter hours – shorter days, and for a few of us, shorter weeks as well. The extra half hour of time in the morning and evening feel so luxurious! Unlike many of my coworkers, I love waking up in the dark in the winter. It feels secretive and satisfying to wrap myself in a blanket, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, and read or cross something off my to-do list. It’s when my mind feels the clearest.
There is a poem I’ve been wanting to share, by Wendell Berry, called The Peace of Wild Things. Many of us on the farm find comfort in the work we do when the happenings of the world feel huge and horrible and overwhelming. I often check the news over breakfast, and to go to work and have my hands in the ground all day, my mind occupied by growing, living things, is the most heartening thing I could possibly ask for.
The Peace of Wild Things
By Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
I hope you all had a restful holiday!
Alyssa
Pick List:
Eggs
Red Gold, Yellow Finn, and La Ratte Fingerling Potatoes
Ailsa Sweet, Cipollini, Shallots, and Monastrell Red Onions
Leeks
Rhonda Beets
Yaya Carrots
Joan Rutabaga
Hablange Parsnips
Mars Celeriac
Purple Top Turnips
Bora King Daikon and Watermelon Radish
Calypso Celery
Song Cauliflower and/or Gypsy Broccoli
Primo and Caraflex Green Cabbage, Ruby King Red Cabbage
Brussel Sprouts
Kossack Kohlrabi
Russian Kale
Ruby Red Chard
Prize Choy
Escarole, Radicchio, and Sugarloaf
Lettuce
Regiment Spinach
Esmee arugula
Spaghetti, Butternut, Candystick Delicata, Tuffy and Gil’s Golden Acorn, Tetsukabota Winter Squash, and Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin
Sonora wheat flour and wheat berries
Herbal Tea Blends and Whole Dried Chile peppers (Please bring your own jars!)
Pick your own flowers and herbs
Saltonstall Olive Oil (Please bring your own jars!)
One-Pot Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, from food52.com
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups (about 1 pound) peeled and seeded butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (from about 3 sprigs)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves (from about 12 leaves)
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups warm water, plus more as needed
1 1/2 cups (1 12-ounce can) full-fat evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 pound dried pasta, such as medium-sized shells or elbow macaroni
12 ounces sharp white cheddar, grated (about 3 cups)
2 ounces Parmesan, grated (about ⅔ cup), plus more for serving
Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the squash and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until tender enough to smash with a spatula without much resistance and beginning to brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Add the rosemary, sage, and garlic and cook, stirring often, just until the garlic is aromatic and no longer raw, about 1 minute.
Increase the heat to high and add the warm water, evaporated milk, 1½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and add the pasta. (The pasta won’t be completely covered by the liquid.) Boil over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente and about two-thirds of the liquid has evaporated, 12 to 14 minutes. If at any point the liquid evaporates before the pasta is tender, add additional warm water (1/2 cup at a time) and continue cooking.
Remove the pot from the heat and add both cheeses. Stir until the cheese is completely melted and has emulsified into a creamy sauce. Let the pasta sit for 10 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, adjust the consistency by adding additional warm water 1/4 cup at a time.
Season to taste with additional salt and pepper and serve immediately with more back pepper and parmesan, if desired.