By Geena
I have been knitting every week as fall transitions into winter. Last winter was the first time I had picked up the practice in several years, and I have been doing it religiously ever since. I find that it is a great way to spend free time on cold rainy days, and is also a craft that values community as a tradition.
Knitting originated in Egypt between 500 and 1200 A.D. In the latter half of the 1st century, Scandinavians also began to show evidence of knitting. The Arabs then introduced knitting to Spain, and it became a popular practice in the Catholic church.
From the 14th century onward knitting spread across Europe as a practice, and knitting guilds were established in order to refine the art. With time, different patterns began to pop up, and different regions took a liking to different styles of knitting and different knitted objects. In 1589 the first knitting machine was invented, and soon after that machine knitting became popularized in tandem with the industrial revolution.
In the 1920s knitwear became a staple of European fashion. It was still cheaper to knit your own garments than to purchase them. In the 1950s, however, knitting machines became so commonplace that hand knitting evolved into more of a hobby than a necessity.
I recently purchased a Selbu pattern knitting book that acts as a guide for making Norwegian designs. I am intimidated by this style of knitting, but my goal is to make sweaters using these traditional patterns. I recently had a cold which allowed me to sit in bed and finish a few projects I have been working on, and I included some pictures of my projects below :) I encourage all of you to give it a go if you haven’t yet!
CSA barn hours:
Winter: 2:30-6 pm (starts THIS WEEK, always the week after daylight savings in November)
Summer: 2:30-6:30 pm (starts the week after daylight savings in March)
Pick List:
Eggs
Red Gold, Yellow Finn, and La Ratte Fingerling Potatoes
Ailsa Sweet, Cipollini, and Monastrell Red Onions
Leeks
Parade Scallions
Rhonda Beets
Yaya Carrots
Joan Rutabaga
Purple Top Turnips
Calypso Celery
Primo and Caraflex Green Cabbage, Ruby King Red Cabbage
Kossack Kohlrabi
Song Cauliflower
Hot Peppers
Sweet Peppers
Green Tomatoes
Russian Kale
Champion Collards
Ruby Red Chard
Bopak Pac Choy
Regiment Spinach
Escarole, Radicchio, Sugarloaf, and Chioggia
Lettuce
Cilantro
Spaghetti, Butternut, Candystick and Zeppelin Delicata, Tuffy and Gil’s Golden Acorn, Tetsukabota Winter Squash and Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin
Sonora wheat flour and wheat berries
Pick your own flowers and herbs
Revolution Bread (Friday only)
Saltonstall Olive Oil (Please bring your own jars!)
Confit Leeks With Lentils, Lemon and Cream, from nytimes.com
5 medium leeks (about 2½ pounds/1 kilogram), trimmed and washed, white and light greens cut into 2-centimeter-thick rounds (about 6 cups/620 grams)
10 garlic cloves, peeled
10 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and black pepper
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons/200 milliliters extra-virgin olive oil
¾ cup/150 grams dried French (Le Puy) lentils, washed
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon/100 milliliters heavy cream (double cream)
2¼ teaspoons Dijon mustard
5 tablespoons/75 milliliters fresh lemon juice (from 2 medium lemons)
3 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley leaves
3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill leaves
3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh tarragon leaves
Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/350 degrees Fahrenheit.
If necessary, soak and carefully rinse the leek rounds in a large bowl of water to get rid of any excess grit. Drain, then cautiously pat dry, keeping the rounds intact.
Add the leeks, garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper to a 12-by-8-inch/30-by-20-centimeter baking dish. Mix gently to combine, then pour the oil on top. Arrange the leeks cut-side up, then cover tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove the baking dish from the oven and gently turn the leeks using two forks. Cover again with foil and return to the oven to bake until completely softened, about 35 minutes more. Turn the oven temperature up to 200 degrees Celsius/400 degrees Fahrenheit.
As the leeks bake, fill a medium saucepan about two-thirds of the way with water and bring to a boil over high. Add the lentils and cook until just tender but not at all mushy, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
When ready, remove the confit leeks from the oven and transfer a heaping ½ cup/100 grams of the cooked leeks plus 5 of the garlic cloves to a bowl for the leek cream. Add the cooked lentils to the remaining leeks in the baking dish along with ¼ teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper; mix gently to combine. Cover again with the foil and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and leave to settle for 10 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs.
While the lentils bake with the leeks, make the cream: Add reserved leeks and garlic to a food processor along with the heavy cream, mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ⅛ teaspoon of salt; blitz until smooth.
When ready, stir the remaining 4 tablespoons lemon juice and the chopped herbs into the lentil and leek mixture. Transfer to a rimmed platter and serve with the leek cream in a bowl alongside.
