It certainly has been a cooler and, thankfully, wet winter so far. The freezing nights came early in November and have remained fairly constant, except for during the storms. I usually think of the window between Seth’s birthday, November 22nd, and Oliver’s birth, January 22nd, as our coldest days. These dates roughly correspond to our Persephone days, when we have less than 10 hours of sunlight and plant growth essentially stops. I have noticed that if we have warm temperatures during this window, we can still have decent plant growth. This year the cold temperature have definitely affected plant growth. Some crops, such as the leeks, did not size up as much in November as they usually do. The grass and the tunnels crops have been inching along. While this slowness has brought some hiccups (less produce for all of us and more hay being fed to the cows), I have been thinking about how the soil has truly received a winter rest and hopefully recharge, which has not happened as much in the last few years.
CSA barn hours:
Winter: 2:30-6 pm (starts 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 Norland, Yellow Finn, and La Ratte Fingerling Potatoes
Shallots, Cortland Yellow and Monastrell Red Onions
Leeks
Rhonda Beets
Yaya Carrots
Joan Rutabaga
Hablange Parsnips
Mars Celeriac
Purple Top Turnips
Bora King Daikon and Watermelon Radish
Deadon Savoy Cabbage and Ruby King Red Cabbage
Kossack Kohlrabi
Castelfranco, Rosalba, and Sugarloaf
Ruby Red Chard
Dazzling Blue Kale
Esmee Arugula
Cilantro
Spaghetti, Butternut, Tuffy Acorn, Tetsukabota Winter Squash, and Pie-Pita Pumpkin
Sonora wheat flour and wheat berries
Herbal Tea Blends, Ground Chiles, and Whole Dried Chile peppers (Please bring your own jars!)
Pick your own flowers and herbs
Saltonstall Olive Oil (Please bring your own jars!)
Arroz Blanco con Mantequilla, from Rick Martinez on food52.com
4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter
1/2 medium onion (154 grams), chopped
2 medium carrots (175 grams), finely chopped
1 medium chile poblano (125 grams), stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (frozen poblano or numex green chiles would be excellent or you could use chile powder)
1 cup (164 grams) corn kernels
1 garlic clove, finely grated
2 teaspoons (16 grams) kosher salt
2 cups (200 grams) long-grain white rice
3 cups homemade chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, carrots, chile poblano, corn, garlic, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and just beginning to brown, for 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the rice, stir to coat in the butter, and cook until the rice is opaque, for 4 minutes. Add the stock, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook undisturbed for 20 minutes. Quickly check to see if all of the liquid has been absorbed; if not, continue to cook and check again in 10 minutes. If the liquid has been absorbed, remove the pot from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork to separate the grains and serving.