By Kelsey
This just in! Plants and animals don't really care what day it is. They need to be fed and watered and tended to, regardless of our "schedules" and "weekends" and "labor laws." There's been a lot of talk on the farm lately about how to make our work feel more sustainable, how many hours of work per day is ideal, the benefits and consequences of a 40-hr work week for agriculture workers, etc. Its a lot to mull over-- how do we make farming, an endeavor that ultimately is on Nature's schedule, fit with our modern lifestyles, which require us to earn a wage and exist within an industrial structure?
Thankfully, I wasn't thinking about any of that stuff while I was doing farm chores on Sunday. I was sitting on the wagon piled with hay, while my good friend Jesse drove the tractor through the mud. I was smelling cow manure, fresh damp grass, and diesel. We drove straight into the herd and the cows trotted over to us, and tried to sneak in a few bites before the baling twine was even cut, just a couple feet away from where I sat. I was seeing green hills, gray clouds broken up by sun beams that made me squint, red-tail hawks soaring. I was thinking, "this is awesome. I could do this everyday."
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: The list is light this week as we continue to allow the plants in the tunnels to grow. We think we will be able to offer lettuce mix, spinach, and pac choy next week. We have eaten through some of the winter storage crops as well: leeks and kohlrabi, plus some varieties of onions and winter squash. The leeks and kohlrabi were definitely affected by the early cold weather in November. We have plenty of storage onions and spaghetti squash to eat through!
Eggs
Red Norland, Yellow Finn, and Harvest Moon Potatoes
Cortland Yellow and Monastrell Red Onions
Leeks (last week, may be limited!)
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
Castelfranco, Rosalba, and Sugarloaf
Ruby Red Chard
Dazzling Blue Kale
Spaghetti, Butternut, 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!)
Greens Pasta, from nytimes.com
1pound rigatoni, penne rigate, penne or ziti
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced (about 2 packed cups)
5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 cup pasta water
½ cup heavy cream (optional)
8 to 10 ounces chopped chard, kale, or other cooking greens
1 juicy lemon, zested then halved
Parmesan, for serving
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt and cook the pasta until al dente, then drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of water for the sauce.
Place a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium heat and add the butter. Once melted and bubbling, add onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring and pressing often with a spatula or wooden spoon to help them cook down faster, until very soft, translucent and almost jammy with golden brown edges, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and mustard and cook until very fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes.
Turn the heat up to high, add ¾ cup pasta water and the heavy cream (if using) and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer, then in small handfuls, add the greens, stirring until wilted and tender. Stir in the pasta. Turn off the heat, add the lemon zest and juice the lemon halves over the top; stir again. Add the remaining ¼ cup pasta water if more sauciness is desired.
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Serve immediately, with more pepper and salt to taste.
