By Sarah
Thank you to everyone who came to the pancake breakfast this Saturday! We hiked to the big pond, which was still receiving inflow and spilling over, creating a small waterfall. The cows were grazing in the field below the pond. We then headed through the pasture to grandmother oak. Immediately, the tree was filled with children climbing all over her trunk and branches. From there, it was a race back to the big barn for pancakes, strawberry syrup, and many delicious toppings and sides.
For those who were unable to join this year, we plan on this being an an annual event. We prefer to host our events near a transition point in the year, this one being close to February 1st, the midpoint between the winter equinox and the spring solstice. We are beginning to emerge from winter, the days are lengthening more rapidly, and hopefully, the plant growth begins to speed up.
Our main goal for the event is to come together to celebrate this land and our connections, as well as to have fun and eat good food. As well, we wanted to orient you to more of the farm and to invite you to come hike and explore on your own. Lastly, I meant to pause at the pond and give thanks to the water and our ability to grow vegetables for another season. Instead, I got engulfed in the kid’s joyous energy and curiosity, which was actually an excellent way to show our gratitude.
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 Harvest Moon Potatoes
Cortland Yellow and Monastrell Red Onions
Rhonda Beets
Yaya Carrots (Last week; limited amounts)
Joan Rutabaga
Hablange Parsnips
Mars Celeriac
Purple Top Turnips
Bora King Daikon and Watermelon Radish
Storage #5 Green and Ruby King Red Cabbage
Rosalba, Treviso, and Rubro
Dazzling Blue Kale
Mei Qing Choi
Regiment Spinach
Lettuce Mix
Spaghetti and Butternut Winter Squash, 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!)
Buttermilk Pancakes, from Bette’s Oceanview Diner in Berkeley
(These are the pancakes my mom has made for as long as I can remember. I have a very worn recipe card that I follow.) We rarely use buttermilk, instead do half yogurt and half milk.
2 cups flour (we always use farm flour and love the flavor that it brings!)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
Mix dry ingredients. Whisk liquid ingredients together and add to the dry ingredients. Do not overstir!
Strawberry Syrup
We always freeze any leftover strawberries after a CSA pick up. We eat them all winter in smoothies and in other recipes! I do not have an exact recipe for the syrup. My ratio tends to be heavy on the strawberries but you could always add more syrup if you prefer. Here is about what we made on Saturday:
1 gallon bag frozen strawberries (Defrosted overnight, it became about 6 cups)
1-1.5 cups maple syrup
Put both in a blender and mix well!
