Last Share of the Winter Season
CSA Pick-Up Dec 15
We made it through the week-long storm with flickering lights but no prolonged outage–we seem to be on the lucky side of Worcester this time around, as friends across the valley were out of power for days. We hope you have all weathered the storm and have warm, light-filled homes as we start a new week!
It’s a bittersweet time of year when we end our Winter CSA. We’ve loved getting to know all of you and seeing you each week at pick-up, and we will really miss the many conversations and your smiling faces! We are so thankful to all of you for choosing our CSA this year, and for trusting us with the job of growing your food. It is one we do with great joy and respect for the land and for the eater.
As solstice creeps nearer, we are also looking forward to the inward quiet this time of year offers. Of course, we are already looking ahead to next summer, planning our crops and getting our seed order together! Despite the seasonality of the physical work of the farm, we never really stop completely.
If you’re thinking of next summer, too, you can save on your CSA share when you sign up by Dec. 31. To learn more about our summer share, visit our CSA page, where you can also sign up and pay with paypal or credit card.
Thanks for being a part of our farm this season. We wish a happy and healthy winter.
~Katie and Edge
This week on the menu: Onions, Garlic, Potatoes, Carrots, Pie Pumpkins/Winter Squash, Turnips
Farm Fresh Meat: Chicken on sale for $5.50/lb, lamb sausage (hot and sweet italian) and stew meat, leaf lard
Year-End Giving to the VT Farm Share Program
As you know, our farm mission is to grow healthy, whole foods and to make them available to people of all income levels, increasing the accessibility of local food to low-income Vermonters.
A big way we do this is by partnering with the NOFA Vermont Farm Share Program. For every dollar Good Heart Farmstead raises, NOFA-VT will match us, and the result allows us to offer CSA shares at 50% off to income-eligible Vermonters. Through this program, we were able to subsidize 7 shares in the summer and 7 shares in the winter . With your help, we can do more! Consider making a tax-deductible year-end donation to the Farm Share Program and help feed your neighbors in need. To designate your donation to our farm, write Good Heart Farmstead in the memo of the check or in the “Farm Share Designation” box on NOFA’s website. Thank you!
How to Store Winter Veggies
Carrots, turnips, and similar roots can be stored in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Potatoes prefer a drier environment than the fridge, and can be stored in the garage, basement, or cool closet. Store them in a cardboard or wooden box, and keep them dark. Ideal temperature is between 38-42 degrees.
Onions and garlic can be stored in your pantry for short-term storage, but will keep longer in a cold, dry spot like your garage.
Pumpkins and Winter Squash are happy at 50 degrees with low humidity, and are fine on your kitchen counter for short-term storage. You can also cook/puree them and store them in the freezer.
Even in ideal storage conditions, you will have to go through them each week to cull out roots that are getting soft or sprouting. You can still eat roots that are getting soft, but once they get soft and sprout, they’re probably better for the compost.
Recipe: Potato Gnocchi
This is next on my to-cook list! This recipe is from Food&Wine. You can make it even more sumptious with a pumpkin-and-lamb-sausage sauce–yum!
2 pounds baking potatoes (about 4)
2 large egg yolks
Salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1.Preheat the oven to 400°. Pierce the potatoes all over with a fork. Bake in a microwave oven at high power for 10 minutes, then flip the potatoes and microwave for 5 minutes longer. Transfer the potatoes to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Alternatively, bake the potatoes in the oven for about 1 hour, until tender.
2.Halve the potatoes. Scoop the flesh into a ricer and rice the potatoes. Transfer 2 slightly packed cups of riced potatoes to a bowl. Stir in the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the 1/2 cup of flour; stir until a stiff dough forms. Knead the dough gently until smooth but slightly sticky.
3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and dust with flour. On a floured surface, cut the dough into 4 pieces, rolling each into a 3/4-inch-thick rope. Cut the ropes into 3/4-inch pieces. Roll each piece against the tines of a fork to make ridges; transfer to the baking sheet.
In a large, deep skillet of simmering salted water, cook the gnocchi until they rise to the surface, then simmer for 2 minutes longer. In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter. Using a slotted spoon, add the gnocchi to the butter. Season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve.
MAKE AHEAD
The uncooked gnocchi pieces can be frozen on the prepared baking sheet, then transferred to a resealable plastic bag and frozen for up to 1 month. Boil without defrosting.