| The farm is strangely quite on these frosty November mornings. There isn’t the usual rumble of the farm truck starting up take the chatty crew out to the field. It’s feels extra quite in contrast to the usually vibrant, active, and bustling atmosphere that is the vision of the farm here from April through mid November. Some of our crew members are done for the season and only a fraction of our worker shares continue to work for Fall Shares. Even the birds have flown south and the animals that do stay to accompany us through the winter months have retreated to their private abodes. In the summer I rarely get a moment to myself to think or breathe. But here, now I have what feels and sounds like true silence and a little extra time to take care of non-urgent tasks, and it feels a little lonely. The children bring life to the farm again with their excitement for snow and a clear, new and official feeling change of the seasons. The liveliness is happening inside the packing shed these days. The crew gathers to wash roots and bag for the Fall Shares in the packing shed with a little electric heater running to cozy up the shed. There is music playing, the sounds of the barrel washer spinning and tumbling carrots, and people talking. The work isn’t over yet, just slowing down. There will be days this week and next where the crew will not come. We will dance around the weather and our washing and packing schedules a little. There is still a very small amount of field work left to clean up and the lower greenhouse needs to be cleaned well to prepare it for next Spring’s seeding. For Adam and I, a day off from working with the crew feels like a Holiday. But we’re not lonely here at all. We’re enjoying a visceral unwinding. Eventually, mid November arrives, and the seasons do change. The quite will become comfortable. We will miss our friends on the crew, but many of them will come back again next year and we will have new stories to share then. I, Jillian, am still vending at the Dane County Farmer’s Market in Madison on Saturday mornings. We move indoors this week to the Monona Terrace for their Holiday Markets. If your Fall Shares aren’t enough for you, you can come and get more brussels sprouts from us at Market or to just say “Hi!” On Saturday, Dec 6th, they have their Annual Fair Trade event where there are lots of neat gifts you can buy from around the world in the room next door to the Farmer’s Market. Today, we celebrate Aliza’s Birthday, Exactly 11 years ago on this day we made our last Fall Share ‘delivery’ of the season and then I ‘delivered’ our 2nd child as well that afternoon. I share a special connection with Aliza as she is also a middle child. She has a similar temperament as me and loves to use her body and hands. We even look the most alike of our children. Enjoy your second Fall Share delivery! If you’re signed up for a Thanksgiving Share, you can look for that on Tuesday, (not a Wednesday delivery this time) November 25th. What’s in the Box? Butternut Squash- 2 butternuts per member. Butternut squash prefer a 50-60 degree storage temp. Farmer Adam was worried about how well they might keep in our storage space, so we gave three squash this week. We had more squash going bad in our dry storage room than other years, so we are worrying about it a little more this year. Hopefully your squash from the previous delivery is either eaten up or is storing okay! Oneida Gold Potatoes– 5lbs per member. Oneida Gold potatoes will keep nicely at room temp through January away from direct sunlight. They prefer a cold, dark and moist environment for long term storage. If stored longer than this they will prefer the fridge so they don’t shrivel and start to sprout. The countertop if fine for short-term storage but keep them away from sunlight. Onions- 4lbs per member. Onions also prefer a cooler, darker and dryer storage area away from direct sunlight. They will also keep nicely on your counter through January, but may want to sprout as well if kept longer. The fridge is a good place for long-term storage. Beets- 3lb bag of beets per member. Beets will keep terrifically long in a plastic bag in the fridge. Carrots- 5lbs per member. Carrots will keep for many months in a plastic bag in the fridge. Parsnip- 1lb per member. Parsnips will keep for many months in a plastic bag in the fridge. Leeks- 1 pound bunches per member. While leeks will keep for many months in the fridge they will dry out layer by layer. It is best if these are used up within a few weeks to get maximum use of this rare gem. Brussels Sprouts- 1 stalk per member. We left the work of snapping the sprouts off of the stalk to you. Snap the sprouts off the stalk and store them in a plastic bag in the fridge. Sprouts don’t keep too long so we recommend using them up in the next few weeks. They longer they are stored the more layers you may have to peel off of each sprout. Rutabaga- One rutabaga per member. Stores best in a plastic bag in the fridge. Sweet Potatoes- 3lbs pounds of sweet potatoes per member. Stores best at 50 degree storage. Do not refrigerate! Flat Leaf Parsley- Keeps best in a plastic bag in the fridge. The parsley was looking so good out there, we just had to share it with you! Diakon Radish- 1.5lbs per member! Diakons are a delicious addition to salads, kim chi, or cut into veggie sticks and eat with hummus. Recipes Brussels Sprouts and Wild Rice Casserole |
Wild Rice Pilaf (without the cheese)
Beet Salad with Feta and Walnuts
