P i c k l i s t
BROCCOLINI - HAKURAI TURNIPS - LETTUCE - CELERY - FINGERLING POTATOES - CARROTS - COLLARD GREENS - WINTER SQUASH - SAGE - CAULIFLOWER - HEIRLOOM TOMATOES
bread of the week! corn bread poblano
If Edgewater is new to you, I'd like to introduce you to Pooh Sprague. He and Anne started this farm 50 years ago. Today Pooh is often found napping in between tractor work (often on the tractor he was just driving). He also keeps a seasonally updated blog- A place for him to fill us all in about farming during a climate crisis, farming with family, and his real passion cover cropping. The following is from his just updated early November blog which you can also find here:
“It's early November this morning and the temperature is 23 degrees. Muzzle loading season has started , daylight savings time slapped me and all of this is a shocking surprise to me. I have never experienced such a temperate, blue sky type of fall like this in my 73 years. Working in light work clothing during warm days and not running the wood stove at night...we clearly were not paying attention to the passage of time because we were able to get a pile of farm work done, in comfort. Of course, the illusion of “getting caught up” is indeed only an illusion, but it feels really good to be marshalling at this time of year in relative meteorological comfort.
In past blogs I have often rattled on about weather and climate related issues. This fall has certainly been the upside to climate change. But it is interesting to note that If we had this period of abnormally pleasant and dry weather in the middle of the summer growing season we would be in big trouble. A drought exists now, a very serious one. No open fires or burning is allowed. The brooks are almost dried up, and the groundwater levels in the woods have to be very low. Again we are able to wade the Connecticut River to the Vermont shore in many places along River Road (although it’s a tad chilly in the water for me to lead you across myself...) And the reason that the effects of prolonged weather such as this is not more damaging to the flora in the fields, woods and gardens is because the days are much shorter, sun is a lot weaker and we get just enough moisture from morning fog to maintain what plants are left in those fields and woodlands. So climate change is still very much on the table, and with it comes the down side. We can strategize how to deal with it, and we have a couple of seasons-(fall and winter)- where we do not have to deal with any adverse effects when trying to grow outdoor crops. Were we to have the same weather pattern we have experienced the last two months (warmer than normal-drought ) in May and June we would be hard pressed to grow vegetable crops, even with irrigation. Longer days of hotter than normal heat and no rain for two months would erase half of our efforts to get anything to grow. Seeds would not germinate, transplants would likely wither.
We have seen extreme weather on the news and social media, devastating areas of Florida and North Carolina with recent hurricanes. In the northwest large forest fires are just beginning to die down. And we seem to get more smoke days here as the years progress. So climate change will continue to be the average of extremes, as we are told it would be. We will have to assume we will be confronted by those extremes most years. In the meantime, I am going to take pleasure in the warmer than normal days, lack of early ice and snow and cold temperatures that I so frequently grew up with this time of year as a kid. Sunny blue skies, a few late season bike rides and no real reason to run the woodstove 24-7...what’s not to like?”
FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS:
Ripe for the grill/oven: CAULIFLOWER! HAKURAI TURNIPS! WINTER SQUASH - POTATOES - CARROTS
GREENS THIS WEEK: lettuce - collard greens - hakurai tops (if you dare)
Sage: Pairs perfectly with potatoes and roasted winter squash, BUT in case you need a little something extra this week to get you through, how about a sage negroni
Sage Negroni Makes 1 cocktail, recipe by Eden Grinshpan
1 oz gin
1 oz Campari
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz Sage Simple Syrup
Garnish with burnt sage leaf and orange peel
sage simple syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 handful of fresh sage
directions
Start with the sage simple syrup. Pour 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water and a handful of fresh sage into a pot and boil a couple minutes until the sugar dissolves. Once all sugar is dissolved, take off of the heat and set aside. Pour into a glass jar and put in the fridge to cool.
In a tall glass, fill with ice and then pour in the equal parts gin and Campari, add in the 1/2 ounce of sweet vermouth and the sage simple syrup. Stir to combine and pour into your cocktail glass with ice. Peel an orange rind, squeeze to release all the oils and rim the glass. light sage leaf to give it a little smokiness and garnish.
1 head of cauliflower – please keep the stems and leaves on, they get delicious when crispy and golden
½ cup olive oil
coarse sea salt to taste (you can also use kosher salt)
tahini sauce – recipe follows
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
¼ cup pomegranate seeds- optional for when in season
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
1. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F
2. Fill a large pot with 10 cups of water and bring to a boil. Place the cauliflower in, cover and let cook for 5-7 minutes, depending on the size. Remove the cauliflower and place on a sheet tray to steam dry for around 10 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil all over and season well with salt. Return to the oven and let roast for 30-40 minutes, depending on how hot your oven gets…I like to leave it in even longer and let it get burnt in some places – it adds such good flavor. Remove from the oven when it is golden and charred all over and place on a serving plate. Finish with a little more olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Drizzle with a nice amount of garlicky tahini and garnish with toasted sesame seeds, pomegranate seeds and parsley.
Tahini
½ cup good quality raw tahini
½ lemon squeezed
1 garlic clove, grated
kosher salt to taste
¼ cup of water- or until the tahini is smooth
1. In a bowl, combine the tahini with the salt, garlic, lemon juice and the water and mix together. It will get to a weird consistency – don’t be afraid..this always happens. Keep adding water until it smooths out and becomes a lighter color. Check for seasoning, you might need more salt of lemon juice.