After 48 straight weeks of harvest, with a whole lot of seeding, weeding, planting and packing across four seasons, we’re wrapping up the 2023 growing year at Wild Hare. As I type, the crew is gathering one last mix of gorgeous Mustard Greens from the hoophouse, and Mark is putting together an array of squashes and roots for folks to choose and enjoy before we button up the root cellar for a bit. There are lots of choices this week, so think back through your favorite soups, think ahead to your holiday meals, or by all means, scroll through the ones I’m sharing this week. (I’m sending you off in truly tasty form:)

Greetings from Atmospheric River Road
…where the skies are dismal but the food and folks are delightful!

Some weeks call for making thousands of single leaf cuts for mixes in the field, but this is not one of them. When Mark and I saw just how much rain was in the forecast, we rearranged the harvest plans so that nobody would have to work beyond the saturation point to bring something leafy to the table this week, and, thankfully, some nice heads of Green Cabbage were ready for us!

This sopping wet weather has soup written all over it, so in addition to the Cabbage we’re highlighting Potatoes, Leeks, and Celery Root (aka Celeriac), which is a serious contender for MVP in Soup Season. There are several recipes that showcase it as the main ingredient, but I have been known to keep a Celery Root rolling around my crisper drawer that I trim a hunk off of and dice up with onions and carrots in place of chopped up celery stalks for storable flavor—you can pretty much sub it into any recipe that starts with a mirepoix. It is even great for a crisp Winter Slaw.

Most mornings, the farm is enveloped by a cool, often icy, layer of fog that sticks around longer than we’d like. The light really has to fight its way through the atmosphere to reach us on days like these, so when we’re able to produce something crisp and green in late Fall and Winter, it feels like a major win on all sides. And this week, we have not one but TWO great green things topping our harvest list this week. (It almost makes me feel like I want to cook again after a long holiday weekend;)