We’ve got four more weeks of Winter to go, which means that Springtime is merely a month away, depending on how you look at it. Mark is busily trying to check items off of his “stuff I mean(t) to get done before Spring” list as great big totes of potting soil, packages, parts, and pouches of seeds start closing in on the periphery. Passing through the farm stand last week, you might have caught a glimpse of the crew busting up bulbs in anticipation of planting out Green Garlic (when they weren’t serving up their best Revolved Forward Bends in the greenhouses:) It will all be happening before we know it, but for now, we’ve got just enough Winter to reckon with. Maple, Claire and Kelly harvested a round of Mustard Mix from the hoop house this morning. These greens are great for stir frying but tender enough for a Winter salad to go with this week’s pot of soup. Aaahhh, remember how excited you were for Soup Season to land last Fall? Hold that feeling in your heart and direct it toward your stockpiles of Winter Squashes and Roots.

Feast your eyes and your tummies, because it looks like we got around to harvesting the second flourish of Purple Sprouting Broccoli right in the nick of time! Successfully harvesting PSB in Winter is starting to feel like finding a four-leaf clover. If the sweet little purple florets needed to endure one more night of frost, we might not have been so lucky. The forecasts show that the next few days are going to be flat out cold and yucky. Maybe freezing rain, maybe lowland flurries, maybe much ado and a whole lot of nothing. But, I do know that between the PSB, winter Radishes and Frozen Blueberries from Sunrise Farm, we’ll have the chance to serve up a little pop of color an otherwise grey day.

Have a great week,
Katie

This week, we’re offering up a rather timely labor of love in the form of our Winter Chicories, a gorgeous assortment of Radicchio, hand harvested, sorted and mixed by your farmers so that you can treat yourself to something that looks like candy but is deliciously bitter. It is a stunner, and much like the little cards and crafts that I used to love folding and decorating for friends, this Winter delicacy has become a funny little Valentine that we offer up to you. Luckily, where there is bitterness, there’s room for sweetness (and saltiness too!). Squashes, Beets, Apples, Vinegar and Cheese are natural pairings, as well as all of the Winter Citrus fruit that is also at its peak right now. Between the Blood Oranges, Meyer Lemons, Cara Cara Navels, Grapefruit and Tangerines we’ve got on hand the timing could not be better to enjoy something really simple but very special. The tangy citrus/deep earthy flavor combination is such a winner, and all of that Vitamin C helps our bodies absorb the Iron that we get from the Beets that we’ll be pulling together from our root cellar.

XO,
Katie

I’m so excited that this year, I can at least eat like an Olympian while I’m letting my back heal.