And so we begin the final month of our WinterFresh Market...
Have you heard about CSAs?
A CSA, short for Community Supported Agriculture, allows you to buy locally-grown food directly from a farmer. A farmer offers a certain number of "shares" and sometimes half shares are available. Typically, you can pick up your share weekly at the farm. Shares may include vegetables, herbs, flowers, meats, or other farm products. You get the freshest of foods and a full range of seasonal produce to experience. You will build a relationship with the farmer who grows your food and have the opportunity to learn more about, and see for yourself, how the foods is grown. Kids whose families participate in CSAs learn first hand where food comes from and tend to favor foods from “their” farm.
Farmers benefit by receiving CSA payments early in the season which helps with cash flow needed for seeds and supplies. Farmers with new or expanding CSAs can market them in the wintertime, before the intensity of the growing season begins. CSAs give farmers a guaranteed market for their products, allowing them to spend more time growing great stuff and less time working to sell it. They, in turn, build a relationship with you, a supporter of local farms!
Scout out your CSA options...
Sometimes it seems like CSAs are the most exclusive of clubs to get into! Established CSAs like the one offered by Hurricane Farm are full and have waiting lists. Now is a great time to explore the share options available in new or expanding CSAs in your area. Our vendor Wayne’s Organic Garden offers a 14 week, certified organic CSA. E-mail or chat with Wayne at the WinterFresh market for more details. Windham Gardens, our summer vendor, is offering two types of CSAs for the first time this year. A veggie CSA, in full and half shares, and a 10 week fresh flower CSA. In Woodstock, Devon Point Farm will offer a new CSA including heirloom vegetable varieties grown without chemicals, flowers, and herbs. You can search for CSAs in you area, here, here, and here. This week the spotlight's on Cato Corner Farm: It has been a busy winter here at Cato Corner Farm. Our big news is that we’ve just finished putting up a new barn, greatly expanding the housing for our milk cows. And the girls love it! We let the milkers into the new barn on January 12, and they danced and frolicked and threw fresh shavings in the air with their noses! (For a funny video of this, check out our Cato Corner Farm page on Facebook.) Our old girl Liv had a baby heifer this morning, which brings to seven the number of baby calves born since December 1. This means we are getting lots of that rich, creamy winter milk that is ideal for our semi-soft cheeses like Bridgid’s Abbey and Hooligan. The milk changes throughout the year, with higher fat and protein in the winter but more “grassy” flavor and complexity in the summer. We adjust our production schedule accordingly to highlight the milk’s seasonal qualities. Of course, since some of our hard cheeses age for up to a year, we have to be patient to enjoy the fruits of last summer’s pastures. We have just opened a gorgeous batch of our Gruyere-inspired “Dairyere” made on July 3, and our 6 month old and 11 month old Bloomsday are both especially tasty right now. We’re also savoring a late fall batch of Black Ledge Blue that’s one of our best ever! Come on down and see Chris at the market – he’d be happy to give you a taste!
Signs of Spring
The stock rosemary plants at Topmost got haircuts this week, removing lots of raggedy new growth and giving the plants new shape and definition. The cuttings then soak overnight in willow water, made from cut pieces of branches from the curly willow that grows by the pond. Willow contains auxin, a hormone that promotes root development, and willow water is sometimes dismissed as "voodoo science" but it works here. The next day the cuttings are stuck into plug flats containing McEnroe Organic Potting Mix and placed under lights near the wood furnace in the basement. Most should sprout roots and be able to move into the greenhouse for further growth by late March. By June they should be robust little plants to be sold at the Coventry Farmers' Market...after all, the moon is in the right phase!
At Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm, on February 22, the ladies should start having lambs. They hope that by the end of May they will have nearly 500 lambs. In early April they will start milking the sheep, that means new yogurt and the start of new cheese making. At Hurricane Farm the turkeys are starting to lay eggs and they are getting ready to tap the maple trees for sugaring. Soon at Windham Gardens, the greenhouses will open, and the seeds will go in. Walking into the greenhouse in the cold months of winter is one of the reasons Erin continues farm! 75 degree sunshine-filled warmth makes her forget that walk back out onto the ice. They are in the process of remodeling to make a flower studio to allow more on-farm traffic. Erin is thrilled, she loves her flowers. At KD Crop Farms, new starters are poking out of the soil already.... welcome, baby broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and onions! At Wayne’s Organic Garden, the seed-starting hoophouse is nearly ready to start greenhouse tomato seeds. At Crocker Farm, Dave is working on tractor repairs and maintenance, not his favorite thing but it must be done! Next will be some touch-up on the little greenhouse they have. Seeds are on order! At Turtle Creek Farm the ewes are munching whatever grass shows through the melting snow in the pasture and a couple of them are starting to 'bag up' indicating they took the matter of procreation into their own hands (hooves?) which will result in early lambs and paternity tests to determine breeding stock quality. Morning Glory Homemade is in the process of sending out vendor applications for various venues and has confirmed participation in the Coventry Farmer's Market for the upcoming season.
Top Ten gifts for your Valentine from the WinterFresh Market: A bottle of Hurricane Farm’s red and purple Raspberry Infused Vinegar. Erica likes to make a basic dressing/marinade with it: Olive oil, vinegar, sea salt (don't be bashful), cracked pepper and crushed garlic. Use as salad dressing or marinate meat with it. Usually 24 hours+. It electrifies and tenderizes the meat. Her favorite is beef and chicken or toss with a variety of veggies and roast them under the broiler. A Beaver Brook Farm rack of lamb would make the most wonderful, cozy Valentine's dinner! Cashmere for your Valentine… Bethany Homecrafts has cashmere hats, mittens, wrist warmers, scarves, headbands and elfkin booties for babies - surround your loved one in luxury! 10% off for Friends. A heart-shaped pure beeswax candle from Swift Farm A jar of KD Crop Farm’s Summer Breeze Pickled Watermelon Rind is a surprisingly sweet delight for those who haven't tried it yet, also look for their peach and cranberry hot jams. A Salmon Barn canvas wine tote in lots of prints featuring red and white in which you can insert your own bottle of red or white (or sparkly!). Meriano’s Bake Shoppe is baking heart shapes galore with mini heart cakes, heart-shaped breads, and heart-shaped cheese ravioli on order. Place your order this week for next Sunday and you’ll have the romantic elements for your Valentine’s dinner. Tucker Woods Farm special edition Valentine's yarn in two styles: Pippin, a soft, smooshy washable sock yarn and Silver Optima, a sock yarn with that extra sparkle or knit that special someone a pair of socks made with love! Friends get 25% off the yarns or a free cat toy or 10% off liquid soaps and diffusers. Barb’s Bags lavender eye pillows relieve stress and headaches naturally and her whimsical heart pins add colorful sparkle, all purchases are 10% off for Friends Fabyan Farm’s First of the Season Grade A Medium syrup. They were fortunate to have a good run before the weather turned cold again. Friends receive $1 off any syrup purchase this week.
New this week…
Hurricane Farm will be arriving with Kielbasa without nitrates made from both Heritage pork and Grass-Fed Beef. They will also have pork chops, spare ribs and nitrate-free hams. Erica’s hens are still laying so the farm will also have free-range eggs. All friends of the market receive 10% off all meats.
Sleepy Moon returns with a preview of their spring soap collection… hefty, rustic bars of buttermilk soaps including: French Lilac, Lemon Verbena, Raspberry Vanilla, Spiced Ginger, and an amazing Chipotle-Caramel bar with red reef clay.
Wayne’s Organic Garden will have kale, collards, chard, baby bok choy, and spinach. The demand is greater than the supply and the best selection is available at the beginning of the market.
Morning Glory Homemade is celebrating February, National Cherry Month (really!), with a different cherry item every week. This week, Scott will be baking cherry chocolate chip muffins. He'll also be gearing up for Super Bowl with bread boules (7-grain harvest, garlic Parmesan) for your favorite dip or muffuletta (big sandwich to share). His fabulous line of cookies is also a welcome contribution to any potluck festivities and will include the new toffee chip cookies that were so well received at last week's market. Friends are invited to try a free sample of the cherry chocolate chip muffins. Barb's Bags, E.T.C. makes Exquisite Textile Creations specializing in one-of-a-kind handbags, totes and ever popular fold-up nylon bags. Meriano’s Bake Shoppe’s stuffed breads are the perfect game day snacks, and this week, any Friend who buys one stuffed bread can get a second for $2 off. Andrea’s custom decorated cupcakes and new vegetable strudel are the perfect bring-alongs if you’re heading out to a Super Bowl party. Suzi’s Seafood will have peeled, deveined shrimp and cocktail sauce for your festivities. Boil shrimp for 3 minutes, douse in ice water, drain and you're ready to go! Email Suzi at suzisseafood@yahoo.com by Friday to let her know how much you need so she's sure to have plenty on hand!
Suzi Demystifies Seafood Chowder
Like any good cook, Suzi makes it look easy… and she assures us that it is! Here’s her method for making a quick chowder with any of her seafood:
Start with a little oil in the bottom of a large pot and sauté chopped onion, celery, carrots and potatoes -- no measuring necessary -- as much or little as you like. Add a pound or so of cut up cod or haddock for fish chowder and/or shrimp and scallops for a seafood chowder. Cook gently so as not to break up seafood for another minute or two. Reserving about 1/4 cup, stir in 4 cups of half-and-half or milk. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch or flour into the reserved 1/4 cup milk or half-and-half. Add to chowder and bring to a gentle boil stirring occasionally until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. (For Rhode Island version or calories conscious use water or vegetable broth in place of milk or half and half. For Manhattan version use water or vegetable broth and add a cup of fresh or canned tomatoes.)
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