Mid-January

All summer long we spend the days battling pests. In the winter, most of our bug problems disappear and we breath a sigh of relief from the absence of cucumber beetles and cabbage loopers. But then come our biggest winter foe - the vole. We've built warm houses for our plants that are perfect houses for small field rodents, and lucky for them we've already filled them with food! Every day they make more progress on our greens, eating out the middles of the the lettuce heads (arguably the best part for any consumer) and we watch with little at our disposal to stop them. We've tried to outsmart them, but why bother with a little peanut butter when you have a house full of fresh greens to choose from? Can't say I blame them, but they sure do cause otherwise peaceful farmers thoughts of violence and vengeance as our heard earned winter crop disappears before our eyes. We'll keep trying to keep them at bay and keep our plants going until they make full size in February, and then we will be the ones feasting on kale. 

Scenes from the farm: Ice on the river, the farm crew getting excited over seed catalogs. watermelon radish, winter light tree at the farm. 

The Share:

salad mix

1 jar canned tomatoes

1 cabbage

1 winter squash

onions

Mixed roots: carrots, beets, potatoes, parsnips, watermelon radish, daikon, kohlrabi, rutabaga, turnips, celery root.

 

ROASTED CARROT HUMMUS

https://www.thefullhelping.com/roasted-carrot-hummus/

SERVES: 6-8 SERVINGS

Ingredients

  • 4 large carrots, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Sea salt or kosher salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1½ - 2 cups chickpeas, cooked (homemade is preferable, but canned is A-OK)
  • ¼ cup tahini
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, for drizzling (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the carrots with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place them on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until tender and browning along the edges.

2. Place the chickpeas in a food processor or Vitamix along with the carrots, olive oil, salt and pepper, tahini, cumin, paprika, garlic, and lemon juice. Pulse a few times to break it all down. Turn the motor on and drizzle in ½-2/3 cup water slowly, stopping often to scrape the container down. Use your judgment on how much water to add; I used ⅔ cup, but less might be sufficient to obtain a creamy texture.

3. When the hummus is perfectly smooth, transfer it to a serving dish and drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over it. Serve.

 

Malaika SpencerComment