Nesting

No longer languishing in 70-degree temperature days, we find ourselves truly in the midst of winter with these cooler and noticeably shorter days. Before the clock strikes 5:00 pm, we find ourselves craving the comforts of home and time to nest, revisiting the solace of our surroundings. Winter is just like that.

The foods we crave at this time of year reflect these yearnings – long, slow braises, things that simmer on the stove for hours, an oven that just stays hot as it powers through recipe after recipe. There are plenty of ingredients in this week’s basket that will feel right at home in these types of kitchen time. From our own Harpersville, AL farm we have hearty salad greens that love to be tossed with fresh lemon juice and olive oil as much as they are happy to be braised as a bed to a mid-week hangar steak. Our leeks love almost nothing more than to get cozy in a pan with a few pats of butter and some low heat coaxing them into caramelized yumminess.  And speaking of braising, why not do just that with this week’s radish haul. 

There’s our signature vegetable soup which is a CSA member favorite year in and year out. While we think jars of this soup are imminently giftable to teachers and neighbors, we never seem to have as much in store as we wish; it is popular for a reason! If you are craving more soup, try your hand with this garlic soup, using the whole bulb in today’s basket. The garlic mellows and its acerbic nature is tempered with heat and maybe a little extra pan-crisped pancetta. Baker Corey Hinkel’s fresh baked bread should be used to swab any leftover soup in the bottom of your bowl.

Also from the Farm, we have sweet treats in the form of pumpkin preserves and peach pie filling. Crack the lid on this jarred bit of summer, pour into a prepared pie crust, craft a lattice from any extra pie dough, and you will feel immediately intimate with the expression “easy as pie”. Homemade vanilla ice cream is optional but always encouraged. 

We’d love to hear what you are making with these winter CSA staples; please share on our group’s private Facebook page where we also update with fun recipes to try.  We cannot wait to see each of you at pick up today – this is a crazy hectic season for anyone in retail but our CSA members have a way of bringing us joy in the midst of it all.