2024 Spring | Week 1
Healthy Food is Coming Your Way
Welcome to our 2024 Growing Season
We are trying a new way to grow this season - closer to our original vision - growing vegetables for friends and neighbors who want to eat better. Eating local and seasonal is superior to anything you can purchase at the grocery. We are excited to share our lifestyle and farm life with you. Matt, Charlotte, and I will split the farm chores throughout the season. We've also had some interest in members volunteering in the garden. I am working to accomplish this without getting into an insurance issue. One idea is to operate the farm as a social club. (which it is) We love the idea of seeing firsthand what goes into growing vegetables and learning about them makes you appreciate and pay attention to what you put into your body.
We plan on having Spring, Summer and Fall Subscriptions in 2024 but limit membership to around ten shareholders while we work out our processes, schedules, and labor. We are not offering drops this year, so all pickups will be from the farm, making it more convenient for those who live nearby. We will, however, have POP-UP SALES when we have an extra bounty of one or more crops. We'll email all our Yankee friends from the past four years and let you know the details.
2023 in Review—Garlic, Ginger and More
Last year, we took the year off and tried our hand at growing garlic, tomatoes, and ginger. We grew 100 feet of three varieties of garlic. We saved most of it and replanted 400 feet this year. Garlic is a low-maintenance crop, but it is in the ground for almost nine months! We will share a delicacy - garlic scapes - sometime in June - more on that as we get closer. Garlic will be harvested and dried in July and August. We hope to have enough to share with everyone through the Summer and Fall seasons.
So, this week's crate has been in the making for almost six months. Matt planted carrots and beets in October, and we've been fussing with them ever since. We grew them in one of our three caterpillar tunnels. We've watered, covered/uncovered, weeded—and loved on them for the last six months, but the reward is over-wintered carrots, the sweetest kind and a farm favorite. The beet crop also overwintered. They are small but delicious. We've been sneaking a few throughout the winter and roasting them with some yellow onion, olive oil, salt and pepper, and some of our garlic - D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. Remember, all parts of the carrots and beets are delicious and nutritious. We've found that making healthy smoothies is the easiest way to use all the plants. Check out my latest concoction using all Yankee-Street-produced ingredients (except for the yogurt and sparkling water). See the recipe here
Flowers
We've dabbled in flowers for the last few years. This week's daffodils are compliments of my parents, John and Mary Jean, who planted them in the 1960s and 1970s. There are many varieties, and we enjoy the dividends of their vision every year—thanks, Mom and Dad! We hope to try more flowers again this year and include them in the crates when possible.
1808 Store
Part of learning how to eat healthy food is to have the ingredients and tools to prepare it. It's amazing how a quality olive oil or vinaigrette can bring out the flavor of lettuce or cabbage. A proper garlic press and pepper grinder are essential to preparing great meals. We've assembled some of these items in our 1808 Store (the name derives from the date on an old granary located on our property)
Make sure to check out some of the items. You can order online, and we'll have them in your basket the following week.
2024 FAQs—Everything You Need to Know
How will we know if there's a pickup each week? We'll let you know if there will be a pickup on Thursday or Friday. We also tell you what veggies are coming your way.
Where will we pick up, and what is the process? Pickups are at the farm - 3584 Sunbury Road - Come down the lane and park by the Yankee Street white refrigerator trailer. The door to the trailer is in the back. Open the lever/doors, take your crate, and check your name off the list and when you picked up. Close the doors securely. Crates will be available after 11:00 am on Saturday mornings. You can come anytime until Monday around lunch to retrieve your crate
What if I am out of town? We encourage you to gift your share to another family member, neighbor, or friend.
Can I take my crate home? You can use our crate to take your vegetables home, bring your bag, and transfer your items. If you take your crate, return your empty one next week so we can swap it with a new one.
How will you communicate with us? I will use texting, but most of our communications will be on the website. We will provide a link to The Bounty - our weekly newsletter on what is in your crate, how to care for it, recipe ideas, and much more. We spend a lot of effort to help you learn and enjoy your fresh produce. See the What's in your Crate section below.
Can We Tour the Farm? Yes, we'll have an Open House sometime in April. Information to follow.
Are you taking any more members? No, our membership is full for the Spring season. We may add a few more for Summer and Fall based on how we do this Spring. More to follow.
How can I buy more? We plan to hold POP-UP sales when we have extra items to sell. More info will follow as well.
Please take a minute and add our contact information card to your email list so our communications are not blocked or filtered.
What’s in Your Crate this Week?
Click the plus sign next to each item for tips, tricks, and recipes!
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BABY GINGER 101—Baby ginger is harvested before maturity. It shares the same knobby multiple,-branched shape as the mature root, but it has very thin skin and faint pink tone around the tips. The flavor is fragrant but much more mild than mature ginger.
EAT NOW—Ginger rhizomes should be washed and air dried (good air circulation, no exposure to direct sun) after harvest. Proper drying is important. After it is completely dry, ginger can be stored many different ways depending upon what’s to be done with it.
OR LATER—Freezing – rhizomes can be stored in the freezer for use later, but not for pickling or candying. If a recipe calls for fresh grated ginger, take the rhizome out of the freezer, grate as needed, then return the ginger to the freezer.
RECIPES
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BEETS 101—Beets are healthy, versatile, taste amazing, and look beautiful. One of the best things about them is that they keep well before and after cooking, and every part is edible and delicious. Beets can be broiled, steamed, grilled, or roasted, our favorite. (We like cut beets roasted in olive oil and salt and pepper the best!)
EAT NOW—Roots: Just before cooking, scrub the beets well and remove any scraggly leaves and rootlets. If your recipe calls for raw beets, peel them with a knife or a veggie peeler, then grate or cut them according to the recipe. To remove the skins, roast them in foil or boil them, and the peels will slip right off.
Beet greens: Wash the leaves in a basin of lukewarm water to remove grit. Remove the thicker stems. Depending on use, cut the greens into appropriately sized pieces.
OR LATER - To Freeze: Beet Roots: Boil or bake beets until done. Cool them in ice water or let them come to room temperature. Remove peels. Trim the beets into 1/4-inch slices or keep them whole (if they are small). Place in a freezer bag and remove as much air as possible. Seal and freeze. Beet greens: Blanch wash beet greens for 2-3 minutes in hot boiling water. Immediately dunk in ice water to stop the cooking process. Then drain and pack into airtight containers. Freeze them in “balls” on a cookie sheet, then pop them into a freezer bag for the perfect portion.
DON’T TOSS THOSE BEET GREENS! - Beet greens are delicious! Here are some simple ways to use them: Use them for making vegetable stock, toss them into a salad — especially the smaller leaves, braised with a bit of olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes, toss in a smoothie, add them to an omelet, frittata, or quiche, stir them into a pasta sauce in the final stages, add to a soup, like you would kale or spinach, turn them into a pesto
RECIPES
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CARROTS 101 - Crunchy, tasty, and highly nutritious, carrots are one of our favorite root vegetables. Carrots are a great source of beta carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, and antioxidants! We’re used to seeing orange carrots, but did you know carrots come in a variety of colors like yellow, white, red, and even purple? Both the root and the greens are edible - the leaves make for a great garnish or addition to pesto. The greens have a slightly bitter taste that compliments the sweetness of the root.
EAT NOW - Because we don’t use pesticides, our carrots don’t need to be peeled. Simply rinse and scrub any dirt before use. Eaten raw, carrots are great whole, julienned, speared, or chopped. Carrots can be boiled, sautéd, stir fried, or even air fried! Fresh carrot tops can be chopped into a green salad or stir-fry too! The greens can also be dried and used as an herb like parsley.
OR LATER - To avoid “floppy carrots,” remove the green tops as soon as you can, leaving about an inch of stems. Save the greens separately. Then, place root in a bag in the fridge or in a bin of water (like celery) to keep them crisp, changing out the water every few days. Uncut carrots will last in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. They can also be chopped, then blanched and placed in an airtight container in the freezer to keep longer. Store the tops in a separate bag in the fridge. Or put them in a plastic Ziplock in your freezer and use them to make DIY vegetable or chicken stock.
To blanch, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. While you wait for boil, prepare an ice bath. Once boiling, drop veggies into water - water should return to boil within a minute otherwise you have too much veg for the water. Once boil has returned, cook for 1-5 min until veg has a vibrant color. Immediately put into ice bath to stop cooking.
RECIPIES
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COLLARED GREENS 101 - Similar to kale, collard is a member of the cabbage and broccoli families. They are rich in antioxidants and vitamins that create a barrier between the body and free radicals, which prevents early-onset aging. The dietary fiber in collard greens helps maintain a balanced glucose level, which can help manage and prevent diabetes. You can eat raw collard greens, but the uncooked leaves tend to be slightly bitter and tough. Try them in a salad, wrap, or smoothie, but mix a few leaves with a majority of milder greens, like spinach. More typically, add them to stir-fry or cook using salt and citric to reduce the bitterness. They will wilt down into a moist, tender, flavorful vegetable with just a bit of cooking. They are also great in soups and stews.
EAT NOW—Prior to cooking, wash your collards in a bowl of cold water with a pinch of salt. The salt will help remove dirt or grit. Scrub the leaves lightly with your hands before rinsing them under cold running water to eliminate any remaining dirt.
EAT LATER - Store your unwashed greens in moist paper towels and place them in sealed plastic bags in the refrigerator's crisper drawer. They will keep for about three to four days. Blanching is an essential step when freezing collard greens. First, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Then add washed, whole, cut, or torn greens to water. Start counting blanching time as soon as the water returns to a boil. To freeze, arrange the greens into balls and place them on a baking sheet. Put the baking sheet in the freezer until frozen solid, about 1 to 2 hours. Transfer the greens to a freezer-safe bag or container. Remove as much air as possible and seal tightly. Store frozen collard greens in the freezer for up to 6 months, but use within three months for best results.
RECIPES
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KALE 101 - Wash leaves in lukewarm water. If your greens have thick stems, remove them by folding each leaf in half and slicing out the stem. Then, stack the leaves up and slice diagonally into 1” wide strips.
EAT NOW - Wrap unwashed chard or kale in a sealed plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the fridge. Best used very fresh, but may last for a week. To freeze, blanch washed greens, rinse in cold ice water, drain, and pack into airtight containers.
OR LATER - Swiss chard or kale can both be eaten raw or cooked. A longer cooking time is best as it brings out the sweetness in the greens. Extremely high in vitamin K and vitamin A, these nutrient-dense greens can help combat cancer and reduce blood pressure! Chard and kale can be used interchangeably with: collards, turnip greens, beet greens, broccoli raab, mustard greens, dandelion, and spinach.
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We’ve been making maple syrup on the farm since the 1960s. This season was challenging, but we produced over 80 bottles.
We love to use it judiciously on all sorts of dishes—from a gaze on broiled salmon, your morning oatmeal, and, as you will see, in a smoothie.
RECIPES