Notes from Remembrance Farm

With another cold and snowy week in the forecast it's nice to sit in my (warmish) office and think of the summer to come. While we are still spending lots of time pulling stored roots out of the root cellar, cleaning cabbage, and harvesting greens from high tunnels, the most important farm work this time of year is internal - reviewing last year, and planning for the year(s) to come. The books have to be reconciled and sent off to the accountant for taxes, we look back at what worked and what didn't in the last growing season, and dream of how everything will be better going forward. Then finally we have to translate those dreams into coherent, concrete plans. Seeds and supplies are ordered, budgets set for expenses and capital improvements, I wade through the bureaucratic morass of obtaining work visas for our seasonal workers, and finally, toward the end of this month we will begin planting seeds.

Every season has its challenges and particular qualities; if I had to sum up this winter, I would call it consistently cold. We've had colder extremes in recent years, but rarely such prolonged frigid temperatures. While this has not affected the storage crops so much, fresh greens have been a different story. Our unheated high tunnels provide enough protection to keep salads alive through the cold months, but this winter has definitely stretched the limits. We are seeing much more cold injury than usual, which has made it a struggle to keep up the supply of fresh greens for the winter CSA. Wildlife also seem to be feeling the pinch - deer don't usually eat kale unless there is nothing else to find, but this year they discovered our outdoor kale plantings during the Christmas break, leaving us without those delicious cooking greens for the bulk of the winter.

Very few farmers love office work, and I'm certainly not one of them. But one thing I do love about the work this time of year is the opportunity to take stock of the farm as a whole. Looking back, looking forward, seeing the connections and patterns among the people, creatures and enterprises that form the being of Remembrance Farm and the Full Plate Farm Collective. It is a beautiful web of community and the natural world whose dynamics only get richer and deeper with time. 2024 was our 20th (!) season growing together; it is so gratifying to step back and appreciate the whole of what we have created as a community of farmers and members, and to dream of the bounty we create going forward.

this week’s Full Plate veggies

crops are our best estimate & may change a bit after harvest

• salad greens - remembrance

• parsley root - remembrance

• red onions - remembrance

• cabbage - remembrance

• madeley kale - stick and stone

• carrots - stick and stone

• purple muu radish - stick and stone

• potatoes - three stone farm

• sprouts - dancing turtle

Please remember to return your boxes, thank you!

fruit bowl off week

last winter fruit shares go out next week!

updates from the farm & friends…

Summer CSA Sign up is open …and moving fast

We’re already 40% sold for the coming summer season (thank you!) and we’d love to see you there! Join today for 23 weeks of fresh, local, organic veggies!

And don’t forget about the returning member Earlybird Special! As a thank you for your ongoing support for our farms and community, we welcome all returning members who join and pay in full by 2/28 to choose one of the following:

• (a) Take $20 off the cost of your vegetable share

• (b) Pay it forward! Pay full price and we’ll automatically deposit $20 into the Subsidized CSA Fund on your behalf

Fingerlakes Fruit Bowl and Remembrance Farm Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese sign up is open now too!

Open Spaces Spring Egg CSA Sign up is open!

Our root cellars may be empty through the spring, but Open Spaces goofy, ranging, fierce chickens continue laying! Birds are day range on pasture and fed organic feed. Eggs are nest run (ungraded). $6.50/dzn. Weekly shares and choose-your-own schedule available. Pick up weekly at Stick and Stone Farm through the spring. Join here!

Thanks for returning your boxes & jars! Please keep it up!

on our plates…

share what you’ve been cooking! We’re always glad to know, and eager to pass along. Just email Molly. Find this week’s ingredients in bold.

Valentines Day Red Carrot Hearts

In honor of valentines day, we wanted to share one of our favorite ways to share the veggie love. Red Carrot hearts! A specialty from Lucy at Stick & Stone. Cut a V shape down the length of your carrot. Use a peeler to shape the sides. Then slice horizontally into heart shaped medallions ♥ who needs candy hearts anyway?! ;)

Winter Vegetable Chowder

from a fellow member! “after making for about the 10th time, I thought I better share it”!Recipe here

For the Milk Aromatic

• 2 cups milk (I used 2% but you can use any kind--soup might be thinner if you use skim)

• 4 large parsley branches

• 1 sprig of thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• 1/2 onion, sliced

• 1 garlic clove, halved

• 10 peppercorns, lightly crushed

For the Soup

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 4 leeks, sliced into 1 inch thick slices, rinsed very well

• About 10 cups of root veggies, peeled and cut into chunks (turnips, parsnips, radish, celeriac, potato, etc)

• About 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

• 3 tablespoons flour

• 5 cups water

• Black pepper to taste

• 1 baguette or other crusty bread, cut into slices and lightly toasted

• Grated or shredded cheese to sprinkle on top of bread

• Thyme sprigs for garnish (optional)

PREPARATION

1.  To make the Milk Aromatic:  Put the milk, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, sliced onion, garlic and peppercorns in a medium saucepan and slowly bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and cover. Let sit while you prepare all the veggies.

2.  Place the butter into a large pot and melt over medium heat. Add all of the vegetables, bay leaves, parsley and salt. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, gently shifting the veggies around to heat them up. Then use a large wooden spoon to stir in the flour and add the water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer, partially covered for about 20-25 minutes, until the veggies are tender but still a bit firm.

3.  Strain the milk mixture into a blender, add about a cup of the veggies and puree until smooth. Stir the puree back into the soup. Taste for salt and add some pepper.

4.  Into each serving bowl, place a piece of the toasted bread. Break it up if necessary and top with a handful of the cheese. Then ladle the hot soup on top. Decorate with the thyme sprigs if using and serve immediately.

5.  Leftover soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-6 days. It reheats really well.

More in-season inspiration…

• Muu Radish: Chaw’s Braised Radish

• Carrots: Carrot-Ginger Dressing

• Cabbage, fruit bowl apples: Cabbage Apple Ginger Kraut

• Cabbage: Sauteéd Cabbage with bacon

• It’s cabbage season! (I guess that could be said for all of winter…) So I dug out my (far from exhaustive) list of CABBAGE ideas! make cabbage wraps / a soup / roast it / sautee it / boil it / caramelize it / fry it / stir fry it / ferment it for sauerkraut / a slaw —creamy, vinegary, sweet, salty, so many slaw-ssibilities ;)

• The flavor of parsley root is somewhere between celeriac and carrot with hints of celery, turnip, and parsley leaf. It will add flavor and aroma to root veggie roasts or soups, or try adding it to mashed potatoes. More info and recipes here

• While root veggies are in abundance this time of year, it’ll be a few months before they come back again. Preserve their perfect crunch and flavor with pickled root veggies