It may be winter, but things are looking green and vibrant in the tunnels.

| This Week’s Share │ Farm Updates │

This Week’s Share

Garlic
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots
Turnips
Chard/Spinach
Cilantro/Parsley
Scallions
Fennel

Note: Our awesome farm support team, Diane and Kayla, will be running the pickup this Saturday while the farm team is at a conference in PA.

If you have any questions please reach out to clagettfarm@cbf.org.

Winter Season Updates:

Another week of BIG winter farm moves over here! We hope you’re all in good health and avoiding the sicknesses that so many people have this time of year. Take care of yourselves and each other.

New fence posts have been put in all around the field in front of the barns.

This week when you come to the farm you’ll see the start of the large deer fence being put up around the center growing fields on the farm. This is a major infrastructure upgrade that we are super excited about.

Loss of deer habitat all around us means they are quite a strong presence in our fields and forests. This fence will help protect tender lettuce and young tomatoes from being ruthlessly chewed down while your farmers are at rest. In the future there will be a new traffic pattern for getting up to the pickup location off-hours- we will be sure to communicate with you how that’s going to work! We hope to have gates that remain open during pick-up hours.

More about our absence this weekend, the farm team is traveling to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to attend the PASA Sustainable Agriculture conference.

This is super important to us because like all career fields, learning from and being in conversation with other those in your field, so much can be learned when information is shared! We will be networking with growers and ag experts of all types, which is so important as we consider how to farm in the most ecologically responsible ways.

We hope to take part in productive discussions on topics like grassland management, organic pest control, winter growing, farm-worker labor rights, cover cropping, and soo much more. Winter is really the only time of year we have the bandwidth to attend learning sessions like this so we hope you can forgive us! We will miss you dearly!

Finally, it’s hard to believe, but the first seeds for the 2024 main season have been planted!

Onions are the first seeds we start because they take a very long time to reach maturity. They’ll grow up for the next two months in the greenhouse, and then will be harvested after another three months once transplanted in the field. That’s a lot of time and effort, but we think it’s worth it for a delicious staple item like an onion, to be totally local and organic. Hard to find!

Coming right on their heels will be all the bunching greens, lettuces, salad mixes, and before we know it we’ll be starting up tomatoes, peppers, and the rest of the summer food.

Reminder that main season shares are on sale now! Be sure to select YES as a returning shareholder for the price break.

Recipe: Saag Paneer

Photo credit: Shweta Garg, Masala and Chai

Here is a great Indian recipe for cooking chard or spinach in a really delicious way! Saag Paneer is a warm, tasty comforting dish that traditionally uses spinach, but lots of other greens can be substituted, like rainbow chard, mustards, or even radish or turnips greens if you like that spicy flavor. This is a more involved recipe, and would go great with some cilantro and scallions sprinkled on top.

Ingredients:

6 oz paneer
2 bunches chard, (14-15 leaves)
1 tablespoon ghee
1 yellow onion, medium-size
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon garam masala
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoon heavy cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

Remove thick stalk from the leaves of the swiss chard. Add the leafy greens to a steamer and steam for about 5 minutes, or until it smells earthy.
Once the chard has cooled down a bit, transfer the steamed chard to a blender and puree the leaves with about ¼ cup of water, or just enough water until the blender is able to run.
Cut the block of paneer into ¼ - ½ inch thick rectangles. Poke holes in each piece with a fork.
Heat a pan and melt half the ghee. Once it's hot, add the paneer and shallow fry on each side for ~2 minutes, or until each side is a light golden brown. Sprinkle a bit of salt on the paneer.
Very finely chop the onion. In the Dutch Oven on low to medium heat, melt the rest of the ghee. Add in the cumin seeds. Once they start to pop, add the finely chopped diced onions along with the ginger garlic paste and sauté until browned.
Next, add in all of the spices - the turmeric, red chili powder, ground coriander, and garam masala. Stir in the tomato paste with 2 teaspoons of hot water, or until the tomato paste with the spices and onions creates a gravy.
Once the ghee separates on the sides of the gravy, add in the blended chard. If it's too thick, add a bit of hot water until desired consistency. Once it comes to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the paneer into the saag and cover the pot. Simmer for 2-3 minutes to allow the paneer to soak up the flavor.
Turn off the stove and slowly pour in the heavy cream. Give the saag a stir and finish it off with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Serve saag hot with rice or roti.

More Farm Updates

-Olivia (she/they) and Will (he/him)

Week 5 of 8: February Carrots!