Provider Farm

From our fields, for your family

Shareholders

October 24, 2020

Winter shares: We are just about sold out of winter shares, so scoop them up now if you would like one.  You can read all about them here.You can grab a sign up form in the shareroom or  here or purchase one online here.

Last summer share dates: Coogan Farm:The last Coogan Farm pick up date is Nov. 7. Can you believe it?This is the second to last share!

Salem: The last Salem pick ups are Nov.10 and Nov. 13. 3 more to go!

Grassfed beef: We still have a few bottom roasts left, plus 1 top roast, 1 smaller rib roast(about 2 lbs) and 1 shoulder roast. They will go great with this week's parsnips! Top, shoulder, and bottom are about 2-3 lbs each and are $7.85/lb. The rib is $9.85/lb.

I also have some shanks. These are about 2 lbs per package and the cut is a marrow bone with meat around in. These are great for slow roasting, making soups, or making into stock. They are $6/lb. 

Order two or more cuts and I'll take $.50 off per lb.

Also, we have super liver! Some people like it, some don't. Pets def love it and it can be dehydrated for pet treats. Please take it away for $.50/lb. It is in approximately 1-2 lb. packages.

If you would like to order meat, just email me your order and I will weigh it and pack it up for you to pick up, and will email you an invoice payable online.

 

 

This Week's Share

Salem On-Farm Distribution: 

We know Halloween is a bummer this year, so trick or treat at Salem pick up. Big people or little people costume or no costume, we will have Halloween treats (unhealthy candy, not vegetables!) for you.

The link to the sign up form for October is here. There will be one more sign up form for November.

You must sign up for new slots for the month. Sign ups from last month will not carry over.

Please select one slot per week. If you sign up for this week, it will not carry over to the following weeks.

This is only for shareholders picking out the share. Do not sign up for a slot if you are picking up a box.

Salem Boxed Share: 
Coogan Farm Distribution: 

Butternuts and (a few) pumpkins this week! I have forgotten to mention it but the winter squash harvest this year was one of the low lights. While they are tasty (wow, those honey nuts!) they have not been abundant. We had them in a very variable field (gravel on one side, swamp on the other, sand pit in the corner, grass in the middle) and they were not fond of it. The pumpkins in particular took it on the chin and there are just not very many, so we'll have just a few. On the upside, we have plenty of butternuts for everyone and they can do everything a sugar pumpkin can do, if not better, except for maybe carving

Parsnip time! These long white carrot like roots have a floral buttery flavor. Roasting them caramelizes their sugars and perks up their sweetness. They are tasty mashed an din soups and roasts.

Our winter storage radishes are ready. We have purple daikon and watermelon radishes. They bring a splash of color and flair to your winter time salads. The purple radishes are mild and reveal lavender sunbursts when you slice into them. The watermelon radishes have a bit more spice (but if you peal them, it goes away) and the best part is when you slice into them, the unassuming radish has a bright rose center.They are also great for cooking in stir fries and roasts.

The epic spinach is coming to an end. We have tons of lettuce and the escarole should kick in soon, maybe by the end of the week. This is a wonderful fall green, related to lettuce but a little more bitter and hearty. It is great in traditional Italian coking with white beans and garlic but the ribs also make a wonderful fall salad with apples or pears, blue cheese and walnuts (mmm, can't wait!)

Recipe of the Week: 

Roasted squash and tofu with ginger

Ingredients: 
  • 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu
  • 2 pounds winter squash 
  • 3 tablespoons honey or brown sugar 
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce 
  • 1/2 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
  • 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
  • 7 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil, divided
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
  • Juice of half a lime
Directions: 

Heat your oven to 400°F. Cover 1 to 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or oil for easy cleanup.

Prepare tofu and vegetables: Cut tofu into 1/2-inch slices, and then in half again. Halve and seed your squash. Cut squash into 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick wedges. Lay squash and tofu in a single layer on baking sheets.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey or sugar, soy sauce, pepper flakes (to taste), ginger, and 4 tablespoons of the oil. Pour marinade over squash and tofu and turn to coat. Season the squash and tofu with salt and pepper.

Roast for 15 minutes, then using a thin metal spatula, turn the squash and tofu chunks over. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons oil with the garlic and spoon this all over the squash and tofu. Return pan(s) to the oven and roast until the tofu is dark and the squash is completely tender, 10 to 15 more minutes.

Scatter with sesame seeds and scallions, and squeeze lime juice over before serving.

Credit: 
smitten kitchen.com

The grace of each other

Harvesting cabbages in a bin.
The first of the giant cabbages coming in.

Dear Friends, 

 
A bit of strange humidity and what felt like an omnipresent grey drizzle. Did it ever rain? Did the sun ever shine? To be honest I barely remember. This strange season continues to feel strange. Added into my feeling of disoriented confusion over the weather is the fact that I actually spent a fair amount of time off the farm this week. Taking Shep to an eye appointment, taking care of my annual skin cancer screening and spending afternoons with Shep exploring the farm. Doing all the things we don't do at the peak of the season. 
 
Covid has changed a lot of things on the farm. Masks really are only the beginning. Shep is home all the time. Mornings and a couple afternoons a week he is with Erica. The other 3 afternoons we have him ourselves. Some of you may know Erica, she has been with us for years. She was a shareholder before she started working for us and she took care of shep when he was a wee baby. 
 
To say that she has been a life saver is really an understatement. She does a fantastic job with Shep and he absolutely adores her. She teaches him about science and Spider-Man and has him do his PT and practice his letters. Everyone who works here is invaluable and essential but we cannot heap enough praise or appreciation on Erica for freeing us up to take care of the things we need to do.
 
It was been wonderful and also challenging to have Shep around. He is profoundly more involved with the farm than he ever has been before which is great, but if we’re hanging out with him we’re not working, which is fine but it also means that the bulk harvests and fall clean up aren’t getting done as fast. I am sure many of you parents are feeling the similar tug between work and kids.
 
It’s fine though. I mean at least I think it is. Or I hope it is. Really I just want it to be. If it starts snowing we’re going to be in trouble but for now the harvests stretching into Thanksgiving instead of ending at Halloween seems fine. There is no travel to see family in the cards this year anyway and warm Novembers are the norm these days. We got almost all the rest of the crops out of the field this past week, the parsnips and winter radishes, a smaller harvest then in past years probably due to the drought. We are looking at a record cabbage harvest coming up this week and one more big bulk carrot pick. Oh yeh, and the giant winter kohlrabis, we can't forget about them.
 
The Covid year continues. Its not unlike a long farming season. It has its challenges, its up and downs, maybe some high lights, definitely some low lights, and it is seemingly endless, there is always more. So we put our heads down and keep trudging. The deep hard season is coming. We hold on tight, try to get enough sleep, get outside and get some sun on our faces and eat healthy. Hold onto the important things and just get through. I am always confident if we rely on the grace of each other, we will get through.
 
We’re still packing boxes, wearing masks, washing our hands, keeping our distance and doing our best to find that sweet feeling of satisfaction for a job well done that comes with tying the bow on the season in the fall. Not quite their yet, but with just a few share weeks to go, its gotta be here somewhere.
 
Your farmers,
Bonnie, Erica, Hannah, Larry, Kerry, Marycia, Max and Meredith

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