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Kale and chard all tucked in before the freeze
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What's happening on the farm right now:
Big changes have come to the farm in the last few days. The endless warm weather has finally turned cold and somehow over night the leaves are off the trees. Our view went from glorious fall blaze to subdued, winter purples and grays. With Theo and Ann Rene on to new adventures, our crew has shunk by two members and harvest days are a little longer and a lot quieter. Maybe that quietness is the main change, more quiet, more stillness. I think it is a change that we all welcome, some a little, some a lot. For me, often this time is like waking up from a dream. Oh, there is a world outside the farm? What is happening out there? Who is out there? There is a looking outward beyond the farm and the daily to do list. It is also a time when we step back to take stock, looking inward. How did the season go? What worked? What didn't? What do we want to do again? What not?
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I love the changing nature of our job. I appreciate that it is tied to the seasons and that those changes are unavoidable. It does take time to get reoriented. You feel slightly lost without a big list of fires to put out. That said, it really doesn't take too long to get used to warming yourself beside the fire instead of putting them out.
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PLEASE NOTE: The NATM is temporarily moving to new location on the UNC Asheville campus. The move happens on Saturday November 11 and will go through the December markets. UNCA is doing some more construction and needs our parking lot. We will be setting up in the lot off of Edgewood Rd just before you get to the campus proper if you are coming from Merrimon Ave. I'll write more about it next week but look for flyers at market this Saturday and/or ask at the market booth for more information.
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A peak underneath the kale blanket
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Alex in our new winter storage facility
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We moved all the winter squash, onions and potatoes to our workshop and put them, along with a heater, under two old market tents with their sides on for added warmth.
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Sam closing the tent up tight
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What's available in the store and at market this week?
These cold days and night are the perfect time to cook up some winter squash and it is selling fast. We've got plenty of butternut, delicata and spaghetti squash and are down to our last few crates of the honeynut, acorn and sunshine kabochas. We are also down to our last few crates of red potatoes but have plenty of yellow and white potatoes. If you are thinking about your Thanksgiving menu already, the whites are the ones that are best for mashing. Lots of yellow onions. Green kale, red kale and the last of the lacinato. The lacinato slows way down when it gets cold and has pretty much stopped growing. Swiss chard and cabbage. Loose beets and bunched carrots. Lettuce mix and head lettuce, with some really sweet, crunchy romaine and buttery red butter. Red round radishes for the first time since spring and sweet Japanese turnips. Parsley and cilantro. We'll have green sweet peppers at market. The red ones are all gone. Hazelnuts and popcorn.
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North Asheville Tailgate Market hours are
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Saturdays 8am-12pm on the campus of UNC Asheville.
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NOTE: New location starting November 11, still on campus but in lot P34, off of Edgewood Road, just before you get to the main part of campus
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Last Saturday market will be December 16th
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River Arts District Farmers Market hours are
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Wednesdays 3-6pm at the Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Drive.
Our last Wednesday will be November 15th
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RAD Market set up looking good!
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John's Recipe of the Week
| John Loyd is our dear friend, neighbor, CSA worker member and a gourmet Southern cook. His delightful observations on gardening and cooking appear here each week. |
“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” Oscar Wilde
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USES FOR KALE – There is a lot you can do with kale. Here are few ideas.
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Kale can be frozen and used later in soups (blanch it first); in dip; juiced; sautéed in vegetable stir fries; in salads, straight up, or massaged; as pesto; fried, and turned to very tasty chips
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BEET AND CORN SALAD from Katherine Dieckmann, Rensselaerville, New York. The cookbook is “One Big Table”. Serves 6
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3 medium beets, scrubbed and trimmed
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4 ears of corn, fresh or frozen, about 1 ½ cup frozen
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1 ½ cups red or green cabbage
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1 medium red onion, minced
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Cook the beets, peel them and cut them into medium dice. Cook the corn, either or on the cob or loose, for 2 or 3 minutes and then drain. If on the cob, cut the kernels off, either way transfer to a bowl with the beets. Add the cabbage, dill or cilantro and onion. Toss lightly.
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Whisk together vinegar and mustard in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Add dressing to the salad, toss, cover and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.
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Your farmers, Vanessa and Alex
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Love the flowers. Honor the vegetables. Let the weeds go!
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- Cheri Huber and Ashwini Narayanan
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