Winter farm share, pickup 2 of 12

[magid]

The farm found even larger plastic bags, so this was all in one bushel bag, instead of two half-bushel ones. I suspect the logistics are much easier on their end, but it is a pain to carry home: the bag barely fit in my backpack, and without handles (it's held closed by a rubber band), it would be frustratingly difficult to carry home as is (not to mention noticeably heavy!).

• four tops-of-kale plants (ie kinda like a small bunch, but not individual leaves, being on one stalk)
  
• a big bag of spinach
  
• seven leeks
  
• a lot of carrots (maybe three to four pounds?)
  
• two stalks of broccoli with leaves
  
• a butternut squash
  
• seven red beets
  
• three sweet potatoes
  
• daikon, what looks like it might have been an enormous one that broke into three still-pretty-large chunks (think: at least two or three pounds of daikon)
  
• four heads of garlic

And because I'm a sucker for Thanksgiving foods, I'd also put in an order from Mass Food Delivery that arrived today in two half-bushel boxes (pretty much all veggies, plus a couple of apples and one package of bluefish pate). So I have a lot of cooking in my future!

First thoughts: I've been sauteeing a bag of spinach at a time (with onions, and sometimes sweet potatoes), then adding one of those pouch Indian meals to it as a sauce. It gets me to eat a lot of leaves at once. The kale will be massaged and likely added to mashed potatoes (I haven't tired of this yet). Some carrots my get pickled, others will end up in soup (pea soup is likely for Shabbat, and turkey soup next week). And maybe some will be stir fried with the broccoli. I'm uninspired by the daikon; I may give that to a friend (each bag was going to have daikon or black radish; I was hoping for the latter). A bunch of the other veggies will be made for Thanksgiving (some friends are picking up Thanksgiving food from me).

Comments

[ruthling]

oh, damn, I like those foods! except the beets.

[magid]

I know, you're one of the "beets taste like dirt" folks.

I'm happy to send the daikon your way, if you want to coordinate a place/time for handover (partway between our places => each of us has a reason for a walk).

[avivasedai]

I would love this winter farm share. I don't think I like daikon, but squashes, leafy greens, carrots, BEETS, lay it on me. I've been making some good stir-fry types from these groups and don't really get tired of it. Also made a butternut squash soup in the Instant Pot two days ago: 1 squash, 1 sweet potato, 1/2 onion, ~.5-.75 c of red lentils, salt/cumin/fenugreek/garam masala, more salt, some KP chicken bullion, then blended with coconut milk. (I am out of pre-mixed curry.)

[magid]

That soup sounds amazing! (reminder to self: get more cans of coconut milk when next at Trader Joe's)

Given the number of winter shares and farm-to-home possibilities around the Boston-cold area, I'm surprised there isn't more near you.

[cellio]

Would it work better to bring your own bag(s) and repack the share in a way that's easier for you to carry? (That's what I did with my farm share, before they shut down because of the pandemic. Waiting to see if they recover.)

[magid]

Well, the pickup is indoors (spaced and masked), so some of the question is minimizing the indoor time. When it was two bags, I put each into a handle bag (and one of those into my backpack), and it was minimal added time. I don't want to take the time take everything out to put into a smaller bag; it's not really what they're set up for, though I suppose I could do that outside, weather permitting. In the end, I'm probably just going to grumble and schlep it home as is, because it has the least time at the distribution, and I can decide which bags are best for each thing as I decant the bag towards the fridge.

[cellio]

Ah, I was assuming there was some staging space available, not right at the pickup but a lobby or the other end of a porch or something. That's harder if it's space-constrained -- maybe you can grab a few things out of the top on your way out (to put in a different bag), but doing a full repack outdoors in January doesn't sound practical, no.