Wow…end of February. It is starting to be clear as the days are getting longer, eggs are more abundant, the greenhouse is full of seedlings headed for the hoophouse and we’ve gotten down to some of the boxes of summer joy we stashed deep in the freezer! Happy eating!
This week at our Farmstand you can find:
• Eggs
Fresh/Stored Veggies & Fruits
• Arugula
• Beets
• Broccoli, Frozen
• Butternut Squash
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Chard, Frozen
• Garlic
• Green Beans, Frozen
• Kale, Frozen
• Pesto
• Potatoes
• Spinach
• Sweet Potatoes
Meats
• Bacon, Nitrate-free
• Pork Belly
• Bones, Pork & Goat
• Chicken, Roasting
• Fat, Pork Leaf
• Fat, Pork Back
• Pork Jowl
• Goat Chops
• Ham Roasts & Ham Steaks
• Italian Sausage, bulk
• Leg of Goat Roasts
• Offals – all sorts!
• Pork Chops
• Pork Roasts – Shoulder & Boston Butt
• Farmhouse Garlic Sausage
• Farmhouse Maple Breakfast Sausage
• Shanks, Goat
• Turkey Breast
• Turkey Drumettes
• Turkey Drumsticks
• Turkey Thighs
From the Pantry & Prepared Foods
• Applesauce – from our organic, heirloom varieties
• Beet puree
• Bloody Mary Mix from our Heirloom Tomatoes (Red & Green Zebra)
• Black Currant Gastrique
• Bone Broth: Roasted Turkey, Chicken & All-Farm
• Dilly Beans & Zydeco Beans
• Hot Sauces -frozen
• Lard (Leaf & Back Fat)
• Pâté, Chicken Liver
• Lemon Pickles
• Monarch Relish
• Pepperoncini
• Roasted Red Pepper Sauce/spread
• Tomolives
• Heirloom Tomato Salsa
• Canned Heirloom Tomatoes – by variety
• Tomato – Roasted Red Pepper Marinara Sauce
• Green Zebra Tomato Juice
• Dried Hot Peppers
• Dried Tomatoes
• Farmhouse Soups:Roasted Turkey & Squash; Vegetarian Borscht, Southwestern Squash & Carrot Potato Leek
From our Farm Friends
• Blueberries, Frozen from Spotted Dog Farm
• Frozen pizzas from Field Stone Farm (Beet with Feta & Honey; Chive Pesto with creamy potatoes & gorgonzola; Tomato sauce with extra garlic & pine nuts)
• Maple Syrup from Brookfield Bees
• BEANS! – Black Beans & King of the Early from Morningstar Meadows Farm
• Cider Syrup from Brookfield Bees
• Honey from Brookfield Bees
• Caramel from Fat Toad Farm
*Items in italics and from our farm friends are not included in the Omnivore Share, but are available to Omnivore’s at a 10% discount.
The days are getting longer and despite last weekend’s cold snap, we have some fresh greens in the farmstand today! Along with some great stored treats for lots of good healthy, tasty local eating.
Happy Valentines Day! In addition to yummy food for February there are some great ways to spoil your Valentines with farm fresh treats from gift certificates to books to pickles, applesauce, pate, Fresh Field Stone Farm Pizzas and the makings of a great meal. Check out the inspiration in the Farm Stand.
Sunday morning as Analiese entered the sow & hen barn, something flew the length of the barn, clearly not a chicken. An owl — yes, a barred owl had swooped under the curtain in the sow’s space at some point in the night and was now a bit trapped in the barn. Or thought it’d just sleep away the day in the upper rafters and then have another lovely meal of fresh, organic chicken again come nightfall. 
Once again, we are in the midst of hosting a Williams College Winter Study Class at the farm engaging with them in a great, hands-on, learning adventure. The week combines hands-on activities with conversations with farmers, journalists, policy makers, and others in the food system focused on how to make our food system more sustainable, environmentally, fiscally and from a labor perspective. And the Williams College students, bunked up in close quarters, shadow some of the same group dynamics of the herds out in the animal section of the barns and of the vast network of individuals and institutions comprising Vermont’s Farm to Plate movement.
Winter seems to be here for real and what a treat to wrap our hands around a warm bowl of soup or stew and have the oven slow roasting meats and veggies! We have wonderful combos for all of those dishes and a fresh batch of Field Stone Farm pizzas (Garlic Feta Pine Nut & Basil Pesto with tomatoes), perfect with a warm bowl of soup!
Oh, January how I love thee. A brand new year and the demands of the growing season seem so far away! So many possibilities for house projects, cooking experiments, rest, relaxation..oh and of course that backlog of important personal, administrative, and planning projects that have been pushed aside for more urgent demands. Oh, how I always yearn for 2 Januarys so there is time to catch up, plan and rest….oh well, we’ll do what we can and leave more projects and dreams for next winter.
Happy New Year! The farmstand is stocked with delicious and healthy options for all whether you have made resolutions to cook more, improve the quality or sustainabilty of what you eat, eat more local food and even if you have made no resolutions.