We just had a fun filled visit from our dear friend Alex from the NJ farming community!
Outrageous ice crystals
Ahoy!
To note:
Stockbridge Farm Members: No pick up this week.
We will be in Shed five (inside!) at Eastern Market. We are still new there and getting moved around. Please look for us. We may be by the doors on the North Side of the building- that is a good place to start looking.
Recipe:
Japanese Sweet Potatoes! White on the inside, with a nutty flavor, they are a little more dry than the classic orange fleshed sweet potato. They make GREAT chips. I recently got a mandoline from a second hand store and have been toasting up a batch in the oven every chance I get. They make a great crispy addition sprinkled on top of any meal or just a crunchy, healthy munchies to fill that indulgence slot.
Sweet potato chips: Scrub them up and slice them thin. I have been using a mandoline but you could use the slicer on the side of your cheese grater or a regular ole knife. Coat the slices with the oil of your choice and season to taste with salt, pepper, and any other flavor you desire. Spread them onto a baking tray. They do not have to be completely single layer. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees, give them a scrape and flip, and then bake for another 20-30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and give them an additional stir. Allow them to stay on the pan while they cool to add on some additional crispy-ness. Enjoy!
Thoughts and rambles:
We are moving from a dusting of snow to a real snow and along with that, a real dip into the winter cold. By Sunday we will experience this year's first dip into the single digits, and a potential for a drop into the negatives. We are bracing for it by adding additional covers to the crops in the hoophouses and crossing our fingers. Hopefully our impressive plants will bear with us.
We are also working on completing our seed order. We aim to have the bulk of our seed orders placed by January 25th. This involves looking at all that we grew and sold this past year, predicting how much markets will expand or contract and making adjustments, nixing crops that didn't pan out or firming our resolve and trying again, and resisting the temptation to add too many new types of crops. There is so much data in a diverse vegetable business like this, organization is key. This is where excel becomes an actual member of our team, taking on human form and advising our decisions. Thank you human-excel, for holding all this information for us. Just next month we will be starting our first seeds for the season. It amazes me yet again how easily time passes.
But never fear, we aren't letting this time slip by unnoticed. We took a dip in the winter woods and saw some beautiful ice crystals. They look like leaves! This is known as hoarfrost and happens when temperatures are cold enough and there is ample water vapor around. We saw more hoarfrost in the forest where the frozen soil heaved up. Between the cracks, leaflets of beautiful ice crystals were exposed!
I hope you can make some time to get out in the world and observe some beauty! Looking forward to seeing you at market.
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers
Fresh From the Field!
Greens: (Limited):Arugula
Head lettuce
Herbs:
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Beets
Cabbage
Kohlrabi- beautiful meal sized kohlrabi and tender petite
Onions
Sweet potatoes! White and orange fleshed!
Radishes: Classic (with greens! May be limited), White Daikon, Green Daikon, and Watermelon radish
Turnips: Purple top and golden roasting turnips
Turnabaga- Turnip-Rutabaga cross! Delicious, sweet and crisp!
Markets, always rain or shine!
Saturday: Ann Arbor and Detroit's Eastern Market
The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am to 3 pm.
The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from 6am – 4pm
To note:
Stockbridge Farm Members: No pick up this week.
We will be in Shed five (inside!) at Eastern Market. We are still new there and getting moved around. Please look for us. We may be by the doors on the North Side of the building- that is a good place to start looking.
Recipe:
Japanese Sweet Potatoes! White on the inside, with a nutty flavor, they are a little more dry than the classic orange fleshed sweet potato. They make GREAT chips. I recently got a mandoline from a second hand store and have been toasting up a batch in the oven every chance I get. They make a great crispy addition sprinkled on top of any meal or just a crunchy, healthy munchies to fill that indulgence slot.
Sweet potato chips: Scrub them up and slice them thin. I have been using a mandoline but you could use the slicer on the side of your cheese grater or a regular ole knife. Coat the slices with the oil of your choice and season to taste with salt, pepper, and any other flavor you desire. Spread them onto a baking tray. They do not have to be completely single layer. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees, give them a scrape and flip, and then bake for another 20-30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and give them an additional stir. Allow them to stay on the pan while they cool to add on some additional crispy-ness. Enjoy!
Thoughts and rambles:
We are moving from a dusting of snow to a real snow and along with that, a real dip into the winter cold. By Sunday we will experience this year's first dip into the single digits, and a potential for a drop into the negatives. We are bracing for it by adding additional covers to the crops in the hoophouses and crossing our fingers. Hopefully our impressive plants will bear with us.
We are also working on completing our seed order. We aim to have the bulk of our seed orders placed by January 25th. This involves looking at all that we grew and sold this past year, predicting how much markets will expand or contract and making adjustments, nixing crops that didn't pan out or firming our resolve and trying again, and resisting the temptation to add too many new types of crops. There is so much data in a diverse vegetable business like this, organization is key. This is where excel becomes an actual member of our team, taking on human form and advising our decisions. Thank you human-excel, for holding all this information for us. Just next month we will be starting our first seeds for the season. It amazes me yet again how easily time passes.
But never fear, we aren't letting this time slip by unnoticed. We took a dip in the winter woods and saw some beautiful ice crystals. They look like leaves! This is known as hoarfrost and happens when temperatures are cold enough and there is ample water vapor around. We saw more hoarfrost in the forest where the frozen soil heaved up. Between the cracks, leaflets of beautiful ice crystals were exposed!
I hope you can make some time to get out in the world and observe some beauty! Looking forward to seeing you at market.
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers
- Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask.
- We are hiring! We have 3 full-time and 3 part-time positions opening up for the 2019 season. You can find details about the jobs on our website here. If you or anyone you know may be interested, please send us an email or pass along the information.
- We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details.
Fresh From the Field!
Greens: (Limited):Arugula
Head lettuce
Herbs:
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Beets
Cabbage
Kohlrabi- beautiful meal sized kohlrabi and tender petite
Onions
Sweet potatoes! White and orange fleshed!
Radishes: Classic (with greens! May be limited), White Daikon, Green Daikon, and Watermelon radish
Turnips: Purple top and golden roasting turnips
Turnabaga- Turnip-Rutabaga cross! Delicious, sweet and crisp!
Markets, always rain or shine!
Saturday: Ann Arbor and Detroit's Eastern Market
The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am to 3 pm.
The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from 6am – 4pm
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