Winter Eats

by Cynthia Graber

 

I'm feeling lucky. It's been snowing for days, and I've gotten to cozy up to baby bok choi stir-fried with tofu, and a fresh salad mix. 

In the course of reporting a story for Edible Boston on no- or low-heat winter greenhouse growing, I found out about Red Fire Farm's deep winter CSA. They were full, but to my great delight I got off the wait list. In last Friday's first drop, I picked up a colorful mix of salad mix, baby bok choi, sweet potatoes, onions, turnips, apple cider, honey, and sauerkraut made from their cabbage. Seriously, if Ryan Voiland (farmer/owner) would let me, I think I'd invest in his entire winter bok choi crop.

I also had the good fortune, errr, work assignment, to check out Ryan's presentation on winter farming at the Northeast Organic Farming Association's winter meeting. (Can you imagine a 750-person potluck? That's the type of conference this was. For Michael Pollan geeks, the keynote speaker was Polyface's own Joel Salatin, as hell-raising as ever.) Based on the standing-room-only attendance at Ryan's talk, I'd say there's a great deal of interest in winter farming. If we buy it, they'll grow it!

So let's do it. You can find all sorts of great local produce out there, even in the depths of winter. Natick Community Farm sells it every day right on the farm. And despite the fact that Boston still doesn't have a winter market, Natick does, as does Wayland. In the city, Sherman Market in Union Square sells local produce. 

As for the beans from my previous post? I used the flavors suggested in the comments, and I made a salad out of farro, cubed and steamed sweet potatoes, cooked red beans, plenty of olive oil, herbs de provence, and some spicy harissa powder. It's great on its own, and even tastier with some feta or goat cheese. 

Photo courtesy of Clagett Farm CSA on Flickr Creative Commons.

Comments

[quickmealhelp]

Oooh, send some of those beans this way, please?!! I would love to try that spicy harissa powder soon -- I keep reading about it. How much did you use in your bean dish? Sounds like a fabulous combo.

[Cynthia Graber]

I actually prefer real harissa, made from soaking dried chiles and blending them with cumin, garlic, and I think caraway. I have the recipe. But I did pick up some powder at some point, and it's spicy and fruity. I honestly have no idea how much I put in. As usual, I just sprinkled until it tasted good!