January 2017 Farm Share
Our January 2017 farm share was just enough to eat in-between our travels. Winter share is a bit harder to split in half, and that’s probably because I want the carrots all to myself! HA Carrots go fast in our household in the winter, especially when we have colds. That homemade chicken noodle soup isn’t the same without the carrot, onion and celery combination. Then we have to add them to roasts, another winter favorite, so there is no such thing as too many carrots and I usually buy extra for potlucks. There’s always some soup making going on for sharing.
So here’s the scoop in pictures of what we got in the full share. We switched to Omnivore (includes meat) for winter, which makes Mr. Carnivore very happy! As usual, we split it with my parents so there are four of us eating good from the farm. I’m including week 6 which was right before New Year’s eve, then the two shares in January. In winter, our schedule is a pick-up every other week, so imagine each of these to be used over two week’s time. We eat out a lot so we can easily stretch these by adding a few more items from a store.
RESULTS…
I did lose a few items due to our neglect, as well as a few items I just didn’t like. The frozen green beans aren’t up to par this year. They’re overripe and many look stressed by the elements. I’m sure it has everything to do with the super dry summer we had. I just can’t eat overripe, bursting at the seams green beans. The kind that seem like the seeds inside are ready to be planted and not eaten.
I lost Brussels sprouts due to disinterest in eating them all by myself. Mr. Carnivore wasn’t allowed cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts for six weeks, so that left me in a pickle with everything I had in the freezer as well as fresh. I really don’t like Brussels sprouts after they’re frozen. I barely tolerate them fresh and mostly prefer them roasted with other vegetables. Even though I like the taste, I have a hard time getting past their smell while roasting.
One of our favorite easy meals in winter is some sausage with veggies and tomatoes over pasta. We get the best homemade pasta in our shares so it’s an easy enticement to throw something together. I put the broccoli in here for me and Mr. Carnivore got more of the sausage.
One fun thing we did that was food-related in January was take part in a progressive dinner. We hosted appetizers and I had a lot of fun trying out some favorites along with some new creations. I was especially pleased with how my barbecued meatballs turned out, so that will be a recipe I’ll share in the future. I did cheat a bit and have some mini sandwiches that I bought at GFS already prepared — all I had to do was defrost them. Also included were my hummus filled celery with cilantro, our family favorite cucumber and cream cheese mini breads, a yummy crab dip and a fun beef stuffed ravioli which were encrusted in Parmesan – another cheat, something I found at Aldies that are delicious.
So sorry, but that party had me hopping so I neglected the pictures, but I think we packed around 20 people into our tiny house. So much fun that I’m looking forward to doing it again.
We also did cheese on crackers for a potluck, soup for another one and the cucumber and cheese sandwiches for a funeral dinner I helped with. January was filled with social occasions — some for fun and three funerals that were very sad, all within one week. Nothing is harder than losing friends or witnessing friends lose their parents. The only way to get through those times is to appreciate the fellowship and remember the good times.
January was filled with lots of road trips and we started Mr. Carnivore’s radiation treatments. We ate out a lot and tried to make the journeys fun so we’d remember the good — more about that in February and March updates!
What’s your fork been up to?
