This may sound like a strange statement if you step outside of your door in Western NY today. It was 27 degrees when I drove my two oldest to school early this morning for chorus rehearsals. However, when I check out the farm page on farmthisway 's website, I see recent videos of hens laying eggs, of cabbage being seeded and of our favorite farmers, Marty and Carolyn out working this past weekend at the Health Expo at the Hamburg Fair Grounds. It makes me think of Spring. It reminds me that just about a year ago, at Hamburg Middle School's Health Fair, we met Marty and Carolyn, coincidentally, a day after my husband, Tom, and I had decided to start looking for a farm share or CSA program. We tasted some of the goodies they had brought along, and we chatted with them for quite a while about the program, about farming and about why we felt we needed to make the switch to farm fresh for our family.
The seeding of early cabbage video makes me think of the many recipes I used last summer. A favorite here in our house is Colcannon. It is a pretty basic Irish dish and tasty. All 5 of us enjoy this greatly, which is saying something, since before we signed up for the farmthisway CSA we really didn't eat a lot of cabbage. But, mix that cabbage in with some ham or bacon, mashed potatoes and scallions? Divine! I even ventured into making and canning homemade sauerkraut, which we served on New Year's Day with our pork roast.
A couple of weeks ago, we paid a visit to the farm to renew our 24 week membership for this year. The kids got to meet the hens (who were only 4 weeks old at the time) who will be laying our eggs for the season. We saw Carolyn doling out a whole lot of dirt in the greenhouse and the kids got to pick some young radishes and carrots there in the greenhouse as well. It all smelled like Spring to me. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good Winter as well. The ice skating, the sledding, the skiing, the snowmen and snowball fights. But being out at the farm got my brain thinking Spring. It is kind of hard not to think Spring when you see cute little baby chicks and smell the moist dirt.
So with 24 weeks of great stuff coming our way starting in May, I am already thinking of new ways to use our fresh veggies. My kids help me seek out recipes on the internet and by watching cooking shows on TV and tell me what they think would taste great. They look forward to our rides out to Brant to pick up our weekly distribution, and they often help with the preparing of the foods as well. Somehow the food is far more exciting when they know where it comes from.
So, while I still have a lawn patchy with snow and a frozen pond in the backyard, and while there are still several large patches of ice in my driveway, I am feeling the Spring in the air!
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If you are interested in checking out the options for membership at farmthisway click here to see their 10, 15 and 24 week membership options. farmthisway CSA membership offerings or check this link out to see the OUR BUSHEL page and see a selection of their offerings.
