Happy New Year!

Hope you rang in the new year with enthusiasm! We joyfully celebrated until after the 9pm fire works and pulled a classic farmer on vacation and snuck back inside to go to bed!

New year was very special this year because Steven and I were able to get down to Florida to celebrate my mothers birthday with close family. The weather was great, and we ate as much local fish as we could find. Now that we are back from vacation we are getting back into gear and working on all the important new year tasks we farmers work on. The seed catalogs are dog eared and book marked as we discus new varieties. We also go through and catalog our existing seed stock and evaluate which types we want to grow again.

This new year is especially important this to us this year. With the big leap we took back in May to purchase our own farm we are now right in the heart of what makes or break a farm. Which isn’t as dramatic as it sounds but I can’t stress enough how much additional planning being on a new farm takes. We’re also at that point in the year where your membership is really important. We are still 8 weeks away from starting new seedlings and another 4 weeks after that will we start to have a small amount of greens to sell for income.

We are also making a big change for our quality of life and scaling back production. One of our goals from the last four years is to avoid the 85-90 hour weeks. We love farming, but year after year that kind of hustling can really break you down. This also gives us a chance to really focus on our Farm Share members and closer community. Thank you to everyone that has signed up already! Yes you are purchasing vegetables when you be come a member. But you are sincerely supporting every aspect of what we do to grow those vegetables!

Check out some photos from the trip and enjoy a great seasonal recipe!

Nights

of Lights in St. Augustine. The oldest city in the US knows how to party!

Pelicans

on the beach at sunset. The water tends to be too cold to get in, but the wildlife watching is great!

Sweet Potato and Cabbage Curry

3 tablespoons canola or safflower oil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 cup vegetable broth

1 can coconut milk

Salt and pepper

2-3 sweet potatoes, diced

2 carrots cut into coins

1 daikon radish, quartered then sliced

½-1 cabbage, shredded

Juice of half a lime

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the pepper flakes, onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, ground cumin, curry powder and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.

Add the vegetable broth, coconut milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Add the potatoes, cabbage and carrots. Cover and cook about 15 minutes. Then daikon radish (you want this to still be a little crisp) and the lime juice Stir well and cook for 2 minutes more. Serve warm on top of rice.