Upcoming Winter CSA!

Yes, a winter CSA in New Hampshire is totally a thing! This year Kearsarge Gore Farm and Greenhill Collective Farm are teaming up for a 10 week winter CSA that will be the best that NH has to offer this time of year. Weekly packages of organic root veggies, greens (yes, greens! grown in the greenhouse, available during the second half of the CSA), breads, dried herbs and mushrooms, teas, garlic and maple syrup will be dropped off for the CSA recipient to pick up at The Local on Main St. in Warner every Tuesday. This 10 week program, running from January 6 to March 10, is $300, boiling down to just $30/week for local, wholesome, trustworthy goods. If you are in the Kearsarge area, I urge you to try this CSA! I promise you will not be disappointed! 

Here are what I find to be some wonderful advantages to a weekly CSA; 

• Supporting local economy
• Getting to know the sources of our food (food security!)  
• Receiving the highest quality and most nutritious products
• Minimizing time and money spent in the grocery store
• Easy to plan meals when you have a weekly package of food to work with 
• Food travels less (think 15 miles vs 1500)  
• Minimizes overall environmental impact 

If you are interested in this CSA but not sure if you can make pick-ups in Warner, please message me and we can talk about arranging some sort of delivery. I would be happy to make this possible for absolutely anyone interested!  

Giving this Season!

I wanted to share some thoughts I have on the season of gift-giving that is upon us. We all know that Christmas has become quite devastatingly commercialized, which literally strips all of the magic and love out of the holiday. So I say, let's take it back! Here are some ideas I have on choosing thoughtful gifts that truly resonate with the spirit of love and giving that is Christmas!

• Shop locally
• I am certainly not the first person to suggest this, but it is an idea worth repeating! Don't know what to get someone? Check out local shops and artisans, where you know whatever you choose is made with time and skill from a community member who will certainly appreciate your business. I know there is a program in New London to encourage people to shop locally, with a card you punch every time you patronize a local business and discounts every Saturday this month. I have also seen many encouraging advertisements for local holiday markets  at restaurants and pop-up markets this month. Keep your eyes open for these opportunities! 

• Food
• Everyone needs to eat! Food as a gift is a wonderful idea, both practically and symbolically - giving the gift of nourishment and good health, what could be better?! Right now in New Hampshire farmers markets are still kickin', and you can find all sorts of root vegetables, squash, maple syrup and canned goods. Who wouldn't want a handmade basket full of potatoes, onions, garlic, canned green beans, salsa, maple syrup and ginger root? Well, this is possible, local, and incredibly thoughtful! Last year I got all my family members meat from Eccardt Farm in Washington, NH and wrote up a little blurb about the farm, what they offer and where to find them. This was a great way for me to share information about a local business as well as my passion for wholesome local food! And everyone loved it! Try it out, it is very rewarding for everyone! Making baked goodies, like yummy breads or cookies, is a classic Christmas passtime and works great as gifts, too! 

• Make your own
• I know not everyone has the time to make gifts, or maybe the confidence, but I think homemade gifts are the absolute best way to demonstrate love and the spirit of giving! Making cards is always a great place to start! Print out a couple pictures and put them in a nice homemade card or frame. Homemade candles and lotion are a couple things that I am excited to test out this year (shh), and beyond that I feel like there is a world of opportunity! 

• Donating in someone's name
• Trying to find a gift for someone who has everything? Want to break out of the materialism of modern Christmas? Making a donation in someone's name is a fantastic way to overcome these common gift-giving predicaments. Think about what causes or organizations your loved ones are interested and invest in their honor. Try this website, Kiva, to search for potential donation outlets and make Christmas special on so many levels!  

• Give your time
• One of my favorite gift go-tos - the homemade voucher. Sure, this idea comes from my childhood and college days when I had nothing to spend at Christmas time but my good intentions. But what could be more thoughtful then the gift of your time? Making homemade vouchers for babysitting, cleaning, massages, mechanic work or whatever skill you may have to offer is right on track with the spirit of love and giving that is Christmas. 

I don't see any magical at all in feeling compelled to go out for a hectic day of shopping, spending a bunch of money at giant commercial stores where everything is mass produced and cheap. I want to stimulate my local economy, know that my money is going to the people who deserve it, and show my loved ones just how much I love them! Cheers to that! 

Some random but totally awesome kitchen tips!

Sharing kitchen knowledge is a great way to stay connected to one another and progress in our kitchen endeavors. Little tips you learn along the way can help you be more efficient with your tools, ingredients and time, as well as make cooking and crafting more exciting! Learning kitchen secrets, which aren't always intuitive, is a skill worth honing! This is why I feel compelled to share a few completely random yet totally helpful kitchen tips that have been rocking my world lately. Pass it on!

• Soak potatoes to release starch (courtesy of mom!):  Love crispy homefries or hash browns? Potatoes have a lot of starch in them, which can cause them to be mushy and/or stick to the pan when frying. Soaking potatoes in cold water helps to remove a lot of that starch, allowing the potato to get nice and crispy, be it in home fry or hash brown form. Cut or grate the potatoes into nice cold water, let them sit until the water gets nice and cloudy (as it extracts the starch), rinse and repeat one more time. Rinse again and dry thoroughly before adding the potatoes to the skillet. Works like a charm!

Grated potato, twice-soaked in cold water, on its way to becoming crispy delicious hash browns! 

• Shaking garlic cloves in mason jar to remove skin (courtesy of chef Isaac): I don't know why, but peeling garlic skins just seems like THE biggest pain in the butt to me. Maybe it's because I use a ton of garlic in everything. If you feel the same way, you MUST try this incredible trick! Simple put individual cloves, or a whole head, of garlic into a mason jar, screw on the lid and shake baby shake! Get a nice vigorously up and down motion going so the garlic is beating against both ends of the jar. Like magic, the cloves are all peeled and ready to go! Beautiful!

• Vegetable scraps = totally easy and awesome vegetable stock: Minimizing food waste is like my number 1 kitchen priority. Making vegetable stock with vegetable scraps could not be easier or more convenient. Ya know how you always have ends of carrots and onions or hearts of celery or cabbage left after preparing for a meal? Well, throw all of those things into a crock pot with some water. Add sprigs of herbs, like parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (thanks Simon and Garfunkel ;) ). Turn it on low and let it all infuse for as long as you want! Set it and forget it! You can add absolutely anything to this, like apple cores (from making all those apple pies!), citrus rinds, squash skins, beet juice from boiling beets - anything. Just filter it once its done, put it into a big mason jar and have it on hand for all sorts of things, like making soup or boiling potatoes or rice. 

Seasons Eatings!!