Winter Share Week 1; We are what we eat

A few weeks ago Fern suddenly started referring to herself as a little chickie. I have no idea where it came from, but it was clear that she loved the idea that she was the baby chick and I was the mama hen. After a summer of careful observations of our 4 batches of broiler chickens, she had the cheeping down pat. Family-themed Halloween costumes seemed like an obvious next step! Fern’s fuzzy yellow chick costume was only slightly overshadowed by Chris’ inflatable rooster suit 🙂

One thing that has amazed me throughout this season is Fern’s balanced relationship with the animals and plants on the farm. She loved petting and talking to the baby chicks, but she didn’t flinch when I told her that the chickens were going to be our dinner. It’s a favorite activity to leave seeds out for the raccoons, but she was appropriately mad when she found out they were eating our sweet corn. And although she loved picking cucamelons and husk cherries in the PYO garden, she took the first frost in stride and was quick to tell friends that “it’s squash season now.”

Developing an appreciation for our food and its origin is such an important and complex process. It involves an understanding of the interplay between nature and cultivation. It requires an acceptance of the fact that we need to eat other living things to survive. And it creates an appreciation for the hard work that goes into growing good food. It can start with a tickle from a baby chick, an afternoon digging potatoes from the earth, a grasshopper in your salad spinner, or so many other encounters with food that remind us that it comes from nature. Far too often, our relationship with food as a living thing is obscured by grocery store fluorescent lighting and over-packaging and -processing. Its natural origins fade to the background, and the dirt between the lettuce leaves becomes an annoyance instead of a reminder that it was once growing in living soil. I say “bring back the dirt!” My hope is that by using Sweetland as a living, breathing example of the connection between our food and the natural world, Fern and everyone else who eats our food will “get” the connection. We are what we eat, so let’s eat real food!

Cheers, Norah and the Sweetland Crew

Week 1 Winter Harvest

Georgia Candy Roaster OR Baby Blue Hubbard Squash, 1 (couldn’t fit in boxes, so grab one from the bin!)

Sweet potatoes, 3 pounds

Celeriac, 2

Sweet peppers, 2

Plums, 1 quart

Bok choy, 1 head

Lettuce, 1 head

Garlic, 1 head

What’s Cooking This Week

You can find ingredients for all of these recipes in our farm store! We source meats, dairy, grains, beans, sweets, and more from local and sustainable producers. Don’t forget to use your CSA member discount!