Labor Day has come and gone, Summer is winding down, and winter is coming!  As we indulge in the farm’s last delicious fresh organic vegetables, we also take the time to preserve and freeze vegetables to enjoy during the cold months.  Items such as pesto, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, and vegetable mixes for soups and stews are just a few of our favorites and are such a treat on a snowy winter day.  Thank goodness for freezers – while home canning is wonderful, it’s easier to freeze a few beans or mixed vegetables as part of the daily routine – and it’s satisfying to see the numbers of containers multiply in the freezer as the growing season ends.

Cooking delicious food is an interest many Yellow Stonehouse Farm CSA members share.  At our recent farm potluck, members created dozens of deliscious dishes, while a frequent topic of conversation is what new vegetable they’ve tried or new recipe discovered. It’s such fun to trade recipes and cooking tips during the weekly pick-up hustle bustle or across the garden row while gathering quarts of cherry tomatoes and beans in the farm’s Pick-Your-Own gardens.

In earlier times, people would “cellar” produce – root vegetables and winter squashes, and other items such as garlic, onions and shallots. Many families had a special section in their basement or under the barn that was dark and below the freeze line to store large quantities of fall and winter vegetables to eat during the winter months.

Today, there is the Yellow Stonehouse Farm Winter CSA share!  The farm stores vegetables for members and then distributes them from November through February.  There are five distributions of root vegetables, such as beets, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, turnips, yams; winter squashes such as acorn and butternut and cold hardy vegetables such Brussel sprouts, cabbage and kale.  We are particularly proud of our holiday distributions before Thanksgiving and Christmas so members have all the vegetables they need to make their favorite recipes for those special holiday meals.

If you’d like to get your own Winter CSA Share so you can enjoy our certified organic produce, we have a few remaining winter shares available.  Check out our website or come see us in person – the farm market is open to the public Wednesday to Fridays from 3 – 6:30 pm & Saturday’s from 9 am – 2 pm until October 22^nd.