My winter blog is as quiet as the sleeping fields

The only thing happenin' on the CSA front is a cold frost and the monthly meat share. Actually, we've had plenty of warm weather in MA, no difficult frosts, so it wouldn't surprise me if a few veggies were still growing slowly around the state. At our first veggie distribution last year, we had some turnips that had been in the ground all year.

Last week I made a trial run of applesauce, using this really easy applesauce recipe. Sure, it was sweet, but it's so much yummier than the watery, bland store stuff. I have a ton of apples that need eatin' so I plan to try a bigger crockpot of the stuff some time this week. I had it with pork chops from Chestnut Farms...delicious!

The brave folks at Chestnut Farms drove through the Western MA ice to distribute shares today. It was rainy here, and luckily most of the ice had melted. But yuck, what a job. It makes you remember that you have to be outside in all kinds of weather as a farmer, and I'm sure that the share distribution is one of the less messy jobs. I worked from home today. The building manager called to kick my car out of the parking lot for plowing, so I took a quick hop down to the drop-off location to pick up my share early. Normally I get there a couple hours later, so I was amazed at the dozens of coolers they distribute! I know that they were recently able to quit their square jobs to be farmers full time. Such a wonderful thing.

This month's share:

• 1 maple sugar cured bone-in ham steak.
• 1 lamb shoulder (yay! I have no idea how to cook this, but it looks beautiful).
• 1 package of ground beef.
• 2 shank steaks.
• 1 chicken breast.
• 1 package of maple sugar cured hickory smoked bacon.
• 1 package of steak tips.
• 1 large rib steak.

This past month I've had less steak. I used to dread the stuff because I didn't know how to cook it, but with the miracles of marinades, dry rubs, and a good tenderizing blow, I'm starting to get into the whole steak thing. Thanks Food Network!