organic winter in the garden

It is so cold! I hope everyone's homes are warm, pleasant and have tasty soup.
I must attach this great picture from Adi, a new garden eater:
This, of course, is soup made from the components of last week's bo

It is also really cold in the garden. Even today when the sun is shining pleasantly, the morning was very cold and the garden looked like winter. Accordingly, everything is in all shades of green: Swiss Chard is dark green, broccoli bluish green, yellow and green lettuces, dark green celery, green and red beets, etc. Everything is also growing slowly, so the pace of new sowing and planting also goes slow as it is governed by the area that is being vacated.

Due to the rain, I wish to remind you:
1. Dry all leaves well to prevent rotting. You get them in the driest condition that we can send them, but they may need to be drier if you intend to store them; and
2. Mud and Earth are not dirt! (As aunts and children say). They are our friends.

I enjoy the fact that my work is connected to the yearly seasons and is not always in the same weather. Nowadays it's very easy to "ignore" the weather changes and always stay in an environment where the light, temperature and humidity are controlled just as we want them to be. I might sound crazy, but it is fun for me to wake up in the dark (perhaps because it's not every day). In this season I dress extra well and begin to work quietly alone. The rain plays on the metal roof of the container (our packing house) and in the area contiguous to the container that is covered with a fabric sunshade we can hear soft tapping and water, water running everywhere.

I finished early this last Thursday. It was the first day this year that I actually canceled work in the garden. The harvest and deliveries, regardless of the weather, went out as usual. (I'm still asking your help in spreading the word about our delivery to Modi'in, Tel Aviv and anywhere in between them and Nataf.) Somehow we managed between the hail and the rain to pick everything. During every pause of the water falling from the sky, in whatever state of wetness and saturation, we ran out to pick and bring veggies back to the container. I have learned to pay close attention to the weather forecast, and adjust the harvesting accordingly - maybe even advance the picking of some crops by a day. It gives us more options when picking and allows more time to dry the leaves. I finished my work early on Thursday and, probably around the same time that some of you got your boxes, I took my own organic box home and got to work drying, storing and preparing the soup I had been dreaming of all morning, probably just like you too.... and this is what came out:

Sweet potato and mustard soup:

Cook the sweet potatoes with just enough water to cover them. Just before they are too soft, add almost a whole package of organic mustard and cook until soft. Grate a bit of nutmeg and some salt if you like. Blend everything together and run through a pasta colander to remove the fibers of the mustard plant. I added some cream. This soup has a completely different taste and is totally delicious. Bon appetite.

Spinach or swiss chard Recipe from Boaz, a regular eater from the garden.

Fry lots of garlic in olive oil and coarse salt on a high flame, be careful not to burn the garlic. Once golden, add coarsely chopped spinach, stir occasionally untill soft. The whole process should take 3-4 minutes.

It's great as a supplement to a warm Pita, as filling for Burekas or bread and more.

For diversity you can add to the cooking some sauerkraut or scramble an egg into it. After cooking you can add Greek or sheep feta cheese. pinenuts and whatever turns you on. If you use chard, add the white stalk a little before you add the green leaves. A simple and successful recipe. Bon Appetite.

Have a great week.

Yours, Maggie

Our expectation list for this week

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Lettuce - stunning

Kolorbi

Beets

Potatoes

Cabbage

Celery

Rocket or parsley or cilantro

Peppers or lemons

Too large

Green onion

Mngold

Broccoli or cauliflower

Saves

Fruit baskets

Citrus fruits - hope Clementine

Apple - nearing the end

Bananas or avocados