When I was an active farmer, growing greens in a hoop house through the winter was a huge thrill for me. Tucked under layers of fabric row cover, the arugula and kale would hang in there through the dark days of December and January, but once February brought 10 hours of daylight, the greens were off and running. I remember the first time I harvested a crop of hoop-house grown carrots, too. They were especially sweet and uniform.
So when I heard that the farmers at Beetlebung Farm were opening their farm stand on Middle Road this weekend to sell kale, collards, Japanese turnips, sprouting broccoli, carrots, and their beautiful “Party Mix”, I knew I’d be heading up there. It’s truly exciting to see a small farm making Herculean efforts to grow such beautiful vegetables year-round.
The carrots caught me at ‘Hello!’ And of course I came home with Party Mix.
As it happens, our winter farm-stand hop also took us past Grey Barn, where we stopped and treated ourselves to pastries, Prufrock, and rib-eye steaks (not all together!).
And lastly, we stopped at Mermaid Farm for feta and lassis, feeling incredibly grateful for the amazing Island-grown (and made) food we have available to us. I pledge to never take it for granted! Our Sunday evening meal was almost entirely made from local ingredients.
With our grilled rib-eyes we had this: Carrots, Peas, and Pearl Couscous with Citrus Herb Butter Sauce, a variation on a recipe I first did for my book Simple Green Suppers, so it doubles as both a side dish and a light vegetarian supper. The carrots are slowly sautéed with shallots until brown and perfectly tender; a citrus butter sauce makes a glazy finish that melts into a bed of pearl couscous.
Pearl couscous (also known as Israeli couscous) is really just tiny balls of pasta, but if cooked pilaf-style with some browned onions, it gains great flavor and retains a toothy texture. When summer comes around, be sure to try it in this Summer Squash, Corn, and Pearl Couscous with Coriander and Herbs.
On Monday, I took a heaping cup of the leftover carrot-couscous and used it as the filling for a little lunch frittata. I used 3 eggs, ¼ cup half ‘n’ half, and 1/3 cup shredded cheddar and followed the directions in the recipe for Little Kale and Feta Frittata with Chorizo and Mint, though I finished this frittata by baking for 10 minutes rather than broiling for four or five.
I had a few leftover carrots from my Beetlebung haul so I made refrigerator pickles. I still have the leafy carrot tops and I’m hoping to find time to make some Carrot Top Pesto with those. (Yes, carrot top pesto is a real thing.)
With a bit of additional vinegar and oil, you can turn the pesto into a dressing for warm roasted vegetables (Like, say carrots. We have three ways to roast carrots, don't ya know!)
Pickles and pesto are all very well and good, but if I get ahold of more of those carrots, I’m going to try turning the Pollan family’s West Tisbury Carrot Cake into carrot muffins with cream cheese frosting. Doesn’t that sound good?
Next week: March! (We’ll be on the lookout for baby lambs.) See you then and see you on Instagram @cookthevineyard.
This Week on the Vineyard
Cooking Classes
• Coming up at the Farm Institute during school break is a week of cooking camp for kids. The theme is Cook the Rainbow, with each day of the week devoted to a different nutritious color. Pre-registration required.
Farm Stand Goodies
• Ghost Island Farm is now harvesting microgreens and pea shoots. Stop by the farm stand on State Road to purchase.
• The Morning Glory Farm kitchen is now making chocolate chip cookie dough to go, pre-portioned and packaged in the refrigerator section!
• The Grey Barn announced their Spring Bread CSB. With each membership, a loaf of bread is donated to the Island Food Pantry.
And be sure to check out What's Open on Martha's Vineyard for regular updates about which restaurants, markets, retail shops and farm stands are open on the Island.
