Winter and Willa, the jersey cows are in the barn for the winter, along with their calves and two young heifers. Each morning they head up the laneway for a few hours of grazing on pea and oats before returning in the afternoon. Wallace was born last week out in the cool, muddy field. When she came in with her mom at sundown, shivering and still wet all over from birth she looked like she wouldn’t last a minute. She hadn’t found her mom’s teats yet, so her belly was beyond flat, and her impossibly long back legs looked as brittle as the cheapest discount toothpicks. I reluctantly turned out the barn lights that night, trusting that these guys know what they are doing better than we do, and our meddling wasn’t needed.

A couple of days and fully bellies later she was already filling out all of the spaces between and around her bones. She hadn’t yet mastered her limbs, they were flying in all directions when she would get up from her mostly napping life to run in circles around her mom. On the third day we decided to send them up the lane with the other cows, a raucous circus of an affair. Something about the long, narrow sloped laneway with a ninety degree bend in the middle incites the small herd to imagine themselves on the Autobahn, they all take off running as fast as they can and then screech to a near halt at the turn, in just enough time to round the bend and pick up speed again.

From day one Wallace was leading the pack, though in a slightly less direct manner. Being shorter than the fence, and completely unaware of its existence waving above her head, she circles and zooms and darts in and out, with her nervous mom tracking her movements and quietly sounding a warning when she strays to far in her orbit.

Intern at Full and By Farm

We have an intern from St Lawrence’s Adirondack Semester with us for the next couple of weeks. This program is an amazing chance for a small group to live and study off the grid in a wooded yurt campus. They wrap up their semester working in an Adirondack business and creating a thesis project to present to their class. Abbie McIvor is with us this year and is relying on help from you all for her project.

From Abbie:
“During my time at Full and By, I’d like to look at the various aspects of the local food movement, the costs, benefits, ethics, etc. I’d love to talk with some of you about your opinions on the local food movement, why you chose to be part of the CSA and why you feel it’s important to support. If you are interested in speaking with me you can email me at ammciv10@stlawu.edu. Thanks so much!”

In the Farm Shares

In the veggie share: brussel sprouts, leeks, kale, all still fresh from the field, winter squash, cabbage, celeriac, beets, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, and sage.

In the meat share: We cut up the hind quarters of the steer this week so we now have all cuts of beef in the freezer—steaks, roasts, short ribs, brisket, stew beef, stir-fry beef and ground beef. Pork and chickens also in the freezer.

Egg share: we are still rich in eggs, take extras if needed.

Sara Kurak
Full and By Farm

Cream of Celeriac Recipe

Bonus soup recipe included from Sara Kurak!

Extremely quick and easy, incredibly delicious and filling, favorite winter-time soup:

1. Melt 4 tbsps butter over medium heat in a soup pot.
2. Add 1 cup coarsely chopped onions and stir until tender, but not browned.
3. Stir in 2 pounds of celeriac, peeled and cut into 1/2″ dice.
4. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add 1/4 cup flour and turn the heat to high.
6. Slowly stir in and bring to a boil, 4 cups of stock, broth or water.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer partially covered until the celeriac is very tender, stirring occasionally.
8. Blend with an immersion blender or food processor.
9. Return the soup to the pot and stir in 1/2-1 cup of cream and season with salt and pepper.

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