Fall Line Farms and Local Roots

It’s that time of year when gorgeous winter squashes are widely available. If you love them, you can buy now and enjoy them almost all winter! Many will last from two to four months when properly cured and stored.

Delicata and spaghetti squash shouldn’t be cured at all. They’ll last two or three months in storage, so you should plan to eat those first. Hubbards and butternuts, on the other hand, are great keepers and will last 5 to 8 months under the right conditions.

Interested in giving winter squash storage a try? Here are a few tips that will help you prolong your stash:

Make certain your squash are properly “cured.” If you’re purchasing from a producer, ask whether they’ve been cured for storage. If so, you’re ahead of the game. If not, then you can do it yourself. Just leave the squash in a sunny, warm (80 to 85 degree) place for about 10 days. When your fingernail won’t cut the skin, the squash is ready for storage.

Store the squash in a single layer. You can use a basket or box of any kind—something breathable will help them store the longest. Place the squash in the box with crumpled paper between them to keep them from touching. Store only unblemished squash—you can preserve any with broken skins by freezing (but that’s a different blog entry!).

Keep the space cool and dark. Winter squash will store best between 50 and 55 degrees. If you can, keep the humidity at about 60%. Before I had a basement, I used to keep mine in a seldom-used guest room with the door closed.

If you’re unsure about whether your squash needs to be cured or how long it will last, Google it! Charts abound on the internet, so it won’t take you long to discover what you need to know.

Winter squash are delicious and nutritious, and with a little care you can enjoy the pies, soups, and other dishes to which they add their beautiful flavor and color. This is the time of year when many of our producers have winter squash on their buying pages. Enjoy!

Published: 10/11/2019

Members make a difference every time they purchase from Fall Line Farms and Local Roots. Every order brings you great fresh food and made-in-Virginia products like flower essences, goats milk soap, and beautiful flower bouquets. But did you know that every order also strengthens the local food system right here in RVA and Central Virginia by creating income and opportunities for small farmers, makers, and food entrepreneurs? You're doing good stuff!

And there's another way that we work to strengthen our Central Virginia market region. It's called 'Pounds of Plenty." With the touch of a button, you can donate food from FLF&LR to neighbors in need and other worthy causes. Pounds of Plenty is our way of collaborating with producers to make great food available to a food bank near you.

Producers choose what they can discount for donation during any particular week. You choose and order those items from a producer. We deliver what you ordered to the food bank closest to your pick-up location. Your donation goes directly from the producer to folks in your neighborhood who are in need!

Selections change weekly, depending upon the season and producers' supply of certain items. This week, you can donate natural deodorant or granola from Misty Morning Sunrise Farm, ground beef from Thornebrook Farms, and butternut squash or potatoes from Thistledowne Farm. Or you can choose to donate tomatoes to this week's featured program, the Culinary Arts Classes at Goochland High School.

Chef Dave Booth teaches Culinary Arts at Goochland HS. He's also chair of the Center for Rural Culture's Education Committee. Dave's going to be teaching his students how to can food, and some of our producers are banding together to get him tomatoes.

You can support this effort by going to the Pounds of Plenty page, then scrolling down to the section that says "tomatoes--bulk seconds." The tomatoes you order will go straight from the farm to Dave's classroom!

We're committed to LOCAL, and this is just one way that we take care of our market's region. Thank you for your support of this non-profit online farmer's market, and for your generosity in giving through the Pounds of Plenty program!

Published: 10/04/2019

TOO MANY TOMATOES? WANT TO SAVE SOME SUMMER FOR WINTER?

We can help with this simple, delicious, freezable recipe!
All you need are tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, and sea salt. You’ll also need a rimmed baking sheet and, if you want to peel the tomatoes, a set of kitchen tongs.

Any kind of tomatoes will work--even the little teeny ones. You can follow this method all the way to the end, or you stop at simply roasting them, and then packing them plain into a plastic container to freeze for use later. (Don’t skip the salt, though.) Or you can fancy them up a little with roasted garlic and wilted basil, as we’re doing here.

GET ROASTIN’!

Wash your tomatoes.

Drizzle a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil.

If the tomatoes are large, slice them in half and arrange them on the baking sheet with the cut side down (peeling up). If they’re cherry tomatoes, you can just throw them on the cookie sheet in wild abandon.

Place the tomatoes in a 450 degree oven. Roast them until they begin to collapse a little. Begin checking them at about 10 minutes.

While the tomatoes are roasting, slice several large cloves of garlic. You can add as little or as much as you like. I usually slice about 3 large cloves per baking sheet of tomatoes.

TO PEEL OR NOT TO PEEL?

If you don’t like the peels on your tomatoes, then once they’re hot and the peels are loose, pull the sheet out of the oven and set it on top of the stove. At this point, you can easily remove the peels with a set of kitchen tongs and throw them in the compost. They’ll just lift right off of the tomatoes. If the peels aren’t loose yet, just put them back in the oven for a few minutes and check again.

Here’s an admission. If they are little tomatoes, I often just leave the peels in the mix. They don’t hurt anything. But you do you!

At this point, you should sprinkle sea salt over the tomatoes, to your taste. You can add some pepper, too. Then sprinkle the garlic slices over the tomatoes drizzle again with olive oil.

Roast until the tomatoes are jammy, caramelized, and not so liquidy. While they’re roasting, prepare your basil for wilting over top of them when you pull them out.

BASIL MAKES IT BETTER

I usually chiffonade the basil leaves (stack them on top of each other and then roll them into a cylinder, then cut so that the pieces come out in long strips). You can also just chop the basil or tear it and sprinkle it over the hot tomatoes, then stir to combine them.

Let the whole thing cool, then pack into freezer bags or freezer containers. When I’m using a freezer container, I usually put a thin layer of olive oil over the top just to create an additional air barrier. Be sure to mark the container with the date and the ingredients.

SAVOR LATER!

If you don’t like basil, feel free to substitute with any herb that suits your fancy. Oregano comes to mind as a great choice for tomatoes. Or use minced onion instead of garlic.

These tomatoes will bring August to your plate in February. Impress your company (and yourself) by warming them up and serving them with grated parmesan cheese over pasta or a cooked chicken breast. Add crusty bread and a fabulous salad for a wonderfully simple meal.

Published: 08/30/2019