Welcome to spring, yikes no one say Christmas, big ups, and potato returns on investment.
Welcome to spring everyone. Winter is finally officially over. We can feel it in the air and we can see it in the growing list of weekly stallholders at Harvest. We love all seasons but we think everyone agrees that feeling a bit of strength back in a sun that rises higher in the sky is most welcome. Certainly, this week is our biggest market yet coming out of the cooler months. We’re extending a big welcome back to Frank’s Char, Red Cow Organics (who have been back for a few weeks but we’ve neglected to mention it, shame on us), and Kimchi Me. With flowers, and berries plus more produce and cheese slated for return very soon, the metamorphosis of Harvest from its winter cocoon into a glorious butterfly is nearly complete.
We didn’t say Christmas you said Christmas
The C word. Not that one. Rude. We mean Christmas, the C word we all love and loath in equal measure. As much as it doesn’t bear thinking about just yet, we’re certain it is in the back of everyone’s mind. Probably slowly edging to the front of everyone’s mind in fact. In a fortuitous turn of fate, Christmas eve this year falls on a Saturday. That means you can come to Harvest and fill your fridge and pantry with everything you need for your feast, and everything will be at its absolute best for your guests. Plus, you’ll still have time for last-minute gift shopping. Or to have the afternoon off sipping vintage cider in the sunshine in your underwear. Or both, whichever. Your call. How great is that?!
It also means New Year’s Eve must fall on a Saturday too. You’ll be able to stock up again, or if you’re in party mode you’ll be able to find Harvest hampers at Beerfest. Not sure we’re supposed to have made that public yet, but here we are. In any case, you will not be wanting for Harvest produce over the impending holiday period. Which at least alleviates one element of stress from the whole Christmas thing. You’re welcome.
Big ups
We so enjoy seeing our Harvest community out there in the wild. It is easy for us to think that they solely focus on our 4 hours each week. But that just isn’t the case. Our community has talents that stretch deep and wide, and they are out there doing amazing things, everywhere, all the time.
Case in point: Felds Farm and Harvest’s very own Lauren Byrne has taken a position on the board of Sprout, helping to establish and reinforce robust, just, and sustainable food systems in Tasmania. Huge congrats to Lauren for this achievement, and big ups to Sprout for everything that they do. We love singing from the same songbook.
Spuds and ROI
Spring means BBQs. It just does, don’t fight it. At Harvest, the ops team loves to cook outdoors wherever possible. Hosting a BBQ feast is great because you can outsource a lot of work under the “bring a plate” guise. But we hate it when everyone brings the potato salad. Usually varying in quality from ‘ok’ to ‘inedible’. You can easily protect yourself from this disappointment by following these steps. They’re so easy it is comical, and the flavour they deliver is a return on investment that any Martin Place banker would be pleased with.
Fill your pot with cold water and season it to 2%. That’s 20 grams of salt for every litre of water. Chuck in your spuds. Now chuck in a whole head of garlic (that you’ve peeled), 4 big sprigs of rosemary, and a teaspoon of black peppercorns. Slam it on the stove and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn it down to a simmer. This prevents the boiling action from breaking up the potatoes and stops the water from reducing too far, which would increase the salt concentration of the water, in turn ruining your spuds. Once the spuds are nearly cooked, remove them from the water. Then drain the water retaining the rosemary, garlic and peppercorns. Blitz these things to a rough paste with about a 1/2 cup of olive oil.
Reserve half of that mix and set it aside. In the other half, toss your cooked spuds and then walk out to the BBQ and get those things on the grill, roasting and getting crispy. When they are coloured, crispy and look like you never want to share them, toss them in the remaining oil/garlic/rosemary etc mix. Et voila. Rhys says he personally guarantees that someone will say they’re the best potatoes they’ve ever had. You can take that to the bank.
Thanks for reading, see you on Saturday.