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Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 6 cups mixed salad greens (try a combination of baby spinach, and tender spring mix)
• 1 cup fresh apples, chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese or feta
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds or candied walnuts
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced radishes
• Optional: 1/4 cup fresh herbs (mint, basil, or dill work beautifully)

For the Honey-Balsamic Vinaigrette:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon local honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 small clove garlic, minced or pressed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Toast the nuts: If using plain nuts, toast them lightly in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until golden and fragrant, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Set aside to cool.
2. Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, and garlic until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Alternatively, combine all ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously.)
3. Prepare the greens: Gently wash and dry your salad greens. If you have a salad spinner, it’s perfect for this task. For the most beautiful presentation, tear any large leaves into bite-sized pieces rather than cutting them.
4. Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, combine the mixed greens with about half of the apples, red onion, and radishes. Drizzle with about half the dressing and toss gently to coat.
5. Finish and serve: Transfer to a serving dish or individual plates. Top with the remaining apples, red onion, radishes, crumbled cheese, toasted nuts, and fresh herbs if using. Drizzle with the remaining dressing or serve it on the side.

Variations

• Protein boost: Add grilled chicken or hard-boiled eggs.
• Summer version: Substitute strawberries for peaches for apples.
• Fall harvest: Add some roasted cubed butternut squash

Tips for the Best Salad

• Use just-picked greens: The fresher your greens, the more flavor and nutrition they’ll have. Farm-fresh greens from Crisp Country Acres will make this salad truly special.
• Keep greens crisp: If preparing ahead, store washed and dried greens with a paper towel in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Dress the salad just before serving to prevent wilting.
• Balance the flavors: The perfect salad has a balance of sweet (strawberries), tangy (vinaigrette), creamy (cheese), crunchy (nuts), and peppery (radishes and arugula) elements.

Ingredients

For the Base:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium turnip, peeled and diced
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Optional Additions:

• 1 cup chopped kale or spinach
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Fresh herbs for garnish (parsley, thyme, or chives)

Directions

1. Prepare the vegetables: Wash, peel, and chop all root vegetables into roughly 1/2-inch pieces. Try to keep them similar in size so they cook evenly.
2. Build the flavor base: Heat olive oil or butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
3. Add the vegetables: Add all the chopped root vegetables to the pot and stir to coat with oil. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, allowing the vegetables to develop a slight caramelization.
4. Add liquid and seasonings: Pour in the broth, add bay leaves and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
5. Cook until tender: Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until all vegetables are fork-tender.
6. Finishing options:
   • For a chunky soup: Remove bay leaves and serve as is.
   • For a partially smooth soup: Use an immersion blender to partially blend the soup, leaving some chunks for texture.
   • For a completely smooth soup: Remove bay leaves and carefully transfer soup to a blender in batches, blending until smooth, then return to pot.
7. Final touches: If using, stir in chopped greens and simmer for another 3-5 minutes until wilted. For added richness, stir in cream or coconut milk and gently warm (do not boil after adding cream).
8. Serve: Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh herbs. Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Storage Tips

This soup keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. The flavors often improve after a day, making it perfect for make-ahead meals.

The family settled on this piece of land after the civil war.  It is thought that Bartelt VanderZwaag used the money he made from fighting in the Civil War to purchase the land on 120th Ave, just down the hill in Crisp, Michigan

This is the second barn, as the first one burned down.  Do you recognize it?  It is still there today!  Next time you are at the farm look at the peak of the barn, you can see the year 1899 carved into it.  This barn has seen alot of changes over the years.  Now it holds our coolers and cold storage.

Since immigrating here from the Netherlands in the 1850’s the family has been farming! They raised hay, wheat, corn, soy beans, pickles, beef, pork and it was even a dairy for a while.

Today, we are still farming the same fields that our ancestors did almost 150 years ago. I often look at the pear tree that is on the side of the field.  Wondering how many generations ago that it was planted.  Wondering how many of our family rested under that tree, enjoying the tasty fruit. We will forever be grateful for the generations that worked so hard for this farm.

The warm temperatures today made us wonder if it was really January!  It felt more like April and we should have been planting!  It sounds like tomorrow is back to reality for January, but it was nice while it lasted!

Things in the greenhouse are doing really well.   The plants have loved the warmer temperatures and sunshine this past week!  You could almost watch the plants grow.

The first 2 weeks of the year have been busy for us.  We started our first CSA program last week, we had a great turn out.  A huge thank you to everyone who joined our winter program!  We so appreciate you supporting our family this winter!  The program runs until the end of February. If you have been thinking about the winter program and would like to join please let us know.  We would love to have you!  We are also planning a spring program, watch for the details to come out soon.

We have a farm stand open at the farm now.  (The address is 5888 120th ave.)  This is a great way to get local produce if you are not in the CSA program!  You can pick out what ever you would like or get a CSA sample box to give it a try.  We anticipate our online farm stand opening in the next couple weeks.  Check back for more details!  You will be able to order your produce online and come out the farm to pick it up.  We will have it all bagged and ready for you when you get there!

We hope that you all enjoyed the beautiful weather today and have a great rest of your weekend!

This is a picture of some our lettuce growing in the greenhouse.  There will be green leaf lettuce in the boxes next week.  It is a wonderful treat to have locally grown lettuce in the middle of January!