Food for a Year: May 17-June 1

On Cairncest Farm in Plainfield, two brothers, Edmund and Garth Brown, have resolved to eat only what they raise/grow/forage/hunt themselves for an entire year. Edible Finger Lakes is carrying biweekly updates from the Brown brothers as they embark on this food journey.

Food for a Year: May 17-June 1

When I embarked on my grand experiment to grow all my own food for a whole calendar year I expected the variety of foods to gradually dwindle through the spring until my garden really got going. I thought the nadir would strike during May, but it appears that June is going to be even more monotonous. The only staple root I have left in abundance is rutabaga. Last year’s carrots, parsnips, beets and onions are very nearly gone. The garden will have abundant greens soon (if I’d been more on the ball I could be swimming in salad by now). Early potatoes, carrots, beets and summer squash should come on strong next month, but until then I’m stuck trying to figure out how many different ways I can prepare rutabaga. Usually I just cube and roast it on a high heat (450º) until soft, but recently I’ve used a food processor to shred them. The slivers can then be parboiled and reserved in the fridge until right before a meal. Packed tight and fried in bacon grease, they make for a nice vegetable “pancake,” though they don’t hold their shape as well as many other pancakes. –Edmund

Brothers Edmund and Garth Brown are owner-operators of Cairncrest Farm in Plainfield, New York. They produce and sell grass-fed beef and pastured pork. They blog about their 2015 homegrown challenge here.

Read the last Food for a Year post here.

Photo by Normandy Alden