The groundhog told us that spring was coming early, and I’m starting to believe him. I drove to the North Fork on February 2 to gather ingredients for homemade gnocchi and experienced my own signs of early spring. The first stop was Ty Llwyd Farms for a dozen eggs, raw milk and kale.
When I arrived owners David and Liz Wines had just emerged from the chicken coop with a fresh basket of eggs. I overheard Liz say to a customer, “Sorry, we do not have any eggs, these are reserved orders.” The customer and I, at the same time, said, “What!” I was desperate, “All I need is one egg, please!” The customer pleaded, “I drove 40 miles to get eggs for my daughter and if I return empty handed it will not be a good day.”
Liz broke down and said, “I will give you both six eggs each, that is all I can spare.” I could not believe we were negotiating egg rations in the winter.
Naively I said, “You must have raw milk.” Of course they were out. “We have had a busy winter, you may want to reserve your milk and eggs in the future,” said Liz. Thankfully, they had a hearty bunch of kale for my pesto and I remembered I made ricotta cheese from their raw milk that I had frozen.As I drove home, I felt partially defeated, yet inspired that people are rallying around the farms in the wintertime. Note to self: visit Ty Llwyd Farm at the crack of dawn or reserve ahead. Visit: outeastfoodie for the full post and recipe for Butternut Squash Ricotta Gnocchi With Kale Walnut Pesto.
