Thank you to our anonymous donor for the New Doors on the Greenhouse! As you can tell, we used the last bit of life that the old doors and frame would give us. Jeff Collman did the work, and we would like to give him a colossal thank you. If you have a job to do, contact him at Jeff.Collmann@gmail.com. We have a lot of projects that need funding. We are currently running a campaign that if you donate $500, we will name a garden bed after you. An excellent gift for the hard-to-buy-for Valentine! Just donate to make it happen!

Table Talk Tidbits

Mother Nature has spread her wintery blanket of snow, icy wind, and cold temperatures over the home of The Roughwood Center For Heritage Seedways (RCHS). Thanks to a donation from one of you, we were able to get new doors for our primary greenhouse purchased and installed, just in time. Our greenhouse plants, like our 70-year-old Rosemary bush, can now bask in the warmth of our heated greenhouse without being buffeted by those icy winds seeping in through the gaps and crevices of our old makeshift door. Try as they might, and they have tried, the winds have been unable to dislodge our new doors.

This cold and getting colder temperatures have also driven the mice indoors. When your seeds are stored in a building almost 220 years old, like ours there are bound to be niches and crannies through which a mouse, their friends and family can escape out of the cold. Mice escaping from the cold tend to be hungry and we discovered that. The mice had eaten the seeds out of the envelopes and left mouse droppings as either payment or a sign of their deeds.

The rest of our seeds, stored in the freezer, on shelves in glass jars or sealed plastic containers have successfully thwarted attempts by the invading mice to pillage. Those of you reading this, take note and safeguard your seeds from temperature, light, moisture, and rodents!

Speaking of safeguarding your seeds … have you purchased your seeds for the new season? Our store is open and ready to fill your orders. We would love to see pictures of what you grew last year. Those pictures can keep us all motivated through the cold for a rebirth of life in the spring.

The following recipe can be found in

Flavors from the Garden: Four Seasons of Heirloom Vegetable Recipes by William Woys Weaver. The book is available for purchase in our store.

Pennsylvania Succotash

Serves 4 to 6
1 cup dried Dr. Martin’s Lima (or lima of your choice)
1 cup dried Indian Hannah Pole Bean (or speckled pinto-type bean of your choice)
¾ cup dried Spelt Bean (or small brown bean of your choice)
1 cup cooked wild rice
3 cups frozen organic fire-roasted sweet corn, thawed (we recommend 365 by Whole Foods Market organic fire-roasted frozen corn, which is reliably organic and is available year-round; off-season fresh corn isn’t worth using)
½ cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
½ teaspoon dried savory or thyme
1 cup toasted walnut oil
¼ cup shallot vinegar or white wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot, bring 12 cups of water to a boil over medium-high heat.

In a deep work bowl, cover the dried lima beans with 4 cups of boiling water. Repeat with the pole and spelt beans in separate bowls. Let the beans soak until fully swollen, at least 2-2 ½ hours (the limas will take the longest). Strain and transfer the beans to three separate saucepans. Add 4 cups fresh water to each saucepan, set over medium heat, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Once tender, drain and combine the beans in a large bowl. Add the cooked wild rice, corn, scallions, red pepper, and savory, and stir until well-mixed.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and vinegar until combined, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the bean mixture while still warm. Stir well to mix, then season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This recipe celebrates three classic Pennsylvania heirloom beans, Dr. Martin’s Lima (developed in the 1920s by dentist Dr. Harold Martin), the Indian Hannah Pole Bean (a Native American variety associated with a Lenape, Hannah Freeman), and the meaty brown Spelt Bean (Dinkelbuhn), a Pennsylvania Dutch variety from Lancaster County. The dish’s basic idea is to combine three types of beans, each with a distinctive texture and appearance: the jumbo lima features an unusual sweetness; Indian Hannah has a pleasing smoky flavor; and the Spelt Bean could pass for grain, hence the name. Soaking and cooking the three types of beans separately may appear inconvenient but will ensure evenly tender beans. Because they are different types, if soaked or cooked together, one will always end up too firm or too soft. For fresh or frozen beans, blanch in boiling water just until crisp-tender and hot. (Weaver,171)

Hearth Cooking

Old-time succotash was normally cooked down hearth in an earthenware bulge pot like the one shown here. It was set up on an iron trivet with hot coals raked in around it. Normally, it was covered with a loose wooden or tin lid to keep out smoke and ash. Cooking time depended greatly on the type of wood used, with hardwoods like apple or dogwood burning hotter, thus reducing the time. All the same, this type of cooking was slow by modern standards, and the cook could leave it to simmer, much like a crockpot, to attend to other chores while the food was cooked.

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PO BOX 75
107 Old Lancaster Road
Devon
PA
19333
United States of America