Your February Pizza in August

Did you know we are thinking about your February pizza in the middle of summer!? Here at the Harvest Table we are always thinking ahead...

Since we use primarily local ingredients, we have to use creative food preservation methods in preparation of the slower production months November - April. Jason, our Farm Manager, intentionally plans for the winter starting in the summer. For example, he grows a whole hoop house of Principe Bhourgese tomatoes for dehydrating -- around 80 plants!

This variety of tomato is notorious for prolific, single flush growth. This means that Jason gets LOTS of tomatoes very quickly, and he must use them quickly because they do not produce for long.

This year Jason spent countless hours planting, caring for, harvesting, and dehydrating these 'lil tomatoes. The restaurant now has 8 GALLONS of dried tomatoes for the winter! Each tomato spends around 15 hours in the dehydrator to be ready for storing.

The kitchen uses the tomatoes in sauces, pizzas, and entrees when tomatoes are otherwise not available...so you have a delicious pizza with beautiful locally grown items in February!

Jason and the kitchen are not only focusing on tomatoes for winter. Jason is currently curing Copra onions in the barn, and he will have around 500-1,000 lbs of butternut squash coming in. Jason and the kitchen will be blanching and freezing the remaining leeks early next week.

Have questions about food storage, winter planning, or food preservation? Come visit us for lunch or dinner and ask our chefs what they like to use in winter or take a farm tour and see what Jason is growing!