Friday, September 28, 2012

Journal Post for week of Septmeber 26

Volume XVI , JOURNAL VII

                                                                                                                          September 26,  2012

       Blue Heron Farm Journal

So what’s happening on the farm this week?

Hi Everyone - week 16- Big thank you to the crew who came out and helped with tearing out the tomatoes and cucurbit plants and all the black plastic, drip line plants...it was amazing to clear this field last Sunday! Thanks to Sarah, Erika, Joe, Rudd, Isabelle, Eva, Jack and Luke! Thanks also to Gail, Sophie, Eva and Diantha for all the help you give us on a weekly basis! We got all the winter squash picked today and there will be plenty for you to have over the next few weeks. We have been slowly putting fields to bed and preparing for winter. It is looking like we will be closing the morning of October 10th.

The last CSA pickup will be October 10th (Wednesday) with a potluck dinner, music and possible bouncy house (Sadie's request). We will provide drinks, plates, cups, silverware. Bring friends and family:) It will be our annual hoedown with dinner starting at 5 and music and bouncy house starting at 4. To celebrate the end of the season and hopefully - the closing of this wonderful land with all of you ;) So there will be no pickup on Monday the 8th, pickup will be on the 10th - with bags/boxes packed for you to take home after dinner. Those who are delivery shares - let us know if you are coming up and we will have your share ready for you. those who can not make it up - we will deliver as usual on thursday the 11th your final share of the season.

As you can see the ram lambs have made it up to the veggie farm and they love all the attention they have been getting from all of you. We do have 6 lamb shares left - whole or half, available mid December, They will be $10lb hanging weight. Last year's lambs were about 40-45lbs hanging weight. We processed chicken last week and we have a few of those left, they are frozen and are $6 lb average weight 3.5lb. Annie and her calf Annabelle are doing quite well together and Maggie, the big sister, loves Miss Annabelle and keeps an eye on her when Annie is not around. We have milk for sale $5 1/2 gal or $8 gal. Let us know if you are interested we can have it available at pickup.

PYO cherry tomatoes can be anytime - as long as the plants are not wet - feel free if you are a CSA member to come and pick. Tomato season is just about done, but you will still receive a few tomatoes in your share until the end of the season. there will be green tomatoes available for anyone interested.

Thanks again to all of our amazing volunteers each week! We couldn't do this without you!

Have a great week. -Your farmers, Adam, Christine, Sadie, Delia, Mandy, Harley and Sophie.

Our blog is at: www.blueheronfarmvt.com or on Facebook- check us out and/or leave a comment.

You can also get a hold if us via phone 372-3420 or email harmonyvt@yahoo.com

What’s in the share this week: heirloom Tomatoes, Red Potatoes, Green and yellow Beans, PYO Cherry Tomatoes, PYO Ground Cherries, Arugula, Cilantro, dill, Lettuce Mix, Winter Squash(please note: this is a tentaive list, what folks get on Monday maybe slightly different than what folks get on Thursday)

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Eggs for sale We have the pretty girls’ eggs for sale – these are free-range, certified organic chicken eggs that are brown, green and blue – with the brightest yellow/orange yolks you ever seen. The eggs are $5.00 a dozen.

Yarn for Sale

Yarn is available in our natural color "Island Oatmeal", "Earth", and "Snow." Worsted Weight, double twist, soft, 240 yds, 4 ounces, Greenspun/Certified Organic (no petroleum products used in cleaning the wool) by Green Mountain Spinnery here in Vermont. Yarn is in the farmstand. 17.00 skein.

Recipes

Arugula Pesto

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arugula_pesto/

2 cups of packed arugula leaves, stems removed

1/2 cup of shelled walnuts

1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1/2 garlic clove peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Brown 6 garlic cloves with their peels on in a skillet over medium high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in places, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins.

2 Toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until lightly brown, or heat in a microwave on high heat for a minute or two until you get that roasted flavor. In our microwave it takes 2 minutes.

3a Food processor method (the fast way): Combine the arugula, salt, walnuts, roasted and raw garlic into a food processor. Pulse while drizzling the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

3b Mortar and pestle method: Combine the nuts, salt and garlic in a mortar. With the pestle, grind until smooth. Add the cheese and olive oil, grind again until smooth. Finely chop the arugula and add it to the mortar. Grind up with the other ingredients until smooth.

Because the pesto is so dependent on the individual ingredients, and the strength of the ingredients depends on the season or variety, test it and add more of the ingredients to taste.

Serve with pasta, over freshly roasted potatoes, or as a sauce for pizza. Yield: Makes 1 heaping cup.

#sizeFP

Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 1 Hour15 Minutes

Servings 6

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

2 whole Acorn Squash (you can use any winter squash except for spaghetti squash)
Kosher Salt To Taste
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons (to 3 Tablespoons) Brown Sugar
Pure Maple Syrup

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Halve each squash, then scrape out the seeds and stringy membranes. Place the halves, flesh side up, on a baking sheet and sprinkle each half with salt.

Next add a generous tablespoon of butter to the center of each squash followed by 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar. Next drizzle squash with maple syrup.

Pour 2 cups water in the bottom of the baking pan.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 30-45 minutes, or until squash is golden brown.

In the last 5 minutes of baking, turn on the broiler and allow tops to get a little more brown and the butter/sugar mixture to bubble.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Journal Post for week of September 18, 2012

Volume XIV and XV , JOURNAL VII

                                                                                                                          September 18, 2012

       Blue Heron Farm Journal

So what’s happening on the farm this week?

Delia picking her "tomaters" before tuesday's storm

Hi Everyone - week 15 - These journals seem to be slipping by me these past few weeks. It is hard sometimes to get that quiet time to think clearly and to type coherently to share what is happening on the farm. With the fall, schedules change and folks have other things to do, so it takes a bit more of me to get farm chores and harvesting done - and one thing I have let go is this journal (and some laundry folding, picking up toys, etc). I'm sorry about that, and I am going to try to be a bit better about it. We are getting closer to closing on the land here - the 14 acres we veggie farm on and the 16 acres we live and graze the sheep on. It looks like we might be (fingers and toes crossed) closing on October 9 or October 10th. Yeah!

So with that being said - the last CSA pickup will be October 10th (Wednesday) with a potluck dinner, music and possible bouncy house (Sadie's request). We will provide drinks, plates, cups, silverware. Bring friends and family:) It will be our annual hoedown with dinner starting at 5 and music and bouncy house starting at 4. To celebrate the end of the season and hopefully - the closing of this wonderful land with all of you ;) So there will be no pickup on Monday the 8th, pickup will be on the 10th - with bags/boxes packed for you to take home after dinner. Those who are delivery shares - let us know if you are coming up and we will have your share ready for you. those who can not make it up - we will deliver as usual on thursday the 11th your final share of the season.

Sadie& Delia get a ride while "May" spins the greens dry.

We will be having a working share get together this Sunday, September 23, at 1:00pm. We will meet at the farmstand and work on putting the tomato field to bed for the season. Please wear sturdy footwear, gloves if you like, water bottle and if you have a jack knife that would be handy. Great way to get your hours in or volunteer. There will be gleaning of plenty of tomatoes that you can take home with you. Please try to RSVP so we know how many people to prepare for. Call us 372-3420 or email harmonyvt@yahoo.com

The nights are getting colder and the plants are growing slower - with that growing slower - also comes that fall sweetness. Greens and beans are so yummy this time of year. The plants don't look as stressed as they would have a month ago, things are moving a bit slower - with more cadence instead of this fenetic energy that gets folks running in all sorts of directions in the summer. If I could choose - I would grow spring crops and fall crops - I like this energy and rhythm better - but ohh, there are those tomatoes I would miss.

Speaking of tomatoes...this has been a banner year for heirloom tomatoes and we wanted to share that with you. So an average share year would have received 4#/2 #/1# (Full, Individual, Salad) each week - and that is what we calculated your share each week to be - and anything over that amount each week - was the "extra" and that "extra" didn't take away from the rest of the seasons bounty. There were a couple people who questioned that and I wanted to explain it out. So there were weeks when the tomato spread looked like this 8-10# for full, 6-8# for individual and 2-4# for Salad - anything above the 4/2/1# was the extra that we hope you enjoyed, shared, canned or frozen. Hopefully this explanation makes sense. And to those that are delivery sites - we are sorry for any squishy tomatoes you may have received - we are always trying to tweak the ways deliveries go - so we have switched to boxes to help prevent squishy tomatoes.

Thanks again to all of our amazing volunteers each week! We couldn't do this without you!

Have a great week. -Your farmers, Adam, Christine, Sadie, Delia, Mandy, Harley and Sophie.

Our blog is at: www.blueheronfarmvt.com or on Facebook- check us out and/or leave a comment.

You can also get a hold if us via phone 372-3420 or email harmonyvt@yahoo.com

What’s in the share this week: heirloom Tomatoes, Red Potatoes, Green and yellow Beans, Cherry Tomatoes, PYO Ground Cherries, Arugula, Asian and listada de Gandia Eggplant, Sweet peppers, Hot Peppers Cilantro, dill, Garlic (please note: this is a tentaive list, what folks get on Monday maybe slightly different than what folks get on Thursday)

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Yarn for Sale

Recipes

Ground-Cherry Pie

July/August 1981http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/ground-cherry-pie-zmaz81jazraw.aspx

By Laura Boyle

When I serve ground-cherry pie to my guests, the very few people who have ever tasted the treat before usually react with remarks like, "Oh, I remember when my grandmother used to make this," or "My great-aunt baked these for special occasions!" However, most folks have never heard of—much less tasted—this delicious fruit. That always astounds me, because ground cherries have been included in our family gardens for at least four generations!

Growing Wild

As a matter of fact, it isn't even necessary to cultivate ground cherries, since they're commonly found in fields, along roadsides, and in open woods and wastelands in every part of the United States except Alaska. (Not long ago I discovered a patch of the wild fruit on a grassy embankment just two blocks from my Minnesota home.)

These fast-growing species of the genus Physalis are also known as husk tomatoes, tomatilloes, strawberry tomatoes, bladder cherries, and poppers (the Chinese Lantern is a popular, non-edable ornamental variety). They belong to the Solanaceae family, which includes tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, tobacco, and nightshade.

The plants, while widespread, are usually not very abundant in the wild, so to assure a big harvest it's best to cultivate them from seed, which can be ordered from www.eedsavers.org

Expect this garden crop—which prefers medium-dry soil—to sprout early and grow rapidly. It quickly puts out yellow flowers with brown or purple centers, and will continue to bloom and bear until the first frost. Around July, the fruit (which develops in a husk) will begin to drop to the ground and—even though it's not fully ripe when it does so—you should gather the cherries as they fall, since they're favorites of many animals and birds.

Inside the husk you'll find a small berry about half an inch in diameter with a tomato-like skin that, when ripe, has a sweet flavor similar to that of a strawberry. The color of the mature cherry will vary from species to species: It may be yellow, red, purple, or brown. And (again, according to the species in question) it can be poisonous when green, so be sure to let the fruit ripen in the husk until it's soft and sweet. (I have often stored the unhusked cherries for months. In fact, I was once able to prepare a fresh ground-cherry pie for Christmas dinner!)

Enjoyable Eating

I think husk tomatoes are as tasty as any fruit when simply served with cream and sugar, or with a good dry cereal. They're also a delicious addition to vanilla ice cream, and can be preserved if covered with a syrup made of 1 cup of sugar, 2 cups of water, and a little lemon juice, simmered until tender, and frozen.

To prepare a ground-cherry jam, crush 4 cups of fully ripe fruit so that each berry is broken, add lemon juice and a package of pectin, bring the mixture to a boil, stir in 4 cups of sugar, and reboil the jam for 1 minute. (The spread is a fine topping for buckwheat pancakes!)

But my favorite way, by far, to eat ground-cherries is in a pie. To make this festive dish, combine 2 cups of sugar with 2 tablespoons of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Then, add 4 cups of husked, ripe cherries, 2 tablespoons of melted butter or margarine, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Pour the filling into a 9" unbaked pie crust, cover it with another sheet of dough, cut a few slits in the top for venting, and bake it at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

As Grandma knew, this pie will turn even an ordinary meal into a very special occasion!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Folks who'd like to avoid using white sugar in the foregoing recipes can substitute honey to taste and thicken with cornstarch or—for jam—"Magic Pectin."

Remember, never forage any wild plants without the aid of a local expert and/or a good field guide.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Catch up Journal Post for Week of Spetember 4th

                                                                            
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 

 
Volume XI& XII & XIII , JOURNAL VII

                                                                                                                          September 3, 2012

       Blue Heron Farm Journal

So what’s happening on the farm this week?

Hi Everyone - week 13 - Sorry there was no newsletter last 2 weeks - things have been quite hectic in these parts and they still are..so this week more recipes than letter. Hope you forgive us - there is only so much this mama and papa farmer and her hard working interns, volunteers and daughters can get through in a week. Hope you liked the corn and the melons. Sadie keeps finding a hidden melon or two, and then a silence in the field, sadie is squirelled away on the back of the truck with her little sister, and together they get every piece of those melons and then throw the rinds to the chickens:) We are starting to wonder if the chicken eggs will start tasting like tomatoes soon:) We would have lettuce for you last week and this week - but - you guessed it - those certified organic free range deer ate down my lush lettuce mix....venison anyone? Hopefully next week we will have lettuce for you. Oh and we have potatoes again for you! Red ones this time:)

Loads of tomatoes harvesting - if you would like some to can - we would love for you to come and glean the field. Give us a call - and we can set you up with crates. The market place is pretty loaded with tomatoes right now - so perfect for freezing and canning tomatoes. we got 21 pints of ketchup done last week and about 17 qts of spaghetti sauce a week ago (thanks to a quick visit from Nana from Boston:)) We made a ton of sauce yesterday - canned 7 quarts and have about 24 more qts worth to can up. We have also been drying the san marzano and other past type tomatoes in our dehydrator. I may try to oven dry tonight. With our new oven it goes down to 170..hmmm..and it has three racks - oh what fun. When processing tomatoes - it looks like a tomato exploded in your kitchen on pretty much everything. Need.to.wipe.down.everything.asap! But I keep remembering the hot, sticky kitchen now will keep our family well fed through the late fall and winter. Hope to start pickling peppers this week and make some sort of pickles..oh and the pears and apples...luckily we invested in a kichen aid mounted squeezo - its the third hand I always needed while squeezoing. Love the kitchen aid mounted squeezo.. :)

Wanted to send a special thank you to Diantha and Gail - Csa members - they have been amazing hand weeders at our farm. Just this morning they weeded your fall green beans and carrots! With a smile they come practically every week and weed, weed, weed. Seriously would have lost many a crop if it wasn't for this dynamic duo! Thank you again for your patience, endurance and smiles:)

This week we started selling Sungold cherry tomatoes and Ground Cherries to City Market in Burlington. We delivered our first batch last Thursday 24 and 36 pints and they called yesterday for 24 more pint of sungolds and 72 pints of ground cherries for tuesday. Woot! Hoping to try to find other avenues to sell our cherry tomatoes especially our heirloom ones.

Annie our sweet mama cow had her calf in the early morning of last Thursday. Miss Annabelle was born out in the field (where Annie likes to give birth - she likes to give birth out in the field, no one watching, I think she enjoys the look on our faces of surprise in the morning when she appears with a calf.) Maggie, Annie's adopted baby (who is now 9 months old) is a great big sister to Miss Annabelle. And oh my, she is the cutest chocolate color I have ever seen. She is big and vigorous and runs like a deer with her tail up between Maggie and Annie. Annie is attentive and we forget that she hides her in the grass and will go out and eat. Oh with a calf comes milk! Oh goodness, we started getting milk that we could drink yesterday (the first few days its colustrum and just for the calf) and how we have missed Annie's sweetness . I think tonight we will be making yogurt and ricotta. Tonight we will be having stuffed tomatoes with homemade ricotta and garlic knots and potatoes (Sadie's request since she told me we found the world's biggest red potato today.)

The winter squash is starting to ripen and fall greens are getting sweeter. The days are getting a tad bit shorter each day...

Have a great week. -Your farmers, Adam, Christine, Sadie, Delia, Mandy, Harley and Sophie.

Our blog is at: www.blueheronfarmvt.com or on Facebook- check us out and/or leave a comment.

You can also get a hold if us via phone 372-3420 or email harmonyvt@yahoo.com

What’s in the share this week: heirloom Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Red Potatoes, Tomatillos, Cherry Tomatoes, Ground Cherries, Arugula, Asian and listada de Gandia Eggplant, Sweet peppers, Cilantro, dill, Onions (please note: this is a tentaive list, what folks get on Monday maybe slightly different than what folks get on Thursday)

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Yarn for Sale

Recipes

Tomatoes are simple to preserve. Freeze them whole, pop in a freezer bag, suck the air out, and put them in the freezer. when you take them out, pop them right into a slow cooker or let them defrost and their skins will pop off. We like to make spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, can whole tomatoes and dehydrated tomatoes. You can also make spaghetti sauce with them too and freeze it or can it. With a little extra work now, will keep you full this winter:)

Grilled Eggplant Panini www.marquita.com

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
8 1/2-inch slices eggplant (about 1 small)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
8 slices whole-grain bread
8 thin slices fresh mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup sliced jarred roasted red peppers
4 thin slices red onion

Preheat grill to medium-high. Combine mayonnaise and basil in a small bowl. Using 1 tablespoon oil, lightly brush both sides of eggplant and sprinkle each slice with garlic salt. With the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, brush one side of each slice of bread. Grill the eggplant for 6 minutes, turn with a spatula, top with cheese, and continue grilling until the cheese is melted and the eggplant is tender, about 4 minutes more. Toast the bread on the grill, 1 to 2 minutes per side. To assemble sandwiches: Spread basil mayonnaise on four slices of bread. Top with the cheesy eggplant, red peppers, onion and the remaining slices of bread. Cut in half and serve warm.

Layered Eggplant Casserole from Recipes from America's Small Farms

2-3 TBS vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 TBS milk
¼ cup all purpose flour, more if needed
1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into ¼ inch thick slices
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large tomatoes, cut into ¼ inch thick slices
4 ounces Monterey Jack or other cheese, grated
1 TBS unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 2-quart casserole. Beat the egg and milk in a bowl and spread the flour on a plate. Heat 1 TBS of the oil in large skillet. Dip each slice of eggplant into the egg mixture, and then flour on both sides. Place the slices in the skillet in a single layer and fry until golden on both sides. Continue frying the eggplant in batches, adding oil as necessary, until done. Layer the fried eggplant, the onion, the tomato, and the cheese until they are all used up; the final layer should be the eggplant. Sprinkle any remaining flour (or use another 2 TBS of flour) over the top. Dot with the butter. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, until bubbling and the eggplant is tender. Note: instead of frying the eggplant slices, you can drizzle them with oil and bake them on a cookie sheet for about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Eggplant Pulp Facts from Recipes from America's Small Farms No one ever said eggplant pulp was pretty, but it's a beautiful base for spreads and salads. To make it, just puncture a large eggplant in a few places and wrap it loosely in aluminum foil. Place it in a 400 degree oven until it's soft and mushy – it's usually ready in about an hour, but longer baking won't hurt it. Let it cool completely, then scrape all the flesh off the skin. You'll get about 1 ½ cups of pulp from a medium eggplant. Add whatever other vegetables and herbs you like – the eggplant's mild taste and pleasant texture blends and binds other ingredients.

Eggplant Rounds with Cheese and Tomato Sauce adapted from D. Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

6-8 eggplant rounds per person, grilled, broiled or fried (from the skinny asian eggplants, reduce number of slices if using the large purple ones.)
3/4 cup grated or sliced mozzarella
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola or goat cheese
about 4 cups favorite tomato sauce
chopped parsley or basil

Place the eggplant rounds on a sheet pan and cover with the cheeses. Bake at 375 degrees until the cheese melts. Serve with 2 or 3 spoonfuls of the sauce on each serving and garnish with the parsley or basil.

Tomatillo Salsa - this can be changed and adapted - just have fun :)

2 pounds fresh tomatillos
1 cup onion -- chopped
1 or 2 hot peppers, cored seeded and chopped. (you can also use dried chiles, leave seeds in either dried or fresh for more heat)
1 cup fresh cilantro -- minced
1/4 cup Fresh lime juice
1-2 cloves garlic
salt to taste

Remove husks from tomatillos, wash throughly, dry and halve or quarter. Combine tomatillos, onions, chiles, and garlic in a non-reactive pan. Over med-high heat bring to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 mins. Cool a little or a lot then put into blender with cilantro and lime juice, blend away, salt to taste, and you have some GREAT salsa verde Mexicano. We also add a little bit of cumin, cider vinegar and we use it with tomato sauce to make a quick enchilada sauce, or add an avocado to have guacamole.