Beyond the Blue Gate

BGF News 12/20/11

2011-12-21T16:28:00.000-06:00

In this week’s box:

Carrots: Bolero (orange), Napoli (orange), Parisienne (little orange), Red Dragon (red), Amarillo (yellow)

Chard: Bright Lights Mix

Choi: baby

Cabbage: Arrowhead (conical) or Gonzales (round)

Garlic: Hardneck

Kale Mix: Red Russian, Beira, & Beedy’s Camden

Lemon Thyme

Rosemary

Tapestry Salad Mix

Turnips: Hakurei (white) & Scarlet Queen (pink)

For those with the Egg option: one dozen free-range eggs (assorted colors)

For those with the Cheese option: Robiola & Roasted Red Pepper Chevre

Featured Recipe(s) (see below):

Lemon Garlic Dipping Oil

White Bean & Bacon Soup with Kale

Precipitation to date this month: Rain:2.9”

What’s up on the farm?

Here we are at the final delivery of 2011 and what a crazy, whirlwind season it has been. Never before have we still been harvesting produce, wearing nothing more than sweatshirts and jeans, from the fields the week before Christmas, a treat, but a bit surreal. It has felt more like late October than mid-December, but I suspect that by the end of today, that may change.

We hosted a couple of groups on the farm in the past week, students from Marshalltown Community College’s Sustainable Ag. Program and a class from Maharishi University came out for a tour and talk about our experience in starting and running a small farm. They were bright, inquisitive students with lots of good questions. We appreciate the opportunity to share and learn in turn from the farmers of the future.

The warm weather also pushed us to get a few more “end of the season” chores done and we were able to get most of the row covers struck from the field and stored away before last week’s rains started. There are still a number of tasks on the outdoor “to-do list” but we are making progress working through them. Woodcutting is an ongoing winter activity and now that the wood-fired boiler is up and going again, they wood cutting has begun in earnest. Otherwise we are starting to hunker down for the winter ahead and looking forward to the New Year and its lineup of conferences and other “educating the farmer” activities.

We have started getting questions about sign up for the 2012 season. We will start the registration process in late January for the veteran members. Look for the January edition of BGF News that will have more details. We also plan to continue egg sales periodically through the winter – if you wish to be on that notification list, please let us know.

We want to thank you for joining us for the season and we wish you all health, joy and peace in upcoming year.

A few details on new stuff in the box:

Everything but the garlic should go into plastic bags and be stored in your refrigerator.

The cabbage is the only new thing this time around. It was a late harvest from the field and has some random bad leaves tucked in the inner layers, not apparent from the outside. Simply remove the offending spots and enjoy the sweet tender-crispness of late, cold-weather cabbage.

The garlic is still tasty, but you may find a few cloves that are starting to sprout. Simply flick the green bit out with the tip of a knife (it’s a bit bitter) and use your garlic usual.

Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures? Follow us at our blog at http://beyondthebluegate.blogspot.com and on Facebook (just search Blue Gate Farm) and “Like” us.

That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know.

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Blue & Luci)

Lemon-Garlic Oil with Herbs

This dipping oil is equally good with bread or just about any grilled meat or fish.

Yields about 3/4 cup.

2 small lemons
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/2 Tbs. minced garlic
Two 3- to 4-inch sprigs fresh rosemary
3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

With a vegetable peeler, peel the zest from the lemons in strips. Remove any white pith from the strips of zest, if necessary.

In a small saucepan heat the lemon zest, oil, garlic, and rosemary over low heat until the oil just begins to bubble, 3 to 5 minutes. The garlic should not brown, or it will taste bitter. Transfer the mixture to a small heatproof bowl and let cool to room temperature. Remove the zest and rosemary sprigs with a fork or tongs. Stir in the parsley.

You can make and refrigerate this dipping oil (hold the parsley) up to a day ahead. When ready to serve, bring it to room temperature and stir in the herbs.

Recipe Source: Fine Cooking 93, pp. 43

White Bean & Bacon Soup with Kale

2 TBS olive oil

10 oz applewood smoked slab bacon, cut into ¾” cubes

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

2 qts chicken stock, homemade or low sodium

1 pound dried white beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed

3 large thyme sprigs

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

coarse salt & freshly ground pepper

1 head escarole or kale, cut crosswise into strips

Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp, with a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate.
Add onions and shallot to pan, cook until translucent and soft, about 8 minutes, add garlic, cook 1 minute more.
Return bacon to pan. Stir in stock, beans, cayenne, and 1 tsp salt; season with pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 minutes. Uncover and cook until beans are tender, about 90 minutes more.
Stir in escarole or kale. Cook 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe source: Martha Stewert Living, March 2007.

BGF News 12/06/11

2011-12-07T07:52:00.001-06:00

In this week’s box:

Broccoli Raab: Piracicaba and/or Brocolini

Choi: Win-win

Kohlrabi: Eder (green) and Kolibri (purple)

Mizuna

Radishes: asst.

Spinach Mix: Bordeaux (red stems), Olympia, Space & Tyee

Tapestry Salad Mix

Turnips: Hakurei & Scarlet Queen

For those with the Egg option: one dozen free-range eggs (assorted colors)

For those with the Cheese option: Classic Chevre & Cranberry Pecan Chevre

Featured Recipe(s) (see below):

Mizuna Greens Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Sliced Apple

Garlicy Mizuna with Koh Reh Gu Su

Broccoli Raab, Garlic Scallions and Pasta

Precipitation last month: Rain 2.5”

Snow: 3.5”

Precipitation to date this month: Rain:1.8

What’s up on the farm?

The cold weather finally started to catch up with us in the past couple of weeks. The forecast of lows in the teens brought a rush of early harvesting of field crops for today’s delivery. You may notice some freeze damage on the broccoli raab, kohlrabi and mizuna, but hopefully nothing too serious. There is still much remaining out in the fields, but we can only store so much volume, so there is always some end of the season loss out there. The high tunnel crops continue to thrive, though their growth is greatly slowed by the diminishing daylight hours. Nonetheless, they should continue to provide delicious, high quality produce for much of the winter.

Around the farm, the dogs are now sporting fancy blaze orange collars, as the hunting season is upon us and the traffic on our gravel road has certainly increased. Electrical work continues in the packing shed and we have finally settled on a layout for the produce processing line that will take up the bulk of the interior space. The new boiler “bungalow” is complete and we fire up the boiler for the first time this season, later this week. Thus will begin our annual woodcutting chores as well.

A few details on new stuff in the box:

Everything can go into plastic bags and store in your produce drawers. Remember that the leaves of raab, kohlrabi, radish and turnips can all be used as greens in your favorite recipes. The kohlrabi leaves can be used raw, save the others for cooked recipes.

Broccoli Raab: broccoli raab is not related to broccoli. It is, however, closely related to turnips which is probably why the leaves look like turnip greens. Lots of broccoli-like buds appear here and there but a head never forms. It is grown as much for its long-standing, tasty mustard-like tops as for their multiple small florets with clusters of broccoli-like buds. The stems are generally uniform in size (hence cook evenly) and need not be peeled. Clean it as you would other greens, removing the bottom portion of the stems which appear tough (sometimes the stems are tougher than other times depending on the age of the raab). They stems can be removed up to where the leaves begin, and sautéed before adding the leaves to the pan. This vegetable is a source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as potassium.

Mizuna: Mizuna contains vitamin C, folic acid, and antioxidants. Like other brassica vegetables, it contains glucosinolates, which may inhibit the development of certain cancers. Mizuna can be used fresh in a salad or cooked in eggs, stir-fries, soups, or steamed dishes.

Upcoming Events:

Downtown Winter Market: Friday & Saturday, December 16^th & 17^th, Capitol Square

Next (and final) CSA Delivery: Tuesday, December 20^th

That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know.

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Blue & Luci)

Mizuna Greens Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Sliced Apple

1/2 bunch mizuna, cleaned and roughly chopped
1 pomegranate, halved and seeds taken out (or 1/2 cup store bought seeds)
1 apple, sliced into thin wedges

Mizuna Salad Dressing Recipe

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper, to taste

For the dressing, whisk olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, honey and salt & pepper. Set aside.

Place mizuna greens and apple slices in a large bowl. Cut pomegranate in half and hit the back side with a rolling pin (or other device) to release seeds, see photo above. Pour in dressing and toss well. Arrange salad on serving plates.

Yield: 4 servings

Recipe Source: www.wishfulchef.com

Garlicy Mizuna with Koh Reh Gu Su

1 bunch of Mizuna

1 garlic clove

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 lemon
Koh Reh Gu Su (we use garlic chili sauce or sriracha, substitute with your favorite hot sauce)
Sea salt & Pepper

1. Wash the mizuna. Fill a large bowl with water, and gently shake the mizuna in the bowl to release any dirt of grime. Dry thoroughly by patting with a paper towel. Cut into 4-inch pieces.
2. Mince up a garlic clove. Heat olive oil over medium in a large saute pan, and throw in garlic – cook until aromatic. Throw in mizuna and stir fry.

3. When the mizuna begins to wilt, sprinkle in a pinch of sea salt, grind some pepper, and splash a generous amount of koh reh guu su. Stir fry until mizuna wilts to half its original amount.
4. Plate, and squeeze some lemon juice.

Recipe Source: www.inomthings.com

Broccoli Raab, Garlic Scallions and Pasta

1 medium onion, diced

1 garlic scallion( green garlic), sliced diagonally (or garlic chives, optional)

4-6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bunch broccoli raab, heavy stems removed and chopped

Extra-virgin olive oil

Red pepper flakes, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 to 1/2 lb Galletti Pasta (or other shaped pasta)

Prepare vegetables

Cover bottom of a skillet with olive oil, saute onions until translucent.

Prepare pasta while cooking vegetables.

Add scallion, garlic, and red pepper, toss.

Add broccoli raab and wine. Saute until tender, stirring and tossing frequently.

Toss with cooked and drained pasta

Recipe Source: www.sometimesiveg.com

BGF News 11/22/11

2011-11-22T14:29:00.000-06:00

Blue Gate Farm News

Volume XVI, Number 2 – November 22, 2011

In this week’s box:

Baby Beets: Chioggia and/or Golden

Braising Greens Mix: Osaka Purple Mustard & Senposai

Broccoli: Marathon

Carrots: Bolero (orange), Napoli (orange), Parisienne (little orange), Red Dragon (red), Amarillo (yellow)

Chard: Bright Lights Mix

Chinese Cabbage (napa)

Hot Peppers: Ancho Gigantea

Kale Mix: Red Russian, Beira, & Beedy’s Camden

Shallots: Ambition (tan) & Prisma (red)

Sweet Peppers:asst

Sweet Potatoes: Beauregard & Georgia Jet

Tapestry Salad Mix

For those with the Egg option: one dozen free-range eggs (assorted colors)

For those with the Cheese option: Blackberry-Sage infused Chevre & Classic Feta

Featured Recipe(s) (see below):
Chorizo and Greens Quiche
Creamy Braising Greens Soup

Roasted Baby Beets

Sweet Potato, Kale and Cheese Soup
Black Bean Soup with Pan-Roasted Poblano Peppers
Shallot Vinaigrette

Precipitation last month: .6”

Precipitation to date this month: Rain:2.25” (and counting)

Snow: 3.5”

What’s up on the farm?

Things are definitely slowing down as we reach the back side of November. The majority of the garden chores are done, though there is still a lot of produce in the fields. Our greatest challenge now is keeping the row covers on those crops and harvesting them for as long as possible. After the surprise 3.5” of heavy, wet snow two weeks ago, all of the row covers were completely flattened so once the snow melted off we had to go out and reset nearly every hoop (that adds up to nearly 400 hoops). It wasn’t a very pleasant job and we are really glad that that situation is a rare one! And speaking of row covers and surprises, we were afraid the 20° lows last week would be too much for the Chinese cabbage so they were all harvested off and stored in the cooler. That is why you are getting them in your boxes again this week, as there isn’t room to keep them all until the December delivery. Our new favorite use of the Chinese cabbage is to shred it finely and add to homemade chicken soup at the last minute. The added flavor and bulk puts it right over the top! The cooler space issue is also why you are getting peppers this week. There is only so much space, so you get to reap the benefits of our storage shortage! The less-than-pleasant weather has encouraged us to get a number of indoor chores done as well, including re-claiming the sunroom from its mid-summer disaster status, book-keeping and even a little fiber spinning.

A few details on new stuff in the box:

Everything except the shallots and sweet potatoes can go into plastic bags and store in your produce drawers.

Hot Peppers: these are a poblano-type and are the peppers traditionally used for chile rellenos. They are perfect for cutting in half, removing the innards and filling with cheese, rice, meat or anything else and baking.

Carrots: remove tops before storing them in a plastic bag in the fridge. These cold-weather carrots are one of the favorite things that we grow all year. You just can’t beat their sweet flavor.

Baby beets: yes, we know these are pretty small, but they are truly a gourmet treat at this stage (roots and leaves both) and we were afraid that the upcoming colder temperatures would damage them before the next delivery, so you get to enjoy them now. The same is true with the broccoli, the heads are very young, but better to get a little bit to enjoy now than to lose the chance due to an overnight low!

Shallots: the grown-up cousins of onions, shallots have a rich flavor that really shines in soups, sauces, salad dressings and egg dishes. Store in a cool, dark place with good air circulation.

Sweet Potatoes: sweet potatoes don’t like water, so for best storage, don’t wash until ready to use. Store in a room-temperature area and unlike Irish potatoes, they don’t need to be kept in the dark.

Upcoming Events:

Downtown Winter Market: Friday & Saturday, December 16^th & 17^th, Capitol Square

Next CSA Delivery: Tuesday, December 6

That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know.

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Blue & Luci)

Chorizo and Greens Quiche
Serves: 6-8
1 unbaked pie crust (homemade, bought, whatever you like)
1/2 pound chorizo (taken out of the casings if that's how you bought it)
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 cups roughly chopped greens (beet greens, radish greens, etc)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup shredded cheddar

Preheat your oven 375 degrees.

Place your pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan. Prick the bottom with a fork. Cover the dough with a sheet of parchment paper. Fill the crust with pie weights or dried beans. Place into your preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes until the crust is a touch golden and partially baked. Take out of the oven, set aside to cool on a baking race. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees.

In a large skillet oven medium heat, brown your chorizo, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside.

In that same skillet, over medium heat again, add your onions and cook until tender. Add your teaspoon of minced garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant. You can now add your greens to the mix. Salt and pepper to taste and then add in your crushed red pepper. Cook the mixture until greens are soft and softly wilted. Set aside to cool.

Now, in a large bowl, beat together eggs, egg yolk, milk, heavy cream, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Next, add the chorizo, greens, and cheddar cheese to the egg mixture and stir until combined.

Pour the mixture into your cooled, partially-baked pie crust. Place into the oven and bake until the top is golden brown and the quiche is set in the middle. This will take about 30-35 minutes.

Allow to cool five minutes before serving.

Recipe Source: www.lighterandlocal.com

Creamy Braising Greens Soup

1 slice thick-cut bacon, diced

1 large onion, peeled and diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pound sausage, dried chorizo or smoked sausage, diced

6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

7 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 1/2 cups mixed braising greens, such as kale, Swiss chard, mustard greens and dandelion greens, thoroughly washed, stems removed, and cut into very fine strips

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)

Coarsely ground black pepper

Sauté bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving drippings in pan. Crumble bacon when cool.

Add onion and carrot to pan; cook over medium heat until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and sausage; cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes.

Add potatoes and broth; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes.

Add greens, cream and salt and continue to simmer until soup is thoroughly heated, about 5 minutes. Add hot sauce, if using, and black pepper to taste.

Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with reserved bacon.

Recipe Source: www.relish.com

Roasted Baby Beets

2 pounds trimmed red and/or yellow baby beets or small beets

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large orange

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallot

2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. If using small beets, cut them into 1- to 1-1/2-inch wedges. Place beets in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil; toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Cover with foil and roast for 25 minutes. Uncover and roast about 15 minutes more or until beets are tender; cool. If using small beets, peel the beets. (Baby beets do not need to be peeled.)

2. Meanwhile, using a small sharp knife or citrus tool, remove long shreds of peel from the orange, taking care not to remove the white pith; measure 2 tablespoons peel. Squeeze juice from orange; measure 1/3 cup juice.

3. In a glass dish, whisk together the 1/3 cup orange juice, the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, vinegar, shallot, and Dijon mustard. Add beets and orange peel; toss gently to combine. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. Makes 8 servings.

Recipe Source: www.bhg.com

Sweet Potato, Kale and Cheese Soup

2 medium sweet potatoes (3 cups diced)

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3-4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated and lightly packed

1-2 cups finely shredded kale

1/2 cup skim milk (approximately)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1. Place the sweet potatoes, onion, and water in a large kettle. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until tender. 2. Transfer the cooked vegetables and the liquid to a food processor or blender and blend until creamy. In a blender, this will have to be done in two or three batches. 3. Return the creamed mixture to the kettle. Add the nutmeg, mustard, kale and cheese. Stir over medium heat until the cheese is melted. Add as much milk as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Season to taste with sea salt.

Recipe Source: Cooking with the Right Side of the Brain

Black Bean Soup with Pan-Roasted Poblano Peppers and Crispy Shoestring Tortillas

serves 6

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 medium poblano peppers (12 oz) (340g) – seeded and cut in 1/4” dices (2 cups)

1 medium Spanish onion – peeled and cut in 1/4” dices (2 cups)

4 garlic cloves – skinned and minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle to taste

2 medium carrots (4 oz) (115g) – seeded and cut in 1/4” dices (3/4 cup)

5 cups cooked black beans

6 cups reserved cooking liquid from the beans or water

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt to taste

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon Tequila

For the garnishes

4 corn tortillas

3 tablespoons sunflower or canola oil

large pinch sea salt

2 tablespoons crème fraîche or low-fat sour cream

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Step 1: Heat a large, heavy-bottom soup pot at medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and poblano peppers. Sauté for 2 minutes until the peppers soften. Add the onions and sauté for 7 to 8 minutes, until golden-brown. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle and carrots. Sauté for 1 minute. Add the black beans, reserved cooking liquid and salt.

Step 2: Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until carrots are tender. Purée the soup with a stick blender or food processor so that it’s creamy, but still a bit chunky. Add the lime juice and Tequila. Adjust the salt and thin the soup with additional water if needed.

Step 3: Cut the corn tortillas in half. Cut each half in 1/8” julienne strips. Heat a large skillet to high heat. Add the oil and the tortilla strips and reduce the heat to medium-high. Toss well so that the tortilla strips are well coated with the oil and spread them over the whole surface of the pan. Sauté for 6 to 8 minutes until the strips are golden, tossing occasionally. Remove from heat and spread on a tray lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with sea salt and let cool to room temperature.

Cook’s note: The tortilla strips can be made up to 3 days ahead. Store at room temperature in a sealed container.

Step 4: Ladle soup in bowls. Spoon a small dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream in the center of each bowl. Sprinkle with the cilantro, top with the shoestring tortillas and serve.

Recipe Source: www.foodandstyle.com

SHALLOT VINAIGRETTE

1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil (preferably French) or safflower oil

The Best Day...

2011-11-20T21:23:00.000-06:00

I found this today and it really struck a chord:

“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.”
― Bob Moawad

It started me thinking about what I (we) have chosen to do in this life and how important it is to actively participate, not to just let life happen to you. Sometimes when we are really scrambling during the "heat" of the season, its hard to do any more than just keep putting one foot in front of the other and forging ahead. But oh, how much we miss when that is how we spend our days.

I must always remind myself:

Live

See

Love

It is so simple, and yet, so easy to forget to chose to live rather than to just let life happen.

Liebster Award

2011-11-15T21:12:00.001-06:00

This week we were awarded the Liebster Award from Granny Sue's News and Reviews

The "Liebster Blog" award is given to up-and-coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers ("Liebster" is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, beloved, loveliest, cutest etc.)
We definitely qualify for the "less than 200 followers" part, not so sure about the "sweetest and cutest" though! Sean would say, definitely not! LOL! What fun to get an award from a blog that I always enjoy reading by a fellow storyteller, canner, ginger-lover and noodle-maker! Thanks for the vote, Granny Sue!!

The rules for the Liebster Award are:

1. Thank the giver and link back to her/him.
2. Reveal your top picks and leave a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

Part of the fun is picking the blogs to pass the love along to!

In no particular order, here are my picks:

Miss Effie's Diary one of my very favorites, as she says "Rantings of a woman bound to make history."

three thirty three a fun-filled family and their daily adventures of life on earth

Adventures in Wonderland the irrepressible Maggie and her always inspiring life

The Beginning Farmer's Wife the adventures of a wonderful young family starting a farm "from scratch"

I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do!

Eureka Moments...Wowza Moments

2011-11-09T08:20:00.000-06:00

So yesterday as I was finishing up the newsletter for our first Winter CSA delivery of the 2011 season, it occurred to me, duh, why don't I post these on the blog? I'm already writing about things going on on the farm, and the people who read this might enjoy the recipes as well. Besides that guarantees blog posts every week in the summer when I am challenged to do blog posts, plus bi-weekly posts in Nov & Dec...well just because. So there you go, starting now (yesterday, cause that's how my brain works) we will post all our CSA newsletters on the blog and readers can enjoy or skip them at will. Done!

That said, those posts will not generally include awe-inspiring photos, as Tuesdays (CSA days) are generally crazy busy. So today we will celebrate the photos of this week's harvest with a little viewing. Be forewarned, these are not for the faint-of-heart! So as you may have noticed in the CSA newsletter posted yesterday, daikon was on the schedule for Tuesday's delivery. So with the forecast for Tuesday being so ugly, we did our harvesting on Monday and this is what we found...

Yep, pulled it straight out of the ground like that...crazy! If you are on Facebook, go to my profile and look at the hysterical list of comments made on the photo...too funny!

Next we pulled this one...

You just never know what you will pull out of the gardens here! But this one had a destiny other than a CSA box. This one just had to go to our favorite DM coffee ladies at Ritual Cafe, which is our DM CSA drop location. We like to share produce with them and this one just had to go!

So when I got to the cafe, I presented Linda with her bag of BGF produce, crowned with this (these?) and her response was to take another photo of it, just to highlight its unique qualities...

Yep, we know how to grow 'em at Blue Gate Farm!

BGF News 11/08/2011

2011-11-08T12:39:00.000-06:00

Blue Gate Farm News – Volume XVI, Number 1 – November 8, 2011

In this week’s box:

Arugula

Chinese Cabbage

Choi: Win-win

Daikon

Garlic (hardneck): Northern White or Music

Kohlrabi: Winner (green) and Kolibri (purple)

Potatoes: Banana (yellow fingerling) or Red Gold (red skin)

Rosemary

Spinach Mix: Bordeaux (red stems), Olympia, Space & Tyee

Sweet Peppers: asst

Tapestry Salad Mix

Turnips: Hakurei and/or Scarlet

For those with the Egg option: one dozen free-range eggs (assorted colors)

For those with the Cheese option: Cranberry-Pecan Chevre and Classic Feta

Featured Recipe(s) (see below): Sesame Stir Fried Chinese Greens

Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Feta and Arugula

Slow-Roasted Red Peppers in Balsamic Garlic Glaze

Easy Daikon Salad

Vietnamese Pickled Carrots and Daikon

Precipitation last month: .6

Precipitation to date this month: 1.5” (and counting)

What’s up on the farm?

Welcome to the first delivery of the 2011 Winter CSA season! We hope you are looking forward to bountiful fresh, chemical-free produce for the next two months. Just a reminder that the Winter CSA delivers every other week, so if you show up next week, you might be able to enjoy a nice cup of coffee, but we won’t be there.

We have been celebrating the mild fall that nature has been sharing with us for the past couple of months. It seems like we have more produce available now than we have had all year and we are putting as much as we can into your boxes this week, because you never know when this lovely weather trend will end. I heard the word snow in the forecast for later this week, so we packed the boxes extra full to protect you from an extra trip to the grocery store in ugly weather. Regardless, we have been celebrating the fine weather by getting a good start on our chores for the winter. The third week in October, we started putting row cover on all our remaining field crops, and there are a lot of them! That complete, we moved to clearing the tomato beds, which is a significant task with all of the trellising and plant matter. Once the tomatoes were out of the way we were able to get to our ultimate fall task, the planting of the garlic! Given our bumper garlic crop this year, we were feeling enthusiastic, so we planted an extra 25 pounds over last year’s numbers, for a total of a little more than 100 pounds of seed garlic in the ground, around 1,500 row feet. Hopefully they will do as well next year! Garlic prepped, planted and mulched, we then moved over to clearing all of the irrigation lines from all of the fields. Given how dry our late summer and fall were, we had more irrigation tape out than ever before, so that was a more significant task than in the past. We were really pleased to get to do this on a 70° day, as one tends to get a bit wet during this task, so it wasn’t nearly so arduous a chore as in some years.

In addition to the regular seasonal goings on, we have had a few special achievements in the past month. Progress has continued on the new barn and we are now fully enclosed, just in time for inclement weather and Jill’s dad (our contractor/builder/designer extraordinaire) has been splitting his time between that and moving our wood-fired boiler from the old packing shed location to its own, custom-designed boiler shed. This entailed re-purposing an old metal roof that had once protected Jill’s great-grandfather’s buggy from the elements, to top our new little building, moving the boiler itself and then locating and moving the underground water lines. It was quite the process.

Our other new acquisition was adding 80 new 6 month-old laying hens to our flock. They came from a farm that raises their chickens like we do and they will replace our retiring birds that were past their productive years and keep us in better egg-counts through the winter and into next season. The “new girls” are settling in very nicely here at BGF. Look for messages later this week about purchasing our eggs during the winter.

So that’s about it around here, recently.

Special note: Lois, our favorite cheese-maker and the owner of Reichert’s Dairy Air, the supplier of our Cheese Share had a surplus of a couple varieties of her chevre cheese that are about to go “out of date”. So she sent them along with us for anyone who wants to try some of her excellent product. While they are still good now, you will want to use them sooner than later. These are on a first-come, first-serve basis, so you might want to try to get to the pick-up a little earlier today, so take advantage of her generosity! (However, I won’t be there before 4:45, so don’t get too ahead of yourselves). (Farm pick-ups, we left cheese in your box).

A few details on new stuff in the box:

Everything except the garlic, potatoes and rosemary can go into plastic bags and store in your produce drawers.

Chinese (napa) cabbage: keep outer leaves intact (to preserve moisture) until ready to use and store in the crisper drawer for up to two weeks. Mild, and tender with a fresh, cabbage-y flavor.

Daikon: The large, white single root with a crisp, mild flavor used raw or cooked in many Asian cuisines. Store up to two weeks in a damp-wrapped towel or plastic bag in the produce drawer, or for up to two months packed in damp sand in a cool location.

Kohlrabi: The alien-looking green and purple globes topped with green/purple-shaded leaves. Excellent, mild-cabbage flavor that can be used raw or cooked, we like them best sliced raw and sprinkled with salt. Store globes in a plastic bag for up to one month. Store leaves in a damp towel or plastic bag in the produce drawer and use as soon as possible.

Rosemary: put in a sealed plastic bag in your produce drawer, or hang it up in a clean, airy place to dry

Upcoming Events:

Downtown Farmers Harvest Market: Friday & Saturday, November 18^th & 19^th, Capitol Square

Next CSA Delivery: Tuesday, November 22

That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know.

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Blue & Luci)

Sesame Stir Fried Chinese Greens
I would also add a clove or 2 of garlic, some fresh ginger and a dash of Sriracha sauce to take this recipe over the top!

2 teaspoons canola oil
2 pounds baby bok choy and/or Napa cabbage, sliced thin
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

In a wok or large frying pan heat the oil over high heat until very hot. Add the bok choy and stir-fry until they begin to soften slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil and cook until just done, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Recipe by Ellie Krieger

Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Feta and Arugula
1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
4 leeks, chopped
1 tbsp rosemary, chopped
1 lb whole wheat pasta
6 oz feta cheese (I used Trader Joe's Mediterranean herb blend)
8 oz arugula
cracked black pepper

1. Toss the sweet potatoes with 1 tbsp oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast at 400 for 30 minutes or until soft and browned.

2. Place 1 tbsp oil in a small skillet. Add the leeks and rosemary and cook for 7 minutes, or until soft and golden.

3. Cook pasta in boiling, salted water. Drain and place in a large bowl. Toss with sweet potatoes, arugula, leeks and feta.

Recipe Source: www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com

Slow-Roasted Red Peppers in Balsamic Garlic Glaze

3 red (or any ripe-colored) peppers, sliced into generous bite-size pieces

6 garlic cloves, sliced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Sea salt & cracked pepper

Heat oven to 300 F

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce.

Meanwhile, place sliced peppers in an oven proof dish. Sprinkle with garlic slices and top with well whisked balsamic glaze. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and cracked pepper.

Roast peppers for 1 hour, turning on occasion. Turn oven up to 375 and roast for another 10 minutes or until peppers are sizzling and just beginning to char. Remove peppers from oven and allow them to cool slightly before serving warm.

Recipe Source: www.inspirededibles.ca

Easy Daikon Salad

2 cups julienne cut daikon radish (I used my food processor to cut it)

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

2 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp sweet rice wine (mirin)

OPTIONAL crushed peanuts

Place the daikon in a colander/mesh strainer over a bowl or the sink and sprinkle with salt. Mix well. Let sit for 30 minutes. Squeeze out excess water and then rinse well with cold water. Drain.
In a small saucepan, combine the seasoned rice vinegar, sugar and rice wine. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves (this will only take a few minutes).
Transfer the daikon to an airtight container and pour the rice vinegar mixture over. Shake or stir well to combine. Chill for 20 minutes before serving.
This can store for up to a few days in the fridge, if it lasts that long. If desired, serve topped with crushed peanuts.

Recipe Source: http://sarahscucinabella.com

Vietnamese Pickled Carrots and Daikon

makes 2 cups, can just use daikon

1 cup warm water
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 pound carrots (peeled and cut to match stick size)
1/2 pound daikon radish (peeled and cut to match stick size)

1. Mix the water, vinegar, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt dissolves.
2. Place the carrots and radish in a container and cover with the pickling liquid.
3. Let pickle for at least and hour and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Recipe Source: www.closetcooking.com/

Birth of a Barn Quilt

2011-10-16T20:10:00.000-05:00

Sean's brother, Paul, was our master carpenter on the project

and his sister, Carman provided the artistic skills

The farm crew discusses the installation plan

Up, up, up it goes...


Just a little higher...

The "Blue Gate Star" in its place of honor.

Wasn't there a contest???

2011-10-16T10:06:00.000-05:00

Well, there is nothing like setting a deadline, announcing a contest and then falling flat on your face with the follow-through. Somehow, no matter how well we think we have planned everything, this time of year always catches up with us. Ah well, things like this are just proof we can learn...right??

Regardless, we did actually have the contest and we received more than twenty fabulous entries. The stumbling block was realizing that the design we thought we were looking for was actually far too complicated for the actual piece . So, after sifting and sorting through all the submissions, we finally took inspiration from one of them and created a final design that we felt portrayed Blue Gate Farm while still holding to the tradition of barn quilt designs. Then looking back, we realized that we had actually received another submission with the same basic pattern.

Here is the cool submission from our CSA member Amy B. that was our launching pad:

a basket filled with produce!

and then the entry from Virginian Phyllis H. that we at first overlooked:

and finally, the design that we settled on after many hours of ruminating and "discussion"...

This is our Blue Gate Star design. The colors of each chevron represent important crops that we produce on the farm including honey, tomatoes, eggplant, summer squash, peppers, blue & brown eggs and the edible flower in our salad mix. The greens represent the myriad of greens that we grow and the corners are our trademark blue pickets.

Congratulations to our contest winners Amy & Phyllis. They have/will receive a package of goodies from the farm in thanks for their inspiration!

Here's a fun link to Amy's blog post about the contest: Design of the Times

Will post photos of the actual quilt in the next day or so.

My Favorite Email Ever!

2011-10-04T15:59:00.000-05:00

We received this drawing today of our Blue Heeler, "Blue" from Ellie, a 9yr old CSA member who (along with the rest of her family) helped out at Farm Crawl this weekend. It is the best email I have EVER received. Thanks for sharing your talents and your love for Blue, Ellie, we're so glad you are a part of the Blue Gate Farm Family!

The Day After

2011-10-03T18:12:00.000-05:00

This kind of says it all

The 5th annual Farm Crawl has come and gone, and what a day it was! More than 1,350 people visited Blue Gate Farm on what may have been the most beautiful day of the entire season. There was much touring, chicken feeding, question asking (and answering) dog petting, and general fun all around. Thank you so much to everyone who came out and Crawled! We had such great help from friends, family and the farm crew this year. Huge thanks go out to Mom & Dad B, Brenda, Maggie, Terri, The Berger Family, David, Kristin, Jeff, Paul, Miranda, Willa & Spencer for all their fabulous help. Farm Crawl is a great fun event, but it truly does "take a village" to put it on.

So now, take a minute and get it on your calendar for next year...its always the first Sunday in October. Farm Crawl 2012 will be on Sunday, October 7th. We hope to see you there!

It's Almost Here...

2011-09-28T16:25:00.000-05:00

A Preview (Review?)

2011-09-11T08:22:00.000-05:00

Farm Crawl 2011 is coming in just 21 days...just three short weeks. Wow, we've got a lot to do before then! But while we are wildly preparing, you can take a few minutes to watch this great video made by Patrick Boberg at last year's Crawl. Hopefully it will get you all primed and ready to come out for this year's event, Sunday, October 2 from 11:00 - 5:00. Crawl On!

Thanks for the great video, Patrick...beautiful work!

Pre-Announcement Announcement

2011-09-05T09:15:00.001-05:00

I know that we said we would announce the winner of the Barn Quilt Contest on September 1, but it is more challenging than we dreamed it would be. We are very close to a final design, and expect to announce the "verdict" in a few short days. In the meantime, we beg your patience and hope that you can find something to do outside in this beautiful weather to occupy your creative attentions.
Be back soon!

A Moment of Peace

2011-08-16T07:02:00.000-05:00

...before the storm. Not every day starts with a double rainbow over the hayfield. As much as we need the rain, this is an auspicious start to the day!

A Little Friendly Competition

2011-08-01T08:44:00.000-05:00

BGF Barn Quilt Contest

Blue Gate Farm (via Leo Beebout Construction) has been building a new barn/packing shed this season. It is a fairly large; two-story structure with a lovely peak expanse of light tan siding that is visible when you turn into the farm lane. We thought what a perfect place to highlight a barn quilt. We’ve looked around a bit, but haven’t found any design that speaks to us. Then we thought, we know a lot of creative people, maybe one of them would have the perfect idea, so here’s the challenge…

The Timeline:

Contest starts August 1, 2011 and submissions are due by August 21, 2011.

Winner will be announced September 1, 2011

The Goal:

To find/create a design to be realized (by BGF) in a painted 4-foot square wooden panel on the BGF barn

The Prize:

A basket of Blue Gate Farm products AND the realization of your design BGF barn, to be featured at Blue Gate Farm for the 2011 Farm Crawl on Sunday, October 2.

The Considerations:
Anyone can enter (though gift basket is only deliverable within the continental US)

We are a chemical-free vegetable, honey, egg and herb farm

Blue is the general theme at Blue Gate Farm

Our logo looks like this:

Our website is www.bluegatefarmfresh (take a look around if you aren’t familiar with us)

For ease of judging, submissions should be made in the form of a picture, (computer-generated or hand-drawn) and may be sent via email to mail@bluegatefarmfresh.com or via post at the following address:

Blue Gate Farm

749 Wyoming St

Chariton, IA 50049

Please include your name, address and email address so that we may contact you if we have any questions about your entry or, more importantly, if you are the winner.

Not familiar with barn quilts? Here’s a website for a little background: http://www.barnquilts.com/

Sweat and Sweet Corn

2011-07-25T07:12:00.001-05:00

Last week we hosted a bit of a Skeehan Family reunion here on the farm. Family members from Colorado, Chicago and Australia all converged on this little piece of land right at the start of the sweet corn season and one of the longest heat waves in a decade. We were quite the hive of activity, with much laughing, eating, swimming, eating, horseback riding, eating, photo-taking, eating and when we were done eating, we even managed to get a bit of work done.

The big project of the visit was to start to tear the roof off of the old packing shed. In the first picture you can see the hard-working crew pausing from their shingle-stripping fun. Notice the lovely green porch roof below them. That was the most recent (and wonderfully shady) progress before the Skeehans arrived.

The de-roofing crew (plus a wandering garlic harvester)

Dan inspecting the porch roof while Miranda, Carman Marie & Dominique take a much-deserved breather

big progress on the de-roofing front

Carman Marie & Miranda stripping the last of the tar paper

Sweaty, but still smiling, Australian brothers Dan & Tom

It was such crazy fun to have every here. Huge thanks to my parents for providing cabin-accommodations, work-crew wrangling and photographic skills and to all the Skeehans for their good humor, great company and hard work. We hope to see you all again soon!

A Lack of Blogging...

2011-07-15T06:26:00.000-05:00

...doesn't mean we aren't doing anything, just that we are too busy to write about it.

This photo was taken by my mom (thanks Mom!) a week ago and already there have been changes. The porch roof, that Dad is working on, has it's green steel roofing and it looks great! We have a farm-full of Skeehan visitors arriving later today from Denver, Chicago and Australia, so the plan is to put some of those extra hands to work. We will put the steel up on the front of the building and then start the (hopefully) slow and measured removal of the old building. Here's hoping that it is fun, productive and not too exciting!

Glimpses of Early Summer

2011-06-05T09:54:00.000-05:00

Summer Beauty

Summer Discovery

Summer Delicacy

Summer Bliss

Summer Respite

May Farm Updates

2011-05-29T13:04:00.000-05:00

Its hard to believe that its been nearly a month since our last update, but oh what progress we've made around the farm. Nearly all the spring transplants are in as are the first and part of the second rounds of crop sowing. The earliest crops in the high tunnel are already phasing out and we are in the process of transitioning over to mid-season crops there.

Work on the new building continues, but at a slower pace now as Jill's dad is mostly stuck working alone since Sean's knee (though much improved) is still not up to climbing ladders and the gardens require most of Jill's attentions.

Looking great with 3/4 of the roofing and the east lean-to steel in place

There are no words to express how thankful we are for all of Dad's efforts and for the huge help provided by Sean C during his time here this past week!

The gardens are progressing very nicely, due mostly to the efforts of our this year's crack farm crew. The crops are looking the most promising that they have in many seasons. We wouldn't mind a little break from the rain now though!

The fruit trees are also looking exceptionally productive this year. Even the ancient apricot tree that only bears every 10 years or so is loaded with young fruit as are most of the peach trees and the apples and pears as well.

With so many things changing and growing, there was still one outstanding element that was causing a little deep-seated discomfort...until this weekend, that is...

It may not look like much, but this is exactly what we've been waiting for, the appearance of the first, immature growth of our newly planting acre of asparagus crowns. So far it looks like we've got a pretty good preliminary survival/growth rate. Not very happy to see the standing water in parts of the patch, but hopefully the soil will drain fairly well since it was so recently worked. I was a little surprised at the immense feeling of relief that washed over me as I stood surveying the plot yesterday. Guess I was a little more worried about it than I realized.

The Age of Asparagus

2011-05-03T22:13:00.000-05:00

I have been rather neglectful of the blog recently, but things are really hopping around the farm, Sean included. Actually Sean is doing better and is slowly moving around the farm with a soft knee brace, a big improvement over the immobilizer.

The progress on the new building has continued, though on a much slower pace, as other spring chores have taken precedence. The biggest of these was the delivery of 6,500 asparagus crowns, which finally arrived after weeks of rain.

Two bundles of crowns, 30-50 crowns in each

Unfortunately, the weather eliminated our ability to host a work-day for the big planting project so we were left to our own devices. This included borrowing a furrowing implement from our friends at Grinnell Heritage Farm (HUGE thanks to Andy & Melissa!), and then hand placing all 6,500 crowns.

And finally, tucking each crown into its new bed. Luckily for us, this was made ever so much easier by my inventive Dad and his ingenious row-covering device.

Yep, that would be a 3-point bale stabber bracketed to two seat planks from my Grandpa Henderson's old picnic table, pulled by Dad's JD 2020...worked like a dream! We started Sunday afternoon and finished today before noon. A feat only accomplished with some amazing help. Huge thanks to Dad, Mom, Kristin & Uncle Dean for all their hard work, creative thinking, patience & restorative meals!

So now all we have to do is wait two years, and then we hope to have asparagus is abundance!

Spring Hiccups

2011-04-19T21:01:00.000-05:00

Spring has come rushing in like a mad-thing throwing everything into a riot of bloom and activity. We have fruit trees budded and blooming to the point that its nearly obscene. The most exciting to date is the apricot trees, which only bear every 4-6 years.

An Apricot Promise

The bees have been out in the trees in full force, despite the wind and cool temps. To add to the excitement, we added another 12 hives just this week, with an additional 5 to arrive in a few days. As I mentioned on the farm's Facebook page, there is something a little crazy about driving any distance with +/- 144,000 bees in your car. Luckily it was a fairly uneventful trip.

Given the great early-season working conditions, we were able to get the gardens prepped earlier than usual, (mostly due to the fearless new BCS). This was an unexpected plus, given that we are now cold and soggy with 100lbs of potatoes to plant and 6,500 asparagus crowns that have already been postponed twice. Ah spring, you heady tease!

The real topper for the craziness occurred last week as Sean was practicing his "death-defying-ladder-and-electric-saw-dancing trick", while working on the new building. The ladder provided the trick and down they both went. Luckily the saw didn't follow them down, but Sean was rewarded with a nasty banged-up knee and a fancy new piece of hardware (knee immobilizer). So now he is mostly relegated to household duties and hard surface work areas.

Despite the madness we are marching forward and mostly making progress. Thanks to the ever-supportive Blue Gate Parents, we planted nearly 300 row feet of shallots just before the rains started. And just today we hosted Dr. Dolezal's Nature Writing and Environmental Literature class from Central College. This great group of students and their fearless leader came out for a cold, rainy-day tour, asked some great questions and then helped weed the high tunnel and assemble beehive parts. What a crew!

So here's to the promise of Spring , what a crazy temptress she is, hiccups and all!

Progress

2011-04-09T21:34:00.001-05:00

We are making progress on many fronts these days. The high tunnels are all sown and growing, we have a sunroom full of little (and not-so-little) transplants, we burned some native prairie areas plus some of the gardens that were overcome with weeds last year

we bought a "fancy" new BCS walking tractor/tiller and have prepped a good percentage of the beds and we are still making forward progress on the new building...

its about enough to wear out a farm dog (or two farm dogs and a farmer) out!

Framed

2011-03-16T20:12:00.000-05:00

The recent weather has been kind to us and we are making steady progress forward. At least now it takes less imagination to see the future building

Greek Progress

2011-03-02T21:31:00.000-06:00

We continue to make progress on the new packing shed. All the posts are in and the first roof truss is in the air, though not quite in its final position. This shot really gives an idea of the scale of the new building compared to the existing one. Somehow it reminds me of the Parthenon in Greece. Must say, trying to get that first truss in place was interesting...the first one is always the hardest (I hope!)

Building Again

2011-02-28T22:08:00.001-06:00

I've been neglecting the blog for the past few weeks, but now with a big new project on the ground, I'm back with updates and pictures featuring the stars of the show: namely Dad, Sean, Blue, Luci and the all-important skid-steer!

If you've been to the farm, you've likely seen the "character-filled" little building that we used as the packing shed, wood-fired boiler room, workshop and general storage catch-all. It has served us well for the past 6 season, but we've finally outgrown it so up and out we go! Since we are still using the building for a variety of purposes, we couldn't just tear it down, so we are building around it, and then will "deconstruct" it from within the protection of the new structure.

First post going up!


The ground is thawing and it is a muddy mess! But 3 posts are up!


Three sides done, amid a change in the weather...6" of fresh snow, now melting.

The original building never seemed all that small, until we started surrounding it with 22' - 24' posts. As of today all of the posts are up and tomorrow we will start installing the girts. Supposed to be 50°, so some welcome weather and lots more mud!

Winter Wonderland?

2011-02-06T21:14:00.000-06:00

After a barely productive and somewhat comic trip out to the timber to cut wood today, I caved and ordered my first pair of snowshoes.

We'll see if their arrival functions like the groundhog and his shadow...either an early spring or plenty of practice opportunities?? Hmmm, wondering what OSHA says about snowshoes and chainsaws??

Chicks with Fiber

2011-02-04T10:44:00.000-06:00

The chicks are now a little over 3 weeks old and don't seem to mind sharing their space with some freshly-dyed Shetland fiber.

They are now starting what we refer to as the "baby dinosaur stage". Their legs stretch out and look too long for their bodies. Many of their feathers have come in, save those on the head which are still downy.

They are now rather scruffy, awkward-looking little birds that look like nothing more than miniature prehistoric creatures.

Community

2011-01-29T11:35:00.000-06:00

Community was a concept we were very interested in when we first moved to the farm. I thought when we first moved here we would get a visit from the area "welcome wagon" and maybe someone would stop by with some banana bread or some other treat, shake our hands and introduce themselves.
Um yeah, that didn't happen. Not to say we didn't have support, my family is the most supportive group you can imagine, and there are so many of them nearby, that maybe folks just figured out who we were through the rural grapevine and didn't feel the need to know more. Regardless, before too long our theory that we were pretty much out here on our own, (socially, politically, culturally) felt pretty well confirmed. (in all fairness, we didn't go out of our way to introduce ourselves to many of the neighbors either, figuring that local grapevine had already taken care of it.) There were a couple of exceptions here (thank you Ruth family!), but not too many.

It took a couple of years really, to start meeting some slightly more distant neighbors who were a little more like us. Doing more alternative agriculture ventures and conversant on subjects that we were excited by. This was promising! We have learned to stretch our physical concept of community to include not only the people with whom we share a mail carrier, but to all edges of the state and beyond to anywhere the internet can connect us with other like-minded folks.

Enter the Blogosphere! Through writing this blog and following the blogs of so many exceptional people we have become connected in a very real way to people whom we might never meet in the corporeal sense, but who undoubtedly know us better than many of our neighbors. We have learned new methods of gardening, cooking, animal husbandry, fiber processing, beekeeping and I could go on and on and on. It is so very exciting, and yet it has become so ingrained in our daily lives that we have started to take it for granted. (until the power goes off or it snows hard, since we are on satellite internet).

I was just reminded of this wonderful phenomenon by my amazing friend Cathy who did an interview for a local magazine on just this subject. You can read the story here. And thank you again, Cathy for including us in your list : )
The networking that occurs through these online communities is simply amazing. How all of these connections are made between this crazy electronic maze of people from all demographic genres is really rather mind-boggling. I think it was best summed up by our dear friend Malinda who said (in absolutely the most positive way possible), "Freaks Flock." And so we do!

Chicks Worshipping the Sun

2011-01-27T14:39:00.000-06:00

No really, no skin shots, no skimpy bikinis, no tanning oil. Just two-week-old chicks, silhouetted in the winter sun. And boy can those chicks revel in the sunlight!
: )

Pasta Making Lesson #1

2011-01-25T21:05:00.000-06:00

Get all of your ingredients and equipment together...

in the location you plan to make and dry the noodles. In our case I hauled them down the hill to my parents' cabin which is prime pasta-making territory.
(Just to clarify, the dog is neither an ingredient or equipment, just a gratuitous cute pet cameo. )

New Kids, New Digs

2011-01-24T18:55:00.000-06:00

The chicks continue to do well and are growing at the rate that only chicks can! They are now about 11-12 days old and already shedding their baby fluff in exchange for feathers.

Check out those new wings!

We started them in three tanks in the sunroom.

But already they have graduated up to "The Chick Corral"

They're Here!

2011-01-16T10:36:00.000-06:00

The post office called at 6:15 Friday morning. The chicks had arrived! Though we have done it nearly every year since coming to the farm, it still tickles me to pick up chicks from the post office. It tickled me a little less this time, though. We've never ordered chicks in mid-January and it was COLD! Day-old chicks don't withstand cold very well and when we opened the boxes, there were at least 15 that appeared dead. I hate it when that happens, its not unusual to lose one in transit, but 15 was more than a little depressing.

We got them home, hand-dipped each little beak into the waterer so they would understand what that "stuff" was for and tucked them into their pre-warmed tanks in the sunroom. As they warmed up, some of the apparently lifeless birds began to stir a bit so we quickly got them under the heat lamps and hoped for the best. (lesson learned...when its this cold, always get even the limp ones warmed up, you just never know.)

We spent the next 24 hours, hand-watering all those weak little birds, hoping some would make it. So far, some have rallied and others were just too far gone. As of today, we've lost a total of 10 birds from the shipment...better than the original 15 we thought were dead, but still far more than we are used to.

The remaining 120+ birds are doing well, peeping, pooping, running about and sleeping. They are oh-so-entertaining at this stage. Tiny little, beady-eyed fluffballs on toothpick sized legs.

Sorry about the red tint, that is the light from the heat lamps, and using the flash to lighten it up scares the begeezus out of them.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning...

2011-01-11T08:23:00.000-06:00

No, we are not talking about The Sound of Music...or The Sound of Mucus (as it is referred to in some theatre circles). We are talking about a chicken coop. After some delays, the building of the replacement coop is finally underway. This is a good thing as the day-old chicks are due to arrive on Friday!

Here is the stack of newly purchased lumber complete with tools all ready to become a 10' x 16' mobile range coop. It will be moved around the pasture with the tractor.

The cutting of the skids is underway. These are 18' long, treated 6 x 6's.

The skids are trimmed up and framed in square and the first of the floor joists are in place. Note the increasing snow on the ground and the fancy wind break in the background. Our timing might be a little less than perfect.

More to follow when we get it dug out from beneath the snow...

A Philosophy to Live By...

2011-01-03T13:14:00.000-06:00

Words of wisdom, found on the office door of our favorite bakery, the Pagosa Baking Company

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and endless plans.
That the moment one definitely commits oneself then providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one that would never have otherwise occurred.
A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents, and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way.
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

When the Snow Flies

2010-12-16T20:40:00.000-06:00

Most of you know that we do quite a bit of season extension on our farm. We use low tunnels in our South Garden to extend our field harvest and also have the two high tunnels to get us into the back-side of the growing season. These are amazing tools, but they are not flawless. If the ambient air temperature isn't above freezing, then we can't harvest (especially leafy greens). Now in the tunnels, it doesn't take much sunlight to get the temps above 32° but heavily overcast days can still delay the harvest. One of the other tricky things about harvesting at this time of year is that even when the tunnels get warm enough to harvest, we still have to get the vegetables into the house without freezing.

We've learned a few coping techniques over the years. If you're just harvesting enough for supper, then you can tuck your harvesting bag into your coat and make a run for it, though tripping with a coat full of kohlrabi can result in some very some ribs.

When harvesting for larger numbers though, a little planning is required. Our best technique is to haul our big market coolers out to the high tunnel and allow them to warm up a bit before packing them with vegetables and dragging them to the house. Best of all, though is when there is a little snow on the ground, then we just load them up and ride 'em home! We'll try to get a pic of this crazy fun sometime yet this season ; )

End of an Era

2010-12-13T17:06:00.001-06:00

Hmmm, what exactly are we talking about here? Looks more like a crazy technicolor hurricane than an era or anything else for that matter. So any guesses as to what exactly this is? Come on, share...you guys are creative!

**********************************************************************************

So the picture above represents an accumulation of more than six years worth of crochet cotton. Why in the world would anyone need such a thing? Well, for the first 5 years we were at the farm I made crocheted market bags. I made a lot of market bags...A LOT! HUNDREDS...literally! And sold them at our booth at the market. They were a nice complement to the vegetables, they were bright, pretty colors and they didn't wilt in the sun.

But then the re-usable grocery bag trend hit and anyone could pick up a perfectly usable, sturdy bag at their grocery store (or Menards, the state fair and just about everywhere else). And thus the bottom fell out of the of the "Market Bag" market . But that was ok, really! I was tired of making them and I had learned to spin by then and was considering selling my handspun yarn instead. Done!

So back to that crochet cotton. As with almost any project, there are leftovers...little bits, too much to throw away, but not enough to be really useful. So you stuff them in a container and occasionally wonder what to do with them. So today was that day when I wondered...and there was an idea. So I pulled out the tote full of cotton and sat down at my yarn ball winder (good thing I got the jumbo-size!) and spent most of the morning winding all those bits of brightly colored cotton into this enormous ball.

Next I oiled up my wheel and pulled out some white Shetland wool and whomped out some lumpy, bumpy (really Maggie, it is!) thick and thin singles to ply against the crazy clash of colored cotton. Really, the whole thing was so much more sedate than it sounds...I was listening to Simon & Garfunkel as I was doing it so that tells you something. But now I have this new yarn to take to market on Saturday and I'm calling it "End of an Era" yarn since it wraps up the nearly endless days of crocheting market bags quite nicely. Its fun and fresh and will go with absolutely anything! And given the size of that ball of cotton...there should be plenty to come!

**Added 12/15/10 **
Here's a pic of some of the finished yarn ready to go to market. Its not a great pic, but you get the idea.

Perspective

2010-11-30T16:48:00.000-06:00

Last night as we were in town enjoying a movie, our winter chicken coop burned to the ground. The coop housed more than 100 two-month-old pullets (young chickens) that were to become our laying flock for next season. Thanks to the quick response and hard labor of my parents, the fire didn't spread to any other buildings, the closest of which is our house and the small high tunnel. Blue and Luci are fine, and the current laying flock was unharmed.

So today we filed a claim with the insurance agent and then called the hatchery and ordered replacement chicks. The new babies will arrive around the 17th so we have 2 weeks to rebuild the coop, the plans for which are already on paper.

When something like this happens, it becomes all about perspective.

Its so sad to think of the loss of all those little birds, the waste of time and life, but it could have been so very much worse. My parents could have not seen it, it could have easily spread to the house or someone could have been injured in the fire. Had it happened today, instead of yesterday, the freezing temps would have made it so much harder to fight. In so many ways it could have been worse.

BGF ABC's

2010-11-25T20:27:00.001-06:00

This past week, we were harvesting in the high tunnel when Kelsey, our steadfast farm crew member, started passing the time by identifying crops that we grow on the farm for each letter of the alphabet. Well, the challenge was on and as we worked our way down the spinach bed we simultaneously worked through the alphabet. You'd be amazed how challenging we found some of the letters. After some supplemental discussions with other associated BGF parties here is the alphabet ala Blue Gate Farm...

A	Arugula
B	Beets
C	Chard
D	Dill
E	Edamame
F	Fennel
G	Garlic
H	Honey
I	Italian Parsley
J	Jewelweed
K	Kale
L	Leeks
M	Mache
N	Nasturtiams
O	Okra
P	Potatoes
Q	Quercus (Oak Trees) I know, it’s a stretch!
R	Radishes
S	Spinach
T	Tomatoes
U	Urtica dioica (Stinging Nettle) Hey, we even sell it!
V	Violas
W	Weeds
X	Xanthium (cocklebur) We don't sell it, but it does take up a lot of our time!
Y	Yarn (not a crop, I know…but we do make and sell it)
Z	Zucchini

How I Spent My Afternoon...

2010-11-15T15:48:00.000-06:00

The last of the 10 Jacob fleeces finally all skirted!

Now back to that little bit about washing...

On-Farm Research

2010-11-06T18:56:00.000-05:00

Details to follow...

Frosted Colors

2010-11-02T09:32:00.000-05:00

Probably not your normal blog post about fall colors, but we've never been ones to fit the "normal" mold.

Yesterday Mom & I spent the afternoon playing "mad scientist" up to our elbows in acid dyes, wet wool and plastic wrap. The newly dyed wool hadn't dried by the time the sun went down so I just left it hanging on the line. Luckily, Blue and Luci have never shown any interest in the wool as long as I keep it out of easy reach.
This morning when I went out to check it, the fiber was mostly dry, but gilded with a frosty gleam. Wish I could keep that look when it was spun, it was a pretty "cool" sight! Now to get it all spun into a more useful (and salable) form.

Crawled!

2010-10-07T07:38:00.001-05:00

Farm Crawl 2010 has come and gone...and what a day it was!
The weather was perfect and more than 1300 crawlers fanned out over the 45 37 mile circumference of the event. Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed a beautiful fall day in the country. A very special thanks to our fabulous BGF crew; Mom, Dad, Terri, Maggie, John, Kelsey, Adam, Kristi and the Maly's! We couldn't do this event without you.

For those of you who were unable to "Crawl" here is a quick tour of the event by journalist Michael Libbey:

As the Parade Passes By

2010-09-27T07:39:00.000-05:00

Last night driving home through the fading fall light of rural Iowa, I passed a bit of a parade. Now this wouldn't have qualified as a full-blown city parade complete with floats, marching bands and thrown candy. But here in the country, we take note of the more subtle forms of pageantry. As I drove past a narrow country lane, I was met by the following:
Two women leading a colt
Followed by two Boer goats
Then a girl leading a pony
Followed by a miniature donkey
And bringing up the "tail" was a mule
It was all very dignified, as a parade should be. There was no trotting or tussling, just a quiet progressing down a gravel track.

I would have liked to stop and watch their progress, but while they made a cameo appearance in my world as they moved slowly southward, I didn't want to intrude in theirs.
As I continued down the road I did stop, to let a buck and two does cross the road in front of me. This was a parade of a whole different nature, fast and wild and gone in a heart beat.

It was another beautiful and unexpected evening in the country.

Technicolor Bumps

2010-09-01T19:08:00.001-05:00

Normally a headline like this would be followed by a photo of a really spectacular bruise somewhere on the body of a particularly graceful farmer. This time it just indicates that I finally got enough accomplished in the garden that I had time to dye some fiber (bumps) this past weekend. Fall is the time that the hand-spun yarn sales tend to take off and we were running woefully low. So now that it is getting dark earlier in the evening, I am ready to do some serious spinning.

Oh and FYI for those of you who might find this interesting, there is such a thing as "too windy to dry wool".
I had hung all the newly dyed fiber on the clothesline to dry and when I looked out the kitchen window later it was as though the house was being surrounded by a crazy, windblown palette of cartoon squids. There was brightly colored wool strung everywhere, all through the garden borders along the house, it was pretty exciting! And when I went out to reclaim it and wind it into the bumps you see in the photo above, the tendrils wound around me too. It made me laugh out loud, though maybe a little nervously!

When Dragons Fly

2010-08-22T08:07:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since my last post. Its not that nothing has been happening, but it has been rather a frustrating summer farm-wise and every time I sat down to write a post it came out as complaining. So here it is in (hopefully) non-complaining terms...RAIN! Too much rain, too often (ok, so maybe a little complaining).
May 5.5" (ave. 4.25")
June 13.6" (ave. 4.6")
July 10.85" (ave 4.1")
August to date: 7.9" (ave. 4.5")

Alone, none of these months seems too terribly alarming, but just these four months together total 37.65" of rain...a yardstick stood on end would be under water, along with a lot of other things! Also, note that the average annual rainfall here is 34.7". So in one-third of the year we have exceeded the annual average by several inches. This has translated to a variety of repercussions "on the ground."

Over the summer we lost at least 60% of our crops. The only two crops that have exceeded expectations have been the patty pan squash, which we have systematically buried the CSA in, and the okra.Were it not for the high tunnels which have been producing steadily, we would have been forced to close down the CSA mid-summer. This is the first of "counting our blessings"...we thank our lucky stars for those high tunnels, and the patty pans and okra!

In addition to that, because the soil has been and stayed so wet, we've been unable to do any planting in the fields since May. No succession planting at all...scary! We do have an absolutely beautiful field-wide crop of foxtail growing and as soon as we figure out a market for that, we'll be rich!

But, our house wasn't flooded and our family members are safe and largely healthy. Our livestock wasn't caught in rising waters and our vehicles and equipment are on high ground. Compared to a lot of people in the state, we have been (and still are) lucky. Though it isn't always easy to remember on a moment-to-moment basis in a summer like this.

I've been taking monthly Meditation sessions this summer and my instructor had suggested that maybe it would be a good time to focus on "gratitude". Since the things that were causing me so much stress were completely out of my control. Ok, that shouldn't be too difficult, I tend to be a pretty optimistic person. Hmmm, as in so many things, the theory and the practice are two entirely different realms!

And then last night just as the sun was settling toward the western horizon, the dragonflies arrived. We live in the country, near a number of ponds so there are always dragonflies around in the summer, but this was something different entirely. There were thousands of them, apparently all the same variety, swarming across the yard. We could see them hunting smaller flying insects, like mad-bomber-flying-aces. Occasionally we could hear the sudden rustle of translucent wings, but otherwise the only sound was the cadence of the cicadas. It went on for more than an hour, a mad ballet and aerial dogfight in the heavy, sponge-damp air of an August evening. Ah, this is gratitude...

Going 'Home'

2010-07-23T07:19:00.000-05:00

Hobby Farm Home is one of a family of magazines targeted toward those who live or want to live the country/homesteader life.
This past spring we were contacted by a writer who was doing an article for the magazine on home-based canning businesses run by women. The author, Lisa Kivirist, has her own food and farm based business so we had a few things in common as we talked. It was a fun interview to do and I was looking forward to seeing the finished product. Though there is always a little reservation in this, as Sean & I have both had enough encounters with the press as to always be a little bit leery. Not to have worried, the magazine arrived last week and it is a lovely article featuring 3 women who use their canning skills to supplement their farm/business income. There are several tips and suggestions on getting started with a small canning business and we even included the secret recipe to our popular Cinnamon Pear Butter. Now I just wish I could meet the other 2 women in the article!

Here's a peek at this issue from the HFH website.
September/October 2010 - Table of Contents

And if you've never seen the magazine, search it out. It's worth it for the pictures alone!

Social Treats

2010-07-13T07:33:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we hosted our annual Ice Cream Social for the CSA members. It was a great afternoon with agreeable weather, fun visitors and plenty of good food. We also had lots of requests for recipes so here are the most requested of the foods served at the event:

Chocolate Zucchini Birthday Cake

2-3c. grated zucchini

2 c. flour

1 ½ c. sugar

1 tsp salt

½ c. oil

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1/3 c. cocoa

2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together, pour into greased & floured 9 x 13” pan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.

When cool, frost with Hershey’s Cocoa Frosting

1 stick butter

2/3 c. cocoa

3 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. milk

1 tsp vanilla

In a medium mixer bowl melt butter, add cocoa and stir until combined. Alternating between powdered sugar and milk, add to cocoa and butter, mixing between. When thoroughly combined, beat in vanilla.

Makes +/- 2 cups.

BGF Chocolate Ice Cream

5 (1 oz) squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1 (14oz ) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant coffee granules
2 c. half and half
2 c. whipping cream

In a large mixer bowl, beat chocolate, condensed milk, vanilla and coffee granules until coffee is dissolved. Stir in half and half and whipping cream.
Pour into ice cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.
Recipe adapted from : Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook

BGF Zucchini Bread

3 eggs                                         1 tsp soda
3 c. sugar    1 tsp baking powder
1 tbs vanilla                                 1 tsp salt
3 c. flour                                     3 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 c. grated zucchini                1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 c. oil                                         1/2 c. dried cranberries (optional)
                                                    1 tbs fresh grated ginger (optional)

Combine eggs, sugar and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Combine flour, soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to egg mixture. Then add zucchini, oil, cranberries and ginger. Mix well. Put into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.

Rosemary Butter Cookies

1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp minced fresh rosemary (for more herb flavor, grind rosemary with some of the sugar)

Beat butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs one at a time, beating until blended.
Combine flour, cream of tartar and salt, gradually add to butter mixture. Beat at low speed until blended.
Stir in rosemary (or rosemary sugar mixture).
Shape dough into 2 (10-inch) logs; wrap each log in wax paper & chill at least 2 hrs.
Unwrap dough, cut each log into 1/2" slices and place on lightly greased baking sheets.
Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool. Yield 3 1/2 dozen.

Recipe source: Gloria Beebout (BlueMom)

Breaking and Entering

2010-07-05T21:33:00.000-05:00

This morning when we woke up, the screen was pushed out of the storm door. No we weren't burgled, though our house was entered without our consent. Last night after I went to bed, Sean stayed up in the living room to watch TV. He heard the dogs tussling out on the front steps but they quieted down after a bit and he didn't think much about it.

Sometime later, ready to go to bed himself, he got up and turned off the TV, but when he walked into the kitchen, there sat Blue and Luci in the middle of the kitchen floor, looking guilty. Huh.

For those of you who aren't familiar with our house (and our dogs) we do not have house dogs. Blue and Luci are outdoor, working dogs. They do not come in the house unless there is seriously severe weather, and then they only get to come into the back porch...not the kitchen.

So apparently, while wrestling they managed to push the screen on the front door partially in and then, naturally, decided to avail themselves of the dog-sized opening. The best part is that the front door is in the living room, where Sean was sitting at the time, so they had to pass within 10 feet of him. Clearly they knew they weren't supposed to be in there, since they snuck past him into the kitchen.

I can only imagine what mischief they could have gotten into had we both already been in bed. Yikes!
Oh and just moments ago Sean hollered, "Blue, NO! Bad dog!" He heard her this time, as she pushed her head against the screen and was part way through the door. Little sneak! Suddenly our brave farm dog has decided that house life looks pretty cushy! Grrrrr...

It's coming...

2010-06-30T07:02:00.000-05:00

Vampire-free Zone!

2010-06-26T21:55:00.002-05:00

As you can see from the above photo, BGF is now a vampire-free zone! No pale-faced, night stalking blood sucker could make it through our massive garlic moat!
Well actually, its not technically a "moat" since its mostly hung from the rafters, but it sounded good. All kidding aside though, I had certainly not planned to harvest garlic this week as it is about 3 weeks too early, but our obnoxious weather pattern of late was putting the crop at risk. When we pulled a test batch to give the CSA earlier this week, we discovered that the garlic was actually sitting in water just below the surface. Not good!

So we took a break in the battle with the weeds and did some serious garlic harvesting, to the tune of more than 2400 heads. Whew! That is a lot of garlic, for us anyway. We did lose a number of heads to rot, and let me tell you there is nothing quite like the "heady" aroma of rotting garlic...blech! But it wasn't as bad as I first feared. So now all of it is bundled and 90% of it is hanging. I ran out of drying space in the packing shed, so now I'm working on annexing part of my parent's garage to finish out the last of it. Surely they would appreciate a little protection from vampires too?!?

If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em!

2010-06-24T06:46:00.005-05:00

Rain. Rain. Rain! We've had lots of it this month...more than enough for 3 months put together. So far, in June we've poured 12.75" out of our rain gauge and there's still another week left...yikes! Even though we sit at the top of a hill there is still water standing in the gardens and let me tell you, vegetables don't like wet feet! Crops are failing; spinach, salad, cabbages, broccoli, edamame, peas. A number of crops are holding their own, but even those are so buried in weeds that its a little hard to tell. The high tunnel crops look great, but they just aren't ready quite yet.

At market, we can squeak by with a thin produce offering, because we have other products but CSA is always our greatest concern and this weekend I was fairly sure that we would have to cancel Tuesday's box delivery. The only thing I could find in the garden that was healthy and plentiful enough to go in 35 boxes was spring turnips...beautiful turnips true, but I can't just give people a box of turnips! So at market on Saturday I started telling any CSA members that stopped by the booth that we would likely cancel this week, that I would send out an email after inspecting the gardens again that afternoon.

Later that day as I walked through the beds with the mud sucking at my boots I admired the 100's of feet of summer squashes covered with their beautiful, glowing yellow blooms. Blooms...blossoms...squash blossoms...SQUASH BLOSSOMS! That's it! We have squash blossoms, though we've never harvested them as such, a number of farms do and they are considered quite the delicacy! And daylilly buds, we have those too! Plus a beautiful crop of basil ready in the high tunnel, I think we can do this. But what will we do for greens? We always have greens in the boxes and there isn't enough chard in the tunnel for 35 boxes and nothing else is ready. Nothing except all the damn weeds that are taking over everything! Then a thought struck...We've been custom harvesting edible weeds for a market customer for the past year...could we do it for the whole CSA? Why not? Braising Greens for everyone!

In addition to the chard, we collected purslane, lambsquarters, amaranth, sour dock, sorrel, violet leaves and dandelion. All quite tasty and very nutritious greens and many of which you will see featured in the multitude of herbicide commercials running on TV right now. And I can sympathize with the people who use those chemicals right now, as those weeds and many less palatable ones are taking over the gardens.

So it took a little longer, as foraging/weeding/harvesting is a little more time-consuming than harvesting a cultivated crop, but harvest we did and the boxes came out looking ok. They contained: Basil, Braising Greens Mix, Uncured Garlic, Peas,Squash Blossoms or daylily blossoms and Turnips. I'm always nervous about the boxes in thin times...I want them to always be full-to-the-brim, bounteous goodness and I'm uncomfortable when they aren't. But regardless, we filled them with everything we had, loaded up the vehicles and headed for the delivery sites.

Many members asked how things were going and if there was anything they could do to help. "Just enjoy your produce and embrace the adventure." We told them, what else is there to say when you are delivering carefully harvested, cleaned and bagged weeds and flowers?
Then later that evening we received this message from a member:

"We greatly relished Tuesday's Clan of the Cave Bear/Euell Gibbons retrospective forage food box...It was a very creative, retrospective supper." -David

Clan of the Cave Bear/Euell Gibbons retrospective forage food box! I LOVE IT!
That's the best thing I've heard all week! Hopefully we won't have to resort to quite this level of foraging in the future, but from now on whenever we harvest "wild greens" that's what we're going to call them.

Its still a hard season, but with such wonderful members and customers who are willing to embrace the adventure of supporting a small, local farm, it sure makes it easier.
Thanks guys!

Lavender Harvest

2010-06-11T06:41:00.003-05:00

The first lavender harvest of the year and the best one to date. Looking forward to tins of lavender sugar and possibly some lavender syrup.

Morning Peace

2010-06-06T06:23:00.004-05:00

This morning I woke up to a beautiful sunrise over slightly misty hills. I made my morning coffee and sat down in the office, while the computer slowly woke I looked out the window to see how the world looked today and I noticed a strange shape a ways out by the pasture fence. It was a deer, but something looked strange about it. I grabbed the binoculars and looked again...it was a doe and it looked strange because she was bent around, bathing her nursing fawn. It was quite a sight, this little peek at nature. Then as I watched, a large bird flew into my little binocular-aided circles of vision. It was a large Bard owl, and it settled on a fencepost a distance away, but still within my still-life view of doe and fawn. What a picture!

I wish I could have shared it, the actual picture, but we don't have anything nearly that powerful in the way of cameras, so you will simply have to take my word for it and use your imagination.

The grasses are a golden green this morning, headed now with blooms and immature seed heads. The light is soft as the morning mist hasn't yet burned away and the sky is a clear blue, finally empty of the recently persistent rainclouds. The Red-winged blackbirds, Chipping sparrows and Meadowlarks are singing loudly, making their morning declarations of territory and above it all the roosters crow, announcing their intentions to start the day. Here on the farm, this is our morning peace.

A Day at the Farm

2010-05-17T07:11:00.006-05:00

This post was supposed to be about Blue and Luci, but I came upon some pics from a couple of weeks ago and I just couldn't pass them up. My favorite red-heads were visiting the farm, which always makes for a good time and great photo opportunities. This day, bubbles were the theme...

N provides the bait

Z goes in for the bite

and as the boy does, so does the dog!

Luci was somewhat baffled by the bubbles and preferred to keep her distance.

In other news, Blue and Luci continue to be the best of dog buddies, though Blue takes very seriously her responsibility of teaching Luci the rules. If Luci jumps up on something and we scold her, Blue will grab Luci by the leg and pull her down, which is pretty entertaining and generally leads to some serious wrestling on their part.

However last week Blue demonstrated some rather impressive corrective behavior. The farm crew was in the garlic patch, weeding. The dogs had been keeping a supervisory eye on our activities while playing around the perimeter of the garden. Luci has been struggling a little with the idea that the white electrical tape the surrounds the garden is a "barrier" that she must not cross, after all it is several inches over her head and the gate opening is just that...wide open. So as we were working, Luci walked through that gate opening and was standing several feet inside the garden (strictly forbidden here), when I looked up and noticed her. I pointed outside the garden and said firmly, "Luci, OUT!" As is common when receiving a command, Luci froze and stood there staring at me. Blue however had no hesitation, she ran through the gate into the garden, grabbed Luci by the neck and dragged her outside of the garden. When they had cleared the fenceline, she dropped the puppy and laid down as though nothing had happened. Upon being released, Luci hopped up, tackled Blue and a full-out wrestling match ensued.

The farm crew saw the whole thing and just stood there staring at the dogs. One of our crew members said, in an incredulous voice, "Did I just see what I saw?" That was a pretty good summation of the scene.

You just never know...

2010-05-04T06:37:00.004-05:00

Saturday as the mad rush that was the opening farmers market was winding down, I grabbed my hat (those of you in the know, know which hat) and ducked across the street to show off my fine chapeau to our friends at Vanderploeg's Bakery. As I was donning my hand-knit finery and entertaining Marcie, a customer walked up and asked to take my picture. Um well, why not..."sure, go ahead."
And then the day proceeded as normally (for us) and we packed up and went home. Got to spend some quality time with my sister and nephews, went to bed at 9pm. It was a good, though exhausting day.

Then Sunday evening, after my sister had returned home, she sent me an email saying a friend had forwarded her a blog link and it was "Too Funny!"

So always up for a good laugh, I clicked on the link. Ohhhhh....well, um...here, see for yourself:
Opening Day

What fun, a blog about the market and and local foods.
So of course I left a comment, and the author sent me a very kind email, from which we have started up a conversation. Its a small world out there, it was true back in our theatre lives and is certainly true in the Local Foods scene. What fun to find another like-minded person who enjoys locally grown foods, supports the farmers market and has a sense of humor!

Oh, and the fun continued on the follow-up posting as well:
be careful what you post

Too funny indeed! Thanks Amy, for the shared laugh!

Pinched Hummus

2010-05-02T21:40:00.003-05:00

No, I didn't steal hummus from Gateway Market or anything. Though I've recently been craving it just about enough to do so.

Sometime during our "All-Out-Bash-Opening-Farmers-Market" on Saturday, Sean stepped out of the booth for 2 minutes and grabbed a couple loaves of bread from our favorite bakery at the market...ah sweet mystery of life, I do love that bread! I know, I know, I can make my own bread, only theirs is so damn good and I don't have to bake it. And at this time of the year that is critical.

So I had good bread, I wanted hummus...good hummus.

Then today I was pinching back trays and trays of basil starts and it hit me...hummus with basil. Oh yeah, that's exactly what I want!
I grabbed a few different recipes from the internet, plugged in my food processor and away we went.
Needless to say, tonight's supper was bread and hummus...period. Sometimes life is very, very good!

BGF Hummus

5 garlic cloves, minced and then mashed
1 cup basil trimmings (or leaves)
2 15-oz cans of chickpeas, drained
2/3 cup of tahini
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil, plus a bit more
1/2 teaspoon of salt

In a food processor, combine the mashed garlic, basil and a shot of olive oil.
Process until it looks like a loose pesto.
Add garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, water and remaining olive oil.
Process until smooth. Add salt, starting at a half a teaspoon, to taste.

Delicious with good bread, fresh veggies or chips.
Freezes well.
Makes about 3 cups.

Spring Doin's

2010-04-16T16:55:00.008-05:00

You know, if I could bear to blog without including pictures, I might be more timely in my updates. I often think... "oh, I should blog about that" and then never get around to taking a picture of whatever the subject might be, and thus it never makes it to the blog and I go weeks without updating. (nice excuse, huh?)

Here's what we've been up to recently:

I wish there was some way to include scents on the computer. Because right now the farm smells like this...(seriously, the fragrance wafting on the wind is simply amazing!)

It has been a busy couple of weeks since my last post. We recently returned from our encore performance of "Potatopalooza" in the gardens. I was starting to think we might never get through them all. We planted about 1,000 row feet of seed potatoes, all by hand. I know other farms do more, and more power to them! This is enough for me.

The big high tunnel is coming along and should be in good shape for the opening farmers market on May 1. This tunnel contains chard, choi, salad greens, radishes, spinach and arugula.
Just a week ago I was in a mild panic thinking that the crops wouldn't be ready in time. But as usual, I was just being angst-y. Today I harvested these, and in two weeks they will be perfect on the market table.
We've also been laying out and prepping beds for planting. Just yesterday, the first seeds went into the fields. We are by no means ahead of schedule, but as of yesterday, we are caught up and on schedule.

Other recent things worth mentioning:

The Fruit Tree Grafting class at Seed Savers was marvelous! We'll see how well we put the new knowledge to work.
We are getting more than 10 dozen eggs a day. There is a limit to how many eggs two people can eat.
The Blue and Luci show continues to be good entertainment. They are quite the pair, I wish I had video to share as photos don't due them justice. Luckily the "interest in the chickens" seems to have waned, hopefully permanently.
We've have some wonderful folks come out and volunteer their time to do a "working visit" to the farm. Big thanks to Maggie, Terri, Linda, Dawn, Michelle and Danelle for their time and willingness to "work and learn".

I'm sure there is more to share, but I'm tapped out for now. Will write another update soon and hopefully it will include stories of morels we've found (not yet, though).

A Dog's Day

2010-03-30T21:38:00.000-05:00

Its been two weeks since Luci joined us on the farm, and what fun it has been! We were a little concerned about how Blue would react, as she takes her job of alpha dog pretty seriously, but they have become fast friends...literally. They tear around the farm together like a couple mad animals. There is much growling and posturing, but they are clearly having fun. The favorite game is the rope toy tango.

First Blue teases Luci mercilessly with the rope toy.

Then eventually Luci gets a hold of it and they play tug of war. Keep in mind here, that Blue weighs about 50 lbs and Luci weighs in at about 4 lbs.

So given that Luci is a true Terrier at heart (stubborn) and Blue is all Blue Heeler (ornery) this is what usually happens. Blue pulls so hard that Luci tips over, but Luci refuses to let go of the rope. So Blue just drags her around the yard on her side. Never fear, no dogs were harmed in the playing of this game. Its clear from watching them that this is pure canine fun.

Now if we could just explain to Luci the difference between a toy and a chicken...sigh. She's cute and smart, but alas, she isn't perfect. Back to the training regimen.

It must be Spring Vol. I

2010-03-26T18:32:00.007-05:00

A few days ago we experienced a first here on the farm...our first 100-egg day!

It is rather a banner event, but at the same time, what the heck are we going to do with all those eggs? If it was market or CSA season, it wouldn't be an issue, but its not. So when life gives you too many eggs, our default solution is to make noodles!
So we did and we tried out a new drying method that we think is an improvement over the "drying them on every horizontal surface in the cabin" method. Isn't this why they call it a drying rack?

And the bonus is that as the noodles dry, they eject themselves from the drying rack onto the nice clean bed-sheet on the floor. (Don't worry Mom, I'll wash the sheet before you have visitors!)

And Now....

2010-03-16T20:18:00.004-05:00

...here's Luci!

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our farm crew. Luci is a Jack Russell Terrier and once she gets a bit bigger she will be in charge of the "banishment" of all crop-eating mammals. Right now she's not much bigger than the rabbits she is to control, so it might be a while. Blue is fulfilling her role as resident puppy trainer and behavior modification specialist and while not in love with the newcomer, she hasn't tried to eat her...yet.

Edited 3/21 to correct spelling of her name. Luci is short for Lucia which means 'blue ocean'. All in keeping with our cerulean farm theme~

Noodle Day

2010-02-27T19:21:00.003-06:00

With our hens finally increasing their egg production and our pullets starting to lay their first eggs, we are finally getting buried in "chicken seeds" again. We can only eat so many omelets, so celebrate the occasion I declared that today was Noodle Day!

Since my very lucky purchase last year of the $12 pasta maker, and my realization (duh!) that I can make the dough in my KitchenAid, pasta-making isn't quite the major chore that it used to be. However it is still a significant event that generally involves my taking over my parent's cabin so that I have enough surfaces to dry the cut noodles. Mom & Dad are in town for the weekend, so I took advantage of the situation and made a mess.

I sure hope they don't come back early : )
This should mean that we will have Herbed Whole Wheat Noodles to sell at the early farmers market! Woo hoo!

Rice Cooker Magic

2010-02-16T08:30:00.006-06:00

I love my rice cooker. Period.
The rice cooker that we have is a basic PHD (push here dummy) version, just an on/off switch. No fuzzy logic, bells or whistles.

In the past we used it about once a month whenever we made rice, but since last year we use it nearly daily, especially in the winter. That was when I discovered that I could use it to make our breakfast oatmeal. I dump steel cut oats, water, salt and dried cranberries in the night before and when I wake up in the morning I hit the switch and walk away. About 20-30 minutes later we have perfectly cooked oatmeal, ready to dress with maple syrup and eat! Love it!

Then this winter my insightful friend Maggie sent me a recipe for using the rice cooker for making polenta. Ohhhhhh...

I keep medium grind cornmeal for my bread baking, so I tossed it into the cooker and gave it a try. Cornmeal, water and salt, cooked for a little more than a full cycle, dressed with butter and BGF honey, be still my heart! It is my new favorite breakfast. If you have a rice cooker, give it a try!

Edited to add:
Should have included this to start with...

Polenta
4 cups water
1 cup coarse grain yellow polenta
1/2 tsp salt

Place water in rice cooker bowl, add polenta and salt.
Stir 15 seconds with a wooden spoon or plastic rice paddle. cover and set for porridge or regular cycle. A few times (or once!) during cooking, open the cover, stir 15 seconds, then close cover. At the end of the regular cycle , taste the polenta and make sure the desired consistency has been reached. If not, push the button and let it go a little longer.

For breakfast I just dress with butter and honey. If serving at another meal, you can add in 2/3 c. shredded Parmesan at the end.

PFI and Trees Afire

2010-02-13T08:47:00.004-06:00

Thursday we had to leave the farm shortly after dawn to make it to Ames for the PFI Cooperators meeting. This is an annual outing for us and one last opportunity to visit with a large group of farmers before the season begins. It is also the place where we commit ourselves to various field trials that we want to work on during the upcoming season. In the past we have done trials on tomato trellising systems and high tunnel profitability. It appears that we will continue the recent high tunnel trial, and add one on HT fertility. We also volunteered to do a study on low tunnel technologies in the field, which basically translates to "how do we keep the damn row covers on when its windy?" Details to follow on all of these, I'm sure.

Anyway, as we got ourselves and our chores ready for our departure the sun began to rise and lit up every surface covered with hoarfrost. It was absolutely glorious and looked like the world was ablaze in an icy fire. They aren't the greatest pictures, but you get the idea.

Za'atar Flatbread

2010-02-02T08:05:00.003-06:00

The bread-baking craze that has been sweeping the nation in the past couple of years has certainly visited here regularly, though mostly during the winter. I am a firmly entrenched acolyte in the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (AB5) movement. I own the book, I read the website, I make the recipes. Well true confession: I'd been borrowing the book, but have had it WAY too long and need to return it to its rightful owner (Thanks Mama P!), so I ordered my own copy and it should arrive tomorrow.

Anyway, the flatbread recipes are some of my favorites, mostly because I am completely impatient and I LOVE being able to have fresh bread seven minutes after I decide that I want it. One of the recipes that I had been wanting to try was the Za'atar Flatbread (page 161, for those of you with the book).

My first challenge was a lack of the Za'atar itself. Za'atar is a middle-eastern spice blend with ground sumac berries as its base, its a spicy, tart flavor that I just love. Then a couple of months ago I happened upon a new Middle-Eastern market in Des Moines that had bags of ground sumac and a great price. So a $3 bag of sumac, a little recipe research on the net and I had my very own Za'atar blend. I combined parts I liked out of several recipes, so here's what I used:

Za’atar

¼ c. ground sumac

2 tbs. thyme leaves

1 tbs. sesame seeds, toasted

1 tsp coarse salt (skip if sumac contains salt)

* optional, 2 tbs oregano

Grind together.

Besides the flatbread recipe, Za'atar is great with chicken, lamb or pork. It's also nice on green salads or sprinkled over olive oil as a dip for bread.

The Za'atar Flatbread recipe in the AB5 book makes a foccacia-type bread, that you bake in the oven but I was in a serious hurry, so I made the Naan recipe (page 173) that cooks in s cast iron skillet on the stove top. As soon as the first side cooked, I turned the bread over, brushed with garlic olive oil and sprinkled on the za'atar. Three minutes later it came out of the pan and onto the plate. It was delicious! Seriously, buy the book, make the bread and enjoy...you wont be sorry!

The Chicken Hat

2010-01-29T21:02:00.004-06:00

This might very well be the best gift I've ever received...certainly the funniest, if nothing else!

The backstory: My very talented and slightly crazy friend Claire arrived at the Winter Market this past December wearing a hat that looked like a 3-D, hand-knit chicken perched on atop her head. It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen at market (that's saying something) and I nearly had to walk away I was laughing so hard.

So last week when I attended our annual spinner's party at Claire's home, she presented me with a very special gift, a chicken hat of my very own. Now you must understand, this is a special-occasion hat, not something you wear out wood-cutting or doing chores. I'm not sure who had the better look on their faces when I modeled it, Sean or Blue.
But I have to tell you, this hat is a built-in attitude adjustment. Its awfully hard to be grouchy or stressed out when you look like this!
(Thanks to my personal photographer, aka Mom, for the chicken hat photo shoot!)

Ice, Ice Baby

2010-01-21T09:22:00.004-06:00

Yeah, I know...passe pop culture reference, but I just couldn't help myself. Our whole world is ice right now, everything is covered in a solid 1/2" casing of slick crystal weight.

So far though, no real complaints as we still have electricity. There was one little hiccup at 4:05 this morning, whereupon we lay in our warm bed discussing how we would ever get the generator out of the barn and up the hill in this ice rink. Fortunately, we've had steady power since then, so no immediate need to figure out that little issue.

We did finally acquire two pairs of YakTrax yesterday, so now we are much more sure-footed in our current glass world. Blue is not so lucky and she would undoubtedly prefer the world of sod, or even snow under her paws.

Late last night when out to do boiler chores, the world was rather remarkable. Sparkling wherever light touched any surface, but the sound was unearthly. Trees all around creaked and groaned under the enormous weight of the ice. Now and again a loud, shattering crack as a limb gave up the fight and crashed to the ground. Dangerous beauty, indeed!

Socked!

2010-01-14T09:18:00.006-06:00

I know the following post will be a total non-starter for some of you, but I also know that a select few will get a small surge of joy that one more person can be added to the ranks of

"Seasonal Affective Sock Disorder!"

Yes, here it is folks...My very first hand-knit-by-me sock!

And look...
It even fits!!
Now I just have to finish the other one...

Good Frosty Morn

2010-01-12T19:05:00.005-06:00

The temperatures have finally returned to a more normal realm for this time of year, enough so that we actually had fog this morning. Winter fog often produces one of my favorite weather-related phenomena, hoar-frost. It seems to me that nothing else can create quite the same magical quality.
After so much snow and WIND (sheesh! Enough already!) our poor little tool shed looks about to be overtaken by the unstoppable and ever-changing snow dunes...

Its hard to judge from the picture, but the snowdrift on the right is at least 4' tall, has completely encompassed our picnic table and is about 6" from the top of the herb garden gate.

A few days ago on my way to nightly boiler chores, I actually tobogganed down our lane on one of our big marine coolers that needed to be returned to the packing shed. It was full dark out, but the massive, white snow reflector gave off quite enough light to see by. It was a ridiculous amount of fun, making me yell and laugh like a loon, fully convincing Blue that something was terribly wrong. She ran alongside, barking and whining as though the cooler was taking me off towards the dark woods against my will. Ah, such is the life of a lunatic farmer in the deep clutches of an Iowa winter!

Annual Conference

2010-01-08T06:54:00.002-06:00

As long as we can dig out of our lane (no certainty there) and safely manage the nasty road conditions, we are headed to the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) conference today in Marshalltown. We look forward to this gathering of innovative farmers all year long. Will talk more about it upon our return, and will bitch bitterly if we can't make it. Details on one or the other to follow...

Winter Night Song

2010-01-05T21:47:00.002-06:00

As I've mentioned before, the late night stocking of our wood-fired boiler is a mixed blessing. It is awfully hard on sub-zero nights to don winter clothing and make the walk down to the shed just as I am thinking about going to bed, but it also affords a few benefits.

Without this forced evacuation from our snug home (well, yeah we'll just let that go) I would miss any number of nature's gifts. Tonight, the temperature is -4° and the sky is crystal clear. As the moon hasn't yet risen, and stars blanket the heavens from horizon to horizon. It is so cold that the snow squeaks underfoot and passing the line of pine trees I could hear the faint clicking of the pine cones opening and the seed being dispersed out onto the ground. The first winter we were here, it took me nearly a week to figure out that sound, as it only happens at the coldest temperatures and seems be limited to the nighttime hours.

Finally, my fire chores complete I stopped on my way back to the house, my favorite sounds wavered across the snowy landscape. A pair of Barred owls were calling to each other across the timber. The chatter went on for a long time and standing still, it was the only sound I could hear. Beautiful! Its moments like these that I truly appreciate the life we live here.

Recipe for Sub-Zero Chores

2010-01-03T12:11:00.004-06:00

Think to self, "I really do have to go do chores."(insert sigh here)
Drink large mug of hot coffee to fortify self
Begin to add layers of clothing to protect self from cold
Drink more hot coffee to further fortify self
Add final layers of outerwear protect inner-layered self from deep cold
Look thoughtfully at empty coffee pot and realize your self now has to go to the bathroom
(insert deep sigh here)
Begin to strip off layers to find overheating self buried within
Take self to bathroom
Start over with Step #1, skipping over Steps #2, 4, 6 & 8 if you ever hope to actually make it outside
Fill buckets with hot water for livestock, spill some on self
Slowly move self outdoors under the weight of hot water buckets to work through chores.

It seems somehow appropriate that this process works out to 12 steps.

And just in case you are from the south and are unfamiliar with how to dress when choring (yes, here in rural Iowa that is a word) during sub-zero temperatures, here's a hint...
If more than your eyes are visible, you wont last long!

The Blue Full Long Nights Moon

2010-01-01T00:47:00.003-06:00

The full moon closest to the Winter Solstice is called the Long Nights Moon as it is the longest night of the year with a full moon This full moon is particularly special because it is also a Blue Moon, meaning it is the second full moon to occur within this calendar month (and not, much to Blue's dismay, named in honor of our fine canine friend).

Regardless, it is quite an auspicious way to welcome in the New Year. So Happy New Year everyone, we hope it brings good luck, much joy and abundant blessings to you and yours!

The Scene Outside My Window

2009-12-30T14:54:00.002-06:00

When life gives you snow...go sledding!!

The Peace After the Feast

2009-12-25T21:31:00.003-06:00

My three-year-old nephew shares a little quiet Christmas time with our cat Daisy. It was like experiencing our own little Christmas miracle, as only minutes before he had been chasing her round and round and round the house. May we all have a little peace this holiday season.

Crack Pretzels - The Recipe

2009-12-20T20:30:00.007-06:00

When I created this recipe, I called it Toffee Pretzels, but friends Maggie & John got a taste and promptly renamed them Crack Pretzels, because they are just that addictive.

It's one of my favorite holiday recipes, ok honestly, I make it whenever I have an excuse during the winter. And unless you live in an arid location, I recommend that it remain a winter tradition as humidity turns it into a sticky mess. I based the recipe on my Grandma Henderson's Butter Toffee recipe and just went from there. I don't think she'd mind, though I wish I could have shared them with her.

Its a simple recipe, but you do want to have your ingredients measured ahead of time and ready to go. Also, a reliable candy thermometer is a must.

Crack Pretzels
1/2 bag small pretzel twists (traditional pretzel shape, the small ones)
1 cup butter (use the real stuff)
1 cup sugar
3 TBS water
1 TBS corn syrup
6 oz semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (I like Ghiradelli for this)

Place pretzels in a single, solid layer on a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides), put aside.

Melt butter in a heavy sauce pan.
Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
Add water and corn syrup, stirring to combine.

Heat to 290°, stirring frequently. Watch closely after 280°, it goes fast.
As soon as temperature reaches 290°, remove from heat and pour quickly over pretzels, covering as many pretzels as possible.

Allow toffee to cool slightly (a couple of minutes), then sprinkle surface with chocolate chips. Allow chocolate to heat through (it will become glossy) then spread over surface of toffee.

Allow to cool completely, then break into bite sized (pretzel-sized) pieces.
Store in a cool location and try not to eat them all at once!

Hint: Don't discard the little bits that remain in the pan after removing the toffee pretzels, those bits make a killer salty/sweet ice cream topping!

12/21/09 Update: I tried the recipe with Butter Twist pretzels today and they are very tasty. More density of pretzel flavor and saltiness (but also more expensive). Either way, its a decadent recipe that makes a great little gift, stocking stuffer or bribe : )

Winter News

2009-12-17T12:02:00.002-06:00

18" of snow in 36 hours was kind of fun, until the 50 mph winds started in with the subzero temperatures, then it quickly became less fun. It took us a couple of days after the blizzard to get out to the high tunnels. As soon as I got the first door open, I felt my heart sink...it was the smell of rotting vegetables. Damn! We've never had significant problems with crops freezing in the tunnels, and certainly never this early in the season, but here it is. Everything suffered at least some damage and many of the crops were a total loss...again, damn! Some of those crops will likely recover, like the kale, spinach and some of the salad greens, possibly the broccoli (much to Sean's dismay). But the cabbage, radishes, peas, beets and choi are just gone...sigh.

Ah well, another lesson learned another layer of experience added. It would have been so much more convenient to learn this lesson AFTER the winter market this coming Saturday, but nature isn't too much interested in our schedules. Thank goodness for our other farm-made products!

There was one bright note this week, our friend Cathy writes for blogforiowa.com and she recently wrote a post listing 12 Great Places to Shop Across Iowa, and included BGF as one of those places! We are honored to appear alongside many of our favorites as well including, Prairieland Herbs, Picket Fence Creamery, Seed Savers and Frisian Farms. You can see the full list here: www.blogforiowa.com

Farm Safety

2009-12-13T08:49:00.003-06:00

Everyone says that safety is important. Many of us talk about it around the dinner table or at a gathering of farmers or to kids around the farm. But then we go outside and in a rush to get through the endless list of chores we take shortcuts with our equipment (and our safety) to try and get just a little more done. I would hazard that we have all done something along those lines at some time. Maybe it was something small like forgetting to wear safety goggles when using a chainsaw or weedwacker, or maybe it was running a tractor across a slope that was just a little too steep. Regardless, you never know when things might go wrong.

This is a video that was recently released by ISU Extension on Farm Safety. It features our friend and neighbor Kristi and her family. I hope you will watch it and share it with anyone who works with machinery big or small, we could all use a reminder.

my name is Kristi from Iowa State University Extension on Vimeo.

A Preview

2009-12-07T07:55:00.002-06:00

Well so much for doing a better job of keeping the blog up-to-date.
As I sit at the computer today I can look out the window at a beautiful snowy wonderland. We got about 4" of fluffy snow last night, and suddenly its winter on the farm. This is only an appetizer though as we are predicted to get up to 12" in the next couple of days.
Hard to believe a week ago we were harvesting radishes, salad and other greens outside. This likely marks the formal end of the outdoor gardening season for us, and I sure am happy that we have the high tunnels, as we still have one CSA delivery and one farmers market to go.

I will try to get pics of the high tunnels posted in the next day or so. The crops in there are still lush and beautiful.

High Tunnel Progress

2009-11-05T15:13:00.005-06:00

I've been very remiss in keeping the blog up to date recently, so here are a few pictures to track the progress in the high tunnels in the past month or so:

The end of the summer crops (September) in HT1:
zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

HT1 with winter crops on November 4th:
beets, kohlrabi, pac choi, radishes and kale

Summer crops in HT2 on Oct 15th:
peppers, basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, chard & eggplant

HT2 on Oct 16th (the 16th was a big day!)

HT2 on November 4th:
chard, broccoli raab, broccoli, spinach, Chinese cabbage, peas, salad greens and carrots.

Crawling Video

2009-10-19T19:00:00.001-05:00

Just when you thought the posts about Farm Crawl were through for the year (honestly I did too), this arrived in our email box.

How cool is that?
This video was shot and produced by Farm Crawler Patrick Boberg.
And honestly, its the first time we've gotten to see the whole crawl since we are always tethered to our own farm. So thanks Patrick for the wonderful video and for sharing Farm Crawl 2009 through your eyes. We think its brilliant!

Holy Basil!

2009-10-15T19:13:00.006-05:00

No, not the actual holy basil, just the exclamation that I uttered when I first saw the leaves like in the photo below.

We have been trying to get all the mid-season crops cleared from the high tunnels. But before the chance was past, I wanted to get photo evidence of the amazing results in our basil crop. We grew two varieties of basil in the tunnel, the Genovese was as expected, nicely sized and productive, but the real treat was the Lettuce Leaf Basil. The seed was sourced from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

The field-grown plants were similar to the Genovese, nice, but not particularly special. But those in the tunnel were amazing. Basil leaves the size of my hand... and nice flavor to boot! I think this goes on the annual high tunnel crop list as a "must have"!

Crawling, in Review

2009-10-07T21:29:00.015-05:00

Welcome to Farm Crawl 2009 at Blue Gate Farm

Our awesome sales team is ready to move some product

Our fabulous summer harvest crew, ready to greet visitors

The crowd rolls in...

...and the fun begins!

We love hosting Willow Ridge Fiber at BGF...lots of fibery goodness for everyone!

John peaks the interest of a future spinner.

Mom's beautiful photo cards were popular with visitors and made a beautiful display

Sean gives one of the many tours of the day

Crawled On!

2009-10-06T07:41:00.002-05:00

Farm Crawl 2009 is now history. Holy cow and what a day it was!!
The weather was mild, the winds light, and the people enthusiastic! Here at Blue Gate we counted more than 960 visitors, that's about 350 more than last year. Again, holy cow!

It was truly a great day and we couldn't have done it without the wonderful help of our family and friends, and Blue of course! In addition to all of their help setting-up, manning the booth, parking cars, demonstrating the new baby chicks (thanks Megan!), demonstrating spinning and helping clean-up, some of our amazing friends and family also managed to find time to take pictures.
Will try to get those up by tomorrow. All in all it was an amazing day, huge thanks to all who helped and to everyone who came out to enjoy a beautiful fall day in the country!

Crawl On!

2009-10-02T20:59:00.003-05:00

This Sunday, October 4th is the big day...Farm Crawl 2009!

For the uninitiated, Farm Crawl is a group of diverse, small family farms in south-central Iowa who get together every year and host simultaneous open houses. The farms are situated in a rough circle around the bustling metropolis of Melcher-Dallas . The route includes a goat dairy, corn maze, pumpkin patch, vegetable farms, an apple orchard and a locally-harvested pottery.

We here at Blue Gate Farm are the slightly twisted instigators of this event which we modeled after our favorite Art Crawl in Houston. We started with 5 farms in 2007 and are now up to 7 farm locations and featuring 9 local families. There were some doubts in that first group (most of them our own), but everyone decided it was worth trying, hoping we would at least get 50 people to come out for the afternoon. Imagine our suprise when more than 500 people showed up that first year. We were all a little overwhelmed and absolutely thrilled.

The event has continued to grow and develop, while still remaining small enough that our country roads can handle the increased traffic. Interest has grown and at least one other event in has been modeled after our Crawl.

So if you're within driving distance...come on out for a day in the country. Pet a goat, eat an apple, see the baby chicks, get lost in the corn, talk to the turkeys get your picture taken with a giant pumpkin and take home a souvenir pottery piece...its all here, in the beautiful rural Iowa countryside!

For more info, directions and a listing of the individual farms, check out the website at www.farmcrawl.com

Peach Perfume

2009-09-20T20:12:00.005-05:00

Recently, the still-warm evening breeze has carried a distinctive perfume, the heady aroma of ripening peaches. It was an amazing scent to be sure and the sign of things to come.

Yesterday afternoon the time arrived, peach harvesting time. The tree, a native Iowa white peach, is still relatively young, around 15 years old, so it wasn't a huge harvest, but around 120 pounds. So now, resting in large black crates, are somewhat small, white peaches aging to their final ripeness. Sometime this week I will skin, slice and freeze these peaches to be made throughout the upcoming season in to our Ginger Peach Jam or Peach Butter. They aren't great fresh eating peaches, but in preserves they are perfect.

Its a good thing that we added a second big freezer this year, because next to the peach crates are a tall stack of pear crates, awaiting a similar fate. Its going to be a busy week!

A branch of nearly-ripe Iowa white peaches

A Little Color

2009-09-16T19:48:00.003-05:00

With the cooling of the weather, people clearly are getting the urge to "nest". At the market, jam and hand-spun yarn sales have blossomed. Its certainly a boon to the bottom line, but it is a bit of a struggle to keep up with the making of these things at this busy time of year.

Recently, in an effort to get ahead of the sales, I spent an evening dyeing wool roving to be spun after sunsets later in the week. Here are some of the rovings from the dyepot experiments

Today's Harvest

2009-09-13T19:50:00.003-05:00

The harvest from our high tunnels today:
Eggplant (final harvest): Calliope & Orient Express
Sweet Peppers: Ace (red), Golden Marconi (long yellow), Islander (purple) & Sunray (yellow)
Heirloom Tomatoes: Big Zebra, Dr. Wychee, Mule Team, Paul Robeson, Redfield Beauty

Ice Cream Resolution

2009-09-09T12:28:00.002-05:00

You will have to read today's earlier post titled "Torture" for the following photo to make any sense...

...ahhhhhhh...French Silk Bliss!
(thanks, Maggie!!!)

Torture

2009-09-09T08:15:00.006-05:00

Those of you who know me, know that I am rather a connoisseur (addict) of ice cream, especially homemade ice cream. I come by this trait honestly, between our household and my parents we own 5 ice cream freezers (for 4 people, but we share!) We hold an Ice Cream Social every year for our CSA members and most larger family gatherings include some kind of homemade ice cream.

Well, last Saturday at the farmers market, my dear friend Maggie arrived at our booth with a full quart of her own homemade french silk ice cream base! This stuff is like a swoon, a scream and a sigh all rolled into one. I wanted nothing more than to rush home, pull out my little Cuisinart ice cream freezer and whip that baby into service. Alas, it was only 9 am and we still had 3 hours of market left and then some errands to run before we even got back home.

When we finally arrived, and the market stuff was all unloaded I started looking for the Cuisinart...hmmm, where was it? I knew I had used it since moving from Houston, so we hadn't done anything foolish like leaving it behind. I looked everywhere....well, everywhere except the far east door of our storage closets in the back porch. It is buried behind a pile of coolers, spent honeycomb waiting to become filtered beeswax, holiday decorations and the 55 gallon honey extractor.

I kept asking Sean if he remembered seeing the ice cream freezer, hoping that he would volunteer to find it, as he is rather skilled at spelunking through the storage closets, but he replied that he hadn't seen it, and didn't take the bait to help me find it. (hm, no ice cream for him in the eventuality that I EVER find the stinking machine).

Finally I had a moment of extreme determination and I scaled the pile and managed to open the east storage door...
See the barely visible shiny object, half hidden by the cardboard box...yep, that's it and there was no way I could even touch it while standing on a step stool, let alone get it out of there.
This was really an inhumane form of torture for a Beebout, anyone who knows us well will attest to it.

There are few things that would have pushed me forward at this moment, but ice cream is one of them. I will spare you any more of the ugly details, but spurred on by the thought of Maggie's french silk ice cream, the Cuisinart is now on my kitchen counter and the freezer bowl has been in the deep freeze for 24 hours, so later today, I am going to sit down to one luscious bowl of happiness...and I'm not sharing either!

A whole month??

2009-09-06T20:23:00.002-05:00

Today I checked in and realized it had been a full month since I last posted a blog entry, yikes! So we haven't been the most scintillating read recently, but it wasn't for lack of material, or even desire...simply a lack of time. Things have been a bit crazy here in the past month. All my seasonal help has gone back to school, so its pretty much me and the veggies out there, staring each other down...and in all honesty, the produce is winning!

This has been one crazy growing season...first too wet, then too cool, then hot for a week and back to cool. I actually had to install a bunch irrigation lines this past week, because there isn't enough soil moisture to germinate the fall crops. Most of the earlier crops are finishing up for the season, all except the beans. We are still picking beans from our first sowing...there were never beautiful plants, stunted from the lack of warmth, but they have just produced like crazy...thank you beans!

The high tunnels have been worth their weight in gold this season. They were the only places that got enough heat and water at all the right times (thanks to irrigation) so the crops in there have really been outstanding. We have just started turning the first of those crops over to cold weather crops. One bed of eggplant was evaculated after they failed to thrive under the onslaught of a flea beetle invasion and last week the cucumber trellis finally failed under the hundreds of pounds of insanely productive vines. Winter carrots have already germinated in the former eggplant location and winter peas and cabbage are going into the cuke beds later this week.

The quick score sheet for the season would read:
Winning Teams:
high tunnel peppers, cukes, zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, chard & basil
bush and pole beans

Losing Teams:
garlic
field cabbages
beets

I promise to post some high tunnel and harvest pics later this week, and will try to be better at my weekly postings. Its at least a little easier now that its too dark to work outside after 8pm!

Peace Disrupted

2009-08-05T07:37:00.003-05:00

It is a beautiful morning here on the farm, cool and clear. As I was sitting down at the computer enjoying my cup of coffee a familiar sound reached my ears. The drone of a spray plane (crop duster) whined through the morning quiet, and it was close! The plane flew right over the house and proceeded to spray a field a quarter mile from us, at times circling directly above us at low altitude.

photo curtesy of the ISU Entomology Department website

Now the pilot was well within the law and the conditions were perfect, nearly still wind and before the 8:00am stop time for spraying within a mile of registered honey bee hives. But still, given our past experience with herbicide overdrift, I always get a little queasy at that sound. Blue wasn't very happy about it either and ran around "chasing" the plane when it got close, barking wildly to scare it off. She looked rather triumphant when it would fly away, only to start up again when it circled back.

The plane has now moved off to further fields, but I can still just make out the drone of its engines as it passes back and forth over a field to our southwest. I understand the "need" for this kind of chemical control and application in the large industry of mono-culture, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

Today's Harvest 07/26/09

2009-07-26T12:10:00.004-05:00

The high tunnels continue to perform admirably this season. The above photo is just today's harvest from the two tunnels. The harvest includes:
Cucumbers (2 varieties) : 45 lbs
Peppers (3 varieties) : 4.5 lbs
Tomatoes: (6 varieties) : 20 lbs
Zucchini (2 varieties) : 27 lbs

The Boys of Summer

2009-07-22T06:37:00.011-05:00

Z & N sharing the first Suyo Long cucumber of the season

Received this photo of my nephews this week. It is currently my favorite veggie themed photo and I thought others might enjoy it too. Thanks, Brenda for sharing it! Here are a couple other
shots of my favorite veggie-lovers from our archives...

Golden Rave Tomato, anyone?

Just a little something to tide me over until lunch.

Refreshing Mint Soda, Anyone?

2009-07-21T21:07:00.004-05:00

During the summers we go through a lot of seltzer water. Sean drinks it plain and I drink it mixed with my favorite elderflower syrup or fruit juices. We aren't big fans of consumables in plastic bottles, so when our regular store brand of seltzer recently had a significant price increase, we decided it was time for a change. Sean's brother Paul had mentioned during a recent visit (thanks again, Paul!) that his family uses a "soda machine" to make their own seltzer so we decided to look into it.

We found the info online and were discussing purchasing one. Then we discovered that our area Kohls stores stocks them, so a little side trip after the CSA delivery this evening and we are now the proud owners of a SodaStream Fountain Jet, and we are LOVING it! It can produce highly carbonated fizzy water from our own rather tasty tap water and added to our own "farm-made" herb and fruit syrups, the possibilities are nearly endless. LOVE IT!

I started with a lovely Mint Lemon soda this evening and am partway through a homemade gingersnap soda. And I haven't even started thinking about the possibilities with "adult " beverages. Oh my!

A brief observation

2009-07-19T07:16:00.002-05:00

This past Friday I saw a flock of geese flying south at sunset. It was a beautiful sight with their stark arrow of bodies silhouetted against the glowing end of the day. Sheer poetry it was.

Then I realized its July 18, I'm wearing a sweatshirt and have been wearing it most of the day while harvesting...and the geese are flying south. Not a huge flock, mind you, but a flock nonetheless. Huh. I'm sure it was just a fluke, that they were simply moving to a pond for the night. But regardless, it did make me pause.
July 18.
Sweatshirt.
Geese flying south.
Huh.

From There to Here

2009-07-17T07:05:00.006-05:00

Last month my friend Claire surprised me with a wonderfully crazy fiber batt to play with. Its a wild blend of different wools, lumpy slubs, sparklies and whatnot. Here's half the batt and the ball of roving made from the other half, all ready to spin.

The real fun with a batt like this is that you have no idea what the resulting yarn will look like.
Here's the result...

And a gratuitous close up for you real yarn junkies...

What a fun project this was, thanks Claire for the treat!!

New Neighbor

2009-07-14T21:07:00.004-05:00

Today as the harvest crew was finishing up lunch and heading back outside, we noticed a Cedar Waxwing flying close to the door and calling repeatedly. I was tickled to see one, as they are one of my favorite birds, but since they are normally rather shy birds, the behavior was notable. Then I heard an answering call very close by. Looking down into the small garden beside the back door we spotted this little fellow perched among the heuchera.

Cedar Waxwing fledgling

I'm quite sure that I was much more excited to see him than he was to see me. So I tried to be quick about getting a picture and leaving him alone with his chaperone, who continued to call from the overhead Ash tree. When we checked again later in the afternoon, both birds were gone, but I could still hear the occasional call from the hedgerow, so I hope the fledging was a success. I'd love to have them as long-term residents of Blue Gate Farm.

Small-scale Gardening

2009-07-05T09:22:00.004-05:00

I don't give too much thought to small-scale gardening, although most farmers would consider what we do to be "small-scale". I'm talking apartment-sized, balcony "small." But when I saw this link today from Instructables.com, I though it was brilliant!

VERTICAL VEGETABLES: "Grow up" in a small garden and confound the cats! - More DIY How To Projects

"Don't Touch My Tomatoes...

2009-07-02T06:41:00.007-05:00

...or I'll cut your little arms off!"

Yes, this phrase was spoken in a strong tone at Blue Gate Farm this week. It was not exactly what it might seem though. You see, the zucchini in the high tunnel are beautifully healthy and growing aggressively. Several of them have gotten so big that they are now crossing the aisle and encroaching on my Big Zebra and Paul Robeson heirloom tomatoes. Nothing nobody, messes with my Paul Robeson tomatoes and gets away unscathed, so my warning was a sincere one.

Today, immediately after this photo was taken, the zuccs received a little reminder of my sincerity. You could almost hear the sighs of relief from the tomatoes.

In related news, the high tunnel trials continue to go well. To date, with the current crops in the tunnels, we have harvested:
Basil: 2.5 lbs
Bell Peppers:8 lbs
Cucumbers: 2 lbs
Eggplant: 1.5 lbs
Swiss Chard: 99 lbs
Zucchini: 63 lbs
Still no tomatoes yet, but they are looking promising.

The field-grown crops aren't doing quite as well. All the rain from the past 2 months pounded every bit of air from the soil and the sun then baked it into something resembling adobe bricks. Doesn't seem to hamper the weed growth, but the crops are suffering for it.