These Days

Cooking, Knitting, and Reading have quickly filled my spare time since I moved from the farm.

(“Everybody Loves” Potato Salad recipe at the end).

I have more than a few friends who will be welcoming new editions to their families from last week until January, so I’ve collected some easy baby hat and sweater patterns to gift them something special and homemade. Cotton is the material of choice, here is a picture of a little hat I made last year around this time:

In the meantime I turned a year older and received some wonderful books, including:

And, from some dear friends:

Take time to enjoy the best of HOME.

 

Red Potato, Gonna Love it Recipe:

1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely

12 red potatoes

5 hardboiled (Farm fresh, of course) eggs

3 Tbsp Stone Ground Mustard (I like Ingelhoffer or Trader Joe’s Brand)

2 Tbsp (approx.) Classic Mustard

2 1/2 Large spoon scoops Mayo

1 Tbsp. Paprika

2 Tbsp. fresh Thyme

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Prepare a large bowl with the finely chopped onions and dry seasonings. Boil potatoes (cut into quarters with skin on) and eggs,then set aside to cool. Save one egg and set it aside for later. After these have cooled to room temperature, combine with onions and dry seasonings. Then add mustard and mayo. Add fresh Thyme, saving a sprig for decoration. Slice remaining egg into rounds and use with a sprig of Thyme on top. Refrigerate or serve immediately!

 

Farewell Countryside…

This post is my last post while living on the farm, wrapping up a year as an intern. I have learned so much about the land, the animals that provide us with sustenance, and the people who love it. To sum it up in pictures:

Dairy cows are nice.

180 Chickens will not peck your eyes out when you’re collecting eggs.

But seriously, they won’t peck your eyes out.

Watching animals being born helps you understand how important they are to our lives!

(January/Feb building and preparing raised beds–labor by Brayden)

(Feb/March, planting seeds in flats)

(March: the first few plants in beds–here squash)

(Tomatoes transplanted after last frost in April)

I’ll still be working two days a week on the farm (including running the booth at the Farmer’s Market), satiating my taste for the country life. I plan on incorporating much that I’ve learned in the city, with a perspective Chicken box (for two egg layers) that could be moved around my backyard. Also, a kitchen garden with the essentials for myself (while still maintaing the gardens on the farm two days a week for produce to sell). I’ll keep you updated on my urban gardening/chicken/homesteading/still knitting/sewing/reading old books, playing ukulele and living at HOME. In the meantime, you can catch me here:

Selling fairtrade, organic, (roasted in Nashville) this:

“Sometimes I live in the country, sometimes I live in town” 

Nostalgia

This week was full of things that remind me of home (in the past) and inspire what home could be in the future:

Putting clothes out to dry on the line:

Bringing clothes inside to dry once it started to rain:

Before the rain, enjoying the back porch:

Baking double chocolate cookies:

Playing with Kittens:

Watching the plants grow:

And listening to music from my childhood:

Enjoy remembering the good things of life!

Two Farm Days

In the past two days:

I baked a Hummingbird Cake (See recipe at the end) for a surprise Birthday dinner:

I washed 15 dozen farm eggs:

Listened to a “new” record I purchased from Goodwill (while washing eggs):

Checked on the Garden:

And I discovered a couple small strawberry plants hiding beneath the rose bushes:

I hope your weekend is full of fun things!

Here are the Hummingbird Cake Ingredients: (The full Martha Stewart Recipe can be found here)

For the Cake:

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar (I used 1 cup raw sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar)
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil (I use Coconut oil instead)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (my addition)
• 2 very ripe large bananas, mashed (I used 3)
• 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, with juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 large eggs, beaten

For The Frosting

• 1 pound (1 box) confectioners’ sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk, or more if needed
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Babies Galore!

We’ve got twins! Our dairy sheep Coco Chanel had her babies last week:

In other news; tomato starters are selling like hot cakes! For $2.50 you can purchase a quality, organic (seed and potting soil) plant for your garden at home! I have sold out of my Mortgage Lifters (a KY heirloom tomato), but I still have plenty of Cherokee Purple and Brandywine heirlooms as well as the Italian San Marzano and Borghese starters. Come see us at the Farmer’s Market tomorrow! I will also be selling farm fresh eggs, organic grassfed beef and lamb. If you would like any other products from our farm store please email us (a listing can be found on our website).

Last and least in size, our cat (also named Coco) had kittens!!

Happy Weekend!!

Markets and Lambs

For those of you who have read Tomato Land and are now scared of Tomatoes, fear not. Starting today, at the Community Farmer’s Market in Bowling Green, you can purchase organically grown heirloom tomato seedlings! For those who can’t make it to the market, come see us at the farm shoppe!

Spring has sprung and this week we had 3 lambs born, simply because they’re cute and you should hold a baby lamb at least once in your life. Stop by the farm to see the spring-time joys of lambing!

Lettuce Eat

April 7th begins my selling season at the Community Farmer’s Market on Campbell Ln. in Bowling Green. The main produce I’ll be selling for the first weeks of April is lettuce. This is a lettuce mix from Seed Savers, including the above variety Forellenschluss or “Speckled Trout Back”! I will also have seedlings of Calendula, which will look like this by May/June:

I will also have products ordered from our Farm Shoppe, like these eggs:

(photo by Oh! Dear things.)

See you soon!

A Taste of Spring

This week I’ve been thinking up recipes and uses for the produce I will have available in the upcoming Spring months! This morning I made a Julia Child omelet, but I downsized to 3 farm fresh eggs instead of 8 (since there is only one of me). I also used sauteed onions and red peppers (here’s where the produce comes in) and don’t forget dried basil! I couldn’t stop there, so I also sliced a piece of freshly baked sourdough bread with a hearty spoonful of raw honey (available at the River Cottage Farm Shoppe).  I had to compliment my delicious meal with my default excellent cup of coffee, brewed with care (the beans, locally purchased from Spencer’s Coffeehouse of course!).

In other news: we’ve got asparagus growing from last fall’s planting! Get your Hollandaise sauce ready, spring is here!

Seeds I Trust

There is nothing that reminds me more of home than fresh grown vegetables! This week I’m sharing my seed secret:

Seed Savers Exchange:

This group collects and maintains seeds from heritage and heirloom vegetables as well as flowers and herbs. They are trustworthy and USDA organic! Their seed packets include a consistent 100 seeds, something that isn’t guaranteed when you purchase seed packets from Lowes or Home Depot. Our farm shop offers Seed Savers seeds, some that we have in the store and that I planted this spring are:

Dragon Carrots, a beautiful alternative to your typical orange carrot:

Swiss Rainbow Chard, you can’t go wrong with any vegetable that is this colorful:

Mortgage Lifter (Kentucky Heirloom) or Halladay’s Tomato:

French Breakfast Radishes:

Red Whethersfield Onions:

Champion of England Pea:

Just a little sample of what I’ll be selling this summer at the Community Farmer’s Market! I also planted some italian varieties of tomatoes (San Marzano and Borghese) from Seeds of Italy.

Happy Planting!

Book Promo

“Real Food” by Nina Planck

Why I like this book:

Simply put, Nina makes real food plain, clean, simple, and accessible. She predates the foodie guru Michael Pollan and expresses her relationship with “real food” that generally mirrored my own experience seeking out healthy and satisfying foods. I’m not a diet person, but definitely a lifestyle geared eater. Food is life. Discovering that the diet I lived on throughout most of my beginning years on my own made me feel bad, tired and sluggish. Getting back to things like whole milk, true butter, farm fresh eggs, olive oil, cod liver oil, grass-fed meats and crispy/fresh vegetables, which our ancestors as farmers have been eating for….ahem….thousands of years seems so practical now that I can’t imagine why I thought processed and corn syrup infiltrated goodies would fight things like the “discovering real life blues” or the freshman 15.

All of that to say, check this book out at your local library if you are curious about “real food” and how it can change our lives for the better.

Next, a shameless plug for my hopeful produce ventures:

I think it’s very important to know where your food comes from: hence interning on a farm! We’re gearing up for the April opening of the local community farmer’s market in Bowling Green and this week I planted 5 varieties of tomatoes and a wide assortment of vegetable delights in flats in preparation for the abundant summer to come!

Happy Eating!

Try some local farm fresh eggs: