Wild Things Farm

I’ve not watched any of the new reality shows on hoarding, but once in a while I ask myself that question.  I do have hoarding tendencies for saving plastic plant pots (I do use them, really I do), plastic produce containers, egg cartons, fabric (she who dies with the most fabric wins) and, oh yes, my pantry is stuffed, along with the freezer.

The only thing that would even resemble a New Year’s resolution for me would be to not buy groceries, except for things like milk, bread, and that sort of thing until I get my pantry and freezer cleaned out some.  This morning was a great experiment in using up the rest of a box of blueberry muffin mix.  The muffin tins are, well, serving another purpose right now, so I used a tart dish (about 8? dia) to bake up this really tasty blueberry muffin-type thingee.  The recipe I used goes like this:

about 3/4 cup blueberry muffin mix (whew, that box is gone from the shelf!)

1 fresh egg from the Happy Hens (I eat the ugly ones that I don’t want to sell)

1 tsp veggie oil

about 1/2 cup of (the rest of a bag of) walnuts, finely chopped in the food processor

2 T wheat bran (I really need to be using this up more often)

a big handful of FRESH blueberries (they were on sale, okay?)

a dash of milk

I sprayed the tart dish with cooking spray then put the batter in and baked at 400 for about 30 minutes.  I topped the slice I ate with, mmmmmm, cream cheese!

YUM!

This little experiment got rid of the muffin mix, a partial bag of walnuts, some of the wheat bran and some of the cream cheese that’s accumulated in the fridge.  I’ve been known to go to the grocery store, with a list, and think, “oh, I need catsup or mustard or cream cheese” so I buy it and get home just to find that I’ve already bought it.   Sometimes 2 or 3 times!  During the holidays I was making pumpkin rolls and cheese balls so I’ve got a few packages of cream cheese in the fridge.  I know some of you are guilty of that too, fess up!

 

During the yucky days of winter the Happy Hoer does a lot of surfing ....... I also subscribe to several blogs of interest.  Just this morning a new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map was published, with a feature where you can type in your zip code and your map will magically appear

Check it out   www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov 

We all could use a little help getting our minimum daily requirements of vitamins, fiber, minerals and all that stuff that our bodies need to thrive.  Recently, during a surfing adventure, I ran across a new website published by the USDA.  It's called ChooseMyPlate.gov and it's a wonderful resource for finding out exactly what's in the food you're eating AND there's a free daily tracker where you can input what you are eating AND it computes your daily intakes AND tells you what percentage of your daily requirements you have eaten.  The miracles of modern technology continue to amaze me......here's the super secret (jk) link     http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ click on "Supertracker" and get started.

Healthy New Year!

OK, so this is supposed to be the "slower" season for farmers.  I still haven't figured out "slow" in what way?  Well, maybe slow in that I don't have to beat the sun up every morning--that's quite a break in itself.  The high tunnel is going great; harvesting greens about every 10 days or so.  The Happy Hens are still busy laying beautiful eggs.  Last week I went to the pen to find two of them laying lifeless in the pen and their heads were gone!  I knew that was a clue as to who did it, so I quizzed "Granny Google" and it was either a raccoon, weasel, or owl.  So, knowing the critters around here, I'd say Rocky Raccoon had chicken brains for supper one night.  No more....I found the breach in security (aka hole in the fence) so now the Happy Hens can rest easy again.  It's amazing how something like that affects egg production.

A couple of months ago I found a really cool blog of a vegetarian chef in Denmark.  I'm always looking for recipes to share with members and customers on creative ways to utilize the bounty of the farm.  Although this particular recipe has nothing to do with produce grown on the farm, it's the holidays and I thought this healthy snack fit right in.  Her website is called My New Roots and the address is http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/.  You know how you get to clicking and clicking and end up, well, in Denmark, reading interesting things.  She had a recipe for Date Balls that is really amazing.  I tweaked it of course, but not much.  She rolled hers in toasted sesame seeds, I used coconut.

2 cups chopped dates (finely chopped would work really well)

2 cups chopped walnuts (again, finely chopped)

Coconut, for coating the balls

Put the dates into a food processor and process until very finely chopped--they are really tough.  Do the same thing to the walnuts.  Mix the two together and roll into 1" balls.  Roll them in shredded coconut.  They are very sweet and tasty and no added sugar!   Note the finely chopped--I didn't chop fine enough and it made the balls hard to get to stick together.  They are delicious anyway.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

 

This year wasn’t a particularly “great” year for eggplants but there were a few harvested just before the first predicted frost. So, I have a bag of eggplants in the fridge–what do I do with them?

Last year, or maybe the year before (time gets away, doesn’t it?) I made eggplant “meat” balls with marinara sauce and spaghetti. They were totally edible and actually pretty good. So, I took the eggplant–the skinny Asian eggplants–peeled them and sliced them into about 1/4 inch slices or so, sprinkled them with salt and put them on a paper towel for about 20 minutes or so. This draws the moisture out of the eggplant. Then I pat them dry and roasted them for 20 minutes or so until they seemed kind of done.

At this point I put them in the food processor and processed them until they were ground up like, well, hamburger. I added garlic and some onion (I need to go to the grocery store so its flakes, okay?) Mixed this up with about 1/3 package of an 8 oz pack of cream cheese, about 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese, and 3 pieces of sun dried tomato that were chopped up. Oh, I also chopped up a jalapeno pepper that was laying on the counter, just for a little heat. Mix all that together and stuff it into the pepper. Oh yes, the pepper. As I was harvesting all the eggplants before the predicted frost, I harvested all the peppers as well. I had a couple of “Sweet Diablo” peppers which are just a sweet pepper that is about 5-6 inches long by 2 inches wide at the top and sweet, but not hot. I slit the pepper, removed the pith and seeds, and stuffed with this mixture. Then sprinkle with Panko bread crumbs and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until they start to brown a little. Yum, yum!

Last year, while in the produce section of the local supermarket, I purchased a rutabaga.  I did a blog about how wonderful it tasted and made a note to grow them this year. 

In mid-July I planted three rows, each about 180 feet long.  The seeds germinated, I dutifully thinned them to 5" apart, the cabbage worms came, I sprayed Bt, and I kept watching and waiting---man do they grow slow!

Botanically speaking, a rutabaga is a cross between a turnip and cabbage.  I'd say culinarily speaking it tastes like a cross between white potato, sweet potato, maybe a tad of cabbage, and a faint hint of turnip.  It's a great taste, anyway.  They kind of look like turnips but they aren't colored as brightly, have more roots on them, and they are harvested at a much larger size than turnips. 

 

The last CSA delivery of the season was last Friday.  I ventured into the rutabaga patch to see if there were any "early birds" fit to put in the day's delivery.  I was pleasantly surprised!  There were just enough large ones to fill the shares on Friday AND I got 2 monsters to try meselfeee.  One of them is about the size of a cantaloupe and the other was about 5" in diameter. (The big one just to the left of the middle is the cantaloupe size one and it may be like cutting a pine knot.)   I cut the second-to-the-largest one up and roasted it with some sweet potatoes and again, YUMMEEEE!  I peeled and chunked the veggies up into 1" squares and tossed them in a baking pan.  Then I mixed up 2T olive oil, 2T honey, 1t lemon juice and drizzled that over the veggies and roast at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until tender, stirring every 10 minutes or so.  Very tasty and simple. 

This has also been a very good turnip year.  They are firm and sweet and great either raw, mashed, or roasted.  Some people boil them but I don't particularly care for them that way.  Anyway, I love pulling turnips--it's kind of like hunting purple Easter eggs.  When they are ready to pull they pooch up out of the ground so you can see the pretty purple tops on them.

 

Several of the farm members had never tried them before and said that they actually liked them once they tried them.  It's a good substitute for a radish in a salad too!

Eating in season this time of year is very satisfying because a lot of the veggies are "comfort" food.  Personally, I think any food is "comforting" if I'm hungry!

p.s.  We're having a gorgeous fall here in Tennessee--hope everyone else is too

 

The farm CSA members received sweet potatoes in their shares for several weeks and several of them returned a few really good recipes for different ways to cook them.  I tried this one the other night and ooh, baby!  It's a culinary delight

Yummy Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Preheat oven to 350

2 lbs. sweet potatoes - peeled, cubed

throw in a baking dish

Whisk together:

2T evoo

2T honey

1 t. lemon juice

1/2 t. salt

pour over and mix with sweet potatoes

Cook approx. 1 hr. stir several times

The potatoes get sticky and gooey and the lemon juice perks right out of the sweetness and says "here I am". 

 

We've always heard the expression good guys gone bad, but bad guys gone good?

In the hoophouse, tomatoes were planted in late winter. During the summer they produced and produced bunches of tasty tomatoes. In the process, the tomato hornworms found them, even inside the plastic surround of the hoophouse.

There are parasitic wasps that like to feed upon these giant green monsters that devour tomato plants, and I haven't really experienced them in the hoophouse yet, so I sort of panicked when I saw so many hornworms on the tomato plants, but then I noticed that most of them were decked out with little white globules on them. "Parasitic wasps"! They did venture into the tunnel! I don't think I've ever seen so many hornworms on tomato plants, BUT I've never seen so many parasitic wasp eggs either. The hornworms that had eggs on them got to stay on the plants (it was hard to do, but I left them). These are the "Bad guys gone good". I'm hoping the parasitic wasps will find a place to winter over in the warmth of the high tunnel. The hornworms that didn't have any eggs on them? Well, even the chickens won't eat them, so they must be bad.

By the way, birds fly freely in and out of the high tunnel too. I sure hope they are working on the grasshopper population in there! It's a lively place

 

Fall is my favorite time of year–always has been. I love the colors of the trees, the cooler weather…..and putting on a jacket after hanging it in the closet last season. You know where I’m going–I put on a jacket this morning to pick peppers and tomatoes and stuck my hands in the pockets and found $6.00 AND a pair of reading glasses. I’m a lucky girl " src="http://wildthingscsafarm.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" />

Do you remember where you were when JFK was shot? I was in Mrs. Watson's 2nd grade class, probably spinning my wooden chair around on one leg, when the announcement came over the loudspeaker.

Do you remember where you were when the terrorists struck on 911? I was in a stress management class. Yes, a STRESS managment class. Imagine that! We didn't have access to TV until late that afternoon but I'll never forget that day and WE need to never forget that day........

The Happy Hens at Wild Things Farm get a lot of attention.  One of the key players in the lives of the Happy Hens is Mr. Rooster Sir. 

Mr. Rooster Sir has been with the Happy Hens ever since the beginning.  He did have a partner to watch over the chickie chicks but his partner was mean to the girls so he went bye-bye. 

I've noticed that Mr. Rooster Sir watches over the girls constantly.  While they are busy pecking and scratching, he's watching out, looking, ready to sound an alarm if there's danger.

One day a hawk perched in a tree way too close to the chicken universe and Mr. Rooster Sir sounded an alarm.  All the girls scurried into their safe haven (aka chicken house) except one.  I didn't actually see what happened, but I think the hawk actually almost made contact with her because she was hiding underneath a corner of the coop.  I gathered her up and put her back in the house with her companions.  They were upset for a day or two after that incident. 

The next day after that encounter, I took fence wire and went across the pen in a zig-zag manner so birds of prey wouldn't be able to "swoop" down and grab one of the girls.  So far it's worked really well keeping critters from swooping.  It does take my hat off occasionally when I stand up too tall in the pen.

A few months ago one of the CSA members shared a sourdough starter with me.  I've been keeping it fed and tried a few bread recipes but they've all turned out to look and feel like one of those discus thingees they throw in the Olympics.  The chickens love testing my mess-ups!

Another observation:  Mr. Rooster Sir will stand there and wait until all the girls have gotten their piece of bread before he will even attempt to get one for himself--a true gentleman.  So appropriately named.

Back to the successful breadmaking experience.  The recipe I used makes a "sponge" from warm water, yeast, and the starter, then let it set for 10 minutes then add flour, sugar and salt, mix together and let rise for 2 hours then knead.  This is where I was messing up.  I wasn't kneading the dough enough. Kneading sufficiently gets the gluten broken down enough to hold the dough in shape while it's baking.  So knead, and knead, and knead until it's really pliable and holds it's shape.  I "googled" sourdough bread not rising and figured that out.  The bread turned out perfect.

Don't tell the girls!

I know we're not as dry as other folks are, but it hasn't rained around here in several weeks. Needless to say, the irrigation pump has been working overtime. A lot of the gardens have drip tape installed in them which makes watering them as easy as turning a valve.

Two of the gardens, any seedbeds, the orchard and the flower beds all require dragging a waterhose and a sprinkler. This is where life gets kinky. Every time I have to drag hoses around I'm reminded that "you get what you pay for". I've got two 75' yellow hoses that I was really proud to have purchased at the Dollar General Store, about 3 years ago, for $7.00 each. They have worked pretty good but they do kink when they've been rolled up and stretched back out. That means several trips back-and-forth as the hose is stretched out because you can stand there and twist and twist and twist and that kink WILL NOT come out! Another time I had one hooked up with a valve on the end of it for use in the greenhouse. With pressure on it day-in and day-out, I noticed one day that right at the end of the hose was a giant bubble, like 6" in diameter! I had never had a hose to do that before--it never busted, but I cut the end off and put a new end on it and it's still working just fine.

Last year I needed another water hose so I went to Lowe's. Being a farmer on a budget, I opted for a middle-of-the-road "Swan" brand hose. This has to be the absolutely WORST water hose I've ever bought. It kinks in fear when you look at it. If one were to leave it laying straight, never move it, it would be fine. Every time I use it I swear I'm going to e-mail the company to complain about the worst hose I ever bought but by the time I get back in front of the computer the rage has subsided and I forget.

The best hoses are the black ones with the yellow stripe on them and they clearly state "kink proof" on the package. I don't know the name of them but they look like a garter snake when they're laying on the ground. I've got two of them and I pledge from now on to never buy another water hose until I can afford to buy more of these. They do get a kink in them once in a while but if you just wiggle it the kink will come right out--it's magic!

While I'm gardening I prefer to not get kinky

 

One of my favorite veggies during the summer months is sweet corn.  I've spent more time at the farmer's market this year than in recent years and folks sure have opinions about their sweet corn.  This year I grew white corn for the first time.  Not knowing how it was going to be received at the market, I was happy to learn that the folks in nearby Fairfield Glade absolutely love the white corn (most are transplants from the north).  The farmer's market in town wasn't so successful.  That crowd of customers is mostly local folks and they want either yellow or bi-color, so I brought home 30 dozen of the 50 dozen I took to town.  Oh, there were the stray few who liked white corn, but I learned a lesson.  When it comes to food, you just can't figure people out!

Anyway, a couple of the members of the CSA shared several good-looking recipes using fresh sweet corn.   They used to buy corn from a gentlemen--my Dad's Sweet Corn--in Carmel, IN and these recipes are from his farm. 

Corn Souffle

3 cups corn
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
1 stick margarine

Melt margarine. Stir in egg, then all other ingredients. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Corny Corn Bread

1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
2 cups corn
½ stick butter
3 tablespoons sugar

Mix together and bake in 9x9 pan for 20-30 minutes at 400º.

Corn Pudding

3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 cups corn
Salt
Pepper

Cream together eggs, butter, and sugar. Add flour and baking powder; add milk and corn. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix together all ingredients. Bake at 350º for 45-50 minutes. Note: Always bake immediately after mixing.

Baked Corn

2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
3 cups corn
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk

Stir together flour, sugar, salt, and pepper into corn until blended. Beat eggs; add milk; blend into corn mixture. Pour into greased 1 ½- quart casserole. Place casserole in metal baking pan with ¼-inch water in bottom. Bake at 350º for about 1 ¼ hours or until set.

Corn Casserole

2 eggs, beaten
½ cup softened butter
1 pint sour cream
4 cups corn
1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt
Pepper

Mix together eggs, butter, and sour cream until well blended. Add corn and corn bread. Mix together sugar, salt, and pepper; add to egg mixture. Place in 12 x 9 inch dish. Bake at 350º for 30 to 35 minutes.

Corn Fritters

2 cups corn
½ cup milk
½ cup flour
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
Butter or maple syrup

Mix together all ingredients; beat well. Fry in fat, similar to making pancakes. Serve with butter or maple syrup.

You know what?  The best planning sometimes just goes to pot.  I spent a good amount of time planning the green bean harvest so as to not be overwhelmed by beans ready to pick.  Checking seed labels for days to harvest, staggering plantings, etc. 

Well, the best plans don't always work!  Mother Nature decided that four of the varieties of green beans all needed to be harvested at once!  Hellooooo, it's not like I have an army of pickers here.  So, I start picking, and picking, and picking.  The CSA members today got three different varieties of beans and when I went back out this aftenoon, I realized the yellow wax was ready to pick also---arrgggggghhhh! 

The farmer's market in town is tomorrow so I'm picking for that.  This year I tried a purple bean, along with the yellow wax, Romas, and Kentucky Wonder. This morning was CSA delivery day so I had to get that taken care of, but this afternoon was spent in the bean patch.  When the daylight faded into dark I was picking the purple beans.  I thought to myself, "these are hard to see in the dark, maybe I should switch back to the yellow".  Then I thought, "hey, these guys are all open-pollinated, I can save the seeds." 

So, I stood up, surveyed my seed bank, smiled to myself, and went in the house.

T - o - m - a - to

 

Well, what else am I supposed to do in the sweltering heat while picking produce?