Bountiful Blessings Farm Produce

Another running gear is painted. My buddy, Rick Wilkening and I got the running gear ready to go. So today we got it painted. It didn't take too long, but of course we had to wait for the paint to dry before we could put the wheels back on. While we were waiting, I got the tires changed and ready to go back on. So planning ahead, I think I am going to make soup for tomorrow. Thought I might share the recipe:

Lentil Soup

1 onion, chopped
¼ cup olive oil
¾
cup green lentils
¼ cup red lentils
½ cup yellow split peas
½ cup green split peas
3 medium tomatoes (fresh or canned, peeled)
3 medium carrots
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
A few grindings black pepper
4½ cups water (+ more as needed)
1 can tomato sauce (11 oz size)
3 Tbsp tomato paste

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Add olive oil to a large saucepan.
2. Add the chopped onions and saute, stirring, 3 minutes.
3. Add the remaining ingredients & simmer 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. Taste & season as needed.
5. If soup needs thinning, add more water & bring to a boil.

I have been wondering what happened to winter? It has been so warm here in Northern Illinois the last two weeks, I am not sure I ever remember it being this warm. It makes me a little nervous about what the later part of March will look like. I have heard when winter comes in like a lamb, many times it goes out like a lion. I hope not! I would like to be in the field by the last week of March or earlier getting the ground ready for those early plantings. Well, I guess it is in the Lord's hands. I trust that all will go well. I have about two more days of intense planning to finish and then I will be able to order the balance of my seed. My intent is to have the orders in on Monday. It is amazing how much seed is needed to plant 20 some acres of vegetables and sweet corn. I do a lot of research and look over the sales and demands from last year. I also look at trends and look over the requests we get for different varieties. Then I try to project what we will need for the season. We are expanding our heirloom coverage to meet the demand.

Last night a group of interested people met to discuss the Hinckley Farmer's Market for 2012. I am excited that there is so much enthusiasm. The market will open on June 23rd and run every Saturday through September from 9:00am to noon. If you are interested in participating as a vender, please follow the links on the Bountiful Blessings Farm Produce website or use the search engine on the home page of the Local Harvest website. Contact numbers and information about the market is listed. We are looking for farmers, crafters and the like from the local area to join us.

Progress is being made around the farm as we prepare for the spring. Our high tunnel house is just about ready and we are working on the hot bed and cold frame. I am anticipating lettuce, greens, beets and bunch onions early in June or possibly even in May. Our tomatoes should start coming on sometime in July. This will be much earlier than last year. There will be lots of veggies ready to supply our CSA subscribers. I cannot wait to see those first vegetables and enjoy them myself as well! What an exciting year this is going to be; another year of God's Bountiful Blessings!

This morning my wife andI were thinking fo something to eat after church. The first thing Kim mentioned was that we have not enjoyed German Chocolate cake in a long time. So, guess what we are making? Yep, our favorite German Chocolate cake. I thought I would share our recipe on the blog. Hope you enjoy it!

German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1 package bakers sweet chocolate

½ cup of boiling water

1 cup of butter or margarine for cake and ½ cup for frosting

3 cups of sugar

4 egg yokes for cake and 3 for frosting

1 teaspoon vanilla for cake and 1 teaspoon for frosting

2 ½ cups of sifted flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of butter milk

4 eggs white beaten

1 1/3 baker’s angel coconut flakes

1 cup of chopped pecans

1 cup of evaporated milk

Preparation:

Melt chocolate is boiling water. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg yokes 1 at a time beating well after each. Blend in vanilla and cooked chocolate. Shift flour with soda and salt. Add this to chocolate mixture with buttermilk beating well after each addition until smooth. Add beaten egg whites (fold into batter). Pour into (3) 9 inch pans lined with wax paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes then cool.

Frosting: Add the evaporated milk, sugar beaten egg yokes, butter and vanilla to sauce pan and cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Watch it, stir continually, if you don’t it will get lumpy. Add 1 1/3 baker’s angel coconut flakes and 2 cup of chopped pecans. Cool till thick enough to spread. Spread on top of cake. Yummy!

After weeks of preparation for the upcoming planting season, I decided to take a day and relax. The weather here at Bountiful Blessings Farm is cold around 25 degrees. Last night we got about an inch of white fluffy snow. This morning it was blowing across the road and drifting in the driveway, but nothing too serious.

My wife gave me the idea to get the old ice cream maker out and make another batch of ice dream. We have been making ice cream about every Saturday in January. I love ice cream, but generally only eat vanilla. My wife thinks I am nuts not to try other flavors. Nonetheless, for me, vanilla is still number one. Well I got the old machine out and mixed up the batch. The key to making great ice cream is not using chunks of ice that are large. They cause the ice cream to be gritty. However, using small ice cubes works very well. Always use rock salt with the ice. So, the machine was going and when it finished, we decided to make some mint chocolate chip this time. We added green food coloring and the chips after the process was finished. YUMMY! It was very good! I was impressed. Anyhow, for me, I still like the vanilla better! Well its off to eat some more!

Getting Ready

Well it's that time of year at the farm where I look over last year's records and plan for the upcoming season. Actually, I have been planning for weeks, but I am finally mapping out the ground and preparing seed orders. I never realized there is so much work involved with a produce business! One cannot imagine the amount of planning that it takes to get everything in order. So, with my pile of catalogs, records and projections, I am making a master plan for this season's crop. I enjoy looking through the catalogs and seeing what is new, but it is just as exciting to see some of the heirloom varieties that look so inviting and interesting. I think of how it was back in the day and how much more work it took to grow a crop. Nonetheless, when a person bites into a Black Krim tomato or tries their first Moon and Stars watermelon, they get a sense of that old timey pleasure of eating something that folks enjoyed many, many years ago. I am also working on a hotbed and cold frame to extend the season; trying to provide locally grown vegetables earlier in the season. Many people are already asking me when they can get their first tomato! Well, it's still a bit early! Back to the seed order!