The hoop house is nearing completion. We are hoping for one more weekend of hard work, and then the frame will be ready for the plastic covering. I am very much looking forward to experimenting this winter with cold weather crops!
The hoop house is nearing completion. We are hoping for one more weekend of hard work, and then the frame will be ready for the plastic covering. I am very much looking forward to experimenting this winter with cold weather crops!
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I think of spaghetti squash as that weird squash. It doesn't not look like any of the other winter squashes on the inside. It is perfectly named. It looks like spaghetti! I have two favorite ways I like to prepare it. The basic recipe is to cut the squash in half, bake it, and pull out the spaghetti strands when cooked. Next, all you have to do is pour on your favorite tomato sauce and don't tell your kids (or maybe your spouse too) it's squash. My other favorite is cooking it in a spicy soup. Spaghetti Squash Soup Ingredients: 1 spaghetti squash 6 cups of stock (I use chicken) 4 red onions, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons white vermouth (optional) 1 can chick peas, undrained, or 2 cups cooked 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped Freshly ground black pepper Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash halves, cut side down, on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil; bake 1 hour. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a boil in a large pot and simmer the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes. When the squash is cool enough to handle, run a fork over the flesh to separate it into spaghetti-like strands. Stir the squash, vermouth, chick peas and parsley into the stock, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with pepper to taste. All of the winter squash has been harvested. We have many different kinds and they are all edible. But it is not up to me, or any of my business what you end up doing with the winter squash. I have seen all sorts of uses for winter squash, pies, casseroles, soups, jack-o-lanterns, and center pieces on tables. So please feel free to decorate or eat any winter squash you receive from Pickpocket Farm. The Pickpocket Farm Hoop House, donated by the United States of America Government, arrived at our house yesterday! We are looking for a few good men (and women) that are interested in helping construct the frame. This will take place on Saturday, September 25th during the day. If all goes well with the frame construction we will then place the plastic sheeting on top, October 2nd. This will probably only take a couple of hours, and it's nice to have lots of hands to hold the plastic. I will keep you posted on that detail as we get closer. Please contact us if you are interested in learning about Hoop House construction and would like to help out. We will provide beer and snacks, and of course kids are welcome. Blackberries from Monahan Farm It is possible in this day and age to go back to our old roots, preserve the best quality of food, raise a family, and keep up with our occupations. Granted, the amount of food we preserved this year, is still nothing compared to the amounts our great-grandparents stored. I'm sure they had hundreds of jars lining there basements with a variety of recipes. We are starting off slow. We made a goal to can tomatoes and cucumbers, and freeze the rest this season. Here's how we did. This is our freezer. It is packed full with blanched veggies, frozen hand-picked fruit, jams, pies, sauces, salsas, pestos, breads, stocks, and meat. I still have an order of 8 pastured raised chickens from Peter Allen's Newfield's Own Produce, and cuts from a friend's pig I have to squeeze into it, somehow, in the next few weeks. To freeze food is such an easy way to preserve fresh produce from the garden, but we would like to get more into the habit of drying and canning. There is only so much room in a freezer!! This is something new we tried this year, sun drying our tomatoes. The tomato crop was awesomely overwhelming. This was very easy to do too. At first we tried drying them in the oven. I found this to be too frustrating! The last thing I want is for the oven in our kitchen to be on for 24 hours on a 90 degree day outside. We instead, took an extra screen from our windows and placed it over the trays of cut tomatoes. It took about 4 days, but the sun did all the work. We also cut the ample amounts of cherry tomatoes we harvested and used the dehydrator for them. I can't wait to throw my sun-dried tomatoes on a homemade pizza this winter. The canning process takes forever! I cannot lie! I would still like to find a way to can more though next year. I suppose I will find out this winter, as I crack open our homemade sauce, if it was worth all the work. I will keep you posted. We also wanted to can pickles this season, but that has not happened yet. We only got around to making refrigerator pickles, which are very yummy too, but only last 3 months in the fridge. On another level, of food preservation, is the storage of vegetables, without having to do anything to them. I like that idea! These onions will keep us fed until spring. Our harvest last year of onions was well worth growing again for this season. We will also have a few potatoes, but not like last year due to a poor yield, and I am hoping to store some carrots and beets too. I don't think anyone who looks to start preserving fresh produce from the garden or farmer's market can escape saving summer squash. I made two loaves of zucchini bread at a time this summer. We would eat one, and freeze the other. We also have grated, sliced and cubed zucchini to make other meals this winter. I may look to can some next season.
If you are looking to do some food preservation of your own, a website I refer to often is the National Center for Home Food Preservation. It's easy and quick to find how to preserve a particular type of food. I also like to looking at old cookbooks. They are very thorough and accurate at how to keep food for a long time. The old Joy of Cooking is a favorite of mine. Happy Cooking! Hay Roll The field of barley was harvested last month, and I asked Farmer Dan from Little Brook Farm, what happened to the crop. Unfortunately, the batch of barley seed purchased by Smuttynose also contained weed seeds, which contaminated the crop. I really hope this doesn't deter Smuttynose and other farmers from trying again! I think it's just an example of the learning curve; farmers, restaurant owners, brewers, and simply, people who like to cook, are working through to expand local sustainable farming in our area. I would still love to see more experiments, such as this one, continue. My kids love this soup! It just makes you smile. :)
Actual name: Kale Potato Soup Makes 6 cups Ingrediants: 1 large bunch Kale (chopped) 1 Tbsp of butter 1 large onion (chopped) 1 clove garlic (minced) 2 large potatoes (diced) 5 cups water or broth salt and pepper to taste Preperation: Steam Kale and set aside. (Don't cook with the potatoes; the flavor with be too strong.) Melt butter in a soup pot. Add onion and saute until golden. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add, potatoes and 2 cups broth, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft. Remove half of the cooked potatoes;puree the rest with the cooking liquid and return to the soup pot. Return reserved potatoes and steamed kale to soup pot. (Puree everything if a smooth texture is desired.) Add remaining broth. Heat gently until hot. Serve with a smiley face of mustard!! Simply in Season cookbook by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert Freesia Lettuce with Peaches and Blue Cheese This is a delicious summer salad! I got this recipe from Wendy McCormack, my hard working illustrious work share. A spicy or bitter greens goes wonderful when mixed with something sweet. The peaches are at their height of picking right now, here in New Hampshire. And the blue cheese gives it such a rich flavor. I drizzled a bit of olive oil and vinegar on it. Enjoy! |
AuthorAudrey Gerkin, is a gardener gone wild, after teaching in special education and raising 3 beautiful girls, ages 5 - 10, she has found a new calling in farming. Archives
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