CSA Week 3: What's happening under our feet.

Bagged fertility arrives

It really is Summer. It is muggy and hot, but not actually too hot most of the time. The veggies are LOVING it. The soil is warming up and the veggies are singing in the fields. We have a whole new soil fertility program that we are working with and are already starting to see the results. This isn’t just about adding some fertilizer to the soil and standing back while the chemistry works to make plants grow, instead we are trying to wake up the whole living system that makes up the soil we depend on every day. Our soil tests show that our fields are full of nutrients, rich in organic matter and lots of things that should make for incredible crops, but there are a lot of things missing- a key one being the essential soil biology of bacteria and fungi that make all growth possible. I’ll bet you didn’t know that the roots of all plants intertwine with bacteria and fungi to the point where scientists can’t even see under the most powerful microscopes where the root stops and the fungi start? The roots depend upon them to turn take up nutrients and turn them into food for the plants…it’s sort of a whole universe happening under our feet. So that soil biology is what we are trying to wake back up (at least to higher levels). So we are doing a number of things- we are adding fertility, mixed with all kinds of minerals, in a complicated combination with kelp and microbiology. This is in a dry form that we spread on the fields, both before and after the plants are in the ground. This is the jumpstart for the soil. Then when we are transplanting, we are adding a magic potion, or at least that’s what it feels like we are doing when we are mixing it in the tanks, of humates (basically, this is a by-product

basil and lettuce intercropped (ignore weedlings)

of soft coal, it is mostly carbon in the form of humic and fulvic acids- we call it dinosaur blood), enzymes, a liquid limestone (smells like sulfur and is foul) and two types of liquid biology. This is the jumpstart for the plants. And I’ve got to tell you…it totally works. We are definitely watching our plants recover from transplanting faster. I also did a little test on some recently transplanted lettuce and basil with leftover potion and the results were nearly immediate and impressive. The lettuce and basil had been languishing in the bed for a few days, looking yellow with brown crinkled edges and I was worried we would lose the lettuce planting completely. I watered it with the potion and by the time I had done ½ bed and was starting on the second half I could already see the perking up of the basil happening on the first half. Three days later, the lettuce was not only fully recovered, but was doubled in size, dark green leaves and practically glowing. So. I’m feeling pretty confident in the process and I’m excited to watch our fields actually wake up, especially since we can’t use compost in most of them due to the very high levels of phosphorus already present (we can’t really add more and compost and most common fertilizers have phosphorus).

So, I was wrong about the fruit share being every other week: doh, sorry about that! I really need to pay better attention to the details in some of my emails. So we have fruit again this week! More gorgeous strawberries, this time from the original fruit grower we had signed up with. Turns out it was just his early strawberries that languished, but his later varieties are going strong, so we will take advantage of this glorious fruit while it lasts.

What’s in Your Share this Week (maybe):

·         Kale

·         Napa Cabbage

·         Salad Turnips

·         Escarole

·         Spinach

·         Salad mix

·         Lettuce

·         Chard

·         Garlic scapes!!!!!

Pick Your Own:

It’s time to pinch the basil! Please be gentle and look at the diagram before going to the field, we want the basil to bush out and be lush for as long as possible, but we need to pinch it properly for that to happen and we are relying on you to help.

Get the cilantro while it is still small and leafy and before it bolts to the sky (cause it is trying!!). We will have this fragrant herb again in the fall when it is cool enough for it to grow big without flowering, but that is a whole two months from now!

Animal news and Meat CSA blog info: Trusteesmeat.blogspot.com. Jesse is writing a fun, short blog every week about what the cattle and hogs are doing at each of the farms. He also includes some yummy recipes for meats and how to cook them, so it is interesting even for those of you who aren’t in the meat CSA.

The goats are still in the Gore at the back side of the hill behind the hangar barn. It is a nice walk (watch out for poison ivy- I will personally attest that it is there and works). And you can see the bobolinks really well from that side of the hill. They will only be in residence for a couple more weeks, so see them while they are still raising babies! 

Events:

We can sign you up for the Friday Farm Dinner happening on July 7^th in the farmstand! This is going to be super fun, the beautiful new tent went up in the orchard last week (just in case it rains), we will have the campfire going and eat delicious food. We are working with Didi Emmons!!! She is responsible for a great many of the gorgeous recipes that you see in my many blogs over the years. Her book, The Vegetarian Planet, is one of my go-to books for most of the basics (try the perfect pizza crust and BEST dumpling recipe) and for anything and everything vegetarian. It isn't quite falling apart, but it certainly looks like it will- I bought it as a young farm apprentice working for my first CSA twenty-five years ago now. Many of her recipes are my family's favorites, so we are super excited that she will be catering our Farm Dinners! Rumors have it that our musical entertainment will be the Railroad House Band (just waiting on final confirm).

Our new tent!!! Bring on the rain, we can handle it!!!

Our Little Sprouts program is happening on Thursday mornings from 9:30a-10:30a starting in July! Come and bring the kids for an early morning program on the farm and then hang out in the cool of the orchard while they climb trees or go for a hike to see the goats and explore our 3 miles of hiking trails before coming back to picnic in the orchard once again. Our picnic tables are longing for visitors to use them and they are open to you anytime.

Vegetable(s) of the Week: The garlic scape and escarole

So we are still in the time of cleansing vegetables, adding allia to chicories. So again, I LOVE escarole, maybe it is just the French Canadian in me, but I long for these in the spring and fall. Adding the glory of garlic scapes, which happen just this time of year and I’m in heaven. I love garlic too, but raw garlic does a job on my stomach that doesn’t happen when I eat the sweet tender flower heads of the garlic. Anything you can do with a scallion, you can do with scapes and it will be a delight of garlicky flavor. I’m planning on trying the scallion pancake recipe from a preseason blog with them. Also, scapes make an amazing pesto (or you can just grind them up with olive oil in a food processor and freeze it and use it in every batch of spaghetti sauce or replace the garlic in any recipe all winter long.

Garlic Scape Pesto with toasted walnuts

·         1 cup garlic scapes

·         ½ cup fresh basil leaves

·         1/3 cup toasted walnuts (or cashews or pine nuts)

·         ½ cup EVOO

·         ½ cup grated parmesan

·         ½ tsp lemon juice

·         2 Tbsp butter, softened

·         Sea salt and pepper to taste.

In a food processor, process the scapes and basil for 30 seconds. Add the nuts and process for another 30 seconds. Add the butter and slowly drizzle in the EVOO as the processor runs. Add the parm, lemon juice and then the salt and pepper to taste. Use immediately or freeze in ice cube tray for handy individual serving sized pieces.

Smitten Kitchen’s Perfect Strawberry Shortcake recipe

I made these the other day for a special dessert…and they were perfectly delicious. This calls for a drop biscuit type shortcake that is rich, delicious and easy- my only advice is that you don’t have to make just 6 cakes with the recipe below. I felt like they were a great adult size, but a smaller size would be fine for a younger child.  You can see handy photos on the Smitten Kitchen blog- https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/06/easy-drop-berry-shortcakes/

Shortcakes

• 2 1/4 cups (295 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
• 6 tablespoons (85 grams or 3 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (205 ml) heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons (35 grams) raw or turbinado sugar

To finish

• 1 pound (455 grams) strawberries or mixed berries, hulled and halved if large
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice (optional)
• 1 cup (235 ml) heavy or whipping cream

Make shortcakes: Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, and salt until thoroughly combined. Add butter and using your fingertips or a pastry blender, break it into small bits, the largest should be no bigger than a small pea. In a small bowl, whisk yolks with a splash of cream, then pour rest of cream in and whisk to combine. Pour into butter-flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to mix and mash it together into one cohesive dough.

Divide dough into 6 (for large, 3 1/2 to 3 3/4-inch wide and up to 2-inch tall) shortcakes or 8 smaller ones. I do this by pressing the dough somewhat flat into the bottom of the bowl (to form a circle) and using a knife to divide it into pie-like wedges. Place raw or turbinado sugar in a small bowl. Roll each wedge of shortcake into a ball in your hands and roll it through the raw/turbinado sugar, coating it in all but a small area that you should leave bare. (I found that the sugar underneath the shortcakes would burn, so better to leave it off.)

Place it, bare spot down, on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wedges of dough. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly golden all over. Let cool completely on tray or on a cooling rack.

While cooling, prepare fruit and cream: Mix berries, 2 tablespoons sugar (more or less to taste), and lemon juice, if desired, in a bowl and let macerate so that the juices run out.

In a larger bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar to taste, or leave unsweetened, if that’s your preference.

To serve: Carefully split each cooled shortcake with a serrated knife. Spoon berries and their juices over bottom half. Heap generously with whipped cream. Place shortcake “lid” on top. Eat immediately and don’t forget to share.

New store items this week!

We have jam from Peter's Farm here in Eastern Mass. It is gorgeous jam, full of real chunky fruit. We also have locally made cards- they are beautiful and inspirational- definitely a better choice than your regular run o'the mill hallmark type cards. These are lovely, bright photos on heavy card-stock. Check them out!

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Week 2: The beauty of variety

Need to weed after finishing spinach harvest!

The second week of CSA is dawning muggy, but the plants are loving it. The soil is warming up and drying out and the soil biology is going bonkers. We’ve literally watched the plants in the field double their size in less than two weeks as the soil temps make it up above the 60 degree mark. That means that our soils are finally waking up and getting going and it is a pleasure to watch.

The melons and second planting of tomatoes, first of cherry tomatoes went in today!  Later this week we will finally be able to plow one of our main fields and hopefully get the beans and rest of the cherry tomatoes planted by the end of this week. 

I wanted to talk superfoods with all of you. We’ve all heard of them, right? Superfoods- the foods we should all focus on eating because they have the highest nutrient profiles and supposed to be the best for us. Sort of a ‘more bang for your buck’ in the food world. Avocadoes, kale, and salmon to name a few. However, I sort of have an issue with naming something a ‘super’ anything when really, it is variety that is the best for the human diet. I tried to do a little research on the subject to find how it all started and it really seems to be mostly another hype to get folks to eat a nutritious, healthy diet. And, it apparently works, except when we take it too far in one direction and don’t eat enough of a variety to be truly healthy. One food thing won’t help us live longer, happier or healthier lives, it has to be a diversity of foods.

Spinach is beautiful

What this list (and really, there are many ‘lists’) of superfoods has meant for the food world is that everyone wants to eat the superfoods and ignore the vast variety of the rest of the veggie world. Not that I don’t LOVE an avocado, but we gave out soft, delicious, gorgeous, perfect swiss chard last week and no one wanted it. Kale, on the other hand, went out the door at an incredible rate! I have been farming long enough to tell you, no beating around the bush here either, I remember when you couldn’t get folks to take or buy kale to save their lives. It was a garnish. I could get folks to take collards and chard 50 times over more than anyone would take kale. That all changed when kale became a superfood and changed the veggie industry overnight. It used to sell for $1/bunch retail in the store…now it is over $3/bunch. We farmers have a hard time getting seed for it. Kale in smoothies, kale recipes, kale chips, kale flakes to sprinkle, kale in brownies. And the poor, lonely swiss chard in all its rainbow-colored glory, is just sitting by the wayside. I’m here to tell you that too much kale isn’t good for you either (actually, too much raw kale will interfere with proper thyroid function). Swiss chard is rich in nutrients (different ones, but just as good for the body), easier to cook, lower in sodium. Try it sautéed with a little lemon juice, sea salt and a sprinkle of Parmesan and you will see what I mean.

Week 2 distribution! Love Community!

Animal News

Goats are on the far side of the hill, in what we call the old gore, it is easier to find them by parking in the trailhead parking area and walking the pasture loop to the right of the parking. It’s a pretty walk and a nice view of the farm from up and behind the old hangar barn. The gore is a section of old stone walls that come together in a triangle. It was used as a way of gathering livestock for easier sorting or performing health checks. Unfortunately, these are places where invasive plants also manage to gain a strong foothold because they are typically difficult to maintain as open spaces with modern equipment and quickly grow up in saplings, bittersweet and honeysuckle. Which makes it the perfect goat habitat! They have access to almost two acres of their favorite foods, stone walls to jump on and lots of shade on these hotter summer days.

What’s in Your Share this Week (maybe):

And remember, box share folks, not everything always fits in the boxes, so we have to pick and choose sometimes, please know that we are not excluding you from something, we just can’t fit it all.

• ·         Napa cabbage
• ·         Spinach
• ·         Baby Swiss Chard
• ·         Baby bok choi
• ·         Radishes
• ·         Salad turnips
• ·         Lettuce

Fruit Share Pickup is this week!

We are so excited by this offering. We had a slight change in our offering for this first week. Our fruit provider was a little abashed, but it seems that his strawberry plants just up and plooped out on him. When we frantically called other growers in the area (literally called something like every orchard/fruit grower on the eastern part of the state) and found that the same thing had happened to a lot of them. We were finally able to locate berries from Brookdale Fruit Farm just over the border in NH and they will be arriving fresh in time for CSA. If you haven’t paid, then please do so when you pick your berries up!

Pick Your Own

Okay. It is Strawberry time! However, unlike those fabulous berry farms that have the time to really micro-manage their strawberry beds, we don’t and despite ridiculous amounts of weeding last season, this season’s rain has made for a jungle in the strawberry fields. Really. It is adventure picking out there, and it also turns out that one whole variety really really didn’t like the cold and wet and is making sort of gross, flavorless berries that look beautiful. We will mark out where those are and encourage picking the berries that look and taste good. For those more adventurous, there are berries everywhere in that section of the field, but will take some looking for. Good luck!

Upcoming Events:

 A new series of farm dinners starts in the beginning of July! These are casual, farm-based dinners prepared by professional caterers and served in the gorgeousness of our orchard.  The food is awesome, the company is fabulous. Last year’s farm dinner SOLD OUT of the 75 tickets offered so don’t wait until the last minute. We had to turn folks away last year and we hate that. So get your tickets asap. First dinner is Friday, July 7^th. Now that the store is open four days a week along with CSA, remember that you can purchase your tickets right at the farm!!!! Or if you would like to sign up online you may do so with this link: https://goo.gl/NPBu8V

Our Little Sprouts Program starts up on July 6^th! This is a fun, drop in program designed to get the kids outside and hands in the dirt! It is every Thursday morning from 930-1030 and is all about our new learning garden! Come help us design, plant and enjoy this kid-friendly space.

We are also having S’mores Night. Come bring the kids after dinner on Saturday July 15^th for some fun on the farm at sunset (7-830 or so). We will have the campfire going and s’mores makings. Hopefully there will be fireflies and we can play some twilight lawn games. Bring your instruments and favorite songs and maybe we will get everyone singing to the stars. There might even be a contest to design the most delicious s’more!  This is a free event for CSA shareholders. 

Recipe of the Week:

So it’s all about the chard folks. I made the most delicious dinner after CSA on Tuesday night. I’m a crepe fan, so I made up some buckwheat crepes and then filled them with baby chard sautéed with chorizo sausage and a little feta. I then made the béchamel sauce recipe from last week’s lasagna recipe and drizzled that over the top. SO GOOD!!! If you don’t have a favorite crepe recipe or don’t regularly make crepes, I highly suggest these easy thin pancakes for folding around our gorgeous veggies, wrapping around cheeses and drizzling with creamy sauces, jams, dressings or nut butters.

Easy Crepes, from Martha Stewart. Use a blender and this makes it easy to pour. And, just a note, I’ve been making crepes for a very long time and I have fancy crepe pans and I still mess up the first one.

IngreDIENTS

·         1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

·         1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

·         1 1/2 cups whole milk

·         4 large eggs

·         3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1.      In a blender, combine flour, salt, milk, eggs, and butter.

2.      Puree until mixture is smooth and bubbles form on top, about 30 seconds. Let batter sit at least 15 minutes at room temperature (or refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 1 day; whisk before using).

3.      Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium. Lightly coat with butter. Add 1/3 cup batter and swirl to completely cover bottom of skillet. Cook until underside of crepe is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

4.      Loosen edge of crepe with a rubber spatula, then with your fingertips, quickly flip. Cook 1 minute more. Slide crepe out of skillet and repeat with remaining batter. (Coat pan with butter as needed.)

Week 1: Welcome to CSA!!!!

So first things first- this weekend is Father's Day and the day that we celebrate our fathers and father figures who have raised us, cared for us, taught us to change a tire (and maybe the oil and spark plugs and how to rig a carburetor and change the distributor), to make a good omelet, to ride a paddleboard, and if you were really really lucky, you had a person in your life who always believed in you more than you did in yourself. I feel like my dad saw the grown-up me inside of the tiny defiant kid and then the awkward teen and the waffling young adult and just knew I would get here eventually. This is what we are celebrating on Sunday afternoon here at the farm.

We are celebrating the dad figures in our lives this weekend at our Father's Day Bluegrass and BBQ. It is Sunday from 1-4p. We will have a live bluegrass band- Sparrow Blue- and catered BBQ lunch fare from Firefly BBQ and a cash bar. The shiny new tent will be up in the orchard so that we can enjoy the gorgeous rolling hills and farm field backdrop while we listen to tunes and eat even in inclement weather. Sign up here.

Alright!!! This is the first week of CSA!!!!!!!! WHOOHOO!!!
And so yeah, up until today, many many of our fields looked like this:

Yep. Lots of cold, standing water in the fields. We haven't even been able to get into one field due to the ever present pond in the middle of it. We've been moving things around in an effort to get our spring crops in as fast as possible, but some things might be a little later than planned. Peas, for example. Um. We won't be seeing any of those until fall. Sorry. We will plant the beans a little early and get them going instead and aim for fall snap peas.
In any case, we've still got some nice spring crops for you! Lots of greens to really clean you out and jump start your system for the summer veggie extravaganza that is CSA. In case you haven't had a chance to read any of the emails- our handbook is online so try and peruse that before you bring a pet to the farm or pull a garbage bag of green beans out of the PYO. :) It has a lot of interesting info in it, including charts and maps.
Park in the CSA and farmstand parking area and/or the trailhead parking! Please don't park in front of the red barn (if you have mobility issues, please contact me at ddubois@thetrustees.org before your pickup day so that we can arrange closer parking).

Farmstand!

We are still adding products to our line-up. We will have Moose Hill Farm grass fed beef in the

freezers for getting your grill on with some of the best beef around. In our fridge:  there are Kate's Butter (salted or unsalted), refreshing Spindrift sparkling fruit waters, Honey Sodas in Green Tea/Lemon  (my fave right now) and Ginger get these before the farm staff drinks them all, and hopefully Anna Banana's Chocolates and Appleton Farm cheeses (due to arrive tomorrow). On the- shelf, we have Kitchen Garden Sriracha hot sauces (from Sunderland) and Aunt Elsie's Oatmeal Crisps (from Belchertown).  We will add Appleton Farm milk next week! Thinking about ice cream and yogurt- would you all prefer pints or single serve cups?

In Your Share:

Arugula
Broccoli Raab (or Raapini or Spring Raab)
(not so) Spicy Salad or Braising greens
Radishes
Baby bok choi
Lettuce (butterheads)
Kale
Baby Chard
Baby turnips
Baby salad turnips

What we do like crazy when it isn't raining right now.

Our greens are suffering a little from some pest damage- we've done everything we can short of spraying noxious chemicals- including physical covers and fertility and more. We will be buying some parasitic nematodes that help prevent next year's damage but only work in the fall (bet that's a new one for you- we will buy in a parasite that will destroy these little annoying beetles and we will literally sprinkle them in the beds we plan on using for spring crops in 2018, plant our cover crop and let them do their job all winter long.) Until then, there will be some shot holes in our greens- it doesn't affect the flavor or texture, and since most of these greens are for cooking, please try to ignore the less than perfect.

Pick Your Own

The strawberries are really, really close, but I'm pretty sure that there aren't quite enough to turn 175 families loose in the patch and expect you to find more than a single berry each. 
I will do an evaluation of the field tomorrow (on Saturday there was only one variety doing anything) and I will open the field if I think there anywhere close to enough and if not, we will open next week.

Animal News

Goats are on the stone wall and on the hill pasture just off the trailhead parking area. Nothing is more fun than watching goats jump around on rocks. The babies are all getting big very very fast. Our kid cuddle last Saturday was so fun, we are definitely thinking of doing it again. Especially before the babes get too big to be cute when they accidentally bonk into you or try to stand up on your shoulders. Be on the look out for announcements for another Saturday kid cuddle event. :)

Recipe of the Week: Broccoli Rabe Lasagna

OK! I know it is almost a 100 degrees out there. But it won't be by the end of the week and then it will be the PERFECT time to make this incredible casserole. I love a good lasagna and I love raab...the bechamel will mellow out the bitterness of the greens in case that isn't your favorite thing, and if you really don't like bitter greens (they are SO GOOD FOR YOU YOU SHOULD EAT THEM ANYWAY AND THEN YOUR BODY WILL CRAVE THEM AND YOU WILL FORGET THAT YOU DIDN'T LIKE THEM).
So yeah, what I said there. Broccoli rabe, raab, spring raab, rappini, or any way at all, these bitter greens are what jumpstart the body in the spring. Clean out all the pathways, even if you have to eat them with creamy sauces like bechamel or  lemony hollandaise. This richly bitter green is popular in Europe, particularly Italy, Spain and France, where they take their bitter greens to a whole new level. You can actually sub arugula, kale, chard, spinach, the spicy salad greens and the turnip tops or just toss them all together in this recipe for a dazzling greens extravaganza. Don't be intimidated by the bechamel, it's a pretty simple and mightly versatile sauce to have in your repertoire of recipes.

Ingredients for Broccoli Rabe Lasagna, courtesy of the NY Times.

For the béchamel sauce:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups half-and-half, heated, plus a little more if necessary
• Salt and pepper
• Pinch of cayenne
• Grated nutmeg, to taste

For the lasagna:

• 1 pound dry lasagna noodles
• Salt and pepper
• 2 bunches broccoli rabe, about 2 pounds
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound ricotta cheese
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 ounces grated Parmesan, about 2 cups, or a combination of Parmesan and pecorino

Preparation

1. Make the béchamel: Melt butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook for a minute over medium heat without browning. Gradually whisk in half-and-half, 1/2 cup at a time, to obtain a smooth, lightly thickened sauce. Turn heat to low. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, some ground black pepper, the cayenne and nutmeg. Cook, whisking, for 4 to 5 minutes, then place saucepan in a hot-water bath to keep sauce warm. Thin if necessary with a little more half-and-half.
2. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for 5 minutes. Lift noodles from water with a spider and rinse well in a bowl of cold water. Drain and lay noodles flat on a kitchen towel.
3. Using the same cooking water, blanch the greens for 1 minute, until just wilted. Rinse greens with cool water, squeeze dry and chop them roughly. Put 1 cup of chopped greens, the minced garlic and 1/2 cup olive oil in a food processor or blender and purée to make a pesto. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a small bowl.
4. Mix the ricotta and lemon zest in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Organize to have all ingredients within easy reach for assembling lasagna. Use 2 tablespoons butter to grease an 8-by-10-inch baking dish.
5. Assemble the lasagna: Put a layer of cooked noodles on the bottom of the baking dish. Spoon a quarter of the béchamel over noodles, then dot with a third of the ricotta. Complete layer with chopped greens, a drizzle of pesto and some grated cheese. Continue layering, finishing with a layer of pasta. Spread the last of the béchamel on top and sprinkle with Parmesan. (There should be 4 layers of pasta and 3 layers of filling.)
6. Dot with remaining butter and bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20 minutes more, until nicely browned and bubbling. Let lasagna rest 10 minutes before serving.

ONE MORE WEEK (CSA is almost here)

Farm crew: Cole, Kirsten and Michaela transplant first of the flowers (in the rain).

So I know everyone is impatient for those super fresh veggies, but CSA is coming next week and you just have to wait a little while longer. It will be a good and not so good start- all this cold, wet spring (the literal opposite of last year!!!!! where is was in the 80-90's for most of May) is making for a slower growing season than usual. This farmer has spent the last three months mostly damp and chilled and literally covered in mud. Some of our fields are REALLY wet (think, swamp) and this spring has been a lesson in patience, humility and flexibility, and right now I am being forcibly reminded that no one can control Nature and it is harder to take water out of the soil than it is to put water in. Challenges are good for keeping you humble, that's for sure- just when I think I have this whole farming thing figured out...I get a backhand slap into reality. Nature is in charge here, despite all my learning and tools and equipment and I need a lesson in respect too. So, we are moving crops around and practicing a whole lot more intercropping and intensive growing than we had planned. We are tilling less aggressively and thinking about plans for semi-permanent raised beds that will use less tillage and more compacted growing. We are altering our thoughts about fertility and going to be using more biological based nutrients that help our soils work with and for us so we need less bagged composted fertilizers, have less weeds, and better soil tilth and healthier plants. If you see us with sprayers in the field, that's what we are doing. These nutrients are mostly in liquid form and are drenched onto the plant root zones.

 

Muddy farmer

Another factor in our upcoming season, the mild winter (I know it doesn't feel like it was, but it definitely was warmer than usual) is already making for a higher pest year- you might be seeing the millions of gypsy moth caterpillars in your yard? Yep. High pest year ahead. We are using a lot of row covers (the white fabric covering the row crops in our fields), but the insects are still making a little more headway on some things than we like. You will see more little tiny holes in our greens than usual- they don't affect the flavor at all, but the look isn't our fave. Know that we are doing our best to keep the greens hole free, but we also know you don't want us to spray pesticides on the produce either.

We will have some beautiful greens and radishes for you! The arugula is spicy, the radish are crisp and delicious, the lettuces are sweet and kale is tender.  And, if we just get a few more bright sunny days, the strawberries will be ready for picking. Cole and I spent Sunday putting in another 3000 strawberry plants for next year and all the eggplant and the first round of tomatoes. Hopefully it will warm up for them since they are looking a little grumpy that we pulled them from the toasty greenhouse and shoved them into cold mud. 

sweetening up the steers

We still have shares available in both the Veggie and Meat CSA!!!! Spread the word!!!! Let us know if you need promo materials or draft emails to send to colleagues and we will happily get those to you. I've been enjoying the beef all winter and it is lovely, rich in flavor and 'good for you' fats. The summer meat CSA is going to be chock full of your favorite grilling cuts- lots of good steaks & ground for burgers. It is only 2lbs of beef per week and is in cryovac packaging so that it can safely stay in the freezer for months. I'm personally thrilled because grass-fed steak and salad are one of my favorite summertime meals. Sign up today for this great add on!

Fruit Share ADD-ON

We are thrilled to offer a FRUIT SHARE as an add-on to your 2017 CSA at Chestnut Hill Farm - if you’re interested, please read on below and follow the link to sign up.

DETAILS:
- Local, seasonal, delicious fruit! 10 weeks for $100 from Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, Mass., ready for pickup alongside your veggie CSA on TUESDAY of each week. 
- The share includes 1-2 items per week (for example: 1 quart of strawberries; or 2-3 pounds of apples; or 1 pint each of blueberries & raspberries).
- Generally, here’s what you can expect (but just like the veggie CSA, things may change with the weather and show up earlier or later!):
early-mid June: strawberries, cherries
early-mid July: blackberries, raspberries, blueberries
early August: peaches, nectarines
late August/early September: pears, apples

About the orchard:
Cider Hill is a family farm, owned and operated by Glenn & Karen Cook (read more about them & their farm here). Cider Hill is a leader in renewable energy sources on farm. Their fruit is not organic; they use IPM (integrated pest management) to track pests & diseases and spray only when necessary. The quality and flavor is excellent!
If you want to sign up, click here and bring a check with you to the first CSA pickup (week of June 12).
Please note that fruit will arrive at the farm each Tuesday of the fruit share; we will keep fruit in our walk-in cooler but recommend you pick up on Tuesday as it’s best enjoyed when very fresh! If you need/want to change pickup days, that's fine, just come by on the first Tuesday!

ANIMAL NEWS

Meet the Farmer: Kid Cuddle Party

Goats are right next to the trail-head entrance! Good for easy viewing the girls and their kids in their production environment. Did you know they are actually at work? The flock is in charge of grazing all the marginal areas of the farm such as side fields, fence lines and brushy or overgrown areas. They also do invasive and irritating plant removal (or try to) along the stone walls. They do a great job at cleaning up poison ivy and bittersweet and will be tasked with cleaning out some tough areas along the fencelines in the back fields. They have a brand new mobile shelter that keeps the rain and sun off, but we are still working out the bugs. It is a little big and heavy to move and might be a little on the too tall side. It also still needs some doors to keep them locked up safe from predators at night. So it is a work in progress and will evolve as the season moves on.
Fencing will start to go up in a  couple of weeks around the fields that will be pasture for the cattle coming to graze after the nesting season is over in late July. There is also a rumor of lambs coming to graze around the farm with goats...we will definitely let you know if and when the woolies arrive.

EVENTS

FATHER'S DAY BLUEGRASS AND BBQ

Come join us on Father's Day Afternoon for delicious BBQ from Firefly Catering and live foot stomping bluegrass music from Sparrow Blue. 

Sunday, June 18th- bring on the dads and dancing shoes. $36/member adult and $12/member child; $45/nonmember adult, $15/nonmember child. For more details and to register, visit our website at thetrustees.org

Save the DATE:  We are having Farm to Table dinners all summer long! Put these dates on your calendars and come join us for delicious food, live music, games and community! July 7th, August 4th, September 8th. You can preregister for all of them now and that helps us plan how much food, wine/beer and tables we need. Last summer our dinner sold out and then some so get your tickets early. We can't wait to see you all there.

FARMSTAND

Our farmstand is OPEN this Saturday and then starting next Tuesday, for the same hours as the CSA!
Veggies will include: lettuce, kale, chard, arugula, (not too) spicy salad and maybe some radishes!
We have lots of new local and regional products coming in nearly every day. This week we've added Sriracha Hot Sauce and Jabanero Sriracha Hot Sauce from Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland, MA; new Maple Basil Salad Dressing and Caesar Dressing from Appalachian Naturals; delicious tea blends such as Cinnamon,Vanilla, Ginger Chai & Rhubarb, Raspberry Honey from TeaGuys in Whately, MA; BOLA granola (this is my favorite!!!) in bags and chocolate bars from Lee, MA. Come and check out the goods.
We will have more transplants for the garden this week! BASIL is back, along with more lettuces, cherry tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, heirloom tomatoes and more. Come check out our big healthy plants- it definitely isn't too late to put them in the ground.

Recipe of the Week

Scallion Pancakes (not traditional, but still amazing!) from the NY times, Mark Bittman

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 bunches scallions or spring onions, about 1 pound
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ½ cup flour
• Peanut, canola or olive oil as needed

Preparation

1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil while you trim the scallions. Roughly chop three bunches, and mince the fourth.
2. Add the larger portion of scallions to the water, and cook about 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Puree the cooked scallions in a blender, adding just enough of the cooking liquid to allow the machine to do its work.
3. Mix the puree with the egg and soy, then gently stir in the flour until blended. Add pepper to taste, then the reserved minced scallions. Film a nonstick or well-seasoned skillet with oil, and turn the heat to medium-high. Drop the batter into the pan by the tablespoon or quarter cup, and cook about 2 minutes to a side, or until lightly browned. If necessary, the pancakes can be kept warm in a 200-degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Jesse and Tim moving the piglets to their new pasture!

Greenhouse Harmonics & the Spring Greening

The farm is waking up and starting to buzz with fields filling up and goats moving across the landscape! The greening happened pretty much overnight at the beginning of April with a couple of days of warm spring weather before turning into something that felt more like March with just so much rain. The good news is that we are officially out of the drought, but the not so great news for us is that all the rain has made for delays in field prep and plantings. We are still a little behind because the rain hasn't really let up for long enough to let certain parts of our fields dry enough to get the baby plants into them. We are moving some plantings around to different drier fields-- so much for all the planning over the winter--at the same time we are trying to stay on top of weeds and insects. The insects are particularly bad so far this spring- I think the relatively mild winter is making for a buggy spring and we are having to carefully monitor our greens for damage.

Under the tractor

We are welcoming back Cole Trager and Kirsten Kampmeier to the farm team this season! YAY! It is great to have seasoned hands that know the farm as well as I do on the ground. We also are welcoming back volunteers- CSA coordinator Kim Galbraith and Farm Pantry liaison, Kathleen Delgado. We are also being joined this week by our second apprentice, Michaela Caplan, who is just coming on board! We are happy to have her here with us and are excited about her addition to the team. Our harvest crew volunteer slots will be up and available soon, so you can sign up to help us with harvest mornings because WE NEED YOU!
Tractor safety and equip maintenance all get done in the spring. Rainy days have found us getting/keeping our tractors in good working order. Another John Deere HC900 arrived at the farm from Moraine Farm and was in need of a little extra love and some finagling to make it work with our equipment- so it got an overhaul from us and went to hang out at 146 Supply in Millbury for a couple of days while they replaced the radiator, the old rusty exhaust pipe and made me some new sway chains for the 3 point hitch. They did a great job! I spent some time teaching Cole and Kirsten how to change filters and fluids and all the other basic maintenance that our tractors need every year in order to maintain good working efficiency. Having a tractor break down in mid-season brings us to a grinding halt so we do everything we can to prevent it. It is also super fun. I can't help it, I love working on these big machines. Our brand new orange Kubota tractor finally had its first 50 hours of work completed and needed its first ever oil change. I've never had such a new shiny beast, so new that I needed to do the first one, but I let Cole do it on his own.

Kirsten's greenhouse glory

Kirsten has been busy all spring filling our greenhouse with gorgeous transplants. It is super lush in there and filled with the humming and whirring of fans, the intermittent pitch of the sides opening up when the thermostat goes up, the light boom and fan of the heater turning on when the thermostat goes down. But really the Greenhouse is just filled with lots of Kirsten's love of seeds and baby plants and you can really see it in how healthy they all are. Having her here and in charge of the plants is really making a big difference in the quality of plants going into the fields.

Kid goat cuddle party with Fay School

Goats- Our final tally on baby goats born this season were 25 kid goats to our 12 mommas! They are quite a handful and have quickly figured out when the electric fencing is turned off that it means that it is time to play with some humans. They are typically bouncy and cute and there are a whole lot more long ears than there has been in the past. Most of our momma goats were bred to a long eared buck and so there are a lot of floppy ears out in the pasture. It's pretty cute, we can't deny it. They are currently all the way down in the southern corner of the farm and it is a little tricky to navigate through the various kinds of electric fencing we have. If you see us in the field, we are happy to direct you to the best viewing.

Bird-nesting Season Has Begun!
So, in case you didn't know, we maintain large areas of the farm as bird reserve nesting grounds for ground nesting birds. Turkeys, meadowlark, woodcock and most especially, the savannah sparrow and bobolink, are most threatened by the loss of farmland and open fields in our suburban and urban communities, so we ask that you please stay out of the hayfields until after July 15th. And also, this is why dogs are NOT allowed on the farm. We can't do a whole lot about fox, weasel, hawks, owls, coyotes and other predators to these birds, but we can ask that you please leave your dogs at home when you come to the farm. You may see our ecologists or researchers from neighboring colleges wandering around in the fields, do not be alarmed, they are professionals and know what to look for to avoid nests. Please keep your picnics to the orchard until late July!!! thanks!!!

Events- the summer season is filled with fun events! We've already had a super successful 2nd annual Running of the Goats with more than 200 atttendees! Whoot! We hope you had the opportunity to join us and if not, you will have to come next year because I don't think there is a whole lot more cuteness that can happen all at once than a whole bunch of baby goats and little children running down the hill together.

Our next big event coming up is our 2nd  Father's Day Bluegrass & BBQ on June 18th from 1-4pm. So bring all the dads and come on over to the farm for some BBQ provided by Firefly's BBQ in Marlborough and glorious foot stompin bluegrass from Sparrow Blue!!! There will be a cash bar available. Members: $36/adult, $12/kids; Nonmembers: $45/adult, $15/kids Registration is required so we know how much food to order and beer/wine to have on hand, how many tours schedule and so on. Kids price is for anyone 8 and under. You can register here. Come enjoy this special day rain or shine (we have a BIG tent going up very soon).

Other June events include our Early Bird Bird Walks with Ranger Kirsten- she's a 'twitcher' which means she travels the world to see birds and she has already cataloged 52 species on the farm alone since she got back in March from her winter trips to Australia and New Zealand. These gentle morning walks are gloriously early when the birdsong is still in full riot and she knows just where to go to find melodic warblers, shy grosbeaks, the graceful Cooper's hawk and the trebling liquid song of the orioles that make the farm their home. Join her on Monday June 5th and Monday June 19th at the trailhead parking area at 630am to 730am. Please register online here. 

The best photo ever of Blossom & Kira

June Prek Farm Explorers program series is a great mini version of our Farmer for a Day vacation week programming. Farmer Ranger Kirsten will guide you and your preschooler through some farm chores, livestock interactions and a fun crafts.A healthy snack is provided as well. The program is a 4 weeks series, so your child really gets to know the farm, the critters and have a whole lot of fun. Sign up ASAP (we can only have a certain number of kids!) Wednesdays in June from 930a-1030a.

June Meet the Farmer- we had to cancel last month's May Meet the Farmer on pollinators because it was horrid out. Hopefully we will have a more lovely day on June 3rd from 10a-12p for our MtF that's all things goats. It's basically a kids and kids cuddle party, but adults are welcome to cuddle kids too. Be sure to bring your cameras for goat selfies. We will have a simple craft available as well. This event is free for members: $5/nonmembers.

For a full list, more information, or to register for a paid event, please check our website under Things-to-do or contact or Engagement Manager Kira LaFosse-Baker.

Farmstand Open on Saturdays!! More Plants for Sale and early Arugula is ready for your spring bitter greens cravings. Come by and see us between 9a-2p this Saturday.

So this is my absolute favorite way to eat arugula besides as a pesto. It's amazing, it's simple and I made two big salad bowls of this for Easter lunch and they were GONE.

Arugula Salad with Shaved Parmesan, Lemon & Olive Oil

By Jennifer Segal

Servings: 4 as a starter

Ingredients

• 5 ounces (or 4 generous handfuls) arugula
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, from one lemon
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best quality such as Lucini
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Big hunk Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions

1. In a large salad bowl, combine the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the arugula in the bowl and toss with the dressing.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, shave sheets of Parmesan cheese onto salad (to taste). Serve immediately.

We still have veggie CSA shares available!!! Seriously folks, take some flyers into the office, to the gym or

Early season Farm Crew

yoga. I need a little more help than I thought selling these extra shares (last year they went down to Weir River Farm, but I need them to sell here now). Work in Boston and worried you can't get here on time, we are opening up CSA pick-ups to Saturday mornings from 9am-12pm. And we deliver to Boston (near the Aquarium) so let us know if a delivered share works better for you because the sign up isn't available on line yet. We are also adding some tasty add-ons to CSA. Look for more information soon on fruit shares coming from sister farms in Eastern MA and maybe even a cheese/milk share from Appleton Farms in Ipswich (if not, then we will certainly have Appleton Farm cheese and milk available in our farmstand this season).

We are starting our first Summer Meat CSA offering following on the success of our Winter Meat CSA. Because we are still growing our herds, we can only offer beef this summer, but look for expansions as the year goes along. The summer beef share is 2lbs every week and will be packed for you to pick up along with your veggie share. Extra cuts will be available for sale. Details about the Meat CSA and to sign up can be found here.

Michaela and Kirsten planting the flowers in the rain

Welcome to 2017

The garden does not lose its ecstasy in winter. 

It's quiet, but the roots are down there, riotous. 

-Rumi 

New Year's Dawning

 

I hope this post finds you all well and full of grace and laughter from a full holiday season of friends, family and traditions.
My family and I spent a lot of time hanging with old and new friends, eating good food, baking cookies, trekking to Western Mass to visit our families for a massive brunch on Christmas day.  We also did a some hiking at Rocky Woods and nearby Nobscot Reservation (a great place to hike, if you haven't been!) and made trips to museums, the aquarium and spent a day at Parts & Crafts in Somerville. We are happy to be getting back to scheduled days of schooling and field trips, CSA planning (spreadsheets and more spreadsheets), ordering supplies, hiring apprentices and more.
I've been buying produce at the grocery store for the first time in more than 9 months and I've got to say, I think it gets harder every year. I tend to be a pretty seasonal eater. I don't really expect to be able to eat everything year round because it just doesn't taste that good when it has been flown or trucked or shipped from thousands of miles away. I tend to stick to East Coast produce for the most part (exceptions being avocados, bananas and clementines) because I really think it tastes better. I don't always buy organic (don't be shocked) but I do stick to the "Clean 15"  and only buy organic for the "Dirty dozen". PBS did a great article on this back in 2010 check it out here at PBS.org.
I do LOVE to buy local whenever possible, though I've been having a little trouble with that outside of driving all the way to Wegman's for Red Fire Farm's carrots. I was super disappointed to enter a local grocery and find an entire display marked with Local Farm signs and even farm names and find all the produce under them grown in Mexico (stickers don't lie). So....
I'm really looking forward to checking out the Wayland Winter Farmers' Market that is opening on Saturday this week from 10-2p. I have no doubt that I will find piles of gorgeous root vegetables, cabbages, winter squashes, and hardy greens such as kale and chard and spinach grown in area hoophouses. From the list of almost a 100 vendors it also looks like I can buy fish (fresh and smoked), pickles, apples and other winter fruit, honey, maple syrup, wine/mead, crafts, jams, local cheeses, bread, pastries and so much more. This market is inside the Russell Garden Center greenhouses, so on a sunny day, it will be toasty warm and filled with the smell of earth, bread fresh from the ovens, and greens. So come out and support a bunch of local businesses. I hope to see you there!

Meat CSA

Our second Meat CSA pickup is this afternoon! We will also have maple syrup for sale along with tomato puree and dressings. Connor and Tim will also have EGGS for sale!!!! Our girls went to live with his flock a month ago because we just don't have a good winter house for them. His eggs are $7/doz. Come on by from 2-6p. He is leaving eggs here, so come by later in the week and I will have them either in the house (remember that I live in the house at the bottom of the circle not in the house closest to the road!) or in a cooler next to the front door in case the weather is foul.

Events Coming UP! 

Book Bugs on the Farm: Friday January 6th from 10:30-1130am- Kira will be reading Over and Under the Snow, a story about winter hibernation. We'll learn new words, explore the farm, and wrap up by creating a snow-globe for kids to take home. Small snacks will be provided. We have this event inside the farm cottage, which is snug and cozy warm. This event is intended for children ages 3-5.
Registration is strongly encouraged to help make sure we have snacks and supplies for all of our friends! Cost: $9/member child; $15/nonmember child, Adults are free


 Sledding Events: Farm Sledding After Dark is this Friday, January 6th from 530-7p
Swing by the farm after work or school and join us for some evening sledding! We'll light the hill, have warm snacks and drinks, and even offer a new craft each month! BYO sled and wear lots of layers. We may not have a lot of snow, or rather, we have none right now, so stay tuned to Friends of Chestnut Hill Facebook Page for an update on whether or not this event is happening. Last year, we didn't have snow for our first sledding event and we still had a ton of fun making LED lanterns from jam jars and drinking copious amounts of mulled cider, hot chocolate a la DuBois, and making smores over the campfire. It will cost $5/members to cover materials costs if we have the event.


Recipes
I got a new cookbook while I was attending the Bionutrient Association's Soil and Nutrition Conference in December. It is Farm Fresh and Fast by the Fairshare CSA Coalition out of Madison, WI and I love it already because it divvies recipes into vegetable sections (easier for us CSA farmers to highlight specific veggies which I usually have to do my searching the index) and the recipes are all pretty fast (perfect for us CSA farmer MOM's who are usually so exhausted during the farm season to boil water before falling asleep at the stove).
Here's a taste...
Sweet Curry Winter Squash Fritters
The below is meant to be an appetizer for 4-6 people, but you could easily make it a main course/tapas by doubling or tripling the recipe and serving it with lots of fun sides such as pickled beets, carrots, etc. rice and raita. 
Ingredients:
1 small winter squash, roasted about 1 cup (when I make winter squash, I usually roast a lot at once and then scoop all the flesh into freezer bags for use in soups and recipes later, so I almost always have this on hand).
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1 med. yellow onion, minced
6 Tbsp all purpose flour
5 Tbsp cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp paprika (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp cayenne (totally optional)
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
 
In a bowl, mix egg into cool squash and add the onion. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and seasonings. Mix the dry ingredients into the squash mixture until well combined.
Cover teh bottom of a wok or cast iron skillet with about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil and heat over medium heat (if you have a fryalator then use it instead). When the oil is hot, drop heaping teaspoons of batter into the oil and fry for 1-2 minutes, then flip once they turn golden brown on the edges and cook 1 minute more. Cool on a rack with paper towels underneath to drain.
Serve with chutneys (Curry Apple Chutney would be an awesome combo), raita, yoghurt and pickles.

Tippling Rock- New Years Day

Rock Woods- December 28th

First Meat CSA pickup and Saturnalia is CANCELLED!!!

I'm a Meat CSA member!!!! I got a share and picked it up on Tuesday from Connor and Tim- pickups are in the classroom around the corner from the barn- cozy and warm with woodstove burning merrily, Christmas music playing on the radio and the farm table covered in cookbooks. They were more than ready
to answer questions about any of the cuts we were getting today. It is fun being the shareholder again after so many years. I loved just picking up my meats and thinking about all the lovely things I'm going to make with them. Pot roast in the crockpot with lots of garlic, carrots, potatoes, turnips and herbs; a chicken (so big it is almost a turkey) roasted in lemon, white wine, garlic, thyme, parsley and salt for the first meal, chicken pot pie for the second, chicken tortellini and kale soup for the third, and extra stock for soups later. YUM! And that's only two cuts!
Pick-ups continue every two weeks (though not the week after Christmas) through the spring and you can also buy eggs, maple syrup, honey and other farmstand goodies at the same time (you don't have to be a member!) Connor is also selling extra meat cuts. If you have any questions about Meat CSA- contact cyoung@thetrustees.org.

Saturday night's Saturnalia (Roman winter holiday programming has been CANCELLED due to impending crappy weather. We are super sorry to not be spending a fun night with all of you and hope that you have a wonderful holiday season no matter which holiday you celebrate!

Upcoming in January & February we are having our Night-time Sledding adventures again this year! The farm is usually closed to visitors after dark, but we are opening it up for Sledding After Dark on the First Friday evening of the month. If you couldn't make it last year, we had clear skies and no snow last year for one event and a raging blizzard for the second. We still had awesome snacks and hot chocolate, a fun craft and a cozy fire. Join us on January 6th and we will see what Mother Nature brings us (hopefully- a WHOLE LOT OF SNOW!!!!). Whether there is snow or no, we will have the hot chocolate, the craft and a lot of fun. It all starts at 530p until 7p. $5/members; $10 for nonmembers
Book Bugs is still happening all winter at the farm!  Kira has the books picked out and programming planned. Don't worry! These are inside one of our buildings here at the farm where it can be warm, either the Cottage, the Classroom or the Greenhouse depending on the month. Look for updates on our facebook page (Friends of Chestnut Hill Farm) or for signs if you want to drop in at the last minute! This fun event for 3-5 year olds (book reading, fun craft/art project, snack and, if weather permits, a wander to meet some farm critters) happens the first Friday of every month 10:30-11:30. $9/member child.

Goats are settling in to their new winter routine. On super nice days, we will try to have them out on pasture, but if the weather isn't great or the snow and ice are thick on the ground, we have beautiful bales of hay for them to munch on near the lower barn. They are outside any day that it isn't wet or super windy when it is cold. They love the fresh air and sunshine. They are also covered in CASHMERE. Did you know that cashmere comes from goats? Yep. Super soft and thick under glossy topcoats it keeps them warm and insulated all winter along with their rumen (which is basically a 5 gallon bucket-sized stomach that they pack with hay and keeps them warm from the inside out). We bring them warm water twice per day (water coming out of the well is at a 50 degree temp, and is totally fine, but they love getting the warm water.

Recipes: I know that CSA Season is over, but I wanted to share some favorite recipes anyway. Here in our house, we make some special things every year to share with family and friends. 

Chocolate chunk shortbread (the ultimate in Christmas cookies, you can basically add all kinds of deliciousness to this cookie to make it special and unique in your house. I think of the below as a base recipe and it is the one most used in our house, but occasionally the kids will let me add one of the optional add-ins at the bottom)
Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp coarse, sea or kosher salt
2 cups all purpose flour
4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate of any kind really- use plain or your favorite fancy chocolate bar- really, they are all good in this- chopped fine

1. Working with a stand mixer is best, with a paddle, or use a large bowl with a hand held mixer. Beat the butter and sugar together for about 3 mins on medium. The mixture should be very smooth. Add the vanilla and salt, then reduce to low speed and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don't OVERWORK the dough. Fold in the chocolate with a sturdy wooden or rubber spatula.
2. (I got this from Smitten Kitchen and I LOVE this, so much easier). Transfer the dough to a gallon size ziploc bag. Put the bag on a flat surface leaving the top open and roll the dough into a 9x10 1/2 inch rectangle that's 1/4 inch thick. Turn and lift the bag as you roll to avoid creases. When it is the right size and thickness, press out all the air and seal. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
3. To bake: divide the oven in thirds with racks, preheat to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Slit open the plastic bag and turn the dough onto a cutting board, discard the bag. Using a sharp knife (and a ruler if you are so inclined) cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch squares, then carefully transfer to baking sheets. Prick twice (all the way through to the baking sheet) with a fork.
4. Bake 18-20 mins, rotating halfway through. Shortbreads should be pale with just the faintest hint of browning at the edges. Transfer the cookies to a rack and cool to room temp before eating (if you can actually wait that long)
Optional add-ins or subs:
1 Tbsp espresso powder dissolved in 1 Tbsp boiling water and added in with the vanilla
Substitute rosewater and finely chopped dried fruit for the vanilla and chocolate
Add in 1/4 tsp of cinnamon with the flour
Add 1/4 tsp nutmeg and finely chopped hazelnuts and dried cranberries
Varying the type and kind of chocolate or using a fancy chocolate bar can make these extravagant and amazing. 

Pumpkin Cheesecakes with GF chocolate cookie crust
So I make this large pumpkin cheesecake every year and my parents and so many of our friends are GF I've adapted my recipe to suit. It isn't that hard.....
Ingredients:
Crust-
2 cups ground GF chocolate cookies (I use Tate's Bakery because they are truly incredible, but any chocolate wafer cookie will work including GF oreo types) pulverized in a food processor
1/2 cup ground walnuts or almonds
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

Filling-
3 8oz blocks of cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups of pumpkin puree (I roast my own butternut/kabocha squash and puree in food processor)
3 eggs
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream, chilled (I've also used coconut milk in a pinch and it was amazing)
2 tbsp bourbon
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp sea salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
You can either make this in a big 9" springform pan (also, do yourself a favor and wrap the springform pan in tin foil on the outside or there will be melted butter EVERYWHERE and place on a cookie sheet with sides or use individual ramekins (which you will need 8-10 of them).
Combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter thoroughly and press into the bottom of pan or ramekins. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool while you make the filling.
1. Using a large mixer, blend the cream cheese and maple syrup until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the pumpkin and other remaining ingredients and mix until smooth and well blended. Pour the filling onto the crust(s); then bake 1 1/2 hours if using the 9" pan or about 1/2 hour for the ramekins (keep checking!!! I haven't baked in the ramekins in a while so I'm not 100% sure anymore) but they should all be just set in the middle. Let them rest for an hour at room temp then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Serve with a generous dollop of real whipped cream and shavings of good chocolate.
Optional substitution: Instead of chocolate cookies you can use really good gingersnaps!