Heartfelt Thoughts...

From "Farm to Table CSA" at Doe Run Farm, we take a moment to wish all of our farm supporters and their families, our best wishes for a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

John and Judy

Hawks and other predators..

This last week we lost our first hen to a huge hawk that swooped down inside the electric poultry fence and decapitated one of my "girls"...and a good layer she was, too! This was made worse by the fact that I saw the whole event as I was coming out the back door on the way to feed the chickens. What a horrific site! John went with me and with a shovel in hand, buried the little hen. I had heard other farmers talk about how predators had attacked their flocks, but up to now, we had not had a problem. We do what we can to protect them as best we can but somethings just can't be prevented. Such is life on a farm, things are always changing, nothing is ever routine! If you like routine, farming is not for you!

The weather has not been great for harvesting this week. Really wet, and muddy. Things still are not growing fast enough to suit us either. We visited with another farm family this week and they too are somewhat frustrated with how long it's taking to reach harvest stage for some of their crops. Patience is another thing you learn when you are farming. Things are ready when they're ready and not before! Thankfully our CSA members are understanding about nature and they know that when we harvest the bounty is theirs.

John and I would like to take this moment to wish each of you a wonderful holiday season filled with good health and good friends. Please keep our troops that are serving our country in your thoughts this season as well.

Merry Christmas,Happy Hanukkah and Best Wishes of the season to folks of all faiths and beliefs.
Doe Run Farm

Wintry Mix

The drenching rain has given way to a wintry mix in the last few minutes. The surrounding hills are shrouded in clouds, and our lake that normally doesn't hold water is filled to overflowing! The ground is waterlogged, and our county is under a flood watch as are many other counties nearby. Winter has set in on our farm, for sure.

This would be a perfect day to sit in front of the fire with a good book, and hopefully the week of Christmas, that is exactly what we will be doing. Though I am sure, the books may take a back seat to all the Spring Seed Catalogs. They do claim "priority" this time of year.

Soon we will have the greenhouse filled again with seeds sown for spring/early summer. Chores are never ending on a farm, but we love what we do, and are grateful that we are blessed with good health to continue. Thank you Lord for this and every day.

Be happy, healthy and safe!
Peace, Judy and John

Wind in the Willows

Update from the farm:

Things are coming along, but with the short day lengths and overcast skies, everything is growing slowly. What's a farmer to do? Be patient, things will come around and the wait will be worth it!



Today we have "batten down the hatches", as it is really windy here, and it has just begun to rain. The hens and roosters were fed early today in preparation for the rain to come, and they were a happy lot! A few pumpkins and squash for special treats today-those yolks will be rich! They have been having their share of greens too which always makes them happy! Share boxes are packed and ready for today's deliveries and we look forward to seeing smiling faces this afternoon!



*Just a reminder, no deliveries the week of Christmas!

Peace,

Judy and John

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Thanksgiving Message from John and Judy,

Doe Run Farm would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our farm supporters (friends) and their families, a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

As you know, the CSA is the focus of our efforts here on the farm, and we are so thankful for your friendship, support, and the committment you have made to our farm through Community Supported Agriculture ( CSA).

Your Farm Friends,
Judy and John

CSA News

Please let us know if you will not be picking up your CSA box on delivery day of Thanksgiving week so that we won't pick and pack one for you. We will be delivering on Tuesday for those that pick up on Tuesday, and on Wednesday (Thanksgiving Eve) for those whose regular pick up day is Thursday. If someone else is picking up your box next week, we don't need notification, -- but be sure the folks picking up are aware of delivery day and the time next week so they don't forget.

Farm News:

Busily seeding trays again (30 yesterday)-- full of what will be transplanted later in the season into the hoophouses. It was a nice day for sowing seed, the greenhouse was warm, Public Radio was the entertainment again, so it went pretty fast with both of us sowing seeds. I try to leave the radio on as much as possible--I swear things grow better with it on:) John is not so sure about that.

We are being deluged with new seed catalogs right now. On the cold winter nights ahead we will be looking through the seed books, and dreaming of Spring and Summer. Everything is so colorful in those catalogs that in the middle of winter, it lifts your spirits to think about all those wonderful tomatoes, cucumbers, juicy berries and everything else we enjoy eating in the summer.

As I look out my kitchen window this morning, I see a few deer lifting up their heads to browse the low hanging branches (the ones with a few leaves left), out in the back pasture. The chickens are scratching nearby, giving no notice to the deer at all. In a few minutes, the chickens will be fed and watered, and then they will scratch some more and then retire to the hen house to lay for the day.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day today..gotta go for now - there's a strange dog on the porch trying to eat Big Boy and Baby's cat food...have to chase him away. See you pick up day!

Sweet Potato Time

Sweet Potato Butter

3 good sized sweet potatoes, (about 3 cups mashed)
2 c apple cider (not sweetened)
1 c sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground allspice
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes & bake for about 1 hour or until soft.Peel the roasted potatoes, put them in a large pot & mash them with a potato masher or fork. Add the cider & sugar & bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cinnamon & allspice. Reduce the heat to low & allow to simmer for about 2 hours stirring from time to time. The mixture should thicken to a thick mashed potato-like texture as the liquid cooks out. Use an immersion blender (or stand blender) to get all the lumps out & get a perfectly smooth texture. Adding butter to taste at the end is Optional.
Makes about 3 cups.

Sweet Potato Butter should be stored in the refrigerator. This could be used as a topping for oatmeal, toast, or used in cookies or muffins.

"Some of my Girls"

Good Morning from "our girls" at the Farm!

These girls "slept in" this morning..it was a bit chilly for them early on!

Thought you might enjoy this photo of them.

We are keeping very busy here, sowing more seeds every day, watering the plants in the high tunnels, lifting old mulch out of the fields and trying to clean up bit by bit. Farm equipment maintenance will be taking place soon with John going about it in his usual systematic way. The packing shed will be getting a good "going over" in the next few weeks too. It gets out of "whack" in a hurry as much as we use it.

Ok, lets talk Collard Greens, 'cause most likely in the next week or two you will be getting some of these in your boxes. First, a bit of history on Collards.

Southerners love their greens. A time-honored tradition in southern kitchens, greens have held an important place on the table for well over a century, and there is no other vegetable that is quite so unique to the region.
The traditional way to cook greens is to boil or simmer slowly with a piece of salt pork or ham hock for a long time (this tempers their tough texture and smoothes out their bitter flavor) until they are very soft. Typically, greens are served with freshly baked corn bread to dip into the pot-likker. Pot likker is the highly concentrated, vitamin-filled broth that results from the long boil of the greens. It is, in other words, the "liquor" left in the pot.
In spite of what some consider their unpleasant smell, reaction to the smell of cooking greens separates true southern eaters from wannabes.

Me- being a true Southerner, this is how I like to cook my Collards (or turnip greens, or mustard greens--you get the idea). I don't eat them often as I would like because of the pork they are cooked with. (fatty and salty)

Cooked Greens (any kind)
Collard greens (whole collard heads or leaves)
2 ham hocks
Water
Salt to taste
Toppings (hot pepper sauce, vinegar, chopped onions and Vinegar.

Wash greens thoroughly, approximately 3 or 4 times to ensure they are clean and free of insects. Remove large stems. Just cut them out! Place ham hocks in an extra-large pot with enough water to completely cover them. Add salt and cook ham hocks at least 30 minutes before adding collards greens. Remove the hocks, let cool, and reserve the lean ham on the hocks to add later. Add collards, big leaves first (let them start off boiling), then add remainder of greens. Cook 45 minutes to 1 hour,over medium heat, stirring once about midway to ensure thorough cooking. I cook mine with the lid slightly ajar on the pot.
Test for tenderness of stems at 45 minutes by piercing with a sharp knife. Cook additional time if necessary. Remove from heat and drain in a colander, reserving the juice (pot likker). Chop collards with a collard chopper or a knife, leaving no large leaves or pieces. Add some of the pot likker if the greens are too dry. Add the chopped pieces of lean ham. Salt to taste. Serve hot or at room temperature with your choice of toppings and don't forget the corn bread!
Now, where's the Sweet Iced Tea??

Have a wonderful day, and a more wonderful week!

Judy and John

What to do with CSA Cabbage?

I love it cooked in a little olive oil with onion. There’s a head of cabbage in the refrigerator and onions in the pantry most of the time, so I make this almost every week. Cabbage and pork go well together too. Start with a little diced bacon, then sauté the onions and cabbage in the smoky fat. A dollop of crème fraîche makes both of these simple dishes tasty and rich.
Eat your brassicas-they are so good for you!

A "Green" Photo this morning

Good Morning!

Thought I would pass along a "tight shot" of some of our transplants awaiting their trip to the hoophouses. Everything in the hoophouses looks wonderful and healthy! Lots of good eating ahead for us all!

The website is up and running again after being down a couple of days. Our daughter Bridget takes care of the website for us and we couldn't manage without her. She spends many hours of her free time at home doing this for us- in addition to taking care of her family and working full time as an Engineer.

I just returned from feeding the hens and roosters. I put out clean straw in their nests and gathered their eggs this morning. Have to keep deep straw bedding in there for them in cool weather which helps to keep them warm. They also get scratch feed in the winter, which increases their body temperatures to ward off the really cold weather. I usually give them scratch feed in the late afternoon in the cold of winter.

The roosters seem to be tolerating each other pretty well now, though the "banty" still doesn't let the big rooster roost inside the henhouse at night. He may be tiny but he definitely "rules the roost"- at least at night.

We are still considering adding more hens in the spring, so we can at least offer eggs on a first come first serve basis when there are extras. Free range eggs are just the best -bright yolks, thick whites! They are far superior to anything bought at the market and so much better for you.

We hope you are enjoying your Winter CSA boxes, they will only get better! Start pulling out your recipes for winter "greens".

We sold every share that we had available, plus a few extra for this winter. With the addition of the new and larger hoophouse that we are putting up, we can make more Winter shares available next year.

Thank you for any referral(s) that you may have sent our way this winter. We are grateful. Judy

Farm Musings & Recipes for You

On this somewhat overcast Sunday morning, I think about how blessed we are, to be able to gaze out our windows and see a myriad of russets, ambers, golds and greens bursting forth from the trees this autumn. They are truly putting forth a glorious show before the stark days of winter make up the landscape that will surround us for the next few months. As fall presents itself, I offer you a few autumn recipes that let you make use of some of what will be in your CSA boxes this fall. Enjoy!

Recipe for: Butternut Squash Lasagne (Kim Carlson)

Introduction:
This lasagne calls for no tomatoes, but has plenty of other vegetables: butternut squash, greens, and mushrooms. If you don’t have sausage on hand, or you prefer to leave it out, the recipe will not suffer.
Ingredients:
1medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 to 2Tbsp. olive oil
½lb. Italian sausage (pork or chicken)
¼cup butter
2small onions, chopped
3cups crimini mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper
1bunch chard, stems removed, leaves chopped
1tsp. dried thyme
2lb. ricotta cheese
3 to 4cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2cups Parmesan cheese, grated
4large eggs, beaten
Extra-virgin olive oil
1package (9 ounces) no-boil lasagne noodles

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread squash in a single layer on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, tossing squash with your fingers to coat. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, turning once, until tender and golden brown. Set aside. Turn oven down to 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, brown sausage in a large skillet; when cooked, remove to a large bowl. Melt butter in same pan, add onions, and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to cook until tender, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper, and remove to bowl with sausage. Add chard to skillet with dried thyme and cook just until chard is wilted. Remove to bowl with sausage and mushrooms. Toss together.
In a medium-size bowl, mix together ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, 1½ cups Parmesan cheese, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper.
Brush a 13-inch-by-9-inch baking dish with olive oil. Spread 1 cup ricotta mixture over bottom. Arrange 3 noodles on top (or 1 sheet). In the following order, layer the remaining ingredients: 1½ cup ricotta mixture, one-half of the squash, one-half of the sausage/mushroom/chard mixture, one-half of the (remaining) mozzarella. Place 3 dried noodles on top, and again layer the ingredients: ricotta, squash, mushrooms mixture, mozzarella. For the final layer, top with 3 noodles, spread with remaining ricotta mixture, and sprinkle ½ cup Parmesan cheese over the top. Cover with oiled foil.
Bake lasagne, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.
Notes:
If you’re lucky enough to live near a shop that sells fresh pasta, buy three sheets of pasta to substitute for the dried lasagne noodles in this dish.

TURNIP GRATIN

Yield: Makes 6 servings
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 and 1/2 pounds medium turnips, trimmed and left unpeeled, 1 tablespoon chopped thyme, 1/2 tablespoon chopped savory, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, Rounded 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, 1 cup heavy cream, and 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (use a Microplane)

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.
Melt butter in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet, then cool.
Slice turnips paper-thin with slicer, (mandolin if you have one), then arrange one third of slices, overlapping tightly, in skillet, keeping remaining slices covered with dampened paper towels. Sprinkle with about a third of thyme, savory, kosher salt, and cayenne. Make 2 more layers.
Cook, covered, over medium heat until underside is browned, about 10 minutes. Add cream and cook, covered, until center is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Sprinkle evenly with cheese, then bake, uncovered, until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Roasted Sweet Potato Gratin Matthew Card
Ingredients:

4½ to 5lb. sweet potatoes
1cup heavy cream
1large bay leaf
1vanilla bean
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1Tbsp. plus ⅔ cup brown sugar

Steps:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Poke sweet potatoes several times with a paring knife and spread potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until very tender and easily pierced with a knife, 1 to 1½ hours. Cool (cutting in half will expedite cooling) until easily handled. Scrape flesh from skins into a large mixing bowl. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Combine cream, bay leaf, and a generous pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Using a sharp paring knife, split vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape seeds into the cream. Add vanilla pod to the pan and bring to a simmer; cover, removed from heat, and steep for at least 10 minutes. Remove pod and bay leaf.
Using a standing or hand-held electric mixer, whip potatoes, infused cream, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and a liberal amount of black pepper until smooth, light, and homogenously blended. Adjust seasoning to taste and evenly spread potato mixture into a 7-by-11-inch (or 9-by-13-inch) Pyrex or oven-safe baking dish. Sprinkle remaining brown sugar in an even layer across the top of the potatoes. Bake until bubbling around the edges, about 20 minutes.

Adjust oven rack as close as possible to broiler element and broil gratin until the sugar is well browned, bubbling, and crispy, 4 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Farm to Table CSA

Good Morning Shareholders! Well after much tinkering, I think I have the farm blog up and going. I hope that you will enjoy this site for your farm news and CSA announcements. A computer "geek" or "whiz" I am not, so let's just give it a "try".

On this site you will find new recipes and other information that will keep you up to date about what's going on in your CSA. Originally I intended to have newsletters and recipes at your pick up site, but, that turned out not to be practical, so this is where it's at! Check out the blog frequently so that you won't miss out on anything that we want to pass along to you about the CSA.

Farm News: We have been busily planting more seeds by direct seeding as well as transplanting our
transplants from the greenhouse into the high tunnels. You know what, this is a never ending job around here. John will start soon putting up the newest high tunnel (hoophouse) which will give us more covered growing area. The deer fence he installed this summer, so far is working well. Let's keep hoping for the best here. The deer are pretty to watch, but are devastating to crops.

This week we began all our deliveries for the winter season. Hopefully everyone received their box! At first there are always a few "kinks" to work out. Your first box was a light box, but believe me it will get heavier as time goes on. The vegetables from autumn/summer will soon give way to winter harvest. You will still get winter squash for awhile, but tomatoes are now all gone, redskin potatoes won't be around much longer, and peppers will be not be available much longer either, since we have had a couple of cold snaps. Peppers are definitely a warm weather item!

Don't forget to check out the Epicurious.com website. Their recipes that I have tried have been very good and it's a good "go to" website when you get in a "recipe rut".

Before you know it Thanksgiving will be here and to me, this is a very special day. A day to celebrate and be grateful for so many things in life. So often the retailers spend so much time on Halloween and Christmas, that Thanksgiving is left out! That bothers me.. a lot! We are grateful here at the farm for many things, and one of those things is you - our farm supporters, our CSA shareholders. Judy