Greetings from Dancing Hen Farm!
Our buying club is now open for this weekend's
deliveries. As always, ordering opened
at 5 am today, Tuesday (12/16) morning and closes Thursday morning (12/18) at 5
am. Look for pork products, chicken,
storage vegetables and kale.
Yes, kale!!! This warmer weather has melted the snow and
given us the opportunity to harvest under the row covers here in our lower
field. I was able to harvest kale last
night for dinner and it was beautiful and oh so delicious! Just remember quantities are limited, so
please order early.
On farm, last weekend, we finally got our Christmas tree and
barn wreath up. Lots of thanks go out to
Jason and Tommy for their help with the wreath.
Tommy drew the design and Jason created the wreath. There is even garlic on the wreath this
year! I will try and post some pictures
on facebook and the blog. Farmers Jason
and Tommy also helped out in the greenhouse with some late season planting and
bed preparation. Thanks guys!!!
We finally tried this year's pork chops for dinner last
night and we agree with our customers.
They were delicious! Farmer Don
declared them "the best cut from this year's pork"! I baked them in the oven on a bed of apples
with just a bit of brown sugar and butter.
Colcannon made with fresh harvested kale and a simple spinach salad
completed the meal. We still have a tiny,
tiny bit of spinach under row cover as well, so the spinach was also freshly
harvested.
Earlier in the week, Farmer Don made sweet potato
tarts. I guess they were more like
tartlets, as he made them the size of large cookies. He uses a recipe out of the Vedge
cookbook for the filling and then uses a butter based recipe from Cook's
Illustrated for the crust. He made them
really early in the morning and boy was it nice to awake to a house filled with
the aroma of baked goods. I had two for
breakfast! There is filling left over,
so maybe we will have a sweet treat tonight?
Other than cooking, we are busy on farm planning for next
year. As with every year, last year had
many successes and also some "opportunities", as Farmer Don likes to
say. This was our first season as a full
choice CSA and for next season, we will continue to allow all members to choose
the items they receive in their box each week.
For the upcoming season we will be trying to make not only more variety
of produce available, but also more quantities, so fewer members experience
"sold out" items. We learned a
lot this year about which items were really popular and which not so. We are taking a hard look at our harvest and
planting lists from last year to help determine planting levels for next
year. We do like customer input, so
please if you feel so inclined, send us an email and let us know what veggies you
would like to see more or less of.
Speaking of the CSA.
Our early bird discount ends on December 31st. You will need to register on the computer and
submit your payment to us by this date to receive your $30 discount. We also offer a returning member discount and
this discount does not expire. A big
thank you to everyone who has already signed up for the 2015 season. Your funds allow us to order seed, potting
mix and other supplies needed months before your boxes of vegetables are ready
for delivery.
This Saturday is the final Forks Farm Market of the
year. Farmers Don and Phil will be
behind the table selling eggs, kale and some storage crops. Why not take a break from the hustle of the
season and spend a bit of time at Forks Farm?
You can pick up food for the holidays and some last minute gifts. At least for now, the weather doesn't look
too bad.
Speaking of weather, the local weatherman just reported it
has been 9 days since we have had a sunny day!
Today we are to have rain, so no vitamin D to be had today! But, never fear, the winter solstice is this
Sunday, December 21. Winter solstice
marks the shortest day (longest night) of the year, after this day, the days
start getting longer. Gradually
longer...... But, we will take any
extra minute of daylight we can get!
Speaking of daylight.
The sun (what sun?), is not up and I need to walk the dogs and check on
the chickens.
Happy, happy holidays from the farm!!!!
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