Greetings
from Dancing Hen Farm!
Wow! Lots has happened since the last newsletter.
First, we
delivered our last CSA box of the season last week. Hopefully all our members enjoyed our 2019
CSA season. Farmers Don and Phil will be
making one last round of our pick up sites to pick up share boxes and any
coolers left, so please return your boxes to your pick up site.
We also experienced
our first hard frost several days ago.
This frost means our growing season for 2019 has come to an end. All our tender, summer crops are finished or
have been killed by the frost. We do
have some hearty crops still in the ground which we can continue to harvest
until we get below freezing temperatures.
Greens, including salad mix, always flourish in the cooler fall temperatures. Spinach and hakurei turnips have also been
beautiful this fall.
This past
week we also celebrated our annual running of the Dancing Hen Farm Pigs. Those of you who have followed us over the
years know that we raise our pigs high on a hill above our farm in an abandoned
apple orchard. The pigs spend a great
summer relaxing under the apple trees and snacking on fallen apples. Then, in the fall, we must move the pigs from
the orchard into the barn so they can be loaded for market. Farmer Don and our friend Jason spent the
bulk of Sunday getting the runway and barn ready to move the pigs. Finally when the field (or barn in this case)
was set, the run began. The pigs enthusiastically
charged down the hill into the barn and oops! out the other side! Five pigs decided to keep running up the
road. We joked they were headed for the
local bar! Thankfully our friend and
neighbor Toby came by at just that time and helped turn the pigs around and
return them to the barn. Unfortunately
this was not the last of the pigs adventures.
Farmer Don was off farm all day Monday and the pigs decided this was the
perfect opportunity to explore the farm.
Again we were thankful Toby was available to help round up the pigs
several times during the day and better secure their barnyard pen. By the time Farmer Don returned on Monday
evening, the pigs were peacefully sleeping in the barn, exhausted from their
adventures. Again we are counting our
blessings for good neighbors and friendly pigs!
The kitchen
has also moved into fall and winter mode, as the soup pot, rather than the
grill has become the tool of choice for meal preparation. Although, with the beautiful salad greens and
spinach being harvested, we are eating our share of salads. We are back into our cooler weather routine
of roasting chicken each week and using the bones to make broth and a nice pot
of soup. These soups tend to be
"kitchen sink" type soups made with whatever is available. This week Farmer Don was soup chef and he
created a chicken vegetable noodle soup packed full of end of summer and fall
veggies. He even added some tomatillos
we had harvested. I cannot complain, as
the soup was tasty and we have leftovers for another meal. Last night we had a delicious tomato sweet
potato bisque. This is an older recipe,
I have made before, with the sweet potatoes adding a nice flavor to the tomato
base. Last week we featured spinach in a
salad of spinach, apple and sharp
cheddar cheese, dressed with a balsamic maple vinaigrette. Another simple and tasty recipe which will be
made again.
Please watch
your email for the start of our winter buying club. If you have not already done so and are
interested in participating in our winter buying club, please go on our website
and purchase a free winter buying club membership.
I again want
to take a moment to thank everyone for their support over the years. It is hard to believe this was our 11th
season as Dancing Hen Farm. As I have
said before we could not possibly do what we do without the support of our farm
members, customers and friends. Thank
you!
