Circle S Farms

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.  But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”  Mother Teresa

Farm news:  I am in Fort Morgan, Al, at the beach with some girlfriends.  I have heard we have had some chilly weather at home.  I am anxious to see how the garden is holding up.

Sunrise with Blue Heron

What’s in the bucket:  hakurei turnips and/or radishes, tomatoes, arugula, braising greens, turnip greens, peppers (hopefully, if they didn’t freeze), Okra (ditto), winter squash, carrots, beets and a jar of sinful caramel apple butter.

ROASTED BEETS

one bunch of beets

feta cheese

fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper

olive oil

Peel roots and trim tops of beets.  Toss in olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.   Roast on baking pan in oven at 400 degrees until tender.

Remove from oven and let cool to room temp.  Slice beets into rounds.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of lemon, and sprinkle of feta cheese.

-shareholder recipe

Happy fall eating and thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm!!

Look back at our struggle for freedom,
Trace our present day’s strength to it’s source;
And you’ll find that man’s pathway to glory
Is strewn with the bones of the horse.
~Author Unknown

Those of you who know me well know how I love horses!!  In fact, it’s what got me hooked on this whole farming thing to start with.  I was raised a city girl, but fell in love with horses at first sight.  I was allowed to take horseback riding lessons as soon as I could walk, and I lived and breathed horses through high school, working and playing at the barn every spare minute.   I promised myself that when I grew up, I’d live in a place where I could have as many horses as I wanted!  And I do.  However, the way it has worked out – I got into this market garden idea – and haven’t had time to ride my horses at all the last few years.

I have thought how fun it would be to have a team to work the fields.  I finally have them!!  A team of draft mules I got from a friend in Missouri.  They know their job, and have been farming for years.  I am hoping they will teach me the ropes, and we can enjoy working together – and I can get back to doing one of my favorite things…playing with horses.

OK – Mack and Madge are their names.  Enough about that.  On to what’s important.

Farm News:  Mack and Madge!!   We have been putting up hay this week.  Curtis got it all cut and put up with no rain – yahoo.

What’s in the Bucket:  carrots, beets, radish or hakurei turnips, turnip greens, arugula, tomatoes, winter squash, braising greens, okra and peppers.

Following, a great recipe for turnip greens – or braising greens – or you can mix them together.  You can use vegetable stock or chicken stock.

The secret to this dish lies in how Hernandez bucks Southern convention and forgoes pork (Madness, we know!) in favor of chicken stock and spikes the greens with flakes of chile de arbol. Enjoy!

Eddie’s Turnip Greens
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
6 cups cleaned, cooked and chopped turnip greens
1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 tbs chopped garlic
3 cups chicken stock
3 oz. margarine
1 tbss ground chili de arbol

Preparation:
In a saucepan saute onions, garlic and chili de arbol with margarine until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. Add cooked turnip greens and chicken stock, bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes then lower flame and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Happy eating and thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm!!

The spider’s touch, how exquisitely fine!
Feels at each thread, and lives along the line.
~Alexander Pope

They’re back!!  The writing spiders are back in full force.  I bet there are 200 of these big spiders in my tunnel.  I have to clear the doorway with my hoe every time I walk in there because they have a web stretched across the door.  I think they are beautiful, but honestly,  it’s intimidating to walk in there.  My tomatoes are kind of on their own!!

Farm News:  Last week of CSA summer session.  Please remember to put your buckets out for me, and I will leave a paper bag of goodies for you.

Also – Circle S Beef is back!!  We have been processing our steers and  if you signed up for a quarter of beef, you will be getting a call from me soon!!

What’s in the bucket?  The end of the garden will be in the bucket.  Whatever I can find out there for you – so no promises.  We have an assortment of winter squash, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes left.  Also bits and pieces of other things so – it will be a surprise.

Curried Winter Squash Soup

3 T unsalted butter

1 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 jalapeño pepper seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 # butternut, acorn and or blue hubbard squash or a combination; peeled, seeded and cubed

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups peeled chopped fresh tomatoes

12 whole fresh curry leaves (optional)

1/2 t ground allspice

1/4 t ground mace

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

2 t curry powder

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup fresh parsley for garnish

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add scallions, sauté 3 minutes.  Stir in parsley, jalapeño, and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Add squash, and toss to coat with scallion mixture.  Add stock, tomatoes, curry leaves, allspice, mace and nutmeg.  Bring to a boil;  reduce the heat and simmer, covered until the squash is very tender, about 45 minutes.  Let cool slightly.

Puree soup in batches in blender or food processor.

Transfer soup back to the pot.  Stir in curry powder and salt and pepper to taste.  Return soup to a simmer and heat through.  Garnish with parsley when serving.

Thanks so much for all your support this season.  I have enjoyed growing veggies for everyone, thanks for buying local food from our farm!!  If you signed up for the fall/winter session, it will begin the first of October.  You will be hearing from me soon…..

“When you are new at sheep-raising and your ewe has a lamb, your impulse is to stay there and help it nurse and see to it and all. After a while, you know that the best thing you can do is walk out of the barn.”
Wendell Berry

This is one of the hardest lessons in farming.  Nature can be cruel, to animals and crops, and more often than not there is nothing you can do to fix it.  It keeps things interesting!!

Farm news:  2 more weeks of CSA.  If you are a half share, this is your last week.  Please remember your buckets, I will be bringing your share in a brown paper bag.

What’s in the bucket:  baking potatoes, green and red tomatoes, acorn squash, peppers, okra, apples or concord grapes

Acorn squash salad:

2 medium acorn squash

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro

6 T orange or tangerine juice

3 T maple syrup

2 T candied ginger (or fresh)

1/2 t salt

1/8 t cayenne pepper

lettuce greens

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Place the squash halves cut sides down on a baking sheet.  Bake until tender, 30-45 minutes.  Cool completely, scoop out soft flesh and roughly chop.  Place in a bowl and set aside.

Combine olive oil, cilantro, orange juice, maple syrup, ginger, salt and cayenne in a blender or food processor.  Blend well.

Pour dressing over squash and toss gently.  Chill for at least 1 hour.

Serve over a bed of lightly dressed greens.

Happy eating and thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm

Do what we can, summer will have its flies. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Last night was Logan’s last night and now he’s headed home for the beginning of his school year.  We went to have dinner with Curtis’s family – a wonderful meal, breakfast for supper.  We had a grits casserole with Riverview farm grits, spicy sausage from Hoe Hop Valley farm, and eggs and tomatoes from Circle S.  For dessert – cinnamon rolls from Bountiful Blessings bakery.

We had a good laugh at all the fruit flies fighting for our food!  Finally, Jan (my sister in law) googled trapping fruit flies.  She came up with a home remedy for catching the little devils.  Dish soap, vinegar and water in a butter bowl.  So we mixed it up and sat it in the middle of the table.  Our entertainment for the evening was seeing how many fruit flies we could catch!!  You might be a redneck…..if you catch fruit flies for entertainment at dinner!

Farm News:  Three more weeks of our summer CSA.  The session ends August 27.  I am busy planting for the fall and winter CSA which starts in October.

What’s in the bucket?  Tomatoes, peppers, butternut squash, okra, baking potatoes, apples.

Hot Pepper Jelly

1/4 cup chopped hot peppers (use gloves)

6 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups chopped bell pepper (or other sweet peppers)

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 package Certo (do not substitute sure jel)

Mix first four ingredients together.  Boil 3 minutes.  Add certo, boil one minute.  Pour in hot, sterilized jelly jars.  Secure rings and lids.   Submerge in water bath for 15 minutes.  Remove from water bath and set on a towel to cool.  Do not disturb for 24 hours.  Make sure jars have sealed – if any have not, put them in the refrigerator.

“In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light

In summer quite the other way,

I have to go to bed by day.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

I’m always glad to see the days get shorter.  Some nights Curtis and I sit and wait for it to get dark so the chickens will go into their houses and we can close them up and go to bed.

We spent the weekend with my Mom and Dad in Blowing Rock.  The weather was a bit rainy but we had fun in spite of it!  Of course, we had to leave today and it was beautiful!

Farm News:  Hoping no news is good news.  We are headed home, so we’ll see.

What’s in the bucket?  Spaghetti squash, tomatoes, baking potatoes, okra, peppers, basil and apples.

Following – a recipe for spaghetti squash.  It calls for cherry tomatoes – but I think any tomato will do!!

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes, Basil, and Parmesan

Ingredients:

Directions:

Thanks for buying local food from our farm!!

“Answer July—
Where is the Bee—
Where is the Blush—
Where is the Hay?

Ah, said July—
Where is the Seed—
Where is the Bud—
Where is the May—
Answer Thee—Me—”
–  Emily Dickinson, Answer July 

Farm News:  Logan is finally here!! Yipee, we’ve been waiting all summer and he will be here until the second week in August.

Rooster crowing!!  One of our little chicks has started crowing.  It’s hard to tell whether a chick is a rooster or a hen until they get about 6 months old.  I usually can’t tell until they start crowing – which is what happened.  I listened out the window a few mornings ago and thought ‘what in the world is that?’.   It takes a while for a rooster to learn to crow, and their first attempts are downright pitiful.  He’s feeling pretty proud of himself, though, and I saw him sitting on the gate the other day crowing and looking at our other, much bigger rooster.  He’ll learn about that other rooster soon enough.

What’s in the bucket?  Lots of maters and peppers, okra, white potatoes, field peas OR sweet corn OR eggplant (all of which are fading fast), berries

If you get totally overrun with peppers, they freeze great for cooked dishes.  Chop some up and freeze them, then when you are making sauces or soups this winter, you can just grab them out of the freezer.  I also make a batch of pepper jelly every year, which is fairly simple.

Stuffed Peppers

ingredients

• 3 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 (4-ounce) can green chiles
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup fresh diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 6 bell peppers, tops cut, stemmed and seeded

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine quinoa, green chiles, corn, beans, tomatoes, cheeses, cilantro, cumin, garlic, onion and chili powder, salt and pepper, to taste.
• Spoon the filling each each bell pepper cavity. Place on prepared baking dish, cavity side up, and bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through, about 25-30 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

The diligent farmer plants trees,
of which he himself will
never see the fruit.
-Cicero

I think this quote has truth that goes beyond farming.

Curtis and I moved to this farm over 12 years ago, and we inherited all the previous farmer’s hard work.  There were over a dozen mature fruit trees and blueberry bushes.  They planted those apple trees probably 30 years before we ever arrived, and we are now reaping the fruit from those trees.  Whoever comes after us will also have apples and blueberries, but also grapes.  And it goes on.

The truth is, most things in life are this way.  Sometimes it takes years to see the benefit (or treachery) of our actions.  I hope that as a culture and a nation, we are planting trees….

Farm News:  Skunk in the feed room.  Makes me nervous to go in there!~!

What’s in the bucket?  Tomatoes, tomatoes tomatoes.  Cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, roma tomatoes!!!  Onions, sweet corn, field peas, white potatoes, peppers, basil and berries.  (Hoorah – no cabbage or kale!!)

Tomatoes freeze great.  If you are overwhelmed – freeze them.  You can even freeze them whole, and the peels will magically come off when they thaw!!

Classic Tomato Sauce

2 # tomatoes, peeled and chopped

5 T unsalted butter

1 medium onion, minced

1 carrot chopped

1 stalk celery chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

1/4 cup dry red wine

3/4 t salt

1/2 t dried thyme

black pepper

2 T thinly sliced basil

Cook tomatoes partially covered for 45 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally and and breaking up with the back of a spoon.  Transfer tomatoes and juices to a bowl.

Melt butter over medium heat.  Add onions, cook until soft.  Add celery and carrot, cook for 3 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook a minute more.

Add wine and bring to a simmer.  Cook 2 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, salt, thyme, and pepper to taste.  Cook at a very light simmer, stirring occasionally, until it becomes a thick sauce, about 45 minuets.  Remove from heat and stir in basil.

-from The Real Dirt cookbook

Thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm!!

“A cooked tomato is like a cooked oyster: ruined.”
Andre Simon (1877-1970)
‘The Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy’

I love tomatoes, cooked or raw, but at the beginning of every tomato season I can’t get enough of a sliced tomato.  Tomato sandwich, gazpacho….  and the sungold tomato (yellow cherry tomato) a little ball of sunshine.

More firsts and lasts this week.  First week of heirloom tomatoes!!  Hopefully everyone will get a big fat juicy tomato.  Also, lots of roma tomatoes getting ripe.  First week of blackberries or blueberries, both are starting to come in.  Last week of carrots, cabbage (oh yeah – I said last week of cabbage last week.  It keeps hanging in there!!)  Last week of cucumbers and summer squash.

You will be getting blue potatoes this week.  While potatoes usually get a bad nutritional rap, blue potatoes have been proven to lower blood pressure.  They also have higher levels of polyphenol antioxidants that protect body cells against free radical damage that can increase disease risk.  So eat them with no remorse!!

Farm News:  It’s been pretty quiet on the farm this week.  We did have a group of girls from Camp DeSoto come for a flower cutting class Friday.  It was really a hoot.  20 girls 10-12 years old cutting and making flower bouquets.   Otis received more attention than any of the flowers!!

What’s in the bucket? Blue potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, carrots, okra or eggplant, savoy or purple cabbage, black or blue berries, cucumbers or squash.

Beat the heat with some GAZPACHO:

1 cup each, chopped: tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, celery.

1/4 cup minced spring onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 t dried chives

1 clove garlic minced

1 T fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 t worcestershire

2 cups tomato juice

1 t sugar

1/8 t tabasco

1 t fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together!  I like to chop everything and have a chunky gazpacho that I can dip with chips or eat as a soup.  However, it would be easier to put everything in a food processor and puree the soup.

Thanks for buying local food from our farm.  Enjoy!!

Happy 4th of July-

We have some firsts and lasts to look forward to in the bucket this week.  There are a lot of either/ors in your bucket list, as will happen when we change seasons.

We’ll start with the lasts….last week of KALE- enjoy your last delicious bunch of kale and toast to your health.  Also, last week of CABBAGE…make some kraut and it will last you the rest of the year, and keep your guts in good working order!!  And lastly…last week of carrots.  Carrots keep well, so you should be able to make them last a month or so if you wish.

Firsts:  first week of tomatoes…yeah, yipee, what everyone looks forward to.  First week of eggplant and okra.  First week of peppers.

Farm news:  Curtis and I have been fencing this week, working on our new piece of property.  We had hoped to have it fenced by April and it is now July.  We are about halfway there….but perfect weather today for fencing!!

We are over halfway through our summer session… on the downhill side.

What’s in the bucket:  kale, savoy and/or red cabbage, summer squash and/or cucumbers, eggplant or okra, cherry or big tomatoes, peppers.  Still waiting on berries…should be coming next week.

Lacto-fermented Sauerkraut

If you want to experiment with your kraut go for it.  I’ve added everything from fennel to fresh turmeric to mine, and love the different flavors.  Just make sure when you are fermenting it that all the vegetables are covered in the brine.

Here is a basic recipe to work from…makes 2 quarts…adapted from Nourishing Traditions

1 pound cabbage shredded

2 T sea salt

1 T caraway seeds

Put all ingredients in a bowl.  Use a meat hammer or can from the pantry and pound the cabbage in the bowl for a full 10 minutes until it releases its juices.

Transfer cabbage to 2 clean quart jars leaving an inch of head space.  Make sure the liquid covers the cabbage, if not, add some salt water to cover.  Screw on lids.  Let stand on the counter for 3 days.  by the second day you should notice bubbles in the jar and the jars will hiss…this is good.

Store jars in a cool, dark cellar or in your refrigerator.  Should keep for at least 6 months.