This farm is so much more than just a parcel of land that we grow vegetables on. To us, it's the culmination of years of daydreaming, planning, and endless amounts of reading. The husband and I will be celebrating our 7th anniversary this coming week. Eight years ago, when we first met, one of the first things that we bonded over was a mutual interest and desire to farm and provide for ourselves, and one day, our family. As we began our self-education, we learned that what we wanted had a name: Homesteading.
The basic premise behind homesteading is simple: To provide as much as possible for yourself and your family with your own hands, labor, and knowledge. Some people are fortunate, and have older relatives and friends from which to learn many of these skills. We are not those people, and have spent a great deal of time - particularly in the last few years - constantly acquiring and practicing new skills.
With me headed back into the work force in less than two weeks, a lot of our energy and spare time has been focused on getting a good head start on our pantry and freezer for the winter. We've made laundry soap (okay, not food, but still pretty vital for this family!), pickles, and relish; frozen pounds of blueberries, zucchini, and corn; and are in the process of canning blueberry preserves, as well as baking bread to put away in the freezer. Needless to say, it's been a pretty hectic couple of weeks, and it looks like that pace is only going to continue.
I love the intensity and excitement of summertime, but come August I am typically looking forward to cool weather signalling the slow-down of our home life. C'est la vie! It will come soon enough. In the meantime, feel free to shower me with caffeinated goodies and encouraging words, because this marathon is far from over!
My laundry soap, at the halfway done point. I've been using this recipe for several years now, and I love it! Not only did I make 1-1/2 gallons for about $8, but it cleans out dirt and grease better than any commercial detergent I've used, with the added bonus of not irritating my husband's and son's sensitive skin.
We managed to get to Thomas Blueberry Farm twice this season, and came home with around 23 pounds of delicious blueberries total. I'm looking forward to enjoying these all winter long.
Obviously, the first thing I did was make a pie with it. Summer is not complete without a blueberry pie a la mode.
A good bit of it has made it into the freezer, with several pounds yet to come. The second tray that you see in the picture full of Chicken Zucchini Patties (you can find the recipe in my week 10 post. My preferred method for freezing food is worth the little bit of extra effort it takes. I line a baking pan (I definitely recommend one with sides) with wax paper, and lay whatever I'm freezing out in a single layer. Then I put it in the freezer for 5-6 hours (or overnight). After everything is thoroughly frozen, then I put it into freezer bags. It's so much easier to remove the proper portion later, as nothing is frozen together!
A batch of sweet and spicy pickles in the works. We have both cucumbers and zucchini in this brine. The red pieces you see are whole dried chilies.
I had to take another picture of our lettuce this week. I'm so proud of this product. Admittedly, it's not the most exciting thing that we grow, but it is the most essential. This season, our lettuce mix has become the backbone of our operation, and we've harvested at least 300 pounds since our 2017 season officially started.
We're trying something new at the market this week - single-serve salad kits, featuring cucamelons and tomatoes. Just wash and add dressing. What a great way to get a small taste of what Nantahala Heirloom Farm has to offer!
Last week saw a soft start to our ground cherry season. We have a limited number of boxes available for sale. Come get them while you can! They didn't last long on the table last week, and I expect them to fly quickly again!
CSA shares will be receiving - Little Gem Lettuce, Tomatoes, Ground Cherries, Lemon Basil, Opal Basil, and Soy Beans.
Two very, very simple recipes for you this week. High quality ingredients don't need a lot of fussing to really shine, so we're going to celebrate simplicity.
First off, let's talk about chocolate-covered ground cherries. You can use either dark or milk chocolate. That's totally up to your personal preference.
Peel your ground cherries, but DO NOT remove the husk. If you take a look at the picture above, you can see that the husk has been gently pulled backwards This makes a nifty little handle. Melt your chocolate. Holding onto your new husk handle, dip each ground cherry in chocolate, and set down on a parchment-lined tray.
When all your ground cherries are covered, place your tray in the fridge, and allow your chocolate to set, 1-2 hours. Pat yourself on the back! You've made a fancy dessert, and hardly done any work at all.
We have a new offering this week - Soy Beans, or Edamame. One of my favorite ways to enjoy these is simply to boil them. This is definitely a veggie that needs to be cooked to be enjoyed. And once you've boiled them, you can add them to basically anything that you can dream up.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil on the stove. (You could lightly salt the water if that is your preference, but for soy beans, I prefer the water to be pretty aggressively salted. The short cook time and tough pod mean that not much salt will penetrate to the bean itself.) While your water is coming to a boil, thoroughly rinse off your soy beans. Add the beans to the water when it begins to boil, and back off the heat just a little bit, so your pot doesn't boil over. Boil for 10 minutes.
This is the point that I like to take mine out, when they're a little on the al dente side, but you can cook them for 5 more minutes if you prefer yours a little more done. To test the done-ness, simply, carefully, remove a bean from the water, and rinse under cold water to cool. Squeeze out a soy bean. If you like them, pour the pot into a colander. If not, let them cook a little longer, and taste a bean every couple of minutes until they're as done as you like them.
Once your beans are ready, pour them into a colander, but do not rinse . Enjoy as is for a tasty snack, or remove from the shell, and throw your cooked soy beans into stir-fry, curry, fried rice, or whatever else you can dream of.
That's all for now! As always, we look forward to seeing you at market! Happy eating!
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