Tricks . . .

This is Jan Blomgrem's favorite week of the year when Halloween is just around the bend and the competition arises to see who can come up with the best tricks. In the past Jan has stashed everything from plastic limbs and severed hands in the old carrot patch to stuffed rats and critters in our bins of unprocessed veggies. The skunk in this picture was part of a season long problem with the real thing lurking around our barns and occationaly getting its hands on a garbage can, so you can probably imagine what we all thought when we walked in on this stuffed little guy. Laughs and kudos to Jan. Thought she didn't get me with this one, I was stunned by the scarecrow in the outhouse who didn't say anything when I knocked. That got everyone! I wish we had a camera to record our faces.

Only days away is our annual costume party and we take it very seriously. No one tells what they are going as and the evening is filled with amazing actors who battle for prizes on best costume and actor. Look for pictures this weekend.

More Salsa!

Salsa making in the morning was not enough! The crew enjoyed a fantastic show at Symphony Space preformed by the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. In other words, another batch of Salsa. There were couples dancing on stage and off as well as some of the big names of Latin Jazz keeping us entertained all night. What an amazing end to our New York Trip! Thank you Prospect Heights for having us!

Canning Workshop

My Saturday morning was spent meeting new city folks and teaching the basics of canning. We set to work preparing onions, peppers, tomatoes, and chiles for a big batch of salsa. Even the elevator in the building smelled like spicy goodness, and I was so grateful to Lynn for hosting us in her beautiful apartment! Everyone got to take home five jars made from Windflower vegetables after going step by step through the process of creating a shelf-stable salsa. We tasted and chatted about the Farm, most of the crew was to answer questions and join the fun.

I learned a little bit about the process of composting in the city and someone was kind enough to take the bag of veggie stuff off to be composted. Big difference from the countryside where I'd never have to think about what to do with a pile of tomato skins and pepper seeds. Thank you to both the old and new faces who came out to join the workshop. We are considering a more frequent canning schedule where I will come down from Windflower and hold a group canning session for a small fee. Everything would be provided and each member would go home with several jars of the product we make. It'd be everything from pickles, chutney and salsa to jams, canned fruits for baking with and mustards.

Can't wait to see more of you next year! Feel free to post any questions you may have about canning or if you'd like a recipe.

Day Two: New York City

My favorite moment so far was today when I ventured into a store that I believed would be the little bit of familiarity since I shop there at my local mall, but it turned out to be five levels with dozens of departments in which I couldn't even find a pair of tights. I laughed every time I asked for directions because I was asking for directions inside a building. Other than that, I've enjoyed mochas and almond danishes at the Penny House Cafe on Washington st. In Brooklyn. Coffee is definitely better in the city. And what's this about Ramen bars? I love it! We make fun of Ramen up in the countryside. It costs 12 cents a package and we eat it when there's nothing else! I want to eat at one just to say that I did.

Tonight we had a gathering at Bar Sepia with several of the CSA members and were able to chat and enjoy some mixed drinks while experiencing a little Brooklyn night life. Eventually the party moved to Johanna's place and her little backyard was filled with guitars and drumming and the Brooklyn beer we've come to love. Tomorrow I'm holding a salsa making workshop for shareholders, so I have to get some sleep.

More adventures tomorrow!

Traveling to New York City

It felt like a long day at work anticipating our now annual trip to the city. There was talk of the things we would do, of the items we still needed to pack, and that tid-bit of planning everyone had held off until the last day. Now here we are snuggly set into the back of our bus headed down into Brooklyn. I'm excited to see what the city will look like when come upon in the dark. Will I be able to see it from a distance with all the lights slowly trading places with the stars or will it come out of nowhere like a flashing sign?

Daren brought a whole library of books that he ended up sharing with most of us. I picked through one that I've wanted to buy, but decided to look at first. It's about growing grain on a small scale, particularly organic, and so far I've liked what I've read. I only own an acre of land, but if I could grow grain for my chickens, some for bread and a little for beer, that would be fun. Enough talk of the country, I need to get into the city mindset for the next few days in order to protect my sanity. New York is so overwhelming for me and its not the subways or directions I must learn to follow, its the sound that is never quiet. Where I live I prefer to listen to everything because its like a heartbeat or pulse telling you that things are alive and what exactly is alive. One engine roar in a field can tell you who is coming or going and why. It's a hunter mentality. . . knowing the land around you and the sounds it makes. The city makes my mind tired. Tired from trying to understand something with thousands of heartbeats all at once.

Just an hour and a half to go before our arrival. See you in New York.

Challenge Met!

My husband had to question me when I can home with a bag of shrimp. He asked me if I wasn't planning to eat dinner. I smiled and explained the challenge here on the Windflower blog, then told him that I didn't have the heart to buy all the other seafood ingredients that the original recipe suggested.

Needless to say, Jeremy enjoyed his part of the seafood and chard recipe that night, the rest followed me to the farm the next day. I must comment that the dish was extremely easy to make and used minimal yet flavorful ingredients. By lunch the next day, the flavors had melded very well. Most folks still gave it an uncertain eye, but tried it anyway. The spicy nature, though subtle, was the most negative comment worth mention. I tried to put a picture in this post, but smartphone keeps giving me trouble. Take my word for it, the finished dish looked beautiful!

Overall Rating: * * * three stars

Next Up! Morrocian Eggplant

P.s. So we here that many of the city folks email Ted saying they don't know what to do with so many potatoes! Gasp! Let us country folk help. This dish is great with eggs for breakfast or as a dinner side.


POTATOES with CARAMELIZED ONIONS

4 medium potatoes
2 medium onions
2 tbsp butter or olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup feta cheese, or any other kind you prefer
a pinch of dried basil

Peel the onions, halve them, and cut into thin slices. Heat the butter in a 12 inch skilet and add the onions, stirring to coat. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into quarter inch slices (I like to leave mine whole, but you can quarter them first if you like). Arrange the potatoes over the onions in a single layer, sprinkle with salt, cover and cook on medium heat for fifteen minutes.

Flip the potatoes and onions with a spatula, recover and cook 10 more minutes or until fork tender. Turn off heat. Top with the feta and basil, recover and let sit until cheese to slightly melted. Serve hot or cold.