Thoughts on 2012 and dreaming of 2013

Well its the last day of the year and I am sitting in my cozy living room with my dog Lulu curled up beside me taking her 4th nap of the day. Lulu is a serious napper she takes it to a ninja level of seriousness.  I am about to make a few baguettes to bring down state to my Brother Dave's house later today as I will be spending New Years Eve down there with a few of their friends and my niece and nephews. I will be leaving my husband Tommy here to take care of Lulu and to make sure the chickens are nice and warm in their happy little coop which makes me sad but he is not much of a party person and in the long run will probably be happier here but I know later we will be missing each other something awful. Its hard for both of us to leave the farm because we don't really have a support system in place hopefully one day maybe even this upcoming year we will meet some like minded vegetable growing make your own laundry soap kind of  folks to hang out with and then we can leave the homestead together with friends in place to watch our farm with the promise to return the favor as soon as needed.

The seed catalogs have started to arrive and its one of my favorite times of the year that paired with the 2013 NOFA-NY winter conference happening in Saratoga later in January there are things to look forward to during these cold winter months. I already have lots of new ideas and plans for the upcoming year concerning both growing vegetables as 3 Dogs Barking Farms and becoming more self-reliant. Also in January I will be taking a pretty intensive Beekeeping class with SABA (Southern Adirondack Beekeeping Association) I am really looking forward to it and already have my first homework assignment. Should be interesting to see if I am still the wicked procrastinator I was in school for some reason I have a picture of myself sitting in the parking lot before class trying to finish the chapter. Oh well we shall see. So bees will be added to the picture this year which i am really excited for cant wait to get honey and beeswax which will be one more thing we are supplying for ourselves and maybe we will even have some extra to sell at market. What else? Well I think I am going to grow some wheat too just a small patch 250 sq feet or so. Not sure how much it will yield but I cant wait to give it a shot. I think growing your own wheat to make your own bread is pretty much the penultimate homesteader dream. I actually want the straw too I always need it and never have enough money to buy it so there will be one more problem that we solve for ourselves. Super neat - well if it works out.... So those are the two new enterprises we will look forward to in 2013 And to be honest probably all my schedule will be able to handle working a full time job off-farm.

Thoughts on 2012? Well we finally got to market and I think we held our own. It was more fun that I thought it was going to be and more work too. It amazes me how much work it takes to get the vegies to market. In the past growing for just ourselves I never had to worry about how much time it takes to pick wash package and store food correctly so it makes it to market looking and tasting its best. And seriously I didn't know how to do a lot of it and had to ask lots of questions and to be honest I am still figuring a lot of it all out. But we still did it and look forward to the promise of 2013 we need to grow A LOT more food if we are going to make a decent profit this year but I think we have enough space out there in the backyard to get a bit more than 1/4 acre under production. I think this year we will make a new bed just for tomatoes and then I am really looking to hopefully finally doing  the 3 sisters which i have been threatening to do for years now But to grow corn, beans, and winter squash all in the same bed providing each other what they need to thrive I think is great and because its the way the Native Americans did it makes it all the more exciting.

So thoughts and dreams of 2013? Growing more food for starters. Also going to try this winter to grow some lettuce hydroponically so we have something to sell during winter. I also really need to work on feeling better in my own skin as 3 Dogs Barking Farms. I seem to struggle with our size and never really feel like a real farmer. I remember at my first NOFA-NY conference the question in a beginning farmers seminar was when are you considered a real farmer and the answer was when you sell your first product. Well I have done that many times now and I still feel like a poseur calling myself a farmer I sometimes will even describe us a small time vegetable growers and not farmers. What the difference is I don't know. So where does my reluctance come from? Maybe because we are so small I don't feel legitimate maybe because I still work full time off farm and probably always will unless we when the lottery. I don't know but I hope to get over it in the upcoming year I even got the 2012 census of Agriculture from the USDA addressed to 3 Dogs Barking Farms but I still don't feel like its real. Maybe because it feels to good to be true? That something I wanted I actually accomplished? Maybe that's it. I've never been a dreamer maybe I never really dared too but I had a small one and we made it happen so here's to feeling like a farmer and maybe even dreaming larger dreams and making them happen too in the upcoming year. Maybe some sheep?  So Happy New Year hope you are all dreaming dreams and doing small things to make them come true. Cheers.

Never feeling like I fit in or angst and fear in the modern age

I don't think I have ever fit in and maybe that's just my view of me and maybe everyone feels like that and I am just a dork. Well I know I'm a dork that goes without saying. I just put in a Chet baker cd so this post might get a little maudlin and that is kind of the mood I've been in lately so brace yourself. Growing up I did ballet everyone else did little league my parents had cocktails before dinner and we never ate before 7:30 my friends drank soda and were finished with dinner by 6pm. But being a square peg has been a major building block to my personality and one to be honest I am proud of. I don't want to fit in I never have. I am 43 years old and most days I still wear all black. Its just what I am comfortable in. I'm not saying I'm cool because I'm pretty sure I'm not and that too is okay..... Okay what does any of this have to do with trying to grow vegetables?

There are so many people that I have either come into contact with locally or through reading peoples blogs that are doing what I am trying to do in concept either on a much bigger scale or even a smaller scale and everyone is freaking 30 years old. OMG what the hell why did you all figure out what you wanted to do so many years before I did. What did you get that took me longer to get? I have lived here for 8 years why did it take me so long to figure it out? Why do I always feel like I missed the freaking bus? But on the other hand I am so happy all these young brilliant people are doing what they are doing reading their blogs about their own struggles is so inspiring I mean these kids are freaking working. Its freaking awesome.

So I walk around mumbling to myself you don't have sheep you don't have goats you don't offer a csa you don't have acres and acres you cant weed efficiently to save your life so what are you doing here? The fear and loathing sometimes get very loud in my head and then I have to take a deep breath and say you are doing what you are doing because growing vegetables on your little plot of land makes you unabashedly happy. So I have to yell at myself and say who gives a shit what anyone else is doing what is important is that you are doing what you want to do and do it the best you can even if it means you fail a lot. But failing ain't so bad I learn a lot from doing stupid stuff probably not when I'm doing whatever it is that is stupid or silly but later I usually learn. Well sometimes at least.

I guess I just would like to find the clubhouse labeled 40 somethings who have kinda figured it out but most likely probably not.

November the 11th and things are still growing...k

So far one of my favorite favorite things this year is that its almost the middle of November and there is still stuff growing out there. Now that's cool. There are cabbages, and Brussels sprouts, leeks, rainbow chard, spinach, red pak choi, arugula, and salad mix. I like farming in this nice chilly weather too its not hot and sticky there aren't many bugs but I did give myself a little frost bite the other morning picking cabbages for drop off at market. I guess as with everything there are always pros and cons.

lulu and the salad mix

Red Pak Choi

Lulu looking cute with the salad mix red pak choi getting ready for a stir fry or something else you might do with it.

Rainbow Chard and Romanesco Cauliflower still growing the chard is under ag-19 to keep it snuggly.

I am surprised how late it is in the season and how much there still is going on gives me great hope that once I get the high tunnel planted for the winter and early spring we will be able to grow food almost 12 months a year which would be amazing. Which is great because apparently growing vegetables makes me absurdly happy and if I can get that rush 12 months a year even better! One of my goals this year was to provide some if not all the vegetables for Thanksgiving this year. Now we fell short of that goal of ALL but we will provide brussels sprouts and a butternut squash or two so that's not too shabby! And as always another one of my favorite aspects of farming is the hope of next year. Things that we will do better at, things to grow that we have never grown before, and of course things we will probably mess up that we haven't messed up before bugs and diseases we haven't tangled with before but for now I will look forward to the positive stuff and just accept the negative as it comes hopefully a little of it as possible will come our way.  Happy growing and eating!

The hope of next year garlic planted and strawberries!

[Recipe Idea] What to do with mini bell peppers? Stuff em!

At the last outdoor market last week a customer was actually happy that many of our bell peppers were on the small side. Now that's something I like to hear and in talking to him he gave me this great idea of what to do with them. We are making it right now and I got to tell you it looks amazing and it really couldn't be easier. Here are the general guidelines:

Ingredients:
12 small bell peppers (about 3-4 inches long)
1 lb meatball mix (I have included one I used below)
4 cups or so marinara sauce
4 TB olive oil
Shredded provolone or parm to taste.
Method:

1) Cut tops of peppers off and take out seeds and ribs.
2) Stuff peppers with meatball mix and level off.
3) Heat oil in large saute pan and add peppers meat side down. Saute for a few minutes until sealed and nice and brown. Turn peppers on their sides and continue to brown.
4) Once peppers are browned on all sides add tomato sauce turn heat down to low and simmer for about 30 minutes until peppers are nice and soft and the stuffing is cooked through.


Serve over pasta or rice. yum


My really quick meatball mix:
1 lb ground beef of your choice (you could also use meatloaf mix if you like)
1 egg
1 piece of bread
3 TB milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 TB dried oregano
1 tsp hot pepper flakes

Mix egg, bread, milk, salt, pepper and spices together and add to ground meat. Mix together until incorporated.


Okay just finished cooking this and oh my god it is good! Try it now with all those peppers you pulled small today because its might frost tonight. Okay now that I am eating this I would call this the Italian version but if you have some ancho poblanos I would use this same premise but change the meatball mix to maybe a tex- mex version adding cumin chili power and cilantro and use similar seasonings in the tomato sauce use the same method I think it would be off the hook.

Our first market season wrap-up....sorry this is a long one.

Well the last outdoor market was last Saturday and it was rainy and cold out so it made it much easier to get our heads around the end of our first market season. As I am sure I have mentioned before I am a lazy "farmer" and am quite honestly looking forward to having Saturdays "off" again and not having to wake up before 6am to pick vegetables. On the other hand Tommy and I have seriously enjoyed going to market more than I think we expected too. Its kind of like being on a game show trying to get the display setup in time....pick the vegetables, wash the vegetables, pack the vegetables, pack the car, remember not to forget anything, get coffee ice and change if needed, drive to market, un-pack car, setup table and umbrella, don't forget to put up our sign, un-load veggies display vegetables in a pleasing manner, put out the prices, check the clock tick tock tick tock 9am open for business.... Now our display is tiny comparative to the big guys so I cant even imagine what they must go through! Its going to free up a lot of brain space for me since I spend a lot of the time driving to my day job thinking about what we are going to have ready for market I guess I will have to start thinking about what to grow for next year now instead. But that's okay that's one of my favorite parts of this whole thing the lure of next year....

Now lets talk about how we did this year. I think both Tommy and I are pleasantly surprised how well we did. There were only a few times that our display came close to "radish guy" territory (see previous post for neurotic musings about radish guy) and that in itself is awesome. Some weeks we had a lot some weeks not so much but I think all in all our offerings were always colorful and well presented and as our market manager put in one of the newsletters "and 3 Dogs Barking Farms will have a little of everything" but I take that as a compliment to be able to have such a varied offering from only 1/4 acre plot ain't a bad thing. But one really nice thing she said was what we do have is always beautifully fresh now that's a high compliment. I really do pick either the night before or the morning of so you wont be seeing something that didn't sell last week return this week. Maybe when I successfully grow storage crops like onions that will be the exception but I even dig potatoes pretty much for each market. Maybe not the best way to do things but so far its my way.

So what about next year? What do we do the same what do we do different whats our 5 year plan? Big questions that need some thought but I think we have definitely proved to ourselves that this can be done you can get to market and do pretty well with only 1/4 acre of so under cultivation. We need (or I) need to work on succession planting more and of course as always stop procrastinating about getting things done when they need to be done.  But I grew a ton of stuff for the first time this year with quite a bit of success but then on the flip side I grew stuff I have always grown and got my hat handed to me. Damn flea beetles till we meet again next year don't worry you little varmint this time I will be prepared....and that goes to you mr. vole you just try and eat ALL my beets next year. But that's another thing you have to remember last year was last year this year was this year and who the hell knows what next year will bring. You seriously have to be able to roll with the punches and adapt when trying to grow food and that goes for the person growing food for the family in a 12x12 garden, me growing food for two markets in my backyard, the 4 acre guy, and the mega huge soybean grower in the Midwest. You really just never know what next year will bring be it good or bad.

Immediate plans? The fall stuff is going strong and hope to start having more available to sell on the online market we sell on (www.farmiemarket.com/saratoga) soon.  Check it out if you haven't already its a great service with great products from some awesome local farms and vendors. Also hoping to get my head around trying to grow salad mix, head lettuce, and spinach throughout the winter in our small high tunnel for farmiemarket so customers (and us too) have access to great fresh greens when its knee deep with snow outside. Fingers crossed!

Recipe: Potato Leek Soup

I just plucked the first two leeks out of the garden and I think its time to make my favorite soup above all....potato leek. Its a little chilly out tonight and fall is in the air so whats better than a nice warm yummy soup for dinner. Depending on taste you can either leave it chunky or I puree it in a blender or you can use a stick emulsion blender. Don't use a food processor it will make a mess and it will make glue. So here is my recipe I hope you enjoy!

my beautiful homegrown leeks!

Ingredients:

2 medium or 1 large Leek
2  lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 32 oz box of chicken stock or homemade if you have it
2 tbs butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup Half and Half

1) Prep Veggies:  Cut the tough green leaves and the stem end off leaving all the white and a couple of nice inches of the green. I usually split mine down the middle lengthwise and the slice into 1/2" half moons. Leeks are notoriously dirty so after I slice them I wash them well making sure to get rid of all the dirt and sand attached. Peel Potatoes and cut into a medium nice about 1/2 inch or so.

everything melding together in butter.

2) Heat butter over medium low heat. Once it is slightly brown toss in leeks with a about a 1/4 tsp of salt. Cook leeks about 5-7 minutes add diced potatoes and continuing cooking stirring all together for another 3 or 4 minutes. Add chicken stock, 1/4 tsp salt and a few grindings of black pepper (to taste) and cook for 30 minutes over medium low heat stirring occasionally or until the potatoes are fork tender.

potatoes almost tender

3) Once the potatoes are tender add the cream over low heat bring back to heat but do not boil. At this point you can serve it as is or puree until smooth. My husband hates smooth soups and I hate chunky ones so after I add the cream using a ladle take a couple of cups of the soup and puree it in a blender then add some back to thicken his version and eat the rest as is for myself. Taste before serving adjusting salt and adding more black pepper to finish.

the chunky version

the smooth yummy version

This soup can also be served cold in summer in the French manner of Vichyssoise.  This can also be made with vegetable stock or even water and the cream too is optional but its yummy! Likewise the butter can be swapped for an oil of choice if dairy is a concern. Trust me its good in any shape or form!

Recipe: Mixed Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce

Okay its that time of year where you might have a surplus of cherry tomatoes in your garden or maybe you bought too many of the tempting little devils at the farmers market this weekend. We ended up not selling all of ours and there were too many to eat so while I was putting up sauce for this winter I made a batch using the excess cherries. Now we have a mix of several different kinds including, red zebra, blush, black cherry, tomatoberry, sakura, a small paste tomato but any mix will do. I did include a can of diced tomatoes too to give it a little more body since the cherry tomatoes aren't as meaty as a regular tomato.

the cherry tomatoes on display at market!

Ingredients:

3 pints mixed cherry tomatoes, washed stems removed

1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes (or whatever you have on hand)

1 large garlic clove sliced

3 tbl olive oil

1 tsp salt or to taste or salt conscious

1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes

basil of choice (I used fino verde because I had it left over and the leaves are so small it needs no chopping!

Method:

Heat olive oil in a sauce pan toss in garlic and brown very slightly. Toss in cherry tomatoes and stir to incorporate over low to medium heat. 

The cherries getting yummy with the garlic and evoo. The pan is dirty from the previous batch of sauce but i just wiped it out figuring the remnants would just add flavor.

Cook for 5-10 minutes until cherries start to break down. Once they have starting to let off their juice add the diced tomatoes salt and pepper flakes and wine. Continue cooking over low heat stirring occasionally for 45 minutes. Now depending on your likes and dislikes you can either leave the sauce as it is use for dinner freeze for later or if you are into canning can it for winter. I however abhor seeds and skins cant stand em not a one so I pass my finish product through a food mill to achieve a nice consistent seed free sauce. If you want it a bit smoother but not as nutty as I am you can also use a potato masher to get a finer consistency.

Finished product if you like it chunky.

Post production notes when I tasted the sauce it was sweeter than I expected so I added a bit more salt again up to you! I would add basil here at the end if this is as far as you want to go with it. Use the Fino Verde its pretty awesome leaves so small they really don't require any knife work which I think benefits the taste. If you are crazy like me and like no seeds this is what it looks like after I passed it through a food mill I at first didn't use the smallest disc I had and it let the smaller cherry tomato seeds through so I had to change discs and use the smallest I had which turned out just fine.

Finished product after being run through the finest disc on a food mill. As you can see the color is a little lighter due to the different color tomatoes used. 

Riff on this recipe which came to me when I took this picture. After the tomatoes start to breakdown add a 1/2 cup or so of chicken stock cook as above add some cream and some black pepper and you would probably have a seriously tasty tomato soup.