The Weblog
…from Farm Where Life is Good
We’ll give you an insider’s view of life and growing on the farm. Share the excitement of a great harvest and experience the disappointment of a crop failure.
We have it all!
Spinach/carrots/garlic/honey at mini-market Drop site #1-- Inver Grove Heights
Persephone is back from Hades
Farm Where Life is Good
Farm News
How about that Saturday, huh! We were tanning in the high tunnel workin’ the spinach in 70+deg temps. Quite nice to shed the coat and work in shirt-sleeves while tidying and harvesting…and tanning!
The Persephone Period has past, and the spinach sure knows it! The little fellers are perked up and reaching for the sky. Here’s to hoping those fridgid nights are past and spinach distribution can resume…we will be setting up the mini-farmer’s market in front of the Inver Grove Heights Animal Hospital each day. We are offering bagged (sweet, sweet) spinach and a small variety of other things for sale (cash only, self-serve.) Check in at the farm phone (715 426-7582) if you want to confirm the table is out, but usually open by 9am and closed by 5pm, Mon—Wed—Fri. (It varies a bit with Razz’ traveling schedule.)
So, get your spinach fix and check out these carrots! We have some fabulous garlic heads too; everyone needs some “kapow” in their diet this time of year. And honey, honey, honey.
Mini-Market Location:
7131 Cahill Ave
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076
Table to the left of the front door
For the really local folks, we welcome on-farm sales with a “heads-up” call too, so let us know. 715 426 7582
You won’t believe it, but this is delightful— piping hot poured over a huge pile of lightly steamed spinach. Whew, gotta have it!
3 medium red potatoes (about 4×3in)
? of a medium red pepper (about 4×3in)
2 orange carrots (about 5×1in size)
½ small sweet mild onion (about 3in diam.)
4 medium garlic cloves, roasted
½ cup raw cashews
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or seasoned rice vinegar
¾ teaspoon chickpea miso
½ teaspoon mustard seed powder
½ teaspoon paprika
1 ½ teaspoons Himalayan pink salt or sea salt
If you haven’t roasted the garlic, peel and mix with a splash of veggie broth. Wrap in tin foil, and/or parchment and roast at 400 degrees in a regular or toaster oven, about 20-25 minutes, until garlic just starts browning.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook potatoes (skins on), red pepper, carrots and onion until potatoes are soft enough to pierce with a fork, about 25 minutes. Drain veggies and place on plate to cool slightly. You can reserve some of the cooking water to thin out sauce if needed, depending on what you are using it for.
Place potatoes only into a high speed blender (if you don’t have a high speed blender use a regular one, but consistency may not be as creamy, smooth or gooey). Blend on high until you get a gooey sticky consistency. If you have a Vitamix, use the tamper tool to push down the potatoes. If you don’t have one, then you will need to stop and push down the potatoes every once in a while.
Once potatoes are blended and gooey, add pepper, carrots, onion and garlic to the blender and blend again until smooth.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend. If you want to thin it out, add some of the reserved cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency.
Keep this cheeze sauce in the fridge. It will thicken as it cools so when you take it out, heat it slowly and mix well to get the smoothness back. Add water if you need to thin it out. You can also freeze leftovers in a freezer safe container as it freezes great. Defrost slowly when ready to eat. You may think it didn’t freeze well, but as you heat it up the consistency comes back with a bit of mixing!
To make the ultimate Mac n Cheeze:
Cook your pasta according to package directions.
Drain pasta reserving about 1 cup pasta water.
Add the pasta back into the pot and add desired amount of cheese sauce.
Then add pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well in between additions, until you get the desired consistency of your Mac n Cheese. If your pasta is too starchy (as some gluten free pastas are) you can also use regular water to do this. Add salt if needed, it most likely will since the sauce is no longer as concentrated. Devour!
Adapted from— http://www.veggiesdontbite.com/2015/07/08/ultimate-cheese-sauce/
Spring is coming, stay sane and eat well!
Roger and Lara
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Daily mini-market at Drop site #1-- Inver Grove Heights
Winter spinach— oh, how sweet it is
Farm Where Life is Good
Farm News
We hope this finds you all toasty warm on this tip-toe-into-winter week! I am out in the high tunnel today workin’ the spinach in 50deg temps. Quite nice to shed the coat, hat and mittens while harvesting and listening to a good book!
Some good news for our spinach distribution…we have been offered the opportunity to set up a mini-farmer’s market in front of the Inver Grove Heights Animal Hospital each day and have taken swift advantage. Daily (usually) we are offering bagged spinach and this season’s honey for sale (cash only, self-serve.) Check in at the farm phone (715 426-7582) if you want to confirm the table is out, but usually open by 9am and closed by 5pm. (It varies a bit with Razz’ traveling schedule.)
So, get your weekly spinach fix and monthly honey hit when you need them. We can also arrange larger “gifts for the whole family” honey sales, on demand. Just let us know.
Mini-Market Location:
7131 Cahill Ave
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076
Table to the left of the front door
For the really local folks, we welcome on-farm sales with advanced notice too, so let us know. 715 426 7582
Enjoy your holiday season, stay warm and eat well!
Roger and Lara
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Online Market is OPEN for Business-- Spinach, greens and honey, oh my!
Cover Crop: The nutrients that are now feeding the high tunnel spinach thru the winter; isn’t it beautiful?
Life on the Farm
The cold nights have added the sugar to the spinach, just like we like it! So come and get it! That chlorophyll will boost you like no other! It keeps for at least 3wks in the fridge; amazing stuff.
And while you are at it, how about some fixin’s for fall and winter soups and breakfasts. Make a few crockpot batches and freeze for those easy dinners this dark and cold winter.
Jump on to The Market; it is now open for spinach needs and your annual honey and wheatberry supplies.
Ordering will be open from Tuesday night until Thursday 12n. Get your orders in now so packing can begin specific to your requests.
PLEASE NOTE: Deliveries will be made FRIDAY to your chosen Dropsite Location .(ONLY 3 dropsite options.)
Recipes for your consideration
A wonderful rich, sweet and chewy bowl of warm pie (masquerading as hot cereal) is a perfect start to the day. The complex carbs will sustain you for hours.
Slow Cooker Apple Pie Breakfast Porridge
2 apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2-1/2 to 3 cups chopped)
1-1/2 cups almond/soy/rice/hemp milk
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked uncooked wheat berries
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1-1/2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine, cut into 5-6 pieces (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
1/4 teaspoon salt
Garnishes: chopped nuts, raisins, dates
Coat inside of 3-1/2 quart (or larger) slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients (except optional toppings) to slow cooker. Stir, cover, and cook on low for approx. 7 hours (slow cooker times can vary).
Spoon porridge into bowls; add optional toppings, if desired. Store leftovers in refrigerator. Freezes well.
To reheat single servings: Put 1-cup cooked porridge in microwave proof bowl. Add 1/3 cup almond/soy/rice/hemp mild. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir. Continue cooking for another minute, or until hot.
Adapted from many sources
Portuguese Kale Soup (Caldo Verde), otherwise referred to as Portuguese Penicillin (think, “chicken soup”). Nuff said!
Portuguese Kale Soup (Caldo Verde)
2-3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 package Tofurky kielbasa, cut into ¼ – ½ inch rounds
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 cups stock/broth
1 pound Tronchuda cabbage (Porteguese kale), dense stems and center ribs discarded (saved for veggie stock) and leaves very thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
½-1 tsp sea salt (depending on salt in stock/broth)
1 cup white beans, cooked/canned
Accompaniment: piri-piri sauce or other hot sauce
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 5-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then brown Tofurky Kielbasa, stirring often, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
Add onion and garlic to pot with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper over medium heat, stirring often, until browned, 7 to 8 minutes.
Add potatoes, stock/broth, and salt and simmer, covered, until potatoes are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Mash some potatoes into soup to thicken, then add chopped/sliced cabbage/kale and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in Tofurky kielbasa and beans and cook until just heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil and season with ground black pepper and hot sauce.
Adapted from many sources
This one sounds odd, but oh-so flavorful and colorful (and packed with protein). Give it a try; adding other chopped veggies as you see fit. Bob’s Red Mill has chickpea flour and nutritional yeast, otherwise, the bulk sections of the co-op-y type stores do too. You can also make your own chickpea flour with a VitaMix…what an awesome invention!
2 cups chickpea flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 T flax meal
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
3-4 cups loosely packed spinach
Water, as needed
In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, except the spinach. Mix well.
Chop the spinach up fine.
Heat a large saute pan on medium heat.
In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup of the dry mixture and a scant 1/3 cup water. Whisk that together. If you want an omelet, make the batter a little thinner with more water. If you want a pancake consistency, make the batter a little thicker.
Add a little amount of spinach into the bowl with the batter. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook. These cook like a pancake, so when you see the mixture bubble, you know it’s time to flip to the other side and cook for another minute.
Repeat these steps until all the omelets are done.
Store these in the fridge. They should last a couple weeks that way. They can also be frozen.
From— http://mywholefoodlife.com/2015/08/31/spinach-chickpea-omelets/
Go get ready for the coming cold! Eat well, stay healthy.
Roger and Lara
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Online Market is OPEN for Business-- Tomatoes, Honey and Wheatberries
Bee taking in winter stores of buckwheat
Life on the Farm
Hot, hot, hot…perfect time to make some salsa, freeze some cherry toms for winter chili, slice up some beefy toms for a nice Garden Burger with home fries. The tomatoes are maturing faster than we can pick ’em!
For those in love with the Colorado Peaches offering from years past, jump on the family’s Facebook page Stillwater Colorado Peaches. The next shipment is August 29th, and they will have Bartlett Pears that date too. The peaches are fabulous this year. They can be ordered directly through the Stillwater family and picked up at their home when the truck arrives.
Jump on to The Market; it is now open for tomato needs and your annual honey and wheatberry supplies.
Ordering will be open from Saturday night until Sunday 8pm. Get your orders in now so packing can begin specific to your requests.
PLEASE NOTE: Deliveries will be made Monday to your chosen Dropsite Location .(ONLY 3 dropsite options.)
Recipes for your consideration
A wonderful rich, sweet and chewy bowl warm cereal is a perfect start to the day. The complex carbs will sustain you for hours.
Whole Grain Fruit and Nut Hot Breakfast Cereal
1 1/4 cup rolled oats (not instant, yuck!)
1 fresh peach, diced
1/2 cup raisins, craisins, or dried apricots
2 cup soymilk (or coconut or almond or hemp or ricemilk)
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup cooked wheat berries
2 tsp honey or maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
Stovetop: Bring soymilk to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in oats, fruit and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in cooked wheat berries and cook until heated through, about 1 minute more. Remove from the heat. Stir in honey/maple and cinnamon; let stand for 1 minute. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and serve.
OR
Microwave: Place oats, raisins, soymilk and salt in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Stir to combine. Microwave on High, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Stir in cooked wheat berries and microwave again until hot, 1 to 2 minutes more. Let stand for 1 minute. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and serve.
Tip: Toast slivered almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.
Adapted from Eatingwell.com
A savory twist on the classic midwestern fruit dessert— using a"vegetable" fruit, the Tomato. A wonderful side-dish, or boost it up with some Tofurky-brand Italian sausages and serve it as a main event. Mmmmm good.
1 T olive oil
10 paste tomatoes, 1/2" dice
1 shallot, fine chop
1 garlic clove, crush and fine chop
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp corn starch
1/2-1 lb cherry tomatoes
1 c course bread crumbs
1/4 c grated parmesan-flavor vegan topping (Galaxy Foods)
1 T nutritional yeast
2 T chives, fresh, chopped
1/4 c margarine, melted
Grease ramekins (4x 8-10oz) or baking dish (9×9)
In large skillet, add olive oil, chopped tomatoes, shallots, garlic, sea salt and corn starch. Stir and simmer 10-15min until tomatoes are broken down and puree has thickened. Remove from heat and add whole cherry/paste tomatoes.
Mix dry ingredients for crumble, then add melted margarine and stir to coat.
Add tomato mix to baking dish(es), and top with crumble.
Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool 10min pre-serving.
Adapted from King Arthur Flour catalog
Go get yourself some peaches and enjoy the week!
Roger and Lara
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Online Market is OPEN for Business-- The early tomatoes are here!
The Queen— a sight you may only see once in your lifetime!
Life on the Farm
The bees are working the wildflowers, clover and alfalfa vigorously this season. Our three hives are bursting with new life each week, and the fly-way in front of each hive looks like the runway at LAX. All three hives are strong, and if the queens remain healthy so will the colony. As the golden rod starts to come into bloom (late August), the “free” honey season will close and they will start putting away stores for the winter. Working with the hives has been enlightening, educational, frustrating, sad and inspirational. Each year the goal is to maintain a healthy population thru the winter, grow it during the spring/summer/fall, assist the hive to raise a new queen when the need arises and split the colonies when they grow too large. Honey is a wonderfully sweet afterthought, and the fabulous pollination of our fruits and vegetables is much appreciated.
The high tunnel is cooking away at 120 degrees thru our soggy 90 degree days. Pruning tomato plants today had a double entendre…I was pruned by the end of the experience!
Jump on to The Market; it is now open for BITE-SIZED tomato needs and your annual honey and wheatberry supplies.
Ordering will be open from Tuesday night until Thursday 6pm. Get your orders in now so packing can begin specific to your requests.
PLEASE NOTE: Deliveries will be made Friday to your chosen Dropsite Location .(ONLY 3 dropsite options.)
Recipes for your consideration
Roasting cherry tomatoes is a slow, long process (mostly monitoring the timer), but well worth the effort. These little buds will flavor up the dullest fall sandwich or winter pasta sauce. Think about putting a bunch up, bag and freeze after you roast, and then pull them out when the rosy glow of fresh cherries is long gone.
Slow Roasted Tomatoes
Cherry, grape or small Roma tomatoes
Whole cloves of garlic, unpeeled
Olive oil
Herbs such as thyme or rosemary
Preheat oven to 225°F. Halve each cherry or grape tomato crosswise, or Roma tomato lengthwise and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with the cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Sprinkle herbs on, if you are using them, and salt and pepper, though go easily on these because the finished product will be so flavorful you’ll need very little to help it along.
Bake the tomatoes in the oven for about 3 hours (or up to 8 hrs). You want the tomatoes to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left inside–this could take more or less time depending on the size of your tomatoes.
Either use them right away or let them cool, cover them with some extra olive oil and keep them in the fridge for the best summer condiment, ever. And peel the cloves of garlic when you’re done–they’ll be wonderful and sweet–and store them in the container with the tomatoes for smearing on a sandwich.
From: smittenkitchen.com
Wheat berries, cooked
2 cups wheat berries (hard/high protein varieties work best)
7 cups water
1 teaspoon salt if desired
Rinse and pick thru to eliminated stones and debris. Add to pot of water (and salt).
Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse. Serve hot or cool for freezer storage.
If storing, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to many months.
Add to cucumber and tomato salads for more heft, cook with coconut milk and blueberries for a wonderfully hearty breakfast, toss a few handfuls into any soup for more chew to the meal. Protein and fiber at every turn.
Have a wonderful cherry-filled weekend!
Roger and Lara
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Special Orders-- Spinach Continues to Shine!
Trillium on Trillium Lane
Spinach and wheat berries for early spring feasting
The gorgeous spinach continues to enjoy this weather. Order up some incredible greens to shake off the winter. We have the dark green arrowhead leaf variety and a beautiful burgundy “Red Kitten” variety, perfect for an elegant spinach salad.
Head to The Market and find two varieties of SPINACH and WHEAT BERRIES for sale there. We are happy to take email orders and cash-on-delivery if you prefer that mode.
Delivery will be DIFFERENT than previous years— TUESDAY DELIVERY. We will send out a Monday reminder for pick up!
(PLEASE NOTE: Dropsite locations have changed/been reduced. We are happy to consider additional special sites if the volume of a delivery is over $40. Please send us an email to inquire.)
Have a wonderful week.
Roger and Lara
**If you’d like to stop receiving emails, just jump into your account on the website (farmwlig.locallygrown.net, My Account) and scroll to bottom; check appropriate box.
A Spring Spinach Bonanza!
spinach! Spinach! SPINACH!
WLIG Spinach has braved the winter and is shining in the spring!
Hello everyone. The rain is coming down to soak the parched spring fields as I type. Such a wonderful sound on the rooftop. The fields are waking up and getting back into order with cover crops. The high tunnel is prepped for tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant and peppers— many trials underway. The fence test (on a small scale) is protecting our bounty of winter spinach from eager, hungry deer in the previous/overwintered high tunnel location. It is truly restful to know it is all safe!
Here is your chance to get your “green” fix after a long winter hiatus. This loose-leaf spinach was started in September of last year, fed us a bit thru the winter, and now is growing like gangbusters— a successful over-wintered trial.
It stores incredibly well in the fridge (upwards of 3wks or more); it makes your green smoothies invigorating; it satisfies well in the fresh spinach salad (or try a warm/wilted spinach salad for dinner!); it holds up perfectly in the cooking applications from soup to creamed spinach to garlic braising; and it is perfect for the frozen package(s) needed in that mainstay of midwestern dipping this summer— Spinach Dip.
Whew! I’m hungry now. You too? How about a pound or three?
For a hearty salad, breakfast, or side dish, consider cooking up some wheat berries too. They store well, fill you up, give you something great to chew, and, I’m thinking, lower your cholesterol too with all their fiber. A pound of these golden beauties too, you say?
Head to The Market and find the SPINACH and WHEAT BERRIES for sale there. We are happy to take email orders and cash-on-delivery if you prefer that mode.
Delivery will be DIFFERENT than previous years— TUESDAY DELIVERY. We will send out a Monday reminder for pick up!
(PLEASE NOTE: Dropsite locations have changed/been reduced. We are happy to consider additional special sites if the volume of a delivery is over $40. Please send us an email to inquire.)
Have a wonderful week.
Roger and Lara
**If you’d like to stop receiving emails, just jump into your account on the website (farmwlig.locallygrown.net, My Account) and scroll to bottom; check appropriate box.
FarmWLIG Offline thru the 2015 Season
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A remnant of the recent past
Farm Where Life is Good
News regarding the 2015 Season
We hope this finds you all toasty warm on this fine, frigid, February evening! We’ve just arrived home from some R-n-R in the southern region of these United States; what an awakening it was driving into a blizzard-blasted Chicago area!
Even with this weather, the mind leans toward spring, so with that we bring you news from Farm Where Life is Good.
We have done some of the proverbial soul-searching this winter, reflecting on the past few years of growing for market. We have decided not to offer weekly produce for the 2015 season. The reasons are many and varied— we need to step back and work on our soil, our deer fencing (no joke this time!), our business/financial model, and our growing expertise. If we have some unexpected harvest bounties as we navigate this hiatus filled with trial-and-error growing, cover cropping, and perennial plantings, we will certainly shoot out the occasional “Fire Sale” email!
To help you in your quest for fresh produce this coming spring and summer, we have compiled a list of area farms with whom we are familiar offering CSA shares and also have included the Land Stewardship CSA directory for all of MN and western WI. We hope you continue to eat well!
Land Stewardship CSA Directory
We were honored to have had such a supportive and enthusiastic group of members these past few years. We thank you for all you have given us, and we are proud to have produced a healthy product and a motivation to cook good food! What the 2016 season will bring, we do not know yet. We will stay in touch. Enjoy the coming spring!
Have a wonderful 2015 of eating well.
Roger and Lara