Blahhh Days Are Ahhhhhhhhh Days on the Farm

 GREETINGS!

It may be grey and wet outside, but inside I'm enjoying the quiet days of winter. While my older boys are gearing up for growing vegetables, this farmer's wife is enjoying cooking, baking, organizing recipes, organizing my herbal notebook, sewing, teaching school, cuddling on the couch reading seed catalogs, and relishing the warm bed at 5:45 a.m.! Some people eat seasonally, but we also live seasonally!

Tis the season for many things on our farm...

*Tis the season to prepare our bodies for the long season ahead. I'm intentionally fixing meals that will build up our immune system and strength. Farming long hours for about 8 months of the year is very draining. While the children school at our 12' farm table, I work in the kitchen next to them...teaching... kneading... reviewing...mixing...giving tests...experimenting with an idea for a new recipe. I call on children to join me, as they learn so much as we work together. Charity Rose (about to turn 4) is getting to be quite a good bread baker! This way I model several things to my children. #1 Momma is a learner, and there are a lot of things to learn outside textbooks. #2 My children see me serving in our home being a "keeper at home" and prayerfully they will catch the godly vision of Titus 2.

*Tis the season to prepare our seed and equipment orders for the season. We have lots of plans, but a lot of them depend on YOU. When you sign up for your share, it enables us to put our plans into ACTION. The variety and quantity we are able to plant depends on the support we get from our shareholder family. There is a lot on the line as I type this.

*Tis the season for researching, researching, and more researching for ways to use our vegetables in innovative ways. If you are a longstanding share holder you may remember that when I first started typing out hard copies of From the Farmer's Wife in 2010, our family liked steamed vegetables...old time tried and true methods. Being "The Farmer's Wife" has challenged me in a good way to break out of this path and try new things! It only took one season of the Farmer's Wife for me to exhaust my recipe file! Now we braise, roast, grill, combine, pickle, ferment, etc.

One funny thing about my research is that NOW I KNOW WHAT A BLOG REALLY IS! "What?!!", you say! I had never read a blog until this winter other than my own! Odd eh? Well, I'm being challenged now by other women in my calling as a wife, mother, and farmer's wife! There is soooooooo much information out there that I actually hit overload...there was a growing stack of computer print offs in a stack in my desk area! I had to tell myself to stop printing off recipes for casseroles, breads, soaps, herbal mixtures, etc. until I had organized it all. Thankfully that didn't take too long!

*Believe it or not,  tis the season  to plant in the greenhouses all ready! As seeds arrive different varieties of cabbage are being planted. Before today's planting there were 4,000 seedlings there..more today. This is cheap "therapy" for my older boys. They are like me...they get the planting itch around now.

*Tis the season for rocking chair gardening! Anything is possible in my garden during the long snowy nights of winter! I picture the perfect cottage kitchen garden with a new rustic wattle fence defining it. I dream about quiet moments enjoying its solitude during the busy season...
When we started our CSA in Dayton in 2002 we used mainly 1250 square feet of raised beds in our side yard. We fed 25 families plus our own needs in this area. It's amazing what you can grow in one square foot! 9 bean plants, 1 tomato plant, 16 green onions or radish, 9 beets, PLUS A WHOLE LOT MORE! For more information how to grown in a very frugal way, visit square foot gardening.com. Well, these beds are now not needed and are overwhelming to me along with my other responsibilities... I realized last spring after planting the whole thing that I could not keep up with it. I felt guilty, and frustrated that I didn't have the needed time to work in it. (I was used to working 6 hours a day in it until it was established.) So for the first time last summer I got the food we need same as you do, from boxes leftover from drop offs. BUT I still have the need to garden, it's me...that's how the boys have fallen in love with growing. It's been our classroom, our hobby, and our livelihood. So the beds are coming out with some of them being rearranged closer to my kitchen door. I plan to plant them back with my all ready established herbs, and flowers in a more manageable size. I hope to border it with a rustic wattle fence that Titus and I are planning to make in March before the rush begins. So, now I'm putting little stars by all the flowers in catalogs that strike my interest...that's free...and maybe a few will end up in my "picture perfect cottage kitchen garden"!

*Tis the season to experiment in the kitchen! I love to light candles or my kerosene lanterns, gather the children about me and cook. Here is one recipe or formula that helps me to use the leftovers in my refrigerator. I give all the credit to Green Apple Home on UTUBE. Faith Anne (11) and I cleaned out the refrigerator yesterday and made a delicious supper!

WHATEVER CASSEROLE FORMULA

2 C. meat (cubed chicken, ham, tuna, leftover roast etc.)
4 C. starch (cubed potatoes, noodles, rice, or other grains)
2 C. chopped leftover vegetables
2 C. sauce (1 can cream of __ soup, cheese sauce, gravy, etc.
Topping: buttered bread crumbs, croutons, fancy fried canned onions, etc.
Shredded cheese (optional)

Here's what my first casseroles looked like:

2 C. (or so I just layered it) cubed chicken with bits of congealed chicken juices on it
4 C. layer of leftover brown rice
2 plus C. layer of broccoli and cauliflower mixture (We're thankful we froze so much!)
Buttered bread crumb layer (From our own whole wheat bread.)
Sprinkle of cheese for looks (optional)

Bake covered for 30 minutes or until bubbly (more like 45 minutes if your ingredients are cold), uncover, sprinkle with cheese. Continue to bake until cheese is melted. You can freeze this before baking and have it to pull out on a hectic evening.

*Tis the season to enjoy a good night sleep. During the growing and marketing season we may get to bed in the early hours of morning and need to be up at 5 a.m. This winter I've enjoyed reading before bedtime with a cup of tea by me, snuggled under my quilts. When the alarm goes off at 5:45 a.m. I get to decide if I want to get up. Mostly I discipline myself to get up and meet with my Lord, but on weekends, this can be pushed back a half hour to an hour without mishap. It's hard to describe this wintertime blessing!
More leisurely breakfasts have been fun also! I have been having fun on Friday mornings trying special recipes. The Recipe Girl at Recipegirl.com  inspired me with this treat for last Friday's breakfast!



Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Pancakes:

1 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 cup milk
1 T. canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 c. butter, melted
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1 T. ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Glaze:
4 T. butter
2 oz. cream cheese
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Prepare pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, JUST until moistened ( a few lumps are fine).
2. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggies and set aside IN THE REFRIGERATOR. This will help it to thicken to toothpaste consistency.
3. In a medium, microwave safe bowl, heat butter and cream cheese until melted. Whisk together until smooth; whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla extract; set aside.
4. Heat large skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray (or lightly oil). I like to pour my batter into a water pitcher to pour to desired size, but the recipe girl calls for a whopping 3/4 C. of batter for each pancake. Snip the corner of your baggie of filling and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.
5. When ready to serve, spoon warmed glaze onto the top of each pancake.

Comments: I made the pancake filling with Ideal (Xyilitol, a natural sweetener). This helped cut down on the sugar content. I used regular confectioners sugar for the glaze. My first ones were a bit messy as I tired making them with 3/4 c. of batter...too much! So I recommend much less! I made a 5 times batch as I was serving 18 scrambled eggs with this, and had more than enough glaze, so don't be tempted to double the glaze just to have enough. There is a great tutorial on making the swirl filling here http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/11/09/gingerbread-cinnamon-roll-pancakes/ HAVE FUN!

*Like all home schooling Mommas know, tis the season for lessons. We're busy these frosty mornings doing the book work the government requires. I do believe though that my children learn more "on their own". Their love of learning keeps me on my toes! Right now we're exploring space. Complicated unit study? Chapter in a textbook? No, I simply fanned the flame of interest... first directing my little ones (Jr. High on down to kindergarten) to the book shelf that holds our non fiction books on space, astrology, and biographies of astronauts to answer a few questions that had cropped up. This only excited them more, so I visited the local library and checked out about 75 books on the subject. I put them in a huge Longerberger Laundry basket which we call the book basket. The children know the basket is FULL of exciting stories, the answers to their questions, and recipes related to the topic we're delving into! This Thursday we'll have a space themed supper, oral reports, stories and then we'll have a constellation party outside. These books aren't read on school time...we "don't have the time" for the extras since we school as we do now...don't ask...but the children love to learn during these long, dark evenings...just don't tell them "we're doing school"! (Six of us just huddled into the downstairs bathroom to watch Noah (13) do a science experiment. He showed how water travels through water using a Pringle (that had somehow made its appearance in our home) container filled with water, and a flashlight...no assignment, just a love to learn. smile) (Update...since it takes me so long to get one of these blogs out, we've had our space night all ready. We used meatloaf to form a space lab (carrot sticks connected the parts) which "floated" on the milky way (mashed potatoes), made cinnamon star toasts, and for dessert we splurged and made saturn ice cream cookies. (Freeze balls of orange sherbet and make sugar cookies. When serving, slice the sherbet balls in half and put a sugar cookie in between the halves.) The table was decorated with pictures of famous astronauts and Lego Apollo spaceships. We had a fun time reading the reports and imagining life in space.)

*Tis the season to prepare. Last week we bought 3 used greenhouses about an hour and a half from the farm. Yesterday all the men (that left Levi (6) out) went there and took the greenhouses down. It was a LONG day of hard work! This "school field trip" taught my boys how men really work...not just on the farm, but wherever the Lord calls you to. Now we'll have our temporary packing shed, an equipment shed, and the needed greenhouse! Praise God for HIS provision! Now all we have to do is put them all up!

*Tis the season for getting realistic about our capabilities on the farm for the 2012 season. It is extremely hard for Adam and Caleb to face the reality of what we are able to do, in contrast to what they dream could happen. It's sort of like my dream garden...what we could do may not be what we can do. It's all up to you. If you haven't signed up for your share yet, PLEASE DO. Equipment needs are critical right now as we plan our field crops. We're planting in the greenhouse like we have certain pieces of planting and cultivation equipment. We are, Lord willing, growing past the plant and water by hand stage of farming. We're experiencing the growing pains this winter...so please if you can, do your part. Pray first, as we are that the Lord would send the shareholders HE wants us to serve. Then sign yourselves up! Lastly, please spread the word! We have brochures that you can hand out to your family, church, or clubs. Just ask! Lastly, I want to say a big, "thank you" before the season even begins. Thank you to the Lord, who I KNOW is faithful, and to ya'll who support this small family farm. 

*Tis also the season to consider our hearts before God before it's too late.. Jesus said, " I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me." John 14:6. Do you know Jesus?...or better said, Does HE KNOW YOU? Write or call us if you'd like to know more about our Saviour, THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD Jesus Christ. 

If you are saved, is there anything in your life that gets more attention than our Saviour? A daily time reading the King James Bible will be essential to your strength to live for Jesus Christ each day. Let's be found faithful!

 "To every thing there is a season...a time to plant..."  Ecclesiastes 3:1



Abundant Blessings,
The  Farmer's Wife

Are you frugal?

It's a new year, and I'm focusing on how I can serve my Lord Jesus Christ and my family in a more honoring and efficient way in 2012. I've come across a website that is encouraging me to do things I used to do...before maybe the 11th baby...before we moved into the "modern" farm house....before Steve came home full-time...before Colvin Family Farm became a full-time business...before life got REALLY busy....

I want to "simplify" once again...make the laundry soap I USED to make... and make the yogurt I used to...and other nifty things are encouraged on this blog. It's a frugal blog...that is how we have lived all of our married lives....that's how we supported our family on one income...that's our lifestyle...BEFORE it was cool or green.

Would you like to be encouraged to live more simply.."Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without?" The "Frugally Sustainable" blog will be a great help. It's help me dust off "the archives of my heart" and make the time to do it myself!

The blog is having a 23 day challenge...want to join me? It will be fun! Here is the link.

One incentive to visiting the website is the recipes that describe new ways to use the vegetables you receive in your shares or at the grocer. I've got a long list of articles I MAY get to read on one of these frosty winter evenings bookmarked in a folder...until then I'm back to making my own laundry detergent and making my creamy yogurt by the half gallon! :)

I pray all is well with you and your family...it's about to snow here! There is hope for spring though in the strawberries and garlic that still show green through the straw! For now, we're enjoying the "rest!"

Haven't reserved your share yet? It would be best to do it soon since we are "restricting" the number of shares at each market this year. Chattanooga and Oak Ridge are our new pick ups for the year, and we hope that Dayton and Crossville will be growing! I got an inside peek at the seed orders and there are SEVERAL new vegetables we are going to try and grow...artichokes...shallots...melons of several varieties...oh, I had better stop...I'm drooling! ha ha!

I hadn't planned a formal blog today, this just happened when I read about the challenge once again. Why not try it?

From our Farm to Your Homestead,
Abundant Blessings,
The Farmer's Wife

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...."

Snowy Greetings from Our Farm!

As the old Christmas carol says, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.." I know that before this gets posted the snow will be gone, but it sure has put me in the mood! We ended up with 2 inches of beauty clinging to the trees, blowing across the fields, turning the grey of late fall into a beauty characteristic of God Almighty!

There is so much going on here on the farm since we delivered our last share, and picked for our last farmer's market! There are many decisions to be made in order to serve you correctly come spring. We're about to sign the final papers on our new farm! There will be 30 more acres to grow a WIDE variety of vegetables and fruits now. The new farm also has a reliable water sources with a pond and year round stream. We've bought seed for an innumerable amount of different verities of vegetables. (The boys only groaned when I asked them exactly how many varieties!) We're putting our strawberries "to bed" for the long cold mountain winter with cushy beds of straw and row cover. Calculations are also being made for greenhouse supplies, and marketing supplies. Equipment needs are also lively topics of conversation around the farmhouse dinner table as we are growing out of the hoe and watering can stage of the farm and into a midsized family farm. Sometimes my head swims with all the facts!

We are praying more of you sign up for the coming season soon as the bills must be paid for all of this EARLY in the year. A down payment on a share (or the total cost if you are able) for a loved one would be an amazing Christmas gift! If your family would like to be used to meet a need in a struggling family's life, consider giving the gift of a share for Christmas! Church groups, civic groups and family members can help a family in a meaningful way by doing so. What a blessing that would be!

Inside the farmhouse we're busy with the book work side of our school year. With 6 grades and a preschooler there is never a dull moment. Levi (just turned 6) has all ready finished his first math book! He's learning to read also...so he keeps me on my toes! I also have a 12th grader zooming towards the finish line (he'll be done well before the growing season begins in earnest in March). The Lord has me in several stages of life at the same time...this all keeps me on my knees beseeching HIM for wisdom. I'm a blessed woman!

Since family farming and Farmer Steve being carpenter Steve at the same time doesn't really work, we're working feverishly to finish our home this winter while the greenhouses are empty and frosty. Early plantings will be the the big boy's work, so Farmer Steve's goal is to get as much as possible done during the winter. So far he's "finished" (all framing and rough sheet rock hung (not finished) the mud room, 10' 'X 6' pantry, family closet just off the laundry room, and the library/home school room/family room is taking shape. There is even a large closet that will hold sewing supplies...we'll have to really get organized...so that too is in the works...a complete reorganization. I revel in this as I am an organizer.

The Lord has progressively blessed us with more and more space over the past 12 years. When we moved to the farm we had a little mountain (shack) "cottage" with 1,000 square feet for 11 people. We put a bathroom in it and felt RICHLY blessed. With a commitment to stay debt free we've built our home stage by stage. This final stage has a lot of the "heart" of the home in it...a LAUNDRY room!!!, family closet library/school room, and pantry!! Right now I jump from our back door into the little old "cottage" to get to my groceries... but a finished pantry right off the kitchen will be a HUGE BLESSING! I feel soooooooooooooo blessed!

During the finishing of the mud room we had a family crisis...Noah (13) had an accident with the large table saw. He was ripping studs when a knot shot out slicing the fleshy part of his thumb/hand.This brought an involuntary response as he fell into the blade. The blade cut across 4 of the fingers on his left hand! Praise God he now is regaining the use of most of his fingers. Many stitches and a skin graft latter; he is on the mend. We praise God for His protection, as he could have lost those fingers!

I've been enjoying cooking with my children again now that the kitchen is back to a family kitchen again! I loved the challenge of baking for the Crossville Farmer's Market, but it was a HUGE drain on our family, and Lord willing we will be taking on a new focus for the 2012 season. Now that Momma is focused only on family, the kitchen is once again an intricate part of our classroom. Each child has an assigned day of the week where they get to serve alongside me as we minister to our family's needs. I love the creativity and energy they bring to the kitchen! Each one of the olders has several specialties, partly because they LOVE to make what THEY love to eat. Isaac (17) loves Mexican and Italian, and can whip up the best pizzas (it takes about 7 large pizzas for supper along with a fresh salad and fruit.) Caleb loves roasts, homemade cornstarch pudding and doughnuts. Adam's specialty is oatmeal...really he knows how to cook, but plays helpless and needs lots of directions. He is funny in the kitchen. Give him a recipe and he's fine...he feels competent the woman the Lord is preparing for him will be a GREAT cook (so he doesn't have to!) ha ha! The younger children follow recipes and work alongside me. Titus (15) and Faith Anne (11) can take over the bread making if need be, and really enjoy it! I love fall and winter evenings in the kitchen. I light candles or the lanterns, and we use the summer's bounty to create new dishes.

Here is a new idea for the greens I pray you froze or canned this summer. If you didn't have any extras tucked away for winter, try using fresh or frozen spinach from the grocery store. I did get about 80 gallons of mixed greens put up, so I just pulled one of these bags out to make this winter savory soup. Serve with your favorite quick bread, or a loaf of fresh bread....for me, it takes 3 loaves!

SAVORY SAUSAGE AND BARLEY SOUP

1 pound Italian or Smoked Sausage
1, 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach (or fresh)
1/2 C. chopped onion
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
48 oz. Chicken broth (bouillon cubes will work in a pinch)
1/4 C. pearl barley (if you'd rather substitute brown rice, millet, or a mixture of both like I have done)

In the bottom of a stock pot brown sausagae, onion, and garlic. When meat is browned add Italian seasoning. Next add chicken broth, carrots, the greens of your choice, and grain. Simmer until gains are tender. Time depends on your choice of grain.

My, it sure is looking a lot like Christmas! It has taken me too long (again!) to get this posted. We've been baking cookies, making fudge, and a pot of homemade cranberry sauce is bubbling on the stove with cranberries from my uncle's bogs in Massachusetts. We've decorated an old fashioned Christmas tree with homemade ornaments,a string of popcorn, and a colorful paper chain the children made. I've been making gifts, and the workshop has been a hum of activity. BUT, the real meaning of Christmas isn't lost in all this activity. We have two nativity scenes as the focal point of our home during this time....it's too easy to loose focus. The world is SCREAMING its message of buy, buy, buy, get, get, get...gooooooooooo! Christ's message is full of peace..."I am come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10

Which do you choose?

Abundant Christmas Blessings,
Mrs. Stephen E. Colvin
The Farmer's Wife

Overcoming Arugala Phobia

Friday, October 28, 2011
5:30 p.m.

Steam is rising from my stove top, the food processor has been whirling, my hands smell like garlic, and there is green "stuff" in every dish I'm making tonight. Everyone that comes to see what is for supper tonight has made unpleasing sounds...what's up?

If you ask my boys at market what our favorite way to use arugula or rocket they say something like, "We like to compost it best." This has actually happened several times! They don't like the smell in the field...packing shed...or my kitchen. Honestly, it rarely makes it to the kitchen. We're tickled so many of ya'll like it so well, as it is a very forgiving crop.

Well, tonight I've decided that we are going to overcome our arugula phobia...as we haven't given this green a fair shake yet. I did some research and chose three recipes to try. We're baking up about 30 potatoes to fill the gap IF we decide we were right all along. I kind of have it figured that we have some room to grow....like a small child that doesn't like carrots at first sight. If you try the same vegetable again in a few weeks they don't spit it in your face, but delight in the sweetness. I thought I'd share the results with you along with the recipes (and of course my tweaks) in this post.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

The dust has settled on the long curving driveway away from the farm...Adam and Isaac are in the grand city of Knoxville at the downtown Market Square Farmer's Market, Caleb and Noah are also in the metropolis of Farragut selling produce and delivering shares at the Dixie Lee Farmer's Market, then delivering to the West Knoxville drop off at a sweet family's home where over a dozen folks pick up, and Farmer Steve and Titus have made their drop off in Dayton...they alllllllllll survived the Great Arugula Challenge! I'm proud of the contestants! Everyone ate well, almost heartily. :) Here are the results:

The top rated dish was Pasta with Tuna, Arugula, and Hot Peppers. In our family, almost anything hot and spicy will go over well, so I thought this would be "the spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down. In the most delightful way". It scored an average of 9 out of 10. I plan on trying this recipe with some of the mixed greens I've frozen this winter. You can control how spicy your meal is by how much pepper you add. I used dried peppers you've gotten in your shares all season. I encouraged you to dry them...I ground up 2 and used the entire amount for a delightfully spicy, but not overpowering dish. We usually don't like tuna casseroles...but the boys said they didn't even know tuna was in it! The garlic and peppers hid the fishy taste remarkably. This is a good recipe to sneak fish into your diets. :)

Pasta with Tuna, Arugula, and Hot Pepper

1 lb. dried fettuccine, spaghetti or linguine
1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic , or more to taste, finely minced
GENEROUS pinch hot red pepper flakes
1-6 oz. can tuna packed in water or olive oil, drained
sea salt
1/2 to 3/4 lb. baby arugula

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and boil until al dente.

2. While pasta cooks, heat olive olive oil in a large skillet on medium-low heat. Ad the garlic and hot pepper flakes and cook until garlic is fragrant and sizzling. Add tuna and shred it into fine flakes with a fork. Season with salt. Keep warm over low heat.

3. Just before the pasta is ready, set aside 1 cup of boiling pasta water. Drain pasta and return to the warm pot set over moderate heat. Depending on the size of your post and skillet, either add the arugula nd the tuna mixture to the pasta in the pasta pot, or add the drained pasta to the skillet with the tuna mixture and add the arugula. Toss vigorously with tongs, moistening with some of the reserved pasta water. The arugula will wilt in the heat of the pasta. Salt to taste. Serve immediately.

Coming in second was Arugula Pesto. Since we finally got over our mind block on pesto, (yes, we have a couple of food "hangups"...thankfully the eggplant crop failed! I have a winter to prepare for the "Overcoming Eggplant Phobia" blog!) and have 6 pints in the freezer for the winter I thought Arugula Pesto would be another good recipe to try. I baked about 30 red potatoes to test it on...the worst thing that could happen is that we ate buttered potatoes, right? Well, the pesto was another hit. I don't have a number for it, but our new found pesto lovers liked the garlic taste without the bite of basil. (I like basil pesto better.) The real test came today at lunch when I was serving leftovers to Farmer Steve. He asked for the green stuff on his potatoes. :)

Arugula Pesto

2 cups of packed arugula leaves, stems removed
1/2 cup shelled walnuts
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 clove garlic peeled and minced (not roasted)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I used more.)

1. Brown 6 cloves of garlic with their peels on in a skillet over medium high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in places, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins.

2. Toast the nuts in the same pan over medium heat until lightly brown, or heat in a microwave on high heat for a minute or two until you get the roasted flavor.

3a. Food processor method (the fast way): Combine the arugula, salt, walnuts, roasted and raw garlic into a food processor. Pulse while drizzling the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

3b. Mortar and pestle method: Combine the nuts, salt and garlic in a mortar. With the pestle grind until smooth. Add the cheese and olive oil, grind again until smooth,. Finely chop the arugula and add it to the mortar. Grind up the other ingredients until smooth.

Because the pesto is so dependent on the individual ingredients, and the strength of the ingredients depends on the season or variety, test it and add more of the ingredients to taste.

My favorite dish came in last...I like the fresh vegetable taste of the Stuffed Tomato recipe I found. Maybe I am appreciating the tomatoes more lately as I know their days are numbered. We had a freeze this morning, so there is no more picking for this season. Right now I have about 15 bushels left as I am in canning mode, and I took a few of them to enjoy this recipe. Our family doesn't like mushy vegetables even a little bit..so as for the stuffed pepper recipe I baked them only long enough to get the filling warm and keep the tomato al dente. I tweeked this recipe after reading the reviews. One reviewer mentioned how the original recipe needed some body as it was like eating a tomato with dip stuffing. So I added whatever I was craving by that point in the evening...so bacon, mushrooms, and onions were included in Val's version. By adding the bacon and mushrooms it turned this side dish into a main dish. Of course it will probably be just as good vegetarian style by just dicing up some of the tomato pulp to give the filling some body. I give it an 8, and enjoyed the leftover tomato for lunch today. :)

The Farmer's Wife's
Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

1, 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
4 ounces trimmed arugula
1 T. minced garlic
1/4 C. cottage or ricotta cheese
5 T. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 C. olive oil
6 slices bacon, browned and crumbled, optional
1 small onion, chopped and sauteed in bacon drippings, optional
1/2 small can mushrooms, finely chopped and sauteed with the above two ingredients (I used Portabella.) optional
4 medium to large tomatoes, pulp removed

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a blender or food processor, blend the garbanzo beans, arugula garlic, cottage or ricotta cheese, 4 T. Parmesan cheese, and olive oil until smooth.

3. Stir in the sauteed ingredients, reserving bacon drippings for future seasoning.

3. Place tomatoes in an 8X8 inch baking dish. Stuff the tomatoes with the garbanzo bean mixture. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake until stuffing is warm and tomato is still strong.

So, the great Arugula challenge is over...another season is ending. We pray we've been a blessing to each of you. I'll be switching back to writing monthly, unless the Spirit directs otherwise. During this time of prayerfully slower days, I'd love to hear from you! I could use some feedback on how to improve this blog. I'll soon be loosing my rookie status, and want to do all I do to the "glory of God".

Striving to Please my Saviour,
The Farmer's Wife
stevecolvin99@gmail.com

BUSY Fall Days on the Farm

Greetings from our mountain farm!

We're all recovering from our biggest and best fall farm day ever last Saturday. Whew!! It was an exhilarating day of preparation, meeting new and also welcoming old members of our "farm family". There were many highlights for me...one special moment was spent in the kitchen with one talented shareholder that painted a picture of our vegetables as they appeared in her share during the season. It now hangs in our dining room as a remembrance of a our 2011 growing season, and one woman's delight in God's provision for us all. Thank you Pat!

The weather was beautiful and the Lord painted the perfect fall background to our day. One blessing to me were the children. I enjoyed sharing the wonder of nature with many of them as they discovered each item on their list during the nature scavenger hunt. (One adult couple even joined in, and were excited with their finds!) In the kitchen garden folks heard squeals of delight from toddlers finding peanuts during the peanut hunt. Lots of folks chose to go on a hayride into the woods with farmer Steve pulling them with his tractor. They visited our waterfall...the beauty this dry fall wasn't in the water, but the beauty of the woods off the bluff overlooking a deep gorge below.

The 30 foot farm buffet table was loaded with smoked turkey and pork, 4 kinds of breads, squash dishes, salads, pickled vegetables, potato dishes, and 6 ' alone of desserts! Everyone ate sitting around a campfire on bales of hay or chairs they brought....it grew strangely silent as folks enjoyed the meal surrounded by a fall farm landscape. As the darkness fell, children of ALL ages enjoyed roasting marshmallows over the dieing embers...and folks began to slip away into the darkness to return to their homes...

So, another farm day is over, and our season is coming to an end. Several folks are reserving their share for the 2012 season all ready. We will probably be limiting the number available at each market so we can spread our harvest days out over the week. So if you would like to be part of our "farm family" next year, go online and reserve your share. Then you can visit us once again in the spring! We are looking forward to it.

I've been VERY busy this week. Early Monday morning during my devotion time with the Lord I begged for strength and wisdom to accomplish all it looked like I needed to get done the next two days. I asked especially that the Lord would, "multiply my strength". One of the first things on my to-do list was to clean out the walk-in refrigerator of the weekly shares that weren't picked up and culled vegetables that were a bit too "nasty" looking to go into shares (but perfectly edible). It seems that several people think their shares are over, so I had SEVERAL to separate. The box truck brought four eighteen gallon tubs of mixed greens, three boxes of tomatoes, two bus tubs of mixed squash, two boxes of broccoli and cauliflower , and a box of basil! In my heart I was struggling with being overwhelmed as school had to be added to the list also...then ..WHAT A BLESSING HE SENT ME! My sons that are usually busy in the fields joined me in the farm kitchen for the day! My strength WAS multiplied! The kitchen was a bee hive of activity and I kept telling my "organized" self that it didn't really matter that things were done MY way, just that we all enjoyed getting them done. When the steam lifted, we had 5, 1/2 pints of pesto, 10 gallons of broccoli and 9 gallons of cauliflower in the freezer, 26 gallon bags of mixed greens, 51 quarts of salsa and 19 quarts of tomato juice canned, 1 gallon of chopped onions in the freezer along with 19 quarts of shredded zucchini and 4 gallon bags of squash frozen. We all were exhausted by the day's end, but we can all smile at the results. The years of including all my children in the food preserving process has been well worth it....from the youngest (Charity and Levi are our washers) to Adam, Caleb, and Isaac they all were used to answer my prayer of "multiplied strength". Thank You Jesus!

Like I said, we love to can our own salsa...we like it even better when all the ingredients come from our farm. We have gleaned tomato fields in the area for years, but now with the increased production of our own farm we f\inally have enough seconds for me to do some of our canning! Our salsa has a different "personality" each year....and even differs from batch to batch. This recipe does a mild tasting salsa, just add hot peppers to make it spicier. Here is our basic recipe.

Colvin Family Farm Salsa

1 1/2 bushels tomatoes
15 cups diced onions
3-4 cups hot peppers, chopped fine
4 1/2 cups vinegar
3/4 C. minced garlic
1/2 cup salt

Pour everything in a large pot, mix well. Cook until boiling and simmer for 30 minutes. Fill sterilized jars to one inch from top. Clean rim of jar with a damp paper towel. Top with sterilized flats and bands. Process in a boiling water bath canner 25 minutes. Let sit on your counter 24 hours after processing. Remove bands and store in a cool, "dark" room.

My week continued to be full with baking for the Crossville market...pumpkin and zucchini breads, pumpkin roll cakes, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, carrot cakes, molasses cookies, freshly ground whole wheat breads, cinnamon nut rolls, cinnamon apple rolls, and more...The Crossville market is a lively spot in my week. I thank God for the new friendships He has allowed me to make this year...Check out this online market for a look at the future of farmer's markets! crossville.locallygrown.net/market.

Today I've made 16 loaves of fresh bread for our shares, cleaned the house after a busy week, made a huge dinner for my hungry family, went to a birthday party with my little girls, AND WELCOMED MY OLDEST SON MATTHEW HOME FROM THE MIDDLE EAST WITH HIS NEW BRIDE BRITTANY! After the party I packed squash and lettuce shares, jostled in the line packing shares with ALL my boys (we taught Matt and Brittany how to pack shares! :) and then made a light supper.

Saturday (As usual I'm taking two weeks to get this out.)

My full life got fuller today. I am sooo blessed! My mother-in-love is wanting to make a special relish that I make called, "Red Stuff"...it's an old family recipe that we may can and sell next year. She called wanting to pick tomatoes today with me and my little ones. Since all the farmers on the mountain are preparing for a freeze, today is really the last definite day to do so. We have stripped our vines of all tomatoes this week also. With only 7 buckets to can I was wondering how to make what we need...today the Lord provided two HUGE fields of tomatoes to pick! I now have twenty-two bushels of tomatoes to can...more salsa, red stuff, and whole tomatoes will soon be put into jars for the long winter ahead. What a blessing it was to see my eighty-five year old mother-in-love and her new husband (he's eighty-three!) picking down the long rows of tomatoes with my children....they will cherish today's memory for years to come. We now have 23 BUSHELS of tomatoes to work! Praise God!

Tuesday (October 25th)

This is becoming more of a journal than a blog...sorry. We hosted a wedding reception for our son Matthew that is now home from the middle east last night. They are now off to Puerto Rico, my childhood home, for their honeymoon. They were married on July 9, 2011 and are now just getting alone together! I'm thankful that things have a chance to wind down a bit now as the season is winding down.

The boys (6 of them) are making salsa today. The farm kitchen is a bee hive of activity!! I've had other responsibilities to keep me out of their way...so I encourage, fetch needed ingredients, and will help with the eventual clean up! I'm soooo proud of them. I think they have about 100 quarts going on our 6 eye stove!! Jars are lined up over all my counters! I have to tell you about a first! Usually when I need jars from our root cellar I ask one of the boys please go get them. They bring up boxes of them to me, saving me a lot of lifting. Today, with Isaac (17) in charge, they brought a piece of plywood down there and sorted jars onto it...then they carried the board with 100 jars on it to the kitchen porch door! I grabbed the camera real quick to see this unique method. When we do something around here it is always in a big way.

I hope you are enjoying the fall vegetables in your shares. We are for sure! We've really enjoyed the cauliflower and broccoli, so I thought I'd share a few of my experiments from last fall. Below is the basic recipe...feel free to use just broccoli, a mixture of of the two or even chopped greens like spinach, Swiss Chard, kale, or others! I've used it many different ways with whatever the Lord puts in my hands to feed my family. :)

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Broccoli/Cauliflower Cheese Soup, Spinach Cheese Soup, Green Cheese Soup (that's fun)

Saute:
2 T. Olive oil
3/4 C. chopped onion

Add:
6 C. water
6 chicken bouillon cubes

Add and cook 3 minutes:
8 oz. vermecelli (thin pasta) broken up in small pieces
1 t. sea salt

Stir in and cook 4 minutes:
2 packages frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, greens, or combination of each(I freeze in quarts for soups or use 10 oz. frozen packages of store bought) cut up fine, but chunky
1/8 t. garlic powder

Add:
6 cups milk
1 lb. Velveeta cheese or grated cheddar

Cook only until cheese melts, BUT DO NOT boil.

OPTIONAL
Brown and crumble bacon for a garnish...this is best on cauliflower.

I'm getting the"fall itch" for soups and fresh breads...I get a craving, then it's soup season in full swing once again. Last winter we had soup almost every lunch. I put the ingredients in a 6 quart crock pot and ground the wheat for muffins while doing the breakfast dishes. Then as school wound down for the morning I mixed the muffin of choice and we had a nice cozy lunch. It sure was nice. Maybe you could try it out. Remember the above soup's vegetable choice can be almost anything you have extra of in your refrigerator. I'd really like it if you comment below on what you've tried...then maybe I can try it too!

Adam brought me to the "stats" page for this blog to reassure me that folks are reading it. Thank you! I felt like I was writing to empty cyber space. I pray it is a blessing to each of you.

Pretty soon we'll be enjoying early evenings with more time indoors for family fun. One thing the Colvin family likes to do is to cook together. One of our favorite fun times is to make pizza, a Mexican dish, or egg rolls together and then watch a good movie together. We use all kinds of vegetables to make our egg rolls...they are nothing like what you get in a restaurant but we love them! We clean out the refrigerator's vegetable shelf and add a bit of shrimp or something cut up small. I'll list several vegetables, but use what you have on hand. Plan a family fun night and try out this recipe!

Egg Rolls Colvin"ese" Style

1 small head of cabbage
1 medium onion
1 small carrot
handful of snow peas
broccoli
cauliflower
bean sprouts
1 rib celery
1/2 pepper
handful radish
ETC.

Meat or seafood in your egg rolls is optional. If you choose to include some, cut it in small pieces. We like a small amount of imitation crab meat or shrimp. You can use boneless chicken breasts, a small steak or whatever is in the freezer. Cut it up in small pieces and stir fry it in a small amount of oil with a tablespoon of choped garlic. Remove from the oil when finished and place in a small bowl. Place the bowl in the middle of a large round tray. (or improvise)

Next,cut all vegetables in small pieces. (They must be uniform size so they cook quickly.) As you chop your vegetables start with your seasoning vegetables first...onion and a bit of fresh ginger. Place them on a tray at the"12 o'clock" position. Then assess your vegetables...which take the longest to cook? Carrots are always longest in my choices, so I cut them up in small pieces and place them at the "1 o'clock" position on the tray. Then in the above list I'd chop cauliflower and place it at the "2 o'clock" position and so on ending with cabbage which is the last one to be added as it is your filler. You can do this ahead of time and cover it until cooking time. My children like to help with the chopping though, and we make it a "party" atmosphere.

I have a large wok, so I heat it up with about 1/8 C. oil. I add the seasoning vegetables at "12 o'clock" position. Cook only a few minutes before adding the vegetable in the "1 o'clock" position (if it's carrots, stir fry them a bit longer than the rest of the vegetables)...working your way around the tray giving each addition a minute or two to stir fry before adding another. The last addition should be the cabbage which should be your last vegetable as it is the "filler". When the stir fry is barely "limp", it is ready to fill your wrappers.

Follow the instructions included in your egg roll wrappers to wrap them. Be careful to not over fill them. (Start with about "1/4" cup of vegetables and see how it rolls up.) We use a mixture of 1 T. flour and 1 C. water to moisten the edges and "glue" it together. Place them on cooling racks to dry a bit before deep frying. We fry in our wok and drain in a vertical position to drain well.
Serve with sweet and sour sauce and Chinese hot mustard.

Val's Sweet & Sour Sauce

In a medium saucepan place and heat well:
3 T. oil
1 C. sugar
1/4 C. corn starch
2-3 T. soy sauce
2/3 C. apple cider vinegar
1 1/3 C. water

Add:
2-4 T. chopped onion
1 T. finely chopped grated giner

Cook until thickened. Refrigerate leftovers, keeps well. I like to mix with Chinese hot mustard for a zingy sauce!

As you face YOUR busy days this fall please don't fall into satan's trap of thinking you don't have enough time to spend in God's Word each day. We don't have enough time NOT to! I know he whispers the same lies to each of us, so what I struggle with, you must also. I cannot miss my time with Jesus each morning or I'll be unable spiritually and emotionally to handle the multitude of responsibilities that at times seem overwhelming. WITH Christ, alllll things ARE possible! On my own, I am nothing.

"Hast thou not know? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint: and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Isaiah 40: 28-31

Abundant Blessings from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
The Farmer's Wife