Winding it Down...

As we go into our last weekend of Colvin Family
Farm CSA deliveries we'd like to remind everyone
there's more to come!

Welcome to our last CSA blog entry for the season! I'll still be writing weekly for a few more weeks to help you keep in touch with "your farm". During the winter I'll be posting at least once a month. The blog will follow the off-season of a farm family. What does a farmer's family do when there's snow on the ground? Well... keep in touch by reading The Farmer's Wife blog and you'll get a peak into the farmhouse when the cold winds are blowing.

We still have plenty of vegetables in the field IF

the cold temperatures this weekend do not kill them. So be looking for us at your local farmer's markets in the coming weeks. We pray we'll be serving you until Thanksgiving at the following markets: Oak Ridge, Market Square, Cumberland Sustainable,  Franklin, and the Main Street Farmer's Market in

Chattanooga. We'll continue to serve Dixie Lee in Farragut until it peters out also.


The good news is that we hope to have our website online store running all winter long with new items being added weekly until markets open full time next spring. There are also a few all winter markets that we plan on attending that you can either pick up your online sales at or buy off our table. Market Square's monthly markets at the Train Depot, Cumberland Sustainable Farmer's Market. This market is an online market where you can buy organic vegetables, meats, dairy, freshly baked whole wheat breads, home crafted personal care items, and MORE! Lots of folks enjoy the convenience of buying online, paying online or with one check at the market for all your purchases. Cumberland Sustainable Farmer's Market is a convenient way to shop weekly during the winter. Crossville is right off I-40, a short 1/2 hour trip from Oak Ridge. Our farm manages this market, so if we can serve you in any way, just write or call. There is a feature on the website that allows you to virtually visit each farm you plan to purchase from to read their growing standards, see pictures, and "get to know your farmer". Just because your CSA share is ending doesn't mean you have to go back to the grocery store for your vegetables and meat. Please support your local farm families by continuing to come to the farmer's markets.

Sooo, on to what went on at Colvin Family Farm this week?

First thing this week our 300 broilers reached

maturity! It doesn't seem that long ago they were cute little balls of fluff. We moved them each day in movable pens to new grass, so they have feasted on grass and bugs, along with the GMO/naturally grown feed. Last

week we invested into 3 new 20 cubic feet chest freezers to store the meat for markets. All was set for the big move to the FDA packaging facility. 3:30 a.m. Monday morning (in the rain) the boys began moving the birds for transport. By 5:15 they were pulling out and heading for Sparta, Tennessee. A little over 24 hours later the meat was back on the farm packed in the new freezers. We'll be selling various cuts of the meat along with whole birds all during the winter.

Whole chicken, along with individual cuts
will be available throughout the winter.
The chicken was raised naturally on pasture with
GMO/Soy-Free Feed.

*Coming Attraction*
Farm Raised - Free Range Pork
Raised on Colvin Family Farm Vegetables
and GMO-Soy Free Feed

Also on Monday the farm kitchen was in full swing once again. We canned more okra and pickled okra along with prepping all the beans that were leftover from the weekend markets for canning.

On Tuesday Cerina and I made pumpkin butter from

the pumpkins deemed unfit to sell. The butter's got the perfect spiciness that made the farm kitchen smell like...FALL! Then we had a ball experimenting with watermelon! Noah (16) helped us seed and puree the tender sweet pulp so we could make watermelon jelly! It tastes fabulous and will give us a mid-winter treat when the cold winds are blowing! There are small amounts of these products for sale. We'd love to hear your comments on them here or on Facebook!!

Before the sun was up on Wednesday we were busy

making shares for our last mid-week shares. The light is very dim, so the pictures aren't great, but as the sun made it's beautiful appearance the truck was packed for Market Square and Main Street Farmer's Market's shares were also ready. The beauty of a full harvest is a blessing this time of year, so we are counting our blessings that we got the whole 18 weeks of deliveries made without a weather related disaster! We had our share of floods, hail, and frosts last year! 

The sun coming up over the home farm Wednesday
morning as we finished packing mid-week shares.

Week 18
Colvin Family Farm
CSA Delivery

Thursday brought us the challenge of Cumberland 

Sustainable Farmer's Market! We harvested alllll kinds of vegetables for the market along with baking new fall treats like these new apple fried pies with

cream cheese frosting! The Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls were another fall treat too. We also offer whole wheat breads made with fresh stone ground wheat. This market is packed and run by Farmer Steve and his youngest children...what a challenge! :) 

So, as you can see there is plenty still being harvested. Don't miss out on your weekly Certified Naturally Grown vegetables! Visit your local farmer's market, or visit our online store.

One way I can tell the year is winding down is when I look at all the pictures our family has taken over the week. This week there are more pictures of girls (the top three...Allison, Shelby and Destany) guns (target practice is now an almost daily occurance) and

 get-a-ways are more prominent than field work!

Add caption

On the way back from Sparta with the chickens this week, Adam and Caleb stopped off at Rock Island State Park. They climbed around amongst the rocks and took lots of pictures. They get to see a lot of our fair country as young farmers! They've been to Washington, D.C., Wisconsin, New York, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and all points between! 

We've enjoyed the return of lettuce this week! I've been making lettuce wraps for my sandwiches this

week. What a creative way to cut down on wheat...I know! I'm the farmer's wife that makes around 25 loaves of whole wheat bread a week! But cut wheat out I must for a while...so I've been tucking all kinds of vegetables, sospretta, and plain yogurt into one of our large lettuce leaves. Who would have thought a bread-less sandwich could be so good?!

I'm looking forward to getting on with fall now...we start school Monday...all the clothes are switched...the maple tree in the yard is ablaze...cool evenings find me cuddled up with a book and a cup of peach chamomile tea... things are winding down.

The Word of God tells of a time when God's plan for the ages will wind down also. The future we will spend for eternity will be determined by how we live today. Since I'm saved I'm investing each hour of my day in what will bring God glory. I want to be able to cast crowns at Jesus' feet to show Him my gratitude and love. How I spend each day will determine how I'll be able to shower Him with my praise.

If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, He desires for you to draw close to Him. He will show you the way of salvation. It is a free gift, we don't have to earn a thing! "Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." Acts 16:31 Repent from your sin, and cry out to Him. He is waiting for you! Read my testimony in this blog post.

The Colvin Family would like to thank each and every shareholder for your support during the 2014 growing season! We've learned a lot about how to grow smarter, serve better, and shine for Jesus! Come and join us for 2015! Watch your e-mail and our website for early sign up bonuses!

Abundant Blessings!

The Farmer's Wife

Val

I've" Bean" Blessed!

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We've "bean" blessed! We don't deserve God's blessings, but His love reaches out to us non-the-less!

As the old hymn goes, "Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God hath done! Count your blessings; name them one by one...count your many blessings see what God hath done."

With the leftover beans from last week's markets we

You can hardly see
Charity breaking beans
beside Destany!

canned 74 quarts of beans, and bartered the rest for 6 gallons of raw milk from a neighboring farm. (A double blessing!) I've "bean" blessed with two special helpers, Destany and Shelby. (Isaac's and Caleb's gals) The look on their faces as they came in the door and saw the mountain of beans was priceless! The men had mounded alllllllll the beans on our 12' farmhouse table and it was at least 3 feet high and 8' long! Their gasps led to proclamations of, "I've never seen that many beans in one place!" We worked most of the day, and then said, "That's enough." The pressure canner jiggled well into the night!

The men are pulling up our mulch, discing the ground and getting things cleaned up a bit at both farms. The strawberries will go into the high tunnels this week! I'm looking forward to the strawberry harvest of 2015 since I missed this year's harvest.

300 broilers (meat chickens) being taken to the USDA processing facility on Tuesday. The guys have a count on how many more times they need to be moved! ha ha! It's a lot of work, but these chickens get fresh pasture daily. They also eat bugs, NON-GMO feed, and drink lots and lots of fresh well water daily. We've "bean" blessed with a good chicken season, and want to share it with you! The meat will be available soon! 

I've "bean" blessed to bake lots of pumpkins this week in the

farm kitchen. I hope to make a big batch of pumpkin butter along with some savory breads that make the kitchen smell like...well, FALL! 

The final jamming is done...and we've "bean" blessed with great sales all ready! The blueberry, blackberry, and peach are quicly being snatched up by our customers! We had fun working two long days getting it all done, but it was well worth it! I hope you enjoy it. There are a few jars left of the above jams left and plenty of strawberry. I thought it would sell throughout the winter...not. Get what you want now before it's gone.

Do ya'll make a major switch in your clothing when fall morning temperatures dip below 50 degrees? We need warm clothing working outside in the fall and winter. So this week I switch everyone's clothing, adding "long-handles" (long johns) flannel shirts, and heavy socks to the mix of long sleeved shirts. It's a huge job getting it sorted, marked with the right amount of dots representing who is wearing it, washed, and finally ironed. I've spent the better part of the week working on this project. I finally got it all into the men's and family closets! Yahooo! We've "bean" blessed to see how God provides our clothing from season to season!

One of the racks of clothes that's been washed and hung...
It was just the beginning as I had 11 people's clothes to sort, wash,hang, iron, and put away.

We've "bean" blessed with good harvests this year!

We've "bean" blessed by a great packing crew that
comes out to help each Friday afternoon!

Packing shares!
Next year we pray we'll be in our new packing shed. Life will be very different...and I'll have a
porch again!

Timmy (the Friday Night Farmer) and
Noah wash bundles of sweet turnips! Noah's "bean" blessed by Timmy's friendship, encouragement, and good Christian example!

With me sticking close to the farm this season, someone needed to jump into my shoes at two markets. We've "bean" blessed with Cerina taking

over the Cumberland Sustainable Farmer's Market in Crossville, and Destany and Jeannie working the drop off in Dayton (no store this season). They have all been faithful to represent our Lord and farm each week and I want to say a BIG thank you to them!!

I've "bean" blessed with the Farmer and my Farmer Boys who work diligently for us all every day. They are up before the sun moving chicken pens and caring for their needs, watering the greenhouses, and keep going all day (okay, Noah collapses during his lunch break) providing fresh, nutritious food for us all! Many days it's well into the night before they call it quits, or come driving home from a market in the city. 

There are sooo many blessings in my life! I could go on for days! But I've "bean" blessed the most for how the Lord foresaw my depravity and  provided a way for me to spend eternity with Him in heaven! Jesus Christ was beaten unmercifully, and hung on a cross to pay for my sins and yours. Now, because I have believed on His name, accepted His provision for my sin, and made Him Lord of my life I can live in daily victory over sin!

I've "bean" blessed with eternal life!

Have you? Accept His gift today!

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

1 Peter 3:23

This Week's Recipes

If you are like me there are days when I pull alllll the vegetables out of my refrigerator and want to use them in a supper! Well, here is a recipe that will work on those evenings. You can also hide vegetables that are harder for some folks to eat in these cheesy patties! It's a clean out the fridge day meal.

Cheesy Roasted Vegetable Patties

2 T. butter/olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/2 of a medium onion, diced

1 C. assorted vegetables, diced*

1 C. bread crumbs

1 C.  shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C. Shredded Parmesan Cheese (green shaker if you don't have fresh)

3 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Saute onion in oil until clear, add garlic and stir until fragrant. (Do not brown.)

3. If vegetables are wet, pat dry. No extra moisture is needed.

4. In a large bowl combine vegetables, garlicky onions, eggs, bread crumbs, and cheese. Mix well. Add salt and pepper if desired.

5. On a parchment or foil lined cookie sheet (spray foil), form the mixture into 10 patties.

If the mixture is too wet to form a patty, add more bread crumbs. If it's too dry, add another egg.

6.Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

My grandson would eat his with Ranch dressing or catsup. I prefer the taste of cheesy vegetables.

*Try what is in your frig...squash, green beans, turnip, peppers, onions, kale, butternut squash, or what's in your freezer or pantry like corn, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. *

With about 30 cups of pumpkin in my refrigerator I'm getting the pumpkin bread itch! We have our family favorite recipe, but this year I'm going to add some diced apples that just came from the orchard here on the mountain.

Pumpkin Apple Bread

2 1/2 C. flour (we use freshly ground whole wheat)

1 1/2-2 C. sugar or honey 

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. sea salt

2 eggs, beaten

1 C. pumpkin puree (if homemade, drain)

1/2 C. coconut oil

2 C. apples, peeled and chopped

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 9" bread pans, or muffin pans.

2. In a mixer or bowl add wet ingredients and mix.

3. Add spices, leavening, then flour. Mix just until the flour is moistened.

4. Add chopped apples and stir briefly.

5. Pour into prepared bread pans.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes (muffins) or 50 minutes for loaves. Test to determine if it's done by inserting a turkey skewer/toothpick. If it comes out clean it's done!

Abundant Blessings!

The Farmer's Wife,

Val

Back to the Roots Restaurant Week

https://www.naturallygrown.org/

Back to the Roots Restaurant Week

is a celebration of Good Food and 

Certified Naturally Grown Farms!

As a Certified Naturally Grown Farm,

we're helping to promote

two local restaurants and a food

truck that have agreed to donate 

a portion of their sales over the weekend

(through the 28th)

to our certifying and supporting 

organization 

Certified Naturally Grown.

The Plaid Apron Cafe

(through the 27th)

(865)247-4640

1210 Kenesaw Ave.

Cafe du Soleil

(through the 25th)

(865)595-0134

416 Clinch Ave.

Tootsie Truck

(through the 28th)

(865)771-8028

*Market Square Farmer's Market*

There are fourteen area farmers that are now Certified Naturally Grown!

Help us by supporting these businesses

to promote and encourage these farms.

Certified Naturally Grown (CNG)

is a peer-review ecological certification that builds farms and community. 

Look for the CNG label at your local 

Farmer's Market!

Because good food is...

Real Food

Non-GMO

Produced with NO Synthetic Chemicals

From a Local Farm, Rooted in Community

Not from a Corprate Conglomerate!

for more information at

www.CNGproud.com/knoxville

THANK YOU!

The Steve Colvin Family

at

www.colvinfamilyfarm.com

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

Okay, I'm giving in...goodbye summer...
hello fall.

The summer of 2014 will be remembered by the Colvin family as a great year of learning the balance of farming for CSA and the eight farmer's markets we serve...

The year of my accident here on the farm...the helicopter taking me to Chattanooga for emergency treatment...and the long road of recovery that has lasted most of the growing season.

The summer of several good bean harvests...

The summer loved bloomed for my young men that had waited "patiently" on God for His provision...

After a hard 2013, we had plenty for CSA, and on table sales!

We're thankful for a great melon season.

For the first time ever we've been able to harvest and dry the whole garlic crop!
I'm proud of you boys!

We're delighted with our greatest melon year
yet!

2014 will also be known as the year
of the abundant okra harvests!

2014 was a year to sell out of shares early. We really appreciate allllll our faithful share
holders that have supported our growing
family farm.

Peppers galore! We've had all sizes,
shapes, and tastes.

We won several awards for our "best tasting"
tomatoes.

All we can say is that God has been
very good to us, and blessed our farm.

But now, it's fall...and I'm switching mental gears. 

The winter squash have been around awhile, but
now they are part of my kitchen decorations, and
it just feels right somehow.

My personal favorite of the winter squash is
acorn. They look pretty in fall decorations
too.

This picture was taken two weeks ago, so there
is more color now than there was then. We've been
having coool nights and mild days. That's the perfect
recipe for fall colors!

I love to decorate with fall's
bounty. I can change it weekly and have a new
look with colored leaves, baskets, pumpkins, winter
squash, or whatever I see on my walks. This is the time of year that the children help decorate the table with colored leaves...I chose a color a day for
the younger children to hunt for which keeps their eyes trained to spot the new, and pretty changes about them.

The squirrels are busy too!

We are thankful for a record Butternut Squash
harvest. The boys got to fill several galords of them this week. We'll have them throughout the winter for sale at the year-round markets, and on our online store. My youngest children love to find the small ones and bake them for a personal sized lunch treats!

Use Butternut Squash in any recipe that calls for pumpkin. Click this link for directions from my blog on how to bake them easily for use. After baking them you can scoop them out into freezer bags in 2 cup portions as this is the amount most recipes call for.

Here is another of our family's favorites that can be made with pumpkin or squash.  It's called Pumpkin Roll, but I also make it in mini angle flood pans for individual desserts. These too sell out at our markets in Crossville. Any that may happen to bring home are quickly divided up at the next meal. I also make them for Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Roll/ Pumpkin Roll Cake
3 eggs
2/3 C. Pumpkin
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
3/4 C. self rising flour (I make my own)
1 C. sugar

1. 
   1.Grease jelly roll or 1 piece angle food pan. If using a jelly roll pan, line with parchment or wax paper.

2. Mix wet ingredients together in mixer. Add sugar and mix well.
3. Add spices. Mix well.
4. Add flour, mix.
5. Pour into pan and bake at 375 degrees till toothpick inserted comes out clean. (Watch the edges of a thin jelly roll as they burn easily.)
6. Place the pumpkin roll onto a thin towel that has been dusted with confectioners sugar. Roll the towel up to cool. Refrigerate the roll for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
6B. Place the cake onto a cooling rack, and cool completely.

Directions for Pumpkin Roll Cake~ Using a piece of dental floss, cut the cake in half horizontally. Place top half onto the cooling rack. Place the bottom onto the cake plate. Spread a good layer of the filling (below) onto the cut side. Place the top onto the cake. Spread filling over the top, and let it "fall over" the sides. (I do not frost the sides usually.) Garnish the top with a few pecans for a finished look. Serve.

Directions for a Pumpkin Roll ~ Unroll the towel containing your roll cake. Spread filling over the  cake and reroll. (Careful, mine crack easily) Sprinkle with confectioners sugar. "Glue" a few pecans in the center of the roll with some filling. This is an extra special Thanksgiving treat on the farm.

Pumpkin Roll/Cake Filling
1 C. chopped nuts (we use Pecans)
1 C. Confectioners Sugar
1, 8 oz. Cream cheese
1 tablespoon Butter
3 T.  Vanilla

1. Cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla till light.
2. Add confectioners sugar a little at a time. Whip well.
3. Add chopped nuts. Either mix by hand or on slow speed.


Well, now my secret fall recipes are out...but here are a few more ideas I use.
1. Make pumpkin cinnamon rolls by spicing up well drained pumpkin and using it for the filling.
2. Make pumpkin muffins to go with your hearty fall stews and soups. They really round out a meal and fill the "hole" in hungry men.
3. Simply fill a casserole dish with mashed pumpkin or winter squash, and top with mixture of ground nuts, oatmeal, cinnamon, brown sugar (optional), and butter. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

We like to see how God changes His palate in early fall. When the bright yellows and purples dominate in mid-August, we know fall is right around the corner.

Just around the corner is really the lingering thought in most minds here on the farm...fall...a time of more laid back days of harvest (after the remaining 2 CSA deliveries), fewer plantings, school beginning, longer, cooler nights, and God working miracles in the landscape. We all need to keep our eyes open for His finest work will be wrought all around us in the weeks to come. If we're too busy we may miss Him proclaiming His greatness in the orchestra of color painting the mountains and valleys where we live.

Charity encourages everyone to buy a pumpkin this weekend and make her favorite fall treat...

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2 scant cups brown sugar
1 C. oil
1 1/2 C. cooked, mashed pumpkin
2 eggs
3 C. flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves

1. Cream sugar and oil.
2. Add pumpkin and eggs. Add flour, salt, baking powder, soda, vanilla, and spices. Mix well.
3. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. (Parchment) Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
4. Make sandwiches from 2 cookies filled with the Whoppie Pie filling below.

Hints for Success

Use Coconut oil and freshly ground whole wheat flour for the exact whoopie pie we sold the last few seasons in Crossville. We always sold out! Choose the size you'd like. I make big ones for market, but used to make tiny ones for my little ones.

Whoopie Pie Filling

1 egg white, beaten
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup confectioners sugar

1. Mix. Then add one more cup confectioners sugar and 3/4 cup shortening. (This year I'm going to try coconut oil.)
2. Spread a "dab" (ha ha! That's my favorite part!) of filling on the flat side of cooled "cookie".
3. Top with another cookie to form a sandwich.
Savor the taste of fall!

Fall means muffin season in the farmhouse.
We made our first batch of the season this week. Faith Anne made "Wilder Muffins" (thanks again Madeline). She shook some cinnamon sugar on top for a yummy treat for supper. 

Look for your fall favorites at your market this weekend. They make great decorations now, and then winter treats later!

"The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun until the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." 

Psalm 50:1,2

Abundant Blessings,

The Farmer's Wife,

Val