CSA Week 16

From the Farmer’s Wife

Week 16

Greetings from our family farm! We are rejuvenated after a weekend without a lot of running to the city. It was very beneficial to focus on the farm and family.

Our son and his lady friend were here also for a visit! We won’t see him for 3 years unless the Lord intervenes…from Iowa he will be stationed for the fourth time in Qatar, (a border country to Afghanistan and Iraq where the Air Force does all surveillance work) and then in one year he’ll be transferred to Japan. It was quite fun for us all to cook supper together! We grilled Italian sausage, made cold pack pickles, steamed a medley of squash and onions, and made a family favorite, German heavy noodles. I’ll include that recipe in today’s letter. My family has made this traditional dish for generations. This was the menu Matthew requested.  There were 16 family members seated around our lively farm table for supper. Matthew bought a lot of fireworks and put on quite a show with his “little” brother’s help. Adam took pictures and they’ll be included on the farm’s newsletter this week. Time has surely flown by, it doesn’t seem too long ago that Matthew and his sisters worked the gardens and helped to preserve the bounty with me.

German Heavy Noodles

1 cup unbleached white flour (white flour is okay also)

1 egg

¼ teaspoon salt

Water

½ cup butter, melted

1 large onion, cut in rings

  5 or so hours (I usually just make this part of my lunch preparation if I plan on having it for supper.) before needed: Measure flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Break an egg in a separate dish and whip. Pour into the flour. Mix the eggs slightly into the flour mixture. Add enough water to make a wet dough, but not runny! This may take a little practice. Add flour if you get too much water in it.

Put a plate over the top of your bowl and let mixture rest, approximately 5 hours.

  When you begin meal preparations, fill large pot half full of water and bring to a boil.  Slice onions and sauté in melted butter until translucent.  When the water boils, slide dough from dish onto a wet cutting board. Let the dough slide towards the edge of the cutting board while you hold it over the boiling water. Using a large knife, cut the noodles into the boiling water. (Size? Cut the dough into strips about the size of a steak French fry.) Wet the knife with boiling water after each cut to enable the next noodle to slide off the knife. When all the noodles are cut into the water, give a gentle stir to separate. Let them boil just a couple of minutes. Drain. Gently mix the noodles into the generous amount of melted butter and onions. Serve immediately.

   So, life is returning to “normal” here on the farm. We’ve been planting up a storm…literally a few times, Praise God! Brussels Sprouts, Chinese cabbage, lots of lettuce, green onions, green beans, radish, beets, cucumbers and much more have been put in and there are still hundreds of plants awaiting their transplant. Though the shares are sparse now (we’re so sorry) they should grow fuller and fuller with each passing week.

   Guess what!??!!! I finished cutting back the 350’ row of Swiss Chard this week. It was a LONG hot job and the sense of accomplishment is large. Faith Anne was my right hand gal and she learned vital lessons with sticking to a hard task…at least I pray she did! We are delighted to be serving back in the farm kitchen baking granola and cinnamon rolls for the shares again this week.  I pray you’ll find these additions enjoyable.

   Several folks have asked for my cinnamon roll recipe. Unless you have a wheat mill and know how to bake bread, the dough is difficult. I don’t follow a given recipe; we’ve just developed it over the years. I give my daughter Hannah Grace the most credit for perfecting the recipe. She used to make them and sell them at the Dayton Farmer’s Market in 2002-03 before kitchens had to be “certified”.  So try the following idea for good “homemade” fresh cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls

Frozen Bread dough (available at the grocery store in the frozen food section)

A mixture of cinnamon sugar similar to what you would put on toast

Butter, room temperature

Nuts, chopped (use any that you have on hand, our favorite is pecan, but we don’t always have these on hand)

A recipe of Cinnamon Roll Glaze

         Roll your bread dough out into a rectangle. Using a “spatula” knife, spread butter over the entire surface. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle nuts liberally over the cinnamon sugar. Start rolling the dough on the longest side near you like a jelly roll. Pinch the dough together when you complete the roll. Close the ends also with a bit of pinching and forming with your hands.

      Slide a length of dental floss under one end of the roll. Cross your hands, letting the floss cut the roll. Place each roll into a greased pan. Flatten slightly. Leave room for the dough to rise, so don’t place them too close together. Let rise at room temperature until they’ve doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees until golden and set, about 25-30 minutes for a large pan. Let cool.

Cinnamon Roll Glaze

1 cup melted butter

1 heavy tablespoon vanilla

3 ½ cups powdered sugar

   With a hand mixer, whisk butter and vanilla together, add sugar until desired consistency (not thick, but runny). Thin with milk if needed. Pour over cooled cinnamon rolls. Let set until glaze hardens before packaging.

  

   We still plan to have our kitchen certified, but lack inspection. We have to do a few finishing touches to our kitchen that are cost prohibitive at this point in time. We hope that next spring we’ll be selling our freshly made breads, jams, freshly ground nut butters, fresh applesauce, and more at the markets! We now feel we can GIVE you these items as part of your share, but are not able to SELL them. Understand? That’s okay; we don’t understand all the red tape either. J

   We pray you and your families are enjoying the last days of summer. There are signs of fall all around us…purple flowers like Iron Weed are the first sign, then the Black Walnut’s leaves are turning yellow and falling. It won’t be long until cooler days are here!

   One sign of late summer for us on the mountain is the ripening of peppers. Since they are a warm weather plant that takes a lot of time to mature, we begin harvesting them in August. They are in your shares for the first time this week. There are many ways to use them. My family likes them raw best. I like to make a vegetable plate for each end of the table that contains tomatoes (not this year yet :O) cucumbers, peppers, and green onions. Some people like to serve a dip with this. I also use them chopped small in our soft tacos/taco salads, in chicken fajitas, in stir fries, and I personally like stuffed peppers. These are just a few ideas to get your mind spurred. For me the hardest part of making a meal is coming up with what I want to cook! I used to have 3 teenage daughters at home to help with this…what a blessing that was!

   Well, today has been be a busy day. Faith Anne and I made 155 cinnamon rolls for the large shares, packaged the lentils and small sprout mixture, washed the potatoes for table sales, bunched onions and leeks, and packaged the granola. I think she and I will sleep good tonight!

   May God bless each of you as you seek to live for Him each day. If you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, honor Him with each word that proceeds from your lips. If you don’t know Him as your personal Savior, turn to Him for salvation before it’s too late. Time is running out.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:9-10 (KJV)

Abundant Blessings,

Your Farmer’s Wife

Val Colvin

CSA Week 14

Greetings from Colvin Family Farm! Farmer Steve just informed me that we are now past the halfway point of our CSA 2010. Farmer Steve said, “We’re winding on down now…” we’re still working too hard right now to see the finish line, but we see a bit of the coming season in the Black Walnut leaves that shower down when a storm is brewing. We’re promoting our fall CSA for folks that want to see up close what it is like to be part of a CSA. You all are our best advertisement. I challenge you to encourage a friend to join!  We NEED your help.

   Many people write us asking about our family and farm so I decided to write this From the Farmer’s Wife as if I was writing a daily journal. Life is not perfect for any family, so please don’t think we are! We are constantly learning and growing.  (I need to apologize for the way this turned out before you even begin to read it. At times I was typing with my eyes closed at 11:30 at night…if it is kind of jumbled and disjointed at times. Please forgive me.)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 

5:30 A.M. Farmer Steve gets up and starts his day. He had been up earlier praying, but slipped back into bed for a little rest. This is the time of day he can study God’s Word, pray, and seek God’s wisdom for our day. He also prepares our family Bible time during this quiet time.

Meet your Farmer:  Steve wasn’t a full time farmer until June of 2009 when his job of 34 years as a time study analyst/efficiency engineer with the La-Z-Boy Cooperation was eliminated. He immediately joined Adam and Caleb farming and the vision for a family farm was finally a reality. Steve also loves woodworking, reading, playing the guitar, and writing poetry and prose (ha ha!)

6:00 A.M. The Farmer’s Wife awakes (that’s me J), slips ANOTHER load of laundry in the washer, tidies up and heads to the porch with a cup of peach tea Farmer Steve made me. J  The morning sky is a brilliant tribute to our Almighty God. This is the time of day I can meet alone with God…He is there waiting for me each morning! I am copying the book of Mark right now and learning to praise God through a study of the Psalms.

Meet your Farmer’s Wife: It was hard to describe Steve’s interests because his interests are whatever strengthens the family… it is the same with me. My hobby for about 27 years has been laundry, and I collect hand-me-downs now instead of heart shaped trinkets and rainbows….thankfully I like to read, as I preview almost all books the children read. (I’m glad I now have young men who can help me preview books; it is good to have their help and discernment.) When I have a free moment, I like to snuggle with my girls, sip tea, and read aloud to them. I love walks in the woods, making entries in my nature journal, playing the flute, and learning the ways of homemakers from past generations who, “used it up, wore it out, made it do, or did without.”

7:00 A.M. From the porch I hear the chiming of the clock signaling the household it’s time to get up. Older children usually have their personal Bible time before this and are ready to clean their rooms (at least theoretically) and get to their morning jobs. In theory jobs are to be completed before breakfast.

     Sometimes it takes more than the clock to signal the children that it’s time to get up…especially this summer when the workday may end late in the evening. So each morning when I come in from the porch I fill the hopper of my wheat mill with wheat to grind for our days baking of bread—I make five loaves while I make breakfast. (Some of you who were our first shareholders got a sampling of my fresh miniature loaves in your spring shares. I hope to one day sell my bread and other baked goods at the markets, but we must be inspected first. )

       For breakfast I cooked up 18 eggs, 1/3 pound ground sausage, 16 potatoes grated into hash browns, a loaf of our homemade bread for toast, several tomatoes sliced up, 1 gallon of milk, and coffee for the men. We have freshly made strawberry jam that was made yesterday to test on our toast. (We made over 100 jars of jam this week.) Our family likes a bit of sweet on their toast or biscuits each morning. We also had raw honey, peach jam, and apple butter today….all homemade goodness. Noah (11 for a few more weeks) is working in the kitchen before breakfast. He unloads the dishwasher and dishrack, sets the table for breakfast and finds a “nook and cranny” to do (all those miscellaneous jobs that need doing like wiping out the microwave or refrigerator, neatening shelves, etc.) He is a big blessing! He even helps me with the cooking if I run into a snag.

Meet Noah: Noah (11) isn’t naturally inclined to choose kitchen work…he’d rather be out in the woods or fishing (he’s a natural), or just riding his bike. He is allllll boy. He’ll be in the 5^th grade this year.

   

Meet Faith Anne:  Faith Anne (9) is my right hand gal most of the day. She is learning to cook, sew, garden, and so much more. She loves all the above plus reading and writing in her journal. She sings in the youth choir and adult choir with the rest of our family at church. She will be in the 4^th grade this fall.

8:00 A.M. The antique ship’s bell is rung for breakfast. Children and men come from the four corners of the house and farm. Today Farmer Steve and a few boys were planting green onions and weeding the Brussels sprouts when the breakfast bell rung. It’s really one of  the best time of day to get fieldwork done.

    Steve’s Grandpa used to come and watch their family eat….he didn’t eat with them, he just like to watch the food disappear. Steve’s Momma now likes to watch us eat…it’s amazing how fast food disappears when a hungry family sits around our 12’ long farm table. The strawberry jam was given great reviews…the jar is empty!

     After the food is gone we visit for a few minutes, reviewing our day. This usually melds right into our family Bible time. Little Charity Rose (2) gets my focused attention during this time as she is being taught to sit still with her hands folded. I keep one hand cupped in front of us and she puts her little folded hands in mine…what an awesome job God has given me as a mother!

Meet Charity Rose: Charity Rose is our “baby” at 29 months old. We had patiently waited for another girl and had her name picked out. Each time we had a boy we simply put the name Charity Rose in the back of our minds again for some possible future child. God has a sense of humor and sent Charity Rose into her father’s outstretched arms on Valentines Day of 2008. Our little rose petal is an adorable bundle of smiles, songs, and a singular affection for the color pink! She has to sleep on the pink squares on her homemade quilt. Dolly Rose her baby doll has a pink dress. She dons pink boots every time she goes outside that are 2 sizes too big for her…but that matters not because they are PINK!  Charity Rose is the sunshine of our lives….and all the boys vie for her attention.

9:30 A.M. We clean up the kitchen together as a family, so everyone attends to their assigned area. One person clears the table, wipes down the chairs and table, and neatens the hutch and corner cabinet. Another is on rinsing the dishes while another is on loading the dishwasher, still another is another sweeping, while another spot mops, etc. In about 20 minutes we have the place shining. The big guys check the web site and mail during this time also. We ALL ENJOY THE OCCASIONAL LETTERS FROM OUR SHAREHOLDERS.  A few of you are real good encouragers! Thank you

Meet Adam: Many of you already know Adam from your pickups at Market Square, but he is so important to our family and farm, I’ll introduce you personally. He graduated from our home school in 2008. He worked here on the farm and spent the summer rebuilding our tractor with his Dad, Uncle, and Caleb. He and Caleb began a large “garden” in the spring of 2009 thinking it would finance start-up costs for a mail order herb business. When Steve’s job was eliminated, Adam selflessly put all ideas for his own business aside and began making the farm more profitable with his Dad. Adam designed our web site on a dial up connection that often would lose its connection and lose everything he’d spent hours working on. He is interested in building a better site and possibly doing it for other farmers. He plays the guitar for the youth choir at church and also is the computer/sound system man at church. He is very busy there. He loves to read, work with plants, and one day hopes to get more training in natural healing. He will turn 20 in September. 

Meet Caleb: Caleb is our new 18-year-old. He is the diligent “silent” partner in the farm. He spent most of the winter doing most of the research for vegetable verities that we grew this year. He worked the orders out, sometimes several times. Caleb sings solos at church in the youth choir and holds Charity Rose for me while we sing in the adult choir. (I play the flute.) Both boys have dreams of owning their own farms, and then we’ll be known as Colvin Family FarmS. )

10:00 A.M. Everyone heads back outside. New beds were marked out with long lines of tomato twine. The rest of the onions were planted (that is 7,500 of them).  Adam sorted garlic in the little greenhouse. (He is on light duty as he has strained his back.) Faith Anne and I winnowed oats that were cut earlier in the week and tried to clean them…BY HAND. It is a painfully slow job, especially when Charity Rose (2) dumped the bowl of clean oat groats back into the tub to be cleaned! We cheered each other up with thoughts of how nice a place we had to work in. The breeze was blowing across the field where the men worked, and rustling the leaves of the trees overhead. We really had it made! Charity (2) and Levi (4) played nicely nearby. Caleb did a bit of bush hogging (rough mowing with the tractor) and parked it in the shade of the trees near us. It soon drew Levi and Charity….”Charity, you sit on the tiller, and I’ll drive us to downtown Knoxville.” Levi said. Off he “drove” with his little sister sitting on the back of the tractor. She piped up, “To market to market…” She doesn’t know the whole rhyme yet, but she loves the children’s rhyme, “To market, to market, to buy a fat pig. Home again, home again, jiggetty jig.”  We hear her saying this every Saturday morning when the men are gone “to market, to market”.

Meet Levi: Levi is 4 for a few more weeks. He is full of life, and on the brink of being a big boy. At the end of his day when his pockets are unloaded you’ll find special rocks, a bit of crayon left over from his coloring a special card for a family member, a length of rope, wire, nuts and bolts from the shop, and so much more. I may even find a frog mid-day!  Thankfully he still likes to cuddle and snuggle. He is our little man and we thank God for him.

 1 P.M.  My eyes are strained from picking out oat hulls from the small dish in front of me. Using our present method of cleaning, you dish up about 1/8 of a cup of unclean oat groats and pick out any left over chaff and hulls that still contain a berry and dump it into the finish bowl (the one that got dumped by the baby). By this time several of the boys had informed me of the time, and inspected my bowl. I got the hint. It was time to make lunch.

     The house was sure dark after the brightness of the day as I cut up two loaves of fresh bread, made chicken salad from chicken left over from Sunday’s dinner, cut up fruit and all that goes into a lunch for our family. We eat 3 meals a day together and lunchtime is our favorite…not so much for the food, but for the mid-day fellowship and read aloud time. We usually eat a bit late as this is the hottest time of the day. It’s best not to be working outside in the early afternoon. The greenhouse soars to well above 100 degrees on hot days. The boys all come in dripping wet and ready to eat, DRINK, and listen to our story. We are reading Anne of Green Gables right now and loving it. Steve and Adam (19) are our readers, and they act out the funny scenes. It’s hilarious! 

   After a few chapters, the afternoon is discussed and we break up to work again. I take the little ones (Faith Anne 9, Luke 7, Levi 4, Charity 2) for a nap/quiet time in our room. They camp on the floor with pallets and one gets to snuggle with me while I do paper work (write this, plan our school year, or review books for the children to read). As I type this, most of them are awake from their naps and  now have a book to read. The bigger boys are back in the kitchen rolling oats into oatmeal as a storm is approaching. I just gave the alert to the fact that there are clothes on the clothesline…We are all praying for rain again. As the boys walk through the field their feet are kicking up dust clouds. We are going to have to begin watering again soon if this storm passes by as many have in the past few days.

     Farmer Steve left to go to Dayton to pick up a pallet of Organic Sphagnum Peat Moss we found for 1/3 of the regular price. God is good to provide all we need. This will be mixed with mushroom compost and coarse grade vermiculite for the “perfect soil” in our raised beds. Steve has two assistants with him, Noah (11) whom you have met and Titus who is about to turn 14 next week.

Meet Titus: Titus is a unique individual whose bent is not towards farming long term. (I may be mistaken.) He like our oldest son in the military is a technical person with a bent towards computers. He doesn’t get much time on it though as when he does, something always goes amiss with the family computer. One day he’ll have his own computer and he’ll be able to fiddle to his heart’s content. Titus plays the dulcimer and sings in the choirs at church. He loves to read, take pictures, and find easier (mechanical) ways to get jobs done. He is a people person like many of my children, and folks find him quite outgoing. He’ll be in 8^th grade this year.

 

4:00 Well, quiet time is over and we’re off to do our afternoon chores! There are only 4 loads of laundry to fold today! Then supper must be fixed. I am making chicken squash fajitas for a quick supper before church. You’ll find the recipe to this quick, nutritious meal in week 11 of The Farmer’s Wife. We have found that by making our own Taco Seasoning Mix we save a lot of money. We like Mexican food! I usually make a quadruple batch of this and put it into a quart jar to use quickly. I use it on the Squash Fajitas, tacos, burritos, or any Mexican meal.

Taco Seasoning Mix

¼ c. instant minced onions (or onion powder)

3 T. chili powder

2 T. ground cumin

2 T. salt

1 T. crushed hot red pepper flakes

1 T. instant minced garlic (or garlic powder)

1 T. cornstarch

2 t. oregano, crushed well

   Combine and mix all ingredients. Pour into a jar or Tupperware container that is well sealed.

   To use: Brown 1 pound ground beef in a skillet; drain off excess fat: sprinkle mixture over meat (They say the mixture seasons six pounds of meat. I just sprinkle it on to taste.) Add ½ cup water and 1-T. catsup or tomato sauce. Simmer and stir uncovered, for 10 minutes or until water has evaporated.

‘

     Well, since yesterday was Wednesday, and we had prayer meeting at church, I’m going to meld Thursday evening into this journal. We got a little rain last night… or it might have been heavy dew. BUT this morning we had a beautiful rainbow in the west (very unusual) and a very light shower. It was enough to encourage us all, but we still will be hauling water tonight and watering. The chicken house has been moved to a new grassy spot, onions have been weeded, and 5 large bins of tomatoes brought home to make compost. There are a lot of little jobs on a farm that come together to make your share satisfying each week. So, we live a more simple life than most, taking delight in the important little things.  

July29, 2010 

3:00 P.M. Farmer Steve and Adam head to the Crossville virtual market.  We really like the way this market works. Folks buy online between Sunday night and Tuesday evening. We are notified as to what has sold. On Thursday morning we pick only what has been ordered for delivery Thursday afternoon. We simply drop the vegetables off, receive a check, and leave. This gives us time for errands in the city. Farmer Steve often takes a child or two or even me J to spend a special evening with him. Our most pleasurable times are when we take a picnic and head to Cumberland State Park, hike around the lake and eat while sitting on a rock overlooking the stillness of the lake.  Today Adam is going as Steve’s partner, as he has an appointment with our chiropractor to see if he is able to help him. Please pray he will soon be strong again!

3:45 P.M. IT’S RAINING!!!!! The boys are out at the lake pumping water into our 250-gallon tank. The Lord can do more in 15 minutes of a steady rain than we can do in several hours by hand. Praise His name!

3:50 P.M. The sun is back out, but the field is glistening. “Every good and perfect gift (of any size) is from above.”

4:00 P.M. The dishwasher (I never had one until my mother-in –law bought this one for us and the boys “rise up and call her blessed”  [Proverbs 31] often) is filled with jars that are now sterilized for canning. We have friends that own Wooden’s Apple Barn here on the mountain that called this morning.  They are graciously giving us their culls for making compost and animal feed this year. J What other folks think is trash, we LOVE. We have gotten apples and tomatoes from them in the past and it sure has been a blessing!. Since we started to sell, I never have enough tomatoes to can. We appreciate what the Lord sends our way, even if it is not organically grown. I just make sure to wash them well, and thank the Lord for His generous OPEN hand. We have some of these tomatoes for the shareholders to get this week IF you want them. If you’d like to can tomatoes, and don’t mind the fact they are grown “traditionally”, then talk to the boys at the market. It may be possible to get you what you need. (Tomatoes have been our weak crop this year as we have had a terrible time getting our seedlings to grow in what the industry calls organic starting media. It is TERRIBLE. We finally bit the bullet and bought soil from our seed source in Maine. The shipping was horrendous, but the seedlings are THRIVING in it!. If the Lord holds off on the first frost, we’ll all enjoy some good Certified Naturally grown tomatoes in the fall. But better yet, we know what will work next year! ) All that to say we’re going to sort and wash tomatoes tonight for canning on Saturday. We usually can several hundred quarts of tomatoes, keeping one year ahead in case of drought or crop failure. 

     Our children love to can! It is amazing how much they can get done in a short period of time! On Monday we topped 16 flats (that’s 128 qts) of strawberries in less than an hour! I was challenged to keep up with them as I crushed them for making jam. They delighted in refilling my huge bowl just as I “thought” I was getting ahead of them. Well, we’ll have fun tonight. More latter…

Meet Isaac- Isaac is 16 and a Jr. in high school this year. He is growing up by leaps and bounds! Isaac plays the mandolin in church with the preacher’s son who plays banjo and guitar. He would like to build one, so he can have one of his own one day. He has the plans enlarged and has tried cutting one out! He is also interested in making twig furniture and has made several planter baskets and chairs. He is a whiz (at least compared to me) on the computer and sells seeds online. He, like his brothers, enjoys G. A. Henty’s historical fiction novels and teasing me. (I am loved!) He is a SUPER help on the farm and will one day make a great marketer.

4:30 P.M. Faith Anne (9), Luke (7), and Levi (4) are my helpers around the bins of tomatoes. We’re sorting through the “good, the bad, and the ugly”. Since most of the tomatoes are not red ripe yet, we’re sorting 3 bushels to wash and can on Saturday when the men are gone “to market, to market, to buy a fat pig” as Charity would say.

     I rallied the troops with an encouraging speech to how THEY were my biggest help today. They put the boxes of tomatoes on a dolly and wheeled them up the hill to the packing shed. I put bus tubs of water out for each to wash their box of tomatoes in. We are all a bit wet now as the hose is spraying widely…since it’s hot, we don’t mind too much.

   While the little ones wash tomatoes, I picked up the packing shed. There are so many “tools” needed for farming…from boxes, to string, to sprayers that it is amazing how quickly our packing shed gets disorganized. After setting things straight I sweep out the cooler. Our refrigerator has gone out, so there are tubs of cheese, milk and condiments

crowding it.  It will be a challenge to work in there on Friday with all the vegetables that are also accumulating in there each day.  When I emerge the boys (Caleb, Isaac, Titus, and Noah) have come in from the field. Half are digging potatoes, and the others are pulling carrots. Caleb sets to giving them a quick rinse while I arrange the tables for weighing and packing. With Faith Anne (9) and Luke’s (7) help, we got 30 one pound packages of carrots bagged up.

   The walk-in cooler is filled with squash, onions, garlic, potatoes, kale, and many more vegetables that are picked on and off during the week. While looking through my recipes I was reminded of a new recipe that I made last year. I’ll share it with you now. One recommendation, do not skip the blanching of the squash, it tastes much better when blanched.

Summer Squash Salad

2 small zucchini

2 small yellow squash

2 tomatoes

1 small onion, chipped

½ c. olive or canola oil

2 T. vinegar or lemon juice

¼ t. salt

¼ t. basil

1/8 t. pepper

   Cut squash into thin slices. Blanch one minute (if desired). Cool quickly and pat dry. Slice or chop tomatoes. Mix squash, tomatoes, and onions in a bowl. Whisk remaining ingredients. Pour over salad just before serving.

Variation: Combine vegetables and serve with a favorite dressing.

Meet Luke: Luke is 7 and in the second grade. He is very inquisitive. He takes most of his toys apart to find out how they work. This can be frustrating, but I know one day he’ll be a genius mechanically if we don’t despair. He is a nimble young man and is actively teaching Levi (4) how to climb trees…one never really knows with Luke.

 

      By this time we are all about to give out. I’ve decided that everyone needs a special evening. So, I announced that we will watch a Walton’s movie and have unhealthy chicken nuggets and tator tots…and fresh corn on the cob. I know…but occasionally we digress nutritionally. 

     When we bought our farm in the fall of 1999, there were several OLD apple trees hiding in the thicket above the house. They made their presence known in the spring of 2000 when they burst into bloom. We’ve been working through the years to remove the brambles from that area and regain the trees. We do not spray them, so there are bug spots on them…but they have a good OLD FASHIONED wholesomeness to them. These trees are not hybrids that produce perfectly shaped “cookie cutter apples”, but they produce small, misshapen apples that are like our forefathers ate. They make great applesauce, pies, or “fried” pies. So enjoy!  One way the men of my family like apples is in a crisp. Apple crisp is very easy and quick to make. Here is my recipe:

Apple Crisp

4 cups sliced pared tart apples (about 4 medium)

2/3 to ¾ cup brown sugar, packed (I’ve also used raw honey)

½ cup all purpose flour (I use my whole wheat)

½ cup oatmeal (try using the oats in your share!)

¾ t. nutmeg

1/3 c. butter, softened

   Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease square pan, 8 X 8 X 2”. Place apple slices in pan. Mix remaining ingredients thoroughly. Sprinkle over apples.

   Bake 30 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. Serve warm and if desired, with light cream or ice cream.

I usually don’t make applesauce from these apples, as I don’t like adding any sweetener to my applesauce. (My favorite kind for sauce is Yellow Delicious, as you don’t have to add any sweetener to it!)  My children use these trees for snacks, and I make an occasional dessert from them. But if you’d like to try though, here is a recipe that is healthy.

Applesauce

   Wash apples. Cut into quarters, removing the cores. Put your apples into a saucepan and add a small amount of water to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until the apples are very tender. Stir often and add water if it evaporates. Mash with a potato masher, or put through a food mill to remove peels.

   Stir in a small amount of raw honey or pure maple syrup, sweetening to taste. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

  Well, it’s now Friday evening and most of the field work and packing is done. The guys are filling the share boxes and the little ones are counting the minutes to “THE DEADLINE”. Farmer Steve has decided that IF we get our work done by 5:30, we’ll all go for a dip in the lake, which is about a mile back in the woods. Excitement reigns as little ones run in to put on their swimming overalls (cut off at the calf) and swim dresses. How fun! I’ve got to get a picnic packed quickly and finish this up.

Meet the Oldest: At our oldest daughter’s recent wedding, when the family picture was being taken we realized we do not have only two “categories” of children, but three! We call a child a “little” until they reach a maturity that can be relied on (usually around 12). Then there are the “olders” that have more responsibility coupled with more freedoms. Then there are the “oldest”….these are the children that have left home for careers, school and the military.

Matthew is 26 and is a Tech Sergeant in the Air Force. He is leaving the states the first week of October for his 5^th tour of duty in the middle east. He will be stationed in Qatar where the Air Force does their surveillance of the middle east. His job is Aerospace control and warning systems. He owns several Internet businesses and serves the Lord through the Navigators ministry.

Missy is 24 and is now happily married to Fabrice. She works and lives near Chattanooga, TN.

Hannah Grace is 23 and lives in Knoxville where she is a chef and senior at UTK , majoring in English Education.

Hope is married to a missionary/evangelist Bryan Biggs. She is growing her first garden alone this year and is finding it can be enjoyable on a small scale.

    I know there aren’t many new recipes in this letter, but I hope you got to know us a little better. We are looking forward to our fall shareholders day on the farm when we can meet the rest of you that didn’t come out in the spring. We try hard to keep in touch with you and give you a sense of belonging to our farm. You are very important to us! I would LOVE to hear from you also. Please drop us a note on the web site or at stevecolvin99@gmail.com.

    

Abundant Blessings,

Your Farmer’s Wife,

Val Colvin

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. ⁸ Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

James 5:7-8 (KJV) ⁷

CSA Week 13

The Farmer’s Wife

Week 13

   Hello once again from our mountainous farm…Colvin Family Farm. God continues to bless the farm with occasional showers and the harvest and planting will reflect His all-powerful hand in the coming weeks. We are busy planning and planting for the fall harvest…time has FLOWN by!

    This week leeks make their debut in your share.  Leeks are also known as “poor man’s asparagus”. This must come from their mild sweet flavor. Unlike onions that give an oniony flavor to the dishes they are added to, leeks enhance the flavors of the food they are cooked with.

     My favorite all-time way to eat leeks is a creamy leek and potato soup on a cold snowy day…but it definitely isn’t snowy weather!  If you want them for yummy soup this winter, bury them in a bucket of damp sand keep in a cool (but not freezing) location. A good book to read about this type of storage is, “Root Cellaring” by Mike and Nancy Bubel of Rodale Books. You don’t have to have a real root cellar dug into a bank of earth to store vegetables. This book describes ways to store fruits and vegetables in unconventional ways in an apartment or home. This is a good way to stock up for the cold winter ahead when the farmer’s market is only a memory. This book is an older book, and you could probably find it inexpensively at a used bookstore as I did. We buy most of our books over the Internet using “Fetchbook” or “BookFinder” which are search engines that compare prices of new and used books Internet wide, and lists them for you to compare and buy from. Right now on Bookfinder, this book is listed for $7.63, which includes shipping!

      Because of how leeks are grown, you must clean them thoroughly to remove the grit before using. To clean your leaks, simply remove the green tops to about 2 inches of the white section. Like preparing an onion, peel off the otter layer of white. Cut the leek in half lengthwise and wash thoroughly under running water to remove soil between the layers.

     Leeks can be refrigerated unwashed and dry with roots attached for up to 2 weeks. Wrap them in plastic wrap to avoid sharing their aroma with your other groceries. J

   There are several ways to use leeks, and I plan on expanding my leek usage beyond leek and potato soup! Here are a few ideas for their use I found in From Asparagus to Zucchini, the book we are offering our shareholders for sale this season.

*Leeks may be eaten raw, chopped into a variety of salads.

*Leeks may be cooked whole; try braising or baking.

*Steam or boil leeks for 10-12 minutes. Top with butter, a dash of salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.

*Layer thin slices of leek in a favorite sandwich. Leek, tomato and melted cheese is a winner.

*Lightly sauté chopped leeks alone or with other vegetables.

*Chop or slice leeks into quiches, egg dishes, casseroles, stews, stocks soups, and stir-fries.

*Substitute leeks for onions in recipes and notice the subtle flavor changes.

*Pure cooked leeks for a soup base.

*Add leek leaves to long-cooking dishes, such as grains, beans, or stews, for added flavor.

*Add cooked leeks to mashed potatoes.

     One recipe I plan on using is mentioned below. There aren’t too many recipes (outside my favorite soups) for leeks. Always remember that we can substitute leeks for any recipe that calls for onions.

Leeks With Wold Rice Corn and Sausage

1 ¼ c. wild rice

2 T. butter

6 oz. Smoked sausage cut into ¼” cubes

1 ¼ c. chopped leeks, white parts only

¾ c. diced (1/4”) carrots

2 c. fresh corn kernels

1 c. long grain white rice (we like Jasmine)

4 t. dried Thyme

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

4 ½ c. chicken stock, plus more if needed

  Cover wild rice in lightly salted, boiling water. Cook 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain and reserve. Heat butter in large, deep-sided pan over medium heat until hot. Add sausage, leeks, carrots and corn and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes. Add wild and white rices, thyme, cayenne, and stock and bring mixture to simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until all liquid has been absorbed., 25-30 minutes. Taste rice and if not quite tender enough, add ½ c. extra stock and cook. Covered about 5 minutes more until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Sir in salt to taste. (Rice can be prepared 1 day ahead. Reheat, covered, in 350 degree oven until hot, 15-20 minutes.)

   Since I am prowling for leek recipes, I will mention a few I’ve found that I want to try! These little potato and onion (you could use onions from your shares or even the leeks) baskets look like a fun recipe to make with my daughter Faith Anne (9).  I even have ideas for other fillers instead of onions if the baskets work out nice!

Onion Potato Baskets

3 baking potatoes

3 T. olive oil, divided

½ t. salt

¼ t. pepper

2 c. diced onions

½ c. light cream (I don’t usually keep this on hand, so I may put a bit of milk in some plain yogurt to make a substitute.)

½ c. shredded Swiss Cheese

1 egg, beaten lightly

2 T. chopped parsley

   Coarsely shred peeled potatoes Stir in 2-T. oil, slat and pepper, tossing to coat well. Place 1 ½ T. potato mixture into each of the 12 greased muffin pan cups, pressing into tin to create a crust. (nest) Bake at 425 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in large skillet, sauté onion in remaining oil until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add cream; cook 2 to 3 minutes more or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in cheese, egg and parsley. Spoon about 1 T. onion mixture into each potato cup. Reduce oven to 400 degrees; bake 10 to 12 minutes more or until center is set. Serve warm.

Easy Onion and Cheese Quiche

26 soda crackers

¼ c. melted butter

6 slices of bacon

1 c. chopped onion (or leeks)

2 c. shredded Swiss Cheese

2 eggs, slightly beaten

¾ c. sour cream

     Combine crackers and butter and press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Cook bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble. Save 2 T. drippings to cook onion in. cook onion until tender, about 10 minutes. Combine rest of ingredients with onion and pour into shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.

     The boys are planting more snap peas as I type this letter. A thunderstorm is threatening and the harvest of oats and wheat is being put off once again. The heads of these grains must be dry to be cut and threshed…this is tricky business this time of year with storms passing so frequently. (We’re not complaining though! Praise God for the rains!!)

   Farmer Steve just brought in a large bowl of corn…pretty much the total harvest. Sigh…the corn sat at knee to thigh high during the little drought we had and tasseled too soon. We have replanted and anticipate a much larger harvest in September. Then we can all enjoy a good corn boiling! Thank you for your patience..God is in control and we are learning! We are thankful we now have equipment to water if another dry spell sets in.

   We have been enjoying the carrot harvest this year. The boys must, as they keep slipping bags of carrots from the cooler down to me in the farm kitchen! We go through the usual routine of them hiding something behind their backs and saying, “Which hands?” with a sweet smile…then they produce their personal vegetable of choice. Lately it’s been carrots and cabbage. One of farmer Steve’s favorite desserts is carrot cake. It’s extra special when made with REAL farm-fresh carrots!

REAL Farm-Fresh Carrot Cake

3 eggs

2 cups flour, sifted

2 cups sugar

1 ¼ cups vegetable oil (we use canola)

2 tsp. Baking soda

1 tsp. Cinnamon 

1 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cup shredded coconut

1 cup walnuts/pecans chopped

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

2 cups REAL RAW FARM-FRESH carrots, shredded

1.      Beat eggs well: then add the next seven ingredients and beat well until smooth.

2.     Stir in the coconut, nuts, pineapple, and carrots with mixing spoon.

3.     Pour into a greased 9 X 13” cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

4.    When cake is slightly warm, spread with Cream Cheese Frosting. (The same frosting I use on the Zucchini bars from last week.)

Cream Cheese Frosting

      Another way my children have liked carrots over the years is in a raw salad. I like to make raw salads (bean, cucumber or others) to have on hand as a quick side dish for the busy days of summer. I often have dinner (the big meal in the middle of the day) to prepare after a morning of canning or sewing, or gardening, as the men will be off at a market, or harvesting grain at the field we have leased during the cool of the evening. So I can pull these fresh salads from the refrigerator to round out a meal at short notice. We all have busy days, so why not try a few this week? The cold pack pickles recipe from week ____, and this carrot salad are two good ones to start with!

Carrot-Pineapple Salad

1 ½ cup grated raw carrots

½ cup chopped celery (optional)

1 slice pineapple, diced (or use crushed)

1 cup chopped pecans

Mayonnaise

     Blend together the carrots, celery, pineapple, and pecans. Toss with a small amount of mayonnaise and serve.

Variation:

Delete celery and pineapple, and substitute a handful of raisins. We then rename it to “Sunshine Salad”.

Another good variation I use in the fall when we have an abundance of fresh apples is to add equal amounts of grated carrots, grated apple, raisins, nuts, and mayonnaise together for a tarter taste.

     Another week on the farm is coming to a close. I pray you are finding that being a part of our farm this season has been a joy. I know it’s a lot of work too, picking up your shares and taking care of the vegetables for storage. Cooking from scratch as you do (at least in part) also takes time also. Let’s not get caught up in the mentality of this world that everything must be quick. Quality anything takes time! I pray you are enjoying the process and including your family along the way. Praise God along with us for all He provides for our families!

Abundant Blessings,

Your Farmer’s Wife,

Val Colvin

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die: a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.”

Ecclesiastes 3: 1,2

                                      

CSA Week 12

From the Farmer’s Wife

Week 12

   Greetings from your farm…Colvin Family Farm! Summer days are rolling by faster than ever and talk around the table at mealtime has been of a fall CSA! Summers used to stretch out forever  as a child…summer camp, white water canoe trips, picking tiny wild blueberries, hiking the White Mountains of New Hampshire, swimming,  and sail boating are part of my precious summer memories. School vacations were also long. We got out of school June 3^rd, and didn’t go back until the Monday after Labor Day! Now parents are counting the days until school registration. I count my blessings to have my children with me all year long…no it’s not one big vacation; we home school. If any parent would like information on home schooling, just ask.

   Summer on the farm is an intensive time of work. Everyone takes part and we all are learning the lessons of diligence. Farmer Steve had the privilege to have a great teacher in high school that mentored boys through the Future Farmer’s of America club. He often tells us stories and quotes the creed, “I know the joys and discomforts of agricultural life and hold an inborn fondness for those associations which even in hours of discouragement I cannot deny…” So, another generation is being handed the baton of farming…we pray they will be found more responsible than the past two generations were. We are stepping back in time in some ways, but are looking into the future to see the best way to produce fruits and vegetables that truly contain the vitamins and minerals the Lord designed them with. If the soil is continually robbed of nutrients, chemical additives used, then the food produced will not be as the Lord designed…yes, it may look good, but what it contains is more important.  Be careful to choose the vendors at the markets that responsibly farm, or we are not only supporting their practices, we are are robbing ourselves of good health. Don’t hesitate to ask, those who farm responsibly are more than willing to tell you about their methods. They are proud of the extra time and effort they are taking to make their farm sustainable.

    The shares are looking the same now for a few weeks. The lack of rain has taken its toll, BUT crops are starting to liven up again. Seeds that were planted during the dry spell have come up MORE are being planted, and now we all feel encouraged. Thank you for your patience. Knowing that you have committed to take the risk along with us is comforting, but we desire to give you our shareholders an abundant harvest each week.  We now have an emergency water plan in place, so we will be able to water more efficiently if we need it again this year. Plans are in the making for next year that entails drip irrigation. Want to know more about our future dreams/plans? Just ask Adam, Caleb, or Farmer Steve when you pick up your share; they are bubbling with ideas!

   The boys want me to share my recipe this week for Zucchini Bars. We have enjoyed them twice since squash starting to come in. Folks at the church dinner were a bit skeptical of them when I brought them to a special dinner, but then again, they mostly eat out of a box or can. They are always skeptical about what I make…its never mainstream cooking. J When a few brave souls tasted it, they were surprised!

Zucchini Bars

¾ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ¾ cup flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 cup shredded coconut

2 cups shredded zucchini

½ cup nuts, chopped (I used Pecans.)

1 recipe of Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Add vanilla.
2. Sift together flour and baking powder. Stir into egg mixture. Stir in zucchini, coconut, and nuts. Spread evenly in well greased 10 X 15 X 1 ½” pan. (Use what you’ve got.)
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a cake tested comes out clean.
4. Cool, frost, and then cut into bars.  (Now the frosting was an option, but for us is now a must…try them plain if you’d like. I cut way down on the sugar knowing I’ll be frosting them. ) 

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 Tbsp. Butter, softened

3 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Beat until smooth. Adjust consistently if needed with a bit of milk.
2. Spread on COOLED bars. (I put the pan directly in the freezer one time to cool before supper!)

Our zucchini almost succumbed to the dry weather…I don’t know how zucchini ever got the reputation for out producing one’s needs, because we have never had that problem! Most folks will get it this week so I just had to share these two new recipes with ya’ll. If you didn’t get it, and don’t have some frozen or canned, file these recipes because they are both “keepers”. If you can, try these “crab cakes”! (Now you know how I got that odd reputation at church.J)

Poor Man’s Zucchini “Crab Cakes”

1 ½ cup shredded zucchini, patted dry

1 cup bread crumbs (I gave the how-tos to making these in Week 10-June 26,2010 issue of The Farmer’s Wife.)

2 Tbsp. grated onion

2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

1 Tbsp. mayonnaise

1 tsp. mayonnaise

1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

2 eggs

Oil for frying (I used lard which is “the healthiest” for frying.)

   Combine all the ingredients. Heat oil for frying them (either deep or onto a griddle) and drop by rounded spoonful onto the griddle (or into the oil, we used the griddle method to avoid overly frying them). Fry until crisp and brown. Serve with either tarter or cocktail sauce.

   We have fields and raised beds in which we grow your food. The raised beds are in the process of being renovated for our fall kitchen garden. We use Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening method (see www.squarefootgardening.com) to intensively grow a wide variety of flowers, herbs and vegetables. The soil has become “out of balance” after years of “just adding compost” to amend the soil after each harvest. Now we are mixing the proper balance of soil once again and filling our beds once again with “Mel’s Mix” as described in his books. This is a BIG job, and we will prayerfully be done with it by planting time in August. We are looking forward to using these raised beds once again for our fall kitchen garden. I gave Faith Anne her own 4 X 4’ bed to raise her first real garden in. She has been raising strawberries for two years, but with the gardens becoming a working farm, we’ve stepped back and watched to see where gardening fits in. I think we’ve found our nitch again, and we’re excited. I just can’t use the term gardening around the boys…we like the term, “kitchen garden”…and yes, I’ll share with you if you’d like!

   We’ve also been busy in the farm kitchen. We froze more meals for busy days ahead, froze 10 meals of a broccoli/carrot mixture (that takes a lot of vegetables for us), and helped a friend learn how to use Pamona Pectin in her jelly/jam making. This dry season has been bad for our usual crop of wild blackberries. It reminded me though to tell you of my “find” of Pamona Pectin a few years ago. When I find something this good, I feel compelled to pass it on to friends.  I used to cringed every time I measured out more sugar than fruit to make jams and jellies. Then I read about a 100% citrus pectin called Pamona’s Universal Pectin. Gone are the days of making one batch at a time and buying a “ton” of sugar.  This pectin allows me to make as many batches at one time as I’d like…this can be dangerous unless you have someone else check your math before beginning. Two years ago I was making muscadine jelly when I realized I had used WAY more of the pectin than I should have! Steve had to bring grape juice home from town to rescue me from my mix-up.  Now I have Adam do the math with me and we compare figures. That day I made over 60 pints of Grap-E-Dine jelly at one time! It truly is a time saver! It is also a money saver, and thus a health saver as it uses just a fraction of the amount of sugar, honey, or even no sugar at all using fruit juice as the sugar. It can be bought in small boxes at most health food stores, but I buy it by the pound directly from the cottage industry that produces it. Call 413-772-6816 to contact Workstead Industries directly or buy online at www.canningpantry.com for about the same price.

     As the boys drift in and out of the farm kitchen picking your shares, I have been getting an idea of what is going into your shares this week. Kale is back! We have enjoyed making kale “potato” chips, in stews, salads, and also in this potato salad one amazing shareholder brought to our shareholders day here on the farm. It was tasty and the added color makes it an interesting side dish. It is  taken from the cookbook we are offering this season called, From Asparagus to Zucchini compiled by the Madison Area CSA Coalition (MACSAC). If you’d like a copy, just ask “your farmer” at the market this week!

Kale and Potato Tarragon Salad

2 pounds small “yellow” potatoes, scrubbed

7 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 medium onion (yellow, sweet, or white), diced

1 bunch lacinato kale, large stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. white vinegar (I would use cider vinegar, white isn’t a true food.)

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

¼-1/2 tsp. tarragon, divided

salt and pepper to taste

   Stem or boil potatoes until fork-tender. Drain, cut into large bite sized pieces, place in a large bowl, and cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until translucent. Add kale and garlic; cook until kale is tender, about 5 minutes more (you can cover pan to help wilt kale). Combine vinegar, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon dried tarragon, remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper. Add kale mixture to potatoes and pour dressing over everything. (It’s important to toss the dressing while the mixture is hot, to soak in the flavors.) Add more salt, pepper, or tarragon if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 servings.

  I like to sit here and gaze out the window at the guys harvesting your shares [editor’s (Adam’s) note: please bear with Momma here—we’ve been reading “Anne of Green Gables” out loud as a family and “lookin’ out the winder” has become “gazed lovingly through the window”]. They are bent over in several different locations in the large field pulling carrots, cutting kale, picking beans, grubbing out potatoes, pulling onions and so on. God is providing for our needs. Rejoice with us for the gift of rain! It was amazing when the rain showed up last Friday. We were sitting on the porch visiting with new friends in our church for a few minutes when we looked up and saw it was raining over the field where the vegetables are growing, BUT not in the yard where the children were happily playing! Our God is AMAZING and answers our prayers sooo specifically sometimes. J We praise his name!

   I have one more recipe for you this week. I’m always looking for fresh ways to use my sprouts. This is a recipe I used to make that I’d forgotten about…it’s fun to reintroduce a dish to my family…some have had it and remember it, while others have never had it and it’s a new experience for them. It calls for sprouts you don’t usually get. Substitute the small sprout mixture with a handful of lentils if you have them for the wheat and alfalfa sprouts.

Cabbage Sprout Salad

1.    Toss Together:

     3 cups coarsely shredded cabbage

     ½ cup wheat sprouts

     ½ cup alfalfa sprouts

2.    Blend together separately with a wire whisk in small bowl and mix into salad:

           ¼ cup mayonnaise

           2 Tbsp. nonfat yogurt (or sour cream)

           2 plus teaspoons apple cider vinegar, to taste

           1 tsp. honey, raw sugar, or fructose

           salt and pepper to taste

    Well, supper is in the works. I’ve got new red potatoes steaming for Grandma’s Potatoes (see last week’s letter) green beans simmering, and chicken on the grill. I need to finish this up so I can slice up a few onions to sauté with mung beans. A hungry crew will soon descend upon my “quiet” kitchen to eat.

   Have a blessed week. Enjoy these fleeting days of summer with your families, for time does fly by quickly. It seems only yesterday I had my older children at home with me introducing them to the joy of gardening…look where it brought us!

Abundant Blessings,

Your Farmer’s Wife,

Val Colvin

“And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

John 12:23-25