Broodies

The weather finally decided to dry out.  It's been just gorgeous for the past few days.  Warm weather and dry conditions are a welcome change for the fields.

A few of our hens decided to go "broody" this week.  This means they stop laying eggs and occupy a nesting box trying to hatch any eggs in there.  After trying to break them of the broodiness with a few different methods, we gave in to their natural instincts.  So we gave them each a dozen eggs and let them try to hatch.  We'll keep you posted.
Here are the broodies.  A Buff Orpington and a Golden Laced Wyandotte.

Meanwhile, in vegetable land.

Ooh yeah.  snap peas.  Here they come.  It's one of my favorite crops.

The Brussels sprouts needed a little weeding.   (actually done now, just need a new picture)

The mix of wild garden kales

The herbs are filling out nicely.  Just about ready!

And the chickens are rocking out.  

Whatcha Eatin?


Garlicky Sesame-Cured Broccoli Salad (Adapted from the NY Times)  I scaled it down from theirs to match the amount of broccoli I have.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/dining/201arex.html

1 bunch Broccoli (the original recipe calls for the heads, but in our case we have mini broccoli, and so we use the whole stalk, leaves, florets and flowers.  Coarsely chop the stems, break off the whole florets)
1 tsp. Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 C Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Sesame oil
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes

In a large bowl, stir together vinegar and salt.  Add broccoli florets, stems and flowers, and toss to combine.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil, add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant. (~1min) Stir in sesame oil and pepper flakes.
Pour hot mixture over broccoli and toss.
Let sit for ~1hour (we can never wait that long and just end up eating it) but you can keep it marinating up to 48 hours in the fridge.

The hot oil sort of cooks the broccoli very very lightly so it has the feeling of something more advanced than a salad.

A few updates

A few updates:
Our chickens now listen to WMPG! (Maine community radio)   yep, I've got a radio keeping them company now, and hopefully it's scaring off raccoons.


The last week of rain was a little rough on the veggies.  It made the slugs come out for a feast and they munched down some of my beans.  Grr.  I'm trying to get on top of the weeds near the crops to reduce slug habitat.  Lots of rain also washes valuable nitrogen out of the sandy soil.  This makes for slower growth and smaller plants.  I'll be trying to remedy this with fish emulsion!

The first zucchini plants are out in the field, the cukes are soon to follow.

Non sequitur coop move to a more convenient location.  No chickens were in the coop at the time.

Whatcha Eatin?


Siracha Stir Fry


Kale bunch
2-3 Green Onions
2-3 Cloves Garlic
1-2 Eggs
Soy Sauce
Siracha
Quinoa


Whisk eggs, fry in pan, set aside
Pull kale off stem, chop coarsely
Finely chop Onions and garlic.
Heat pan with olive oil.
Add kale, onions and garlic.  Stir and fry until kale is tender.
Drizzle with soy sauce.
Mix with fried egg
serve over quinoa.
Spice with Siracha


On another topic:
Parsley.  Long relegated to the garnish category.  But no more!  It's great in lots of things.  I feel a song coming on...

To the tune of "What shall we do with a drunken sailor"

What shall we do with a bunch of parsley?
What shall we do with a bunch of parsley?
What shall we do with a bunch of parsley?
from our CSA box.


[Chorus]
Yum yum it's not just garnish (x3)
from our CSA box

Mince it finely for egg salad, (x3)

from our CSA box.

[Chorus]

Chop it up into frittata (x3)

from our CSA box

[Chorus]

Mix with veggies for a soup stock (x3)

from our CSA box.

[Chorus]

Puree with spices use like pesto (x3)

from our CSA box.

The end.   Do I spend to much time out in a field?

Rain Go Away!

No more water please!  

It was a soggy weekend and the fields got completely saturated.  Can't do much when all the plants look like this.  And the road in was in pretty bad shape too.

Yeah, the plants don't like that much water, and I don't either.  I can't get into the fields without sinking up to my shins and messing up the soil.  But, there is always work to be done in the hoophouse.

We also moved the chickens to a new fields to avoid the predators which have been picking them off.  This was actually an epic project, for which I had no camera.  But believe me, epic.  To summarize the day:
1 day of steady rain
60 hens + 1 rooster + 1 guinea hen + 1 duck in the back of my truck
3 "portable" chicken coops
2 sections of electric fence
1 deep cycle battery and fence energizer
1 truck stuck in the muddy field
20 saplings cut down this winter to create a ramp to get out of the mud bog
10 trips with the weelbarrow because we could not move stuff with the truck in the field
5 hours later, success!

Despite the funky weather we had a good harvest both inside the hoophouse and in the fields.  Here's what we've been eating.

Whatcha Eatin?
Greens Stir Fry

1 Bunch Kale and/or Turnip Greens - ripped from the stem and coarsely chopped
1 Green Onion - coarsely chopped
1 Dried Chili Pepper or Red Pepper Flakes - finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic
Soy Sauce
Rice

Heat a pan with olive oil on high heat
add chopped chili pepper/red pepper flakes, and garlic and fry for 1-2 min.
add the onion and greens.
cover for 1-2 min to lightly steam the greens
remove lid, stir around.  try that nifty chef technique where you shake the pan towards you and the stuff you're cooking flips up in the air.
(clean up the mess if unsuccessful...)
cook until greens are tender 2-3 min more
drizzle with soy sauce
remove from heat
serve over rice.

Out in the fields the tomatoes are in the ground.

And the potatoes are coming up nicely!

Whatcha Eatin?

Welcome to a new segment of the blog we're calling: Whatcha Eatin? (um, better names always welcome)

We have found that one of the joys of belonging to a CSA is experiencing the year through the variations of what is in the fridge and on the plate.  It can also be a bit intimidating when a wacky vegetable shows up.  We're eating the same things as CSA members, so I'll post what we did with what got harvested this week.  If you've got some fun recipes, or general ideas, let me know and I'll post them.

So,
Whatcha Eatin?


Egg Salad Sandwiches
Egg salad
-A few hard boiled eggs
-Handful of chopped Parsley
-2 chopped Green Onions
-Yogurt or Mayo (enough to provide a good consistency)
-Mustard
-Salt n Pepper
-Cayenne Pepper
-Lettuce on top

Meanwhile, here is how the farm looks now.  The tomato trellis is up.  (it's huge!) We were using the same pile of sticks from brushing this winter, and well, it's huge!

We got the first CSA delivery together on a beautiful sunny day.

Filling the boxes.

Checking the items off the list.

Turkey in my Straw

 I'm not introducing any seedlings this week, but I would like to introduce you to one of your farmers!

Here be Rob. 

D- Rob is a single male, likes long walks on the beach, and adores our cat mug...

R- Dave, um, don't write that.

D- Oh, ok. Rob is awesome.  He has been a tremendous help this season.  You've seen him in previous posts planting and weeding and digging and everything else.  He also just moved to Portland and is looking for a place to live.  So, if you've got a spare room, drop us a line!

R- Ah, that's better, you'll delete that first bit right?

D - You bet!

Meanwhile out at the farm...
We saw a turkey fly in to the area fenced off for the chickens.  Interesting....
I walked into the brush to see what was going on and snapped a picture paparazzi style.

Can't see her in there?  Here's the same picture with an outline of her head.  Amazing camo.

A few steps later and I came across eggs!  Neato.  I kept my distance for the week and...

Looked in this weekend and saw these guys!  Awwww.  It's spring.

Not quite sure what we're going to do about these freeloading turkeys inside the fence, but I figure we'll give them a little extra protection until they will be sure to fend for themselves in the wild.  Or,... bonus CSA thanksgiving turkey share!...  Naw.

Hoping to get some tomatoes transplanted soon.

First Press

It was just gorgeous weather this week. We love it and the plants love it.  The heat puts a little kick in their growth that is noticeable day to day.  So refreshing compared to the week of rain and cool weather that basically hit 'pause' on all the seedlings.

The fun thing today is that Blue Bell Farm got it's first mention in a paper!

Eat and Run: Katie Made Bakery, Portland | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Hot diggity. You have to try the delicious goodies they make there.  It's one thing to grow food, but to turn it into delicious morsels on a plate is another thing entirely.  Hooray Katie Made!

Out on the farm:

Above we see that the pea trellis is finally all up.  (not sure I'll use this method again...) And the peas are reaching for it with vigor!  Today we tilled next to the peas in anticipation of planting some quick growing crops in the isle space.  Then I bashed my knee on the tiller pretty bad.  Soooo, I think the seeding will wait till tomorrow.  Darn gas powered machinery.  Might have been quicker to do it by hand with a spading fork in the end because I would not be here with an ice pack on my knee.


"But gee those beds look so nice, and soil is all fluffy now, and easy to plant..."  NO!  Resist more tillage!  "Yea, but it's done now."  "And you have a sore knee!"

 (courtesy of Dave's internal monologue)

Meanwhile, how bout a few more introductions:

Lettuce mix here, we're a fun diverse range of colors and flavors!  What will you dress us with?   Or, perhaps (gasp!) nothing?  

As Michael Pollen says: 

 "There are few things humans eat which are quite so elemental - a handful of leaves"

We are cabbages.  You might know other members in the family that are already out in the field such as Brussel's Sprouts and kale!  We look pretty darn similar as seedlings, but believe us, all members of the Brassicaceae family are special in their own way.

 Yes.  Hello.  We are shallots.  Red Shallots.  Ahem yes, Dave treats us like onions, but we are ever so much classier than that.  Ahem.   Be a good chap and put us in the ground won't you?  

First CSA delivery is coming up soon!

Meet more veggies

Continuing with our theme from last week:

What?  I'm on?  ... oh, HI!  I'm a snap pea.    Dave has been busy building a trellis for me.  I started in the ground in April and I can't wait to start climbing.  Check out my awesome tendrils.

We are Brussels Sprouts and just got transplanted today.  We can stretch our roots out now.  See you in the fall!  

Parsley, don't confuse me with carrots.  I'm in the foreground, the carrots are way in the back.  Same family I know, but I'm Parsley.

Hi I'm a radish and I grow really really quickly and just sprouted today and oh my gosh I can't wait to grow and get real spicy and red as long as you water me lots and lots and I'll be tasty on a salad and sliced into kimchee and and and, and I'm done.

Hi, I'm your farmer.  This is a nice day to be farming.  Like my nifty seedling transporter?

Hi, I'm also your farmer.  This is a less nice day to be farming.  At least plants love the rain.

And, I'll leave you with a video of chickens foraging in the brush.   You can't actually see the chickens per se.  But the brush twitches in a way that reminds you that these lovely critters are related to

 (dum dum dum) The Velociraptor...