Happy Farm Day!

Hello everyone-
Today Lucky Moon Farm took part in Madison County Agriculture's Open Farm Day. It was the first year Lucky Moon has been involved in the program, though I think this is its third year running. Open Farm Day is the feature event of the county's "Eat Local Week." We spent many hours getting the farm looking its best and we were lucky to have good weather and lots of visitors! Thank you to everyone who came out to the farm and had a look around. It was nice meeting you and it was fun to show everyone who came what Lucky Moon Farm is all about. I was really impressed by how many people decided to take part in the giant farm open house that included 37 farms and 3 farmers' markets. If I wasn't busy helping out at Lucky Moon today, I would have loved to visit some of the farms on the list. Really, without a program like this, I would never have known about a lot of the places that were on the list of farms to visit. If you're interested in finding a local spot to get beef, pork, lamb, chicken, eggs, vegetables, miniature donkeys, organic grains, flour, lambs fleeces, yogurt, milk or even elk meat, then I suggest you take a look at the website: http://madisoncountyagriculture.com/buylocalweek/openfarm.html There are links to information about each one of the farms, and if you download the "passport" that people used today, then you can read a little bio/description about each one of the farms. I hope all of you who traveled around today had fun and hopefully found some local folks who produce some of the food you need.

For the rest of the season, we're planning on having a farm stand open on Saturdays (sorry if I told anyone differently today) and we'll be offering a variety of vegetables, including tomatoes, in the coming weeks. The "stand" will actually be inside the sugar shed which is the first building on the left as you pull into the driveway. It will usually be a serve-yourself kind of thing, but the veggies will be fresh and tasty!
For those of you in our CSA, the tomatoes are starting to pour in and it's time to get out all those great tomato recipes that you've been saving up!

Here's a dinner that seems rather gourmet for such a simple supper:

The other night, Andrew and I sliced up a bunch of cherry tomatoes and tossed them in with some whole wheat pasta (really good flavor!), olive oil, salt and pepper, some oregano and basil I had in the herb garden and a little Romano/Parmesan cheese for the top. Oh, and make sure to slice the tomatoes over the bowel that you toss the pasta, oil and herbs in so you don't lose any of the juicy goodness!

Have a nice weekend everyone-
Oh, and I'm looking for a good tomato sauce recipe if any of you have one that won't cause you to be disowned by your family if you share it. I know these recipes can be closely guarded family heirlooms. :>)

Week Eight

Hi everyone-
Sorry I missed a few weeks in there... life has been very busy.
Things at the farm are going well- we had a hot, dry start to July, and now we've had a nice amount of rain, so most everything is growing happily. We're harvesting very often to keep up with how quickly everything is ripening. The zucchini and summer squash are doing well despite the setback they had earlier in June when a fair number of them were washed away by heavy rains and a torrent of mud from a neighboring field. The peas are starting to fade, but there are still buckets of them coming in every few days, and now the beans are starting up.

And the really exciting news is that the tomatoes have arrived, ladies and gentlemen! Of course, not all at once, but there is a nice supply of cherry tomatoes that are ripe and practically bursting with juicy sweetness (I'm remembering how a few of them tasted today when we were working in the greenhouse) and some of the sandwich tomatoes are ready, too. We had two Black Krims for lunch- I forgot ho much I love tomato sandwiches. And for any of you who are in our CSA, you'll be enjoying them soon!



Andrew and I made a version of Egg Foo Young for dinner tonight, and it was very tasty-
It's more of an Egg Foo scramble than an omlet, but we had it over some couscous, and loved it. Rice would be the more obvious choice, of course, but we had limited options.

Here's what we did:
Gravy: 1 cup water, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 2 tsp sesame oil (or another oil)
Mix until smooth in a small sauce pan and then bring to a boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for about a minute until the gravy thickens and becomes clear.

Egg Foo Young:
In a wok pan (we just used a large, nonstick skillet) heat up some oil and add:
1 onion, chopped as fine as you like it
Some scallions (we used about 4)
1 green pepper, chopped
Peas- can be snow, snap or shelled peas- a good sized handful, and it helps to cut them into half or thirds
We also threw in some Arugula at the last minute and let it wilt down
NOTE: the great thing is all these veggies are optional and easily replaced by others- beans, bean sprouts, shredded broccoli or cabbage, chopped carrots, corn, etc. Whatever sounds tasty to you.

In a separate bowl, mix 4-6 eggs (depending on how many people you're trying to feed), 1 Tbsp soy sauce and some black pepper. I also had come Thai Basil in my garden, so I minced some of that and added it to the egg mixture.

Once the veggies have stir-fried until they're tender-crisp, reduce the heat to low and add the eggs. Cook until the eggs have set, and if there are more veggies than eggs, try scrambling the whole mixture- it works quite well.

Serve over rice or couscous with the gravy drizzled on top.


Hope you're all enjoying your summers!
Sarah

Week Five

Hello-
Another rainy start to the week, but the weather reports are sounding more positive for the weekend. Today wasn't too bad- we were able to get everything harvested without getting soaked. There are a variety of tasty veggies in your bags this week :
Spinach
Salad greens
Scallions
1 beautiful bulb of Lucky Moon garlic :>)
Sweet young carrots
Snow peas
Raspberries
Possibly arugula, depending on the weather


I love this time of year because it seems that every week something new is ready to eat from the garden. I'm sure by the end of the summer my appetite for zucchini or spinach or peas will be satisfied, but right now, that first sweet carrot just pulled out of the ground and rinsed off tastes better than any candy! Snacking on a few of the first snap peas that I've had since last summer- you'd think I'd never tasted them before. But that's one of the pleasures of eating things in their own season; their long absence makes them even more enjoyable. Your palette has time to forget how things taste, so eating them again when they're at their very best (fresh from the garden) is really special.


In our modern, on-demand world, the concept of delaying pleasure, especially when it comes to food, is practically forgotten. We have access to all kinds of food and produce at all times in the supermarket, so many people don't know that vegetables even have a specific season. Although it is incredibly convenient if you want to have bell peppers and blueberries in February, it means that we end up eating a lot of mediocre-tasting produce. And no wonder, if those peppers and blueberries have to come all the way from Chile or California or Holland (yes, I saw eggplant the other day in the store that came from Holland- that just doesn't make sense. Can't we grow eggplant on this side of the Atlantic?) So I'm not trying to tell you to eat things only in season- that's up to you, of course. But enjoy these "first fruits" from the farm and see if you can't taste the difference.

Enjoy your summer!
Sarah

If you still have some Rhubarb in your fridge from last week, here's a recipe Kathy sent me:

Rhubarb Bread I

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce)

1 egg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped rhubarb

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together milk, lemon juice and vanilla; let stand for 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, oil and egg. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda, stir into sugar mixture alternately with the milk mixture just until combined. Fold in rhubarb and nuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.
3. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the unbaked loaves. (I people doubled the topping)
4. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

-Kathy

Week Four (rain, go away)

Hi everyone,
Just a quick post:
Here's a recipe to use some of the rhubarb you're getting this week. Any others out there? Email me at luckmoonfm@gmail.com

Rhubarb Squares- (Kelli made these for Sue and I and they're verrrry tasty :>)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp. melted butter or margarine
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. rhubarb, cut into small pieces (1/2")
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda

1) Mix white sugar, nuts, butter and cinnamon until crumbly.
2) Cream together brown sugar, shortening and the egg.
3) Add sifted flour and soda alternately w/ sour cream. Add rhubarb.
4) Turn batter into a greased and floured 9x13" pan. Sprinkle with sugar/nut mixture.
5) Bake at 350 degrees fro 45- 50 minutes.

And a few quick pics:

Week Three

Hi everyone,
So, we're wrapping up a very wet Week Three. Hopefully this stretch of weather will let up soon- we really don't want this to become a repeat of last summer... I'm going to try and remember to bring the camera to the farm tomorrow or the next day and post some pictures of the farm here on the blog. It's lovely this time of year when everything's sending out tons of new growth.

In your bags this week, you received a bag of spinach, a bag of mixed salad greens, radishes and Swiss chard. Kelli Johnson has been giving me some great recipes that I can't wait to try. Here's one that uses the chard and spinach that looks like it would make a tasty dish:

Baked Swiss Chard an Spinach w/ Chickpeas and Feta Cheese
4-6 servings

4 Tbsp olive oil
10 oz Swiss Chard, heavy stems removed
1 Lb Spinach, heavy stems removed
One 15-oz can of chickpeas, drained
4 scallions (white and green) chopped
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped dill
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spread 1 Tbsp oil around a 12x9x2- inch casserole dish
2) In a steamer pot, steam Swiss chard until it wilts, about 4 mins. Add the spinach to the steamed chard and steam another 4 minutes until the spinach wilts, too. Remove both greens and drain, squeezing out excess water once they are cool enough to handle.
3) Chop greens and toss with remaining 3 Tbsp of oil, chickpeas, scallions, garlic, dill and season w/ salt and pepper.
4) Transfer to the casserole dish Push the feta cheese down into the mixture and bake until it's sizzling, about 35 mins. Serve hot.

Hope you all are doing well and are enjoying these first weeks of summer.
All the best!
Sarah

Week 2!

Hello everyone-
Just wanted to give you a heads up about what vegetables we're planning on harvesting this week.
Spinach
Mixed Greens
Basil
Asian Greens
Radishes

Also wanted to let you all know that strawberry season is just kicking off, and a favorite place of mine to go picking around here is Tre-G Farms, just off Route 20. They've opened earlier than usual, so get out there while the picking is good!
Here's the info they list:

Tre-G Farms
8183 US Route 20, Manlius, NY 13104.
Phone: 315-682 9315.
Directions: Route 20, 1/2 mile west of Pompey Center,
between the crossroads of Pompey Center Road and Watervale Rd.

Also, I wanted to share this link with you if you like to pick fruit in the summer (this has been one of my favorite things to do ever since I was a kid). Take a look at http://www.pickyourown.org/nycentral.htm and it will tell you by county where you can pick all sorts of things. It's a handy website.

Oh, and here are some more recipes that people have sent me:

Spinach Salad w/ Strawberries and Pecans
8-oz Spinach
1 c. strawberry halves
1 c. pecan halves (or walnuts, or almonds)

Dressing:
1/2 c. cider vinegar
1/3 c. oil
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 small onion
2 tsp poppy seeds

In a large bowl, combine spinach, strawberries and pecans.
Dressing: mix cider vinegar, oil, sugar, dijon mustard, salt pepper and onion in a food processor until smooth. Add poppy seeds and mix.


Sauteed Spinach w/ Roasted Garlic, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Feta
~10 oz spinach
3 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 c. onions, chopped
1/2 c. sun-dried (or roasted) tomatoes
1/4 c. sherry (optional)
1/4 c. lemon juice
5 T. butter
1/2 c. feta
salt & pepper to taste

Over medium heat, saute garlic and onions in olive oil until golden brown ( ~ 2 min). Add tomates, add sherry and lemon juice and reduce by a third ( ~3 min) Add butter and toss until it melts. Add spinach. Cover and stir occasionally until the spinach is slightly wilted and warm (~ 3 min). Add feta and cook briefly until slightly melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.
NOTE: this is a great to toss with your favorite pasta!


I'd love to hear some more recipe ideas, if you think of any.
Email me at luckymoonfm@gmail.com
Thanks!
Sarah