GardenSpotlight

We had a very hard freeze here the other night, so everything on the farm is done now except for the cauliflower. We just started harvesting the cauliflower this week, so I wanted to provide you with some tasty recipes. Here are some great new recipes....I love Autumn roasted vegetables. You can do the same with root vegetables too...such as beets, potatoes, parsnips and carrots...roasting brings out so much flavor... Cauliflower with Bacon 1 head cauliflower, cut into flowerets 1 tsp dry mustard ¼ Cup butter or margarine ½ tsp salt (if desired) ¼ lb bacon, cooked and cut into 1” pieces 2 TBSP water 2 oz jar sliced pimiento, drained 1 TBSP chopped fresh parsley In 3 qt saucepan, melt butter. Stir in remaining ingredients except parsley. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is crisply tender, about 10-12 minutes. Season with parsle...

We had a great time at the Pumpkin Festival today at the Farmer's Market. It was very cold though, and the Cooperative Extension office made hot Butternut Squash Soup! Yum. I made up recipe flyers for Pumpkin Soup for today, and we ran out of them, so I will post the recipe here for those who missed out. Here it is...enjoy. Allow yourself to be creative too and serve the soup in hollowed out pumpkins! Pumpkin Soup 1 Large Red Onion, sliced thinly, about 2 Cups 1 stick (½ Cup) unsalted butter white pepper to taste 8 Cups coarsely chopped raw, peeled pie pumpkin pieces (2 lbs) 6 Cups chicken broth 2 TBSP Raw Rice 2 Cups heavy cream or to taste In a kettle, cook onion in butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until softened and add pumpkin, white pepper and salt to taste. Cook mixture, covered, over moderately low heat 20 minutes or until pumpkin is softened. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add rice, and cook covered, over moderately low heat, 20 - 25 minutes un...

Pasta Fagioli; or Pasta & Beans; this is one of our favorites, with one small change.... The recipe we were using called for Escarole, which I absolutely love. My husband said, "Why don't you try making it with our Swiss Chard?" So I did that tonight. Wow...out of this world. Even our daughter loved it and had seconds. (She will not normally eat Swiss Chard). Here's what I did: 1/2 Medium Sized Sweet Onion 2 Cloves Garlic 1 Bunch Golden Swiss Chard (Golden Chard tends to be sweeter than red or green) 10 cups Chicken Broth 4 - 6 oz Pasta, either small Shells, Penne, or something similar. 1 can Great Northern Beans (White Beans) Olive Oil Coat the bottom of a 6 Qt sauce pan with Olive Oil. Chop the onion, garlic and swiss chard stems and saute until tender. While that's cooking, chop the leaves of the Swiss Chard and rinse and drain the beans. Once the onion, garlic and stems are tender, add the chopped Swiss Chard leaves and continue cooking until the Chard ...

In the midst of freezing my beans, (I was able to get 18 quarts of beans done) another farming friend dropped off a couple of bushels of apples. They were great! I made applesauce...so easy! And since it's almost gone, I have to make more. I think I'll make a few pies and freeze them until the holidays. Quick Homemade Applesauce: Wash, peel and chop apples...I did about 20 apples so far, and it made about 1-1/2 - 2 quarts. Place them in a large saucepan with a little water on the bottom and cook them slowly on low-medium heat. You'll want to cook them until they are very soft. I also added Apple Pie Seasoning and just a touch of sugar. You can use plain Cinnamon as well if you don't have the Apple Pie Seasoning. Season to taste and you can either mash by hand and leave small chunks of apples in the sauce, or you can puree with a mixer. Allow to cool a bit and then ladle into plastic containers. Store in refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for longer ...

It's 8:00am and I am home now. I just dropped our daughter off to school and she'll be home before I know it...the days go by so quickly, don't they? I've been wanting to write about what it's like here on the farm for so long. Nothing like the present. My daughter reminds me of that every so often by saying things like, "I'll be driving soon Mom!" Mind you, she's only 10 and she's been saying that since she was 8! Don't rush it kid! That's my advice..enjoy childhood while it lasts. My husband has been driving since forever...that's what it's like on a farm. The boys learn how to drive the tractors....probably as soon as they hit double digits, maybe even before that. And the farm trucks too...but only on the farm. So I think they are able to do that just because they are boys! Our daughter has not learned yet how to do those things. She knows how to drive the quad, but she's only allowed on it with an adult. She always tell...