November 21, 2011 - Morning Song Farm

Negotiated Goat/Human Truce at Risk

By | Uncategorized | One Comment

Well, last time I wrote about our goats, I was satisfied with the understanding that I thought we had reached after some discussions. I don’t sleep in the goat barn, and they don’t hang out in my house. Everyone at Morning Song was satisfied with that arrangement and I thought we could move on to more pressing issues. Apparently not. I came home today to discover the entire herd LOCKED in my otherwise unoccupied house. I think it’s Carl AKA Goat Man as pointman. He’s never been much of a rule observer, and I think he has figured out how to open doors with his front hooves. He doesn’t do this in front of humans. I think it’s some kind of goat rule. But the evidence can’t be argued with. Once he entered; and I’m saying he, because I think it’s Goat Man, the whole herd followed. Had he made a quick mission into forbidden territory and exited, I might not have known. But for one reason or another (a breeze? a door tussle? a piece of paper behind the door that everyone went for?) the door ended up shut and latched; and the bunch of them were stuck in the house for a couple hours. This is where lines are drawn inside families. Goat lovers vs. boring family members who have no sense of humor or a grasp of the vastly larger picture. Paper dollars set aside for lunch money, a single lousy iphone cord, junk mail and 2 boxes of cherrios can be replaced! Arriving home, I had a surreal moment as I reached for the door and discovered a herd of goats peering out at me from my home. They’d gone straight for the goat treats and knocked over a 30 pound container, then went for random nibbles that they might not find themselves being offered on a regular basis. No vet bill insued, but again, my son re-sent his previous email to me, with a selection of goat recipes.

At left top, Gracie busy munching and left bottom: Lance coaching a phone cord out of Goat Man’s mouth

Harvest Ticket Nov 22-23 Page One

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

Tropical Guavas are here! We’re excited to bring you the first of our tropical guava harvest this week. We have mixed three varieties in our boxes, as we don’t have enough of any one kind. The three varieties are:

1. Mexican Guavas which are green on the outside and pink on the inside. They have a passionfruit kind of flavor.

2. Malaysian Guavas which are reddish green on the outside and bright pink colored on the inside. They have a berry flavor.

3. Taiwanese Guavas which are green on the outside just like Mexican Guavas, and yellow on the inside. They have a smooth, lemon/banana flavor. These are being harvested just hours before putting in your boxes and are best (in my humble opinion) when they’ve been allowed to ripen on your counter. You can tell they’re ripe if they give slightly, and have a sweet aroma. From my days at the farmers’ markets, I know some people like them hard..right off the tree, but if you eat them right away, you’ll miss out on the perfume that a ripening guava releases. Plus, I just think they taste best, fully ripe and soft. By the way, guavas, like all tropical fruits, should not be referigerated.

Guavas have twice the vitamin C content of an orange, and as much as 8 times the potassium content of a banana. That’s a lot of potassium! In addition, guavas also offer carotenoids, folate, fiber, calcium and iron. Few fruits offer calcium!

Harvest Ticket Nov. 22-23 Page Two

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

Collard greens aren’t as common as spinach, and I have no idea why! I have to admit their name isn’t as delicious sounding as Swiss chard. Maybe we should rename them? Ambrosia leaf? Just kidding. Collards are great just steamed as you would Swiss chard or spinach. Just make certain you don’t overcook this amazing green, because like all cruciferous veggies, overcooked collards give off an unpleasant sulfer smell when overcooked. You won’t want to overcook them anyway, because doing so reduces the vitamin content of this just picked, leafy green. Steamed collard greens have a more powerful cholesterol lowering ability than any of the other cruciferous veggies; including mustard greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbage. The cancer preventive qualities of collards can be attributed to 4 glucosinolates found in the veggie’s leaves, which are converted into an isothiocyanate that is said to lower cancer risk by aiding in the human body’s detox and anti-imflammatory systems.
Book Now!