admine9519, Author at Morning Song Farm - Page 15 of 44

The New Year is upon us, and I’ve chosen this year to officially begin a renewed effort to make healthy choices. Yes, I live on an organic farm and grow organic fruit, veggies, herbs and macadamias, so like most of our farm customers, that’s not the weak link. Oh no. The area that has troubled me for quite some time, and why a new workbook called: D.I.Y Cookbook has captured my attention, is this: everything else that goes into my farm kitchen isn’t as thoroughly vetted. Check out the ingredient labels on your chips, crackers, candies, muffins, breads, and more. I know there’s a load of diets and health recommendations out there that suggest wiping those items off the menu entirely, but here on planet earth I’m running a household with two teenagers and a busy schedule; so ridding my larder of those items isn’t going to happen anytime soon. I want an alternative we can all live with!

Born of a farming necessity, I’ve always been a D.I.Y. advocate, and D.I.Y. Cookbook is a compilation of “do it yourself” kitchen craft information that is presented in an easy to follow format. What’s important is that the writers offer numerous quick tips without which the home craftsperson wouldn’t achieve quality results. Discover the secret to perfect potato chips, what you need to know before tackling a homemade version of Fritos, and what special flour is needed to make a great graham cracker.  Consider homemade marshmallows, corn chips, toffee, sausage, orange jelly slices, pickles, cheese and more! Who’d want to make their own marshmallows, anyway? Well, have you checked out the ingredient list on a bag of supermarket marshmallows lately? Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate and Blue #1 anyone?

Oh yea, Sodium pyrophosphate is sometimes used in household detergents but due to its phosphate content it causes eutrophication of water, (which is said to be a leading threat to water quality around the world) promoting algae growth and causing fish die offs. Yum! Can I have put some of that in my kids’ s’mores? And animal studies on Blue #1 indicate that it can cause tumors and be carcinogenic to certain organs.

So there’s reason enough to  craft our own snacks, and the effort may reduce snack consumption right there, I admit. Because making our own snacks takes time.  I’m not exactly twiddling my thumbs over here at the farm, and almost everyone I know is busy beyond belief,  but the thing is; being unhealthy is a big time and inspiration sucker, too. So maybe I can find the time to make a few snacks if I insist on eating them.  My objective is to save a little time, save a little money; and protect my family’s wellness. If I can do all that with a homemade s’more, dessert doesn’t get much better.

 The authors have divided their work into 8 sections: Staples Made Fresh, Preserving, Pickling, Cheeses, Curing, Snacks From Scratch, Desserts and finally Beverages.  My teenaged daughter would be pleased to see the authors chose the homemade version of Nutella as a kitchen staple. Loaded with beautifully photographed step-by-step images and easy to read instructions, the authors have done an excellent job of transforming what for many might be outlandishly unthinkable tasks (homemade tofu? goat cheese? sauerkraut?) into assessable tasks for just about anyone.

360 pages, c 2012.

The New Year is upon us, and I’ve chosen this year to officially begin a renewed effort to make healthy choices. Yes, I live on an organic farm and grow organic fruit, veggies, herbs and macadamias, so like most of our farm customers, that’s not the weak link. Oh no. The area that has troubled me for quite some time, and why a new workbook called: D.I.Y Cookbook has captured my attention, is this: everything else that goes into my farm kitchen isn’t as thoroughly vetted. Check out the ingredient labels on your chips, crackers, candies, muffins, breads, and more. I know there’s a load of diets and health recommendations out there that suggest wiping those items off the menu entirely, but here on planet earth I’m running a household with two teenagers and a busy schedule; so ridding my larder of those items isn’t going to happen anytime soon. I want an alternative we can all live with!

Born of a farming necessity, I’ve always been a D.I.Y. advocate, and D.I.Y. Cookbook is a compilation of “do it yourself” kitchen craft information that is presented in an easy to follow format. What’s important is that the writers offer numerous quick tips without which the home craftsperson wouldn’t achieve quality results. Discover the secret to perfect potato chips, what you need to know before tackling a homemade version of Fritos, and what special flour is needed to make a great graham cracker.  Consider homemade marshmallows, corn chips, toffee, sausage, orange jelly slices, pickles, cheese and more! Who’d want to make their own marshmallows, anyway? Well, have you checked out the ingredient list on a bag of supermarket marshmallows lately? Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate and Blue #1 anyone?

Oh yea, Sodium pyrophosphate is sometimes used in household detergents but due to its phosphate content it causes eutrophication of water, (which is said to be a leading threat to water quality around the world) promoting algae growth and causing fish die offs. Yum! Can I have put some of that in my kids’ s’mores? And animal studies on Blue #1 indicate that it can cause tumors and be carcinogenic to certain organs.

So there’s reason enough to  craft our own snacks, and the effort may reduce snack consumption right there, I admit. Because making our own snacks takes time.  I’m not exactly twiddling my thumbs over here at the farm, and almost everyone I know is busy beyond belief,  but the thing is; being unhealthy is a big time and inspiration sucker, too. So maybe I can find the time to make a few snacks if I insist on eating them.  My objective is to save a little time, save a little money; and protect my family’s wellness. If I can do all that with a homemade s’more, dessert doesn’t get much better.

 The authors have divided their work into 8 sections: Staples Made Fresh, Preserving, Pickling, Cheeses, Curing, Snacks From Scratch, Desserts and finally Beverages.  My teenaged daughter would be pleased to see the authors chose the homemade version of Nutella as a kitchen staple. Loaded with beautifully photographed step-by-step images and easy to read instructions, the authors have done an excellent job of transforming what for many might be outlandishly unthinkable tasks (homemade tofu? goat cheese? sauerkraut?) into assessable tasks for just about anyone.

360 pages, c 2012.

Well we have gotten a lot of comments and suggestions, and hopefully this will work for most of our subscribers; there’s a consensus that we certainly can’t deliver on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. So we’re shifting gears for the two weeks and delivering on the Monday before— on both weeks. So that’s Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve for all boxes, both weeks. Normally Luey, our wonderfully calm driver, delivers half our boxes on Tuesday and half on Wednesday. For these two weeks only, Luey will do half the boxes, and one or two of us will do the other half. This is only a one day shift for Tuesday subscribers. But it’s a two day shift for Wednesday’s. Please let us know if anyone has a problem with picking up on these two Mondays, being Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, then back to normal the following week.

This seems to be the least disruptive of our subscribers schedules and also allows Luey and crew here a couple days off to enjoy their families and celebrate the holidays.

I just knew there was something missing off the Harvest Ticket yesterday, yup it’s the Cara Cara oranges. This is really the first harvest worth mentioning of our Caras. Originally found as a natural mutation in an orange grove in Valencia, Venezula in 1976, Cara Caras didn’t find themselves in US kitchens until the late 1980’s. Even then, there has always been somewhat of a mysteque about the Cara because their flavor is so unusual. Some have said the juice, although certainly “orange like,” also evokes cherry, rose petal, strawberry or blackberry hints as well. The flesh is certainly much redder than a navel, from whence this sport sprung. We have so few trees to harvest of this special variety, that we are sending them out straight from the tree, unsorted. Large, small, costmetically challenged….whatever; we want everyone to get a chance of tasting a few before the short windowed harvest is over!

Instructor Virginia– coaxes Gracie The Goat with Crunchie Granola Treats

Come on out to Morning Song Farm for the third of a series of cheese making classes.  Newcomers, don’t worry! We will help you every step of the way, and you’ll be amazed how easy it is to make your own cheeses from now on! December’s The Gift of Cheese class will be held December 15th. ( Mozzarella balls in EVVO, Brie in croute, chevre rolled in herbs and spices. Packaging and decorations provided.) Get a chance to meet the farm’s beautiful Nigerian dairy goats, pet the babies.  Bring a crunchy granola bar or two and you’ll be everyone’s best friend, especially Carl The Herd Leader who eats anything but really gets excited if it’s crunchy.

We’ve teamed up with veteran cheese maker Virginia Masters who has been exploring and teaching all things cheesy for 10 years.  She’s enthusiastic about imparting her cheese making knowledge to anyone, young and old alike. Cheese making is somewhat of a lost art and Virginia insists it’s surprisingly easy to learn considering how expensive some cheeses can be. She provides all the materials for cheese making including recipes; and every student gets to take recipes and finished cheeses home with them at the end of the class.

The December class is designed around the theme of The Gift of Cheese. Participants will make Mozzarella balls in olive oil with herbs, garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Decorative glass jars with holiday fabric tops will be provided so that everyone leaves with gifts; as well as the knowledge of how to repeat at home. We’ll also make Chevre and decorate with fresh herbs and spices. And Virginia will demonstrate how to make Brie wrapped in puff pastry and bake for a holiday or New Year’s party. Everyone gets to take home their brie which will be ripe by New Year’s!

So come enjoy the crisp winter weather at beautiful Morning Song Farm and experience how gratifying it is to make your own cheeses. We will also have a mini farmer’s market with cheese making kits and farm related gifts available for purchase.

Class fee: $65
CSA members, just RSVP to us here: CSA@morningsongfarm.com and we’ll charge your account.
Or you can go to our meetup page and make reservations here: http://www.meetup.com/Morning-Song-Farm-Cheese-Making/.