BRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!! BRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!! It's cold out there and we have around 4"-5" of snow on the ground! Well it's the middle of winter and so I haven't had much to post about as far as farming goes. We've been getting seed catalogs in the mail, so we need to get on that and get those ordered. Greg has been making plans and accumulating parts to put together 3 caterpillar tunnels for this Spring. We are still selling at Columbia's winter market. We've been taking winter squash, sweet potatoes, dried apples, jams & jellies, eggs, and baked goods. We sold the last of our regular potatoes last week.

Greg & Lucas got the big hoop house cleaned out of the old tomato plants, stakes, plastic mulch and drip tape while Lucas was home for Christmas break. They put up the snow load braces so we don't have to worry too much about them caving under the weight of the snow. We got the little green house refurbished and the plants moved over from the big green house, and the big green house shut down, which is nice as the little one doesn't use as much propane. The propane barrel ran dry before we got the little one finished, so all the heaters in the big one shut off. Luckily we caught it and had it refilled (emergency weekend call), before it had been out too long and we lost plants!

My amaryllis that my grandmother passed on to me years ago that had come from her mother, is now blooming! It has 20 bloom stalks, 9 of which have 4 bloom, 6 with 3 blooms, and 3 with 2 bloom, 2 still to bloom, making a total o 60 blooms so far!!! That is what the picture is of! It usually blooms around Christmas and again in July!

Winter is here! The temperatures have been down in the 20's and a few days didn't get out of the 30's! So our tomatoes in the hoop house are finished. Now to get them all cleaned out and the stakes, plastic and drip tape pulled up and then the ground turned under!

We got the row cover put over both strawberry patches and they are hopefully all tucked in for the winter! Have to watch the wind doesn't blow the cover off. We've been having some problems with the heaters in the green houses, but we finally have them fixed and going, plus bought a spare just in case! We got the old plastic lining on the little green house tore down, and the new plastic arrived the other day, so the next thing will be to get that all put back and the plants from the big green house moved over to the little one. Then we can shut down the big green house for most of the winter and save some propane!

The lettuce, kale, radishes, mizuna, arugala, swiss chard, etc. that we planted a couple of weeks ago in the little hoop house have sprouted! So now to see if we can get them to grow! We've got a double layer of row cover over them inside the hoop house to try to keep the temperatures warmer. It also helps with the moisture so we don't have to drag out the hoses too often. Keep your fingers crossed!

Wow the weather yesterday and today is unbelievable! Up in the 70's yesterday and again today! But it is supposed to get cold tomorrow!

We've been catching up on things around here that get put off because we're too busy. We've got the old strawberry patch mowed off and the electric fence around it cleaned off. We are going to keep this patch another year. We normally plow it under every year, but this year out of the 3,000 plugs we ordered for our new patch, several hundred were dead, so we will keep the old one another year.

Greg finally got a water valve dug up and cleaned out. It had filled in with dirt and we couldn't get it turned off. We had an old hog waterer that we weren't using that had leaked all summer and now have it turned off! While he did that I put the windows back in the chicken house. I've taken cuttings off my rosemary, oregano and french tarragon and have them in my "rooting" boxes!

We've also planted swiss chard, mizuna, arugula, spinach, lettuce, kale and radishes in our little hoop house. We are trying an experiment this winter to see what we can grow in there during the winter.

We are doing a winter market this year over in Columbia. It's every Sat. from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Right now we have winter squash, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, dried apples, tomatoes, jams and jellies, baked goods, and eggs to sell. So it will be interesting to see how that goes. There are two problems as I see it with this; one the produce selection and two the customers don't come out in the winter, even though this market is indoors. But we'll see, it's a learning time for everyone. Hopefully it will be worth our time. There are also meat vendors there, and other veggies that the greenhouse growers are growing.

Greg has been ordering and making plans to put up some short tunnels that are movable in our new field by the house. That will enable us to plant more things earlier and then once they get going and it warms up we can move off the tunnels. More experiments and learning opportunities!

I have been making more jams, and cooking up winter squash and putting it in freezer to use in pies and breads. Need to get some more sweet potatoes done also. The seed catalogs are coming in, I've been going through them and marking things of interest for next year!

Well it's hard to believe, but Greg has all the garden plots cleaned up, plowed and tilled! That never happens this early, but a very dry and warm October has allowed us to get that all done early this year, plus we have two new plots all ready to go next Spring! A very nice feeling for Greg! I've been working a little each day on pulling out all the grass and weeds from the big green house and throwing them out into the chicken yard for the chickens to enjoy! We got all the winter squash moved into the cooler and put a little heater in it to keep them from freezing so they will hopefully last longer.

We are still doing market over in Columbia, and will all winter. Right now we are actually doing two. The one we've done all summer is still going and will go another two weeks. The new indoor Winter market started this past Saturday, they overlap for three weeks. So we took two trucks and unloaded Greg at the outside one and got him all set up and then I went over to the indoor one and set up. The indoor one goes from 10:00 a.m. till 2 p.m. So when Greg was done at noon with his, he came over to help me and then tear down. Makes for a long day as we get up at 5:00 a.m., but once the outdoor market is over, we won't have to get up so early!

We still have the winter squash, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, jams, and dried apples to sell. Plus I do baking and I've picked up some black walnuts. Need to get them hulled and cracked and bag to try to sell.

The seed catalogs are starting to come in, so I've been glancing through them and marking things of interest for next year. Greg is looking at getting the material to make several low tunnels for one of the new garden plots up by the barn.

I'm thinking about a vacation in December or January. Want to go some place a little warmer! But we want to drive. Was wondering about Mobile Alabama and that area, as I would like to get to the ocean. Does anyone know whether that area is back going after their storms and damage?

PUMPKINS

Here are some recipes I thought you might like if you are looking for something to do with all those left over pumpkins from Halloween?!

SPICY PUMPKIN SOUP
4 Tbsp. butter, unsalted
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 tsp. garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 tsp. ground coriander
3 15 oz. cans pumpkin or (2 cups of your own)
5 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions & garlic & cook, stirring constantly, until softened. Add red pepper & coriander & stir on minute longer. Add pumpkin & chicken broth; stir to combine. Bring to a boil & then reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes. Transfer soup, in batches to a blender or food processor. Cover tightly & blend until smooth. Return soup to pan after blended. With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar & stir to combine. Slowly add the milk, stirring after each addition. Add cream. Adjust seasonings & serve hot.

SIMPLEST BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
1 butternut squash (about 3lbs) or pumpkin works equally well!
3 slender or 1 1/2 larger leeks, white parts only, split lengthwise, washed, & cut into 1" long pieces
3 cups whole milk
3 cups water
salt & freshly ground pepper
fresh grated nutmeg

Optional garnish
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, & cut into tiny dice
about 1/3 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts or walnuts
about 1/2 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream

Peel squash. Remove seeds & string, then cut into 1-2" chunks. Toss into a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Add the leeks, milk, & water; salt generously & bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer & cook for 25-35 minutes or until squash is soft enough to mash when pressed lightly with the back of a spoon.
Using a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches until it is very smooth. It may be thick; Thin to your desired consistency with milk or water. Season to taste with salt pepper & nutmeg. Reheat if necessary (This soup is best when truly hot)
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, spoon over the apples & nuts, and garnish with a little creme fraiche or cream.

Wow it's hard to believe, but this is the 25th week (last week) of our CSA year! Today you will be receiving eggs, winter squash, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes, cardoon, fennel and celeriac! Now I know everyone is going what is cardoon and celeriac??? So here is some information from my favorite book "From Asparagus to Zucchini" a guide to cooking farm fresh seasonal produce.

CELERIAC
Celeriac, also known as celery root, has an obvious but unusual kinship to the common celery. Its stalks & foliage are similar to those of celery and are edible. However, the celeriac is cultivated for its edible bulbous root crown. Celeriac's growing season is very long.
Celeriac is very popular in Europe, particularly in Germany & France where our commonly known stalk-type celery is rarely used. Actually celeriac was not uncommon in American cooking back in the 1800s.
Do not be put off by the celery root's rough exterior. Inside, a surprisingly delicious and versatile vegetable waits to be added to your culinary repertoire. Celeriac has an excellent crisp texture raw or cooked, and super-concentrated celery flavor, enhancing its usefulness as both vegetable & seasoning. Celeriac is high in carbohydrates, vitamin C, phosphorus, and potassium.
COOKING TIPS:

Slice off stalks at the root crown. Soak the root in warm water to loosen dirt in the crevices, then scrub thoroughly with a stiff vegetable brush. If exterior is too tough, peel with a sharp knife.
Peeled celeriac will darken when exposed to air. To retard darkening, toss with lemon juice or keep in water. Lemon juice can also be added to cooking water.

Parboil peeled celeriac whole for 20-30 minutes 1/2" to 1/4" slices for 5-8 minutes.
Bake celeriac in its skin at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Peel & prepare as needed.
For extra celery flavor, use instead of common celery in soups, casseroles, stir-fries, etc. Use stalks & leaves for seasoning.

Try celeriac in hardy winter soups & stews, or puree for a flavorful, creamy soup base.
Boil & mash celeriac with potatoes.

Now on to Cardoon. This one is a very different thing, and maybe not for everyone, but it will be fun to at least read about and give it a whirl!!!! There are several different web sites with information and recipes, so just click on the highlighted words, Cardoon. This is the first year we've grown this, don't know if we'll do it again, but every year you just have to try something "new" and see what it's like and how it grows. Cardoon may not be the best choice for our zone as it takes a longer growing season and you don't harvest till it gets cooler, like now, but it doesn't like frost. So most years we probably wouldn't be able to raise this. So give it a try this may be the only time you'll every see this!

Enjoy this last week, hopefully everything was good and you had a good experience maybe even tried things you'd never had before. Hopefully we'll see you again next year.

SWEET POTATOES
The sweet potato is one of only a few cultivated vegetable crops that originated in the Americas. The wild sweet potato has been traced back to Peru as early as 8000 B.C. Early Native American tribes relied on both wild and, later cultivated varieties of sweet potatoes. Christopher Columbus introduced this versatile and nutritious storage crop to Europe.

Sweet potatoes are often erroneously referred to as "yams", a family of starchy tuberous roots originating in West Africa. The sweet potato is neither a potato or a yam but a rooted tuber and member of the morning glory family.

COOKING TIPS:
To bake: Scrub the skin and cut away any damaged areas. Place them whole or halved in a pan (or with a pan underneath to catch caramelizing drips) and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until the centers are soft when a knife is inserted. Hint: To bring out maximum sweetness, place sweet potatoes into a cold oven and then turn on heat, thus maximizing the time for the starches to be transformed to sugar before high temperature denatures the enzymes responsible for this process. Serve plain or with butter mashed into the soft inside, like any baked potato. Skins can be eaten if clean.

To steam: Place scrubbed & quartered sweet potato chunks in a steamer over boiling water and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Let them cool enough to remove peels. To serve round discs, cook sweet potatoes whole, then peel and slice into rounds. Serve plain or drizzled with a toppings: sweet (butter and a tad of maple syrup), tangy (Lime) or spicy (a red pepper or ginger sauce).

Try adding well-cooked sweet potato to your usual mashed potatoes; blend thoroughly.

STORAGE TIPS:
Store sweet potatoes in a cool, dry, well ventilated place for up to several weeks. Do not store in plastic or refrigerate. Temperatures below 50 degrees will result in off-flavors, and excess moisture will encourage sweet potatoes to rot or sprout prematurely. Do not scrub clean or wash until just before preparation. Excess dirt may be removed without water prior to storing.

The above information came from my "From Asparagus to Zucchini" a guide to cooking farm fresh seasonal produce book!