The Market is Open

Sorry that the market is opening late. I got carried away with farming chores this morning and when I looked up it was later than I had wished it to be.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day!
See you at the market on Friday,
Angela

The Market is Open

This heat makes me feel like I have moved back to Georgia. What has happened to my seasonably warm Kentucky? As we are drawing down on summer I thought I would post a recipe for Tomatoes and Okra. I have never liked Okra (maybe I have never had “Good” Okra before), but when I made this at the beginning of summer I was an Okra convert. It is so yummy that I am sorry that I snubbed my nose at it before.

The Lady and Sons Okra and Tomatoes

Ingredients

4 slices bacon diced into small pieces
1 small onion peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (I used cut up cherry tomatoes)
1 tablespoon chicken base
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups fresh okra cut into 1-inch pieces (may use frozen, if fresh not available)
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
Cook bacon slightly. Saute onion and garlic with bacon until tender. Add tomatoes, chicken base, sugar and pepper. Stir well and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning if needed. Meanwhile wash okra and remove fuzz if using fresh and cut into pieces. Add the okra and simmer until okra is done, about 20 more minutes (less if using frozen okra.)

See you at the market on Friday!
Angela

The Market is Open

Today is the day we go back to school! As homeschooler’s we get to make our own schedule and find the timing that works best for us. This start of school year finds me more apprehensive and a bit sad. My journey with homeschooling is drawing down, and my kiddos are starting new paths. Hannah graduates this year, and Jonah is in college full time. Next year it will be just Eric and I.
Part of our mission in starting the farm was to keep our children close. Being military we have always moved around without a home base. Princeton is our home base now – I am not moving again! We have purposely done most of the work on our farm ourselves, in an effort to really make this OUR home. We have fenced and cross fenced six acres this summer, all by ourselves. We are preparing to put up a greenhouse. We are making memories in the hope that the kids will one day take over the sustainable farm. A farm that sustained their father and I emotionally, physically and financially. That is what farming is about in my mind. Creating a Legacy that can be passed down, creating a financially viable way for your children and their children to make a living.
I hope one day that my grandchildren will live on this farm, spending days working and playing. It is our little slice of heaven. I am using these dreams to pull me through this time of transition for the kids and myself. Where did the time go?
See you on Friday,
Angela

The Market is Open

I usually make these entries very light hearted, but this weekend I read an opinion article in the New York Times that has me pondering the state of local food, and since this is all about local food, I thought I would interject my thoughts about said article. You can view the article here http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/opinion/sunday/dont-let-your-children-grow-up-to-be-farmers.html?_r=0

The article basically states that small local farms are not making money, and throws out the number of negative $1453 in income for the average farmer per year.
We ourselves are not making money (yet), but I feel that this is due to building infrastructure on a new farm. We are subsidizing our farm with my husbands income, at this point. So on those points I agree, it is extremely hard to start a farm, to find land that you can afford, and to afford all the equipment that goes along with farming.
What I do see is demand! The demand is there for healthy food. People want to eat the best tomato for dinner. What concerns me is the connection with what food should cost. It isn’t just about what the farmer puts into it, seeds, compost, fertilizer and time. It is also about the future of the farmer. If the farmer is only reimbursed for his expenses, that does not give them enough to plan for a future, have health insurance, or help with their child’s college fund. When people tell me I charge to much, I simply answer that I deserve a living wage too. You wouldn’t expect any less from your job. I shouldn’t be expected to receive any less from mine. What happens when we charge too little for our product? We simply cannot afford to stay in the business. We are losing too many small farms to this mistake. The average age of farmers now is 56, and I do not know too many young adults that want to become farmers. It is a hard sell! Maybe the big grain farmers are making a profit, but are the small food farmers? I think this is about education, informing our customers that food farming is an expensive business. I know that we have lots of retired folks that grow food and sell it fairly cheap, but what happens when they are gone? Who takes up growing food at that cheap a rate?
I know this is a heavy subject, but one that needs to change in order for us (small farmers) to continue to grow food and sustain our farms and families.
I can only speak to my situation, but despite the above issues, I feel hopeful that our community can grow a local foods movement that not only grows food but grows new farmers because they know their community supports them.
See you at the market on Friday,
Angela

The Market is Open

This week is National Farmers Market Week.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack declared August 3rd through 9th of 2014 National Farmers Market Week to bring attention to the nation’s more than 8,100 farmers markets, the farmers who make them possible and the communities that host them. Isn’t it amazing that we have so many farmers markets? Buying fresh food from your local farmers market does more than impact your personal health—that purchase supports the livelihood of local farmers, your local economy and environment. Farmers markets are strengthening communities and shifting the whole food system in a positive direction.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our community of Princeton for supporting our endeavors to bring you fresh, local food year round.
See you on Friday,
Angela

The Market is Open

It looks like we have been granted a reprieve from the oppressive humidity for this week. Kentucky sure keeps me guessing as to what the weather will do from week to week and sometimes day to day.
We are still trying to fence this week, but without much rain we continue to struggle to get those posts in the ground. We are almost complete with one field and still need to tackle the next big field. I am really looking forward to the day when I can just open gates and move sheep from one paddock to the next.
I look forward to seeing everyone this Friday,
Angela

The Market is Open

It looks like summer is going to make a come back this week. We are still trying to grow head lettuce this summer, but the heat has slowed its growth way down. It had a bit of a growth spurt last week, but sadly still not ready!
With all of the tomatoes on the market this week I thought I would post the recipe for Tomato Pie that I brought last week to market.
From southernplate.com and if you are new to this type of recipe- she has a great picture log of how she made it. Super Yummy and well worth the effort!

Ingredients

3 medium sized tomatoes
6 large fresh basil leaves (if you don’t have fresh use 2 teaspoons dried)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2-3/4 cup mayo
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pie crust baked but not browned

Directions
Cut tomatoes into slices.

Place in colander and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon table salt. Allow to drain for ten minutes (can skip this step if you like).

Arrange 1/2 of tomato slices in baked pie crust. Top with 1/2 of kosher salt, 1/2 of pepper, 1/2 of basil, 1/2 of vinegar, and 1/2 of cheese.

Repeat.

Spread mayo over top of pie. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
See you Friday!
Angela

The Market is Open

What a refreshing rain this morning! I am originally from Nevada, so just about any rain is a welcome rain in my book.
I would love to invite you to our first anniversary tasting this Friday. We will have a sample table set up with some of our great local foods and a few of our growers will be able to hang out in a meet and greet session.
I can’t thank you enough for all of your support this first year. Please come and celebrate with us on Friday 4-6pm at Tractor Supply.
Angela

The Market is Open

What a wonderful 4th of July weekend we had!! We couldn’t have asked for better weather. I enjoyed making our festivities with delicious local food.
Looks like more wonderful weather this week, and I am looking forward to more tomatoes ripening in the garden.
We are in the planning stages, but next Friday the 18th we will have a small celebration, where you can eat local foods and meet your farmers. I hope you will join us next week.
Until then, enjoy the weather and local foods. See you Friday,
Angela

The Market is Open

This week our market will fall on Fourth of July!! Our hours will be the same, but if you need to make other arrangements we can work around that too.
As we draw closer to our first anniversary, I would like to thank our customers and farmers who have supported this locally grown movement. I am pleased to tell you that your annual membership of $10 has paid for our liability insurance for the next year. We continually bring in new customers and we are slowly adding new farmers too. I am thinking we should have a celebration in the next few weeks to honor our customers and the farmers they support. I will let you know more about that next week.
Thank you again, and I look forward to seeing you on Friday!
Angela