Green Mountain Girls = Food Revolution


It is the inspiration of our name, certainly.  The new commercial and video (also above) about the farm from Guy’s Farm & Yard (produced by Mt. Mansfield Media) explains our name quite nicely and we love that.  We know it is sometimes confusing. Does our name refer to the owners, the leaders in the pasture (hens, does, sows) or….?   Yes, a bit of all, and a nod to the famed Revolutionaries of Vermont’s past, the Green Mountain Boys.

 

 

Partnerships are a lovely thing and we were happy to help out the team at Guy’s, who are quite good to us, and thrilled that in return they produced a video about us.  So check it out and thanks for being part of the Food Revolution.

And stay tuned for exciting news about another expanding partnership!

 

Sheepskins

Dairy, Katahdin & multi-color Katahdin

Regeneratively-raised Sheepskins are an absolute gift!  Supple and soft textured, they are both luxurious and the simplest form of comfort that comes when our deepest needs are met. They are the farthest thing possible from fast fashion!

These are some of our 2023 sheepskins, contact us to see what is still available. They range in size, shape, texture & color and price – from $225 – $375.

Each unique piece is both easy to care for and long-lasting, thanks to the work preserving them here at the farm and then the beautiful work by Vermont Natural Tannery, who use vegetable tanning method without harsh synthetic chemicals.

You can order through the online Northfield Farmers Market. You can also contact us directly to purchase for local pick-up or to be mailed. See prices for each below and a photo of the front & back.

Our flock is comprised of Katahdin, hair sheep whose pelts vary in color and texture and East Friesian-Lacaune crosses whose thick wool pelts are plush and cream colored. Sizes and shapes vary, though most are 39-46″ long and 30-34″ wide, at their widest point.

Tossed on a chair or footstool, they add rustic warmth to a room and enhance a yoga session or naps for 2 or 4 leggeds! They can add a homey touch to your desk chair or soften long commutes on your driver’s seat. Often used as baby gifts for cribs and strollers, we also treasure their appropriateness for end of life comforting.

Grilled Leg of Lamb

Leg of Lamb just off the grill!

New delightful plan for cooking Leg of Lamb that doesn’t reguire the oven either for summer heat waves or holiday needs. Leg of Lamb on the grill! We’ve found this recipe SUPER easy, realtively quick (often the case with pasture raised meats) and fully delicious! Below was my approach after consulting a few different recipes. You definitely could go more in depth with rub & marinade, but I’d had a full day, so went simple!

Ingredients

Bone in Leg of lamb (I did 4.5 lbs)

Garlic (I did 4 big cloves)

Fat of your choice (I had chicken schmaltz from roasting chickens)

Herbs ( I did a quick short cut with a dried herbs de provence mix)

Salt & Pepper

Process

Press or chop the garlic and mix it with the fat, herbs, salt & pepper to make a paste. Make a few slits into the meaty parts of the leg and stuff the paste in, then rub the rest of the paste all over the leg. I only did about 4 or 5 slits on each side…could have been delightful with more but didn’t have the time.

Let lamb come to room temp (either before or after slathering with rub).

Pre-heat the grill to a hot temp, then turn off a section just before putting the lamb on. Put the lamb on the off section for some indirect heat & cover grill. When I put the lamb on, I also turned the other 2 sections down a bit so that the grill thermometer ended up reading in the 325-350 range. Check and turn the lamb after 30-45 min and add a meat thermometer. It is easiest if you have one you can leave in, otherwise just check a bit more often. When I turned the lamb I turned the back burners down a bit more to slow down the cooking based on my scheudule. Ours was still done (ok even a smidge overdone) in about an hour & a half.

Let cool for 10 or so min and then slice and enjoy! Also it was fabulous left over on a salad!

Some recipes I consulted:

Absolute Gifts

Gifts that Create the Future You Want to See in the World

Regeneratively-raised Sheepskins are an absolute gift!  Supple and soft textured, they are both luxurious and the simplest form of comfort that comes when our deepest needs are met. They are the farthest thing possible from fast fashion!

Each unique piece is both easy to care for and long-lasting, thanks to the work preserving them here at the farm and then the beautiful work by Vermont Natural Tannery, who use vegetable tanning method without harsh synthetic chemicals.

Tossed on a chair or footstool, they add rustic warmth to a room and enhance a yoga session or naps for 2 or 4 leggeds! They can add a homey touch to your desk chair or soften long commutes on your driver’s seat. Often used as baby gifts for cribs and strollers, we also treasure their appropriateness for end of life comforting.

Our flock is comprised of Katahdin, hair sheep whose pelts vary in color and texture and East Friesian-Lacaune crosses whose thick wool pelts are plush and cream colored. Sizes and shapes vary, though most are 39-46″ long and 30-34″ wide, at their widest point. You can order them through the online Northfield Winter Farmers Market for local pick-up or email us for a local pick-up or mail order and to see which are still available. (check out the gallery of sheepskins on our website!)

And if a sheepskin isn’t the right gift for yourself or someone in your world, there many gift options that are smaller, yet still regeneratively raised & supporting our local farm & farming.

Farmhouse Teas from our herbs & flowers; pasture-raised dog and cat treats that help us utilize and honor the whole animal, pure delicious applesauce, unique kiwiberry hot sauce; some fun Climate Farming aprons, cards & stickers and of course all of our other food.

You can also do gift certicates, either directly through us or a Northfield Farmers Market Gift Certificate so folks can shop from many local farms & artisans.

Gifts of Regeneration

You, the ewes, plants, monarch butterflies and farmers have the potential to help one another and our planet in this time of climate change, pollinator collapse and biodiversity loss.

This painting depicts our collaboration succeeding. In growing food (and fiber, fuel, flavonoids and so much more), we make our farm better able to grow food in the future. Regeneration. Here’s the backstory.

Vermont lost up to 50% of its topsoil during the colonial era due to overgrazing with sheep after clearcutting forests. Paradoxically, done well, attentive farmers managing grazing ruminant animals is one of the quickest ways to deepen topsoil.

Much of Vermont’s landscape has tight soils, some compacted by modern machines, others left compressed by glaciers. New technologies, like our Vermont Ripsower, minimally disturb sod yet open new access for roots to locked up mineral stores. Diverse seed mixes introduce deep rooted plants, like chicory, to maintain this opening.

Saliva, pee, poop and the trampled plants from grazing animals add organic matter, as well as fungal and microbial diversity to soil. Healthy plants photosynthesize gregariously, transforming atmospheric carbon into sugar. These healthy plants produce more sugars than they need for immediate growth and share the extra, underground, exuding them through their roots, even while they intake water and nutrients. Symbiotic fungi and bacteria are drawn to these sugary root exudates and multiply quickly, transforming soil into a sticky, clumpy yet porous form, teaming with life.  

Living, decompacted soils are like a sponge enabling water to infiltrate, reducing flooding while also storing more water, longer, mitigating drought.  Nitrogen and phosphorous are quickly processed, minimizing runoff and pollution while catalyzing more growth.

Ultimately all this higher functioning restores the biological ability of the plant and soil systems and there is increased resistance to pests and disease. Plant leaves thicken and become shiny from improved lipid production. These healthier plants produce fruits or vegetables which have a longer shelf life, are more nourishing and taste great. And with no harmful synthetic chemicals in use our farm ecosystem becomes ever more harmonious with biodiversity.

Meat composition of livestock and poultry consuming diverse healthy forage has more Omega 3 fats, nourishing compounds like flavanoids and other favorable attributes. Pelts and sheepskins are gorgeous, enduring testaments to the reciprocity and positive feedback loops in our pastures.

As shoppers and supporters of our farm, YOU nourish yourself and share gifts that serve our deepest needs while forwarding the most hope-filled concept we know – regeneration.

Check out stories from our cohort of Vermont & New Hampshire Climate Farmers

Cultivating Gratitude

This is time of year and holiday when gratitude becomes top of mind.  Much study has shown that the more we focus on that which we are grateful for the better off we are, but we also know the challenge of that when life gets hectic. 

This year, and this growing season in particular, has been challenging – devastating for those that flooded or froze and really hard for those that didn’t but were still over-saturated for weeks and weeks.   As our season slows down, here are some things we’ve been grateful for this year:

The resilience of our pastures and soil: We benefited from being a hill farm, high in the watershed, but also from the years of investment soil biology, allowing it to hold more of the water that falls in place and support our plants in times of stress.

Our farming partners: The steadiness, reliable performance and supportive camaraderie from our teammates Amy & Donna and Hannah & Haley from Field Stone Farm can’t be beat.  And then there is our Event Elf, cousin Karen; excavator wizard/advisor Gary; Johnny-O the fix-it man & Kathy forever backstopping us. 

And the team that rallied to allow us to dig deeper into agritourism and helped us host a series of fall foliage bus tours, giving hundreds of folks a window into the positive potential for regenerative farming.

Acheiving a long-shared goal with Liva to tap her herbal knowledge to make the most of our dried flowers and herbs that we planted together years ago in our orchard understory.

Those that care about how food is raised for yourselves, your community and the world.  Yes, you our customers, and also the neighbors, friends, family and colleagues who offer physical and moral support.  It is a team effort.

Of course the diligent, funny, resilient & ever productive livestock and plants in our fields and orchard.  Farming really is a deep collaboration with them fostering their talents!

Turkeys finishing in the orchard see video too

That the rain finally stopped and let fields dry and hay be made! And t15hat some of our fruit made it through May’s deep freeze.

That Chandra has baked all us so many delicious pizzas before handing off Field Stone Farm’s pizza to the multi-talented Tyler who is also a farm fixer/supporter. Double thanks here that their pizza is now also available fresh & hot on Sundays. Email fsfpizza@gmail.com to get the weekly update and order info.

And we’d be remiss to not mention our 4 legged farm teammates, who not only perform their own jobs of protection and rodent control, but bring a lot of joy along the way. 

May this next season and year bring you joy, peace, learning and lots of good food.

At the Farmstand: Thanksgiving 2023

Fresh Veggies, great meats, applesauce, jams, milk, Pâté as a great & easy appetizer, leaf lard for flaky pie crusts, Dog treats & gifts. Even poultry feet to add some extra collagen and oompf to your turkey stock. And Field Stone Farm Pizza for an easy meal pre or post the holiday!

For Thanksgiving Week, our Farmstand is open Mon – Sat 10am to 7 pm and you can shop from us via the online weekly Northfield Farmers Market.

Our website is always stocked with lots of recipe ideas.  You can scroll or search!
The farmstand is stocked with our products and those from our partners and other local regenerative farms. More new products each week!

Meats

Lamb

• Leg of Lamb, bone-in
• Rib Lamb Chops
• Loin Lamb Chops
Ground Lamb
Lamb Loin
Rack of Lamb
Lamb Shanks
• Lamb Shoulder Roasts, bone-in
• Lamb breast/ribs
• Lamb bones

Pork

• Bacon
• Breakfast Sausage Links
Country Style Ribs
Farmhouse Cumberland Bangers
Farmhouse Maple Breakfast quick links
Farmhouse Toulouse Sausage coils
• Fat
• Ground Pork 
• Garlic & Parmesan Sausage Links
Fresh ham roasts (not-smoked)
Italian Sausage Bulk
• Pork Chops
• Pork Loin Roast, Bone-in
• Pork Boston Butt Roast, Bone-in
• Pork Shoulder Roast, Bone-in
• Sirloin Boneless Cutlets

Poultry

• Chicken, Stewing Whole
• Holiday Turkeys -Limited Availability

Honeywilya Fish
Alaskan Fish, line caught by a Vermont fisherman

• King Salmon
• Smoked Coho Salmon

Other Bits
• Soup & Stock Bones, Pork & Lamb
• Offal & Odd Bits – chicken & Turkey feet, Trotters, hearts, liver, kidneys, Pig Heads, etc.
Raw bones for Dogs

Veggies & Fruit

Photo by Rose Wall

Beets, Red & Golden (Field Stone Farm)
Black Currants, frozen
Bok Choy & Tatsoi (Field Stone Farm)
Cabbage (Field Stone Farm)
Carrots (Field Stone Farm & Kildeer Farm)
Celery (Field Stone Farm)
• Garlic
• Ginger, Baby frozen (FSF & GMG)
• Herbs: Sage, Thyme & Savory
Napa Cabbage (Luna Bleu Farm)
Onions (Field Stone Farm)
Rutabega (Field Stone Farm)
• Salad Mix (Field Stone Farm)
Salad Turnips (Field Stone Farm)
Tokyo Bekana (Field Stone Farm)

Pantry & Prepared Foods

• Hot Sauces: Seaberry & Kiwiberry
• Applesauce, Pure & Maple Cinnamon
• Borscht Soup
Chicken Bone Broth
Dog & Cat Treats: dehydrated liver, hearts & more!
Fricandeaux – baked charcuterie
• Heirloom Tomato Bloody Mary Mix
Herbal Teas from our farm herbs & flowers
• Maple Bread & Butter Squash Pickles with Artesano Vinegar
• Maple Bread & Butter Cucumber Pickles with Artesano Vinegar
Mexican Pickled Carrots with Artesano Vinegar
• Curried Green Tomato Pickles
Leaf Lard
Chicken Liver Pâté
• Red Pepper Sauce
• Ramen Soup Starter – Broth & Pork
• Roasted Turkey & Squash Soup

From our Farm Friends 

• Maple sweetened Jams from Lightfoot Farm
• Organic Black Beans, Morningstar Farm
• Organic Cranberry Beans, Morningstar Farm
• Organic Pinto Beans, Morningstar Farm
• Organic Yellow Eye Beans, Morningstar Farm
• Honey Mead Vinegar, Artesano
• Turmeric Honey Wine vinegar, Artesano
• Vermont Apple Cider Vinegar, Artesano (2 sizes)
• Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Cider Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Raw Jersey Milk, Blue Goose Farm

Farm Inspired Gifts

In addition to our fresh, frozen, dried & canned items that make great gifts, we also have:

  • Farm Aprons
  • Notecards
  • Stickers & Magnets

Roasted Chicken or Turkey & Squash Soup

Adapted from:  SeriousEats.com 

Roasted Chicken & Squash Soup

This continues to be one of our most favorite and most requested soups. We discovered it several years ago and it was the tastiest soup we had made in ages. Bonus is that it is really simple and can easily follow a yummy roasted chicken or roasted turkey meal (yes, perfect for holiday leftovers!) and you can easily scale it up – we know because we served it to 15 people the first time we made it and now we often make it in large batches for sale.

The original recipe called for skinning and cutting up the squash before roasting, but that seemed much harder than roasting separately. Plus then you can have a nice roasted dinner first!  But the soup is also good enough to justify roasting some poultry just to make it.

1 large or 2 medium squash – butternut, buttercup, pumpkin.. your choice

1 medium onion, diced

Roasted Turkey or chicken (about 1-1.5 lbs per quart of stock)

Olive oil or poultry fat or bacon fat or lard– to basted chicken and squash

Salt and pepper to taste

4 cups poultry stock

1/2-1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2-1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Fresh cilanto, for garnish

Directions:  

If making soup from raw ingredients (instead of leftovers)

Roast Chicken or Turkey – Using Mark Bittman’s Simple Roast Chicken recipe or Brine & Roasted Turkey. Use fat from previous roast chicken, olive oil or bacon fat to basted chicken.

Roast Squash: slice in half, remove seeds, spread with your choice of fat and herbs and roast around 400 degrees till done.

Roast/Saute onion – either with chicken or squash or just in the soup pot with some fat.

When Chicken is done.  Cut/pull meat from the bones and cut into chunks and set aside.

When squash is done, scoop from skins and put in soup pot with onions, chicken/turkey stock, cumin and coriander and bring to a simmer.  With a potato masher or wooden spoon, mash up the soup (really the squash in the soup), it will remain somewhat chunky.  Then add lemon juice and chicken pieces.  Stir and add salt and pepper to taste (it will depend a lot on how much salt and pepper you used in roasting the chicken and squash. ) Add a bit of the pan roasting juices from the chicken/turkey, this is the key to the best version of the soup.

Top with cilantro in your bowls and enjoy!

Leftover version:  Enjoy your roast chicken or turkey with squash dinner(s).  Saute some onions in a soup pot with some yummy fat (poultry would be ideal), then add your leftover squash, some stock, and spices.  Heat to a simmer, add a bit of lemon juice and some leftover chicken or turkey. If you haven’t turned it all into gravy, add some of the pan roasting juices to the soup. Voila – soup.

Brining & Roasting a Turkey

roasted turkey

We generally brine our turkeys, out of habit now almost. And because the Cooks Illustrated timing seems to work well for us, and if we are using a frozen turkey, brining is a GREAT way to finish defrosting the bird.  We often use a cooler for the brining process and put in cold water and ice if necessary or put it outside or somewhere fridge-like.

Below is the Cooks Illustrated recipe for brining and roasting.  We have also used this recipe without brining, in that case I do add some salt to the melted fat spread on the bird.

Another brining technique is outlined in the flattering “Yelp” review a farm shopper wrote.

Shannon Hayes, a farmer/author from upstate NY, also has GREAT tips on pasture-raised turkeys. Check out her site and books!

Cooks Illustrated offers a 4-6 hour and a 12-14 hour brine.  We have done both, and haven’t noticed any differences.  We have noted that our pasture-raised birds tend to cook a bit faster. So keep an eye on the thermometer to avoid overcooking.

from Cooks Illustrated

1 turkey (12 to 22 pounds gross weight), rinsed thoroughly, giblets and neck reserved for gravy, if making

4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted (or poultry fat, or lard – all work great)

Dissolve 1 cup salt per gallon cold water for 4- to 6-hour brine or 1/2 cup salt per gallon cold water for 12- to 14-hour brine in large stockpot or clean bucket. Two gallons of water will be sufficient for most birds; larger birds may require three gallons. Add turkey and refrigerate for predetermined amount of time. (We often use a cooler and put it outside or somewhere fridge-like)

Turkey Breast Roasted, Sliced and ready to enjoy!

Turkey Breast Roasted, Sliced and ready to enjoy!

Before removing turkey from brine, adjust oven rack to lowest position; heat oven to 400 degrees for 12- to 18-pound bird or 425 degrees for 18- to 22-pound bird. Line large V-rack with heavy-duty foil and use paring knife or skewer to poke 20 to 30 holes in foil; set V-rack in large roasting pan.

Remove turkey from brine and rinse well under cool running water. Pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Tuck tips of drumsticks into skin at tail to secure, and tuck wing tips behind back. Brush turkey breast with 2 tablespoons butter. Set turkey breast-side down on prepared V-rack; brush back with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Roast 45 minutes for 12- to 18-pound bird or 1 hour for 18- to 22-pound bird.

Remove roasting pan with turkey from oven (close oven door to retain oven heat); reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees if roasting 18- to 22-pound bird. Using clean potholders or kitchen towels, rotate turkey breast-side up; continue to roast until thickest part of breast registers 165 degrees and thickest part of thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 50 to 60 minutes longer for 12- to 15-pound bird, about 1 1/4 hours for 15- to 18-pound bird, or about 2 hours longer for 18- to 22-pound bird. Transfer turkey to carving board; let rest 30 minutes (or up to 40 minutes for 18- to 22-pound bird). Carve and serve.

Community Farm Day: Saturday Oct 21st

We hope you can join us at the Farm on October 21st to enjoy the farm ecosystem and community!

What: During our Community Farm Day there will be tours and tastings, demos and dialogue, sensory walks and stimulating talks, recipe cards and conversations while preparing food together, along with art to admire and citizen/farmer science, ancient practices and open spaces to explore and cozy nooks too.
Check out the full schedule!

When: Saturday October 21st 10 am – 2 pm

How: Green Mountain Girls Farm is fortunate and thrilled to be hosting the 3rd in the 4-farm series of events in partnership with New Perennials who secured funding from USDA and Senator Bernie Sanders. The event and its activities are all free to farm visitors. Our farmstand will also be open for shopping. Please leave your dogs at home, Thanks! Carpooling encouraged! (Northfield park & ride is close by)

RSVP here! or Share the Facebook Event

Why: We all want to celebrate Vermont agriculture at neighborhood farms and make sure folks know about the farmstands and how to access our cherished working landscape as well as shopping options available year round from all the farms tucked away in our hills and valleys.

Speakers, Activities & Workshops include:

Regenerative Farm Tours, Recipe Sharing & Tastings, Cider Pressing, Fifth Quarter Exploration, Open Farmstand, BIPOC Affinity Space, Climate Farmer Art Exhibit

The 4 Farm (for Farms) series: We wish we could go to all 4! Maybe you can?  Times and details for the other events in the series Does’ Leap Oct 14th, Larson Farm October 15th and Maple Wind Farm October 22nd

Questions….

Is the Event Free?

Yes! Thanks to funding from USDA and Senator Bernie Sanders the event and its activities are all free to farm visitors. Our farmstand will also be open for shopping.

Can I bring my dog?

No. Please leave your dog at home as dogs in a farm environment with livestock can be challenging.

Is it Kid Friendly?

Absolutely — Great activities for ALL ages!

Will there be food?

Yes. There will be various cooking demos & learning opprortunities with samples AND our farmstand will be open for shopping with some ready eat items as well as food to take home.

Is the event rain or shine?

YES! Fortunately, Many of the activies will be undercover in our barns, farmstand, hoophouse or farmhouse Kitchen but bring a raincoat for farm tours.

Roast Pork in Milk

adapted from  Leite’s Culinaria

Donna Farley introduced us to this delicious tradition of slow cooking pork in milk.  There are several variations on this Italian classic, so there seems to be some flexibility.  Key – pork roast, milk, slow cook and then enjoy with the sauce.

A useful tip from the website: “Cooking meat in milk is common throughout north Italy because it results in moist meat and a wonderfully rich and flavorful sauce. The milk transforms during the cooking from liquid to yogurt-like clusters which form a rich brown sauce…if you give it a good whisk over the heat just before you are ready to serve, it helps to break up the sauce slightly, giving it a smoother texture.–Katie Caldesi

Ingredients

  • 3-4 pound pork loin roast, shoulder or butt roast
  • Salt
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil or other good fat
  • 3 cups whole milk

Directions

Score the fat on the roast and season with salt.

Heat the butter and oil over medium heat in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or flameproof casserole. Lower the pork into the pan and sear until the skin is crisp and a rich golden color, turning it every few minutes. It will take about 15 minutes to ensure all the edges are golden.

Reduce the heat slightly and add the milk to the pan or casserole very, very slowly so it doesn’t bubble up too much. Gradually bring it to a gentle simmer and partially cover the pan. Let the pork cook like this for 2 hours, or until the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer. The pork will be tender but not fall-apart tender.

Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes, loosely covered with foil. Leave the pan with the cooking liquid on the stovetop. Skim most of the fat from the surface of the juices, then whisk the remaining cooking liquid to break up the chunks of coagulated milk a little. It won’t be pretty, but that’s okay.

Carve the meat and place the pork slices on a warm plate. Pour the pan sauce over the pork and serve. (If you find upon slicing the pork that you’ve undercooked it, slip the pork slices and sauce in an oven cranked to 350°F(176°C) and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cooked through.)