So for weeks we have been remarking about the apple and pear crops on the farm. It is a good year overall in Vermont we believe and our orchard care and nutrition efforts are also closer to on target!
Recently, as we started picking apples at the Duchess of Oldenburg tree, we found a remarkable piece of natural art in the tree. A gorgeous wasp nest that was even incorporating an apple into it. They are Dolichovespula maculata for those needing the detail, thanks to Farmer Rachel’s sister for being drawn into our wasp ID curiosity.
But there is apparently an architectural competition among the fruit tree dwelling wasps
Those building in the pear tree are engulfing several pears, which for my eye edges them out for the win, at least for the moment until they have fully covered the pears from view. Fortunately, they are pollinators and it is a banner year, so we are happy to share.
And we look forward to sharing the fruit with all of you in many forms!
• Applesauce – Maple Cinnamon & Pure • Bone Broth/stock, including Beet Love Broth
• Bread and Butter Squash Pickles
• Chimichurri Sauce, Basil & Cilantro • Dilly Beans • Dried Pinto, Black Beans from Morningstar Farm • Giardinara pickles • Pâté, Chicken Liver • Pesto, Basil, Rocket Sauce/Arugula, Sweet Pea, Cilantro, Garlic Scape
• Roasted Pepper Sauce
• Heirloom Tomato Salsas
• Soup: Roasted Tomato, Borscht, Carrot-Ginger, Roasted Turkey & Squash; • Canned Tomatillos • Canned Tomatoes
• Tomolives (pickled green cherry tomatoes)
From our Farm Friends
• Honey Mead Vinegar, Artesano
• Cyser (Apple & Honey Mead) vinegar, Artesano
• Maple Balsamic Vinegar, Artesano
• Vermont Apple Cider Vinegar, Artesano
•Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm
• Cider Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
This Week’s Member Special
All of the above is available for members and retail shoppers, but we also offer some specials for our members. To learn more about our flexible, free Choice Farm Share memberships, see the details on our website.
It is the season for the freshest version of this salad!
Sometimes a Napa Cabbage can be a bit overwhelming…but just peel it down a bit and chop it up and it has the delightful crunch of romaine lettuce but some of that lovely Napa flavor. This is a great cabbage raw or cooked…for this season consider this salad. When my sister-in-law serves it there is never anything left, all ages just gobble it up! It is still good without the crunchy soup noodles, but perhaps that is what makes the kids gobble it up. This would also make a great meal salad with some leftover chicken or pork. Or as a side with sausage or pork ribs!
Napa Cabbage
1 large Napa cabbage, chopped
Half to a cup of chopped onion or scallion
1 bell pepper, diced
1-2 tomatoes chopped (if tomato season, if not dried tomatoes are lovely in it)
1/4 cup butter or other farm fresh fat, poultry or pork fat are great!
1 cup slivered almonds or hazelnuts (optional)
2 pkg. ramen noodles
Dressing:
1 cup oil
1/2 cup of your favorite vinegar, Artesano’s Honey vinegar is fantastic with the salad
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
Instructions:
Place chopped cabbage, onions and red pepper in large salad bowl.
Melt fat in frying pan and saute nuts, broken noodles and seasoning package if you wish or add some of your own spices until golden. Add to cabbage mixture and toss.
Shake dressing ingredients in a jar or blend with immersion blender.
Pour SOME over salad and best if tossed at least 1/2 hour before serving, but works fine to toss and eat. Add fresh tomatoes before serving, but if using dried tomatoes add them with the dressing.
NOTE: You will have extra dressing – refrigerate and make another one soon!
We are having so much fun hosting Chef Lee Duberman and Mixologist Richard Fink (of Ariel’s Restaurant fame) at the farm. Sauce preparations, marinades, ferments and so much more are underway!
The colors, aromas, textures and flow of gratitude has been inspiring (ok and perhaps a smidge exhausting).
Thanks to Lee’s creativity more than 50 ingredients are from our farm (lard to hazelnuts!)
Friends and dynamic duo Chef Lee Duberman and Renaissance Mixologist Richard Fink have returned to Vermont to create hyper-local dishes and drinks highlighting possibilities, honing our collective crafts and sparking our creativity of what we all can do with of August’s abundance! How much we have already learned, like Zucchini Guacamole…yep, on the menu tomorrow night!
Whereas many a farm-to-table event measure food miles, these table-at-farm events read more like a “Fitbit”, as in steps taken between where the produce and livestock grew and are to be enjoyed. The farmers, chef & mixologist have been collarborating and we look forward to engaging guests into the mix to enjoy each other in the celebratory atmosphere of growing the regenerative farming and eating movement.
As we thought about how to celebrate the farm’s 10th Anniversary, a collarboration with Lee & Richard, who were early mentors, supporters and collaborators when they owned the beloved Ariel’s Restaurant at Brookfield’s Floating Bridge, seemed like a perfect compliment. We are thrilled to be partnering with them once again and to experience their new inspirations since moving to Mexico and running Casa Papaya.
Rather than question society’s lenience in letting the cultural, ecological, nutritional and spiritual significance of small farms and traditional real food reach the brink of extinction, let’s imagine together how we can farm and eat our way to enhanced ecosystem functioning as well as improved health, well-being and economies. Deliciousness will drive the success of the regenerative age!
And as all who know Richard and Lee will attest, laughter, humor and creativity have been part of the week thus far.
We hope many are able to enjoy a good farm soak for an afternoon or evening with us and them as an investment in yourself, our community and planet.
Tomatoes, Tomatoes, and lots to go with your Summer tomatoes.
Other Highlights this week: Fresh Celery while it lasts from Field Stone (wow!), summer Cabbage, cukes, green beans, Zucchini, herbs, fresh onions, peppers, salad mix and so much more! A new offer, organic dried beans from Morningstar Farm in Glover, perfect addition to summer tacos!
This week at our Farmstand you can find:
• Eggs
Fresh/Stored Veggies
• Beans, Green (both)
• Baby Beets (Field Stone Farm)
• Black Currants, frozen • Broccoli, Sprouting (Field Stone Farm)
• Cabbage, Red, Green & Caraflex cone (both) • Carrots, Fresh! (both) • Chard (Field Stone Farm) • Cucumbers (Field Stone Farm) • Fennel (Field Stone Farm) • Garlic, Fresh • Ginger, Baby (LRF), Frozen
• Herbs (Basil, Mint, Cilantro, Parsley & Thyme & fresh coriander) • Onions, Fresh Sweet
• Peppers, sweet, hot • Peppers, Shishito (Field Stone)
• Salad Lettuce Mixes*
• Salad Turnips* (Field Stone Farm)
• Scallions* (Field Stone Farm)
•Summer Squash & Zucchini* (both)
• Tomatoes, Fresh! (cherries, paste & slicers – both)
• Applesauce – Maple Cinnamon & Pure • Bone Broth/stock, including Beet Love Broth
• Bread and Butter Squash Pickles
• Chimichurri Sauce, Basil & Cilantro • Dilly Beans • Dried Pinto, Black Beans from Morningstar Farm • Giardinara pickles • Pâté, Chicken Liver • Pesto, Basil, Rocket Sauce/Arugula, Sweet Pea, Cilantro, Garlic Scape
• Roasted Pepper Sauce
• Heirloom Tomato Salsas
• Soup: Roasted Tomato, Borscht, Carrot-Ginger, Roasted Turkey & Squash; • Canned Tomatillos • Canned Tomatoes
• Tomolives (pickled green cherry tomatoes)
From our Farm Friends
• Honey Mead Vinegar, Artesano
• Cyser (Apple & Honey Mead) vinegar, Artesano
• Maple Balsamic Vinegar, Artesano
• Vermont Apple Cider Vinegar, Artesano
•Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm (Garlic kalmata olive)
• Cider Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
This Week’s Member Special
All of the above is available for members and retail shoppers, but we also offer some specials for our members. To learn more about our flexible, free Choice Farm Share memberships, see the details on our website.
• Summer Squashes & Zucchini
• Salad Greens/Lettuce
• Scallions
• All Goat Cuts
Farm Stand (Fully Stocked) & Open Farm Hours: Thursdays 3:30 – 6:30pm
Self-Serve Farmstand: Every Day 7am-7pm
Call us with any questions 802-505-9840
We were thrilled to show the Governor our approach to ecological and regenerative farming that supports improved water quality, creates healthy food for Vermonters and visitors alike and serves as a component of a vibrant tourism offering.
Check out the video below from their visit to our farm and may it inspire you to join us in the farmstand or for a farmstay, at upcoming events or get out to other farms near you!
Video from Governor Scott’s visit to our Farm. Video done by Vermont Agency of Agriculture.
VT Open Farm Week is a great opportunity to take in and support local farms across the state, but you can check out DigInVT.com all year long to find farm and food events. #VTOpenFarm#RootedinVermontVermont Tourism
Highlights this week: Lots of Tomatoes, summer Cabbage, cukes, green beans, Zucchini, salad mix and so much more! In addition to our 2019 chickens, we have chicken parts, perfect for the grill or a quick meal.
And we’ll have fresh ready to eat options in the farmstand on Thursday and through the weekend, including Beet & Fava Hummus, Sliced Turkey, Three Bean Salad and more!
• Applesauce – Maple Cinnamon & Pure • Bone Broth/stock, including Beet Love Broth
• Bread and Butter Squash Pickles
• Chimichurri Sauce, Basil & Cilantro • Dilly Beans • Dried Pinto, Black Beans from Morningstar Farm • Giardinara pickles • Pâté, Chicken Liver • Pesto, Basil, Rocket Sauce/Arugula, Sweet Pea, Cilantro, Garlic Scape
• Roasted Pepper Sauce
• Heirloom Tomato Salsas
• Soup: Roasted Tomato, Borscht, Carrot-Ginger, Roasted Turkey & Squash; • Canned Tomatillos • Canned Tomatoes
• Tomolives (pickled green cherry tomatoes)
From our Farm Friends
• Honey Mead Vinegar, Artesano
• Cyser (Apple & Honey Mead) vinegar, Artesano
• Maple Balsamic Vinegar, Artesano
• Vermont Apple Cider Vinegar, Artesano
•Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm (Garlic kalmata olive)
• Cider Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
This Week’s Member Special
All of the above is available for members and retail shoppers, but we also offer some specials for our members. To learn more about our flexible, free Choice Farm Share memberships, see the details on our website.
• Green Beans
• Summer Squashes & Zucchini
• Salad Greens/Lettuce
• Scallions
• All Goat Cuts
Farm Stand (Fully Stocked) & Open Farm Hours: Thursdays 3:30 – 6:30pm
Self-Serve Farmstand: Every Day 7am-7pm
Call us with any questions 802-505-9840
• Honey Mead Vinegar, Artesano
• Cyser (Apple & Honey Mead) vinegar, Artesano
• Maple Balsamic Vinegar, Artesano
• Vermont Apple Cider Vinegar, Artesano
•Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm (Garlic kalmata olive)
• Cider Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
This Week’s Member Special
All of the above is available for members and retail shoppers, but we also offer some specials for our members. To learn more about our flexible, free Choice Farm Share memberships, see the details on our website.
• Green Beans
• Onions
• Salad Greens/Lettuce
• Scallions
• All Goat Cuts
Farm Stand (Fully Stocked) & Open Farm Hours: Thursdays 3:30 – 6:30pm
Self-Serve Farmstand: Every Day 7am-7pm
Call us with any questions 802-505-9840
Community is the life from which and towards which farms and art grow. Please join Green Mountain Girls Farm and Scrag Mountain Music as we honor universal interconnectedness as well as reciprocity between farmers and eaters, artists and audiences, Vermonters/Vermont appreciators and working landscapes, as well as this very special, decade-old partnership.
Cozy Barn for Supper and Music; photo by Rob Spring
Check out DigInVT for details on all the Open Farm Week events around the state and thank you for your support of local farms!
Ten years ago a massive hail storm arrived just after we had completed the harvest for the first week of our CSA share pick up. Prospects for week two of our year-round, full diet, free choice farmshare were in peril.
But neighbors helped us rake inches of hail accumulation away from tender plants and Chip from Pebble Brook farm sent over heads of lettuce and some replacement seedlings. While some crops rebounded the more significant finding was that our farm already had a community of supporters.
A decade later we are humbled to still feed these same neighbors the majority of their calories as well as more and more folks interested in wellness and regenerative practices. And the network of farmers who share knowledge and with whom we collaborate is generous and inspiring.
And what a difference 10 years has made in the farm ecosystem!
Spindly bare root apple, pear, plum, hazelnut and cherry trees now branch out to photosynthesize gregariously and host an array of wildlife and produce bushels of fruit.
pH, organic matter percentages, grey hair and community connections have increased and we’ve watched so many kids grow bigger and all of us wiser.
Our livestock are thriving and our plants are photosynthesizing more gregariously than ever.
Righteous cycles have been set in motion. Healthy plants are nourishing soil life, satiating pollinators, drawing down and cycling carbon and nitrogen, all the while increasing the below ground fungal connectivity – wealth upon which more nourishment and goodness can grow!
And our community of supporters – folks preoccupied with wellness, social fairness and ecological regeneration, show us the possibilities not only for our farm but for a regenerative movement with global implications.
Forget the 10-year horizons!
Pull out your calendar and see if you can join us to enjoy August’s abundance and any or all of a sequence of celebratory events designed to nourish and inspire us all so together we restore balance, connection and hope to influence larger movements creating systemic change.
And if you can’t come in person to soak up the scents of herbs being crushed underfoot and listen to the soundscape where domestic poultry and songbirds join one chorus, know that feedback gained from sharing our farm’s breakthroughs and vulnerability via our e-newsletters and social media has been central to our progress. So send us your ideas, concerns, questions and aspirations and also, please encourage your friends to connect with Green Mountain Girls Farm on social media or better yet, come visit the our farm or another farm near you.
And most of all, we want to share our deepest gratitude to all of the members, shoppers, farmstay guests, neighbors, mentors, friends, family, farmers emeriti (staff and wise contractors) and current farm team members that have traveled this journey with us, sharing the joys, challenges and so many wonderful meals.
Renew and Restore! Regenerative Farm Pick Your Own Herbs Tour: August 15th
Abundance to Go…or stayAugust 15th Link the herb tour and the movie with a farmstand meal! Our farmstand will be stocked with more than average ready to eat options.
Chef & Mixologist-on-Farm Weekend, with Specials Guests Lee Duberman & Richard Fink
They spoiled us when they owned Ariels’ Restaurant in Brookfield and now own Casa Papaya in Mexico and are coming back to Vermont to celebrate with us for a weekend of events.
Lean In & Learn! Cooking Class & Demonstration with Chef Lee Duberman and Renaissance Mixologist Richard Fink August 22nd
Savor & Stretch! Field to Table Dinner with Guest Chef Lee Duberman & Richard Fink, August 23rd
Relish & Reach! Farm Tour with sampling in the Field and Farm Lunch with Guest Chef Lee Duberman & Richard Fink, August 25th
If you are curious about our early years or the learning adventure in between then and now, you can see Stories from the Farm from almost every week of the last ten years on our website and in 2013 Penelope did a great visual & statistical summary.
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September eating is some of the best. Enjoy all the freshness while we store some away for winter!
It is the season for the freshest version of this salad! 
Tomatoes, Tomatoes, and lots to go with your Summer tomatoes.
And we’ll have fresh ready to eat options in the farmstand on Thursday and through the weekend, including Beet & Fava Hummus, Sliced Turkey, Three Bean Salad and more!
