At the Farmstand: June 27 – July 2

June 27, 2019 – 2:48 pm

Summer produce is starting!!! Carrots, peas, cucumbers, broccoli…yum! Peas are ABUNDANT, and the rest nice volumes for enjoying, just perhaps not binging!

This week at our Farmstand you can find:

• Eggs

Fresh/Stored Veggies

• Beets
• Black Currants, frozen
• Bok Choi (Field Stone Farm)
• Broccoli, Sprouting (Field Stone Farm)
• Broccoli, Frozen
• Carrots, Fresh!
• Cucumbers (Field Stone Farm)
• Chard
• Garlic*
• Ginger, Baby (LRF), Frozen
• Herbs (Cilantro, Chives, Mint, Oregano, Lovage & Thyme)
• Kale, fresh
• Onions, Red & Yellow
• Peas, Snap
• Potatoes
• Radishes (Field Stone Farm)
• Salad Lettuce Mixes*
• Salad Turnips (Field Stone Farm)
• Shallots
• Spinach, frozen balls
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tomatoes, Frozen

Meats

Goat*
• Goat Loin*
• Goat Ribs/Rack*
• Goat Shoulder Roasts*
• Goat Shanks*

Pork
• Beer Brats
• Boston Butt Roasts
• Breakfast Sausage Sage, bulk
• Breakfast Sausage, links
• Cajun Sausage, Pork Links
• Chorizo
• Country Style Ribs
• Fat
• Ham Roasts
• Italian Sausage, bulk
• Kielbasa
• Pork Chops
• Pork Loin Roasts
• Shanks/Hocks (not smoked)

Poultry
• Chicken, Roasting
• Turkey Whole

• Bones, Pork & Goat
• Offal & Odd Bits – Trotters, hearts, liver, kidneys, necks, Pig Heads, etc.

Greenfield Highland Beef
• Italian Sausage links, hot & sweet
• Beef Bratwurst sausage
• Eye of the Round Steaks
• Sirloin & Skirt Steaks
• Ground Beef
• Beef Sirloin Roast
• Steaks, Strip & Delmonico
• Stew Meat

Pantry & Prepared Foods

• Applesauce – Maple Cinnamon & Pure
• Bone Broth/stock, including Beet Love Broth
• Chimichurri Sauce
• Curried Green Tomato Pickles
• Dilly Beans
• Giardinara pickles
• Pâté, Chicken Liver
• Pesto, Basil, Rocket Sauce/Arugula & Spicy
• 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

• Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm (Pea Pesto, mushroom & bacon; Potato Green onion; Garlic lovers; tomato-cheese)
• Cider Syrup
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Liberty Chocolates, organic honey sweetened Chocolate bars

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.

• Garlic

• Lettuce

• Onions

• 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

By Laura | Posted in Available at our Farm Stand | Tagged farmstand | Comments Off

Sally’s Andalusian Gazpacho with Frozen Tomatoes

June 20, 2019 – 1:32 pm

from Donna Farley & her step-mother

Donna Farley sent an excited email, “I finally did it! I just made gazpacho with the bags of frozen tomatoes, and it’s yummy.”

Yummy it is, we’ve repeated it many times during early season hot spells (and/or when you start to crave tomatoes before their time) and it is delicious, even without the pepper! We soaked the bread in the juice from the tomatoes when they thaw. So big thanks to Donna as we hadn’t thought about making Gazpacho with the frozen tomatoes, enjoy while this year’s tomatoes are ripening!

3 ½ ounces Stale Bread, broken into pieces

2 lb Tomatoes (Fresh or GMG frozen whole tomatoes)

1 Green pepper

2 Cloves Garlic, peeled (Scapes work well too)

2 ounces White Wine/Cider Vinegar

5 ounces Olive Oil

2 teaspoons Salt

Soak the bread in water, then squeeze out excess liquid. Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a fine puree. Pour into a bowl, cover and chill for at least one hour. Thin with water just before serving if the soup is too thick. Decorate with Basil leaves, or anything else that looks pretty!

By Laura | Posted in Eating from the Farm: Cooking Ideas | Tagged soup, tomatoes | Comments Off

At the Farmstand: June 20-26

June 20, 2019 – 11:43 am

Peas, one of the early season favorites. We had given up on them for a few years, but now have a good system in our hoophouse where they get to add nitrogen for the very young sweet potatoes, while offering some June joy for the humans!

This week at our Farmstand you can find:

• Eggs

Fresh/Stored Veggies

• Beets
• Black Currants, frozen
• Broccoli, Sprouting (Field Stone Farm)
• Broccoli, Frozen
• Carrots (Bear Roots Farm)*
• Chard
• Garlic*
• Ginger, Baby (LRF), Frozen
• Herbs (Cilantro, Chives, Mint, Oregano, Lovage & Thyme)
• Kale, fresh
• Onions, Red & Yellow
• Peas, Snap
• Potatoes
• Radishes (Field Stone Farm)
• Salad Lettuce Mixes
• Salad Turnips (Field Stone Farm)
• Shallots
• Spinach, frozen balls
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tomatoes, Frozen

Meats

Goat*
• Goat Loin*
• Goat Ribs/Rack*
• Goat Shoulder Roasts*
• Goat Shanks*

Poultry
• Chicken, Roasting
• Turkey Whole

• Bones, Pork & Goat
• Offal & Odd Bits – Trotters, hearts, liver, kidneys, necks, Pig Heads, etc.

Pantry & Prepared Foods

From our Farm Friends

• Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm (Garlic Artichoke Olive)
• Cider Syrup
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Liberty Chocolates, organic honey sweetened Chocolate bars

This Week’s Member Special

• Garlic

• Carrots

• Onions

• 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

By Laura | Posted in Available at our Farm Stand | Tagged farmstand | Comments Off

At the Farmstand: June 13-19

June 13, 2019 – 2:21 pm

It is 2019, the cool (or cold) and wet year. It means you can keep enjoying stews and roasts as well as salads and grill items. Eat it all! Peas are starting to come in…little bits for now but more soon!

This week’s Fresh Pizza is: Garlic Artichoke Kalamata Olive

This week at our Farmstand you can find:

• Eggs

Fresh/Stored Veggies

• Beets
• Black Currants, frozen
• Bok Choi (Field Stone Farm)
• Broccoli, Sprouting (Field Stone Farm)
• Broccoli, Frozen
• Carrots (Bear Roots Farm)*
• Chard
• Garlic*
• Ginger, Baby (LRF), Frozen
• Herbs (Cilantro, Chives, Mint, Oregano, Lovage & Thyme)
• Kale, fresh
• Onions, Red & Yellow
• Peas, Snap (limited)
• Potatoes (us & Pebble Brook Farm)
• Radishes (Field Stone Farm)
• Salad Lettuce Mixes
• Salad Turnips (Field Stone Farm)
• Shallots
• Spinach, fresh
• Spinach, frozen balls
• Stir Fry/Braising Mix
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tatsoi (Field Stone Farm)
• Tomatoes, Frozen

Meats

Goat*
• Goat Loin*
• Goat Ribs/Rack*
• Goat Shoulder Roasts*
• Goat Shanks*

Poultry
• Chicken, Roasting
• Turkey Whole

• Bones, Pork & Goat
• Offal & Odd Bits – Trotters, hearts, liver, kidneys, necks, Pig Heads, etc.

Pantry & Prepared Foods

From our Farm Friends

• Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm (many flavors)
• Cider Syrup
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Liberty Chocolates, organic honey sweetened Chocolate bars

This Week’s Member Special

• Garlic

• Carrots

• Onions

• 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

By Laura | Posted in Available at our Farm Stand | Tagged farmstand | Comments Off

Humbling

June 5, 2019 – 1:54 pm

Farming is certainly humbling. We are seemingly constantly reminded that we are not actually in control. We are just trying to responsibly and opportunistically shepherd elements of nature in our favor to produce nutritious, delicious food. But Nature, in all its forms, holds most of the cards.

Weather is perhaps the most obvious one and we are all feeling the impacts of this cold, wet spring and the challenges it brings. It seems the soil in our squash field has a wealth of life and organic matter. Unfortunately this year, that also means a really fantastic population of slugs and snails. So our new teammates have started their summer farm job with the very glamorous job of picking slugs off baby winter squash plants each morning and encouraging the slugs to over-imbibe in some cheap beer.

Their efforts had been paying off, but this wet stretch had teammates discover 15 on one plant today and discover some new varieties of these gastropods. Hopefully with the drier, sunnier weather in the near forecast some of the plants are going to overcome.

And then there are the predators. Often that word evokes fox, fisher, coyote or even hawks that prey on young livestock. Fortunately, that has not been the case…at least not yet this year.

However, an elusive predator has now eaten all but 8 of the 500+ broccoli and brussells sprout plants that were transplanted a few weeks ago.

Darienne had grown a strong set of brassicas and our team rallied to get the beds ready and pushed hard that Friday to get them in on a good evening before some rain.

And spread chip and other love in the pathways on one of our very rainy days.

Before: 4 beds of Broccoli & Brussels Sprouts Planted & paths mulched

Apparently Mari & I weren’t the only ones appreciative of our team’s hard work.

The picture doesn’t do it justice as it was a full-scale eradication of all the leaves and plants in 2 days time. Woodchuck? rodents? birds? No tracks, no evidence, no setting off the game camera. Two leaves were left on the edge of a bed, seemed like an offering for the slugs. Some beast with a drone to hover in and take them all?

Fortunately, they don’t seem interested in the onions, at least not yet. And fortunately, it is early enough in the season that we can reseed those crops for a single later succession…if we can figure out what we are up against.

Amidst it all, we try not to lose hope and look towards the successes.

They hoophouses are chock full of goodness. Today, Darienne gets to put the empty field out of mind briefly to lead a team surrounded by the lush growth of peas, carrots, spinach and other greens in the West Hoophouse. It will be good for the soul to spend the day amidst abundance, cutting spinach to make way for sweet potatoes and harvesting the first snap peas!

*Liva’s Limerick from 2011. This year Louise wasn’t so present.*

Peas make everyone smile and have been a source of humbling in the past. But Louise & her relatives seem to be in check at the moment!

During the recent sunny, dry spells pollinators were active on the abundant apple blossoms.

And, we are super grateful for our infrastructure which is providing incredibly dry shelter in the early weeks for the Freedom Ranger meat birds and the Seychelles, Blue Plymouth Rocks who will grow up to be our future egg layers.

As you shop from local farmers, at the market or farmstands, be kind and remember they’ve been humbled, maybe not this week, but at some point recently (or in the near future) by nature and the challenges of growing food responsibly for your health and enjoyment. As much as we’d all like to have a full range of crops, meats, fruits and other products available reliably and abundantly, sometimes that is just not in the cards. But something great will be available to fully enjoy!

Back to the fields, the learning and the dance with nature.

By Laura | Posted in ARCHIVE | Tagged learning, nature, predator, weather | Comments Off

At the Farmstand: June 5 -11

June 5, 2019 – 11:53 am

Welcome to June? Seems the summery weather is waiting for the official equinox. But the salad greens and PEAS are loving the weather….gotta look at some positives, right?

And Hannah has gorgeous Field Stone Farm Radishes and Bok Choy at our farmstand.

This week’s Fresh Pizza is: 3 Cheese Asparagus Scallion

This week at our Farmstand you can find:

• Eggs

Fresh/Stored Veggies

• Beets
• Black Currants, frozen
• Bok Choi (Field Stone Farm)
• Broccoli, Frozen
• Carrots (Bear Roots Farm)
• Chard
• Garlic*
• Green Garlic
• Ginger, Baby (LRF), Frozen
• Kale, fresh
• Kale & Chard, frozen balls
• Lettuce Leaves for wraps*
• Onions, Red & Yellow
• Peas, Snap
• Potatoes (us & Pebble Brook Farm)
• Salad Mixes
• Shallots
• Spinach, fresh
• Spinach, frozen balls
• Stir Fry/Braising Mix
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tatsoi (Field Stone Farm)
• Tokyo Bekana (Field Stone Farm)
• Tomatoes, Frozen

Meats

Goat*
• Goat Loin*
• Goat Shanks*

Pork
• Beer Brats
• Breakfast Sausage Sage, bulk
• Breakfast Sausage, links
• Farmhouse Maple Breakfast Sausage
• Chorizo
• Country Style Ribs
• Fat
• Ham Roasts
• Jowl
• Kielbasa
• Pork Chops
• Pork Loin Roasts
• Shanks/Hocks (not smoked)

Poultry
• Chicken, Roasting
• Turkey Whole

• Bones, Pork & Goat
• Offal & Odd Bits – Trotters, hearts, liver, kidneys, necks, Pig Heads, etc.

Pantry & Prepared Foods

• Applesauce – Maple Cinnamon & Pure
• Bone Broth/stock, including Beet Love Broth
• Chimichurri Sauce
• Curried Green Tomato Pickles
• Dilly Beans
• Giardinara pickles
• Pâté, Chicken Liver
• Pesto, Basil, Rocket Sauce/Arugula & Spicy
• Roasted Pepper Sauce
• Heirloom Tomato Salsas
• Soup: Broccoli-Potato, Roasted Tomato, Borscht, Carrot-Ginger, Roasted Turkey & Squash; Roasted Potato & Beet
• Canned Tomatillos
• Canned Tomatoes
• Tomolives (pickled green cherry tomatoes)

From our Farm Friends

• Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm (many flavors)
• Cider Syrup
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Liberty Chocolates, organic honey sweetened Chocolate bars

This Week’s Member Special

• Garlic

• Large Leaf Lettuce

• 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

By Laura | Posted in Available at our Farm Stand | Tagged farmstand | Comments Off

At the Farmstand: May 28 – June 4

May 30, 2019 – 1:38 pm

Spring weather…finally!! What kinds of salads are you having this week? So many options! And Field Stone Farm Radishes and Bok Choy are back and a nice variety of herbs.

This week at our Farmstand you can find:

• Eggs

Fresh/Stored Veggies

• Beets
• Black Currants, frozen
• Bok Choi (Field Stone Farm)
• Broccoli, Frozen
• Carrots (Bear Roots Farm)
• Chard
• Garlic*
• Ginger, Baby (LRF), Frozen
• Kal-sparagus (last of it)
• Kale, fresh
• Kale & Chard, frozen balls
• Head Lettuce & Lettuce Leaves for wraps*
• Onions, Red & Yellow
• Potatoes (us & Pebble Brook Farm)
• Salad Mixes
• Shallots
• Spinach, fresh
• Spinach, frozen balls
• Stir Fry/Braising Mix
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tatsoi (Field Stone Farm)
• Tokyo Bekana (Field Stone Farm)
• Tomatoes, Frozen

Meats

Goat*
• Goat Shanks*

Pork
• Bacon
• Beer Brats
• Breakfast Sausage Sage, bulk
• Breakfast Sausage, links
• Farmhouse Maple Breakfast Sausage
• Chorizo
• Country Style Ribs
• Fat
• Ham Roasts
• Jowl
• Kielbasa
• Pork Chops
• Pork Loin Roasts
• Shanks/Hocks (not smoked)

Poultry
• Chicken, Roasting
• Turkey Whole

• Bones, Pork & Goat
• Offal & Odd Bits – Trotters, hearts, liver, kidneys, necks, Pig Heads, etc.

Pantry & Prepared Foods

• Applesauce – Maple Cinnamon & Pure
• Bone Broth/stock, including Beet Love Broth
• Chimichurri Sauce
• Curried Green Tomato Pickles
• Dilly Beans
• Giardinara pickles
• Pâté, Chicken Liver
• Pesto, Basil, Rocket Sauce/Arugula & Spicy
• Roasted Pepper Sauce
• Heirloom Tomato Salsas
• Soup: Broccoli-Potato, Roasted Tomato, Borscht, Carrot-Ginger, Roasted Turkey & Squash; Roasted Potato & Beet
• Canned Tomatillos
• Canned Tomatoes
• Tomolives (pickled green cherry tomatoes)

From our Farm Friends

• Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm (many flavors)
• Cider Syrup
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Liberty Chocolates, organic honey sweetened Chocolate bars

This Week’s Member Special

• Garlic

• Large Leaf Lettuce

• 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

By Laura | Posted in Available at our Farm Stand | Tagged farmstand | Comments Off

All in a Week

May 21, 2019 – 10:07 am

May is busy. May is diverse. But we don’t always have 2.5 inches of snow and 80 degrees within the same week.

Mother nature is humbling, always. Safe to say, it keeps us on our toes.

Here are some snippets from the past week of farm life. From snow to pasture; winter bedded pack to compost pile to chick arrival; seedlings to flower & abundance in hoophouses. Plus piglet sales, eggs to the kindergarten class and loads of harvest, transplanting, washing and more!

By Laura | Posted in Stories from the Farm | Tagged flowers, pasture, photos, poultry, snow, spring | Comments Off

At the Farmstand: May 21-27

May 21, 2019 – 9:21 am

Spring eating is in full swing. What kinds of salads are you having this week? So many options! And salad is great as a meal or a side dish!

This week there is even large lettuce leaves to use as wraps!

This week at our Farmstand you can find:

• Eggs!

Fresh/Stored Veggies

• Beets
• Black Currants, frozen
• Bok Choi
• Broccoli, Frozen
• Carrots (Bear Roots Farm)
• Chard
• Garlic*
• Ginger, Baby (LRF), Frozen
• Kal-sparagus
• Kale, fresh
• Kale & Chard, frozen balls
• Lettuce
• Lettuce Leaves for wraps*
• Onions, Red & Yellow
• Potatoes (us & Pebble Brook Farm)
• Salad Mixes*
• Shallots
• Spinach, fresh*
• Spinach, frozen balls
• Stir Fry/Braising Mix
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tomatoes, Frozen

Meats

Goat*
• Goat Loin & Rib Chops*
• Goat Shanks*

Poultry
• Chicken, Roasting
• Turkey Whole

• Bones, Pork & Goat
• Offal & Odd Bits – Trotters, hearts, liver, kidneys, necks, Pig Heads, etc.

Pantry & Prepared Foods

• Applesauce – Maple Cinnamon & Pure
• Bone Broth/stock, including Beet Love Broth
• Chimichurri Sauce
• Curried Green Tomato Pickles
• Dilly Beans
• Giardinara pickles
• Pâté, Chicken Liver
• Pesto, Basil, Rocket Sauce/Arugula & Spicy
• Roasted Pepper Sauce
• Heirloom Tomato Salsas
• Soup: Broccoli-Potato, Roasted Tomato, Borscht, Carrot-Ginger, Roasted Turkey & Squash; Roasted Potato & Beet
• Canned Tomatillos
• Canned Tomatoes
• Tomolives (pickled green cherry tomatoes)

From our Farm Friends

• Farmstead Pizza from Field Stone Farm (many flavors)
• Cider Syrup
• Honey, Brookfield Bees
• Maple Syrup, Brookfield Bees
• Liberty Chocolates, organic honey sweetened Chocolate bars

This Week’s Member Special

• Garlic

• Processing Spinach

• Large Leaf Lettuce

• 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

By Laura | Posted in Available at our Farm Stand | Tagged farmstand | Comments Off

Spring Fever

May 10, 2019 – 7:25 am

Spring, often the most anticipated season in Vermont, as our winter’s are long, even when you love winter. On our farm, we were under snow from November 9th to just about tax day. Yes, that is 5 months of full snow cover.

So Spring is exciting for the farmers, the livestock, the plants and we presume for visitors and our farm shoppers alike!

A few photos that capture some of the joy of Spring.

The week started off with a fabulous May Day (rain delayed) celebration on the Northfield Common. Huge thanks to Cassie & Charlie of Farmor Farm for instigating (and doing the heavy lifting) along with the Northfield Farmers Market & Recreation Committee for this great community event!

The vibrancy, colors and diversity of our hoophouses, which have brought joy and harvests throughout those 5 months of outdoor snowcover. Tomatoes are going in amidst various salad greens and edible flowers in our EverBed system (more on that soon!), allowing them (and the soil microbes) to enjoy some cover and companionship. While the tomatoes grow, we also get to continue to harvesting greens.

It was a big week for our two Boars, Rin Tin Tin & Balto, this week as well. After a long winter vacation in our south barn, they got to go for a walk and meet up with our sows. We wish we had a video of Balto, nearly kicking up his feet and galloping down the hill, or of Tiggles & Tabitha, veering off course to graze the green grass and find a nice mud puddle. Seems they too are excited about Spring.

Mari did capture a great moment during chores between Christina & Rin Tin Tin, our large, Tamworth boar. Truly the piglets and sows often get all the attention, but Christina had a nice moment of appreciation with Rin.

Here’s to all our staff who really lean into their work, in all the seasons!

By Laura | Posted in Stories from the Farm | Tagged spring, spring fever | Comments Off

At the Farmstand: June 27 – July 2

Fresh/Stored Veggies

Meats

Pantry & Prepared Foods

This Week’s Member Special

Sally’s Andalusian Gazpacho with Frozen Tomatoes

At the Farmstand: June 20-26

Fresh/Stored Veggies

Meats

Pantry & Prepared Foods

This Week’s Member Special

At the Farmstand: June 13-19

Fresh/Stored Veggies

Meats

Pantry & Prepared Foods

This Week’s Member Special

Humbling

At the Farmstand: June 5 -11

Fresh/Stored Veggies

Meats

Pantry & Prepared Foods

This Week’s Member Special

At the Farmstand: May 28 – June 4

Fresh/Stored Veggies

Meats

Pantry & Prepared Foods

This Week’s Member Special

All in a Week

At the Farmstand: May 21-27

Fresh/Stored Veggies

Meats

Pantry & Prepared Foods

This Week’s Member Special

Spring Fever

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