Cedarmore Farm CSA: December 2012

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Last Week Of The Season

I am not too fond of this week...the last week of the season. this year has gone by really fast. I am going to miss my Tuesday deliveries and Andy's newsletters and sometime little notes from Lizzie and drawings from the kids. Tuesday during CSA season, is always my favorite day of the week.

This completes the fifth year of the CSA. Andy says that the first few years they had their share of up hill battles and a few bumps in the road but the last two years have gone by fairly smoothly. A bonus is that the customer base has grown each year. There were 215 shares this year up 65 shares from last year. With so many other families in the community using organic growing methods Andy sees no reason that they can not keep growing. He feels that there are enough farmers to provide 3 or 400 shares at a time. He may have to build a larger building because that kind of growth would force them out of the basement of the house. By expanding they would be providing a better market for more of the farmers' products and at the same time they would be able to get more people in this area of Ohio to eat more healthy. It would be a win-win situation. Andy feels comfortable with the client list now and plans to let the CSA grow at its own pace.

Good news for the family...On November 24 (the day before Andy's birthday) God blessed the Hershberger's with a healthy little girl they have names Lovina. On the same day Andy's twin sister, Anna, also gave birth to a little girl they are calling Rachael. Everyone is doing well. I plan to visit this weekend to meet this new little one and of course play with Anna, Dennis and Moses. I am wondering how the Amish celebrate Christmas?

New about Moses...His little hands are still improving and they are hopeful that they will not have to keep them bandaged much longer.

Thank you all for joining us and supporting us this season and we hope to welcome you back for the 2013 CSA season.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Recipe Of The Week: Butternut Squash Bake

Butternut Squash Bake

1/3 cup of butter

3/4 cup of sugar

2/3 cup of evaporated milk

1/2 cup of chopped pecans

3Tablespoons of melted butter

2 eggs
3 cups of mashed butternut squash

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of flour

Combine butter and 3/4 cup of sugar. Beat in eggs, milk, vanilla, and spice. Stir into squash. Pour into a buttered casserole. Combine remaining ingredients and sprinkle over the casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

In The Beginning

Andy and Lizzie have known each other since they were very small. Growing up in an Amish community there are plenty of opportunities to play and work together. They grew up in the same church but went to different schools. Several years ago they moved from Wayne County, OH to right outside Hillsboro, OH and established Cedarmore Farm. The farm got it's name very simply...in Wayne County there were very few cedar or sycamore trees . When Andy and Lizzie got here, they noticed an abundance of cedar and sycamore trees on the land. So they just merged the two names and Cedarmore Farm was born. They have worked very hard in the few years that they have been farming the land. Andy and Lizzie are in the process of building their house and hopefully they will be able to move into the upstairs this spring. We can only see good things in their future farming experiences. And we wish them well.

Not only is Cedarmore growing fruits and vegetables. The Andy's have a growing family. They have four of the most precious children! Anna, who is excited about going to school this fall. Dennis who follows Andy around like his shadow. Moses who is doing well after a little run-in with the pigs. And Lovina who is the youngest at 9 months.

Then there is a new season on the farm. In the winter (Jan 2015), the Andy's packed up and moved to MO leaving the CSA in the most capable hands of John and Anna (Anna is Andy's twin sister) Zook and there 7 children. They changed the name of their farm to Cedarmore Farm so we English wouldn't be too confused. So the work has begun to provide lush healthy vegetables for the CSA season 2015 which begins in May.