Recipe Of The Week: Scalloped Potatoes With Cheese and Peppers

Scalloped Potatoes With Cheese and Peppers

 

5 cups of sliced potatoes

2 Tablespoons of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

dash of pepper

1/2 pound of cheese cubed

3/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup of chopped green peppers

1/2 cup of chopped green onions

2 Tablespoons of pimento strips (optional)

 

Coat potatoes with combined flour and seasonings.  Place in 12x8 inch baking dish.  Heat cheese and milk over low heat.  Add green pepper, onion, and pimientos.  Pour over potatoes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until potatoes are done.



A Little Time At My Happy Place

Once again I got a chance to go visit my favorite Amish family at Cedarmore...my Happy Place.  I took some of my Amish books from my library to share.  And I had something SPECIAL to leave behind.

 

When I drove down the driveway the three older children (as Lizzie calls to them) were standing in the yard waiting for me.  I wonder how long they had been standing there?  I know why they were there waiting but I will give you the whole run down in just a bit.

 



This is Anna's garden.  She has dill, corn, and green beans.

Andy and I went to see the tomatoes in the greenhouse and look what we say...actually several of them.  This is a Tomato Hornworm.  He is a bad thing. The little white things on its back are the pupae of the Barconid wasp. These wasps are parasitic insects that prey on hornworms. These wasps hunt down our garden pests, inject their eggs into their prey where the eggs hatch into larvae and begin eating the internal organs of the hornworm. After these "maggots" have matured they bore through the skin of the hornworm and proceed to spin a cocoon and attach themselves to the worm. From the cocoons emerge adult Braconid Wasp which will begin hunting for other Tomato Hornworms and Tobacco Hornworms to feast upon.  It is the cycle of life right there in the tomato patch.

 

These are about all the turkeys that have survived the cat and chicken attacks.

golden comets...mean old chickens

The only rooster on the farm.  Isn't he a beauty?  He's a Barred Rock.

So this is the reason for my visit today to the farm.  I promised Anna that I would get her a bunny for her birthday...well, she got it a little early.  Meet Fluffy.  She is about 13 weeks old and is a mini Rex.  Fluffy will be getting a male companion on my next visit.  Anna is going to be raising rabbits to sell to her cousins and all of her friends in the community.   A little bunny business on the side. And the bunny poo can go on Anna's garden. But before I handed her over I made Andy and Lizzie promise that Fluffy wouldn't end up on the dinner table. They promised.

Fall Shares Still Available

Just wanted to let everyone know that we still have fall shares available. So if you don’t have any and still want one please try to get signed up while we have them available. Fall crops are doing very well as far as I can see. We should have a good supply of, potatoes, onions, winter squash, sweet potatoes, garlic, lettuce, broccoli, turnips and cabbages for the fall share. We should also have a fair amount of carrots, radishes, red beets, kale and chard. The fall share runs from the first week of October through the first week in December and are $170 for 10 weeks.

Another Pretty Heavy One

The weather is giving Andy a little bit of trouble.  All the rain that we have been having in the Cincinnati area has not reached Hillsboro.  So the farm is experiencing a little bit of drought.  Not severe by any means.  The good news is that the irrigation system is doing a good job keeping things watered. Andy doesn't seem think the crops and produce will be affected.  The irrigation system is taking care of everything very well.

 

The last batch of cantaloupes is all but over.  They were really good and sweet this year.  Now it is time to get ready for all those earthy fall crops like sweet potatoes and winter squash.  Andy thinks they will be in our boxes in a few weeks.

 

The okra in the boxes is something new that Andy is trying this year. In case you don't get any this week rest assured that you will get some next week...share and share alike.

  

 

And More About Our Growing Methods

 

Last week Andy mentioned that they have start using a P.H. meter and refractometer to check on the growth of the plants and to get a better view of what minerals are still needed. The refractometer tells us how high the brix (sugar content) is in the plants.  Basically  the higher the brix is, the healthier the plant is.  High a high brix there is less chance of plant disease and insect pressure.  Also the produce keeps  better flavor. Although the refractometer tells how high the brix level is, it really does not tell much about the minerals that are lacking.  The P.H. meter tells more about what minerals are still needed.  Andy will be telling us more about this next week.

Recipe Of The Week: Sliced Fried Okra

Sliced Fried Okra

 

1 pound of okra sliced into 1/2 inch slices

1/2 cup of cornmeal

1 teaspoon of salt, divided

`/8teaspoon of pepper

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1 cup of water

 

Cook okra in the cup of water for about 10 minutes.  Mix the cornmeal, the other 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the pepper.  Toss the okra in the cornmeal mixture until the okra is completely coated.  Heat the oil.  Cook and stir okra in oil until brown.

Everything Is Looking Good

Produce is doing well but they could use a little bit of rain.  The irrigation system is keeping the plants well watered.  With what Andy see now he believes that the fall crops will do just fine.

More About The Growing Methods...

 

As I understand it, all plant minerals are either positively charged cations or negatively charged anions.  To name a few of the important ones:  Potassium, Calcium, and Magnesium are cations, while Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Boron are anions.  If we have a P.H. of between 6 and 6.4 that means that we have a good balance of the cations and anions and we should have healthy plants.  If the P.H. is low we are low in one or more of the cations. 

 

 Andy is still in the beginning stage of learning all about these things and he in no way thinks that he is an expert.  But he loves to read and research about better organic growing methods.

 

New Beginnings

It's that time of year even for the Amish. The school bell will be ringing and the schoolhouse will be open.  Anna will attend this year for the first time.  She is so excited.  Lizzie on the other hand, hasn't really figured out how she feels about it.

 

Cedar Hill School is a one room schoolhouse in the community with a total of 13 children...first through eighth grade.  Two other children will join Anna in first grade.  She will learn to speak English and will learn reading, writing, arithmetic, and spelling.

This is the view from the teachers desk.  The teacher is the Bishop's daughter.  One day I hope to meet her.

This is the view the student will see everyday while they are doing their lessons.

Recipe Of The Week: Peppers and Onions With Cod

Onions and Peppers With Cod

2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 green pepper cut into strips
1 onion sliced thin
1 clove of minced garlics
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
1 1/2 pounds of cod fillet cut into 6 pieces

Heat oil in large skillet then sauté the pepper, onion, and garlic for four minutes.  Add the seasonings and push the vegetables asides in the skillet and add the cod.  Cover and cook until the fish is opaque and fully cooked.  Spoon the pepper mixture over the fish and serve.

Fall Shares Still Available

Once again Mother Nature is making it easy to work outside on the farm.  Andy enjoys these cooler days and I can only imagine that he might get a little more work accomplished.  Right now they are trying to get the fall crops planted.  That would be turnips, radishes, spicy greens, spinach, and lettuce.  Also coming this fall in our boxes will be cabbages, broccoli, kale, chard, red beets and carrots.  Along with potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, and winter squashes.

Fall shares are still available.  The Fall Share runs from the first week of October to the first week in December.  $170.00 for 10 weeks

Email the farm at cedarmorefarm@gmail.com and Rue will let Andy know.

More On The Growing Methods

Today's modern agricultural world is focused on only three nutrients:  nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.  Although these three are indeed very important, we do not want to overlook the many trace minerals and other nutrients that are often ignored by most farmers in the U.S. today.  I really do not think that the farmers are so much at fault.  It's more huge industries that want to sell their 'junk' (as I am inclined to call it) to the farmers.  They are actually able to grow large quantities this way, but the fact remains that most of the food in the supermarkets are now devoid of these trace minerals.  How this is effecting the health of all those people who are eating this food everyday?

Although they are producing a lot of quantity, most of their plants do not have as good a defense system and are therefore more prone to insects and disease.  But they do have a cure for this, just dump more chemicals on these crops and get rid of all the pests.  If the insects and disease becomes resistant, just use stronger chemicals. And as for weeds, that's easy too, just plants their seeds that have been genetically altered so they are not affected by round-Up and the keep spraying Round-Up to kill off those weeds.  The crop will remain unharmed.  One of the problems that this creates is from an ingredient in the Round-Up., called glyphosates, tying up an important mineral called manganese in the soil. The manganese is then not available to the plants, creating still more problems.  As you can see it is a never ending cycle and each problem just creates more problems.  The end result is we have a lot of people that are eating food that is devoid of many minerals and has been soaked with chemicals.  But it really doesn't end here, what about the health affects it will have on the people?

Next week Andy will tell us about their approach and how they go about growing nutrient-dense food.

Recipe Of The Week: Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

 

1/2 cup of salad dressing or mayo

2 Tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon of salt or garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon of leaf oregano

2 or 3 diced tomatoes

1 large cucumber diced

 

In a medium bowl combine the first four ingredients.  Add tomatoes and cucumbers and toss lightly.  Refrigerate until serving time.