Hello folks!

Announcements: We hope that all of you will be coming to our Hoedown and Community Potluck. All CSA members and their families (neighbors and friends too!) are welcome. SUNDAY AUG. 23rd. Come tour the farm at 3 and do chores with us and 4pm the music will start and eating will commence. Bring a dish (made from the harvest of course!) and your own tableware, b.y.o.b. See you on Sunday!

PS Let us  know if you wish to be a volunteer for the cattle drive from 11-2. Mandatory training at 10:30.

On the Farm: We are still bringing in some of our second cut of hay with this nice weather all week. Exciting news for our poultry- Our 145 newer layer hens have started to lay eggs! We are collecting a few each day so soon we’ll be back in the swing of larger egg production. Also, we got 75 replacement turkey chicks because the first group had many deaths due to rickets. They are fairing well and the surviving 40 from the first group was moved out on pasture today! Our turkeys will remain organically certified- put in your reservation for one by the fall for Thanksgiving!

In the Garden: Yes, its true, the tomato crop is basically gone. The blight just took over. It all happened so fast. But the good news is we will share some of the few ripe ones and send home some green tomatoes for you to make chutney or fried green tomatoes! Maybe they will ripen on  your window sill!

The other good news is our melon crop looks plentiful!

Flowers are colorful- enjoy another PYO bouquet!

This weeks Harvest: A few tomatoes (savor them!), 1 huge head of white cauliflower (see 2 easy recipes below!), Eggplant (recipe below as well), Leeks! Yeah! Drumroll please…. melon! (Some may need to be on your counter for a few days) A nice variety of golden beets and a few chioggas. The standbys: cucumbers, patty pan, yellow and green zucchini, bunched chard or kale (maybe both last week was too much.?) and some basil. WOW! Enjoy.

Reminders: Bring back your glass jars for more syrup please. Bring Canvas bags and curb excessive use of  produce bags if possible. Thank you.

Recipes: No recipes for leeks, I’ll let you submit one! They are wonderful in egg dishes and in place of onions or in a soup!

Lighting Quick Cauliflower Curry

Yields: 4 cups
Serving size: 2 cups
Servings: 2 main-dishes or 4 side-dishes
Heat over medium heat in a large, heavy pot with lid:

• 2 Tbs. oil

When hot add:

• 1.5 tsp. dark mustard seeds

When the mustard seeds starts to pop (it should be just a few seconds), take the pan off the heat and stir in:

• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cumin, ground
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

Meanwhile prepare the cauliflower and add to the pan:

• 1/2 head medium cauliflower (about 1.25? lbs after removing leaves and core), sliced
• 1/4 cup water

Stir to mix, then cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, adding more water if needed. Add and cook for 1 minute:

• 1 cup frozen peas

Shake on:

• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• a shake or two of crushed red pepper
• 1.5 Tbs. lemon juice

Stir in:

• 1 Tbs. tomato sauce or 1/2 cup diced canned tomatoes

Notes

The colors of the peas and tomatoes contrast beautifully with the golden cauliflower, and they add some sweetness.  The cauliflower is “sliced” into pieces rather than being broken into florets, because when you slice it you’ll cut through the cells, and the cauliflower will absorb the spices better.

Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

4-inch segment of a thin day-old baguette
1 medium head of cauliflower, washed
extra-virgin olive oil
scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh red chile pepper, minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place racks in the middle.

Give the baguette a spin in a food processor until you have textured, not-too-fine bread crumbs.

Trim the cauliflower. Get rid of the big stalks and stems and strive for uniform, bite-sized little florets. Little trees.

In a big bowl toss the cauliflower with a few generous tablespoons of olive oil and the salt. Toss until the cauliflower is well coated and then place it in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. You are going to bake for about 25-30 minutes total.

There will be some residual olive oil in the big bowl you used to toss the cauliflower. If not, add another tablespoon or two. Add the bread crumbs, garlic, and chiles. Mix.

After the cauliflower has been baking for about 15-20 minutes anything in contact with the pan should be nicely browned. Pull the pan out of the oven, rotate each piece of cauliflower so that another side will get some color, and then sprinkle the entire pan with the breadcrumb mixture. Return the pan to the oven and finish with another ten minutes or so. The cauliflower should be tender throughout and the breadcrumbs nicely toasted. Serve immediately, it really isn’t half as delicious after it has been sitting on the counter getting cold.

Serves 4

- Puree the roasted cauliflower (and crumbs) with some broth and a splash of cream for an easy soup

Broiled Eggplant with Capers and Mint
Adapted from Epicurious

Makes 4 appetizer-size portions

1 pound thin Italian or Asian eggplants (2 to 3), cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped mint
2 tablespoons small capers, rinsed

Preheat broiler. Arrange eggplant in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and brush both sides with 2 tablespoons oil (total). Broil about 4 inches from heat, turning once, until golden, 8 to 12 minutes total.

Stir together vinegar, mint, capers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons oil and toss with warm eggplant. Marinate at least 20 minutes.

Marinated eggplant can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Hello folks,

Just finished a 5 hour canning session with all the folks of Maple Wind Farm today! We made refridgerator pickles, dilly beans, canned pickles, beet relish and zucchini relish today. We were a well oiled canning machine- we were chopping, boiling, grating, spicing, canning… all told we put up more than 4 gallons of food into mason jars. Its time consuming but well worth it. Get together with a neighbor or another CSA member and do a group session, its more fun and tasks can be divided to make the job of canning easier for everyone.

Perfect segway… we have lots more cucumbers this week so think about your own pickle recipes if you have some time this week.

GARDEN NOTES: On a low note…Its official, we have blight on our tomatos and Im in the process of pulling out plants that are really bad and trying to salvage some tomatoes from ones that aren’t yet. The blight travelled over the corn and hit the potatoes (not bad) but enough to take precaution to brush hog the foliage to save the tubers. The blight only can live on a plant that is alive so by cutting the potato foliage we can can save the underground plants for a later harvest. We must wait 2-3 weeks for the skins to toughen up before doing any harvest, so there will be a delay in your next share of potatoes until it is save to bring them out of the ground. As for tomatoes, I hope we all get a few red ones this summer and I will most likely harvest green ones before I have to rip out plants so you might want to try making green tomato chutney or pickle them green(?). I hope your home tomatoes have faired better than mine!

So thats the bad news, the good news is that the rest of the garden looks great!

THIS WEEKS HARVEST: Green Beans, Cucumbers(salad and picklers), Patty Pan Squash, Napa Cabbage, Onions, Cauliflour,Head Lettuce.  PYO flowers too!

Next week! Leeks and Golden Beets- yum.

ON THE FARM: A big milestone- our first cut of hay is officially done! This week, we took 6 more big pigs and 4 cows to the butcher. We moved our cow herd across route 2 to the North side of the Andrews Farm. The bulls are now in the pasture with the ladies and we have all our calves for 09!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Congratulations to our CSA Members, Kevin and Alex McAleer who are getting married this Saturday!

***Read the next farm posting on all the details on our Hoedown & Community Potluck on August 23rd. We hope many of our CSA members will be there!

REMINDERS: Please bring your canvas bags, conserve plastic produce bags or bring old ones back. Bring in your syrup jars. And do call me on my cell if you will be late or not picking up. (233-3862 Beth’s cell).

IN THE KITCHEN: Recipes below.

Napa Cabbage Picnic Salad Recipe

INGREDIENTS (you could substitute this weeks CSA green beans and red onions for peas and green onions)

2/3 cup slivered almonds
8 cups (1 lb) coarsely shredded napa cabbage
12 ounces snow peas, strings removed, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 1/3 cups thinly sliced radishes
1 1/3 cups thinly sliced green onions (including greens)
1 1/3 cups lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves

Dressing ingredients
3 Tbsp rice vinegar (seasoned or unseasoned)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 clove peeled and minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 cup mayonnaise

METHOD

1 Spread almond slivers out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in a 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes, until nicely browned. OR toast in stick-free or cast-iron skillet on medium high, stirring frequently until browned. Set aside.

2 Combine cabbage, snow peas, radishes, green onions, cilantro in a large bowl. Can make this step a day or two ahead.

3 In a separate bowl, mix together the rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, ginger, and cayenne until sugar has dissolved. Whisk in the mayonnaise.

4 When ready to serve, gently combine the dressing and almonds with the cabbage mixture.

Serves 14-16.

Potato, Green Bean and Corn Salad

• 4 pounds small white boiling potatoes (about 2 inches in diameter)
• 5 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
• cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, or to taste
• 1 pound haricots verts (thin French green beans) or regular green beans
• 6 ears corn

preparation

In a kettle cover potatoes with salted cold water by 2 inches and simmer until just tender, about 25 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander. When potatoes are just cool enough to handle, halve larger ones and in a large bowl toss potatoes with 2 tablespoons vinegar.

In a small bowl whisk together mustard, remaining 3 tablespoons vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Dressing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring dressing to room temperature before using.

Trim beans and, working over a bowl, cut corn kernels from cobs. Have ready a bowl of ice and cold water. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water cook beans until crisp-tender, about 1 minute for haricots verts or about 5 minutes for regular green beans, and transfer with a slotted spoon to ice water to stop cooking. Drain beans well and add to potatoes. Return water in pan to a boil and blanch corn 30 seconds, or until crisp-tender. Drain corn in a sieve and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Drain corn well and add to salad. Salad may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before proceeding. Gently toss salad with dressing and salt and pepper to taste until combined well.

from Gourmet 1998

Hello folks,

I am pleased to announce the REAL date of our 2nd Annual Hoedown and Community Potluck——Sunday August 23rd 4:30 -?

This is the same day we are doing a cattle drive of 50 cows from the Teal Farm to Maple Wind mid day. Any interest in participating, please contact us since there will be a “cowboy/girl” training to attend.

This is a change from the 16th since it has to do with the grazing schedule the cows are on at the Teal Farm. I am sorry for any confusion.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS.

All CSA members and friends are welcome. Please bring a potluck dish and your own plate and utensils. Music provided! Get ready to square dance too!

See you then!

Beth and Bruce and the rest of the gang at Maple Wind

Hello folks!

Wow, the sun is out! The tomatoes are growing by the minute! We finally got some hay up to our farm (25 round bales) thank goodness. July is just rounding the corner into August and the farm is on a roll.

Upcoming: We will be processing our second batch of poultry next week. If you pre ordered some or are part of our CSA, expect to pick them up FRESH on Thursday at the Andrews Farm in Richmond.

Fresh Beef at this weeks Farmers Markets: Richmond, Middlebury and Shelburne. SAUSAGE IS BACK! On the grill and take home links- 4 flavors.

We’ll be selling our delicious grilled items at the Huntington Valley Stage Music Festival Saturday August 8th. See you there for some great music and food.

Mark your calendars: All are welcome to our 2nd Annual Hoedown and Barn Dance Potluck here in the big red arena barn. Sunday August 16th. More details to follow. Bring the family and friends, no dogs please.

In the GARDEN: I tilled up 6 more gorgeous rows to plant some fall crops – carrots, more beets, kolrabi, collards, kale and some greens. Look forward to more potoatoes next week, the horse drawn potato harvest is now fixed so we dont have to dig for them by hand anymore!

Woodchuck caught count: 6

THIS WEEKS HARVEST: Cucumbers (time to make pickles! Great dill heads in the herb garden) Summer squash of all kinds, Green Beans, Cabbage, Mesculin, Broccoli and Broccoli Raab (a mustard like green-slightly spicy) a few onions and some more fresh garlic!

Eat well,

Beth and Bruce

Recipes:

Refrigerator Pickles

7 cups pickling cukes, sliced into a large glass bowl (about 4 med-large ones)

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 tablespoon chopped dill

2 ½ cups water

¾ cup rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons sugar (increase to ¾ cup to make sweet pickles)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

10 whole peppercorns

½ teaspoon whole mustard seeds

Place cucumbers, garlic, and dill in a large bowl. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a saucepan and heat to a boil. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and pour over cucumbers in the bowl. Stir well. Cover and let cool. Chill at least two days in the refrigerator before serving. Will keep up to one month in the refrigerator.

Submitted by CSA Member:

Wendy Gagliardi, Simply Gourmet Personal Chef Service www.simplygourmetvt.com

Broccoli Raab (Rapini) ideas taken from blogs on the internet…

Hello folks,

The pitter patter of rain (imagine that… rain!) hits my rooftop as I write this early morning before the kids wake. Oops I take that back, Bryn just woke a little early.

Announcements: Remember to sign in on the sheet when you pick up your veggies. Bring a canvas bag and try to limit produce bag consumption or reuse from last week. Thanks!

FREEZER beef/lamb and pork still available. Custom cut to your specification. Its a great way to buy meat more economically than by the cut if you have the room. Time magazine had an article in June 15th issue called “Cow-Pooling”! Great term. Go in with friends and family on a whole cow!

ON THE FARM: We got our turkey chicks this week! Think Thanksgiving! 100 chicks are peeping away in the brooder. We have decided to keep our organic feed protocol with Turkeys so get your reservation in before fall! This week we managed to squeek in getting 13 dry round hay bales made on the Land Trust field in Richmond. What a season, we are very behind in our hay production (its the same for most farms around here).

If anyone drives Rte 2 past the VYCC West Monitor Barn, drive a little slowly and take a look at our cows grazing in their field in the high grass. We have about 5-6 more days of grazing there and then they will head back onto the Andrews high pasture rotation.

IN THE GARDEN: Garlic Harvest begins! We planted over 1500 feet of garlic last fall and are reaping the benefits of gorgeous large bulbs! I hope you enjoyed your fresh bulbs last week, more this week too! We pulled up and bundled over half of the field of garlic and hung them to cure (dry) in our sugar shack over the rafters. Its quite a sight to see!

The zucchinis are off and growing! Plenty of summer squash so peek at the recipes below (3) for some ideas to do with any excess.

Woodchuck caught count: 5

THIS WEEKS HARVEST: Zucchini Summer Squash, Fresh Garlic, Head Lettuce, Mixed greens, Broccoli, Kale or Chard, and shelling peas! PYO herbs as always and yes, take home a small bouquet of PYO flowers this week.

As always, we welcome your feedback. Stay tuned for date and information about our 2nd Annual Maple Wind Farm Hoedown and Barndance…

Eat well,

Beth and Bruce

Zucchini & Tomato Casserole

2 medium zucchini, cubed

1 tbsp. fresh chives, chopped

1 teaspoon butter, melted

2 large tomatoes, finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped

1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steam zucchini until barely tender. Arrange zucchini in the bottom of a casserole dish. Stir salt, pepper, and chives into butter and pour over zucchini. Cover with tomatoes and sprinkle with basil and cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.

Stuffed Zucchini

5 medium zucchini

1/4 brown rice, uncooked

1/2 c. boiling water

1 small onion, chopped, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 c. parsley, chopped finely

1/4 c. olive oil

1/2 c. bread crumbs

1 lemon

1 egg, separated

1 c. mushrooms, chopped finely (optional)

1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

Hollow out zucchini with a spoon. After scooping out zucchini, chop remaining insides into small pieces. In a medium-sized saucepan, cook rice with water, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and oil for about 15 minutes. Add chopped zucchini and cook 5 more minutes. Add bread crumbs, parsley, juice from the lemon, the egg white, mushrooms, and cheese. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place filling into zucchini shells. Arrange the zucchini in a baking dish. Spread extra filling around the shells in the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil and bake about 40 minutes.

Zucchini Pancakes

3 c. zucchini, grated

2 eggs

3 tbsp. flour

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pepper

Butter

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together zucchini and salt. Let stand about 45 minutes. Squeeze excess moisture from zucchini. In another bowl, beat eggs well. Add zucchini, flour, cheese, and pepper; mix well. In a large skillet, melt some butter. Fry tbsp.fuls of the zucchini mixture until lightly browned, turning once. Makes about 12 pancakes.

Hello folks,

Summer certainly is flying by. The garden is filled with goodness and more on the way! I hope everyone enjoyed those New Potatoes last week! Yum!

Welcome to our newest CSA member…Charlotte Rissacher. Born just 15 days ago to Dan and Patty of Huntington. Congratulations!!!

Dont forget to pick your herbs! Cilantro is going by soon!

Reminder: Bring your canvas bags and reuse some produce bags if you have them- thank you. PLEASE check your name off on my list so I know you picked up each week. In case I don’t see you come in, I do want to know that everyone picked up. If its 5:55 and I see blank names, I get worried we have missing members not getting their share.

If you need me to put your share in the wagon on the front steps because you will be after 6pm, just call my cell! 233-3862. thanks!

THIS WEEKS HARVEST: Cucumber, Cabbage (a few might look swiss cheese like because of pests but I cut chopped one into slaw and it was delicious!) Head lettuce, small bag of mesculin, broccoli, zucchini, fennel, beets and SYRUP! (2nd of 4 pints)

Sorry, last week I had a handout on fennel, I will bring it this week.

BAKERY AND CHEESE Shares have a pickup this week. Dean will be at the pickup on Thursday if you have any questions about the next round of baked goods.

IN THE GARDEN: Im finally filling up all my garden space with a few rows to spare for varieties still in the greenhouse (fall broccoli, collards, more beets, pac choi and cauliflour). This year we are planting about 1300 feet of dry beans! 5 different kinds. With a date to maturity of 80-100 days, I hope they will be dry enough for you all to try some in October. Last year, we just planted black beans but never got around to shelling them until mid winter- they were hanging in in our barn loft.

ON THE FARM: We moved our cows and calves to the Teal Farm location on Tuesday! Stay tuned for information on our cattle drive back to the home farm! The recent hay we made got rained on so we are hoping for some drying weather on Wed and Thursday. As for the other herd of cows at the Vermont Youth Corps fields, that grass is up to my chest! I just moved them today and when they go into the pasture, you can just see their backs the grass is so high!

Thats all the news for now. See you soon! Feedback is appreciated. Come see us at a Farmers Market! Id love to post member recipes or links to some that you have found to be tasty. Please email me.

This Thursday Ill have pork chops, chickens and ground beef available to purchase. Anything else, please special order.

Eat Well, Beth and Bruce

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

Hello folks!

Yet another rainy week here in the Green Mountain State! We are as frustrated as any other farmer and I’m sure all of you may have hoped for more recreation by this time in the summer. We are well behind on our hay production and now the quality is going downhill since fields are  seeding out. None the less, we can say prayers for a stretch of dry weather.

The show must go on…and the garden is kicking into gear. Just when I thought I had cleared out the greenhouse, nope, I went and got another dump load of wonderful potting soil from Vermont Compost Company in Montpelier and started seeding some more for fall crops. Look forward to some collards, kholrahbi, pac choi, fall broccoli and califlour and some of my favorites, more beets (Im a big fan of starting them in the greenhouse!)

CSA reminder: Bring your canvas bags please. Conserve plastic bag use and  bring in your mason pint jar – syrup will be next week!

THIS WEEKS HARVEST: New on the scene will be New Potatoes and Fennel (Ill have a handout at the pickup with some great fennel ideas, don’t forget to take one), zucchini, broccoli, radishes, lettuce, and don’t forget to get herbs- the courtyard garden is doing great.

ON THE FARM: Bruce and the crew have been working diligently getting the VYCC 20 acre field ready for cows to graze by putting up perimeter electric wire fencing and a establishing a water line system. Its amazing pasture with clover coming up in the understory- Bruce figures we might get almost a month of grazing on the field! That will significantly help our season extension in Richmond before we have to start feeding out hay this fall! Thanks to the folks at VYCC for sharing our vision of grazing benefits. Fertility Fertility Fertility!

NEWSWORTHY: Come see us at the Food Festival this Saturday July 11 (8:30-2) at City Hall Park in Burlington- 40+ food vendors in addition to the regular 45+ Farmers Market vendors- should be a food paradise!

BEEF IS BACK! This weekend we will debut FRESH beef from our first steers of 2009! Get your grilles going this weekend with a succulent sirloin or tender TBone. Come to any of our farmers markets.

DEANS BACKDOOR BAKERY: On vacation, no goodies this week.

CRAWFORD CHEESE: Off week, cheese will be next week. If you would still like to be included, you can bring me a check for $54 to Crawford Family Farm – that’s cheese every other week until the end of the CSA minus one week. ($6.75/week)

GOT PORK? July 13 we are taking pigs to the butcher. If you have considered buying a 1/2 or whole pig custom cut to your specifications, now is a great time! You’ll be smitten with yourself as you pull out delicious pork chops or ribs for your summer BBQ without going to the grocery store!

Just $100 deposit and Ill get you a cut sheet to indicate your cutting and  packaging requests.

Many thanks for reading! Id love to have your thoughts or recipe ideas. Please email me!

Eat Well, Beth

RECIPES:

Oven Roasted Potatoes with Fennel and Tarragon

Fingerling potatoes roasted with a bit of coarse salt and anise-flavored fennel makes for an incredible side dish.

SERVINGS 4

COOK TIME 30

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds fingerling potatoes, scrubbed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 fennel bulb, large, cut into julienne
3 shallots, large, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
2 teaspoons anise seed, toasted

PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Place potatoes on a greased baking sheet and drizzle with one-third of the olive oil. Toss with salt and pepper. Place in the oven to start roasting.

3. In the meantime, in a skillet over medium heat, saute fennel and shallots in another third of the oil until slightly softened but still crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in tarragon and anise seed.

4. Add the fennel mixture to the potatoes in the oven. Toss well and continue roasting, until potatoes are tender but not soft, about 25 minutes total. Adjust seasoning and serve hot.

Warm Potato, Radish and Fennel Salad

We want to keep our farm community up to date with important changes on our farm and our reason for them. Read on-

Starting this week Maple Wind Farm Pasture-Raised Eggs will no longer be certified organic.  All of our production methods will be exactly the same, except that our supplemental layer feed will not be certified organic.  During the grazing season our birds will still be moved every three days to new pasture and will glean all the grasses, legumes, worms and insects they always have.  Even now they’re out and about the barnyard feeding happily on the remnants of last year’s plant and insect life.

This was an extremely difficult decision for us, one that still hangs heavy in our minds.  The reason for the change is that we found we were not able to sell our organic eggs for a price that would allow us to be financially sustainable.   Indeed, we have been having difficulty selling our eggs even at prices lower than we can sustain (but higher than other non-organic local eggs).  To continue to be organic, our prices at the retail level would need to be in the $6 – 7.00/dozen range.  We know there are a few of you who would pay this price,  but the vast majority of folks who buy local products will not.   Currently we are sourcing conventional feeds for our chickens, grown locally.  We hope to come back to organic certification at some future point when price is not as big of an issue.  Thanks to all of you who have supported us over the years.  We look forward to serving you in the future.

Bruce Hennessey, Beth Whiting, Nathaniel Holmes   

We welcome your comments.

Hello folks, sitting at my computer looking out longing for a ski in this wonderful new snow today I am reminded that I have a garden waiting for me under this snow! Im beginning to plan for the growing season and the kick off is the order form is “hot off the press.” You will be recieving one in the mail next week and it will also be available to download as well on our site.

For eager CSA’ers, if you sign up by March 1st you will get last years prices! Spread the word! Thats like a weeks worth of free veggies!

I would love your help if you have a place of work with a bulletin board or a parent board at your childrens school or doctors office/local library that you would be willing to put some of our forms around to help market our membership. That would be GREAT! Just let me know where you will post and Ill make a note and put some in the mail to you. Email me! Love to hear from you.

Im still eating potatoes and cabbage from the garden and eating the last of my butternut squash tonight. PS I have a load of potatoes if anyone is interested in some…

Be well and let’s embrace hope for change as Barack starts his job!

All the best, keep in touch. Eat well.

Beth

PS The Burlington Farmers Market is a real hit! 3rd Sat of the month COME VISIT! We have a great selection of pork, chickens, beef and lamb. Eggs too if you are early.

Hello from Maple Wind Farm. Just checking in on this snowy and windy day 9 days before Christmas to say hi. We wish all of you safe and wonderful holidays with your family and friends and a happy solstice.

Now that the garden is blanketed with snow and the animals are all in their winter housing here at the farm, life is slowing down just a bit around here to a dull roar. Its always something for our family… Over Thanksgiving we packed up our home (with the help of some hardy friends and relatives) and moved to the farmhouse. We hope this is our last move since we’ve now lived in 3 houses on the same street in 10 years! Its great to look out the window and see pigs, horses, cows and chickens from one vantage point! We feel blessed to sell our old house in this economy. Now we are focusing on the farm, skiing and enjoying some fun over the holidays.

Speaking of holidays…. DECEMBER 20th (this Saturday) we will be at the Burlington Farmers Market at Memorial Auditorium from 10-2pm. Great market! Come by and say hi. We’ll have a great selection of meat for sale.

Gift boxes of local meat make great last minute gift ideas for the foodie! Let us know if we can help with a goodie box of lamb, pork, beef or chicken for that hard to find gift idea.

Our new CSA membership form will be out the first of the year. You’ll be seeing one in the mail or via email. Be sure to spread the word about our vegetable program to your friends, we’d love to expand our membership!

Be well, eat local. Happy holidays.

Beth and Bruce

PS. Looking for a winter outing, come stay in one of our yurts! Call for more information. New website pages going up soon on www.maplewindfarm.com.