Farm to Folk Newsletter October 14, 2008

“A little extra info from the farms to the folks”

Cindy Madsen of Audubon County Farms will deliver this week.

Please order directly to her: vcmadsen@metc.net

And don't forget about the Farmer Appreciation Potluck on Saturday October 18. We'll have a

butter making demo/appetizers at 5pm, dinner at 6 and a short program at 7. Bring your own table

service and a main dish, salad or dessert to share. It will be held at UCC (our regular distribution site).

Please let us know if you plan to attend.

Berry Patch Hours 9 -6 daily

Free hayrides Saturday and Sunday 1 - 5PM
Now harvesting several varieties of apples; Quantity discounts !
Honeycrisp, Jonafree, Earligold, Gala, Macoun, Nova mac, Lura Red, Nova, RedCort, Cortland, Jonathon,

and more. Fall red & gold raspberries, blackberries, pumpkins and gourds

Full Circle Farm will deliver only on the first and third Tuesday of the month of October.

We are temporarily out of ground beef.

Grains of Wisdom Breads will deliver this week. After this week they will deliver every other week.

Picket Fence Creamery will begin a 10 week session of dairy shares. Let Marilyn know if you want a weekly

delivery of dairy.

Small Potatoes Farm

Hello Everyone,

Extended Share Deliveries

We will be focusing on those crops that have the greatest chance of frost damage. Average first frost date

for Des Moines is Oct. 11th. We will be bringing lettuce, spinach, summer turnips, beans, tomatoes,

summer squash and cucumbers.

I must admit, with last weeks temperatures into the upper 40s, the tomatoes have lost some of their flavor

and texture, but it seems to be pulled out of them with a little cooking. I prefer cooking with them to fresh

eating these days.

What's Happening

I started dismantling the tomato trellis and ready that field for fall planted garlic. We saved back about

100 lbs of garlic for planting. Its generally planted around mid-October. It germinates and begins to emerge

before winter. After it gets very cold, it stops actively growing until early spring. Cover crops are growing well.

Hopefully, the oats will keep progressing before they winter kill.

We've all been a little sick this week. First Stacy caught it, then the baby, and now me. Harvesting all

morning in the rain Tuesday didn't help anybody's condition. At least Stacy and the baby are feeling better,

so maybe it’s a short-lived malady.

I baked a pie for our neighbor, who shut our chickens up when we visited my family in August and who

borrowed us a drill bit yesterday. He seemed a little embarrassed. We don't know whether he felt overly

compensated or uneasy about receiving a pie baked by a man.

Stacy wants me to give you a turnip recipe she received from Neal Flora. Boil them, puree them with a

bit of apple and stir in a little cream.

Have a great week.

Rick, Stacy and Matilda

Food info tidbit

This was submitted by Nancy Marion from Danilo’s culinary arts blog: 
http://culinaryarts.about.com/b/2008/09/21/lard-the-other-good-fat.htm

Lard: The Other Good Fat?

Sunday September 21, 2008

Lard is evidently enjoying a renaissance of sorts. Which is all well and good, but, I mean, it's lard.

Totally bad for you, right?

OK, it's not exactly health food, but lard may not be as bad as it's commonly made out to be. In recent years,

we've learned a lot about the difference between "good" fats and "bad" fats. The bad fats are the saturated

and trans fats, while the good fats are the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Any guesses how lard stacks up? Not too badly, as it turns out. Lard contains:

More monounsaturated fats ("good" fats) than sunflower oil and corn oil
More polyunsaturated fats (also "good" fats) than olive oil
Thirty percent less saturated fat than butter
No trans fats at all!

Lard is beloved by bakers because it makes the most sublime flaky pie dough. And given that the most common

alternative to lard is vegetable shortening, which is chock full of nasty trans fats, lard might actually be the

healthier choice.

When I make my oven-baked bacon, I pour the fat through a strainer lined with cheesecloth and into a

heat-proof ramekin, and keep it in the fridge. I use it for sautéing, cooking eggs — practically anywhere

I'd use butter other than spreading it on my toast. In fact, maybe I should try spreading it on my toast, too.

See you Tuesday!

Marilyn, Corry and Deb