The Serviceberry Shrub (also called the Juneberry) bloomed around May 3 this year. Folklore has it that once it blooms the ground is warm enough for the cold weather crops – potatoes, peas, cabbage, broccoli, Swiss chard, tatsoi, pac choi, winter lettuces, beets, carrots – those sorts of things. Once it stops blooming the ground is warm enough for the warm weather crops – beans, basil, squash, corn. Here we see it in April, not blooming, and then in May blooming. This is late, but we work with what we have. Happy planting!
May’s Baby
This mama gave us a doeling. She has wattles and is white with a light brown background.
Mama and baby are doing well!
Little Projects
Rudbekia 
Sedum 
Fescue
One of my little projects is adding perennials to my flower bed, specifically perennials that have a name similar to children. So far we have Black-eyed Susans, Sedum Autumn Joy, Elijah Fescue, Timothy grass, and Joe Pye-weed. Something to tend, something to smile at, something to enjoy.
Rendering Beef Suet
Updated version – November 2024
Recently I processed some beef suet to make a useable fat. I took this chunk of fat, …
…let it thaw for about an hour, then chunked it up into small pieces. I did this with 2 pieces of fat…
…filling my 5-6 qt. crockpot about 3/4 full. I put a little bit of water in the bottom, covered it and set it to high heat for 2 hours. Once it was bubbling, I turned it to low and let it cook for 18 hours, stirring occasionally.
After 12-18 hours it cooked down. I turned it off and let it cool for about 30 minutes. Then I put a metal colander in a big bowl…
…and poured it all in, separating the cracklings…
…from the fat.
I carefully poured the hot fat into jars, put a lid on the jar, tightening it down, and let it cool.
Once the fat cooled, I took the rings off and stored it in the pantry.
After the cracklings cooled, we nibbled at them. I set them aside in a separate container that we could nibble from.
Notes: This is a very hot fat. BE CAREFUL!
Everything ends up with a layer of fat – the crockpot, the colander, the bowl, the spoons. To save the sink and pipes, wipe all the items off with a paper towel while still warm and throw the paper towels away. Otherwise you could end up with a clogged drain from the congealed fat.
Uses – you can use this in a fry pan OR to saute veggies, eggs, or meat OR to deep fry food. It is a fat that can be used in place of other fats. Suet will have a beefy taste. Lard will have a pork flavor.
The process would be similar for rendering lard. The unrendered pork lard bags are larger and so will probably result in more jars of fat.
This can be done in the oven on low heat. Put in a pan, cover, bake at 350 for 30 min to get it boiling, then reduce heat to 225-250, cooking for 12 hours, stirring occasionally.
Again, this is very hot. BE CAREFUL!
Views from the Farm – April
Goat and Feta Sandwiches
Here is a recipe from The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook by Shannon Hayes with my adaptations.
Goat and Feta Sandwiches
Based on Lamb and Feta Sandwiches recipe from The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook by Shannon Hayes
Ingredients
Method
- Saute the onion, garlic, celery in olive oil in a large sauce pan until the veggies are soft.
- Add the ground goat, salt, pepper and oregano. Saute until the meat browns, 5-7 minutes.
- Add the spinach; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the feta cheese, sauteing another 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is fully incorporated and slightly melted.
- Serve in pitas or as sandwiches.
Notes
Any 2 cup combination of sauteed veggies can be used for the onions, celery, and garlic – peppers and grated carrots would be other things to include.
I tend to cook my meat first so that I know it is no longer pink and then add and saute my veggies second.
Any cooking green will work in place of spinach – tatsoi, pac choi, Swiss chard, spinach, arugula.
Any cheese will work in place of the feta.
And if ground goat meat isn’t to your liking, ground pork, ground beef, or sausage will also work. The key parts are a ground meat, a cooking green, a cheese, sauteed veggies and oregano.
Goat Curry
Here is the basic Jamaican goat curry recipe that I like to use. It was given to me by a dear Haitian friend. In discussing goat curries he told me that a Haitian curry would tend to have tomato paste and probably straight curry powder as part of the rue (sauce). A Jamaican curry tends to have allspice mixed with the curry powder. I have adapted this to satisfy my family’s mouths (mild) and tummies (a bit more veggies).
This will also work for lamb. A curry is a curry!
Ingredients
Method
- In large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil, add onions, heat until they sweat 3-4 min. (do not fry onion). Add minced garlic, continue to cook 2 min. Remove onion and garlic, set aside.
- Add cubed goat to pan with a little more oil and brown all sides, 7-8 min over med heat. Add salt and pepper, if desired, during this process.
- Add back onion and garlic with 3 cups chicken stock. Add 2-3 TBS curry powder. Stir and bring to boil.
- Lower heat to minimum setting, cover with tight fitting lid and let simmer for 2 hours stirring occasionally every 20-30 minutes. After 1 ½ hours add cubed potato and yam and coconut. It is ready to eat after ½ hours or when the potatoes are soft.
- Serve over rice.
Notes
I use celery with or in place of onions and garlic.
I have used chicken along with the goat meat, if I didn’t have a full 3 lb. of meat. Lamb also works well with this recipe.
The curry cooks a long time, and the meat will fall off the bones, and bones and meat will separate really well on the plate.
I have used extra chicken broth and added more potatoes, yams, or carrots. I put these in with the broth and let them cook the whole 2-3 hours.
Here is a link to another recipe to give a more Jamaican version. I would recommend reading this recipe as it has helpful instructions. Enjoy!
Winter Farming: Planning for Summer – Seeds
All of life has its ebb and flow. In CNY, winter is less soil intensive, just because things don’t grow in the winter without a cover. That makes it a good time to evaluate the previous season and plan for the coming one.
The Garden Guys – this year Tim and Caleb, assisted at times by the young crew – have thought about things and planned what they want to grow. Next they looked through their seeds to see what they have – mainly squash and pumpkins – and to see what they need to order. They place the order typically with Fedco Seeds, Maine Potato Lady, and Johnny’s Seeds. Finally the seeds arrive!
| Then we wait for the ground and air to warm so we can plant! |
From Corn to Table
Over the years we have grown a flint corn. [The corn is to the left. The broom corn is to the right. Sweet corn is what you eat as corn-on-the-cob. Flint corn is what you grind to make cornmeal.]This year we are using it for ourselves as cornmeal. Here is the process:
We have used the cornmeal several ways this year – as polenta, as cornmeal mush, and as cornbread. Polenta and cornmeal mush are just cornmeal mixed with a liquid and cooked on the stovetop until the liquid is absorbed. Polenta is good made with milk or broth. Mush tends to be made with water and served as a breakfast dish.
Here are the recipes for polenta and cornmeal mush and for 2 kinds of cornbread. Enjoy!
Cornbread recipes
We have recently been using cornmeal. Here are 2 cornbread recipes that we have used over the years.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls, then combine. (OR mix dry ingredients; then add wet ingredients and combine.)
- Pour into greased 9 X 9 pan and bake 25 minutes.
- Serve hot with meal; or with butter, honey, milk, syrup, jam or jelly.
Variations:
- To use sour milk (buttermilk, yogurt, etc.) in place of milk, reduce baking powder to 2 tsp. and add 1 tsp baking soda.
- For all the liquid ingredients, substitute 1 egg, 3/4 cup of milk, and 1 cup of cream style corn. This makes a more corny cornbread.
Notes
Original recipe is from More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre. Found at https://becomingmorewithless.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/basic-corn-bread/
Moist, Sweet Cornbread
Having a little more fat and a little more sweetener makes this a moist sweet cornbread.
Ingredients
Method
- Combine wet ingredients.
- Add dry ingredients and mix together.
- Pour into greased 8×8 pan. Bake at 375 F for 30-35 minutes or until done.
- Serve hot with butter, jam, or jelly.
Notes
The sugar seems a lot for the quantity of grains. And the extra fat does make it a moister cornbread than some.