Monday, January 24, 2011

The Little Farmer's Blog!

Hello Everyone!

What a past few weeks we've seen! But despite the unpredictable weather plans for the upcoming year are continuously ongoing! And boy, do we have some great ideas to share with you!

As of now, the market itself is still open from Friday to Sunday 10-5. We do still have some of our own vegetables, but our more leafy crops such as lettuces are being replaced with imported produce until we can provide you with our own again this summer! As well, for you flower lovers and those with a knack for having your own veggie or herb garden we are now in the process of ordering our seeds. Soon it will be time for us to head to the greenhouses and begin planting for the 2011 season!

Of course, we are always trying to find ways to improve our farm market, and this year we already have some great ideas in mind! We will keep you posted, but we also do not want to ruin any surprises for you! But please do check back for updates on when we are opening as well as other updates about the farm.

We have a busy week ahead of us here at the farm! With that, we will talk to you soon!

Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate, and Susan

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Little Farmers Blog!

Happy October Everyone!

Even though fall is all around us the boys in the field are still bringing in lots of fresh veggies daily! How nice it is to be able to still eat fresh local veggies at this time of year! Our pumpkins are also making their way down to our pumpkin patch! So come along and pick out your perfect pumpkin!! If you do purchase your pumpkin now, just remember to keep it in a warm place especially at night; porches or garages are perfect homes to pumpkins! As well, even though it is very tempting to carve your masterpiece in your beautiful pumpkin, do not pierce or carve your pumpkin until about 3 or 4 days before Halloween. And a little tip, to help your pumpkin keep its shape, put Vaseline along all of the cuts that you make!

Speaking of pumpkins, we now have a schedule for our annual Pumpkinfest! This years pumpkinfest will be held on Saturday, October 16 from 10 to 4. There will be many day long events such as the gourd toss, bouncy castle, wagon rides, seed spitting as well as face painting. Here is a list of special events and contests that will be held throughout the day!

11:30 Pie Eating Contest
12:30 Scarecrow Making Contest (We provide the supplies! Just bring your creativity!)
1:30 Pie Eating Contest
2:30 Hot Pepper Eating Contest (with a cash prize of $500.00!)
3:30 Judging of the Pumpkin Carving Contest (pumpkins can be carved throughout the day)

Wow! What fun! where else can you go to experience all of these fun events? And best of all, come in your costume for Halloween!

The Pumpkinfest is in support of the R.E.A.L Program as well as the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to these programs, it's a way for us to give back to the community! The admission for this years Pumpkinfest is $3.00 per child, $5.00 per adult, or you can buy a family pass for$15.00 for a family of 5.

See you all soon!
Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate and Susan

Monday, September 20, 2010

The Little Farmers Blog!

It's hard to believe that the end of September is just around the corner! Do you know what that means? Not only do we have fresh produce ready for you daily, but it also means that our pumpkins will soon be finding their way down to our pumpkin patch over the next few weeks! We all love this time of year, the crops are doing well, the farm starts to look like fall, the pumpkins ripen up, and scarecrows are not just found in farmers fields rather they become the newest addition to any house! Of course, what better way to celebrate fall then with our annual Pumpkinfest! For those of you who do not know what it is, it is a day long event which is held on the farm where there is fun for the whole family. Throughout the day there are games to play, prizes to be won, contests such as our hot pepper eating contest, as well as our pumpkin catapult. A portion of the proceeds go towards helping others in our surrounding communities through community charities. So come along on October 16 (Saturday, weather permitting), and have fun with everyone while helping others out as well.

Thanksgiving is also coming around the corner, that means that many of us will be enjoying a turkey dinner with fresh veggies from the farm! We are now taking orders for the Thanksgiving turkeys, but there is a limited amount! So call in (747-3276) or drop by as soon as you can!

Looking to decorate the outside of your house for the fall? Whynot try some corn stalks with bales of hay? It creates a perfect fall scene for your front step! And soon you will be able to add pumpkins and gourds to the scene as well!

Hope everyones fall is going good so far!
Your Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate, and Susan

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Little Farmers Blog!

September has come quickly, and you know what that means...

It's Harvest Time!

Wow! the summer certainly has gone by quickly, but now it is time for all of the boys in the field to harvest the veggies before the winter. The crops are looking good and with the fall season in the air we know that our bright orange pumpkins will soon be here!

Labor Day weekend was a busy one for us on the farm, many customers came to get veggies for the weekends trips and events. And lucky for them, we had our broccoli on a special for $1. 50 a bunch! as well, we had the start of our peaches and cream corn, delicious!

As promised, we have gathered up some recipes over the past week to share with you. Most of the recipes are available at the market as well. Enjoy!


Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups grated fresh zucchini
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Method:
You don't need a mixer for this recipe.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the zucchini mixture and mix in. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using. Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.


Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.


Layered Lettuce Salad

1 head lettuce, torn
1 c. diced celery
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen peas, thawed & uncooked
1/2 c. diced green pepper
1 med. onion, diced
8 slices cooked & crumbled bacon
2 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. sugar
4 oz. grated cheddar cheese

Directions:
Layer ingredients in order shown in a large glass bowl. Combine mayo and sugar then spread over top of salad evenly. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.

Vegetable Pasta Salad II

Ingredients
1 zucchini, cubed
1 eggplant, cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (12 ounce) package rotini/corkscrew pasta
2 chopped tomatoes
3 ounces diced feta cheese
1 cup Italian-style salad dressing


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine zucchini, eggplant, onion, bell pepper and garlic in a baking dish. Toss with olive oil. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add rotini pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water. In a bowl combine vegetable mixture, cooled pasta, tomatoes, Feta cubes, and salad dressing; toss until well mixed.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

The Little Farmers Blog!

Hello again! And what a busy week it has been for us down on the farm!

It certainly is getting that time of year again where our veggies are at their best, and the boys in the fields are kept more than busy with all of the harvesting. But wait! not all of our produce is in yet! Next weekend we will have the start of our own sweet corn, which is perfect boiled or even on the barbeque!

With the fall approaching quickly many customers are beginning to make their own pickles, and even freezing some veggies for the winter so we thought that we would share with you some ways to enjoy local veggies all winter long!

To freeze broccoli:
-Clean amount of desired broccoli
-Then, split the broccoli lengthwise. You should end up with flowerets that are 11/2 inches wide. Make sure to remove all of the leaves and woody parts of the stem.
-To ensure the broccoli is clean, soak the florets in salt water for about a half hour
-Then boil the broccoli for 3-4 minutes, or until it changes in color.
-Remove the broccoli from the water and place in ice to cool it down. Make sure that you remove all of the heat before packing them away for the winter.
-Once cooled, drain the broccoli and place in a bag. Make sure you get all of the air out of the bag before placing it in your freezer.

Many other vegetables can be frozen this way as well, such as greens, and spinach but the boiling time is different than that of the broccoli. For these particular veggies as well as others, follow through with the same procedure but remove from the boiling water when the vegetable has changed in color.


Over the next few days we are planning on getting some family recipies from the Lester family. All of the family members have the knack for cooking, especially Mary Lester who is the lady who started this part of the farm, as well as her mother in law Juanita Lester. So keep in touch for our tips and secrets!

Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate and Susan

Friday, August 20, 2010

The Little Farmers Blog!

Hi there everyone!

As this week is coming to a close, we are bringing you new beginnings!

After this week, we now have a good supply of our peas and green beans. This weekend we will have the start of our yellow beans, yum! As well, many of our crops that were just new over the past week or two are now picking up their pace growing wise. Many vegetables such as our broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and lettuce are getting bigger by the day. It's amazing to see how the crops progress each and every day, sometimes its hard to believe how much they progress!

We are also proud to announce the opening of our corn maze for the year! This is always an event on the farm as even we like to get lost in our corn maze. Although we have a smaller size corn maze, it is still ideal for family and children, and best of all it is free of charge! So why not take the whole family through the maze and see who can make it through the quickest!

It seems like this week flew by! As Mary Lester would say, "Time flies when you're having fun" and that is exactly what happened on the farm this week!

See you soon!
Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate, and Susan

Sunday, August 15, 2010

The Little Farmer's Blog!

And last but not least, our horses and ponies.