Tuesday, September 29, 2015

WE ARE ALL STILL HERE!!!

Watched the blood moon eclipse and was mesmerized by the beauty of the giant orb fading out and then back in. The sky was clear, being in the country, with only natures night sounds breaking the silence, it was an experience that will be remembered for a lifetime. And as the world did not come to an end, a lifetime that will be a bit longer. The nights are cooling just enough for the tomatoes to start to produce, the pears and apples have all been picked from the trees, and the days are filled with canning, dehydrating and freeze drying. The strawberry plants for next spring will be here in a couple of weeks, so hopefully we will get a little rain to ease the plowing. The animals are loving the cooler weather. Watching the calves and goats frolic in the early morning and early evening, confirms that they can function at a much faster pace when it is not sweltering outside. The Farmer has been cutting the last cutting of hay for the season. The girls will be kept fat and happy. The market will be open this weekend Friday and Saturday from noon until 4:00 PM. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Friday, September 25, 2015

FALL SCREAMS..... FARMERS MARKETS!!!!!!!

 The crisp, cool mornings are so delightful, it makes baking and canning so much more comfortable. There will be sour dough bread in the market this weekend, as well as a wide assortment of fruit breads. Just a reminder that our e mail address has changed. If an order was sent to our old address, it is floating out there in the cloud somewhere and it will not find its way to us. Our new address randcdairy@hotmail.com will get your message to the right source. There will be some fall produce, the tomato vines are loaded with green tomatoes and the squash are blooming. If by chance the world ends on Sunday, hopefully we will meet on the other side, and thank you to all those that helped support our efforts to be farmers. If not, see you next week! Our market hours are Friday and Saturday from noon until 4:00 PM. ( and yes, we have plenty of goat milk at this time). From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

MEAT LOAF????

He certainly filled up the freezer! The most delicious tacos were made for supper. Nice lean, grass and milk fed, this ground beef will be the best yet. Due to the increase in processing the price of the ground beef will now be $6.50 per pound. Comparing other farm raised beef prices, we are still less expensive than any in our area. The market will be open tomorrow, Friday, from noon until 4:00 PM , as well as Saturday, the same hours. Dairy, meat, honey, home canned items, as well as freshly baked breads and cookies. Come see us! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!                                                                                                                                                                          

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

A SMALL TASTE OF HEAVEN!!!

If ever there was an item that came from our farm store, made in the farm kitchen, that evoked a more diverse assortment of reactions than the delicacy made from vanilla beans, raw sugar and goat milk, it has not been made. Tasting Cajeta, or Dulce De Leche is an experience that will leave one speechless. The rich, smooth, creamy, caramel made from the sweet, creamy, milk inevitably will cause curiosity, surprise, nostalgia, a slight state of euphoria, followed by intense satisfaction. Your taste buds will be jubilant. Made small batches at a time, slowly and patiently this confection has little else that will rival its perfection. Whether it is poured over ice cream or waffles, covers an apple, flavors a cup of hot chocolate or coffee, or eaten right from the jar, it is well worth the splurge. Available in the farm
market, indulge yourself, you will not regret it. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Saturday, September 12, 2015

FROM FRUIT TO HAMBURGER!!!

What a glorious day..... sunny, slightly breezy, cooler, and just the right amount of customers visiting the store at a steady pace, making the day perfect! No produce for sale to speak of, have been doling out cucumbers and peppers as the cool weather has reactivated the plants. The cooler weather is motivational..... going to dig out the seed packets and make a plan. The latest obsession that has taken over the pantry, is the freeze drying machine. Fruit snacks are now available in the market, with on the spot fruit and nut oatmeal mixes, soups in a jar, and soon meats and vegetables. One customer said the freeze dried tropical mix with mango, kiwi, banana, pineapple, is like crack cocaine, you just want more, more, more! This next week will be a flurry of cleaning old beds, adding fresh compost, planting seeds, and  preparing for the arrival of next years strawberry starts. Time to order garlic. Decisions have to be made on what to replace the expired trees in the orchard with. The bull that was sent to the processor, should be ready any day now. His demise was his own doing, as it was determined that he was the reason our milk production was less and less, as the summer heat increased, we blamed the decrease in production too the excessive temperatures. Lo and behold one evening about dusk the Farmer took a little jaunt in the go buggy to the pasture to check on the animals and found a milk thief just sauntering from one cow to the next helping himself to their wares, and I am not talking about their lady parts on the back end, but the lady parts down under! That was entirely unacceptable. Once they taste the creamy bovine nectar, there is no turning back, his fate was sealed. On the upside, we will have wonderful milk and grass fed ground beef in the market. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

WHERE TO BEGIN????

Let's just say that the past few months have been a steady diet of patience, endurance, feast, famine, surprises, mysteries, joys, sorrows, with us shrugging our shoulders at the end of many a day and uttering, " well, we made it through in one piece!" Starting where we left off, just kicking off the strawberry season, the first couple of weeks of picking were stupendous. Lots of berries, both inside under the hoop house, and outside in the fields. Then came the rain, and then more rain, and then more after that. If someone would have said that a whole field of strawberries would mold and turn rotten in three days, OH POPPPYCOCK!!! would have been the reply on this end. Well it happened. While the strawberries were drowning, the blackberries were basking in the abundant rainfall, growing plump and black on the vines. So many berries that picking on the halves was an everyday occurrence. As there are several varieties, the season lasted a few weeks as the early varieties heralded the mid-season berries, which prepared the way for the later varieties. Berries were picked in the morning, during the day, and at night, sunshine and rain. And it continued to rain. For anyone that has grown fruit trees, it is a well known fact that peaches, pluots, plums, do not like wet feet. With fields saturated for days with nowhere for the water to go, our orchard suffered grave damage, as the roots of some of our younger trees rotted in the ground. Our helplessness turned to despair as we watched the tender young fruit and leaves shrivel on the branches and fall to the ground. Thankfully, some of the older trees, with deep established roots, withstood the effects of the water emersion. Needless to say, there will be several new peach trees planted this winter. As the rains also limited our vegetable planting, our CSA was short but sweet. If anyone goes boating on Lake Ray Roberts, be sure to take a swing around to the North east banks near Tioga. Most likely there you will find a huge garden with watermelons, cantaloupe, squash, corn, peas, beans, okra, seeds all washed from the farm, settling on the banks of the lake. What was with the incessant heat that enveloped us like a brick oven?  What little we had planted turned to powder in a matter of days. It was all we could do to keep the animals cool and hydrated. It was during this time that our summer crop of goat babies took the greatest hit. No matter how many fans and misters we kept on them, or how often we fed them bottles, the dead heat of the summer is no place for baby goats that are bred for the Swiss Alps. We suffered several fatalities. Bummer! Those that were hardy enough to survive the heat are thriving.  The Farmer finished his equipment building, allowing all of the farm equipment to be under cover, ensuring a longer and more productive lifespan. The market has had a good summer, despite the slight setbacks in crops. The self serve produce table was a huge hit again this year. There are plans for a fall crop of sorts. Will post what should be available to come. More updates will be shared in the coming days, as well as an announcement or two. Our market days are the same, Friday and Saturday from noon until 4:00 PM. Due to the hacking of our e-mail, we have a new address. For the life of me, who would want to hack into a homestead farm's mail? What top secret information do they think they will retrieve? How to compost goat poop? From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!!    New address randcdairy@hotmail.com
HERE WE ARE!!!! Summer time is nearly over, the farm has had a whirlwind of activity and new additions. We apologize for not keeping everyone in the loop, but now it is time to pay catch up!