Categories
Homesteading

Holiday Food with a Twist

Create your own Brussel Sprout and Cauliflower Gratin with Pine Nut-Breadcrumb Topping with help from Hobby Farms
Photo by Kate Savage

It’s about this time every year that, with a degree of wistfulness, I realize I’m just about sated on corn and tomatoes.  I’ve canned and frozen, picked and shucked for what seems like weeks, not to mention made and consumed all variations known to man of salsa, Greek Salad, Bolognese sauce, corn pudding, corn fritters and corn bread.  Every bite has been wonderful, this year I even traveled to Greece to eat my fill of Greek salad there! 

But by now I’m casting about for some alternatives as summer has run its course.  The ghosts, goblins and ghouls of Halloween have been dispatched for another year, and I am beginning to anticipate the other two events that make up the “triple treat” of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The robust vegetables of winter are now in season, and I am happy to see some of those rough-skinned old friends back on the shelves at the grocery.

Coming up with a menu for the holidays that isn’t so far flung from the traditional fare and yet has a different twist to it, is always a challenge.  Other holidays throughout the year offer more flexibility in their expected menus, but Thanksgiving and Christmas cannot be tinkered with!

A year-round favorite in my home is a really cheesy cauliflower casserole.  (A tip to keeping the cauliflower “bleach” white is adding some lemon juice to the water used for blanching.)  

I know this preparation will always meet with approval and applause, but in order to refashion it into a dish that steps up to the holiday requirements—a cauliflower cheese redux—I have redesigned the sauce and the topping and added another humble but much-loved vegetable, the brussel sprout.  

The finished product has sophistication and a slight international flair but at the same time, for those of us who love the cold-climate vegetables and our holiday food traditions, it satisfies all the basics.

Brussel Sprout and Cauliflower Gratin with Pine Nut-Breadcrumb Topping
Serves 10-12 people

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ lbs of brussel sprouts, trimmed, quartered lengthwise
  • 1 ½ lb head of cauliflower, trimmed into small florets
  • 2 ¾ cups of heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup chopped shallots
  • 1 T chopped fresh sage
  • 1 ½ T olive oil
  • ½ cup plain dry breadcrumbs
  • ½ cup pine nuts, light toasted
  • 2 T chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook brussel sprouts in boiling water for 2 minutes. Add cauliflower to the same pot and cook until both are crisp-tender. Drain. Refresh in iced water. Drain. Combine cream, shallots and sage in large saucepan. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, simmer until mixture is reduced to 2 ½ cups, 10 minutes. Season with salt.  Remove and cool.
Heat oil in skillet, add breadcrumbs and stir until browned. Stir in toasted pinenuts and parsley. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 casserole dish or equivalent. Arrange half of the vegetables in dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then 1 ½ cups of Parmesan. Arrange remaining vegetables evenly over, then sprinkle with remaining 1 ½ cup of Parmesan. Pour Cream evenly over.
Cover Gratin with foil and bake covered for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle breadcrumb topping over and bake uncovered 15 minutes.

Happy Holidays!

About the author: In addition to being a freelance writer, Kate Savage has owned and operated Bleu Ribbon Catering in Lexington, Ky., for over 25 years.  

Find more casserole recipes in Side Dishes

Categories
Homesteading

Celebrate National Cat Day

 

October 29th is National Cat Day
Photo by Cherie Langlois

According to the National Cat Day website, tomorrow—October 29—is (how did you guess?) National Cat Day. 

Founded by animal behaviorist Colleen Paige, this day is intended to increase public recognition of the many wonderful cats needing rescue, plus give us a special day to celebrate our own feline friends. 

The website cites a tragic statistic: each year some 4 million cats enter U.S. shelters.  These include strayed and abandoned pets, cats discarded because the family plans to move or can’t deal with a behavior issue, and litter upon litter of kittens. 

Around 1 to 2 million of these cats and kittens—many of which would make fabulous pets—will be euthanized.  Despite the plethora of no-kill rescues and shelters trying to place adoptable animals, there just isn’t space for them all. 

There are many things you can do to make a difference on National Cat Day
Photo by Kelsey Langlois

Here are some ideas for how to join in the celebration:

• If you have room in your farm home and heart for a purring companion, why not adopt a cat or kitten from a local shelter or rescue group (check out pet finder)? Most of my cats have been rescues, so I can vouch for the fact that saving a life feels awesome. 

What’s more, the adoption option is generally a bargain when compared to acquiring a so-called “free kitten” from the classifieds.  The rescue group I volunteer with, for example, ensures each kitten has been altered, tested for feline leukemia/AIDS, examined by a vet, given its first shots, de-flead, dewormed and microchipped—all for an $85 adoption fee that will help the group continue its work.      

• If, like me, you currently don’t have room for any more pets, consider helping these hardworking groups in another way, perhaps with a donation of money, pet supplies or your time as a volunteer or foster parent.  For the past three years, my daughter and I have had great fun fostering a never-ending procession of adorable kittens and cats in our large mud-room.  When we can, we also volunteer on adoption days.

• If you have an unaltered cat, do your part to save lives by making an appointment for kitty to get fixed ASAP.  Having financial difficulties?  Ask your vet or any local shelters/rescue groups if they know of low cost spay/neuter programs operating in your area.           

• Finally, don’t forget to bestow some special attention on your feline farm friends tomorrow.  I plan to give my trio of indoor cats, pair of outdoor feral cats, and two foster kittens a favorite treat: a little canned tuna.  

~ Cherie 

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Categories
News

Equine Industry Survey

AHP’s Equine Industry Survey is designed to gather information regarding the most important issues in the equine industry

Small farmers and hobby farmers who own horses are invited to participate in a survey conducted by the American Horse Publications before Jan. 15, 2010.

AHP’s Equine Industry Survey is designed to gauge participation trends in the U.S. equine industry. In addition, the survey seeks to gather information regarding the most important issues facing the industry.
 
Those eligible to participate in the survey are men and women, 18 years of age and older, who currently own, manage, or lease at least one horse and live in the United States. Dr. C. Jill Stowe, an assistant professor of agricultural economics at the University of Kentucky, is providing consulting services for data collection and analysis to the AHP.

The study is anonymous. No one, including members of the research team, will be able to associate information you give with responses. When the survey results are tallied, only aggregated results will be presented.

To take the survey, click here.

The survey is sponsored by Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health and Pfizer Animal Health, who are avid supporters of the horse industry.

AHP is a nonprofit association that promotes better understanding and communications within the equine publishing industry. Its members include equine-related publications, websites, professionals, students, organizations and businesses. AHP’s member publications, websites and newsletters reach 3 million people in the horse industry in the United States and around the world.

Categories
News

Michigan Amends State Animal Industry Act

HB 5127 ensures any covered animal the proper amount of space when tethered or confined 
Michigan HB5127 amends the state’s Animal Industry act to give covered animals, such as those in gestation stalls and battery cages, ample space.

The governor of Michigan recently signed a bill that will modify the state’s Animal Industry Act. The amendment, HB 5127 sponsored by Rep. Mike Simpson (D-Jackson), ensures any covered animal—that is, any gestating cow, calf raised for veal or egg-laying hen—the proper amount of space when tethered or confined.

“The language is performance oriented on what the animal ought to be able to do,” says Janice Swanson, director of Animal Welfare at Michigan State University’s Department of Animal Science. The bill states an animal must be able to lay down, stand up, fully extend its limbs and turn around freely.

The bill will not apply, however, to certain groups of farm animals. Those include covered animals used for research or veterinary purposes; being transported; shown at rodeos, fairs or similar exhibitions; being sent to slaughter under government regulations; or within seven days of a gestating sow’s expected date of giving birth.

Representatives from a number of farming organizations, including Michigan Allied Poultry Industries and Michigan Pork Producers Association, sat in on discussions of the bill’s content, with Jim Byrum of the Michigan Agro Business Association serving as mediator. As a result, there seems to be few qualms about what the bill means for the Michigan farming industry, Swanson says. 

“It will take some time to see how it plays out,” she says. “If you are not someone using the production equipment affected by the language of the bill, then you don’t have to worry about it.”

Farmers using gestation crates or stalls for sows or battery cages for hens will have 10 years from the bill’s enactment to comply with the regulations, and those using veal crates will have until Oct. 1, 2012. Swanson says it will be up to public scientists, such as her department at the MSU extension office, to look into what needs to be done to make these transitions happen. 

According to Simpson, chair of the House Agriculture Committee and the bill’s sponsor, these standards set an example for a national model.

“This plan strikes a reasonable balance between protecting the hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars generated by the Michigan agricultural industry and safeguarding the health and safety of millions of animals raised on Michigan farms,” he says.

Categories
Recipes

Brussel Sprout and Cauliflower Gratin with Pine Nut-Breadcrumb Topping

 

How to make Brussel Sprout and Cauliflower Gratin with Pine Nut-Breadcrumb Topping from Hobby Farms
Photo by Kate Savage

Serves 10-12 people

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ lbs of brussel sprouts, trimmed, quartered lengthwise
  • 1 ½ lb head of cauliflower, trimmed into small florets
  • 2 ¾ cups of heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup chopped shallots
  • 1 T chopped fresh sage
  • 1 ½ T olive oil
  • ½ cup plain dry breadcrumbs
  • ½ cup pine nuts, light toasted
  • 2 T chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook brussel sprouts in boiling water for 2 minutes. Add cauliflower to the same pot and cook until both are crisp-tender. Drain. Refresh in iced water. Drain.
Combine cream, shallots and sage in large saucepan. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, simmer until mixture is reduced to 2 ½ cups, 10 minutes. Season with salt.  Remove and cool. Heat oil in skillet, add breadcrumbs and stir until browned. Stir in toasted pinenuts and parsley.
Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 casserole dish or equivalent. Arrange half of the vegetables in dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then 1 ½ cups of Parmesan. Arrange remaining vegetables evenly over, then sprinkle with remaining 1 ½ cup of Parmesan. Pour Cream evenly over.
Cover Gratin with foil and bake covered for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle breadcrumb topping over and bake uncovered 15 minutes.

Recipe is from Holiday Food with a Twist by Kate Savage

Categories
Crops & Gardening

Horseradish and Millipedes

horseradish
allispossible.org.uk/Flickr

It’s just about horseradish harvesting time! Yummy! Most horseradish growers wait until the first frost kills the leaves, but I like to harvest earlier, not just because I’m almost finished with the last jar of prepared horseradish from last year’s crop. I also think that the shoots re-planted in fall grow better than those replanted in winter. Although the leaves don’t look anything similar, horseradish, Armoracia rusticana, is a relative of cabbage and broccoli and is native to Eastern Europe. Horseradish is a very common condiment in the cuisine of most northern European countries, southwestern Illinois produces 85 percent of the world’s commercially cultivated horseradish. There are a few horseradish growers in the hills around Umbria, but Italians, including my wife, aren’t generally big horseradish consumers.

Making prepared horseradish couldn’t be much easier. I dig up the roots and wash them off well, which is the hardest part. I separate out a few nice shoots to plant for next year’s crop and then throw the rest of the roots into the blender. I like my horseradish a bit chunky so I just chop the roots for a minute or so, but if I leave the blender running for longer I can produce a very creamy blend.  I mix a small amount of salt and vinegar into the horseradish slurry and then pour the mix into little jars that I have previously boiled.  I don’t use any fancy sealing, just the regular jar cap screwed on tightly.  The resultant jars of prepared horseradish can last for a whole year easily, and they don’t seem to ever attract any mold, even once they have been opened.

I should mention how spicy and gaseous the chopped horseradish in the blender is.  It makes chopped Cayenne peppers look tame by comparison. Lifting up the cover and smelling the mix is a very bad idea as the gas can burn one’s eyes, as I know from experience. Wives who do not like horseradish should definitely be away from home during horseradish preparation.

Martin Cooper/Flickr
Martin Cooper/Flickr

Today’s second photo is of a good looking millipede in the garden. Unlike centipedes that do bite sometimes, millipedes just secrete stinky compounds that can be poisonous. I remember some of the yellow spotted millipedes in the States emit a cyanide juice that can make people sick.

I don’t have trouble with either centipedes or millipedes in the garden and consider them helpful predators. I wasted a good quarter of an hour as I watched a millipede wander around my garden table while I photographed him. It was one of those moments when I marvel at how wonderful our whole biological system is and how many amazing creatures make up the mix.

Categories
Crops & Gardening

Olive Harvest

Most farmers choose to harvest their olives a different and unique way 
Photo by Rick Gush

The olive harvest has started, and all over in the hills around here people have unfurled their harvest nets and are collecting olives. The most common technique is to roll up the big plastic mesh nets and string them in-between the trees.  When I first saw all these nets, I thought they were perhaps some strange sort of hammock, but then when olive season rolled around, I saw the nets unfurled and I understood that leaving the rolled nets attached to the trees was just a time-saving device. This is, in part, because the olive harvest can last five months, from October to February.  Some people spread the nets and then just let the olives fall naturally, skimming off the collected olives two or three times during the long harvest. Those who are a bit less casual will lay the nets out on the ground, and then collect all the olives on the trees during one big harvest.  Some olives are beaten off the trees with long bamboo poles, and other olives are harvested by hand with ladders to climb up into the tree tops.

This year is an exceptionally small harvest for olives. Last year was a huge harvest and most everybody still has a lot of oil left over from last year, so they’re not crying too much.  Personally, the small harvest isn’t such great news. After the resounding success of my olive curing experiment last year, I was looking forward to curing 10 gallons or more of olives, but the places where I can usually find free olives to harvest are all empty this year. I may have to go help my friend Richard harvest his olives in order to justify mooching a sackfull of olives from him.

The nets used to catch the olives are a big time-saver
Photo by Rick Gush

I’m also having a hard time finding a source for some new gallon-sized, wide-mouth glass jars, which are perfect for curing olives. My compliment-winning olives last year were made by filling a big glass jar with olives and water and changing the water almost every day for about two months. I am a bit irregular in my method and didn’t change the water for days on end a few times, but that didn’t seem to matter. I sample tasted an olive or two every once in a while, and when the flesh seemed to have lost all the bitterness, which was almost two months after starting, I packed the olives in mildly salty water for a week and they were ready to eat. 

Most everybody just takes their olives to the frantoio (fran-toy-oh) where they are ground up and squeezed to make oil.  There are a dozen or more frantoios around here, and last year there were so many olives, it was difficult to schedule an appointment.  I heard about one friend who was thrilled to get an appointment at midnight. This year, things are different, and most of the farmers can just go to the frantoio without even scheduling an appointment.

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Categories
Recipes

Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pie

While our grandparents’ traditional holiday desserts of yule-log cakes, yeast breads with dried fruit and steamed puddings still grace many Christmas feasts, it’s probably safe to say that, today, pie is the quintessential holiday dessert in the United States. 

Ingredients  

  • 1 9-inch pie crust (unbaked) 

Filling  

  • 2 eggs  1/4 cup white sugar  
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar  
  • 1 (15- or 16-ounce) can pumpkin   
  • 1 tsp. maple extract  
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon  
  • 1/2 tsp. salt  
  • 1 1⁄2 cups evaporated milk  
  • 1/3 cup chopped pecans  
  • 1/3 cup raisins

Topping

  • 1 1⁄2 cups whipping cream  
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted or put through a sieve to remove lumps  
  • 1/2 tsp. maple extract  pecan halves

Preparation
Filling
Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Add pumpkin, maple extract, cinnamon and salt, and blend until smooth. Pour the milk in gradually, blending at low speed. Stir in pecans and raisins by hand. 

Pour into prepared pie crust. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature  to 350 degrees F, cover edges of crust with strips  of foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake  an additional 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Topping
Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and maple extract, and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread over cooled pie and refrigerate until serving time. Garnish individual servings with pecan halves.

Categories
Crops & Gardening

Turnips, Anyone?

Turnips are the unwanted crop of the year for Jessica's husband Photo by Jessica Walliser

I always end up with the same problem. I plant too many of the veggies my husband doesn’t like, and then I feel guilty when they go to waste. The garden is still full of beets and turnips. Probably his two least-liked veggies and I’ve got armloads. I love them, but even if I ate five of each of them everyday between now and Thanksgiving, I’d still have too many. But the carrots we all adore, well, I ran out of those three weeks ago.

Why I can’t figure out how to plant three times more carrots and ten times fewer turnips, I’ll never know. I haven’t been able to successfully freeze root veggies (any tips?) so there’s no help for me there, and I don’t like pickled beets so that preservation method is not an option. I have stored them in the basement in the past and that’s pretty successful, but we don’t really have room for that in this house, what with the giant canoe, two kayaks, three bikes, and bedroom furniture camped out in our basement. 

At some point, I usually start to pawn them off on friends. But, while non-gardening friends will pounce on tomatoes and even the occasional zucchini, I never seem to get any takers when I offer up beets and turnips. Obviously, they have never had them fresh from the garden (or they are taste-dysfunctional like my husband).

So I sometimes end up tossing them on the compost pile. While I do feel badly when I do this, I also know their “remains” will eventually go on to feed next year’s garden. It’s all part of the cycle of life in the garden, I know. Plus, it’s a good feeling when you spread homemade compost on the garden in the spring, even if you have to say a little prayer for last year’s fallen turnips as you dole it out. 

This year, though, I’ve decided to take a different route. I’m going to donate my “unwanted” beets and turnips to my local food pantry. I called and they take food donations of any amount and are extra thrilled when it’s something from the garden. My only hope is that the recipient enjoys eating them as much as I enjoyed growing them… even if there were a few too many.

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Categories
Equipment

Security Equipment

Masterlock's No. 15 lock is an inexpensive deterrent  
Masterlock’s No. 15

There was a time when it was safe to leave a rural door unlocked; sadly, that’s a thing of the past. Rural crime is on the rise, and it behooves country dwellers to prevent it as best we can.

Some of the best crime deterrents are the simplest and least expensive to implement. According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, here are some things you can do:  

• Have a dog or two in or near the house. Barking dogs deter thieves.

• Walk your yard with a critical eye, searching for places burglars might gain entry. Beef up security there. Trim back thief-concealing trees and shrubs. Install vandal-resistant outdoor lighting. Bathe the exterior of your home, driveway, barns and outbuildings in light at night.

• Ensure doors and windows are constructed of solid wood or metal and fitted with quality locks, including deadbolts on all exterior doors. Use the locks—always!

• Avoid inviting strangers into your home. Don’t indiscriminately hand out keys. Store valuables out of sight. Gun cabinets and high-end electronics in the living room invite thefts.

• Don’t leave your property at predictable times; vary your schedule if you can. When you’re gone, lock up and don’t leave notes on your door. Avoid hiding door keys; thieves know all the usual hiding places.

• Ask a trusted person to stay on your farm when you’re away for longer periods. Barring that, securely lock farm implements, tools and equipment in sheds; set up lights with household timers to reflect your normal living patterns; and ask neighbors to pick up your mail and keep an eye on things (and reciprocate when needed, of course).

• Erect strong, securely mounted gates on your driveway and other access roads to your property, and keep them shut. Install a driveway alarm. Post appropriate signage (“No Trespassing,” “Guard Dog on Duty” or “Alarms on Premises”).

• Lock vehicles; never leave keys in the ignition. Don’t leave money or valuables in plain sight. Secure truck toolboxes using quality padlocks. Use lock caps on motor-vehicle and farm-machinery gas tanks.

• Monitor livestock often. Ensure all are permanently marked, and maintain complete records. Photograph or shoot high-quality video of valuable animals.

• Form a neighborhood-watch committee—yes, even in the country—and put up signs. Work with your neighbors; become each others’ eyes and ears. Write down descriptions of strangers or strange vehicles, and be willing to call the police.

• Plan ahead. Consider security when designing new structures. Whenever possible, construct barns, sheds and storage facilities within sight of the house.

Field Tuff's AgSafe Wireless Camera Monitoring System 
Field Tuff’s AgSafe Wireless Camera Monitoring System

Lock It Up
The first line of protection for securing equipment, rural outbuildings and gates is quality padlocks, hasps, chains and cables. While a persistent thief can breach most any such arrangement, good setups will slow him down and possibly send him down the road seeking easier targets.

Choose all-weather padlocks for outdoor applications, and always choose locks with hardened shackles. (A shackle is the bowed top part of a padlock.) Heavy-duty, keyed padlocks with hardened shackles and five or more pin tumblers are difficult to cut through and to pick. However, a padlock is only as good as the hasp, chain or cable used in conjunction with it; hasps should always incorporate concealed hinges.

An array of sturdy Masterlock padlocks and hasps can be purchased at hardware and department stores. Among them is Masterlock’s No. 15 series of padlocks featuring laminated steel bodies, hardened boron alloy shanks for superior cut resistance, five-pin cylinders to help prevent picking, and dual-locking levers to provide extra pry resistance. Sargent & Greenleaf manufactures specialized padlocks designed for high-security applications and extreme weather resistance. Their Environmental Padlock series features strong, powdered-steel bodies with nickel plating inside and out to resist corrosion; self-cleaning locking cylinders; case-hardened or stainless-steel shackles; and a key-retaining feature that traps the key in the padlock when it’s unlocked. (No lost keys!)

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