Wednesday, December 11, 2013

YULETIDE CHEER

There's something about balsam fir -- that delicious smell that wraps its arms around you with warm memories of Christmastime.  
Some tidbits from history.com. -- celebrate with greens...
Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.
In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.

FEASTING DURING THE WINTER MONTHS
We are going to remain open all year to provide you with healthy, local foods.  Currently, our bins are brimming with garlic, onions, squash, pumpkin, popcorn, apples, carrots (including our Chantenay--roast on high to caramelize), lettuce, mesclun, sweet, chef and Australean fingerling potatoes, beets, and more. 
If you’re baking – we have oats, flour, honey, maple sugar, eggs, and dairy!

GIFTS TOO-----------------------------------------------

--pamper yourself or give a nurturing present-
Putnam's Magic Cream is made right here at the farm by Martha using purely organic ingredients, including her own calendula.  William Owen will testify that it makes you feel good (and loved) all over!
--lovely essences that can lift your spirits--
tuck in a stocking, thank a host, suds up every morning to start your day!
--hand knit by a "county" friend--
stay warm and feel luxurious.  nothing can compare to building a snowman with hand knit mittens, hanging them by the stove to dry, and curling up with a cup of hot chocolate in your favorite chair.


--dogs deserve wholesome treats too--
 Our local Barkery Bakery next door in Brunswick knows how much we love our pets!

 --are you looking for the perfect elegant drink to serve on New Year's Eve?--
Featuring healthy Maine grown goodies in fun and festive cocktails.
 --our NEW addition to the cooler--
Swallowtail Farm yogurts and cheeses, heavenly just like their label!

--NEW to our store--
organic cashews, pecans, and walnuts and our own Freeport Coffee Roasters coffee

 --REMEMBER--

•OUR GREAT STANDARD BAKING BREADS, INCLUDING FRI, SAT, SUN CROISSANTS (chocolate and plain) AND THE INCREDIBLE STICKY BUNS.

•ALSO JENNIE'S GRANOLA, TOLL HOUSE COOKIES AND DUTCH CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

•HOME MADE JAMS & JELLIES

•AND IN THE FREEZER, OUR CHICKEN, PORK, BEEF, INCLUDING 
DELICIOUS BREAKFAST AND ITALIAN SAUSAGES

Wishing you a happy, healthy new year with thanks for supporting local food, family, and farms!
Martha+, John, William Owen, and Pako 

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

TURKEYS ON THE HILL


WILD TURKEYS TAKE FLIGHT
TIME TO GATHER, TIME TO GIVE THANKS, TIME TO ORDER YOUR TURKEY
fresh, natural, local
ORDER BY FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22, PICK UP TUES/WED NOV 26/27
12-15LBS • 16-20LBS * 20+LBS  $20.deposit

WE HAVE BULBS at the store!!  Paperwhites in time for your Thanksgiving table, tulips, daffodils, crocus to greet you next spring.

FRESH ORGANIC  ( b e a u t i f u l )  CRANBERRIES are here!  Remember to toss them in salads and more for a zing of flavor, crunch, and color too.  They are delicious (and pretty) chopped in guacamole, served chopped in your cranberry cosmopolitan, in your morning yogurt.  See the recipe below for salad!

Martha took you on a tour of the store last year and we pulled it up from the archives to show you again!  She did a fabulous job AND we have almost all the same offerings this year (except the turnip) so ENJOY!

NEW to the farm store, Martha's energy bars are packed with nutritious energy.  Martha (a different one) also lives in Freeport and believes in using the finest ingredients.  Eat well, eat local, stay energized!

When it gets dark at 4:30, the desire to bake is high at our house. We got some gorgeous pears at the store that are absolutely luscious in a pear tart with an almond crust.  mmmm 

It's always great to hear from customers about their creations from foods at the farm.  I received the photo above with the attached note from Katrina this week (it does look 'delish')!

"I decided that for supper I would make the frittata I had just seen @Smitten Kitchen on FB: potato and broccolini frittata. 

Stopped by Wealden on my way home and got broccoli, fingerling potatoes and eggs. Also made a salad with my lettuce and Wealden pears and last of the Wealden strawberries and a few other things. Delish".  

WREATHS can be inviting almost anytime of year!  We'll have greens, wreaths, trees a plenty soon and look forward to seeing you when you select your annual Christmas tree (or a purple cabbage).  

We are grateful for your business!

**********************************************************
KALE SALAD WITH CRANBERRY VINAIGRETTE
fine cooking
1/2 cup cranberries
1 naval orange
2T red wine vinegar
1 T honey
4 T olive oill
2 t fresh ginger
5 C trimmed and coarsely chopped kale
salt & pepper
Finely chop cranberries. Dice the orange. Whisk vinegar and honey, slowly whisking in olive oil then Ginger. Toss kale, cranberries and orange in dressing. Let stand 15 minutes to 1 hour before serving.



Monday, October 21, 2013

FUN FAMILY FALL FESTIVE haLLoWeen FARM PARTY


THAT'S RIGHT, THE COZY FARMSTAND WILL BE FULL OF FUN ON HALLOWEEN!
3pm-6:30pm
Oct 31ST
hot cider, games for the kids, face painting, treats for the kids, parent's games, and 
fun fun fun !  
We look forward to seeing you on the hill.

APPLES! FRESH AND CRISP AND JUICY AND
we're sure to have your favorite kind 
for pies, sauce, crisp, bread, cake, pancakes, candied, bobbing... just to pick up and eat. mmmmm!   


This is it!  KALE TO LOVE!  
RED KALE (or any really)
chopped up with freshly diced garlic and some toasted sesame seeds.
mix fresh lemon juice with tamari sauce and olive oil 
and you have kale that you love
AND IT LOVES YOU BACK.

Have you noticed?  Neighbor Jennie has a new offering!  In addition to her famous toll house cookie and vanilla scented granola, she now has a "dutch chocolate brownie"-- not too caky, not pure fudge, the perfect in between.   And if you haven't experienced a dutch processed cocoa brownie, you are in for a  t r e a t .


OK, this isn't fair--showing you two sweets in one blog!  But this one is like having fall walk into your house.  The smell of pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg (*recipe http://wealdenfarm.blogspot.com/search?q=pumpkin+bread) wafting from the oven is so comforting.  Light a fire in the fireplace, get out your latest book or knitting or writing material, pour a cup of tea and wholeheartedly
WELCOME FALL!

----------------------------------------------------------
We hope to see you on the 31st right here on the hill!




  



Monday, July 29, 2013

GRILLED VEGGIES, FRESH BERRY PIES, IT'S SUMMERTIME !


HIGH BUSH, LOW BUSH "no spray" blueberries, outrageously delicious, magnificently nutritious and my favorite in pies, rasberries!
SUGAR AND GOLD scrumptious local corn is here!  You can grill corn in the husk, in foil, or directly on the grill (with a watchful eye). 
If in foil, add a dab of butter, seasoning, maybe even onion, herbs... go for it!   
TIMING
in foil or husk= rotate every 5-10 minutes, cook for 15-20
bare= spray or rub with oil, seasoning, turn ofen for approx 10 minutes. 
The kernals will carmelize, looking and tasting delicious!  Be careful not to overcook.
 WEALDEN'S own tender beet greens are plentiful and perfect right now. I simmered some last eve, then drained and added a nice red wine vinegar, salt & pepper.   It was the perfect compliment to the fingerling potatoes!
 Ohhh, a fresh carrot--far superior to the stored, bagged carrot on the supermarket shelf! Treat yourself.  I can't make it to the car without munching on one of these.
 IN A SALAD, JUICED, PICKLED, PLAIN, A CUKE shouts out SUMMER. Yum!
 YELLOW AND GREEN, sit on your porch with your Grandpa and snap off the ends (sneaking a raw one now and then), then cook, but don't overcook these tasty beans.

 Mollie Katzen seems to work magic into many of her recipes and this is a perfect example.  Who wouldn't want to eat a tree from a forest in a field of cheesy, herbed rice?  Children love it, we all love it.
**recipe below from THE ENCHANTED BROCCOLI FOREST cookbook.
 MELT IN YOUR MOUTH toll house cookies made by neighbor, cook, and famous local caterer Jennie Gwilym. <www.cateringtoyoufreeportme.com> Jennie tries to keep our basket brimming, but it's a challenge!  Do you know the Toll House Cookie history?  I had never really thought about it... until today.
Here goes (inventors.about.com)

Ruth Graves Wakefield graduated from the Framingham State Normal School Department of Household Arts in 1924. She worked as a dietitian and lectured on food, until, together with her husband she bought a tourist lodge named the Toll House Inn.
Ruth Wakefield prepared the recipes for the meals served to the guests at the Inn and gained local notoriety for her deserts. One of her favorite recipes was for Butter Drop Do cookies. The recipe called for the use of baker's chocolate and one day Ruth found herself without the needed ingredient. She substituted a semi-sweet chocolate bar cut up into bits. However, unlike the baker's chocolate the chopped up chocolate bar did not melt completely, the small pieces only softened.  

As it so happened the chocolate bar had been a gift from Andrew Nestle of the Nestle Chocolate Company. As the Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe became popular, sales of Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate bar increased. Andrew Nestle and Ruth Wakefield struck a deal. Nestle would print the Toll House Cookie recipe on its packaging and Ruth Wakefield would have a lifetime supply of Nestle chocolate.
OUR ANNUAL AND PERRENIEL FLOWERS ARE ALL ON SALE!  Color brings joy and joy is contageous.  Spread a little around your yard, your flower beds and enjoy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
**THE ENCHANTED BROCCOLI FOREST
Mollie Katzen
2 cups brown or white rice
1 pound fresh broccoli
1 tablespoon butter or canola oil (plus a little extra for the pan)
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill (or 2 teaspoons dried)
3 tablespoons fresh mint (or 3 teaspoons dried)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
pepper to taste
cayenne to taste
Options:
-1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds
-1/4 pound Swiss or cheddar cheese, grated
-a little extra butter for the top
-Trim the tough bottoms from the broccoli stalks and cut the tops into smallish spears of whatever size suits you.
Preheat oven to 325° F.

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan. Melt the butter or heat the oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onion and salt and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the onion begins to soften. Add the garlic and the lemon juice and saute for about 2 minutes longer. Stir in the rice, some black pepper and cayenne to taste along with the optional ingredients. Taste to correct salt, if necessary, and spread in the prepared pan.

Now the fun part. Arrange the broccoli upright in the rice, and, if desired, drizzle with melted butter. Cover loosely with foil and bake just until heated through (15 -20 minutes). Serve right away.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

RHU"BARBIE" ASPARA"GUS" "TOM"ATOES

SOME FUNNY THINGS GOING ON AT THE FARM, PERHAPS BECAUSE OF THE MOON?
You never know, you might just see "rhuBARBIE". She tiptoes through the stalks and the leaves protect her from the harsh sunlight.

HERE'S WHAT'S AVAILABLE TODAY FROM THE FRESH HARVEST SIDE OF THINGS:
seedlings
fiddleheads
spring ramps
asparagus
tomatoes
cukes
radish 
boc choi
arugula organic
potatoes
chives
spring salad mix
spinnach
kale red/green  
Our farm store manager Laurie has things arranged "just so" for you to breeze by after work or on your way.  We are now open 8-8!
The variety of hearty, healthy seedlings is better than ever! We use the finest soils and seaweed fertilizers, never miracle growing products.  Our many flower varieties this year will give your garden luscious color and aroma all summer long!  Our hanging baskets are also more unique this year, several hues and striking combinations.
My grandparents always maintained a meticulous and huge garden and tiny apple orchard in their backyard (even though their white farmhouse with attached barn was "in town".  My grandmother Anna and I would pick flower bouquets and dinner ingredients, harvest some rhubarb for pie and then each munch on a stalk on our way back to the house.  We would watch each other's faces wince from the tartness and then burst into giggles!

Wealden hens are happy roaving hens and therefore 
their eggs have a bold color and rich flavor which will make you happy.

Cabot Cheddar from Vermont, nothing finer.  A cabernet, baguette (available daily at Wealden), cabot cheddar, a short hike along wolfe's neck shore (trails nearby), and you'll have a lovely picnic. 

we always welcome your recipes, stories, feedback.
CALL BEFORE COMING IF YOU WANT TO BE SURE WE STILL HAVE WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR!  
865-6640 
like us on facebook (we recently had 1000 views, wow!)
visit our site too:  http://www.wealdenfarm.com/

Thursday, May 9, 2013

FIDDLE DEE DEE FIDDLE DEE DUM, MOM'S DAY, ASPARAGUS TOO...

 MARSH MARIGOLD time in the wild...
FLOWERING BASKET Time At The Farm
Just in Time for MOTHER's DAY! 

TENDER, SWEET,  FIDDLEHEADS JUST IN!
Marinated Grilled Chicken (from our frozen foods), Potato Salad With Our Fresh Eggs, Mint and Chives, Red Russian Kale (just harvested)...
Your MOM will be thrilled to come for dinner. 

YES, bAcK by popular demand!  AND CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS this year too.
Maybe Mother's Day brunch?

The Heartiest, Healthiest Seedlings can be found right here!

When you try Bisson's own Dairy Butter from Topsham, you'll never go back to far away butter again.

Steamed, warm with lemon butter or Al Dente with a sesame seed vinegrette;
it's SUMMERtime!


CALL 865-6640 WITH ANY QUESTIONS.  WE'RE OPEN DAILY 8-8.
OUR 2013 SEASON HAS BEGUN
and we look forward to seeing you on the hill
all summer long! 




Monday, April 1, 2013

WELCOME SPRING!

WHILE THE BIRDS SING, BUDS SWELL,
STREAMS FLOW TO MEET THE HARRASEEKET, 
AND THE SEEDLINGS THRIVE
IN THE
WARMTH AND HUMDITY OF THE GREENHOUSES,
SPRING IS ARRIVING AT WEALDEN!

TENDER LETTUCE LEAVES

WILLIAM HARVESTING SPRING PARSNIPS FOR YOU!

 COME BY TOMORROW 10-6PM, THE FARM STORE WILL BE OPEN!

 AND WE WILL BE OPEN FOR THE SEASON IN EARLY MAY.  
Warmth, vibrant hues, fresh healthy foods on their way.

THERE'S STILL TIME TO
JOIN OUR CSA


Tomorrow, we'll have fresh local gorgeous greenhouse tomatoes and greens on hand along with other natural delicious favorites-- root vegetables, chicken, chicken pies, beef, cheeses, eggs, more!