CIDER, PUMPKINS, POPCORN... TREATS

We still have the perfect pumpkin waiting for your front porch.  Put some cider on the stove, pop some of our popcorn, and get out your carving tools.  It's time!

Our bins are bountiful from the fall harvest--gorgeous shallots, many potato varieties, colossal cabbage, carrots, beautiful beets and brussel sprouts, parsnips, turnips, tender greens including kale, sorrel, and swiss chard, garlic and onions --including lovely braids for your pantry.  

Remember our Rosemont Breads, bagels, and sweets; 

and Friday is cinnamon/raisin bread day!

Shallots

You just have to try these potatoes with a name like this!

Almost too great looking to eat

Look at the cabbage selection, wow!

Kale, Sorrel, Arugula, Mesclun... more.

Fresh Turkey Orders thru November 17 from Mainely Poultry in Warren.

Just in!  Paperwhites, hyacinth and amarylis to keep you in bloom as your garden fades.

Our cooler is filled with cold cider, organic milk, fresh eggs, a great selection of cheeses, and more!

Stop by to say hi to Martha and her pumpkin(s!)

Here's a great sauce to serve over grilled or cedar baked salmon:

First sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and top with the following mixture blended in food processor:

1/2 C pecans, 1 1/2 t. fresh tarragon and basil or 1/2 t. dried each, 1 T butter.

In small saucepan, combine 1/2 C packed sorrel (or spinnach), 2 T white wine, and 1 1/2 t. shallots.  Stir over medium heat until sorrel wilts.  Add 1 C cream and 1/2 t. fresh lime juice and boil until reduced to sauce consistemcy (approx.12 minutes).  Season w/white pepper.  Transfer sauce to blender.

Bake or grill salmon with nut mixture, transfer to plates, top w/sauce.

THE GREAT PUMPKIN... AND SQUASH...

Fall has arrived and our store is brimming with the harvest!  

It's time to light a fire in the woodstove, simmer some apples for applesauce, settle into a good book, a cup of tea, and a slice of warm pumpkin bread.  

What do you think? 

GREAT PUMPKINS -- ALL SHAPES, SIZES, FLAVORS... EVEN  COLORS!

Stop in to visit Sarah!  A Freeport native and Connecticut College grad, Sarah has joined Wealden Farm  to help expand the wholesale side of the business, Farm Fresh Connection.  She also lends a hand wherever needed--working at the farm store, contributing to the Wealden Farm Facebook page (friend us please), and working in the fields harvesting (she just came in when I shot this in the walk in cooler).  Notice the bags of recently harvested carrots piled nearly to her shoulders behind her!

Many varieties for discerning SQUASH LOVERS... DID YOU KNOW?--Squash was one of the Three Sisters planted by Native Americans The Three Sisters were the three main native crop plants: maize (corn), beans, and squash. These were usually planted together, with the cornstalk providing support for the climbing beans, and shade for the squash. The squash vines provided ground cover to limit weeds. Weeds can be detrimental to the growing conditions of the squash. The beans provided nitrogen fixing for all three crops.

My favorite is Cortland, but there are so many choices!  Local, fresh, delicious! 

PUMPKIN BREAD RECIPE
3 C sugar
1 C vegetable/canola oil
3 large eggs
1 3/4 fresh pumpkin (or 1 -16oz. can)
3 C flour
1 t. cloves
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup chocolate bits (optional, but go for it)
Butter & flour 2 loaf pans.  Beat sugar and oil to blend.  Mix in eggs and pumpkin.  Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder and stir into pumpkin mixture.  Add walnuts/bits.
Divide batter equally in two pans.  Bake approx. 1 hr (when tester in center comes out clean)
Cool on racks for 10 minutes then turn out of pans to cool completely.

Enjoy!
Your comments are always welcome!

SWEET POTATOES, SQUASH, LEEKS, APPLES, PUMPKINS... SOUP TIME!

The sweet potatoes are being harvested as you get this!  
Squash and apples of many varieties await you.  
The leeks are lovely.  
I'm thinking of soups...
Leek soup, squash soup, sweet potato soup... and great combinations like-- Sweet Potato and Apple Soup!

This sounds like one --from simplylifeblog.com

I haven't made this, but ordered  a soup with the same title at a cafe recently and it was delicious! 

Curried Sweet Potato & Apple Soup

Ingredients:

3 medium or 2 large sweet potatoes

2-3 tbs. olive oil (or butter)

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

Ginger, to taste

Curry, to taste

1/4 tsp. turmeric

Dash of coriander

Dash of cinnamon

Salt and pepper, to taste

2-3 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups applesauce

Directions:

1.  Peel and dice sweet potatoes.  Heat oil in large pan over medium heat and add onion and garlic.  Cook for about 4-5 minutes then stir in the ginger and seasonings and stir for about 1 minute.

2.  Mix in the diced sweet potatoes, chicken broth and water.  Cover the pot and bring soup to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat and bring soup to a simmer.  Stir in the applesauce, cover pot and simmer for about 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft.  

3.  Puree the soup with a blender or immersion blender, season with salt and pepper, serve and enjoy!

A customer and I tried this raw while I was shooting--g r e a t !

Laurie watering the mums of many hues.

Stones smoothed by the ebb and flow, gathered and drilled to create a necklace for you by Cat.
Come by to hold one in your hand and try one on.

DON'T FORGET YOUR PUMPKIN!

EMBRACING FALL

clear skies, SQUASH, cool air, APPLES, crackling fires in the woodstove, PUMPKINS, leaves floating to the ground, MUMS on the porch steps...

JUST IN--PIE PUMPKINS, DAZZLING MUMS, 

AND CARVING PUMPKINS GALORE

CERTIFIED ORGANIC GARLIC--several varieties from Martha's Dad, Albert Putnam of Fiddlehead Farm in New Limerick. I was intrigued by the variety "MUSIC GARLIC" so had to look it up...Music is a large, beautiful and well-formed porcelain garlic similar to Northern White. Its flavor is very rich and musky, strong and robust and sticks around for a while.(gourmetgarlicgardens.com)

PEARS, APPLES, 

STRAWBERRIES...get jammin'!  OR

as Jenny's daughter Piper said, "Can we make

Apple Crispy?"  That is the way I'm saying it

from now on!

G U O R D S 

SQUASH in many sizes, shapes, 

and flavors. The easiest way to cook (and

I think most flavorful)--

cut in half, scoop out the seeds, 

place on a baking tray with about 1/4" 

water.  I like to add a dot of butter and either

sprinkle brown sugar or drizzle maple syrup 

over.  Bake 400º for about an hour (depending

on squash size) loosely topped

with foil.

POPCORN and CIDER after school!

CABBAGE

My Mom used to make a beautiful boiled dinner when we 

harvested the garden in the fall.  It was a display of everything

on one huge platter--just cook your beets separately

or the whole platter will be a deep burgundy hue!

MITTENS, HATS, SCARVES... hand knit by Nita of Littleton (the county!)
My grandmother knit a new pair of mittens for me, my siblings, and cousins each Christmas and I can attest to their warmth, even when soaked with snowman snow or during late night sledding.  After a winter's wear and being hung next to the woodstove to dry day after day, they resembled boiled wool --smooth and soft and even warmer because all the small spaces between the stitches would be closed.  

SEE YOU ON THE HILL-- our carved pumpkin display is coming soon!

PERFECTLY PLUMP PEACHES, PEARS, APPLES, APPLES

Sister Cat's lush peach tree next door.

The peach tree (Prunus persica) is a species of Prunus native to China that bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach.  (Wikipedia)

How beautiful!  I just happened to wander over to take a photo of the peach tree and, voila!, Cat had peach tarts just coming out of the oven...  mmmmm.

While I enjoyed a piece of zucchini bread and a cup of tea, Cat showed me the peach and blueberry preserves in her pantry... are you inspired yet?

Just picked, YES, it is apple season!! 

Pear slices with cheddar perhaps... or a pear tart?!

Compliments from our cooler.

Say no more!

Roasted peppers, oooo la la, great in hummus too.

My grandmother's winter pantry was a feast for your eyes... mason jars of bold color!  Tomatoes, bread and butter pickles, green beans, applesauce, AND pickled beats lined the shelves-- winter treasures. 

Keeping a few jugs in the freezer is always a good thing.

TOMATO TIP FROM MARTHA:  slice tomatoes, salt, and bake in a 300º oven for 3 hours.  Pour off excess sauce and use in your favorite beverage or recipe.  What's left is a tray of sweet roasted tomatoes to puree for a pasta sauce or toss in wherever you would like tomatoes.  They can be frozen, ready for you all winter!

CORN FUN FACT FROM MARTHA:  There is a strand of silk for every kernal.  

And the eggplant is not just another pretty "nightshade" vegetable.

I overheard a customer say it was the best corn she had ever had!

CARROTS, CORN, CANTELOPE, CAULIFLOWER... THE C'S ARE SCRUMPTIOUS!

Cameron in the late afternoon light.

Jason, Hannah, and Cameron and tender carrot, carrots, carrots.

John says the Chantenay Carrots are what chefs prefer!  These carrots are what carrots are supposed to taste like--sweet and crunchy, no bitterness. As with many heirloom vegetables, they are not always uniform in size--they have personality!  I hear people say once you've had chantenay's, you will eat no other. 

Thinning, harvesting, giving them the room they deserve!

Heirloom tomatoes maturing on the vines.  

in case you were wondering...

"heir-loom [air-loom] -noun 1. A valued possession passed down in a family through succeeding generations. [...] 3. A cultivar of a vegetable or fruit that is open-pollinated and is not grown widely for commercial purposes. An heirloom often exhibits a distinctive characteristic such as superior flavor or unusual coloration." --American Heritage Dictionary

The heirloom tomato is packed with antioxidants and vitamins, more nutritious, flavorful and juicy than a hybrid.  It's skin is more tender and, like the chanteray carrot, it is not always perfectly shaped--it too has personality!  We allow them to ripen on the vine so you are getting the freshest, most flavorful tomato possible.

This is the view along the tote road on the way to our gardens--the lovely light of late August peering through.

It has now been two nights in a row for me for this delicate, sweet treat.

Fresh cantelope with fresh blueberries, a wonderful beginning to a summer day!

Why even cook these members of the "cole/cruciferae" family?!  Get your crunch and your vitamin C pure and simple.
But I do have a favorite recipe for cauliflower, perfect for a blustery hurricane eve.  It's adapted from Julie Jordan's "Cabbagetown Cafe" cookbook, 
CAULIFLOWER CURRY
1/4 C oil
2 t. black mustard seeds
1/4 t. asafetida
1 t. turmeric
1/2 C dried unsweetened or grated fresh coconut
1 fresh hot pepper, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2" piece ginger, finely chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 quart tomatoes or 6-8 fresh, chopped
2 t. salt
1 t. molasses
1 T ground cumin
1 T ground coriander
1 head cauliflower, cut in bite size pieces
1 C water (i use less or none)
2 green peppers, chopped seeds and all  

In a soup pot, heat the oil until a mustard seed sizzles when dropped.  Pour in the mustard seeds and cook until they pop.  Lower the heat and stir frequently do you don't burn any seeds. Stir in the asafetida, then turmeric, then coconut.  Add hot pepper, then garlic and ginger.  Cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently--no sticking.  If needed, add more oil.
Add onions, stir and cook. for 10 minutes.  Add crushed/chopped tomatoes with salt, molasses, cumin, coriander.  Add califlower and water (if needed), cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add peppers.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Taste, adjust seasonings, enjoy served on rice!

Remember, our bins of oats, beans, and flour--wholesome goodness.

Black and blue berries with cream, on granola, in jam.....