Country Neighbors Farm......

Join me as I visit Country Neighbors Farm with my kids! 

Country Neighbors Farm can be found just outside of Fayette and it felt like going home to me. My Grandma who recently passed away raised sheep and I grew up loving visiting Grandmas house and going out to see the sheep especially the babies. So I asked Laura, owner of Country Neighbors Farm if it would be alright if my kids joined me on the farm visit. She agreed and so I got to visit an amazing farm, relive childhood memories and make memories with my kids! 

Country Neighbors Farm is home to chickens, turkeys, lambs, cattle and pigs. Lots of very happy animals. We got to check out the chickens and sheep on our visit. Turkeys were coming shortly after our visit so we didn't get to see them, but got to check out their homes. C.J. and Lily wanted to visit the chickens first so we headed across the pasture. 

As we were walking to see the chickens Lily says, "Kiersten it stinks a little." I replied by saying that when I was a little girl my Dad used to say it smells like money when I said it was stinky. She looks at me like I had lost my mind and without missing a beat says, "So farmers make money on stink?" That girl cracks me up and she had Laura laughing, too with that comment! She quickly forgot all about the smell as they looked at chickens.

The chickens are confined in open air homes that are moved daily so they are always on fresh grass. The chickens are watched over by Sadie, who after a bit of shyness was ready to play! C.J. would run across the field and Sadie had so much fun running with him! 

It was a sight to see all those mamas and 50-60 babies try to hide from us in the grass. The kids quickly figured out if 

they were quiet the babies would let them get close enough to pet them for a minute. Then we got to meet a very special little lamb that was not being cared for by his mama and Laura was trying to get a new Mama to take 

care of him. The kids decided that his name should be Willy, well Lily decided and C.J. agreed! She named him Willy because that is how she used to say her name when she was little.....she told Laura the whole story. They got to pet him and really wanted to bring him home. I have to admit I  wanted to bring him home, too! I grew up with a barn lot full of babies that we bottle fed when the mamas wouldn't or couldn't take care of them. We were all excited to hear that his adopted Mama was feeding him though the next day. Country Neighbors is a great place full of happy animals! Laura has a beautiful sustainable farm. Stop by the market on Tuesday and visit with Laura...she has delicious meat and great stories! 

What a great way to spend the afternoon....making memories with my kids! 

  

Broccoli hits the spot.....

Over the last couple markets I have accumulated some delicious broccoli! I enjoy broccoli raw as a snack or part of my lunch at work, but I needed a side dish to take to a potluck dinner tonight so I made this very simple salad! I didn't come home with any so I am guessing everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did!!!!

Farm Fresh Broccoli Salad 

4 small heads of broccoli
      (from the Farmers Market)
5 slices of bacon (cooked very crisp so it will crumble easily)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 onion chopped finely

Dressing
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup sugar
1/8 cup mayonaise
garlic salt and pepper to taste

Combine the broccoli, crumbled bacon, chopped onion and cranberries in a large bowl. Stir in dressing.  Chill for at least one hour. I know I will be making this again for gatherings and for dinners at home!

Delicious!

The summer market is in full swing and I can only think of one word to describe it....delicious! Everything that I bring home each week is so good. If you love fresh salads you need to get to the market. There is a wide variety of lettuces and cabbages that make great salads. I love to top my salads with fruit and feta cheese, but you could also make it a meal by topping your salad with grilled chicken or steak. This morning I have enjoyed three seed bread from Nitty Gritty Dirt Farm and blueberries from Sandy Creek Farm! Yum! You can also find great things at the market like jewelry, soaps, plants, and so much more!!!! I love the soap from both Nitty Gritty Dirt Farm and PureTouch Essentials Soap. These are great for everyday use or make excellent gifts!

Come take a look at Elmtree Farm...

I was very excited to visit Elmtree Farm and get to spend some time with Gene and Janet Nuse. They started off the visit by showing me their beautiful home and visiting about their farm. I know this was a farm visit but I have to take a minute to tell you about their home. First it is gorgeous inside and out, but more important it is very environmentally friendly from its mud and straw filled walls to the natural flooring and its all around construction. They also have solar panels and geothermal heating! I will get back to talking about the farm but visit with Gene and Janet about some of the techniques they used at the next market. I know I got some ideas for when we build!

Elmtree Farm is designed to be a demonstration farm to showcase a variety of farming techniques. Gene is the gardener of the family and has a lot of great ideas and plans for the farm. I am excited to see it grow. This year you will find a wide variety at their table during market. Elmtree Farm features farm fresh free range brown eggs, cut flowers, vegetables including; chinese cabbage, squash, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, turnips, beets, variety of lettuces, potatoes and sweet potatoes. They are also raising American Milking Devon Cattle and potentially will have beef to sell in a couple years at the market. They discussed making herbal vinegars and bring those to market, too! I really enjoy all of their cabbages, eggs and lettuce. I am looking forward to trying out all the other yummy vegies as the summer season progresses!!!! 

After checking out the produce we went into the barn to take a peek at the baby chicks! These little guys were a little camera shy when I went back to snap some photos, but I got a few of them! 

I learned so much on my visit to Elmtree Farm. I love getting to know the vendors better and seeing where my food is coming from on each visit.

The variety at market is amazing...

This summer market is off to a very hot start and I am not talking temperatures folks! The vendors are amazing and have booths full of delicious foods. Here is what I came home with tonight: 

• Canna Lily bulbs and Soap from SunStew 
• Lettuce and Endive from Elmtree Farm
• Lettuce and Jalapeno jelly from Sullivan Farm 
• Chicken from Country Neighbors Farm (I got two last week so I am listing one here!) 
• Broccoli from Shelly Appel
• Soaps from PureTouch Essentials Soap
• Feta and Osage Orange cheese from With The Wild Farm 
• Rainier and Lapins Cherries and Blueberries from Sandy Creek Farm 
• Peas and Eggs from Blue Bell Farm
• Nitty Gritty Dirt Farm sold out of Three Seed Bread before I could get some to add to my basket! 

Whew! And that is just a sampling of what the vendors have weekly at our market. I know I just brought it all home tonight, but I have already enjoyed a salad with my lettuces (I mixed them together), snacked on my peas during the market and enjoyed cherries and blueberries for dessert! Oh, I also had to have a little taste of the Osage Orange cheese....delicious!!!!! Our farmers are amazing growers and amazing people! I promise to post pictures of the markets later this week! 

Look what I brought home from last weeks market...

Since it is already Tuesday and I have pictures of this weeks market to post soon, I am keeping this blog simple! Check out all of the yummy foods we have been eating this past week. As you will notice someone got into the cinnamon rolls from Tea Time Bakery before I could even take a picture! 

I will share one quick recipe. I didn't know what the best way to cook Bok Choy was when I brought it home so I did a quick google search and found out that it can be cooked on the grill. It sounded delicious and so I took their idea and ran with it! Check out the end of this blog for the recipe! 

Grilled Bok Choy: 

1 head of bok choy (Elmtree Farm)

1/4 cup melted butter

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Clean the bok choy and section it. Lay the sections flat on a pan. Mix the butter with salt and pepper. Use a brush to apply the butter to the entire piece of bok choy. Then place buttered side on the grill. Butter the other side and let cook on low/med heat for about 3 minutes per side. The leaves get crispy and the stem stays nice a crunchy! This is a perfect side dish for any dinner with your family! 

Life happens.....

I was so excited to tell you all about all the yummy food we were going to enjoy from the Farmers Market this past Tuesday, but then my refrigerator decided this past week would be a good time to break down. So all my delicious cabbages, lettuces, and cheeses were ruined. We were able to enjoy some tortilla chips from Sullivan Farms and eggs from Elmtree and Blue Bell Farm! Here is what I was going to make with my chinese cabbages from Elmtree Farm:

Homemade eggrolls

1 lb pork burger or sausage
2 heads of cabbage (any variety)
shredded carrots to taste
garlic to taste
soy sauce to taste

1 package of eggroll wrappers
1 egg

Brown your burger or sausage and drain. Add shredded cabbage, carrots and garlic and cook until cabbage and carrot have cooked down and are just slightly crunchy. Add soy sauce to taste as it is cooking down.

Whisk one egg with a little water. Using your finger line the outside of the eggroll wrapper with the egg mixture and then place 2 tbsp of pork mixture into eggroll and wrap it up. (Instructions for wrapping are on the package)

Note: I take the leftover pork mixture, add the egg and 1 serving of cooked rice to make fried rice to go with our eggrolls.

I know this is not the healthiest choice for dinner, but every once in awhile my family enjoys homemade chinese takeout. It usually only costs around $15-$20 to feed our family of four!

The good news is the fridge is fixed, spotlessly clean and after it finishes defrosting completely we will be good to go for this week at the market. Come out and see all of our vendors tomorrow night!