Farming

Three Not So Little Pigs

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These are our Yorkshire pigs at around 16 weeks old enjoying a treat of some lettuce and kale. It’s hard to say how much they weigh, but to give you an idea of their size, these transport boxes they’re standing in are 5 feet long and 4 feet high.

(Don’t worry, these are just transport boxes.. They have a nice big swath of woods out back surrounded with electric fence to root around in.)

Their diet is 95% grain and forage so they are solid and dense, with very little fat. Hope they still fit in these boxes 8 weeks from now!

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Recipes, Vegan

Cranberry Walnut Kale Salad Recipe

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cranberry walnut kale salad

The kale harvest is well underway at Mercy Hill Farm and we’ve got lots of it! It’s available for sale inside our barn and there are SO many ways to enjoy it. Here’s a simple salad I made yesterday for lunch:

Cranberry Walnut Kale Salad Recipe

(makes one large serving or two side servings)

  • 5 or 6 large kale leaves
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries diced
  • 1/4 cup raw walnuts coarsely chopped

Massaging Your Kale

(this process makes it much tender and tastier in salads)

To prepare the kale, rinse the leaves

massaging kale vigorously under cold water. Discard the thick main stem and cut the leaves into 1″ pieces. Place the leaves in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with about a teaspoon of salt. Massage the kale in your hands for about 2 minutes, or until the kale looks like wet seaweed. Fill the bowl with water enough to completely cover the kale. Swish it around for a minute and then remove the kale to a plate. Empty and rinse the bowl thoroughly to remove the salt. Repeat the process at least once to ensure the salt is gone from the kale, and then move the kale to a colander to drain any excess water off. Then your kale is ready to eat as a delicious salad green packed with raw nutrients and fiber!

Honey Dijon Dressing:

This simple dressing is my go-to most days.

(makes 5-6 servings)

  • 6 tbsns cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsns dijon
  • 3 tbpn extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp raw honey (2 1/2 tspns sugar for vegan)
  • 1/2 tspn salt and pepper each

Add all ingredients to a small jar, put a lid on it and shake.

If you have not tried eating kale this way, you really owe it to yourself to give it a try.

kale for sale

Gluten Free, Recipes

Garlic Scape Pesto Pizza

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Early summer in New England yields a  

 bumper crop of fragrant garlic goodness – the garlic scape. Garlic plants put up these curly flower buds which get trimmed in order to have more energy go into the bulb rather than to a flower top.

We’ve discovered a great way to enjoy garlic scapes: pesto!   

  This great spin on traditional basil based pesto is a garlic lover’s dream. The recipe (credit to epicurious.com) suggests the pesto as a pasta topping, but we decided to try it first as a pizza topping. 

 
This gluten free pizza has garlic scape pesto, asparagus threads, smoked chicken and vermont cheddar: a perfectly balanced mix of accents and textures.

Thanks to Sidewalkfarms.com for posting their pesto pic on Instagram. Thanks to epicurious.com for the original recipe!

Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe

  • 10 large garlic scapes
  • 1/3 cup unsalted pistachios
  • 1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Make the pesto: Puree the garlic scapes, pistachios, Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a food processor until very finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly pour the oil through the opening. Season the pesto with salt and pepper to taste. (The pesto keeps in the fridge, covered, for 1 week or frozen for a month.)

Gluten Free, Recipes

Home Made Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe

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Home Made Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe

Julie Fergus recently posted this photo on her Instagram page, telling everyone on world wide web that Mercy Hill Farm fresh eggs are the best in town. Shown here, one of the pretty pale blue shelled Araucana eggs, about to become delicious home-made Caesar Salad dressing. We’ve included the recipe here as well.

home made caesar salad dressing

Caesar Dressing:

  • 1 t Dijon mustard
  • 1 T raw wine vinegar
  • 1 T fresh lemon juice
  • 1 T finely grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for garnish)
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 anchovy filets
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and mashed

Salad:

  • 1 large head Romaine lettuce
  • 4-6 anchovy fillets

Recipe credit: Nourishing Traditions Cookbook by Sally Fallon

 

 

 

Gluten Free, Recipes

Gluten Free Recipes – Tamale Pie

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Gluten Free Recipe - Tamale Pie

This  recipe is a tribute to my mom ( the most frugal woman I know) because this variation on the traditional Tamale Pie was put together with what we had on hand at dinner time, rather than going to the store and purchasing the “traditional” ingredients.

Gluten Free Recipe – Tamale Pie

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup corn flour
  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk (see below how to make your own buttermilk from regular milk)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 large egg

and

  • 2 lbs of chicken meat diced
  • 14 oz of stewed tomatoes, drained
  • 12 grape tomatoes, cut in half
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
  • 2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup black olives
  • 4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 tsp hot chili powder

Preheat the oven to 450F and grease a 9×9 square baking pan with the tsp of butter.

The Crust

(If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, simply add 1 tsp white vinegar to regular milk and let it sit a minute before adding it to the bowl. Yes, this even works with almond milk..) Combine the first 8 ingredients and pour into the baking dish. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes and remove from oven. Turn oven down to 350.

The Meat

Our chicken was leftover, picked from several whole chickens we had roasted earlier in the week, so it was a combination of white and dark meat already cooked. If you are starting with raw chicken, roast 2 lbs of chicken, testing with a meat thermometer that the inside temperature is 170F, or the juices run clear when you prick it with a knife.

The Rest

In a skillet over medium heat, sautée the onions and garlic in a tsp of butter, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent, about 2-3 minutes, then stir in the mushrooms and remove from the heat.

Pour the diced, cooked chicken, onions, garlic, mushrooms over the crust. layer that with the stewed tomatoes and then the sliced tomatoes, olives and finally, the shredded cheddar. Sprinkle the chili powder on top, and bake again at 350F for 25 minutes.

Serve with Sangria and Scrabble. OLE!

 

Farming, Local Food

Beautiful Salad Greens

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The dew on these salad greens is a welcome site this morning. It’s been an unusually dry spring here in New England and we were happy to have a thunder storm hit here last night.

This salad bed is a mix of kale, spinach, chard, lettuce. beets, radishes and bok choy I started indoors in a tray at the end of March.seedling tray

We transplanted them into a cold frame 4 weeks later, where they’ve been ever since. The frame protected them from the frost, bugs and critters very well. Now that all danger of frost is passed, I’ve kept the frame on them, leaving the top off, just to reduce the likelihood of the plants getting eaten by pests.

mini cold frame

We get 3 – 5 healthy salads a week from this 2×3′ frame built from scrap wood and shrink wrap. Because of the wide row, dense planting, there is no weeding and the soil retains moisture very well.

For very little effort, and a very tiny space, we can enjoy fresh organic greens for salads and brazing from April to November. (Withought the cold frame, these greens would only survive from late May to late August)

 Tip: If you want to enjoy the full flavor of your freshly grown greens, pick them a few hours prior to eating, wash them well, shake off excess water and place them on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator for at least an hour, but not more than four hours. Allowing them to cool off like this will make them sweeter and more flavorful than eating greens right after picking.

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo Recipe, Recipes, Vegan

Vegan Recipe: Tangy Sweet Potato and Pineapple Salad with Avocado

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It’s springtime in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The snowpiles are melting and giving way to early blooming flowers like crocus and daffodil, a welcome, colorful change.

This was partly the motivation for this salad, that and trying to find a satisfying gluten free, dairy free lunch. It also happens to be vegan and very tasty!

Ingredients:

  • 1 ripe avocado, peeled, chopped
  • 1 med. sweet potato, peeled, chopped
  • 2 tbspns finely chopped red onion
  • 1 red and 1 green jalapeño, finely chopped
  • Juice of one lime
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
  • 1 tbsn fresh cilantro, finely chopped
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Recipe:

Steam the sweet potato chunks until tender. Then toss all the ingredients together until the lime juice has coated everything.

Serve on a sunny porch with some calypso music playing and think about warmer weather coming real soon!

You might also enjoy this article:

19 Science-backed Health Benefits of Pineapple by Helen Nichols

 

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegan

Noodle Mountain

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This is a very satisfying gluten free, dairy free, vegan dish full of flavor and zip.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 6oz package rice noodles
  • 1/4c extra light olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 chiles, finely chopped
  • 8- 10 napa cabbage leaves, finely shredded
  • 4oz bean sprouts
  • 1/4c gluten free tamari
  • Juice of two limes
  • 6 scallions, chopped
  • 4oz raw, unsalted cashews, chopped

Directions

  1. Cook the noodles in a large saucepan according to the package. Drain and transfer to a bowl if cold water. Set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a wok and add garlic, ginger, onions, and chiles. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until softened. Add the cabbage and bean sprouts and stir briefly.
  3. Drain noodles well and add to wok. Toss gently then add tamari, lime juice, scallion, and cashews. Mix well. Serve immediately. Use chopsticks!


Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo Recipe

Gluten Free Recipe – Bacon Wrapped Broccoli

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Gluten Free Recipe – Bacon Wrapped Broccoli

 

Bacon Wrapped Broccoli

Salads are great – and can really provide long-lasting energy. Especially if you take the time to add some variety and some satisfying proteins along with all those yummy vegetables.

Here’s a very satisfying addition to today’s lunch salad, that is gluten free, dairy free and paleo friendly. Also – you don’t need many of these as they are very rich and very filling.

Ingredients:

  • Broccoli spears
  • Uncured bacon slices, cut in half

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425F

Wrap the bacon around a broccoli spear stem, then pin the end into the stem with a toothpick. Cut the toothpick so that just an 1/8 of the end is visible. Three for each person is plenty. Place them in a glass baking dish on their sides.

Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and using a basting brush, pick up some of the bacon fat from the bottom of the pan and brush the broccoli heads. Then return to the oven for another 10 minutes or so, or until the bacon is cooked to the desired doneness. This will keep the broccoli from getting too crispy.

When the bacon is cooked, the broccoli will be too. Drizzle the broccoli heads with the remaining bacon fat, let them cool 5 minutes and serve!

Once the broccoli is in the oven, you have time to make an epic salad to be the main course!