Pumpkins Progress

We surely are not "veggie people" by any stretch.  Here is the progress of my husband Dan's pumpkin hill out back of the barns.  A few leaves were burned from the lack of rain the week prior, and a dandelion has moved in to keep one hill company.   I've noted over the years that the man never waters plants, preferring to treat the patch (or any garden) as though it were an entire field of corn or alfalfa: put seed in the ground, then leave it unattended to live or die.  In spite of that, they seem to be doing well, but no flowers or fruit, yet.

Farmer's Market Food: Folk Foods

Mmmm, burrito.

It's the Breakfast Burrito from Folk Foods, Dan's first choice for breakfast on Saturday mornings in City Hall Park during farmer's market. It used to be mine, too, but - you know - I can't eat wheat anymore.

My husband is not the only one with breakfast and lunch in mind at this busy stand.

There are 3 other sandwiches available, plus you can buy their hot "Master Sauce," and vegetarian wheat gluten patties and crumbles to take home. They cheerfully supply recipe ideas, too.

That's Dan getting his burrito from the owner, Jason Frishman.

Really, any sandwich with an egg in it is filling fare, and I find that I can't look away from the psychedelic designs as they sizzle away on the griddle.

Practically perfect veggie patties await turning, and completed sandwiches are warming on the planchet.

As a bonus to being the stand beside this one, I get to inhale the aroma of toast and eggs all day. Mmmmm, toast. (I miss you! Kiss, kiss!)



(They are currently out of the Master Sauce, but more will be available, shortly - I have a jar of my own in the refrigerator.)

What are you waiting for? Come to market!

Farmer's Market #8: Chow, Chow, Meow, Meow

There was a cool breeze all day, and sales were brisk after 10:00 a.m.


This is the burger from Jericho Settler's Farm stand which Dan ate AFTER consuming a breakfast burrito from Folk Foods, and a raised donut with chocolate Amaretto frosting and sliced almonds from Dinky Donuts.

I really must find a pair of socks like this for myself.

Most adorable doggie of the day, and his little girl.

Our entertainers; I think they moved around, or burned out, I didn't hear them for long.

Dan's pick for favorite T-shirt of the day. See you at market!

Life on the Farm 062909: Grazing the park

This past Saturday was the eighth week of Burlington Farmer's Market. The day-trippers have  me plum worn out.

It was "Chew Chew" weekend, supposedly the last, ever; it brought a boost for local tourism, a few more cheese buyers, and an influx of "Grazing-types".


Many food vendors offer samples for people to try, especially if what they have is unique; carrots, for example are not sampled out, but farmstead cheeses are. The Granola Guy does it, the Cake Lady does it, and the prepared food vendor next to us, Folk Foods, does it, too.


I offer tastes of all our aged cheeses, as the flavor profile can vary each week. My samples are small squares the size of peas; they break and fall off a toothpick if you try to stab more than one at a time. It's key to have some portion control when sampling, or you wind up giving all your product away.


Over the years, most of the people who tried my cheese have bought some, but about two percent of all visitors to my booth have been Grazers; of those 98% are tourists, a small remainder are students; the common factor is that they have no intention of making a purchase.


(They are quite different from people who don't anticipate buying, but can be enticed by an amazing product.)

Pure Grazers fall into the following categories:

A Professional Grazer will complain that the samples are too small, and that I don't offer accompanying free bread and crackers. Some have even taken these items from other cheesemaker's booths to eat with a piece of cheese from our table.

Opportunistic Grazers call out for their friends/relatives/children's children to come over because there are "...free samples over here!"

Drive-by Grazers grab a sample and walk on, and may return again and again, until the dish remains empty.

Allergy-free Grazers will eat anything without asking what it is first, as though our table were located at the end of an aisle at Costco; a few each season will spit the cheese out into their palm, and look around wondering where to wipe it off. One has tried to hand it back to me!

The most common Grazerspeak at our stand, while eating samples is: "I'm on vacation and can't buy anything". Number 2 is: "My doctor won't let me eat cheese unless it is fat free/salt free." (So, just plain "free" is okay?) The third is: to say nothing. Or to continue to talk to their friends, or on a cellphone without acknowledging us, as though they were helping themselves to hors d'oeuvres at a free buffet.


I realize that I am in a venue where product sampling is entertainment - it's all part of the day, it creates a festive atmosphere. It drives sales.

But there are those who would seek to take advantage of a generous nature, and they might want to consider the courtesy of a smile, and offering a "Thank you," even when away from home, or while on vacation.

On the road again: Brault's under construction

This morning, we went up over the mountain (Jay) into Troy to pick up our beef at Brault's.


They are under construction at the moment, adding more smoking area - that's meat smoking, not an employee lounge.

Tony (the owner) is using salvaged materials from an old barn for this project, which has increased the labor costs, but as he says, 'we are trying to be "green"'.

Our sirloin tip steaks are beautiful and well marbled.

So are the tenderloin, rib-eyes, and I think that's a skirt in the cooler.


Such a nice, sunny day! This road trip was a pleasant distraction from being stuck on the farm all day.

Monday Menu: Grilled Beef Skirt

Rare beef skirt with grilled greens and red jasmine rice.

I put a few tablespoons of Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette in a plastic baggie with our 1 1/2 pound steak; I squeezed out as much air as possible so the marinade had full contact with the meat for a couple of hours in the refrigerator.

I took one baby Bok Choy from Arethusa Farm, cut it in half and coated them with EVOO. I put about a tablespoon of oil on a plate, spread it out, and swept the cut halves across the film. I gave them a sprinkle of salt before grilling.


They take about 6 minutes on the grill, 3 min. per side. I tried to move the delicate leaves over the cooler part of the gas grill.

The steak was a 10/10/20 because it was so thick. Ten minutes per side on high with the cover up, 20 minutes moved to the unlit portion of the grill with the flame side turned down to the lowest setting, cover down.

The Bok Choy was still a bit crunchy, but cooked through. The skirt is very rare this time, due to pulling it off the grill too soon - Dan grew impatient with the wait. Serves 2 hungry farmers.

Weekend cook: Saucy Beef Stew

It all started with two one-pound packages of mystery meat, mismarked as "skirt steak".

That's not skirt! It was either kabobs or stew meat, and there was only one sure way to find out.

I pan seared it on both sides, then covered the pan and let it rest for 6 minutes.

That's a perfectly rare piece of: stew meat.

I have a very lazy cooking method, so there is no braising step in this recipe. I just added the meat chunks on top of 3 large carrots (julienned) in a 4-quart stew pot.

And added what I had in the refrigerator: 3 Serrano peppers, deseeded, deveined, and finely sliced; 2 colored bell peppers, thickly sliced; 2 bunches of scallions, sliced; 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro; basil microgreens (there were only a couple of pinches of left in the bag, and I put them in, why not?)

Add one jar of plain strained tomatoes, this will help cut the intensity of the next ingredient.

This is 1 1/2 cups of the "House BBQ Sauce"; I promise to post the recipe sometime. Any leftover barbecue sauce you have in the refrigerator will do here, but you have to add water to make 1 1/2 cups.

After three hours in the oven (1 hour at 300f, covered; 2 hours uncovered at 250f) the mix has condensed to a sweet and smoky, thick, spicy, barbecue-saucy beef stew. Stir once every hour if you have the time. Adjust for salt when completed, and voila! This is a great way to use up the leftover veggies you have on hand, and it serves 8.

*Hint: if the stew meat is still chewy after 3 hours, just add another hour on, until it falls apart. Watch the liquid level; you may have to put the cover back on to keep it from condensing too much and scorching.