Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Mega Chocolate & Almond Biscotti Recipe

Biscotti is an Italian word for cookie. This is an unusual cookie in that it is dried until crispy. If you like chocolate, and who doesn't, this is a great recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of coca powder
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup almonds, toasted
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Description:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add all ingredients except eggs and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl whisk egges and vanilla and add it to the dry mixture. Stir everything until the dough comes together.

Cut the dough into two pieces and use flour to keep dough from sticking. Form dough into two strips about 2 inches in diameter, on baking sheet with parchment paper. Place about 4 inches apart.

Bake for 35 minutes and cool for 15 minutes.

Cut each strip into 3/4 inch slices. Place strips cut side down on the parchment lined baking sheet, reduce the oven temperature to 280 degrees and return to oven for 25 more minutes. Flip strips and put in oven for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

You can add a drizzle of white chocolate tot he biscotti by melting 3/4 cup of white chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Let the chocolate harden before serving.




Monday, December 30, 2013

Ravioli and Winter Vegetables

I don't know about you, but I like about any kind of ravioli. Jenna and I made spinach and rigotta ravioli pasta last night for supper after we all got back from Christmas shopping. It was very good. I'm going to put the recipe in the blog, but realize that the ravioli filling can take lots of forms and many of the winter storage vegetable work well for ravioli.

Ingredients:

Dough:

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
6 eggs

Filling:

1 pound fresh spinach
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound ricotta
1 egg
2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch black pepper

Sauce:

1/4 pound butter
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon chopped sage

Directions:

Dough is formed by making an indentation in the floor on a tabletop or bowl.  Add the eggs to the center of the flour indentation. Incorporate the flour into the eggs with a fork. Knead the flour and eggs together to form dough and continue to knead until the dough is thoroughly worked together, this should take 4 to 5 minutes. Reserve the dough until ready to assemble.

Cook the spinach until tender. Remove the spinach from the boiling water and cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Put into a colander and squeeze out the water from the spinach. Chop the spinach coarsely and combine spinach, ricotta, egg, heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Season with nutmeg, remaining salt, and black pepper.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in in a skillet. Simmer the nutmeg, saga and butter for 1 minute. Reserve until the raviolis are cooked.

Assemble the raviolis, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to form a thin layer (about 1/8 inch).  Place 1 spoonful of filling onto a sheet of dough 1/2 inch from the edge. Continue to place spoonfuls of filling along the dough 1-inch apart. Put another strip of dough on top of the strip with the filling on it. Pinch the edges of each ravioli with the tines of a fork.  Use a knife  to cut out the raviolis. Set aside each ravioli on a cookie sheet dusted with flour. Avoid stacking so they don't stick together.

Add raviolis  to boiling water. When they are fully cooked, they will float, this takes about 2-3 minutes to finish cooking. Serve each portion with sage butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of grated parsmesan cheese.

Other fillings for ravioli are:
  • carrots
  • kale
  • cheese
  • winter squash: butternut, acorn, delicate, jester (are all good types)

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Oasis

Oasis - A fertile or green spot in a desert or wasteland, typically made that way by the presence of a water table at the surface. I also like the definition of a place of peace, safety, or happiness in the midst of trouble or difficulty. (From Wikipedia)

Our farm is an Oasis in every sense of the word.

Our farm is an organic, chemical free and GMO free zone in the midst of a desert of chemical agriculture. We grow clean, well mineralized, fresh, and flavorful vegetables. We use large amounts of compost in our fertility program. We rebuild soils at 100x the rate of natural processes. We sequester carbon and have achieved a positive carbon foot print. We build biological life in our soils. We grow healthy and happy plants. We listen to what our weeds tell us about our soils and take action to counter imbalances.

Our farm is a place of peace and safety. We come home from our activities of the day and can walk through the pastoral gardens or woods. There are birds and wildlife in abundance. There are no dangerous machines, smelly confinements, mega monocultures or promiscuous pollen GMO's).

We feed our minds and bodies. We read good books. We listen to the great teachers and thinkers of our times. We use solitude to think. We find wisdom in the past as well as the future. We use technology appropriately to enhance our farming. We do physical work (my gym membership is a compost shovel and my tread mill is looking for mushrooms on a wooded hillside glen). We grow much of what we eat. We seek to retain the knowledge of food preservation from our past.

Oasis - an organic farm in a wasteland of chemical agriculture, made that way because of a family who is passionate about the food they grow and the people they serve. A place of peace and safety for a legacy of family, wisdom and community. (From Brian)



Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Signs of the Thyme

Have you ever noticed the many signs around us, especially around the typical farm. Our farm doesn't have any of the typical signs but I got to thinking about what our version of these many signs would say.
  • Instead of signs that say "Keep Out" we say "Come Observe".
  • Instead of "Trespassers will be Prosecuted", we hope "Visitors will be Impressed".
  • Instead of "No Admittance", we say "Admit All Who Seek To Learn".
  • Instead of "No Hunting", we want you to "Hunt for Truth".
  • Instead of "Dead End",  we see "Unlimited Opportunities"
  • Instead of "Wrong Way", we want people to find the "Better Way"
  • Instead of "No Soliciting", we encourage people to "Seek Wisdom"
  • Instead of "Danger Biohazard", we have "Safety, Healthy Soil"
  • Instead of "Skull and Cross Bones", we want "Smiling & Healthy People"
  • Instead of "Deer Crossing", we want "Bare Foot Crossing" Our children's favorite.
  • Instead of "Pavement Ends", we want to encourage people to take the "Road Less Traveled"
  • Instead of "Rough Road", we see a "Firm Foundation"

Friday, December 27, 2013

Opposite

Is it just me or does it seem like you can just about do the opposite of the common wisdom in the culture and prosper.

Opposite - a truth that is totally the reverse of the common wisdom.

Here are some opposites:

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Are Givers More Likely to Succeed at Farming

Adam Grant in his revolutionary book, "Give and Take" about pro-social motivation — the desire to help others, independent of easily foreseeable payback.  Says there are three "interaction styles" in the business environment. These interaction styles are the giver, the matcher and the taker.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

A Farmer Explains a Hymn

Brian Petersen, wrote this hymn during a Worship class in February, 2013

From the Story of Joseph

I didn't set out to use this story for my class assignment, I wanted to do Lyrics about how Israel moved from slavery in Egypt to a free and generous people in the wilderness. However I got stuck on the story of Joseph. I had often thought there were many parallels between the life of Christ and the things God did through Joseph. That is what my hymn is about, the foreshadowing of a savior. There is so much going on here, that I decided to also add a commentary to explain line by line, so the richness of the story and the parallels to Christ are understood. See the second page for this. I have no idea how you would put music to this, but it does sound poetical. I might have switched forms for the last paragraph, but those were the words in my mind. What does it mean when the poem is 16 short lines and the explanation is three pages? I guess there is more going on here than meets the eye. Check it out. Here is the poem again.

Monday, December 23, 2013

A Farmer Writes a Hymn

Hymn by Brian Petersen - From the Story of Joseph

This is a hymn (a poem really, since there is no music) I wrote during a class on worship at Cross Roads College here in Rochester. Lisa and I took this class together during January-February 2013 as a date night activity. See my previous post for explanation of the class. I commend classes like this to you.

I wrote the poem in a day or two, but it took weeks to understand it. There are parallels here between the story of Joesph and Jesus that I had never seen before and didn't even understand until I had really contemplated the words and gained insight from studying the story of Joseph more deeply. See my next post for the analysis.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Can a Farmer Write a Hymn?

I recently had the most amazing experience. Lisa and I took a class on the “Theology and Philosophy of Worship”.. It was an evening class that met for 5 weeks.

One of our assignments was to write a hymn. This was going to be impossible because I have little musical ability. Thankfully that was not required.  My hymn was about the parallels between the life of Joseph (in the Old Testament) as a foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus.  Andrea, my daughter, a music education and composition major said, “very cool, dad”. For a non-musical Dad that says it all.

So here is my hymn (a poem really, since there are no notes).

A diadem of colors, white, Israel's favorite son
Foresees majestic future, bright, from the Holy One.
Wicked jealous brothers, bent, no vision only cost
Betray the young redeemer, sent, a son of Israel lost
A sojourn in a country, far, of stripes and victories won
A faithful broken servant's, star, keeps listening as a son
Two men in dungeon dreary, three, have messages divine
For one the bread is broken, tree, one partakes the wine.
A holy humble servant, best, suffering but meek
A vision during kingly, rest, interpretations seek
A whisper from creator, of mystery, earthly kings
Lifts up a slave, of history, a world salvation brings
Israel's King triumphant, fight, His wisdom bless and save
Narrow path for lasting life, of light, from birth to grave
Brothers restored, Israel unite, to the Son of favor
The Father saved, The Spirit's might, through Jesus Christ our Savior.


Friday, December 20, 2013

Market menu for December 21, 2013

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, December 21, 2013. We are at the fair ground for winter market this week.  (New items are in Bold Print)

Salsa - Brandywine, Cherry Tomatoe, Roasted Roma, Hot'n'Sweet, Jalapeno Jelly (yum)
Brussels Sprouts
Winter Squash - We have a 1 week supply remaining
     Acorn, Spaghetti, Delicata, Orange Hubbard, Butternut, Buttercup, Orange Kuri, Kubotcha
Pie Pumpkins - New England Pie, Winter Luxury
Red Onions
Garlic (We ran out of garlic last week, but shallots are a good substitute, see "shallot week posts")
SHALLOTS
Leeks
Sweet Spanish Onions
Chipolini Onions
Dried egg plant
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Lisa's Soap

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Life and Energy In Agriculture - A Divine Blueprint

Life & Energy in Agriculture, by Arden B. Anderson

A Summary

This is a book report of sorts. I quote Dr. Anderson frequently but condense and summarize significantly from the original text. This book a gem on the role of energy on soil health and produce quality. The original is a quick read and very engaging if you want to learn about the path less taken in agriculture.

Divine Blueprint

The environment we live in has a purpose and place for everything. It is only when man disrupts this balance and circumvents natural laws is chaos created. The natural system will triumph in the end whether man cooperates with or plunders nature. Man does have the ability to help the environment regenerate and the environment God has established will more than take care of man if we just allow it to do so.

There are distinct markers in the environment corresponding to levels of fertility, health and vitality, of the soil. Let's explore these starting with insects.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Life and Energy In Agriculture - Agricultural Industry

Life & Energy in Agriculture, by Arden B. Anderson

A Summary

This is a book report of sorts. I quote Dr. Anderson frequently but condense and summarize significantly from the original text. This book a gem on the role of energy on soil health and produce quality. The original is a quick read and very engaging if you want to learn about the path less taken in agriculture.

The Agricultural Industry

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Life and Energy in Agriculture - Progressive Biological Life

Life & Energy in Agriculture, by Arden B. Anderson

A Summary

This is a book report of sorts. I quote Dr. Anderson frequently but condense and summarize significantly from the original text. This book a gem on the role of energy on soil health and produce quality. The original is a quick read and very engaging if you want to learn about the path less taken in agriculture.

Progressive Biological Life

Soil is alive. Living soil is healthy and healthful. Electromagnetic charge is the manifestation of the life force in the soil. Freeing the flow of the magnetic field in the soil is basic to any fertility program. Soil building is the basis of food-building, which is the basis of human health. Minerals are vital to human metabolism and health, you can't assimilate minerals that aren't in the soil in which the food is grown. Dr. Charles Northern was able to double and redouble the mineral content of fruits and vegetables, increase the mineral levels of milk and eggs, and improve the shelf life of all food simply by remineralizing the soil. He says, “It is simple to cure sick soil than sick people”.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Life and Energy in Agriculture - Introduction

Life & Energy in Agriculture, by Arden B. Anderson

A Summary

This is a book report of sorts. I quote Dr. Anderson frequently but condense and summarize significantly from the original text. This book a gem on the role of energy on soil health and produce quality. The original is a quick read and very engaging if you want to learn about the path less taken in agriculture.

Forward

The food is deficient because the soil is deficient. Agricultural practices in the last 100 years do not work as evidenced by polluted streams, rivers, aquifers, lakes, soils, foods, animals and people. We have lost approximately ½ our top soil in 100 years. Some of the most deadly chemicals are invented to support chemical agriculture. Agriculture is the second largest consumer of energy. Health in America is declining and this directly parallels the decline in agriculture.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

The Epiphany

An epiphany is an experience of sudden and striking realization. Generally the word is used to describe a breakthrough or discovery. Typically this applies to an enlightened realization which allows a problem or situation to be understood from new and deeper perspective.

Epiphanies are relatively rare occurrences and generally follow a process of significant contemplation about a problem. Often an epiphany is triggered by a new key piece of information, but typically requires a depth of prior knowledge to allow the leap to understanding.

The Holistic Management process discussed on this blog a few weeks ago was a good example of an epiphany. Ten of thousands of African grazing animals were killed in a mistaken attempt to rest and heal the land. When it was determined that the exact opposite was needed.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

From Our Larder to Your Pantry

In our last post we learned about the role of the larder on the farm. Today technology has largely replaced the larder for most American homes. We have refrigerators, freezers, pressure canning and dehydrators.

However if you want to eat local and seasonal your local farmer still may represent a large portion of your family larder. We have several hundred families that purchase a large portion of their produce from us.

Friday, December 13, 2013

The Larder

Did you know that larders were a common feature of large homes before the refrigerator came into wide spread use. The essential features of a larder are as follows:
  • as cool as possible
  • close to the kitchen
  • exclude insects and rodents
  • easy to clean
  • shelving and containers adapted to the food to be stored
  • good air circulation
In North America larders were typically on the north side of the house, where they received the least amount of sun.

Farm families only 50 years ago were intimately familiar with the larder (ask your grand parents). The larder is the precursor to the modern day pantry, which is making a comeback in modern architecture.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Bacteriavore

The human body has approximately 100 trillion bacteria in our intestines. This is a number 10 times greater than the total number of human cells in the body. We are vastly out numbered by our intestinal flora. The metabolic activities of these bacteria are similar to that of an organ to process our food. It is interesting to note that these gut bacteria have a combined total of 100 times as many genes as there are in the human genome. Somewhere between 200 to 1000 different species live in the intestine.This is an extremely beneficial symbiotic relationship. These bacteria ferment unused energy, train the immune system, prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria, produce vitamins and provide a host to store fats. This baterial culture is call the human microbiome. I submit the host to this genetically enriched culture is a bateriavore (look it up, this is actually a word).

It is important to understand these special bateria as we consider our food system. The human microbiome has typically dined on whole, natural and traditional foods. The processed and manufactured foods of our current generation are foreign to our microbiome and frankly the other microbes in our world as well.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Why Stop With Organic

The Federal Organic Standards have encouraged agriculture in some positive directions. At a minimum it gets the chemicals and GMOs out of the system and that is a very positive step in the right direction.

But why do we want to stop with just the minimum requirement?

On our farm we have gone beyond organic.

What does this mean?

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Breath of Heaven

Sunday afternoon, we attended "Hope of the World" an incredible concert by Honors Choirs of SE Minnesota. The concert was excellent and all the choirs did exceptionally well.

For me, the keynote was the song Breath of Heaven, made popular by Amy Grant. I have heard Amy sing this song many times with passion and as good as she is, Amy didn't hold a candle to this choir of middle school singers. It was not technical perfection or musical elegance (though these were superb) that made the performance great, but it was an emotional connection between the singers and the hearts of the audience that made the song so powerful.

Nick Johnson, director of the Chorale Choir, asked the singers what strong emotions they had experienced through this song. The emotions elicited by the song and expressed by the singers were very strong. This emotional connection during their performance was reflected in the faces of the singers, and though I could not observe it through my tears, I think the audience as well.

Abby Wilson sang the first verse as a solo and transported our  minds back to Bethlehem and Mary's prayer. It is a song about the fears and burdens of carrying God's son. Abby sang an amazing, beautiful solo that gripped our hearts and minds.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Graft in the Garden

This post is not about corruption on the farm, it is about grafting heirloom tomatoes. I've been interested in this for a number of years. I was thinking this may be our next weird thing for 2014.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Shallots Caramelized with Maple Syrup

Caramelized shallots with maple syrup go extremely well with chicken breast, on fish, or on a simple hamburger.

Here is the recipe.

Shallot, Delicata Squash and Pear Soup

This slightly sweet soup is wonderful when served with a swirl of greek yogert and maple syrup. Great when served with with a fresh salad and Alaska wild caught salmon. Yum!

Here is the recipe.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Shallot & Carrot Cake

This is a great carrot cake recipe from the Penzey Spices catalog. The shallot add a subtle sweet flavor.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 tsp Penzeys cinnamon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 cups finely grated candy carrots (about a pound)
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 pound shallots
  • 2 tablespoons butter
Frosting:
  • 8 oz light cream cheese, softened\
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 pound powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round pans and set aside.
  • Saute shallots in 2 tablespoons of butter and cool to room temperature
  • In a large bowl , sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Add the oil and stir until blended.  Add the eggs, carrots, shallots, and walnuts and mix well. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you use a 9x13 pan, bake for 60 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
  • In a mixing bowl, cream together the cream chees butter until fluffy. Add the vanilla and sugar gradually, and beat until thoroughly blended.  Fold in the pecans. Spread over the cooled cake.
Serves: 12-15






Shallots in a Quick Greek Pasta Salad

A healthy salad seasoned with shallots that will spice up your taste buds. You can add optional rib eye steak or chicken breast to make it a meal. When I made this I used what I had on hand and added red bell peppers and fresh tomatoes at the very end so they didn't get mushy.

Ingredients:

  • 8 onces whole wheat penne pasta
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 pound shopped shallots (Petersens)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes diced (Petersens)
  • 1/2 cup sliced black olives (optional)
  • 1 cup chopped fresh spinach (Petersens)
  • 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (Petersens)
  • 1 teaspoon basil pesto (I made extra and froze some from this summer)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts or sun flower seeds
  • Optional: Rib Eye Steak or Free Range Chicken Breast
Directions:
  • Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes until al dente. Drain and toss with olive oil, keep warm.
  • Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Saute shallots and garlic. Stir in soy sauce, and cook a few seconds longer.
  • Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, spinach, basil, feta cheese, and pine nuts. Toss with pasta in a large bowl and serve.
  • Add optional rib eye steak or free range chicken breast.


Friday, December 6, 2013

Market Menu for Saturday, December 7, 2013

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, December 7, 2013. We are at the fair ground for winter market this week.  (New items are in Bold Print)

Salsa - Brandywine, Cherry Tomatoe, Roasted Roma, Hot'n'Sweet, Jalapeno Jelly (yum)
Brussels Sprouts
Pumpkins - Decorating, Cinderella
Winter Squash - We have a 1 or 2 week supply remaining
     Acorn, Spaghetti, Delicata, Orange Hubbard, Butternut, Buttercup, Orange Kuri, Kubotcha
Pie Pumpkins - New England Pie, Winter Luxury
Red Onions
Garlic (We ran out of garlic last week, but shallots are a good substitute, see "shallot week posts")
SHALLOTS
Leeks
Sweet Spanish Onions
Chipolini Onions
Kale - Regular
Dried egg plant
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Lisa's Soap

Shallot, Carrot, and Parmesan Fritters

Shallot, carrot and parmesan fritters are a delightful start to any meal. They are smaller more bite sized, but remind me a lot of apple fritters, with a deliciously different flavor. The extra egg and tablespoon of baking powder make a very light fritter. Shallots and carrots are in good supply at our farmers market booth year around.

Ingredients:
  • 1/4 - 1/2 lb shallots, diced
  • 1 cup grated carrots, use our candy carrots for a sweeter fritter
  • 1 1/2 cup flour, this does not have to be a wheat flour
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
  • 2 tbsp baking powder
  • 2 large free range eggs, beaten
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper, fresh ground
  • coconut oil for frying
Instructions:
  • Saute shallots with butter over medium heat until golden and sweet, that should take about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, then cool to room temperature. Combine dry ingredients and wisk in the egg and milk and mix until smooth. Stir in the shallot mixture, cheese and pepper. Adjust flour to a thick consistency.
  • Heat oil to 350F. Scoop the batter in tablespoon quantities into the hot oil and cook until golden, about 1-2 minutes. Drain to paper towels and keep warm while you cook the remiaing batter. Season and serve.
Optional Dipping Sauces:
  • Combine 1/4 cup of raspberry jam with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil. Mix together.
  • Combine 1/4 cup of jalapeno jam with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Mix together.
  • Combine 1/4 cup poblano relish, 1/4 cup raspberry jam and Greek yogurt.  Mix together. This was my favorite and what I used when I made fritters.
  • The fritters would also be great with a sugar glaze or powdered sugar.




What is a Shallot and How to Select a Good One?

Welcome to shallot week. This week on the blog we will describe shallots and their uses.

Shallots are a member of the allium family. The allium family contains some very popular root crops like onions, garlic and leeks. Shallots are often seen as a small mild onion, but they are really their own species.

They are started early in the spring from shallots saved from the previous year.

Shallot History

They originate in the mediterranean area. Botanically they are named Allium ascalonicum, this name comes from the city of Ascalon in Palestine, where they originated. Historians think the De Soto brought shallots to the new world during is exploration of the Louisiana territories. The shallot is popular in French cooking.

How to Select Shallots.

Shallots have golden brown scales that cover the light purple layers of firm crunchy flesh. Select shallots that are firm, large, and heavy for their size. Avoid shallots that are sprouting as they are  more bitter.

How to Store Shallots

Shallots keep extremely well and we often sell the last of our shallots almost a year after they are harvested. Many of the shallots have two lobes surrounded by a common wrap of scales. These are often large and easy to peel and use. They are the preferred selection in the fall and winter. The single lobe shallots keep longer however and though smaller are the ones that we save to plant in the spring.

What Do Shallots Taste Like

Shallots have less of a sulfer and bitter taste than onions. They have a onion taste with a hint of garlic. As cooked, they are sweeter and have a great flavor.

When to Use Shallots

Because they are milder, shallots are often used when they are going to be used raw. Shallots are also great with vegetables that are mild in themselves and can benefit from the seasoning effect of an allium but might be too strong if garlic is used. When cooked slowly shallots have a melt in your mouth sweetness. Because of this sweetness shallots are the darling of chefs and gourmet cooks at home.

Remember to remove the papery scales from the outside of the shallot before cooking.

We will have shallots and onions from fall to spring this year,



Thursday, December 5, 2013

Benchmarking, Beyond the Theory

In the last post on benchmarking, we found that benchmarking is the process of seeking out those best practices that will lead to the superior performance on the farm. We also learned the Benchmarking method includes the following steps:
  1. Know your operation. Know the strengths and weaknesses of your farm
  2. Know your competitors and industry leaders.
  3. Choose to incorporate the best.
  4. Gain superiority by using best practices.
But how do you benchmark? 

Let me make some suggestions.

The Japanese sent droves of teams to the US to look for best practices in US industries. Farmers can do the same thing, investigate the best farms in your industry and area. Don't be shy they will usually be happy to spend some time with you. Especially if they aren't in your market area. Polyface Farm home of Joel Salatin hosts large tour groups each summer and you can get the whole story on their operation. But I think the real gems are the unpublished backroads of the farms around you. I would start at the local farmers market with a farm that is doing a great job and ask if you can pay them a visit. 

Look across other industries for best practices. Processing and manufacturing industries have often developed technologies that are useful on the farm. Medicine can also be a treasure trove of ideas. GPS technology started in the military and is now used pervasively in agriculture to map soil types, fertility and yields. 

Read, read and read some more. I have found ideas in diverse areas such as ancient history (fertile dark soils that sequester carbon in Central America formed by mixing biochar and compost from thousands of years ago), sea biology (minerals from kelp and algae from the sea), hydrology (water use), engineering (many technologies), military (GPS), optics (refractometers), the list is endless. Read other peoples blogs.

Organics seminars, classes and trade shows such as MOSES (Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services) are great ways to benchmark with peers and get a great deal of information and a very short period of time. This is the largest organic trade show in the nation and it is about an hour from where we live.

Use your experience, your training, the best practices you have found, to create your own manifest destiny and other farmers will want to benchmark with your farm. 

Don't rush it, It sometimes takes years of digging, learning and searching to connect the dots in agriculture. An observation one year may only be clear years later when you read the next book or take that next class. 

Sounds like fun to me.




Benchmarking on the Farm

Benchmarking is the process of seeking out those best practices that will lead to the superior performance on the farm. The Japanese term dantotsu means seeking to be the "best of the best". Benchmarking is a positive, proactive, structured process which leads to changing approaches and competitive advantages.

"We have always done it that way" is simply not sufficient and extrapolation from the past may lead to poor future results. New practices and methods have to be uncovered and the best of these have to be combined to provide a competitive advantage. The practice of widely searching for new ideas for methods, practices and processes not limited to farming is called benchmarking.

The basic steps to benchmarking are:

  1. Know your operation. Know the strengths and weaknesses of your farm
  2. Know your competitors and industry leaders.
  3. Choose to incorporate the best.
  4. Gain superiority by using best practices.
For more information see: Benchmarking by Robert C. Camp

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Holistic Mnagement - What is it You Really Want

Holistic Management, A New Framework for Decision Making, by Alan Savory

A Book Summary

In this summary of Holistic Management I quote freely from Alan Savory's book but summarize the main points. Kind of a Cliff Notes version. Don't be put off by the focus on grazing and agriculture. This is great stuff for managing your family or business.

Forming a Holistic Goal: What is it You Really Want?

Start with a statement of purpose that reflects in a very few words what you were formed to do.

A quality of life statement expresses how you want your life to be in the whole you have defined based on what you value the most. It expresses the reason you are doing what you are doing, what you are about, and what you want to become. It includes your short term needs and long term mission. Things like economic well being, relationships, challenge, growth, purpose and contribution.

Forms of production are the things you will have to produce some of which will be products derived from your resource base, others will be derived solely from the creativity and skills of the decision makers. Each of the needs in the quality of life statement will have to be met by some form of production. You must ensure that what is produced meets your stated purpose.


Future resource base must describe how it must be many years from now to sustain what you have to produce to create the quality of life you want. This 100 to 500 years from now. Consider the people, how we must be far into the future. The land, arising from almost every transaction there is an effect on the land that is experienced months or years later that is far removed fro the original transaction. Create a statement you can test decisions against. Typically this includes how fundamental processes work in any environment such as, water cycle, mineral cycle, community dynamics, and energy flow. You may also want to describe the community you want to live in or work in and the services available to your community.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Holistic Management - What Are You Managing

Holistic Management, A New Framework for Decision Making, by Alan Savory

A Book Summary

In this summary of Holistic Management I quote freely from Alan Savory's book but summarize the main points. Kind of a Cliff Notes version. Don't be put off by the focus on grazing and agriculture. This is great stuff for managing your family or business.

Defining the Whole: What Are You Managing?

The holistic goal is the driving force in Holistic Management and will guide every significant decision you make. Before you can begin, you first have to define the whole your management encompasses. A minimum whole at which point Holistic Management becomes impossible would include the people involved in management, the resources they have available and the money on hand.


Monday, December 2, 2013

Holistic Management - Predator Prey and Timing

Holistic Management, A New Framework for Decision Making, by Alan Savory

A Book Summary

In this summary of Holistic Management I quote freely from Alan Savory's book but summarize the main points. Kind of a Cliff Notes version. Don't be put off by the focus on grazing and agriculture. This is great stuff for managing your family or business.

The Predator Prey Connection

The third key insight is that in brittle environments, relatively high numbers of large, herding animals, concentrated and moving as they naturally do in the presence of pack-hunting predators, are vital to maintain the health of the lands we thought they destroyed. Acceptance of this insight will help to reverse damage humankind has inflicted on the more brittle environments. Overgrazing is not in fact a function of animal numbers.

Timing is Everything

The identification of the brittleness scale and the role of herding animals and their predators in maintaining the health of brittle environments has shown why these environments were prone to desertification. This is the fourth key insight.


Sunday, December 1, 2013

Holistic Management - The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

Holistic Management, A New Framework for Decision Making, by Alan Savory

A Book Summary

In this summary of Holistic Management I quote freely from Alan Savory's book but summarize the main points. Kind of a Cliff Notes version. Don't be put off by the focus on grazing and agriculture. This is great stuff for managing your family or business.

The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

No whole, be it a family, a business, a community, or a nation, can be managed without looking inward to the lesser wholes that combine to form it, and outward to the greater wholes of which it is a member. As a society we have had good success managing mechanical systems that can be viewed in isolation. We have had ever increasing problems with large environments and systems that are non-mechanical. Frequently, advice that appears sound from a specialists point of view (such as an engineer or economist) proves unsound holistically in a particular situation. A new generation must be trained to think holistically for themselves and then weigh and select expertise that really fits the case. Only the whole is the reality.

Viewing Environments in a Whole New Way

The second insight overturns the belief that all environments respond in the same way to the same influences. They don't. Specifically the old belief that all land should be rested or left undisturbed in order to reverse deterioration has proven wrong. Rest only works in a nonbrittle environment, rest in a brittle environment damages it.

This second insight raises the question of how grazing animals might provide the disturbance necessary to the health of a brittle environment, without overgrazing.