Morning Song Farm News

This is quick and easy, especially if you have a Vitamix or other power-house blender. Ingredients: 1 large leek or 2 medium-width leeks 2 T butter 2 cups water 2 cups broth (either chicken or veggie) 2 lbs. potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch pieces pinch of Marjoram 1/4 cup finely chopped dill 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme dash of Tabasco sauce or pinch of dried, powdered hot chili salt and pepper to taste What to do: Saute sliced leeks in butter with salt and pepper on low heat, covered pan for about 10 minutes. Take care not to brown those leeks, which results in a burnt taste. Add liquid ingredients and the potatoes. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Ladle half of the mixture into the blender and hit puree, then return to pan. Add herbs, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Serve hot.

This is s o easy, it's almost not a "recipe," but I love the scent of dill and enjoy this concoction regularly. Throw your dill (cutting off the coarsest stems if there are any) into a Vitamix or other powerful blender (or you can you a Cuisinart). Toss in a clove or two of garlic, a dash of Tabasco or a pinch of ground hot pepper, and a cup or so of plain yogart. Hit puree, pour into serving dish and enjoy. It's fantastic with pita bread, as a veggie dip, or a quick-to-prepare salad dressing.

All our CSA members, their friends and family are invited out to Morning Song Farm this coming Saturday between 9-12. We've scheduled our annual llama sheering in the morning. If you've never seen this done, we think it's worth the trip alone. Check out our super friendly dairy goats, and our baby chicks! As always, if you could RSVP that you're coming and in how many cars, we'd appreciate it. Sometimes almost no one comes, and sometimes we have parking issues, so planning ahead is helpful on this end.....

Eric Jones, an OC subscriber, has kindly forwarded this kumquat recipe for our pleasure: 4 kumquats, halved and seeded 3 teaspoons rosemary-kumquat simple syrup (recipe follows) 1 sprig of rosemary 1/2 kumquat, candied (see simple syrup recipe) 2.5 oz. gin 1.5 oz. dry vermouth ice In lthe bottom of a cocktail shaker, muddle the kumquat halves with the simple syrup and vermouth. Add the gin and ice. Shake until the shaker is so cold you can hardly stand it. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. And ice if desired or serve martini style. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a candied kumquat half. rosemary-Kumquat Simple Syrup Makes 1/4 cup (about enough for 2 drinks) 2 T light brown sugar 1/4 cup water 1 rosemary sprig, roughly chopped 2 kumquat halves In a small,heavy saucepan, combinel the brown sugar and the water. Stir until the sugar has just dissolved. Add the rosemary and kumquat halves. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on the lsyrup so it does not...

We are excited about the upcoming Farm Day, Saturday, April 30th. We've scheduled our annual llama sheering on that morning, so if you've never seen a sheering, it's worth the trip! We still don't have baby goats, but expect we will be then, I'll keep you posted here. And our baby chicks are growing everyday--they get so much attention they are gentle and fun to interface with. As always, if you could shoot me an email that you are coming so we can worry about parking if need be, that's always a help. Usually only a few people attend, so it's not a problem. But every now and then we have an unusual attendance and need to be prepared. Directions are here on this blog, from a week ago....

Mizuna is a popular asian green, it can multi-task as both a salad green, adding a mild, spicy tang to salads; or can be added to stir fries. If you'd like to try it in your stir fry, chefs have noted that it's best to add at the last minute because it's a delicate green and doesn't need much heat at all for satisfactory results.

Come out to Morning Song Farm this coming Saturday between 9-12. Meet our friendly herd of Nigerian dairy goats, our curious llamas, and get a chance to hold a baby chick. Bring a picnic lunch or plan a visit to the nearby farmer's market in Temecula. We do have somewhat of a parking issue with most of the farm on hillside; so if you could let one of us know you're coming, we can plan ahead. Sometimes we plan these days and no one comes, and sometimes it's crazy. We'd love it if we could plan ahead..... Directions: From Temecula: 15 south, off on Rainbow Valley Blvd. exit (which is the truck stop) At end of ramp, make a LEFT across the freeway. At stop sign, make a RIGHT, which is Old 395. Make your first right again (going under bridge) on Rainbow Glen Road. About 2 miles from there, number is 2120 Rainbow Glen Road. Big sign: Morning Song Farm From San Diego: 15 north, off on Mission Road in Fallbrook. (off of the 15, NOT the 76!--there is a Mission Road off of the 76...

Here's our intrepid goat herd leader, Nibbles (aka Whiskers On Kittens) challenging the (much) larger llamas, "so what are you going to do about it". Llamas are clean creatures (once feed hits the floor, they won't usually touch it) Our llamas utilize a hiarchy with regards to which llama can approach the feed and when. And here's Nibbles lounging in their food, completely oblivious to llama sanitation standards, established hiarchy proticol and common decency. Final insult: Nibbles left behind goat "pellets" upon departure.

Latest update on Mary, who was last reported to be spending some time back at her breeder's ranch with Bob the Stud Goat, after a vet's scan determined she wasn't yet pregnant. Evidently, Bob's goof-ball romantic goat antics fell on deaf ears as Mary would have nothing to do with him. Natha. She seemed to relish prancing and teasing, but wouldn't have anything to do with Bob that might have resulted in her pregnancy. Sooooo, a different goat stud was selected for her approval, and this time, instead of Mary visiting him, Joe the New Goat Stud has been invited for conjugal visits with Mary here at Morning Song. And just for the record, does he stink . Male goats are just a whole different deal. They reek, they slobber, they druel. I read recently that goats have, throughout history, been at the bottom of the Livestock Wish List (cattle being at the top). After getting within nose shot of a male in rut, I can completely understand my ancestors' thoughts, which up...

Donna, I noticed that one of your suggestions when deciding about joining was to go by a drop off spot to look at the produce and to be able to determine the size box needed. I would love to be able to do this. I live in the Oceanside area. Would this be possible? Thank you, J Hi J, Ahem, well we used to allow this. It sure seems reasonable from the non-subscribers side of the fence post. But when I’d receive angry emails from an actual paying subscriber that they came upon a member of the public who had been given the exact drop off point and was found to be pawing through said subscriber’s box, (who knows if they’d even washed their hands) things got a little less black and white. We added box lids years ago to discourage a problem that developed of random swiping/switching between subscriber’s boxes, and added a “trade in” basket so that switching could be done legitimately. We don’t want our fabulous produce to go to waste, either! So the long answer is “no.” Totally uncool. Now, ...

Sprouts are back after a few week hyatus. Images of Kale and Bok Choi are below. Everything else is pretty common.... Sprouts 1/1 (The first amount is for the large share, and the second amount is what went in the small share) Limes: 10/7 Radishes: 2 bunches/1 bunch Navel Oranges: 4/3 Grapefruit: 7/half Avocados: 3/1 Strawberries: 1 bag/1 Carrots: 2 bunch/1 Kale: 1/0 Bok Choi: 1 bunch/1 Beets: 2 bunches/2

Ingredients: 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour ¾ cup sugar 1 tablespoon grated lime peel 1 teaspoon baking powder ¾ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 cup lime or plain yogurt 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted 1 tablespoon lemon juice Topping: 1/3 cup lime juice ¼ cup sugar 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel Directions: In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, beat the egg, yogurt, butter and lime juice. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes; leave muffins in pan. Using a toothpick, poke 6-8 holes in each muffin. In a saucepan, combine the topping ingredients. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Spoon over warm muffins.

Mark your calendars! Saturdays, April 16, April 30 and May 14 are member farm days, from 9 to noon. Bring a picnic lunch, meet our friendly llamas, pet the baby chicks (maybe bottle feed a new baby goat?), and come see where your food is grown! Rain cancels. Our goats love, love love Nature Valley’s crunchy granola bars’ Oats ‘N Honey. Bring a few, if you like, and enjoy their enthusiasm. We’ll include directions, in next week’s newsletter. Morning Song is in Rainbow, which is just south of Temecula, and north of Fallbrook.

Mary isn’t back on the farm yet, I can’t wait to have her here so the four mama goats can get used to each other before we have baby goats to tend to. Whiskers on Kittens (Whisk) has become the herd leader and insists on ridiculous royal privileges. The social injustice is a little disconcerting to witness, but according to several goat books I’ve purchased,(Raising Goats for Idiots, etc.), evidently this always happens when there’s more than one goat. Goats are herd animals and don’t like to be solitary; some writers even consider keeping a single goat as abuse. Whisk has mellowed out a little as the others no longer question her position, but from my standpoint, her behavior can seem appalling. She gets the best place to sleep, the first munch of any treat, and the lead position on any walk. She’s also, (ugggg) decided all farm roads are hers and will not get up from a center-of-the driveway sun bask even for my big, red, farm truck. Honking is futile and completely ignored. I’m for...

Below you'll find this week's harvest ticket, and information about upcoming Spring farm days. We've schedculed three in the hopes that everyone will at least get to squeeze ONE into their busy schedules. All subscribers, their family, kids and friends are invited, April 16, 30th, and May 14th from 9:00-12:00. Bring a picnic lunch and relax under the oaks! By the end of April, we should have baby goats. We’re hoping to schedule the annual llama shearing on one of the dates (we’ll keep you informed). And the baby chicks are so cute! Of course the mama goats are sweet and enjoy all the attention they can get. Especially attention that involves crunchy granola bars. :) Harvest ticket for this week: (Large share/Small share) Hass Avos: 2/1 Navel Oranges: 10/Half Ripe Limes: 9/Half Leeks one bunch/None Radish bunch: 1/Same Bok Chi: One bunch/Same Strawberries: One bag/Same Beets: One bunch/same Carrots: 2 bunches/half Lettuce: 2 loose heads/half Brocolli: 2 bunches/half