Morning Song Farm News

Click on image to enlarge for easier reading. See Page Two below. So we're just starting the very earliest part of our avocado harvest. Actually we always start with our pollinators, which did their pollination job this year, but didn't fruit much. Anyway, there are Fuerte's and a few very early to appear Hass in the Large shares this week. Actually, the real Hass harvest doesn't start for a couple more weeks, usually. Oddly, the macadamia harvest is weeks later than usual. We're only NOW raking up any quantity worth getting excited about. Normally, by October we are raking away. So, too the kumquats are much later. I have always enjoyed combining kumquats with cranberries for Thanksgiving, indicating that we actually HAVE kumquats in November, which isn't the case by a milestone this year. I'm guessing late February. So the climate at least on this farm, is changing in a huge way. You'll notice the sprouts are back again this week. They take almost 2 we...

As a busy farmer, every now and then I come up with a time saving device that I'd like to offer to others for their consideration. Here it is: I've given this a lot of thought and I think that matching socks is an expectation foisted upon people by the sock industry and I have decided to no longer be victimized by their oppressive social manipulation. Who made the rule that donning unmatched socks was a social faux pas, anyway? I'll tell you who! The Sock People, that's who. And why? Because perfectly good, but unmatched, socks by the boatload are thrown away each and every day, filling up our landfills and our childrens' environmental futures. Those unnecessarily discarded socks have to be replaced, with the only beneficiary being, you guessed it, the sock people. Oh, there's more. Have you ever stopped to consider the opportunity cost of all that time you have spent MATCHING socks? I bet you haven't. Well, I have. And it's a boatload, there, too. I ...

Okay, so no goats in the house. We're all on the same page with that. But a cat would be welcome. We've had a beautiful feral cat hanging around our packing house for a while, an inport from a local elementary school whose principal asked a member of our crew to take him to our farm as a "mouser." A few days ago he made his way up to our home, and invited himself inside. He either is a genius, or at some point in his life was an inside cat, because he immediately plopped himself down on my bed and fell asleep. He knows all about cat boxes, we've discovered, and hasn't stopped purring. He's been here for 3 days now, and the mouse in the house is gone. Since there's no dead mice pieces lying around, my guess is, his very presence is a deterent, the very best, pest management of all. At first he refused to venture outside, perhaps fearful that we'd not let him back in if he left. This morning was his first post-home invasion, outdoor excursion. He hu...

Click on image to enlarge for easier reading. We're excited this week to include a bag of passion fruit in the large shares. And another week of spaghetti squash. This squash has an unusual characteristic. When opened and cooked, it takes on the appearance of spaghetti. I didn't even believe it until I tried it, the whole spaghetti thing seems so unlikely. I cook in the oven, often when the oven is on anyway while cooking something else. (Open the squash lengthwise with a sharp knife, or do as we do and slam the thing on the pavement to open. Using a knife can be dicey, don't take a chance if you're at all nervous. Take it out front and slam on your sidewalk or pavement. No, it doesn't open with perfect edges, but who cares?) Cook at 350 with a little olive oil (try Temecula Olive Oil's local stuff, (website here: http://www.temeculaoliveoil.com/ ) , salt, pepper, and crushed garlic. Once the strings are easily loosened from the shell pieces, I remove from the o...

You know, I've always thought of goats as rugged animals, survivalists even. A beast that can eat your shoe, or a piece of your car on a bad day, is no sissy. So I am really entertained to discover that they're afraid of rain. This isn't an individual trait, but the whole herd's. Even a little mist is viewed with suspicion, but the actual downpour that we received in the last couple days has been met with herd-wide alarm. Our off-limits farmhouse door is only 40 or so feet from the goat's barn, but when a few sprinkles landed on them, they roared into my house which offered a closer refuge than the barn door. Like the actual 10 feet more had they gone in the opposite direction to their barn, was too dicey. And then resolutely stood their ground when invited to leave. I know we've gone over this before; no goats in the livingroom. But getting a goat to move toward something they're afraid of is like trying to argue with arugula. Each one had to be unbrella...

Line a pie pan with pie dough. I often cheat and use Trader Joe's pie dough, which comes frozen. For a while there, they were having a problem with quality control, but the product now is excellent and a big time saver; especially if you don't make alot of pies and don't have a system. There was a time when I made a couple pies or quiches a week, and I really had the whole pie dough thing down to a science. Now, not so much and though a Slow Food Advocate, I use Trader's product. Preheat oven to 425. Here's the recipe: 2 cups of cooked squash or edible pumpkin. Do NOT try using a decorative pumpkin in this recipe. I've tried it, and it was awful, just watery and not flavorful at all. 1.5 cups of organic cream. Watch out for the weird stuff grocery stores are now putting in "cream." Trader Joes is good, and Henry's and Sprouts have products without the garbage, too. 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon 1/2 T...

Ha, this is so easy it hardly counts as a recipe, but here it is: The most difficult step is getting this hard, winter squash open. I never chance injuring myself by using a knife. I take the squash outside and slam it on the driveway. No, it doesn't open perfectly, but there's no chance of the knife slipping off the thing and slicing fingers. Scoop out the seeds and compost those. Then, I bake the pieces with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic (smaller pieces cook faster) until they're soft. Remove from oven, (oh--you can use the microwave if you'd prefer) and let cool enough to handle. Scoop out and put in your blender or Cuisinart. I have a Vitamix, but this is so soft even an inexpensive blender will work. The key to amazing soup is getting it smooth, so blend until you've reached a really nice, smooth puree.Add liquid to consistency you desire for soup. Some people like chicken stock, others use milk, and I sometimes just use water. I add a dash of Tab...

New this week is the amazing butternut squash. Check out the recipes below! The perfect foundation for soups, mashed squash, "pumpkin" bread, pie and vegan gravies and sauces. Again you'll find our baby Asian green, mizuna in clamshells this week. I like this spritely green raw, but I know others use it in stir fries. Quick reminder: we hope you'll consider joining us for our farm day this coming Saturday. Just let us know you're coming so we can figure parking out! I'll post a note separately with directions in a couple days.