Lewis Waite Farm Newsletter - March 2010

Don’t forget, order deadline for March 16th delivery is Thursday, March 11th!

Nancy’s note

It is a beautiful partly sunny day here in the eastern foothills of the Green Mountains. The maple sap is running in our region as the temperatures rise above freezing each day and drop below freezing each evening. All the cleaning activity of the blue tubes that carry the sap to the stainless steel sap collectors at the bottom of the sugar bush slopes has been done. Using water from the tank trucks (that are used later for carrying sap to the farm tanks), the water is pumped up through the tubular lines that stretch from the bottom of the hill into smaller and smaller arteries that eventually link to each tap on each sugar maple tree. Then the taps are all connected to each tree (a certain number of taps based on the diameter of the tree) and the sap drips into the tubes and flows downhill through the lines connecting into larger and larger tubes until it reaches the tank at the bottom. The Reid’s truck of Sugar Mill Farm comes every day to the bottom of our road where one of there tanks collects sap from the hillside across the road.  They check the amount of sap and bring it to the farm when the tank becomes full enough. At the farm, they check the brix of the sap, the sugar content (just like when you make wine) to see how sweet it is. This is what determines how many gallons of sap will make a gallon of syrup. The average amount is 40 gallons! So it has been fun to see the activity each day and entice us to look forward to Maple Weekend, March 20 and 21 when the sap houses all around NY are open to the public for tours and tasting.

Although this year on that weekend, Alan and I will be making our delivery on Saturday,  staying in NY and the next day going to the Riverdale annual farmer/member meeting. This event includes any farmers who can attend and the CSA new recruits and existing members who attend to talk, ask questions, and exchange ideas about the upcoming season.  It is warm and fun and very nice to be a part and feel the mutual appreciation and respect that everyone has for the wonderful partnership of CSA and farm.

The snow still blankets the ground here – we got 24 inches at the height of the storm. I needed my snowshoes that day to blaze a trail for the pigs to get to their spring watering hole. It was a sight I am sure to see me tromping with big foot steps to make a path across the hillside with a parade of squealing pigs pushing each other to be first in the line behind me. I was so glad they did not step on the back of the snowshoes all the way! All the while they were making a great path in the deep snow that would be used often by them all.  Within a few days the snow sunk quickly in the warmer weather to a dense wet layer that now freezes at night into hard pack.  With the warmer temperatures, there is running water under the snow every day and the mud cannot be far behind once the snow melts. In the places we plowed and shoveled, there is already mud. We are all getting out our mud boots.  I even took a walk through the snow to the greenhouse the other evening to get myself into the mood for getting some garden seedlings started. Spring is indeed on the way!!

Take care and get ready for the new season, Nancy and Alan

A little housekeeping 

We are at the midway point for our winter deliveries and would like to say a great big THANK YOU! to the generous hosts and hostesses who help us every month. When you pick up your next order please be sure to thank them too.

As winter hosts, these volunteers open their homes to the deliveries and pick-ups. Please be aware that they have limited refrigerator and freezer space and cannot store your items. This means all CSA members should be conscious of, and stick to, pick-up times.

Finally, please be sure to return our boxes with the insulation foam. If you’d like, we will gladly take your empty egg cartons as well. Alan will pick-up the boxes and cartons when he drops off the next delivery.

New products 

We have added two new jams to our selection of Beth’s Farm Kitchen jams, jellies and chutneys. Be the first to enjoy Ginger Pear or Black Currant jam!

We now offer organic flour!

Farmer Ground Flour was formed in 2009 by two Tompkins County (Ithaca area) farmers. All of their organic flours are stone ground, recently milled, and are not bleached or treated in any way. No water is added to the grains before milling, therefore bakers may find that the flour takes slightly more water to mix properly in recipes.

To start, we have a limited amount available however; we hope to increase available quantities in the coming months. If we run out of the variety you were hoping to order we are terribly sorry. Please make a note of it in y our order or email us so we have a better idea of how much to order next time.

Available flours:

All varieties offered come in 2 lb. and 5 lb. bags

·        Spelt
·        ½  White and ½ Whole Wheat
·        Whole Wheat
·        Corn Meal
·        Polenta
·        Rye
·        Buckwheat
·        Whole Wheat Pastry

Once you’ve tried it, please let us know what you think. We’d love your feedback!

Something Savory
Farm Fresh Omelette

1- 9” deep pie crust

½ lb. Lewis Waite Farm bacon (or Stonewood Farm turkey sausage) cooked, drained and sliced thin

½  onion, finely chopped

¼ lb. mushrooms, finely chopped

½ pkg. frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed to drain)

½ 8 oz. container sour cream

½ lb. mixed shredded cheese (Our suggestions are: Middletown Tomme, Cambridge Cheddar, Farmhouse Jack, Glebe Mountain or Smoked Cambridge)

2 oz. grated Caprino Romano cheese

2 T. fresh, chopped herbs (parsley or tarragon are our favorites!)

4 eggs

½ c. Half and Half

1.      Preheat oven to 375. Once at temperature, bake pie crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

2.      Sautee onions and mushrooms until tender. Stir in bacon (or sausage) and set aside.

3.      Mix spinach and sour cream with salt and pepper to taste

4.      Layer the pie crust with: spinach mixture – onion mixture – cheese

5.      Beat eggs and cream, add Caprino Romano and pour into pie crust

6.      Bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until puffy and golden

This delicious quiche will smell irresistible when it comes out of the oven and will take all of your will power not to slice into right there and then!

Check us out! 

Thank you to everyone who has joined us on Facebook. If you haven’t become a fan of Lewis Waite Farm yet, please do so. Every week we have something new from the farm including photos, stories and recipes. Check out the discussion section of the Lewis Waite Farm fan page for some great meal ideas to include in this order. 

Best Wishes,

Alan & Nancy Brown

Lewis Waite Farm

135 Lewis Hill Ln

Greenwich, NY 12834

518-692-3120

www.csalewiswaitefarm.com 

www.lewiswaitefarm.com