I’m participating in the One Local Summer project again this year, my third year to play along. Probably 70% of the food we eat is local, much of it right off of my own farm for a zero-mile meal, actually. But this week I used a couple of ingredients from other near-by farms as well.
Last spring, we bought half a cow from Hogwash Farm in Norwich, Vermont, where I bought Mr. Albus Dumbleboar. They have Belted Galloway cattle, grassfed, and we are just ending the last bits of it. Frank noticed that we had a standing rib roast still left. We were saving it for a nice occasion, but hadn’t used it, and seeing as it is a year old, thought it better to just eat it rather than commit the crime of letting it get freezer burn and wasted instead. It was, as usual, divine.
In the spirit of using up stuff that we already have, I pulled out some of the yellow beans from the garden that I canned last summer. I spent last week planting new beans in the garden, so we better get to eating up the stuff that we still have from last year’s harvest. This year I planted three kinds — green, yellow and purple. We eat a lot of beans, and canning them is so easy.
For dessert, I made maple-rhubarb pie from rhubarb that I got at the Keene Farmers’ Market. (The maple syrup is our own, of course.) I happened to be in town on Tuesday afternoon when they are open, and went in search of rhubarb. Only one vendor still had any left, but I was very glad. I definitely need to plant my own. For the crust, I used lard from Porkside Farms in Henniker, NH, who I’d seen at the Farmers’ Market last week. I won’t have my own for probably another month (we are giving Ginny and Hermione until July to either deliver or go to freezer camp), so I jumped at the chance when I saw it. They said I was the only person in two years to buy lard. (?!) Lard makes absolutely perfect pie crust!
Last week I made a maple pecan pie using the pecans that I traded some maple syrup for. This crust was made then too, and since I only had enough for one pie, instead I made a mini-pie in the Fiestaware pie pan, and then a couple of smaller ones to send in Frank’s Bento Boxes for lunch next week. I cut out the little flowers from the scraps and just covered the tops with them, and that worked out well. Kind of cute, even.
Maple rhubarb pie…. I have to try that, it seems that rhubarb is very adaptable. I love maple syrup, so this sounds really good. Did you add anything else in terms of fruit?
No, I just let the rhubarb, maple syrup and corn starch sit for about 20 minutes while I rolled out the crust. It came out really well and I still have a bit of rhubarb left and am tempted to just repeat it. Yum. Let me know how it turns out!
there was an easter where you made a flower arrangement using jelly beans in the vase. can you explain how you did that?
I remember that. It was fun. Get two vases, one smaller than the other but the same shape. The smaller one will need to fit completely inside the larger one. Fill the bottom of the larger one with jelly beans, then put the smaller vase in. Fill around it, up the sides, to the top. Then you put water and the flowers inside the smaller vase. I used tulips with jelly beans that matched the colors.
thank you. we are just making you into the martha stewart of the farm.