Blog - New Morning Farm

Recipes

11/29/2018

Spicy-Sweet Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Prep Time 7 mins Cook Time 30 mins

Spicy-Sweet Roasted Sweet Potatoes are coated in a spice mixture that is both sweet and spicy and then roasted in a hot oven until brown and crispy.
Course: Side Dish
Servings: 4
Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place sweet potatoes in a large bowl and drizzle with oil.
Add remaining ingredients and stir to coat sweet potatoes evenly.
Spread sweet potatoes out on a large baking sheet.
Bake 15 minutes. Stir and bake another 15 to 20 minutes.

Jim's Notes

11/29/2018

Thursday, November 29, 2018
Hi folks,

Hope you had a good holiday and that you enjoyed tons of NM Farm foods. We had a huge market day on the 17th, so thank you for that! Our daughter Janie’s pies (350 Bakery) were a huge seller! Our apologies for those who did not snag a pecan pie! We had lots but not enough. And by the way, don’t forget you can always reserve a pie (or anything else) in advance, or even same day, just by calling or texting me on my cell. 814 599 2777.

Moie and I had a very nice Thanksgiving ourselves. We spent time in Pittsburgh with Janie and Eric, which gave us a great opportunity to really see the latest developments at the bakery. It’s coming along slowly but beautifully—the retail shop we hope will be opening soon.

The bakery’s reputation is building really well too, and they’re working like crazy to keep everyone supplied with goodies. Mainly it’s restaurants and mom&pop coffee shops all over town. And of course you nice folks in DC, who remain the bakery’s biggest customers.

My personal take (and I confess I’ve always been a nut for pies) is that they should shout about their pies as their signature item. It took them a few months, but they now really have it down pat. Great crust, lots of good, natural fruit fillings, and never too sweet! But you probably already know all this!

We’ll be back to see you this Saturday even if the weather isn’t the greatest. And we start officially at 9 now that it’s winter. For those who come early by knee jerk habit, we ease you into it by gradually moving the start from 8 to 9.

See you then.

Jim's Notes - (see Blog for previous weeks & months notes)

11/15/2018

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Recipe of the Week

11/15/2018

CRANBERRY ORANGE RELISH

One (12 oz) package fresh cranberries
2 oranges
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Using a food processor, pulse the cranberries and oranges. Transfer the chopped fruit to a 1 quart bowl and add 1/2 cup of the sugar, stirring to mix. Add more sugar to taste, as the sweetness of the oranges will vary. Add the chopped pecans and serve

NOTE: This relish will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Jim's notes

11/8/2018

Sorry, no time for a long message this week. But I did want to remind you that we never come on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. So we won’t see you on the 24th but we will return on December 1.

This Saturday coming up is our big Thanksgiving sale. We have a good supply of all the traditional favorites, like white potatoes, sweet potatoes, pie pumpkins, butternut squash, onions, carrots, etc.

And as always we’ll have zillions of Thanksgiving pies, made by our daughter at 350 Bakery. She does a great job of all the standard kinds: pumpkin, apple, cran-apple, pecan and my very favorite, mince, with homemade vegetarian mincemeat. Yum!

So I’ll see you Saturday to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Jim

Jim's Notes -

11/8/2018

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Dear loyal customers and friends,

Last week I talked about certified-organic milk, and described how and why so many traditional family dairy farmers, both organic and conventional, are going out of business across the country.

It boils down to the fact that big corporations have established industrial milk production facilities (thousand of cows confined in barns or on mud lots with no access to pasture). This milk is cheap to produce, since pasture is expensive, but it can’t be as nutritious as old-fashioned milk. (When cows eat grass, as they evolved to do, their milk contains more nutrients good for people).

But organic milk is supposed to be from cows on pasture. That’s the organic standard. However, the USDA, under pressure from lobbyists, does not enforce this standard. So industrially-produced milk can be labeled “organic”. And priced well below the cost of production of family farms that use pasture.

But we consumers can still support family organic dairy farms that use pasture, by buying the right brands. NOT the most common one, “Horizon,” NOT store brands. The best real (pastured) organic milk I know of is “Natural by Nature.” Not my choice of words, but excellent milk, produced near DC in southern PA by mostly Amish and Mennonite farms. Another good choice is “Grassmilk” by Organic Valley. Some OV milk is industrially produced, but this sub-brand is true organic milk. Try them!

See you Saturday.

Recipe

11/8/2018

Pear Crisp
For the Topping:
·         ¾ cup (74 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
   ½ cup (71 grams) all-purpose flour
·         ¼ cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
·         ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
·         ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
·         ⅛ teaspoon salt
·         5 tablespoons (50 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
For the Filling:
·         2 tablespoons granulated sugar
·         2 teaspoons lemon juice
·         1 teaspoon cornstarch
·         Pinch of salt
·         3 pounds ripe pears (Bartlett or Bosc), peeled, halved, cored, each half quartered lengthwise, and each quarter cut in half crosswise
DIRECTIONS:
1.         Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2.        Make the Topping: In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Drizzle the melted butter over the mixture and stir until the mixture resembles wet sand. Set aside.
3.        Make the Filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and salt. Add the pears and gently stir with a rubber spatula until evenly coated. Transfer the pear mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish.
4.        Sprinkle the topping evenly over the filling. Transfer the dish to the prepared foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the fruit is bubbling around the edges and the topping is a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking. Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack and let cool until warm, about 15 minutes.
RECIPE NOTES:
Note: The original recipe called for chopped nuts in the crisp topping, but I substituted oats. Feel free to use nuts, if you’d like instead of oats – pecans or walnuts would be great choices!

Jim's Notes

11/1/2018

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Folks,

I know you’re thinking why is he talking about milk? New Morning Farm does not sell milk of course, and never will, because health dept rules would never allow it.

But we buy milk to drink and so do you. And, as an organic farmer I probably know more about the organic milk situation than many of you. So I wanted to talk about it a little bit, (consumer education!) inspired by a telephone call I just got from an organic dairy farmer.

Family organic dairy farmers are having a very tough time these days. Many are going out of business.The price paid to the farmer for milk is disastrously low.

The reason for this is surprisingly simple. A few big corporations have developed systems for producing milk very cheaply, on a very large scale, in arid parts of the West (no pasture). These systems drive down the price of milk way below the family farmer’s cost, and this huge flow of cheap milk floods the market.

This is a bad situation for any traditional dairy farmer, organic or not, but it’s always been assumed that organic dairy farms have their cows on pasture, which is a big cost factor (AND a quality factor).

But guess what? The USDA, in its wisdom, and in light of the huge corporate campaign contributions to politicians who influence USDA policy, has decided NOT TO ENFORCE the organic pasture rules. So huge dairy corporations can call their cheap milk “organic” and get the price premium that only real traditional organic farmers should get, even though those corporate farms don’t use (expensive) pasture.

What should you and I, consumers, do about it?
Stay tuned next week.

See you Saturday,
Jim.

Jim's Notes

10/18/2018

Jim's Notes - (see Blog for previous weeks & months notes)

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Hi folks,
I’m doing short notes, just to help me procrastinate on the financial stuff I’m supposed to do today. But here’s a few thoughts on apples:

Apples! Our area (Appalachia) is a traditional apple-growing area, famous for variety and quality. And sooo much closer to where we all live than Washington State, where 90% of store apples are grown.
Since the first day of our farmers market, in 1972, we have always brought you a great selection of crisp, juicy, local apples. And have you ever thought about how many different apple products we have for you in the fall and winter? Here’s a list:

1. Many varieties (usually about 10) of fresh ones. Yes, the popular Honey Crisp, but also soon Ginger Gold, Stayman, Pink Lady, Empire, Nittany, Fuji, Macintosh, York, Jonathan and many others.
2. Apple sauce. One of our most beloved items in the fall. So flavorful because we always use Jonathan apples only.
3. Apple cider. Always fresh, no preservatives, minimally pasteurized.
4. Apple pies. The best! Made by our daughter, Janie, usually from Jonathan apples.
5. Apple butter. Made in Frederick by Mccutcheon’s.
6. Applesauce bread. Also by our daughter. Not every week, but often.
7. Apple-flavored blather, which you see right here. (Just kidding! )
All the apples we bring you come directly from growers in our area. And right now, mid-October, the harvest is underway. So we will be havin
Jimg an increasing selection. Enjoy them, and all the delicious things we make from them.
Today’s secret word: guess what? “APPLES”.

See you Saturday.

Recipe

10/18/2018

Apple Strudel Muffins

Recipe By:NMARIEA
"Fabulous apple muffins with a delicious cinnamon crumb topping! Give them a try -- you won't be sorry!"

Prep – 20 mins           Cook – 20 mins            Ready In – 1 hour
Ingredients
·         2 cups all-purpose flour
·         1 teaspoon baking powder
·         1/2 teaspoon baking soda
·         1/2 teaspoon salt
·         1/2 cup butter
·         1 cup white sugar
·         2 eggs

·         1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
·         1 1/2 cups chopped apples
·         1/3 cup packed brown sugar
·         1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
·         1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
·         1 tablespoon butter
Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.