Rain & Wet

If you haven’t noticed, it’s been a little rainy and wet around here.  We had high hopes of planting in the field Friday night but that was quickly dashed away when Keith starting sinking in his boots.  We had been soaking our spinach seeds and we needed to figure out a way to get those seeds in the field.

Because of space constraints in our larger greenhouse (30′ x 72′) we decided to use our smaller greenhouse (15′ x 48′).  In there, we planted broccoli, eggplant and peppers, all planted this past week.  In our larger greenhouse, we put in our tomato plants and some peppers.  We also seeded some cucumbers in there too.  We’ve been harvesting spinach for a while now.  Very, very soon will be radishes and soon will be lettuce mix.  Our new bed of spinach is looking very nice and with the weather forecast in the 70’s this week, hopefully, we will be picking these new beds.

So back to the soaking seeds dilemna.  Keith had the great idea of planting in the raise beds that we already have out there.  Last year those raised beds had plastic on them and contained zucchini, summer squash and cucumbers.  So we quickly readied the beds and planted away.  One bed of beets, one bed of carrots, one bed of spinach and that last bed containing lettuce mix, radishes, turnips and arugula.

Needless to say, a very productive evening last night getting this done.  Very happy for the extra daylight as we started late and finished before the sunset.

Maker:0x4c,Date:2018-2-2,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-Y

 

CSA Sign Ups Ending Soon…

OK folks, if you’ve procrastinated and put it off, now is the time to pick a CSA.  Yep there are tons out there.  How do you decide?  Our CSA is a bit different from the standard ones out there.  A little bit about ours:

  • We are stewards of the soil.  We feed the soil what it is lacking:  calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, rock dust, fish.  We do not use chemicals.  We call ourselves a step above organic because we are.  We are better than organic.
  • Our CSA is free choice.  You pick what you want each week.
  • Your upfront payment acts as a credit card.  You have this money to spend on the products you decide you want each week.
  • We split our CSA into 4 – five week sessions.  You can just do 1 session, 2, 3 or all of them.  You can skip a week or two.
  • We have a large size and a small size.  You can mix and match.  Again, you decide what you get and you control your spending.  When you run out of money, you are done, or you can continue by paying each week.

For more information about us.  Check out our website here.  To order your CSA, go here.  Sign ups end May 1, 2018.

We look forward to providing you and your family with great nutritious vegetables throughout the summer.  Michelle and Keith

 

CSA DAY FEBRUARY 23, 2018

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CSA Day Offers Second Chance for New Year’s Resolutions

Celebrate Community-Supported Agriculture on Feb. 23 with Still Seeking Farm

Are your New Year’s resolutions already in the rearview mirror? If so, you’re not alone, but you still have time to make good on those resolutions. We are pleased to join other farms from around the country for the third annual CSA Day on February 23, when you can join other like-minded people around the country who are committed to:

  • eating healthful foods and preparing them for their families;
  • supporting their local farmer;
  • being kind to our planet;
  • learning something new; and
  • being adventurous in the kitchen.

CSA (community-supported agriculture) is a subscription to a season’s worth of sustainable, locally grown produce that is distributed to members throughout the harvesting season. It is a form of investment that allows small farmers to continue growing on a scale that may not be sustainable without the CSA model. CSA members enjoy the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables for their family, while supporting their local farmer.

According to Small Farm Central’s CSA Farming Annual Report, the most popular time to join a CSA each year is at the end of February. To promote this important time for farmers, CSA Day was coined, and each year it falls on the last Friday in February. It’s an entire day dedicated to the celebration of community-supported agriculture, and CSA farmers enjoy an influx of sign-ups from members, which gives them revenue when they need it most for the growing season.
Getting food from a CSA is different from going to a farmers market or using a grocery delivery service. As a CSA member, you make a seasonal commitment to a small farmer in your area, and the produce is either delivered to your door or you pick it up at a local distribution point. CSA members take pleasure in knowing where and how their food is grown, and typically have an open line of communication with their farmer.

“Community-supported agriculture is all about relationships and feeding families,” said Simon Huntley, CEO of Small Farm Central, a company that provides marketing support for small farms and started CSA Day. “CSA farmers typically teach members what’s in season throughout the year, and help them appreciate and cook food to which they may not otherwise be exposed.”

How to Get Involved with CSA Day

If you would like to celebrate CSA Day and support Still Seeking Farm, sign up for a share on February 23, and use the hashtag #CSAday to join the online conversation.

Sign-up is easy. To learn more and to join us for the 2018 season, you can sign up here:

https://csa.farmigo.com/join/stillseekingfarmscsa/csa

 As an added incentive and to pass along our appreciation, anyone who purchases a CSA share on February 23, 2018 will receive an additional 10% purchasing power and a half-pint of maple syrup.  And to those of you who have already signed up, you too, will receive a half-pint of maple syrup.

Thank you for your support!  Keith and Michelle

Maple Syrup Sale-up to 15% off

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We are offering a sweat heart of a deal good through Valentine’s Day.  Ten Percent (10%) off all of our maple syrup.  Heck, if you order at least $100’s worth, we will even deliver it (limited to a 20 miles radius from our farm).  Otherwise, you will pick it up at the farm.

Some of you may know that we are associated with Gilmanton’s Own.  So if you order anything through any of the farmers/vendors associated with Gilmanton’s Own, we will even take 15% of any maple syrup you order through us.  Same deal applies.  If you order over $100’s worth we will deliver it (limited to the 20 mile radius of our farm).

To order your maple syrup go  here and apply the code “Yum!” at checkout (don’t use the quotation marks).

To see a list of Gilmanton’s Own farmers/vendors go here.

Thank you for supporting local!  Michelle and Keith

SMOOTHIES

Smoothie-Blog Title

There are so many smoothie recipes out there and I suggest you just try what looks good to you.  We have a Vitamix which works great.  Before that we had a Nutra-Bullet but that just made one smoothie at a time.  So we switched to the Vitamix where I can make two to three serving size smoothies at a time.  Vitamix also makes hot soup and cold ice cream.  It’s worth the investment.  We use it every day.

For picky eaters and your kids, this is a good way to disguise your vegetables.  I don’t get enough vegetables in my diet so by having a green smoothie once a day or three times a week I fulfill this requirement.  I have to admit that I find myself making the same vegetables over and over again using the same method.  I struggle trying to find recipes or something that looks good in the vegetable department so by drinking smoothies this helps a lot and to me, it requires less thinking and time which for me, is a huge timesaver.

Smoothie Ingredients

LIQUIDS:  So you need to have a liquid base.  You can use water (filtered preferred).  I typically use coconut water or almond milk dependent upon what kind of smoothie I am making.  You can also use juice (vegetable or fruit) but be careful of the sugar content.  Right now I am trying to reduce my sugar intake so I am using unsweetened almond milk and coconut water.  Coconut water is surprisingly sweet.  Be sure you get the kind that is 100% coconut water.  Many brands on the market have added ingredients.  Read the labels.  I use Mojo Naturals or Goya Organics for coconut water.  I use Silk for almond milk as it does not have the additive Carrageenan.  Again, check the labels as even these brands might sneak something in dependent upon the variety.

LEAFY GREENS:  The most common, in my opinion, and what I use a lot of is spinach.  The taste is mild in a smoothie so that may be a good place to start.  In combination with spinach I typically will use kale.  Kale has a bit of a stronger taste but I typically will use 2/3 spinach to 1/3 kale.  Sometimes I will throw in some swiss chard or beet greens and if I have mixed lettuce that needs to be used up, I will throw that in there too.

FRUITS:  All kinds of choices here.  I will buy a pineapple and then cut it up into chunks and freeze in a freezer bag and pull chucks as I need them.  It is cheaper this way instead of buying the frozen cut up chucks in the freezer section of the grocery store.  Just keep in mind the sugar content in some fruits are high.  So if you are using high sugar fruits, there typically would be no need to add a sweetener.  This is a good way to mask a stronger tasting leafy green.

SWEETNERS:  Bananas that are brown and overripe will add much sweetness to your smoothies.  My second go to is dates.  Oranges work, especially those little ones like a mandarin.  I have mixed feelings about agave nectar.  I don’t use it anymore.  Sometimes I will add Xylitol which is actually from a birch tree.  I learned about Xylitol years ago from a conference I attended.  Did you know Trident gum uses Xylitol?  There are more out there but these are the ones that I would consider.

EXTRAS:  Superfoods are great for you and have many health benefits in themselves.  I could write pages and pages on them.  I typically use green tea powder, spirulina or cacao nibs for my go-tos.  I also use flax seed (ground up) and chia seeds on occasion.  There are so many different superfoods out there.  Coconut in my opinion is a superfood so I try to incorporate any type of coconut in my smoothies for the added benefit as it does so much for your body.  I will typically add turmeric and cayenne pepper to my green smoothies.  This does a good job of covering up avocado taste or a bitter taste and gets the blood circulating too.  Good a cold winter’s day.

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To get a creamy texture to your smoothie – freeze your bananas.  I peel them and break them up and put them in chunks into a freezer bag and leave in the freezer.  Use them as needed and just keep replacing them.  Avocado also makes for a really smooth smoothie.  To me, avocado has a taste that needs to be disguised so I am always mindful about how I use them in my smoothies.

HOW TO LAYER YOUR SMOOTHIE:  Put your greens and liquid in the bottom of the blender.  I typically will ground this up first before I add anything else – sometimes it gets a little tight in the blender and this will give you more space.  Next add your fresh fruits and/or veggies, dry ingredients such as spices, powders, seeds or nut butters and finally frozen fruits and ice.

HEALTH BENEFITS:  Once you start drinking smoothies, your body will begin to crave them.  I know when I get a hankering for something sweet, instead of reaching for candy or some other sugar ridden product, I make my go to carrot smoothie (recipe below).  By beginning this healthy routine, you will notice some changes, some immediate, some in time.  Your energy will increase.  By blending your “food” the process breakdowns plan cell walls, which makes it easier for your body to digest and absorb the nutrients.  This means that your body does less work in the digestion process.  You will probably notice your skin will change and your mind may be a bit more sharp (don’t we all need that!).  Other benefits include strengthening your immune system, regular bowel movements and weight loss, because the high fiber content in your green smoothies.

Recipes

PLEASE NOTE:  The following recipes are enough to make two smoothies. I like thicker smoothies – so you would add more ice.  If you like thinner smoothies, decrease your ice.  Please take into consideration that if you are using frozen fruit you need less and if you are using lots of greens or fresh fruit, you may need more.

**CARROT SMOOTHIE**

½ to ¾ cup of carrot juice (I make my own by juicing my carrots)

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

Dates – pitted; depending upon the size use 5 to 8

¼ cup of cacao nibs

2 tsps. Macha green tea (powder)

8 pieces of bananas (frozen) (about 1 ½ inches each)

Ice

**GREEN SMOOTHIE-simple-first timers**

2 cups spinach

2 cups water

1 cup chopped mango*

1 cup chopped pineapple*

2 bananas*

(*one of these should be frozen)

(ice if you want it colder)

**GREEN SMOOTHIE**

2 cups leafy greens (mentioned above)

2 cups liquid (I use coconut water)

1 inch piece of ginger

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp turmeric

2 tsp matcha green tea powder

¾ tsp spirulina

2 Tbsp flax seed (ground) and/or chia seeds

1 orange peeled (make sure no seeds)

½ cup pineapple (I use frozen chunks) or mango

8 banana chunks (frozen)

Ice

**PEPPERMINT PATTY**

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

2 cups spinach

2 Tbsp almond butter

½ tsp peppermint oil (get food grade from a food coop)

¼ cup cocoa powder or cacao powder

8 banana chunks (frozen)

Sweetener of choice

Ice

 

ENJOY!

Paleo Challenge Update

Quick post on how we are doing.  We are just about half way.  Michelle has lost 5 pounds.  Keith has lost 10 pounds.  Not much movement on the body fat though; actually Michelle’s is going up (makes no sense).  We pretty much just eat vegetables and meat and herbs/spices.  We use good fats such as avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil.  Lots and lots of eggs.  I’ve never eaten so much eggs and meat!  I am finding it hard as far as meal prep.  I like to cook what I know.  Now I am having to plan and find recipes and figure out my meals for the day the night before.  Just made Paleo Shepherd’s Pie last night.  A picture below shows the mess in the kitchen and the final product.  It was good.   The stuff that looks like potatoes is actually cauliflower.  Wouldn’t even know it huh? Michelle feels much more mobile – aches and pains are gone.  We will post a final post at the end of the month.  Stay tuned….20180113_17505320180113_182641

Tomatoes in June?

Tomatoes in June_As many of you know, our 30′ x 76′ greenhouse was put up at the end of 2017. We were very fortunate to get a grant for two greenhouses last year.  The second one, will be going up in the spring/early summer.

We will have spring veggies in this greenhouse that will be ready in the spring (April/May).  Yum!  Can’t wait!  Also in this greenhouse, we will be growing, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, basil and green peppers.  So….what does this mean?  It means, that we should have these crops ready one month earlier than they are typically ready in this area.

I know, I hear you saying, yeah but greenhouse tomatoes – they don’t taste like anything!  Ours, will have taste and they will actually taste like a tomato because of the way that we grow.  So look for us at the markets this summer with crops a bit earlier than the other folks.  Oh yeah, if you want to make sure you get some and don’t miss out if you come late to the market, think about signing up for our free choice CSA (you pick what you want) and your bag will be already set aside with the products that you want that week so you won’t miss out!  If you sign up by February 1st, you get an extra 10% in purchasing power.  Check it out here.  If you want to learn how to get a free CSA, check it out here.

HEALTH & NEW YEAR

Happy 2018!!!!.  Lots of info in here.  Please read.

Happy New Year!

We got a jump start on 2018 by starting last month analyzing our year and what we hope to accomplish in 2018.  Many changes are in store for us, some we can’t quite let out of the bag yet.  As you already may know:

So many of our discussions with our customers at the market is about health and how eating our vegetables makes people feel better.  It’s amazing the positive reaction people have and it really makes us feel good that we are able to help people that way.  So in order to further educate our customers, we have created a page on our website where we come across things that are inspirational to us, such as books, movies, facts, websites that further promote what we are doing here and where our beliefs are.  We want to pass this information along to you because sometimes at the markets it’s just too busy to take the time and chat for a period of time.

Keith had the pleasure of attending the annual Bionutrient Food Association conference at the end of November.  He met many people and listened to great people who are leading the field in soils, nutrition and health.  In particular, Kathleen DiChiara.  Keith attended her lecture, while walking into the room, she looked at every participant’s hands and could tell if you were low in magnesium or not.  Of the 100 in the room 3 were OK, 7 were severe and everyone else low levels.  She urged the 7 severe people, to immediately go to the doctors or they would end up like her.  She had a successful career, children, athletic and then her body decided to quit.  After having surgery, and waking up, she was paralyzed.  Every symptom you could think of, she had it.  She decided to heal herself and her family and take matters into her own hand.  I am currently reading her book “Hidden Connections”.  Looking at her now, you would never she was sick.  This book will be listed on our webpage.  Takeaways:

You must improve your gut health – it is the place to initial all forms of healing.

  • Seed oils such as canola, corn, soy and margarine are all genetically modified and high in Omega 6 fats, which cause inflammation.
  • There has been a dramatic rise of multiple chronic diseases, since the introduction of GMOs in 1996.  At that time it was less than 50,000 deaths attributed to these diseases, now it is over 350,000.
  • Foods labeled 100% UDSA organic cannot lawfully contain GMOs.  Look for labels with this wording, otherwise there maybe GMO in there somewhere.
  • Familiar with the dirty dozen?   www.ewg.org
  • Look for BPA free can liners if you buy canned food.
  • Did you know our store receipts have BPA on them??????  True, rubs easily off the receipt onto your hands and said hands are sure to make it to your face,mouth?
  • BPA free plastics?  May not be so BPA free – stick to glass or ceramic.
  • Avoid parabens in your health & beauty products.  Check out the Skin Deep database for brands that avoid parabens.  www.ewg.org/skindeep.
  • Don’t use perfumes.
  • Don’t use fabric softeners.
  • Do you have wrinkles, stretch marks or cellulite?  The smoothness of your skin comes from connective tissue.  Bone broth makes skin supple.  Cellulite is not from excess fat.  Cellulite comes from the lack of connective tissue.  Collagen-rich bone broth will supply the skin with the tools it needs to support itself.
  • Soak your nuts before you eat them.  Nuts contain numerous enzyme inhibitors that can strain the digestive system.
  • Look into Oil Pulling.  Amazing!

Hoping we haven’t lost you yet and you are still reading.  Beginning January 1, we will be doing the 30-day Paleo challenge.  We’ve heard about this way of eating for many years now but figured it was time we tried it out.  This is pretty much a meat and vegetable way of eating.  No sugars, no grains, no white potatoes.  There seems to be great success in loosing inflammation, inches and weight.  People who are on medications, come of it.  So to keep us accountable, I will be posting weekly updates on weight loss, inches lost, how we feel, what we are eating.  If you want to follow along, these will be posted on our blog.

That’s it – hope this wasn’t too long for people.  Just a reminder that if you haven’t signed up for our CSA yet, to grab the extra 10% in purchasing power, you need to do so by February 1st.  We wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2018.

Michelle and Keith