What's for Lunch?

Despite the rain, our markets are in full swing - we are still spending each Saturday at the market on South Chestnut Street in Butler and we have added the Tarentum market on Wednesdays to our list, as well. 

One of the items that haven't been selling as well is the collard greens, which is such a shame - they're so good (and good for you)! Truthfully, like myself up until last week, most people don't know what to do with these vitamin-A and K-rich leaves, so I'm posting the recipe for the lunch I made today with the collards left over from yesterday's market. 

Collards with Bacon 

Ingredients:

- 1 bunch of collard greens

- 6-8 slices of bacon

- 1 small candy onion 

- 3 cloves of garlic 

- 1 Tbsp of powdered hot pepper (your choice)

- 1 sprig of roughly chopped fennel (optional)

- crumbled goat or feta cheese (optional)

Directions:

 

Rinse your collard greens, then rip them from their stems and tear them into small pieces, about the size of the palm of your hand. 

Free tip: keep the stems and unused leaves for mulching - it's free and effective!

Once shredded, set aside on a tray or plate to air-dry while you cook your bacon. 

While still stacked tightly in their packaged state, cut your bacon into four chunks. Peel apart each chunk to separate. 

Next, chop your onion into minced-sized pieces. Throw the onion in a small bowl, then smash and chop your garlic (I really like garlic with collards, but if three cloves is too much for you, use whatever you feel is best tasting). If using fennel, chop now and set aside. 

Free tip: before frying the bacon, take any kettle, clean pots, etc. off your stove to guard them against grease splatters.

It's cooking time now! Starting your stove burner on "high," add your first few pieces of bacon to your skillet - as bacon grease starts to pool in the pan, turn the heat to "medium." While your bacon cooks, prepare a cooling station by placing two paper towels over a cooling rack. Slightly cook the bacon on both sides, then transfer to your cooling station. Add more bacon and repeat, turning your burner down ever so slightly each time you add a new wave of uncooked bacon (this is because your bacon grease, or "fond," remains extremely hot and doesn't need the high settings to stay that way!). By the time you are done frying your bacon, your burner should be set to "low."

Once all of your bacon is cooked and on the cooling rack,  it's time to cook your aromatics: add your chopped onion to the fond and allow it to simmer for a minute or so. Stir, and then add the minced garlic. Now add your choice of powdered hot pepper (I used some of my dried powdered chile pepper from last year's crop, but you can use anything from paprika to cayenne). As soon as your aromatics have slightly browned, start adding your greens - add a handful at a time, then stir. Repeat until all the greens are mixed into the aromatics and have started to wilt. Now toss in your bacon bits (and chopped fennel, if desired). 

Cover your skillet and let steam for 10-15 minutes, then stir. Cover and let steam another 10-15 minutes, then stir and serve with the crumbled cheese of your choice on top. Enjoy! 

See some nice benefits of collards below, complements of nutrition-and-you.com: 

What's for dinner?

Happy new year to everyone! We hope you all have enjoyed 2015 thus far. With the new year always comes resolutions: although I don't make "resolutions," per se, I have decided to start trying some new recipes this year since my Pinterest (and recipe books) is (/are) bursting with them! The recipe I'm coasting tonight is one I have been eyeing up for the past couple weeks. When out with Cindy this past weekend, I had to make sure that I made a stop at Wholey's in the Strip to pick up some fresh fish. This recipe calls for smoked salmon - an item on which I am not willing to skimp. 😉 Ladies and gents, behold: smoked salmon-dill-horseradish tartlets!

Smoked Salmon-Dill-Horseradish Tartlets 

Ingredients for pastry dough:

- 1 cup flour (plus more for preventing sticking)

- 5.5 Tbsp cold butter

- cold water (as much as seems needed)

- dried chives (about 2 spoonfuls)

Place butter slices, a pinch of salt, chives and flour in a food processor and use until mixture looks like crumbs. Transfer to a bowl and add cold water (just enough to bring the dough together). Work with your floured hands into 6 balls.  Using a mini-roller, roll dough out, then cut dough out with a tartlet cutter (or small cookie cutter). Transfer cut out dough to your tartlet tray (or whatever deep-dished bakeware you're using, ie, mini muffin tins) and press in firmly. Bake at 400* for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile...

Ingredients for filling:

- 1/4 cup sour cream

- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream 

- 1 tsp horseradish 

- 1/2 tsp lemon juice 

- 2 tsp chopped capers 

- 3 egg yolks 

- 8 oz smoked salmon (I got the "smoked salmon nuggets" from Wholey's)** cut and flaked small

- 1 Tbsp dill (plus extra for garnish)

**note: if you can't find smoked salmon, use regular salmon with 2 tsp of smoked paprika or chipotle powder. 😁

Combine all filling ingredients and pour into tartlets. Return to oven for an additional 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool on counter for an extra five minutes before trying to extract the tartlets from their pan. 

Voilà! The finished product!

What's for Dessert?

It's that wonderful time in the summer when the rhubarb is finally tart and perfect for the picking - time to make rhubarb desserts! Steve has been begging me to make some strawberry rhubarb pie "for his buddies to try" (he claims they've never had it before, but I think it's just an excuse for him to have me bake it!), so tonight I've done just that. 

Of course, I had some dough left over, so I made a mini one for market, too. ☺️

The recipe is simple: start with your favorite pie crust recipe - after making your dough, preheat your oven to 400*. Cut two large stalks of rhubarb into slices about 1/4" thick...it should end up to be 2-1/2 to 3 cups. Then add 1-1/2 bags of frozen berries (I like to get the "berry medley" bags so that you get all sorts of flavors, but sweet and tart, to complement the rhubarb). Mix the fruit and rhubarb together in a large bowl with 1-1/2 cups of granulated sugar until te berries start to smash down a little and create a syrupy mixture in the bowl. Stir in a teaspoon of nutmeg and a teaspoon of cinnamon, then scrape your filling into your pie crust. Top with another crust to make your double-crusted pie, then bake WITH A LAYER OF FOIL ON YOUR RACK for 40-45 minutes. 

(Sorry that I went all caps-lock there...I just don't want any of you to have THIS happen in your beautiful 2-yr. old otherwise spotless oven...😞) 

Serve alone or with a berry sherbet once completely cooled - enjoy!

What's for dinner?

Things are really picking up here on the farms now that the rain and warm weather have finally arrived; and with these, we get wonderful noms!

Here's what Steve and I had for dinner last night - just a recipe to consider using. You can buy some of the ingredients at our farmstand on Saturday if you feel adventurous and want to try it.

Kielbasa Pasta with Kale

Kielbasa Pasta with Kale 

Ingredients:

• one bunch of kale, stripped from the stems
• one turkey kielbasa sleeve, cut into coins
• one shoot of fresh cilantro, chopped finely
• one shoot of green onions, chopped roughly
• one Tbsp. chipotle oil (or regular oil with a tsp. of red pepper flakes)
• one can of diced tomatoes with chiles, drained
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 heaping spoonful of minced garlic
• 1 box of organic wheat pasta (preferably angel hair)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

First, get your kale in the oven. Rinse your leaves and rip the greens from the long, bitter stem. Throw your greens on a cookie sheet and toss them in a bit (really, just a bit) of olive oil. Place in oven at 375* for 30 minutes or until lightly crisped. (Check on it periodically and push it around to get it evenly crisped.)

Once the kale is roasting, cut your kielbasa, cilantro, and onions up for some frying. Oil your skillet with the chipotle oil (or equivalent) and start browning your kielbasa coins. Toss in the cilantro and green onions once all of your meat is browned nicely. Next, add your drained can of tomatoes and chiles. After about a minute of steaming all the veggies together, add the butter, milk, lemon juice, and garlic. Stir and let simmer.

While your meat is simmering and haunting you with its zesty aroma, start your noodles. Boil the pasta in water as you normally would. Once you've cooked and drained your pasta, immediately take the kale from the oven if you haven't already.

Combine pasta, kale, and skillet contents into a large serving bowl - top with Parmesan and enjoy!

This is one of Steve's favorite ways to eat kale: let me know if you try this recipe and how you like it, too.

Hello again, all!

Lots of exciting things have been going on with the farms: with the arrival (however late it might be) of spring comes the new beginnings for plants and animals alike! During our church's Missions Conference, we had the opportunity to make a cute craft for the elementary-aged kids of GFPC...edible farm animals and edible Legos to build them houses and barns!

Check out our Facebook page to see one of the finished products! Last month's maple syrup and maple candy sales were amazing - we appreciate all of you who took an interest in our goods and hope that you enjoyed your product! Now that spring is upon us, the sap has stopped flowing and is now busy high up in the maple trees, giving nutrients to the branches and helping them bloom. <3 Now we can turn our attention to our greenhouse and get busy growing you all lots of yummy veggies.


Currently on the farms...

Now that the weather is finally starting to cooperate, we've been able to get things rolling for the upcoming farmer's markets and online orders (of course, by "online orders," I merely mean this page and the FB page - nothing too fancy yet, folks!). Come Easter, Cindy will have over twenty chicks on her hands that will have hatched - Steve and I will be taking a few off of her hands to raise, but we won't be able to take them all! If anyone is interested in raising some peeps, just let us know. She also has eggs to sell ($2.50 / dozen) to anyone interested: these can be picked up through her or through me. :)

Lots of baking has been happening lately at our house, in particular shortbreads! Our shortbreads are going for as little as $3.00 (these give you eight servings), but if you have a special kind of shortbread that you'd like, just let me know: I'm sure I can make it! To kick-start your brain (and tastebuds) though, here are a few to think about:

• blackberry (or blackberry~lemon), $4
• blueberry (or blueberry~lemon), $4
• chocolate (or chocolate~hazelnut), $5
• honey~nut, $6
• lemon (or berry~lemon, see variations above), $4
• orange~spice, $4
• original, $3

Blackberry~Lemon

Blueberry~Lemon

Easter is rapidly approaching - if you need any desserts to bring to your Easter lunch or want to have some lamb or chick cut-out cookies, I'm your girl. *wink* Peeps and sheep not your thing? I can also make you bluebird or butterfly cut-outs, too!

Last, but not least - our vegetables and herbs are finally sown! Here's a quick list of what we will have this year to give you an idea of what you can find at our market stands in the next few months:

• carrots
• turnips
• radishes
• lettuce (large and leafy)
• spinach (a lovely hybrid brand with beautiful leaves!)
• kale
• collards
• string green beans
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• corn
• cucumbers (both pickling size and our big seller last year, burpless)
• tomatoes
• onions
• tomatillos
• peppers (green bell, banana, jalapeno, and chili)
• cilantro
• parsley
• sage 
• rosemary
• thyme (lol)
• chive
• basil
• oregano
• dill
• tarragon
• mint
• lavender 
• cut flowers 
• knitted wares

We're also planting blueberry bushes and rhubarb this year, but they won't be worth harvesting this summer; perhaps by next year we can start bringing those to the table, too. Cindy is planting much of the same so that we have lots to sell but, in addition to this list, she will be growing eggplant, zucchini, and some different kinds of squashes, too. The plans are to think outside the box and provide not just the veggies and herbs themselves, but also some canned products as well (salsa, dilly beans, sauces, etc.) We will both have lots of pumpkins as well, come autumn.

Our first day at the Butler farmers' market will be May 17th - hope to see some of you there!

Begin pilot post!

Hello to all those who must have recently "liked" our Facebook page! My name is Sammi and, partnering with my mother-in-law, Cindy, we are "The Farmers' Wives" (note: two farmers, two wives - just to be clear *wink*). If you accidentally stumbled across our site, do stay awhile and read: you may find something that interests you; and, if you do, head over to Facebook and like our page, too.

For starters, let me tell you who we are: my mother-in-law and her husband have had a hobby farm for years and years: they do crops, cattle, and chickens. My husband Steve and I live on a corporate-owned farm that raises Black Angus cattle and a few crops as well (mostly for feed). On the side, he and I also do some vegetable farming of our own. My passion is in the kitchen, and I love doing fun things with the stuff we grow. Whether it's baking with the eggs from my in-laws' farm or making fresh homemade maple syrup from our maple trees, I'm always doing something with what the Lord has provided us.


Currently on the farms...

It's March and, as many know, that means that the sugar maples are flowing with sap! Every day now, Steve and I hop on the quad and go tree-to-tree collecting sap throughout the area we tap. This season lasts about a month and a half, depending on the weather - so far, it's been going great! As I type, I'm running in and out of the house adding wood to the fire that is heating a giant pan, boiling the sap to evaporate the water and bring it down to a smooth, sweet maple syrup. Our method is simple: we heat it until it becomes syrup, can it, and store it. Nothing added. If you are interested in purchasing a jar, it goes for $8 / pint. :)

From the leftovers of the syrup that can't fill a whole jar, I get to have some fun making melt-in-your-mouth maple candies. The candies are simply the same pure maple syrup...just boiled down to sugar crystals. I'm not the type to add sugar to my coffee, but Steve loves a candy added to his black tea in the morning.
One bag (8 large candies) goes for just $2.75.

Lastly, now that the weather is warmer (and my brother-in-law killed the opossum stealing from the hen house), Cindy is finally seeing some results from her chickens! We have large free-range eggs to sell to anyone interested - $2.50 / dozen. And if you'd rather make omelets rather than bake cookies with those eggs, we have the cookies already made for you, as well! My soft, frosted shamrock cookies are perfect for St. Patrick's Day party favors or teacher gifts for your kids - just $2 a bag (three tiered cookies) or $20 / dozen bags.

We will keep you posted on all our March goodies, but keep us posted on what more you'd like to see! Since we don't have herbs or vegetables yet to sell, you can still keep us in mind for any baked goods you might need - just shoot us an email at TheFarmersWives@gmail.com and tell us what you'd like!