Growing up on my family's farm in Pennsylvania, I never would have pictured the life I live at Willow Haven farm. As a kid I spent summers in our large family garden we called, “The Truck Patch”. I helped mom every summer, picking beans, weeding, and cutting fruit and vegetables for the hundreds of jars of canned and frozen produce we put up. Now I spends less time out in the field and more time in the kitchen doing the same preserving for my own farm family. Farmer Reuben values my many hours doing much of the behind the scenes marketing, writing emails to cultivate customers and capturing the farm story each week. I'm always learning along the way in my quest to improve the farm experience for each of her current and future farm members in our 500+ member, year-round customized farm box delivery program. Reading our stories will connect you with your food in a way you never experienced before. Someday soon you will want to fit local food into your life and we'll be here to help you.
We can't eat in the house! + VIDEO + Pizza Night has open table for you!
Hi Reader,
"Mom, could you have guessed ten years ago that you'd be making supper for so many people every night that we can't eat in the house?"
No, I never would've guessed.
We call it Farm Dinner. Our biggest dinner of the week is on Mondays, when we invite everyone who lives and works on the farm. When everyone comes, that's 23 people!
That many does NOT fit around the kitchen table. We have a big farm kitchen and a big table but... it doesn't work. The farmhouse does not have a dining room, either.
Instead, our dining room is the deck that Simeon and Reuben built in 2019.
With Grandpa and Grandma joining in we have three generations from ages 73 - 1. My mom loves to help with the babies and her job is to bring dessert each week. I love that I don't have to make dessert in addition to the rest of the food and my mom gets the appreciation from the grandkids who love yummy desserts. It makes the meal special too, since we don't have desserts the rest of the week.
Except for Feast Days!
We've built days into our season to celebrate special occasions like the blessed bonfire and green walnut harvest on June 23, also known in former times as the Vigil of St. John the Baptist. This is the night we build a bonfire in the woods, invite friends, climb trees to pick the green walnuts and feast on fresh made soups and salads.
Here's a little teaser: the green walnuts are soaked in sugar, then fermented to make an Italian, alcoholic drink called Nocino. Traditionally it's ready at Christmas time - another feast!
Next year our nocino will be sold through a new local distillery - Dumb Ox Distillery - located at Willow Haven Farm. Exciting spirits like White Whiskey and White Rum are in the works - using the brand new copper stills. If you are interested in learning more as Farmer Reuben and his three partners launch this new venture - subscribe here. You don't have to love vegetables to support a local business - support local spirits too!
Rethinking the Veggie Side
I still cook in the farm kitchen, even though we don't eat there. Last night I used up three bunches of asparagus and 3 heads of bok choy to make a red curry with spring vegetables. The Instantpot easily made 5 cups of organic long grain brown rice for the crowd. Mushroom parsley salad and a lettuce salad with a dill vinaigrette completed the meal.
Living on a vegetable farm and receiving the same CSA box as everyone else, plus some extras that are left, has taught me to rethink vegetables at meals.
Not anymore. During the growing season I try to have three vegetable dishes at every meal:
- a cooked vegetable
- a raw vegetable or salad
- and a fermented vegetable.
-
You get different minerals and enzymes from each way of serving and preserving your veggies. I've seen some diets that say raw vegetables are best. Others that say, no, you have to cook certain veggies to digest them properly (broccoli, cabbage, kale, spinach etc.) And fermentation just brings your nutrition to whole new level by giving you pro-biotics and easier digestibility.
In order to feed this many, use up our veggies, provide nutrition and give people options according to their own tastes - three vegetable dishes it is!
An extra special farm dinner
Empty spots at this week's pizza night gave Farmer Reuben an idea. Let's give the Willow Haven Farm team a special farm dinner and include them in Pizza Night.
Farm members and guests are coming at 5 pm and 7 pm so we are going to fill the 6 pm seating with family and farm staff.
We've invited Grandma and Grandpa, my brother's family, the packing team, my assistant, Suzanne, and the farm staff that live here. That's right kids, you get to come to pizza night! (Farm kids: you might have to buss your own table, though.)
I wonder if anyone will make dessert? I have rhubarb in the fridge they can use to try making Rhubarb Buckle again.
You're invited. There's still room for you too!
If a last minute change makes it possible to for you to come at 5 pm or 7 pm - join us! It will be a merry time on the deck.
| Reserve My Table |
$25/person. Kids 4 & under eat free.
Farmer's Featured Pizza with Garlic Scapes
You know what I want on my pizza this time of year? Sautéed garlic scapes!
By April or May all the garlic I stored over the winter is used or shriveled up. Just when I need fresh garlic and I'm tired of using dried garlic powder, the garlic scapes are ready.
Never had them? They are the perfect fresh garlic taste to get you through until the full garlic harvest in July.
I'll tell you how they grow and what to do with them in this video!
Don't forget to come to Pizza Night.
TOMORROW --> Saturday, JUNE 11, 2022.
We'll keep farming for you!
Reuben and Tessa DeMaster
Willow Haven Farm
Directions to the farm
P. S. You or your neighbors can still sign up for a farm membership. We've started our season but there are lots of weeks to come for fresh farm grown goodness. See below 👇
Are you new? More info about our farm:
SPRING & SUMMER MARKET BOX: Get all the details on our website before you make your purchase. See the Market Box options here.
WHAT'S IN A MARKET BOX? Yep. I get it. You need to know what comes in a box. What's available? What's in season and when? Find out if our MARKET BOX deliveries of local farm food will fit your life and your goals. YES! SEND ME THE GUIDE.
FARM STORY VIDEOS: The Willow Haven Farm YouTube channel has fun, informative, and educational videos of our farm life and what organic farming looks like here. Check out it out here >>> VIDEOS!
Thinking of unsubscribing? current CSA members need to stay connected to our emails but you can limit them to just vital information about your membership by clicking here.
Tessa DeMaster
Growing up on my family's farm in Pennsylvania, I never would have pictured the life I live at Willow Haven farm. As a kid I spent summers in our large family garden we called, “The Truck Patch”. I helped mom every summer, picking beans, weeding, and cutting fruit and vegetables for the hundreds of jars of canned and frozen produce we put up. Now I spends less time out in the field and more time in the kitchen doing the same preserving for my own farm family. Farmer Reuben values my many hours doing much of the behind the scenes marketing, writing emails to cultivate customers and capturing the farm story each week. I'm always learning along the way in my quest to improve the farm experience for each of her current and future farm members in our 500+ member, year-round customized farm box delivery program. Reading our stories will connect you with your food in a way you never experienced before. Someday soon you will want to fit local food into your life and we'll be here to help you.
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