The Beet Goes On…

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, “What if I had never seen this before? What if I would never see it again?”"

- Rachel Carson

The very fact that I can write this post means that we survived our first week. The angst and lost-sleep proved to be more worry than fact and I have to say, we did quite well. I will, however, admit the following things (please allow a moment for my quasi-confession):

• I may have purchased two cups of coffee this week. The first, out of sheer habit. The second, sheer defiance.
• I may have accepted many gifts of easter chocolates from various co-workers (which has now resulted in the rule of “We-Welcome- Gifts-Because-It-Would-Be-Rude-To-Say-No”.
• I may have gone without lunch a few days this week because I failed to prepare my own lunch, however, everyone else in my house did just fine.

Okay, I feel better. But seriously, we did great. Our delicious kick-off Chowder Fest was followed by Easter Weekend with the in-law family. Again, following our rule “When-at-someone-elses-home-partake-in-whatever-meal-is-served (because-it-would-be-rude-to-pass-up-the-famous-chocolate-cake), we eased into the diet, though the main course of Ham was purchased locally from Farmer’s Gate Market (and it was delicious!).

Sunday night, Nate and I engaged our inner-middle-eastern and baked pita-pockets (recipe to follow) for lunches. I’ve never had so much fun staring through the window of the stove squealing “Mine’s puffing up more than yours!”

Successful Lunch #1: Homemade Pita & Egg Salad with Spinich…all from Maine

Nate has mastered a bread recipe that is to die-for (and right after I stop playing catch-up with the blog, I’ll post both the Pita and Bread recipes) and we’ve enjoyed both a blueberry loaf and a dill-loaf.  We’ve also made pizza dough and dinner rolls and my next attempt will be english muffins (though I’ve been told they work best with on a counter top griddle ,which I don’t have).

Dinners have been delightful and for good and for better, we’ve cornered the market on locating greens (ps, why did no one TELL me about the Portland Winter Farmer’s Market?!) Last week was the last Winter Market, which we made it to and this past Saturday was the first Portland Outdoor Market of the Season. We’ve found some great new Maine-made items from these:

Swallowtail Farms, Coopers Mills, Maine.
Not only does it LOOK amazing but it tastes even better (Feta & mozzarella this week!)

WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR & ROLLED OATS  from Aurora Mills

Tomatoes/Basil/Green’s/Pesto
Olivia’s Garden, New Gloucester Maine

Kennebunk’s Farmer’s Market opens next weekend (!!), May 7, 2011 and we just can’t wait. Be sure to visit downtown for a day-filled with fun, as they will also be celebrating May Day that Saturday.

Last but not least, we spent the day working on the garden (okay, Nate spent the day. Roxy and I attempted to assist but eating dirt proved to be more fun than planting, so we bailed a little earlier). Today’s work was well worth it (with a sunburn to prove) as we got in the first round of greens- lettuces, swiss chard and kale- onions, brussels, broccoli, carrots, peas, radishes and strawberries. Bring it on, summer. Bring. It. On.

Oh, and PS. We’ve been working the math, and as it stands, we’re spending about $1.50 on each of our homemade loaves of bread. Local, mostly organic and fresh. Eat your heart out (for $5 bucks less).

The Green Minute

Aside from being the best little school there ever was, the local elementary school that girls attend is committed to engaging in and creating opportunities for “Going Green”. From an outdoor learning center and solar panels to reusable silverware at lunch, each month the school highlights a “Green” fact or activity. On April 29th, our family was invited to share our Maine-Food Project with the school. We worked together to create a script (they wrote 90% of it) and the girls read the whole thing. It was too cute not to share!

FINLEY: On Earth Day- April 22, 2011, our Family started our year-long project of eating food only grown from Maine. For one year, we will eat and cook ONLY with things from Maine- Hamburgers and Hotdogs to Spaghetti and meatballs Everything we eat will use only Maine ingredients!

 PARKER: Our Family thinks this project of eating locally and “going green” is important for many reasons and for the Green Minute today, we wanted to share with you a little bit about this project!

 FINLEY: Eating locally helps us to know where our meat and food comes from. We can pick farmers that treat their animals and the Earth with respect. The Earth is a very special place and we worry that if we don’t think about what and how much we use from it, there won’t be enough for our children’s children.

Eating locally saves energy, fuel and money and helps reduce and prevent pollution.

Eating locally helps kids and parents try to eat new and healthy foods like broccoli, carrots and zucchini.

 PARKER:As a family, we are learning to make bread, pasta, ice cream and yogurt and we will be learning how to can & freeze food for the winter.

We will work together to create and keep a garden full of veggies and herbs that will feed us through the summer and beyond.

We will learn to forage- from fishing to hunting for mushrooms. We will go to Farmers Markets and local farms and meet the people who work there to produce and grow the food we eat. We will take field trips to farms and local companies will share our experiences and what we learn with everyone on our blog!

 FINLEY: Here are some interesting facts we have learned.

Did you know that most bananas travel almost 2,000 miles just to get from the tree it grew on to our table? To do this, they must be picked before they are ripe and flown and driven across the country using lots of gasoline, which hurts the earth

 PARKER: Have you ever wondered where your dinner comes from? The meat and vegetables on your plate come from someone’s garden or farm but do you know where? Have you ever met your farmer? In Maine there are over 8,000 farms with 582 of them certified as organic.

 FINLEY: Did you know there are over 60 farmers markets in Maine 7 right here in York County! Kennebunk’s Market opens on Saturday May 7, 2011!

What can you do to help the earth by going green and eating locally?

Know where you food comes from. Ask someone how far your food has traveled!

 PARKER: Eat locally. Buy food from local farms and support them through CSA’s or Community Supported Agriculture- groups that work together to make food easy to buy. Visit the Kennebunk Farmer’s Market on May 7^th and every Saturday through the Summer.

My favorite part of our project so far is our family working together to make dinner and learn how to do different things.

 FINLEY: My favorite thing so far is learning how to make bread and ice cream

By eating locally you can help the Earth. Go Green and Eat food from Maine! It tastes great and makes a big difference!

…Now, if we could just start that school-grown garden!

A little of this/A little of that: Sap, Cows and The Garden Begins

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”

- Rachel Carson

 

I have been most delinquent with my responsibility of the blog. I’ve thought about it. I’ve jotted notes. I’ve even taken pictures thinking “This would look great on the blog!” but alas, it’s been many weeks. And even though there has been so much going on family wise, we haven’t forgotten that there are 3 DAYS left until EARTH DAY and our official kick off. Eek!

Let me fill you in on what you missed.

MAINE MAPLE SUNDAY:
March 27, 2011

Having never braved the lines (or cold) before, Nate and I thought it would be appropriate to make an effort this year, so off we went to Harris Farm. Even at 8:45, the line for pancakes strung around the corner and as the wind found its ways in through out jackets, we decided to try the sugar house instead.

By some small miracle, there was barely a line and we quickly scooted inside to watch and learn about maple sugar. The system of making maple syrup is far more complicated than I thought. Tap the tree, out comes syrup, right? Silly me.  Basically, after tapping the tree and collecting all of the sap (on the right day after the right temperatures), it must be boiled down in multiple stages. Harris Farm has quite the system of sap stage boiling and it was fascinating to see the different steps.

Traditional Tree Tapping

Frozen Sap

Steamy Sap Boiling Goodness

And although we didn’t get any syrup, I ate the best maple sugar donut I’ve ever had. As a matter of fact, I’m still dreaming about it.

FARMERS GATE MARKET
April 2, 2011

A major part of our preparation has been working hard to locate local sources of food, and in our research, we were led to a brilliant little butcher shop in Leeds, Maine. Farmer’s Gate Market is a small, but well-connected local butcher shop committed to the ethical, human and sustainable production and consumption of meat. Owner Ben Slayton could not have been more welcoming and so up we went, family of 5, in the little red Yaris to Leeds, Maine. The unassuming building is set off from the road and we were shocked when we realized we had driven past it many times and not noticed it was there. Ben welcomed our family in, even to the back butchering room, and showed us around. With a Masters in Environmental Policy, Ben then traveled to Italy where he apprenticed with a Butcher. Returning to Maine, he found a small butcher shop owned by Leon Emery (retiring butcher of Farmers Gate Market) and the two began to work in collaboration. Ben spoke thoughtfully and carefully about his families choice to settle in Leeds and transform the shop into a proverbial gateway to local meat sources. Working side by side with farmers, FGM is committed to only working with farms and farmers who meet their specific standards…”(1) pasture-based farming; (2) humane treatment of animals; (3) environmentally sustainable farming practices; and (4) good and honest people.” Ben has also been allowed to visit the only slaughter-house in Maine to ensure that the animals are treated safely and ethically through the slaughtering process. The meat is then brought back to FGM where it is carefully and deliberately cut, packaged and sold.

I have to say, the experience of stepping into the walk-in-cooler and standing next to a hanging side of beef with the two big girls beside me was pretty amazing and Ben was fabulous, as he pointed out the different cuts of meat. Later, both girls agreed that it was the “grossest and coolest thing, all at the same time”.

We plan on ordering the majority of our meat from Farmers Gate Market and Ben is willing, as with all of his customers, to cut, package and freeze according to our needs. It’s a worth-while experience to visit and eat from FGM… the bacon was simply delicious and the hamburgers were as fresh as they come.

THE GARDEN!

We’ve gone back and forth on how to make the garden (raised bed? English style?), where to make the garden (containers? down the road on family property?) and when to make the garden (what do you mean you WAIT until May to plant?). After weeks of perusing the seed website of Johnny’s Seeds (which I strongly encourage you to visit!) we finally decided on a small order of about $100 dollars worth of seeds. (So much for that small first-year garden).

Within a few days our carefully sowed seeds began to look like this! (At this point, my previously described anxiety of not being able to feed my family slowly started to dissipate!)

At the same time, we decided to transform what was once a 14′x24′ granite lined, crushed gravel filled project that was never used by the phone companies on my mothers land into a 14′x24′ granite lined, 18″dug, quasi-raised bed garden. Please take note of the amount of crushed gravel!

So, doing what our family does best, we all pitched into make our garden…

 

Raking with a sleeping 7 month old. Hardcore…

2 hours later, winded and tired, we realized we hadn’t accomplished much.  (one corner of said 14′x24′ granite lined, crushed gravel filled soon to be garden).

So we decided to take the easier route and hired a local guy with a backhoe to dig it out for us.

Now, we’re getting ready to fill said dug garden with beautiful loam/compost mix from Blackrock Farm and hopefully begin planting and transplanting over the next few weeks.

I can’t forget to show the progress on our mushrooms. This is sort of Nate’s project but the bottom line is this– if it works out as planned, we’ll have Shiitakes, Pearl Oyster and  Phoenix Oyster mushrooms throughout the summer season. Holes were drilled and plugs were hammered in (with help from the girls!). Now we wait and see. (He’s also got some other crazy plan of growing mushrooms in coffee grounds- research based of course. I’ll keep you posted. I’m hoping those happen as fast as he says so that we can remove the buckets of coffee grounds from all over our kitchen!)

 

Our Favorites (Farms, Food, Fun)

Here’s where we’ll document our favorites… we’ll add links if they’ve got ‘em…so that you can enjoy them as much as we do! We’ll be updating as often as we find them! Please feel free to suggest your favorites!

Blackrock Farm
293 Goose Rocks Road, Kennebunkport Maine
http://www.blackrockfarm.net/home.php
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Blackrock-Farm/301978303149

Blackrock Farm has a special place in my heart and we know you’ll love it just as much. Aside from the beautiful gardens and landscaping that Blackrock offers, they have some of the best organic veggies around (we’ve been known to eat corn on the cob right off the cob!).  A MUST visit!

Eat Wild!
http://www.eatwild.com/products/maine.html
The #1 site for grass-fed Food & Facts!

Farmer’s Gate Market
170 Leeds Junction Road Wales Corner, Maine
http://www.farmersgatemarket.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Farmers-Gate-Market/174669422558705?v=wall#!/pages/Farmers-Gate-Market/174669422558705?v=wall

We are so excited to have found this Butcher Shop and hope to make it a stop on our field trip tour, aside from networking with them around our meat sources. “Farmers’ Gate Market is a full scale butcher shop that specializes in grass fed beef, pastured pork, pastured lamb, and range poultry” and we’re very excited to see what they have to offer. We’ll keep you posted!

Harris Farm
280 Buzzell Road, Dayton Maine
http://www.harrisfarm.com/index.html
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Harris-Farm/68941778458

Technically, our first field trip. We ventured over this morning on the spur of the moment. Plenty more field trips to come (we’ll be sure to document the next one!) Beautiful milk in glass bottles and *NEW* whole wheat flour!!! Not to mention the meat (beef and veal) and fresh veggies in the summer. We’ll be using Harris farm for our milk (unpasturized, too, to make our own butter!) and flour for all our baking needs!

Maine Coast Sea Vegetables
Franklin, Maine
http://www.seaveg.com/shop/
http://www.facebook.com/seaveg?v=wall

From Sea to Shore- we’re really looking forward to learning more about incorporating sea veggies in our diet. And why wouldn’t we, with this great, local company? This will definately be a field trip excursion!

Maine Mead Works
51 Washington Ave, Portland Maine
http://mainemeadworks.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/HoneyMaker/364716958589

Mead made from Maine. Need we say more? If you haven’t tried it (and we’re proud to say we have more than once!) you MUST. I thought it couldn’t get much better than the Dry Mead…until we found the Lavender Mead. Now we’re dying to try the Apple Cyser and the Elderberry Mead. We’re pretty sure this will help sustain us (grownups only!) through a long year of local dieting!

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardners Association
http://www.mofga.org/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maine-Organic-Farmers-And-Gardeners-Association-MOFGA/62192014056?ref=ts&sk=wall

Maine Sea Salt
11 Church Lane, Marshfield Maine
http://www.maineseasalt.com/
http://www.facebook.com/MaineSeaSaltCo?sk=wall

We can’t WAIT for this field trip. For good and for bad, we use sea salt like it’s going to dry up. Oh, wait…. Anyways, we’ll definately be visiting this farm where the salt is made in salt houses from Gulf of Maine sea water!

Snell Family Farm
1ooo River Road Buxton, Maine
http://www.snellfamilyfarm.com/index.html
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Snell-Family-Farm/98737176334?ref=ts&sk=wall

We enjoyed produce from this farm alot last year- including beautiful flowers! We also got GREAT heirloom tomato seedlings that turned out to be AMAZING. Looking forward to more from Snell again this year.

Wolf Pine Farm
259 Mouse Lane, Alfred, Maine 04002
http://www.wolfpinefarm.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wolf-Pine-Farm/88978053268?ref=ts&v=wall

We’re looking forward to vising Wolf Pine. We’ve had veggies from Wolf Pine and boy were they good. This year, we’re interested to learn about their Pantry and Meat Shares as well as climb on board their WINTER CSA!!

Wolfes Neck Farm
184 Burnett Road, Freeport Maine 04032
http://www.wolfesneckfarm.org/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wolf-Pine-Farm/88978053268?ref=ts&v=wall#!/pages/Wolfes-Neck-Farm/181133261444

We haven’t visited Wolfes Neck Farm but we’re really looking forward to it. Aside from great produce (we’ve tried it!), they also have  community gardens, a summer camp, volunteer opportunites and hands on educational classes. We’re hoping to make it to bread or cheese making class!