Cauliflower, Anyword Can Take on a Bad Connotation on December 11th, 2011

If you walk through the doorway speaking of Cauliflower at This Old Farm you’ll see heads turn and eyes glare as if you just spoke the most horrid word.  I was visited last week by a church friend as I unpacked,  washed in ice water, and then repacked somewhere around 200 cases of cauliflower.  It was nice to see a familiar face pop in when we had an unexpected adventure upon our hands that left for a less than pleasant afternoon.  The church friend said he wasn’t even aware that we did produce distribution.  It is the side of the business that probably gets less press out there, though it accounts for about 30% of our total sales volume.  For the last two years, I have worked to encourage growers to grow chemical free produce.  I connect them with a growing market interested in locally grown produce.  But not without its challenges.  Distribution of local product is difficult in that the infrastructure has disappeared.  The knowledge in growing a variety of crops seems to be almost gone.  I spend a lot of time talking to first time growers about the possibilities of putting out a crop.  I know we have to cultivate the future so each new grower brings excitement to the table.  Yet it is the seasoned growers that bring stability to the system.  Sometimes even the seasoned grower falls short.  He has weather, market timing, pests, labor amongst a multitude of other factors weighing against his success.  Usually it all falls in place just great.  We put out a list of produce available on Monday after the growers call us on Friday to let us know what they have.  We get orders through the week, call the growers for harvest and move that product a week later, almost 10 days after they have had to predict what they will have.  It is not easy, but it is doable as has been proven.  But in the case of Cauliflower all things went array.  This Cauliflower was coming off a farm in Northern Indiana, grown by an Amish grower that is a seasoned grower in his 50’s I am guessing.  Cauliflower is a hard crop to grow so we had been in contact all along watching the progress and ensuring the management of the crop.  The grower’s son put out 10,000 heads of broccoli at the same time as dad put out 10,000 heads of cauliflower.  We planned on taking a harvest of 4,000 heads a piece at a time.  It came to harvest time and the broccoli crop was a total disaster.  It had matured a bit late putting it on the week of Thanksgiving when our buyers were interested in nothing but surviving the hectic week.  Of the 10,000 heads only 2,000 were mature at the same time.  But one week later and a few warm days and they were over mature.  I feel for the grower but it is time to move on and work on getting the cauliflower out of the ground.  It is the first week in December and the temperature is expected to dive.  It can withstand 20 degrees; the forecast is being watched carefully.  It is now time to get the product on the truck.  We had taken samples to our buyer and they looked great.  Nice, beautiful, white heads of cauliflower.  So much hope.  Our normal job is to coordinate the purchase and delivery of the product.  We pick it up and deliver it to the buyer.  When Jeff arrived to pick up the product he found only 20 boxes harvested.  Two hours from home and just 20 boxes done.  He digs in for a long day of harvesting snow covered cauliflower.  Unfortunately the family did not have the labor there needed to harvest the crop.  They worked long and hard just to cut and box the product but there was no time to wash it.  We settled on the fact that it was going to have to be brought in to wash at our facility and repack.  We settled on the fact that we had much less product than had been promised.  The next day we took 4 workers off there normal jobs for most of the day to wash and repackage the cauliflower.  We culled out 20 cases of over mature cauliflower and put them in our produce coolers.  It was still a great product for our employees to enjoy, just not perfect for the retail market.  The rest of the product was delivered with a large sigh of relief.  From there we enjoyed a great weekend just to come in the following week to receive pictures of bad cauliflower being discarded.  I ran to the cooler to check on the cases that had been left behind and they still look great, but the customer lost 80% of the product.  What happened?  I later learned that the product had been wrapped in plastic to prevent it from desiccating.  The wet product with no air circulation made for perfect decay environment.  Something no one intended.  The end of the story is that out of 20, 000 heads of cauliflower and broccoli only 20 cases were saved.  Our hearts sink for the loss to the farmer.  Our hearts sink due to the loss of product our buyer anticipated moving to a multitude of households.  I share this only to shed light on the many steps of wonder between placing that seed in the ground and getting food to your table.  Food is a true blessing.  Savor each and every bit.  Pat your farmer on the back for a hard job well done.  Now on to next season when maybe we will dare to speak the word……  cauliflower once again.

More Places to Shop. on December 11th, 2011

Jeff, This Old Farm’s Sales and Distribution Representative, has been hard at work spreading the news of good food.  We have local product going to even more spots.  Look for good This Old Farm local foods at the following……

Bloomingfoods in Bloomington, IN    Learn more about this natural foods cooperative store at bloomingfoods.com

Good Eats and Meats in Carmel, IN  Jennifer White just started this market up with in the last few months.  She has been getting a good amount of locally grown meats and produce out to the Carmel Area.  Call her for store hours at (317) 581-1470.

The Local Eatery and Pub in Westfield, IN.  It is hard to find a good restaurant that supports locally grown food.  Visit localeateryandpub.com for more information.

Our own storefront outside of Colfax, IN has an expanded retail outlet featuring all locally grown and crafted products.  Come visit us for that one of a kind gift.  We are proud to feature featherwerks by KG Acres, canned goods by Two Cookin” Sisters, Spice Blends by Chef T, as well as our other locally grown food items, frozen and fresh.  Come see us soon.  We would love to help put together a gift box.  Call (765) 324-2161 for more information.

A Holiday With A Name on December 4th, 2011

Today I made the last two pots of soup for our church soup and salad supper from the Thanksgiving Turkey.  The first was a creamy potato and onion soup.  It was made with the broth from our Thanksgiving turkey raised by John Mark Stolzfus, onions raised by Benjamin Beiler,  Potatoes raised by the Witwer family, and milk from our own farm.  I was making it in the morning when the kids showed up asking what was for breakfast.  When I mentioned toast, they groaned.  Who would want toast with the wonderful smells that had been created in the kitchen.  They all sat down to enjoy soup for breakfast.  Seemed a bit odd to me, but they were happy.  So now the 20 serving pot is down to a small pot remaining so I go on to make the other soup I had planned.  I like to batch cook with my size family so I already had the ingredients out and ready for Creamy Turkey and Rice Soup.  Very similar ingredients but the potatoes were replaced with rice and a few veggies thrown in from what is left from our fall crops.  Now the kids have easy lunches for the week and I have turned a page to a new holiday season.

Food is such a part of our life.  Three times a day most of us look for something to eat.  It is at the holiday when we put in extra effort to make it extra special.  This is when I realize just how special my food is all the time.    You see, my food has a back ground.  I know who raised the food I eat 80% of the time.  While I watched people hustle and bustle at the stores to collect there holiday goodies I sat back knowing that everything served at our holiday table would have a name behind it.  We had a local Thanksgiving meal in which we could be truly thankful for.

Turkey-Credit goes to John Mark Stolzfus of Sunny Hollow Farm

Mashed Potatoes-Thank you Benjamin Beiler!

Candied Sweet Potatoes-Wow, Emanuel Fisher and Family did a great job on these.  Did you know that the canned yams are peeled with a chemical close to lye.

Stuffing-Thank you Bill and Maria Smietana with Valentine Hill Farm for great organic breads.

Cole Slaw-Purple Rock Farm brought a great number of beautiful heads of cabbage and peppers  in, along with onions from Benjamin Beiler.

We were truly blessed to have an age old Thanksgiving with a name.  Wouldn’t you like to do the same for this Christmas Holiday.  Give us a call so we can put a face on your food.  This Christmas holiday enjoy a fillet roast from Myers Farm, a holiday ham raised by our own farm, or a turkey by John Mark Stolzfus.  Give us a call at (765) 324-2161 so we can put a name on your Holiday.

Your Thanksgiving Planner! on November 20th, 2011

I have been cooking whole, natural foods for 13 years now, yet I still need inspiration and help from time to time.  I have found that inspiration through Kerry Anns’ Cooking Traditional Food’s Mailer.  Each week I get an email with the week’s menu.  It couldn’t be easier.  I have been purchasing these mailers in bulk to go along with out meat CSA which provides all the meats needed for the menu planner.  This week Kerry Ann sent out an entire Thanksgiving planner, telling what to do from the start of the week to when you wake up Thanksgiving morning.  It is fantastic.  I will include a copy with every turkey purchase.  Yes, there is still time to get a good turkey!  I walked through Sam’s club this weekend getting some shelving for our freezers and watched the crowds of people picking up Thanksgiving fixings.  I am fortunate to have great food all around me.  No need for the processed junk when you open a cooler and see beautiful, locally raised produce and meats everyday.  Come join me in supporting sustainable agriculture in Indiana through purchase of a turkey raised on the grass by one of our alliance farms.  We have the following choices still available.

Certified Organic Heritage turkeys raised by Reuben Zook.  These were processed just a few weeks ago.  They weigh 9-12 lbs and are $6.25/lb.

Natural pasture raised turkeys raised by Sunny Hollow Farm to be processed Monday.  We will meet your size needs to the best of our ability.

$5.00/lb

Call (765) 324-2161 so that we can put your name on one that is just right for your family!

Have you Heard the Gobble? on November 20th, 2011

It has been a hoot or is that a gobble?  I think I have my bird sounds confused.  For all those Lafayette customers, see if you can straighten me out by listening to WKOA (105.3) in Lafayette, IN.  We are giving away 5 of our pasture raised turkeys to the first caller who can identify the gobble of a “famous” Lafayette resident.

Of course when you mix the lingo of traditional retail food and us foodies together it doesn’t always come out right.  I heard the announcer describe our natural turkeys raised on the good green grass as pasteurized instead of pasture raised.  I have had that misconception from those looking at our eggs and thinking we heat treat them or pasteurize them instead of raise them on the pasture or green grass in the past.  It is a tongue twister but couldn’t represent a more opposite thought pattern.  We know our customers will sort out the truth.  In the mean time enjoy the hoot of the gobble of some famous Lafayette resident.  If you don’t win, we hope you come on out anyway to get your own pasture raised, natural turkey for this holiday.  There is still time.  Call (765) 324-2161.