Tag Archives: farms

Horn of Plenty

Posted on May 6, 2014 by AnnieRie

Seems like when it rains, it really pours. We have gardens in the works. Foraged asparagus coming up. CSA has given us notice that we are a “GO” for this summer and fall.

The first spear of foraged asparagus. Showed up in my stir fry last night. About six more are showing out under the crepe myrtle.

Tomatoes planted today. Earlier than ever before, but the temperatures are saying that we need to do this. I planted 26 plants at the Conservancy and I am putting in four here at home (praying for enough sun). At least I could run out and pick a few supersweet 100s and Early Girls, if the site gets enough sun.

My new tomato this year. German Johnson. Along with my favorites. Hillbilly. Pineapple. Work horses. Sun gold. Yellow plum.

Yesterday we did maintenance at the gardens. Like string trimming and trash removal.

It is looking good up there.

Onions anyone? The white onions are going crazy. Time to dig up a few spring onions, and enjoy them.

I am one very tired but very happy camper these days. Fresh veggies make me that way.

#hocofood

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Posted in Food, Foraging, Gardening, Howard County, Nature, Weather and tagged farms, Food, foodie, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, Howard County, howard county conservancy, real food, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Digging the Parsnips

Posted on May 1, 2014 by AnnieRie

A couple of dinner pictures and descriptions. Using the parsnips from last week’s basket.

See those parships hiding behind the greens? Those really good for you vegetables that no one ever seems to be buying? Turns out they are really good for you, and they taste good too.

Yesterday I made colcannon using the biggest one. I love colcannon and haven’t made it in a while. It is pretty versatile as you can use any combination of starchy vegetables and cabbage/greens.

This dinner used all sorts of items from the Friends and Farms basket. The deviled crab was baked on the portabella mushrooms. Boarman’s crab cakes covered with a sauce of sweet mustard and Old Bay. Drizzle of oil. Baked at 400 degrees.

Colcannon. First, peel and slice/quarter a couple of potatoes and one very large parsnip. Boil them until soft. Mash. Meanwhile sauté half a sweet onion, and add blanched greens. I used the turnip greens from last week’s basket. Once wilted add to the mashed potato/parsnip mix, and stir in one cup of buttermilk and one tablespoon of butter. Salt and pepper to taste.

Not bad for a Wednesday night dinner.

But then, tonight. A new basket with Arctic char in it. I will do my weekly basket post tomorrow. Tonight though, was all about that char.

Coated with a red pepper pesto and olive oil. Convection baked for 30 minutes at 325 degrees. As for those last two parsnips, they were steamed with some Brussels sprouts and two carrots left from an earlier basket.

I am a serious parsnip fan these days. Sweet, tasty veggie.

#hocofood

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Posted in Food, Friends and Farms, Real Food and tagged cooking, farms, Food, foodie, Locavore. Bookmark the permalink.

Market Season Opening Thursday

Posted on April 30, 2014 by AnnieRie

The East Columbia Farmers Market opens May 1st. 2-6 pm at the East Columbia branch of the Howard County Library.

Independent now, since the market was dropped by the Howard County Farmers Market Association, they worked through all the paperwork necessary to keep the longest running farmers market in the county alive.

I know from their facebook page that three of the vendors will be there. Ungers Fruit, Orchard Country Produce and Tomatoes Etc. Tomorrow we will find out who else will join them.

I will be there sometime to browse through the many varieties of herb plants that Tomatoes Etc. always has. It is where I get quite a bit of what grows in my herb gardens.

Spread the word, that there will be a market in East Columbia this year again, on Thursdays. As well as the market on Sundays at Oakland Mills.

Other markets opening soon include Miller Library next Wednesday, HoCo Hospital on Friday, and Ellicott City Market which will open May 10th.

Add to those the Sunday market in Burtonsville, Saturday market in Silver Spring and at White Oak School in Silver Spring. The Wednesday and Sunday markets in Catonsville open soon too.

Yes, it is spring and the farmers markets are back. Head out to your old favorites or visit a few new ones.

Won’t be long before Larriland and Gorman open their stands and have strawberries to pick.

CSAs start in the next two weeks. Hallelujah! Winter is over. Now, just make it stop raining.

#hocofood

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Posted in Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses and tagged farmer's markets, farms, Food, Howard County, local businesses. Bookmark the permalink.

Making It Taste Good

Posted on April 16, 2014 by AnnieRie

The mantra of those of us who cook with the thought of providing delicious healthy meals to our families.

We all know it’s sometimes hard to get people to like greens. I am talking about hearty greens, like collards, kale, chard, arugula, escarole, spinach and greens from root veggies, like turnips, beets, radishes, carrots, and kohlrabi.

The types of veggies we find in our CSA baskets. Like the turnip greens we are getting tomorrow from Friends and Farms. Or those collards from last week.

Interesting that we are real fans of leafy greens. Love the strange lettuce varieties we find. We have learned to stir fry or sauté all sorts of greens. A little garlic. Some balsamic maybe. Or soy sauce.

Make a frittata. Or omelet. Add them to soups and stews. Drop some amazingly good short ribs on top. Put them on pizza.

The possibilities are endless.

We are about to enter serious greens season. With the markets. The CSAs.

What could be better than freshly prepared, nutrient rich veggies as part of two meals a day. Salads at lunch. Accents at dinner.

Don’t forget to get your greens wherever you can find them. Popeye would be proud of you.

#hocofood

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Posted in CSA, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Real Food and tagged cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, gardening, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Keeping It Close …

Posted on April 13, 2014 by AnnieRie

… to home. As in eating regionally. More and more foods that come into our house are regionally sourced. And most of what we eat are items that we make.

I just finished the next to last lamb from England Acres this weekend. It was a loin roast, that we grilled Saturday night.

It ended up feeding us for two nights, as we finished it tonight with a bunch of thrown together side dishes. We bought half a lamb last April. All that is left are one package of ground lamb, and one rib roast. There were 24 pounds of lamb in our delivery.

We didn’t order a lamb this year, as we are getting a good variety of locally sourced meat from the Friends and Farms basket.

Along with the lamb last night, we grilled a few of those lovely potatoes that were in this week’s basket. And some pesto rubbed bread.

The potatoes were coated with garlic powder and rosemary. Olive oil too. The bread, from Wegmans bakery, had a coating of red pepper pesto.

The lamb was marinated in red wine, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary.

Tonight the last few pieces were served with some collard greens, and a grilled naan with pesto.

Those greens. Sautéed in olive oil, with scallions, the last banger, garlic, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and cayenne flakes. Who can resist perfectly cooked collards with that brightness of the lemon and kick of the garlic and cayenne.

Tonight, though, the star may have been the last Elk Run 2001 Cabernet from the cellar. Yes, 2001. Thirteen years old. From Maryland. And still hanging in there. Light. Soft. Almost sweet, since the tannins have faded. Who says Maryland can’t make good wine?

So, the lamb was from Mt. Airy. The wine was from Mt. Airy. Can’t get much closer for wine and meat. And, better than many restaurants. Not a bad start to grilling season, and spring in Maryland.

#hocofood

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Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Friends and Farms, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Wine and tagged cooking, CSA, farms, Food, foodie, grilling, local businesses, Locavore, MD Wine, real food, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Just Us Chickens

Posted on April 11, 2014 by AnnieRie

The total chicken post. For whatever reason we just have chickens everywhere we look. Watching the girls run around England Acres (and getting to feed them, if you want).

Or, how about the tour tomorrow. See the Conservancy web site, if you want to join us. After all, chickens are immensely interesting.

The baby chicks at Tractor Supply. I always get inspired and want to buy some and get a coop, but then we just “chicken out” for some reason. While we were there last week, I wanted to take a few pictures of the adorable chicks but they prohibit picture taking.

The joys of free range chicken eggs. The colors. You don’t need to dye these eggs for Easter. They already are amazing in color and designs.

Who can resist the lure of these fresh eggs, with so much flavor.

#hocofood

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Posted in Birds, Farms, Food, Howard County, Real Food and tagged chickens, farms, Food, Howard County, howard county conservancy, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

How To Forget About Winter

Posted on April 9, 2014 by AnnieRie

Winter? What Winter? How quickly we forget about winter when the temperatures start to rise and the sun comes out.

We spent two hours putting in the first row of the spring garden. Tilling. Planting kale and Swiss chard seeds and white onion sets.

After a scheduled community garden member trip to select spring plugs and seedlings from Sharps coming up, we will finish the planting and put in the row cover. Best to keep the bunnies from noshing on those tender greens.

Big difference from a few weeks back when the snow was on the ground.

Today while we were out at the Conservancy, there were four busloads of school children doing service learning. At least six different plot holders were planting, tilling, building raised bed boxes and just flat out enjoying the warmth of the spring sun.

We stopped for a snowball before heading home. The first snowball of the season is always a treat. Spearmint with marshmallow. Our traditional favorite.

The next week looks to be filled with those days that make me stay here in Maryland. The perfect spring days. Cherry blossoms are popping out. Forsythia is starting to bloom. I will have daffodils within the next two or three days. Followed by the hyacinths and the tulips.

Add to that the Coop to Coop tour this Saturday. I also should head out to England Acres and pick up a few petite filets to grill. Or maybe that last package of venison tenderloin from the freezer. Or the first kofta of the season. The possibilities are endless.

Putting away the soup pot and getting out the spices.

Oh yeah, as I said, Winter? What winter?

#hocofood

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Posted in Farms, Food, Gardening, Hobbies, Locavore, Weather and tagged cooking, farms, Food, foodie, howard county conservancy, Locavore, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Chickens …

Posted on April 6, 2014 by AnnieRie

… in a fun tour of coop-to-coop.

April 12th. 10 am to 2 pm. A number of Howard County chicken owners are opening their coops for the chance to meet the “girls” and see what fun chickens are. Sponsored as a free program from the Howard County Conservancy. Visit the upcoming event page to learn all about this program.

You can get a description of the tour and some information on the coops. Visit as many as you like.

I saw this great program a few years back in a blog about living in Sonoma County. Suggested the program to our friends on the committee at the Conservancy. This is the inaugural event.

There are eleven sites on the tour. Come out with us. Bring your friends. I really think this is a fun way to spend a Saturday morning.

Updated: Because one of the links isn’t working right for everyone. Visit the Conservancy page to see about the event and get a corrected copy.

#hocoblogs

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Posted in Birds, Community, Farms, Howard County, Volunteering and tagged birds, farms, Howard County, howard county conservancy, volunteering. Bookmark the permalink.

Diggin’ The Garden

Posted on April 5, 2014 by AnnieRie

At long last, a day to get outside and start working on the gardening. But, that wind chill made it a bit hard to get lots done.

I spent most of today out at the Community Gardens. The Food Bank plot team was preparing the double plot for spring plantings. I have started cilantro from seed, in my garage window, and will be donating some of those plants for the herb site there.

I was there today to assist in the row cover sale and orders.

We were over in the restored Montjoy barn today. Trying to stay out of the wind. Cutting and folding row cover and selling hoops for low rows. We are going to put in one row so that is next week’s project, if we get the ground dry enough to till. I would like to start some spring plants there.

Monday I am off to Sharp’s to return the unused thin version of the row cover, and the last of the hoops. Sharp’s Waterford Farm on Jennings Chapel Road is a great supporter of local businesses and garden clubs all over the area. They open for business on April 22nd this year.

And, yes, spring is officially here. That would be evident as it was opening day at the Woodstock Snowball Stand. A little cold for snowballs, but such a welcome sight.

So, Howard Countians. Get out there! Plant a few herbs. Take a ride and get a snowball. Spring is definitely here.

#hocoblogs

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Posted in Community, Farms, Food, Gardening, Howard County, Local Businesses, Volunteering, Weather, West HoCo and tagged community, farms, Food, gardening, Howard County, howard county conservancy, local businesses, volunteering, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

All Markets Are Not Created Equal

Posted on April 1, 2014 by AnnieRie

Some of them are truly awesome.

Like the market in Manheim Pa. We have been there once before, in the winter. Today, with great temperatures and lots of sunshine, we headed back north to look for a few things, and to enjoy the early spring weather.

I wish we had a market with 89 years of history. What started as a poultry market has evolved into a huge 200+ vendor flea market, auction, produce market and all around interesting slice of Americana.

You can still attend the poultry auction as well as a produce, flower, and shrub auction every Tuesday, year round. About 100 minutes away from Columbia. A good destination. Particularly for things like this.

That’s my pit beef sandwich from Hess BBQ.

When we were here a few months back, the outdoor vendors were closed. Today, vendors and flea market stalls were hopping.

I did end up buying a few Time Life Foods of the World books, on Middle Eastern and Latin American cooking, for a buck each, out on the flea market sites.

I almost splurged on the asparagus.