Chestnuts are starting to come in!

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1pm with:

a few pounds of chestnuts, some squash and round zucchini, okra, hot peppers, carola and huckleberry gold potatoes and purple pinecone fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant + mini eggplant, wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished, Animal Welfare Approved Angus beef in these cuts: ground, stew, philly steak, cube steak, ribeyes, NY Strip, sirloin, filets, flank, skirt, flat iron,  brisket, eye of round roasts, boneless  chuck roasts, sirloin tip roasts, rump roast, short ribs, liver,  osso bucco, bags of soup bones.

We have hot dogs (skinny and quarter pounder), sliced corned beef, sliced pastrami and sliced bologna.  Made from our 100% grass fed Angus beef, no added nitrates or nitrites.

Ground beef special – Buy 5, Get 1 free.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing.

The chestnut trees are really loaded.

I’ve finally got the one hoop house cleaned out and drip put back in. Lots of planting to do next week!

Just getting started on the other one – the hard one.

That’s why I procrastinate.

I’ve started on this end cutting the strings and lopping the plants off at the base. They’ll kind of fall down as they dry out. Then I have to pull out the T-posts with this contraption that you wedge up against the post then push the lever down and *theoretically* it pushes the post up and out. In reality, most of the time I have to jump up onto it and hang over the lever with all my body weight, and my feet are dangling in the air while I’m kicking and struggling trying to make the lever go down.

Shane came out one day and saw through the side curtain my legs dangling and kicking and he thought – OH no she’s hanged herself.  Bahaha! Thanks for the idea.

Hope to finish up the hoops and this mulch next week.

This field of heavy red clay! I’ve been cover cropping and amending for 3 years. I grew grain on it and tilled in the straw left after cutting the grain and STILL! You plant stuff, then comes a hard driving rain (had plenty of those this year) and in a day or 2 you can walk across it without leaving a print. It’s hard for seeds to germinate in that and that’s why we had no sweet corn this year.

It’s time to take serious action.

A few inches of mulch will add lots of organic matter it really needs. The compost spreader works great for that.

I hope you’ve been enjoying this awesome weather! I’ll see you tomorrow <3

One last look at my beautiful boy before he gets his furry bear coat because…..FALL IS HERE YAAAAAAY! This morning I sat outside in my chair with my coffee, wrapped up in a blanket. Felt like fall to me. So we’ll be having chestnuts soon! I’ve had them as early as the first weekend in September.

Speaking of beautiful, Carat’s daddy is for sale…for $12K, sigh.

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1pm with:

Ronde de Nice round zucchini and zephyr squash, a couple gallons of Bloody Butchers, lots of okra, hot peppers, carola and huckleberry gold potatoes and purple pinecone fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant + mini eggplant, wheat.

We’re all stocked up on beef cuts – I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished, Animal Welfare Approved Angus beef in these cuts: ground, stew, philly steak, cube steak, ribeyes, NY Strip, sirloin, filets, flank, skirt, flat iron,  brisket, eye of round roasts, boneless  chuck roasts -they cut the bleepity-bleep bone out again!! 🙁 sirloin tip roasts, rump roast, short ribs, liver,  osso bucco, bags of soup bones.

There are some nice 8 lb briskets for the smoker for Labor Day weekend!

We are down to the last 4 packages of beer brats!! We have hot dogs (skinny and quarter pounder), sliced corned beef, sliced pastrami and sliced bologna.  Made from our 100% grass fed Angus beef, no added nitrates or nitrites.

Ground beef special – Buy 5, Get 1 free.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing.

The round zucchini are so tender. I haven’t cooked them yet, I’ve just been making raw zucchini and squash noodles on the spiralizer for a salad with sweet and hot peppers, cilantro, some of Dean’s microgreens and a Thai style peanut dressing.

See you tomorrow 🙂

When you say to your cat, “Hey let me take your face picture.”

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until noon with:

a little squash, a few watermelons, sweet peppers, hot peppers,  okra, potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished, Animal Welfare Approved Angus beef in these cuts: ground, stew, cube steak, ribeyes, NY Strip, sirloin,  brisket, eye of round roasts, bone-in chuck roasts, sirloin tip roasts, liver,  osso bucco, bags of soup bones.

We have hot dogs (skinny and quarter pounder), beer brats-these are quarter pounders, sliced corned beef, sliced pastrami and sliced bologna.  Made from our 100% grass fed Angus beef, no added nitrates or nitrites.

We have beef coming back in a couple weeks and need to make room, so this week all these cuts are 10% off: sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, cube steak, stew beef, osso bucco, bags of bones for stock or dogs, brisket and liver!

Ground beef special – Buy 5, Get 1 free.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing.

When you say to your dog, “Hey  let me take your face picture. ”

Don’t be alarmed, there’s nothing wrong with Fran’s face (other than she’s a cat).

See you tomorrow!

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 with:

A few tomatoes, a few watermelons & lambkins (the yummy white fleshed ones I grew last year), lots of sweet peppers, hot peppers,  okra, 4 kinds of potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, lots of eggplant, wheat. I’ll have squash and cucumbers again soon!

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished, Animal Welfare Approved Angus beef in these cuts: ground, stew, cube steak, ribeyes, NY Strip, sirloin,  brisket, eye of round roasts, bone-in chuck roasts, sirloin tip roasts, liver,  osso bucco, bags of soup bones.

We have hot dogs (skinny and quarter pounder), beer brats-these are quarter pounders, sliced corned beef, sliced pastrami and sliced bologna.  Made from our 100% grass fed Angus beef, no added nitrates or nitrites.

We have beef coming back in a couple weeks and need to make room, so this week all these cuts are 10% off: sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, cube steak, stew beef, osso bucco, bags of bones for stock or dogs, brisket and liver!

Ground beef special – Buy 5, Get 1 free.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing.

Photo notecards are back! I haven’t had them a year  or so and get lots of requests for them (and you know I love taking pictures!) so I broke down and got a nice photo printer. Oh man – I love it! Technology these days!!!! I’m really happy with the quality.

We’ve had just a tiny bit of rain, in the low tenths 🙂 The creek is so dry. Maybe we’ll have a nice rain this weekend. But the weather! So perfect. I don’t ever remember an August with breezy, not-murderously-humid days in the 80s. I remember lots of tortuous Augusts! Where I wanted to run away from home. But this year there always seems to be a nice breeze while I’m picking okra, and if I close my eyes and listen to Moo swishing his tail in the pond…I can totally believe that I’m at the beach 🙂

I’ll see you tomorrow!

Sunflower seeds!

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 with:

A few big tomatoes, lots of Bloody Butchers,  some cherry tomatoes and lots of Wickline pink big cherry tomatoes, lots of sweet peppers- these are the same mini peppers that I grew last year, but somehow are not so mini. Hot peppers,  lots of okra, 4 kinds of potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, lots of eggplant, wheat. Some sunflower heads! How fun. You can eat them raw, roast them or boil them in salt water then roast.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished, Animal Welfare Approved Angus beef in these cuts: ground, stew, cube steak, ribeyes, NY Strip, sirloin,  brisket, eye of round roasts, bone-in chuck roasts, sirloin tip roasts, liver,  osso bucco, bags of soup bones.

We have hot dogs (skinny and quarter pounder), beer brats-these are quarter pounders, sliced corned beef, sliced pastrami and sliced bologna.  Made from our 100% grass fed Angus beef, no added nitrates or nitrites.

Ground beef special – Buy 5, Get 1 free, and a special on  cube steak and stew beef – 20% off.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing.

I received an Italian cookbook called The Silver Spoon as a gift a few years ago and found this sweet pepper salad – Insalata Di Peperoni E Farro – One of my favorite salads! It’s a delicious way to enjoy raw sweet peppers  (and so are these Mini Pepper Nachos!).

This recipe calls for farro but I never add that. I like to keep it super light. I bet it would be good with quinoa too if you need something more substantial. Here’s the recipe!

2 yellow, 1 red and 1 green ( I only use colored peppers, no green ones, plus don’t forget about the orange ones!!! If you’re using my peppers you’ll need a couple extra because I grow the mini peppers) sweet bell peppers, seeded and cut into very thin strips. 3 scallions, sliced ( I just use onion), 10 black olives, pitted and sliced (I prefer the Kalamata olives), 1/2 clove garlic, chopped (I grate it on the microplane), 7 oz boiled farro, juice of 1/2 lemon, 4 oz olive oil (I use 1/4-1/3 cup), 1 T chopped parsley, salt and white pepper to taste.

Put all the peppers, scallions, olives and farro if using, into a salad bowl. Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, grated or chopped garlic, salt and pepper in separate bowl. Pour dressing over veggies, sprinkle with parsley and toss. Place in fridge for an hour before serving to let the flavors mingle (I don’t usually wait to eat).

See  you tomorrow!

Off with their heads! In my most diabolical voice.

I’ll  be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow – it’s going to be in the 80s!!!!!!! until 1 pm with:

Tomatoes & cherry tomato mix, lots of sweet peppers, okra, 4 kinds of potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, a variety of eggplant, wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished, Animal Welfare Approved Angus beef in these cuts: ground, stew, cube steak, ribeyes, NY Strip, sirloin,  brisket, eye of round roasts, bone-in chuck roasts, sirloin tip roasts, liver,  osso bucco, bags of soup bones.

We have hot dogs (skinny and quarter pounder), beer brats-these are quarter pounders, sliced corned beef, sliced pastrami and sliced bologna.  Made from our 100% grass fed Angus beef, no added nitrates or nitrites.

Ground beef special – Buy 5, Get 1 free, and a special on  cube steak and stew beef – 20% off.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing

I don’t have any news. Just a lot of sweating. Endless weeding. Not my favorite time of year. Why wasn’t I born rich instead of so damn good looking?  Well I did find my lost rake 🙂

Hahahaaaa.

Heaving mountains of morning glories out of the hoop house to get it ready for fall crops, I uncovered it. Soooo…that’s all my news.

Cow tongues are so rough. They’ll take your skin off. I almost lost my right eye and ear once when he was trying to eat my hair…I think it reminds him of being bottle fed as a baby calf since he was an orphan, and I took care of him, and my hair somehow reminds him of food.  I can’t believe he’s almost 10 years old! He’s just a big baby.

See you tomorrow 🙂

I’ll  be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until noon with:

Tomatoes – Brandywine, Giant Belgium, Limmony, Kellogg’s Breakfast, Cherokee Purple,  Green Giant, Black Krim, Long Tom romas, American Original Beefsteak, Bloody Butchers and cherry tomatoes.

Lots of sweet peppers, 4 kinds of potatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, red & sweet onions, a variety of eggplant, wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished, Animal Welfare Approved Angus beef in these cuts: filet, skirt, flat iron, ground, stew, philly steak, cube steak, ribeyes, NY Strip, sirloin,  brisket, eye of round roasts, bone-in chuck roasts, sirloin tip roasts, liver,  osso bucco, bags of soup bones.

We have hot dogs (skinny and quarter pounder), beer brats-these are quarter pounders, sliced corned beef, sliced pastrami and sliced bologna.  Made from our 100% grass fed Angus beef, no added nitrates or nitrites.

Ground beef special – Buy 5, Get 1 free, and a special on  cube steak and stew beef – 20% off.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing.

The sunflowers are making seeds!

They really need some rain or they look like they might fall over – the heads are so heavy.

I’ll see you tomorrow!

Romas are really abundant this week. Making sauce or soup? I’m your girl.  Customers say this variety is really good. Who doesn’t love a Long Tom??

It’s a great week to come to the market because I’ll have some samples of different varieties. I have double the amount of tomatoes I had last week so it’s time to set out the magically delicious samples for customers that haven’t tried them yet 🙂

My tomato season is usually pretty short because it is 20 degrees hotter in the hoop house than outside and in that kind of heat stress they drop their blossoms.

It took 6 hours to pick them today. In the hoop it was about 100 degrees.  These are so thin skinned and delicate, there’s no just jerking them off the vine and tossing them in boxes. Each one has to be cut from the vine with nippers and placed single layer in crates with padding.

The hoop house has even more to offer: fire ants, and the spiders, hello FACEWEB, and worms…if you’ve never had a tomato patch, you can’t begin imagine how much giant worms poop. Anyway the funny part is I tore the ass out of my pants hahahahaaaaaaa  sitting on my little metal tomato cart trying to reach the low ones without kneeling in the fire ants. Maaan, it was a rough day 🙂

I’ll  be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 with:

Tomatoes – Brandywine, Giant Belgium, Azoychka Russian, Limmony, Kellogg’s Breakfast, Cherokee Purple, Aunt Ruby’s German Green,  Green Giant, Black Krim, Long Tom romas, American Original Beefsteak, Bloody Butchers and cherry tomatoes.

Cukes, sweet peppers, tomatillos, savoy cabbage, 4 kinds of potatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, red & sweet onions, a variety of eggplant, wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished, Animal Welfare Approved Angus beef in these cuts: filet, flank, skirt, flat iron, ground, stew, philly steak, cube steak, ribeyes, NY Strip, sirloin,  brisket, eye of round roasts, bone-in chuck roasts, boneless chuck roasts, sirloin tip roasts, short ribs, liver,  osso bucco, bags of soup bones.

We have hot dogs (skinny and quarter pounder), beer brats-these are quarter pounders, sliced corned beef, sliced pastrami and sliced bologna.  Made from our 100% grass fed Angus beef, no added nitrates or nitrites.

Ground beef special – Buy 5, Get 1 free, and a special on  cube steak and stew beef – 20% off.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing.

Trickery! All you see is the  bold web in the center with a monstrous spider on it  – not the very fine almost invisible bigger web around it that snares the unsuspecting insects and Jill.

Oh wait! I have a recipe. It’s so good and you just throw all the stuff in the blender. Takes 5 minutes. It makes delicious gazpacho from fresh tomatoes in the summer and it makes awesome hot soup in the winter from frozen tomatoes. One quart freezer bag packed full is the right amount of tomatoes for a batch of this soup. It has so much flavor, has super healthy ingredients and I make it with only the Giant Belgiums or Brandywines for the most amazing flavor.

This is Natalia Rose’s recipe, it’s been a favorite for many years.

Into the blender:

6 cups tomatoes, halved, including skin and seeds; 1/2 to 1 c packed fresh basil; 1/4 c apple cider vinegar; 2 T olive oil; 1 t soy sauce; 1 clove garlic; 1-2 t Spike seasoning (I’ve never added this).

Blend all of that. Salt and pepper to taste. I top it with a chopped avocado, or you could use fresh corn kernels or whatever. That’s it! Then if you want it hot, obviously just pour it into a pot.

I’ll see you tomorrow! If anyone has a fantastic recipe for the most delicious tomato pie, I’d love to try it. I made one a long time ago but lost the recipe.

One last thing, I found this post from Anthony William:

“Heirloom Tomatoes are a summer’s treat that are rich in vitamins C, K, A, and B-complex, as well as potassium, chromium, biotin, and beta carotene. This amazing array of nutrition makes heirloom tomatoes excellent for helping to nourish the adrenal glands, reduce stress damage, build the immune system, lower blood pressure, protect against skin damage, improve cardiovascular health, and strengthen bones. Heirloom tomatoes are also an excellent source of lycopene, a super-antioxidant, which is known to help prevent breast, pancreatic, intestinal, bladder, cervical, colorectal, lung, skin, endometrial, and prostate cancers. Heirloom tomatoes also are known to aid in the digestion of dense proteins, assist in dissolving gallstones, and purify the blood making them highly beneficial for your digestive tract and lymphatic system. Heirloom Tomatoes are often sweet and savory and at this time of year they can be found abundantly at your local farmers markets or in your backyard/patio garden. Have fun tasting all the different varieties and enjoying each unique and delicious flavor profile.”

Shane says hello from alfalfaland.

<3

Frozen Bloody Butchers – 2 gallons so far. They’re so easy to throw in the crock pot with a roast, or into the soup pot or whatever. I just wash them and freeze in bags, and then take out as many as I need.

I’ll  be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 with:

Tomatoes – Brandywine, Giant Belgium, Azoychka Russian, Limmony, Kellogg’s Breakfast, Cherokee Purple, Aunt Ruby’s German Green,  Green Giant, Black Krim, romas, American Original Beefsteak, Bloody Butchers and cherry tomatoes.

Cukes, tomatillos, savoy cabbage, 4 kinds of potatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, red & sweet onions, a variety of eggplant, green peppers.

Lots of customers ask about what to do with tomatillos. These are the 2 favorite things I make with them: Smoky Tomatillo Salsa and Chili Verde. I went my whole life thinking green chili would be weird, man I was missing out.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished, Animal Welfare Approved Angus beef in these cuts: filet, flank, skirt, flat iron, ground, stew, philly steak, cube steak, ribeyes, NY Strip, sirloin,  brisket, eye of round roasts, bone-in chuck roasts, boneless chuck roasts, sirloin tip roasts, short ribs, liver,  osso bucco, bags of soup bones.

We have hot dogs (skinny and quarter pounder), beer brats-these are quarter pounders, sliced corned beef, sliced pastrami and sliced bologna.  Made from our 100% grass fed Angus beef, no added nitrates or nitrites.

Ground beef special – Buy 5, Get 1 free, and a special on  cube steak and stew beef – 20% off.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing.

Last week after reading that post on potatoes (that I copied into the newsletter) I tried steaming them for my potato salad, instead of boiling. Wow. I’ll never boil again. So much more tender and melt-in-yo-mouth.

The new potato “lifter” – like BUTTER!  Remember we used to have the Junior Johnson potato digger?  We’re still finding parts of that in the field. The last 2 years I tortured myself with a middle buster.

See you tomorrow!

HI! Are you coming for some of this action??

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 with:

Tomatoes! Including Brandywine, Giant Belgium, Azoychka Russian, Limmony, Kellogg’s Breakfast, Cherokee Purple, Aunt Ruby’s German Green,  Green Giant, Black Krim, romas, American Original Beefsteak, Bloody Butchers and cherry tomatoes.

I ate 3 tomato sandwiches on that sourdough bread when I got home from the market last week. Then I had to go hold the couch down for awhile.  Tomatillos, mini eggplant & 2 varieties of big eggplant, savoy & red cabbage, okra (white & red), a variety of cucumbers including Asian, lemon, mini white, mini green and slicers; freshly dug potatoes: German Butterball, Carola and Huckleberry Gold. Green peppers and jalepenos, sweet & red onions, sweet potatoes, wheat. In fact, if I can muster, I’m going in a minute to dig up some Purple Pinecone potatoes too!! (don’t hold me to that)

Bloody Butchers are one of my most popular varieties and my SUPER AWESOME customers ask for them by name. They have a really rich tomato flavor and this recipe…seriously, there are no words. Maple. Roasted. Tomatoes.  Make 2 pans because you’ll eat the first batch and then…what happened??

I mostly use them for a simple pan sauce that is amazing  – I just heat some olive oil in a pan, add chopped garlic and let that heat a minute until fragrant on kind of low heat, or med low, then add quartered or chopped Bloody Butchers, a little salt and sometimes a splash of balsamic, but not always. Just let them cook down to your liking. There are a lot of good people walking around out there, addicted to that sauce. You know who you are 🙂

We are all stocked up on beef cuts, and have our 100% grass fed & grass finished, Animal Welfare Approved Angus beef in these cuts: filet, flank, skirt, flat iron, ground, stew, philly steak, cube steak, ribeyes, NY Strip, sirloin,  brisket, eye of round roasts, bone-in chuck roasts, boneless chuck roasts, sirloin tip roasts, short ribs, liver,  osso bucco, bags of soup bones.

If you’re thinking about what to make for company this weekend, I would seriously recommend these  Crock Brown Sugar + Roasted Garlic Pulled Pot Roast Sandwiches or this Slow Cooker Barbacoa.  Or there are always hot dogs!

We have hot dogs (skinny and quarter pounder), beer brats-these are quarter pounders, sliced corned beef, sliced pastrami and sliced bologna.  Made from our 100% grass fed Angus beef, no added nitrates or nitrites.

Ground beef special – Buy 5, Get 1 free, and a special on  cube steak and stew beef – 20% off. Apparently beef stew is not the most popular summer dish. Whaaaat??

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing

BTW in unrelated news,  I follow Anthony William on Instagram and he just posted on the health importance of the humble potato 🙂 – WHO KNEW:

“Potatoes are a nutritious, healthy food that are rich in vitamins A, C, & B-complex and minerals such as manganese, iron, magnesium, copper, and potassium.🌟Potatoes contain an antioxidant called quercetin which has anti-cancer and cardio-protective properties as well as a storage protein called patatin which has been shown to exhibit activity against disease causing free radicals.👍🏻Potatoes are an excellent source of B6, a vitamin which is essential for the formation of almost every new cell in the body.😇Vitamin B6 also is a vital component for the neurological system and for the creation of amines which are neurotransmitters that send messages from one nerve to the next.✨This makes potatoes an important food for those who are heavy thinkers and those recovering from stress damage and adrenal exhaustion.🙏🏻They are also particularly beneficial for depression, insomnia, sleep disorders, brain fog, and stress related illnesses.💁🏻Potatoes are also known to be good for promoting cardiovascular health and are highly beneficial for reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke, atherosclerosis, and COPD.💗Potatoes themselves are virtually fat-free and packed with dietary fiber which helps to prevent constipation and protect the colon from polyps and cancer.🙌🏻Their high fiber content also helps to lower blood LDL cholesterol and keep blood sugar levels stable and within normal range.❤️Fresh raw potatoes are a rich source of vitamin C, enzymes, minerals, and antibiotic properties and can be juiced with fresh tomatoes, lemons, or other vegetables for additional health benefits.👌🏻Steamed potatoes are the most healthy form of cooked potato and will ensure that they retain most of their vitamins and minerals and remain a strongly alkaline, healing food.😋”

See you tomorrow!