The first few years we were a part of his CSA, Leigh Hauter always had a few pigs running around part of his property. They were not only for meat but were intended as (yet another) deterrent to the deer; the theory was that the pigs would smell things up so bad up and down their enclosure that the deer would stay away. It sort of worked; the deer stayed out of the pigs enclosures and instead assaulted the fields by alternative vectors. Leigh’s pigs had from ¼ to ½ and acre of forest to root around in, they had plenty of space to remain active, and in addition to some supplemental grain, they ate roots and whatever vegetables were too far gone to go out in the shares.

They made for some really good eatin’, too. This was the first meat I had ever had where I not only knew the farmer but knew the animals. I thought that the fresh, rich taste was just because it was not coming from some mass-producing factory farm, but I discovered that there was something else to it.

What do you do with a whole pig? Make bacon, of course!

Leigh got tired of having to deal with pigs, so he stopped raising them and instead hooked us up with his friend Susannah who raises pigs and poultry on her farm in southern Fauquier County. She also grows corn organically and uses that as feed for her animals.  Now, do not get me wrong, Susannah raises some fine hogs, but there just seemed to be something missing from the meat we were used to having.

It did not really hit me until I was at Eastern Market one day and saw that Jose Canales had a sign up for Jamon Iberico. This is a very special and very rare type of cured ham from Spain. The hogs are sent up into the mountains to forage and gorge themselves on acorns before being slaughtered. Because of their diet and exercise the pig’s meat has a distinctly rich flavor which is further enhanced and concentrated by curing and aging. Mr. Canales sliced off about a quarter pound for me after giving me the short version of why Iberico is so special.

He did not have to try very hard; I told him about how I had noticed the difference in taste and texture between the hogs we had purchased and he nodded his head in agreement.

So when I saw what Bill had to offer, I knew I would have to make room in my freezer.

This is Kevin Bacon, the stud pig from Babes in the Woods. He is a cross of a Duroc boar with Tamworth sows. Handsome, isn't he....

It took two years for the timing to work out (we had to finish the pig we had, then we bought a quarter beef and we had to finish that) but we finally have one of his pigs.

Up Next: This Years’ Pig, Part II: Adventures in Curing

Did I mention I cure my own meats? Here’s a little photo to wet your appetite for part two of the story.

Let the curing begin.... this will be Guanciale - Jowl Bacon (More on this in Part Two)

He was Pushed!

The perils of CSA deliveries.

We had seedless sugar baby watermelons last week. I managed to drop only one of them; I opened the back of the van and it escaped. For the delivery I laid all of them out on the grass and let people pick theirs. One shareholder came around with, as he usually does, his five-year-old son. Paul had a good deal of fun rolling them around in the grass, which I did not mind at all. But then he picked one up and hurled it. Without my having to say a word about it the boy’s father scolded him, “We do not throw the watermelons! That one’s ours now.” he said picking up the cracked fruit. I felt relieved; the dad did not ask if there were any extra he could take instead of the damaged one. A small example of a responsible shareholder and parent.

No more sweet potatoes!

Our fruit share is not grown on the farm; Leigh goes out once or twice a week to the orchards and farms in his area and purchases peaches, apples, and such from them. It is still local fruit, and still community supported agriculture and he is upfront about the arrangement when people sign on.

So he and his wife, Wenonah, were out at one of these orchards when Wenonah noticed that the farmer had crates and crates of potatoes. She asked what he was planning on doing with them. “I’ve got so many, I don’t know where I’m going to sell them” he said. It has, I believe, been a banner year for potatoes in Virginia. My sister-in-law’s CSA has given her so many potatoes that she is pretty much sick of them, ‘I’m potatoes everyday. Sometimes twice a day. Potato soup, potato salad….” she went on a while, suffice it to say, she has been getting a LOT of potatoes in her share.

Wenonah decided that these potatoes might be a good addition to the shares this week, so they drove off with a few crates. They’re relatively small, but tasty, sort of like new potatoes, and boil up quite quickly.

They are also a welcome departure from the sweet potatoes which have been a staple of OUR shares the past few weeks!

Aug 23 Market Buys

One of the comments we hear a lot is  … so, the gooseberries are great and all, but I can’t make real meals just by shopping at the farmers markets.   And, even if I could, it would cost a fortune!

Well, we’re here to dispel those myths and show you how it can be done.  This week, my CSA brought me corn, summer squash, tomatoes, lettuce, and peaches.  At the market (see above), I bought peaches, pluots, eggplant, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, pimientos (the little red peppers), basil, chives, dandelion greens, sweet potato ravioli, garlic lingini, bread, mozarella cheese, and blackberry ice cream (Dolcezza is totally worth the $6 splurge!).  Here’s my plan for the week:

Monday: Summer squash and corn soup with chives and pimientos (good for a couple of lunches, too) and bread

Tuesday: Sweet potato ravioli (purchased from Smith Meadows Farms) with bell pepper and tomato sauce and feta (purchased last week at the 14th St Market)

Wednesday: Tomato/Basil/Mozarella sandwiches on toasted bread with green salad w/ peaches

Thursday: Linguini w/ feta, summer squash, and herbs (good for a couple lunches, too)

Friday: Scrambled eggs w/ dandelion greens and sweet potato hash

Saturday: Corn on the cob, panzanella (tomato, mozarella, and bread) salad, and blackberry ice cream

So, for $80 ($20 CSA, $60 market), I will make 6 dinners and ~4 lunches for myself and my husband.   That works out to $4/meal/person for local, mostly organic, super-healthy meals.  And, for snacks, I have plenty of fruit, and will make baba ganoush from the eggplant.

As you can see, I am a vegetarian most of the time.  I’ll buy fish 2-3 times per month, and cook with meat (small pieces in a larger veggie meal) maybe once a month.   If you’re more of a carnivore, there are many meat sellers at the markets.  You could add ground meat to the pasta dishes, or add some sausage links to the eggs and hash dinner, raising the price to $5-6/meal.

Please note the subtle farm humor...

My stop was and is the only one to get fennel. The 25 or so bulbs were the sole survivors of the planting.

What did you get this week?

Don't squeeze me!

Seriously. Excerpt from the newsletter:
Full article and more stories from the farm here:
www.bullrunfarm.com/newsletters.html

“Fresh, picked that morning ,tomatoes are different. They are full of water. Juice. The fruit walls are tender.If they are given a squeeze, they go squish. As in, tomato juice. And if you put them in a box and shipped them half way around the world what would come out at the other end is tomato juice, not tomatoes.

“This lesson took me a number of years to learn.

“Every year I would just put out our tomatoes like I do the rest of the vegetables, and let people pick their own.

“Each day, as I drove home, 20-25% of the tomatoes I had picked in the morning, would be sitting in the back of the truck, all squished up.

“I thought, at the time, this was just the price of doing business. ‘Tomatoes’, I thought. ‘just don’t travel well. You need to pick more to account for the short shelf life.’

“Then, one year, because we were having a poor crop of tomatoes, instead of just putting the tomatoes out for people to pick themselves, I gave the tomatoes out.

“And I learned something.

“Only 1 or 2% of the tomatoes got squished in transit.

“I found out that what was damaging all of those perfectly good tomatoes was people picking them up, giving them a little squeeze, just like they would do to a corporate tomato in the grocery store.

“But, unlike the corporate tomato, ours would go squish.

“Local, homegrown tomatoes, are a completely different creature than those corporate vegetables. They are full of juice. They can’t handle being squeezed.

“Oh well.

“So, to make the story short, when you are picking out your tomatoes, just look at them, only touch the tomatoes you are going to put in your bag. And if, by chance, you don’t particularly like that tomato after picking it up, put it in your bag anyway, and get another one.”

What did you get this week?

The basil is peaking

We’re finally up to All You Can Eat basil at our stop. Many shareholders start making and freezing pesto as soon as or even before we reach this point. We have had up to six quarts of it in our freezer for the Winter. It is an easy enough sauce to make; we use it as is with pasta or with some tomato sauce (or on a pizza instead of tomato sauce).  I usually make it with walnuts instead of the traditional pine nuts and often omit the Parmesan cheese which many recipes call for. It is an easy thing to play around with, particularly if you have access to vast amounts of the primary ingredient.

What did you get from your CSA this week?

Three Great Tastes, by Art D.

At this point in the Summer one of our most common CSA meals is what you see here. I’ll get home, chop a few potatoes into eight or so pieces, peel a head of garlic, then add rosemary. Toss it all with some olive oil, salt and pepper, then throw it on a baking sheet  covered with parchment. Roasted at 400 for 30 minutes. Quick, easy , and filling.

Here’s what we got this week:

• Kohlrabi
• cabbage
• Red lettuce mix
• garlic scapes
• basil
• radishes
• purslane
• shiso
• epazote
• Ornamental hot pepper plant

Early in his CSA career, our farmer would sometimes have to glean the fields of purslane to make shares. Now he grows it from seed.

Purslane is a succulent, tangy green best known for being a weed.  But it is a very tasty weed. Stems and leaves can be used, preferably raw, to add a bit of a lemony flavor to salads. Some sources say that this, and not parsley,  was the green originally used in tabbouleh.

What did you get this week?

Potted Marigolds by Art D.

Here’s what I delivered for Bull Run Mountain Farm CSA this week:

• Garlic Scapes
• Onions
• Lettuce-Purslane-Tatsoi mix
• Basil
• Oregano
• Kohlrabi
• Marigold plant

What did you get?

Here’s what I delivered for Bull Run Farm CSA this week:

• Chinese Cabbage
• Spring Onions
• Garlic Scapes
• Parsley
• Oregano
• Basil
• Potted Herb

What did you get?