You know it has been a long season, when your plants start producing magical, yet comical fruits. They must be saying to us, sit down and have a laugh, it’s almost over.
Not only are there penguin peppers, but peppers with funny noses:
These peppers are doing their job, showing us that plants can have a sense of humor too!
Here on the farm we have been really busy. We wrapped up one CSA season with good company and tall cans, and rolled on into the fall season with more good company. I tried to think about the number of people who have shuffled through our door this season with the WWOOF program, or otherwise…and I couldn’t get an accurate count. To those of you who know that you have been here, thanks. I’ve enjoyed feeding and gossiping with you all. I’ve really been enjoying this fall weather here in Fayette-town. So mild, yet not quite coat weather. For me, this signals apple season. Apple pie, apple crisp/crumble, apple turnovers, apple sauce, apple muffins, on and on.
Here is a recipe for apple turnovers that is easy, and delicious
1 Put oven rack in lower third of oven and pre-heat oven to 400°F. Butter a large baking sheet (or use Silpat).
2 In a medium bowl, mix together apples, currants, and walnuts with the sugar, cinnamon, and corn starch, making sure the fruit and nuts are well coated. Mix in the apple sauce and vanilla.
3a Unfold the thawed pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Depending on the size of your puff pastry sheet you are going to want to cut the sheet into either four 5-inch-by-5-inch or six 4-inch-by-4-inch squares.
3b Roll out your pie dough on a lightly floured surface to a 16×11 inch rectangle. Trim the edges to 15×10 inches and cut into six 5×5-inch squares.
4 Divide the apple mixture among the squares, leaving a 1-inch border. If you are using an already prepared puff pastry sheet, dot the mixture in each pastry with a little butter. (If you are using a butter pie dough, you can skip adding the extra butter.) In a small bowl mix the beaten egg with a teaspoon of milk. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg mixture on the border of the pastry.
5 Fold each pastry into a triangle, enclosing the filling, and crimp edges with a fork. Brush the tops of the pastries with more of the egg wash. Cut 2 or 3 small steam vents in the top of each turnover.
6 Place the pastries in the oven and bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden.
Cool turnovers to warm before serving.
If you have extra time (because we all have loads of this right?) try your favorite apple recipe and fill your house with the smells of the season!
Synergy, in general, may be defined as two or more agents working together to produce a result not obtainable by any of the agents independently.
We had an unbelievable day today. Well, I cannot speak for Beth and Franchy, but to me it felt good. We finished what we started yesterday. We were widening a row by a few feet. That’s how Franchy had his accident : ) We pitch-forked the Bremuda grass up and then shook the soil from the roots. This morning we finished that chore. Franchy continued to work up the grass the next row over and finished it. Bet raked the first row to even it and we started planting more cilantro seed. It felt great getting dirt jammed under my fingernails. As Beth and I were scratching dirt over the holes we drilled with our fingers, Beth said “Scratching Mother Nature’s back”. How apt. It felt really good to have my hands massaging the warm soil. You should try it sometime. Then we watered in all the seeds. Good work team! We broke about 1:00pm for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a salad. Never had a meal tasted so good. I felt so exhausted and dehydrated. I had to sit still for a while because I had too much sun. I don’t know about the weather in your neck of the woods, but in my yard it’s in the high 80’s/low 90’s…it’s brutal out there come 12:30 pm. We took the rest of the day off. Still ore to do, but tomorrow is another day.
As I sit here, drinking my morning cup of coffee, letting my interns get their last ten minutes of sleep, I’m just realizing all of the work we still have to do before we can plant any seeds. Trying to write it down on paper, to have some sort of game plan, so we’re more efficient out there. Today, I think Franchy will wear shoes. He learned a lesson yesterday and I didn’t have to talk to him like his mama…I can come off that way a lot, (right Monica). But, I just thought I’d drop my readership a line to let you all know there is hard work to be done today, so please come over and show your face, pitch in if you wish! TTFN.
Today Paul took Franchy to the farmer’s market to meet with Patrice Gros about the hoop house building that will be commencing here in November. Patrice, a fellow Frenchman was excited to know about our new French help. Pleasantries, pleasantries. When Franchy and Paul arrived back on the farm, Beth and I were in the north rows weeding and attempting to make them larger. Franchy stepped in and began pitch forking the ground, while Beth shook the soil from the grass roots. I was a row over returning mulch to the row. Franchy turns to me, and with his French-English says, “Uh, I need, how do you say, uh…” and he lifts his foot which is covered in blood and dirt. “A Band-Aid” I say, “Yes! A Band-Aid, yes.” He replies. “What did you do?” I ask him. He motions that he stuck himself with the pitch fork. “Okay, go back to my house and show your foot to Paul, and he’ll take care of it.” I tell him. After he walked away Beth and I giggled. His first day on the job and he stabs his foot. I think it’s noble of Franchy to travel with the WWOOF program, however, bless his little French heart, I don’t think he has ever worked on a farm before. I sat tonight down at the home with Mrs. Barbara, doing some care giving and told all of the old ladies at dinner about this episode. They all had a good laugh. Hopefully tomorrow will bring less injuries.
Click on this to view our upcoming 2010 workshops!
The Farm will be hosting a series of workshops that are all coming up for the Fall season. You don’t have to live here in Northwest Arkansas to attend. Tell your friends!
The Farm will be hosting a series of workshops that are all coming up for the Fall season. You don’t have to live here in Northwest Arkansas to attend. Tell your friends!
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