Fearless Food Policy

Fearless Food Policy
How do we change the ways that our schools prepare and acquire the food that is served to our children?
Those of us who are of a certain age can remember walking home (or to Grandma's) for lunch until the "new" school was built with a cafeteria. And in the kitchen of the cafeteria, the women who worked there arrived early in the morning and actually prepared real food to serve at lunch time. Granted, there were the loaves of white bread, and the fruit cocktail and the overcooked canned vegetables. But the cooks also took pride in their own "recipes" that were popular with the kids.
By the time my kids were in school, almost everything served in the cafeteria came from a box or the freezer. I've always wondered exactly what is a wiener wing? And that trend continues in the school cafeteria today.
A malfunction of the refrigerator at the school where Arthur teaches yielded boxes and boxes of frozen "fresh" vegetables and fruits and he rescued it from the dumpster to add to our compost pile. I was shocked to discover that the highly processed "baby" carrots and the "fresh" apple slices in their little plastic pouches had made the journey across the country from California's Central Valley to a little school in the mountains of Pennsylvania.
As part of our planning for our transition to organic, we've investigated marketing of our produce. Wouldn't it make perfect sense for our students to have access to carrots and apples from their own communities?
One knowledgeable member of our Transition Team discouraged us, citing the governmental rules that, in effect, make it nearly impossible to meet the "standards" of policy.
So how do we change that?

Winter

The seed companies really know their marketing! Catalogs arrive in the mail just as the snow begins to stick to the ground – a time when outdoor pursuits are limited. What better time to dream of the wonderful vegetables that will pop out of the soil?
Here on Crandall Hill, we've been dreaming through those colorful pages, comparing lists from previous years and doing lots of thinking and lots of talking as we plan for the growing season and other big changes on the horizon.
Here's a picture of the orchard taken yesterday as the snow continues to fall from the leaden sky. Can't you imagine those branches bursting into bloom in just a couple of months?

Potatoes Harvested!

The potatoes are in! Cooperative weekend weather and a work crew – including Grandma Wanda Metzger – filled the cellar with five varieties of organic potatoes.
We'll be selling them in 5-lb. bags.
We purchased our certified organic seed from Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater, Maine. The descriptions are theirs.
BUTTE RUSSETS – highest in Vitamin C and protein. Great baked, mashed, or fried.
CAROLA – a sunny yellow potato from Germany boasting a smooth, creamy texture and exceptional flavor. Suitable for baking or frying.
ROSE GOLD – the best of the red-skinned golden-fleshed potatoes. A mildly dry potato that is perfect baked, steamed or in creamy soups. Unsurpassed taste
REDDALE – striking red potato with fine, moist flesh. Delicious boiled, baked or Au Gratin.
RED CLOUD – beautiful crimson potato is uncommonly dry and delicious baked or boiled. Extra good keeper.

From Summer To Fall

Often by the time of the autumnal equinox, we've already had a frost here on Crandall Hill but his year, we sailed right through until October. Son Joseph stopped for a cup of coffee early this morning before heading into the woods for archery season and reported a sheen of frost on the porch.
I still have a few baskets of tomatoes awaiting attention but now we're looking at harvesting potatoes, beets, carrots and shallots before the temperatures dip lower and lower.
Arthur brought in the winter squashes and pumpkins yesterday. Are you looking for a pumpkin? We have many sizes and shapes from which to choose. Call or e-mail us!
I'll post some pictures.

Late Season Tomato Harvest

Often by this time of the year, we've had a killing frost. But in 2010, we have sailed into the autumn with above average temperatures after a couple of nights in the mid-30s.
On the Metzger Farm, our tomato harvest continues as evidenced by the bounty on the kitchen counter! I've canned and frozen the excess but we still have beautiful tomatoes available for at least a couple more days.
We were seduced by the glossy pictures in the seed catalogs in January and ordered many varieties of heirloom tomato seeds. When I panicked and thought my little plants might not yield the harvests I wanted, I took a trip to Ithaca to find organically-grown plants to add to the stock.
We have many varieties still available - some of which are pictured here. The biggest tomato is Rose. There are also Black Krim, Black From Tula, Green Zebra and Early Girls pictured.
If you'd like to try any of these, or need some more tomatoes for late-season canning, call or e-mail me soon.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

It's tomato time!
I have a new favorite way to made tomato sauce that concentrates the taste of the wonderful variety of tomatoes we've been enjoying this summer. It's a simple process and the kitchen smells wonderful while it's happening.
Roasted Tomato Sauce
Wash and core ripe tomatoes and cut into chunks of a uniform size. (I leave cherry tomatoes whole and cut the others in similar sizes). Spread the tomatoes in a roasting pan that's been coated with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and additional olive oil and stir. I add several cloves of garlic at this point. You may also add fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano. Roast in a 425 degree oven until thickened, stirring now and then. Keep an eye on the sauce because, at the end, the moisture tends to evaporate quickly. It can take a couple of hours depending on the moisture content of the tomatoes and the quantity you put in the pan. Let the sauce cool and then put it through a food mill to remove the seeds and skins. That's all there is to it. I've frozen it thus far but expect it could be jarred and processed in a pressure canner as well.
I plan to experiment with adding additional ingredients - like peppers, onions and other vegetables, and trying a batch with large amounts of garlic!
The Metzger Heritage Farm has tomatoes available - call us at 274-8004 or email to place your order (metzgerfarm@gmail.com). Remember that we've grown these beauties without chemical pesticides, using organic methods!

Potato Update

It was in the spring that I first posted a picture of grandson Rowan as his folks planted their first garden in Oregon. Here's Rowan enjoying the first harvest!
Here on Crandall Hill we've poked around the well-mulched mounds to find our own beautiful organic potatoes too! Last weekend Joseph took his grandmother up on the hill to the potato patch where they dug a half-bushel of red and white beauties. Grandma Wanda Metzger is one of those standing behind the heritage in the Metzger Heritage Farm.
We're taking orders for potatoes now and expect to begin harvest in the next couple of weeks. Our potatoes were grown from certified organic seed with no chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides.