If every US Citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast.
—Barbara Kingsolver: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

It seems appropriate that the CSA should end the way it began.  A group of people, all agreeing that one local meal a day is a good plan.  Those people, this year, are you!

And we are Circle S, so the Circle stops here.  No, of course not!  Isn’t it wonderful to still agree whole heartedly in the mission after 20 plus years?  Local food is increasingly important.  Small farms are vital.  Home gardens, CSA’s, Farmer’s Markets, small businesses that sell local food are needed.  So let’s continue….

Circle S will be at Main Street Farmer’s market  with produce, eggs and beef alongside a slew of other local farms with amazing offerings.  If you haven’t been, it’s Wednesday from 4-6 in the Finley Stadium parking lot.  Lookout Mountain has a monthly market.  Roy Jones and Jones Farm has a farm stand selling his fruits and vegetables, but also supporting and selling other local food (ie. Circle S Beef ) www.jonesfruitfarm.com.  Gaining ground grocery supports local farms and food, so support them.  Continue, when you can, to support local.

As for me…I am forever grateful for the CSA and all the support it has given our farm.  Thank you for traveling through the years and the memories with me.  My heart is full.

on to the important part….a full stomach!

What’s in the bucket:   tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.  Green tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, red tomatoes, roma tomatoes!  A potato….yes that joke carried all the way through.  Lots of onions, Mint and oregano bouquets.  And I have started basil roots for everyone….so hopefully that can carry you through fall…put them in a sunny window and change the water often.  Or plant in some soil.  And there will be some suprises from Jones farm this week as well.

I’m leaving you with a recipe from the archives.  Looking at the page I’m thinking it was a Moosewood recipe, but all I have is the picture.  I like it because it uses green or red tomatoes, and it’s pretty simple to make.

Mexican Hot Sauce

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves crushed garlic

3 cups chopped red or green tomato

1 cup water

1 t salt

1 t cumin

1/4 t ground coriander

2 tsp dry red wine

1/2 t cayenne

1/4 t pepper

1/2 t chili powder

2 T tomato paste

2 T olive oil

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until clear.  Add spices.  Add other ingredients and simmer 30 minutes to several hours.  Adjust spices for heat.

Happy Eating, Happy Hot Sauce, Happy 20 years and as always, Thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm.

“Put your heart into even the smallest seemingly insignificant acts possible. Then be patient enough for the universe to give back to you what you reap.”
― Matthew Donnelly

20 years of putting seeds in the ground.  20 years of cutting hay.  20 years of herding cows, feeding horses, gathering eggs.  20 years of building fence and building soil.  20 years of small insignificant acts.

No great travels, no “big deals”, no historic wins.

No giant successes.

Just abundant gifts.

Here are my notes to you.  Here are your notes to me.

Stuffed into pockets.  Hidden in books.  Posted on my refrigerator.

What does it mean?   Community.  Friendship.  A sense of place.  Roots.  Hope.  Gratitude.

All of those things.

Thank you!

Farm News:  2 more weeks….so if you are a half share this is your last week.

For Monday Delivery folks, I usually send the last shares in paper bags.  But not this year!  Your bucket is a gift.  It might not be in mint condition, but you will use it, I bet.  Give a gift in it.  Wash your car with it.  Mop the floor….whatever purpose it can serve!

And speaking of roots!

This is some basil I had left over from the market a few weeks ago.  I put it in a glass in my window and…ta..da.  Like a magic trick.  Look at all those roots!

You can do this too, just change the water every day or so.  I’ve been pinching leaves off this and using them.  Not sure how long it can live like this?

What’s in the bucket? Red and green tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, onions, a potato, a jalapeno…and, speaking of friends…

Things are slowing down here, and we have some family weddings etc to participate in late summer, fall.  So I didn’t plant anything that would linger….

Jones Farm is going to pitch in a little for the last 2 weeks.  They are growing sweet corn and peaches, and you can look forward to that in your buckets this week.  And when your shares end in 2 weeks, go visit Jones Farm store.  Lovely produce, fish from the gulf, meats from Circle S and others, cheese, raw milk.  They are located a little past Rising Fawn on Hwy 11.  Find them on Facebook for specifics.

Here is a recipe for peach and tomato burrata from Bon Appetit.  But don’t be afraid to search or create your own.  Throw in some sweet corn and cucumbers, or fresh jalapeno.  Don’t be afraid to leave out the tarragon or try a different herb.  Go with what you love.

Peaches and Tomatoes With Burrata and Hot Sauce

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. mild hot sauce (such as Crystal or Frank’s)

2 tsp. unseasoned rice vinegar

2 tsp. honey

Kosher salt

3 ripe peaches or nectarines, cut into wedges

2 large ripe tomatoes or 1 lb. mixed tomatoes, sliced

1 8-oz. ball burrata or fresh mozzarella, torn into large pieces

Tarragon sprigs (for serving)

Flaky sea salt

Preparation

Step 1 Whisk oil, hot sauce, vinegar, and honey in a small bowl until honey is dissolved; season with kosher salt. Toss peaches, tomatoes, and half of dressing in a medium bowl; let sit 5 minutes.

Step 2 Transfer fruit salad to a platter. Top with burrata and drizzle with remaining dressing. Scatter a few torn tarragon sprigs over and season with sea salt.

Happy Eating.  Happy Universe….and thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm.

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

If there is a thread woven through all these years of planting and harvesting, caring for animals and growing food for a community….it would be a thread of friendship.  Starting with ….my Mom and Lovella.   This picture is of my Mom and me.  Not sure what she is looking for in that basket.  This picture was taken in 2006.

When Curtis’s Dad got sick, and Lovella needed to spend more time at home, I remember wondering…how am I going to be able to keep doing this?  I had told Lovella when she quit I would have to quit too.

I was looking for someone.

I befriended a lady at the local feed and seed, and I began going by frequently to ask her questions.  Her name was Bertha.  I think I begged and pleaded until she finally began coming one day a week to help.

Bertha knew things.  How to get seedlings to grow, what herbs to take when you are  feeling low, how to get a mud stain out of your shirt.  She knew that you could eat chickweed, or purslane and other wild plants.  She knew if a seed germinated, but one of the cotyledons didn’t emerge, the plant wouldn’t mature correctly.

And so my knowledge grew.  And our friendship grew.  And the CSA got bigger.  And Circle S Farm started selling at a Farmer’s Market, as well as having a CSA.

In the years that followed, we had so many wonderful folks who came to the farm and helped.  We had a slew of work shares for several years.  Others as well, Erin, Chris, Beth, John, Steve, Joanna…  Some came to work, some came to learn, but all of them taught me more than I ever thought was possible.  Much like Bertha.

And then we moved.   And sold the high tunnels.   And I still needed help, but not so much.

I was looking…and an old friend of ours, Twyla, stepped in.  Twyla could work circles around anyone….and could tell jokes and make you laugh while she was doing it.   Twyla stayed and worked with me for a few years and then she got married and moved to Cleveland.  And so once again, I found myself looking…

I’m not sure when Jennifer and I even met.  She was in my CSA somewhere along the way.  And a Main Street Market friend.  A neighbor.  She and Josh came to one of our farm parties and helped us try to finish the keg of beer we had bought.  At somepoint along the way I told her I was looking for someone to help with the garden and she agreed.  But I feel like I’ve known her my whole life.  She has helped me the last, what? 8 years? Saving the best for last.

And it occurs to me….there is nothing like looking for something if you want to find it.  But perhaps the friendship that occurs along the way is the biggest treasure.

Farm News:  Skunks everywhere. Yep, that’s right.  Definitely not looking for them….and hope our dogs aren’t either.

What’s in the bucket?  red cabbage, cucumber, zucchini or summer squash, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, maybe a few green beans, celery and SUNFLOWERS.

Speaking of friendship….the recipe this week is a vegetable Tian.  Much like ratatouille, but with potatoes instead of eggplant.  We had some friends out and tried it….it was a hit.

Vegetable Tian

Copyright 2004, Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, All Rights Reserved

Happy Eating, Happy Looking, Happy Friendship and thanks for buying Local Food from Circle S Farm.

I got nothing but a ford and a barn full of hay,

If it weren’t for horses…. I’d have a lot more money and a lot less grey.

-Slaid Cleaves

There are an awful lot of quotes about hay.

“Make hay while the sun shines”

“The hay is in the barn”

“Hit the hay”

“Roll in the hay”

“Work and pray, live on hay, you’ll get pie in the sky when you die”

Hay is like a well stocked cupboard.   It is security.  It is warmth (roll out a hay bale in freezing temps and you’ll be amazed at how it warms your hands).  It is something that, in one form or another, farmer’s have been doing for generations.  And while Curtis and I try to graze more and need less, there is still a feeling of security in having it.  And nothing more satisfying than rolling out a dry bale when the weather is miserable for the calves to lay in.

In the early days it was square bales.  Square bales and a flat bed trailer and lots of friends who work for beer!

But now it is a round baler…less physical and more mechanical.  Occasionally use the horses to rake when we can manage it.

We just sold that old square baler this year.  20 years plus and it still worked fine.  I have to admit I was a little sentimental.  Letting go of things we just can’t (or don’t want to) do anymore is hard.  But lots of good memories (and pics) of our square baling days!

What’s in the bucket:  It’s a race to the finish line for last best!  A “hay harvest breeze” (William Johnson Cory) for 4 more weeks.  Perhaps more flowers and less veggies?  That might be fun…we’ll see.  Some suprises in store no doubt.

“….in nineteenth-century Russia, sauerkraut was valued more than caviar.”

All right then, that is great.  Because guess what?  Yes there is more cabbage!  This week either green, savoy or red cabbage.  AND squash, cucumbers, lots of onions….red, white, and…basil, a few carrots, a potato….just one.  For the german kraut in case you are adventurous.

Recipe this week:  you guessed it, sauerkraut from Farmer John’s cookbook, and one for Uncle Lamar’s pickles out of our Good Grazing cookbook released in 2008.  Both tried and true in the Circle S Kitchen many times!

Happy Eating!  Happy Hay Harvest Breeze!  and Thanks for buying local food from

Circle S Farm!

“Sit tall in the saddle, Hold your head up high
Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky
And live like you ain’t afraid to die
And don’t be scared, just enjoy your ride”   -Chris LeDoux

If there is one thing that sealed the deal on my love for horses and farming, it was the time I spent with Grant and Abie in Wyoming.   So if I think back on how I ended up here, it was most surely by going there.  And now, I realize that Grant was close to my age when I met him, 57?  At that time he was still shoeing all his own horses…a small group of around 90 including mules and pack horses.  I didn’t think much of it back then, but now I realize….the many aches and pains that come from working with land and animals.   I remember, as Grant aged he moved slower.  But when he was on a horse, he had wings.

The picture above is of a milk cow named Meg.  My first cow, a gift from Grant and Abie.  If you are going to be a cowgirl….you have to have a cow.   And a horse of course.  When they thought I was going to drop out of college, Grant and my Dad coined a deal on the horse.  But the cow….

Grant bought a pair of cows to be nurse cows.  He and Abie also had a cattle farm in Missouri where they spent their winters.  The one he planned on giving me didn’t have a calf…so he gave me his milk cow.  A beautiful dutch belted cow.    She was one of a long string of gifts from Grant and Abie including a colt named Harley, a rope horse for Curtis named Lucky, a bobtail cat, a charlais heifer…

And our cattle herd began.  The belted gene is a dominant one, so ….

We kind of fell in love with them.  This was our 2006 calf crop.

Farm News:  Jennifer dug the best of the potatoes left in the garden…will they last?

What’s in the bucket?  potatoes, carrots, fennel, onions, cabbage, summer squash, a cucumber or cherry tomato? farm flowers and basil.

The recipe – one of Abie’s pack trip recipes for scalloped potatoes.  A sturdy dish we packed into the Wind River Range for our guests.  Pack in a snow bank until ready to heat over a wood fire:)

Happy Eating, Happy July 4th, and thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm.

“Curtis always sees the glass as half full.”  -Zack Vice

Zack told me this a few years back.   And I wondered what made him say it.  Zack is one of the friends we’ve made along the way, and his cup ran over.  There was no half full or half empty for him….his glass overflowed.   With infectious enthusiasm, energy, joy, love.    His cup would overflow into yours and all of a sudden everything seemed easier.  He and his family have helped us with so many projects, from barn building to cattle work.  And we will never stop being thankful for his friendship.

But half full…I started paying attention.  If we needed rain and there was a 20 percent chance, Curtis would say “it’s going to rain today”.   I wondered “am I a half full or half empty kind of person”?  What are you?

I decided I am definitely half empty.  If half a row of beans comes up, instead of being grateful for half a row, I wonder what happened to the other half.  Instead of being thankful for the hay that got mowed or the potatoes that were dug, I worry about the other things on my list that did not get done.

Speaking of halves, we are halfway through the best last CSA this week..  Are we halfway through, or do we have half  left?  That is for you to decide…. half full or half empty?  But one thing is for certain, the buckets will be full!

Farm News:    Curtis was finally able to mow a large hay field.  It’s been too wet with all the rain.  And here it is almost July!

The hay is a little past it’s prime, but as a neighbor used to say “it’ll beat a snowball”.

And, I got the first round of onions up to cure with Jennifer’s help.  And Tip’s.

What’s in the bucket?   green cabbage, fennel, broccoli, iceberg and/or romaine lettuce, rainbow chard, daikon radish, young walla walla onions, and….of course…a few potatoes.

Here is another recipe from a farm blog.  It’s delicious and nutritious.

Ingredients:

• 1 heads of cabbage halved and thinly sliced
• 2-3 fennel bulbs with stalks and leaves,  bulb halved, bulb and stalks thinly sliced, leaves reserved
• 1-2 medium size daikon radish, peeled, julienned
• Miso vinaigrette:
  • 1-2 tbsp red miso paste
  • 3 tbsp safflower oil
  • 1 tbsp mirin rice wine
  • 1 tsp dark sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp grated ginger
• Preparation:
  • Make miso vinaigrette:
    • In a separate bowl add red miso paste, mirin rice wine, and sesame oil, whisk to mix well then while continuing to whisk slowly pour the oil in a thin stream.
    • Can be made ahead of time.

  Make:

  • Remove any dry, wilted, or discolored leaves from the exterior of the cabbage, wash, pat dry, halve top to bottom, slice thinly; place into large salad bowl.
  • Wash and pat dry fennel bulb, stalks, and leaves, slice green stalks off the whiter bulb, halve bulb lengthwise, cut out the thick core, slice remaining bulb thinly; add to the salad bowl.
  • Thinly slice the fennel stalks at a diagonal and chop some of the leaves; add to the salad bowl.
  • Wash and peel daikon radish, cut off root stem, julienne cut (1/8 inch  x 1/8 inch (h) x 2 inches (l); add to the salad bowl.
  • Pour vinaigrette over the salad ingredients, mix well to coat all the ingredient with the vinaigrette.
  • Spoon into another serving dish or serve in the salad bowl.

Happy Eating! Happy Halfway! and Thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm.

“Well, I’ve never been a quitter, and I’m sure not quitting now,
I’ll always be a cowboy, as long as there’s one cow” -Del Shields

Happy Father’s Day everyone!

I was going through some old photographs I came across this photo of Logan and Curtis.  The jersey calf became our milk cow, Precious, and that’s my good old dog Sadie.  It made me smile a wide, happy smile.  Memories of our summers with Logan…and Precious, and Sadie.

Years later.  A new group of dogs, and Precious the milk cow.  Logan, undoubtedly in college, a new job, shorter trips.

And more years later,  the stories remain the same….a snake in the henhouse, the bulls are fighting, a tragedy, a drought, a flood, a miracle, another mile, another year.   Seasons change, they come around again, and we start over and we grow older.

And we try to save the best for last!  Or should we start out with it first in case we don’t get to last?  Or perhaps we should have it first and last…and maybe all the way through the middle.

That’s how we feel about potatoes.  One potato, two potato, three potato, four…  And what if…perhaps we could…have potatoes first, and last, and all the way through the middle?  We are trying our BEST to make them LAST:)

Farm News:  Rain.  A tree down in our yard… I know other folks have damage from the storms as well.  Bulls fighting.  Waiting to cut hay.

What’s in the bucket:? Potatoes….red and purple daikon radish with greens, NAPA cabbage, iceberg and Romaine lettuce, beets, walla walla young onions, farm flowers.

When it gets hot I’m ready to eat salad.  Something cool and delicious.  So make a wedge, make a caesar, make potato salad, and try this Napa cabbage salad from the Farm to People Blog….

“A dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven not man’s.” – Mark Twain

One of the best things about farming is you go to work with your dogs.  We don’t get to take as many breaks as they do, but they are always there for moral support.  When Jennifer first started helping me in the garden,  one of our rowdy Circle S dogs trampled a kale plant.  She said…”what do we do?”  And I said, “we plant enough that it doesn’t matter.!!!

This is Otis.  He didn’t get up as we weeded the row, so we just covered him up.  He was a small dog….we teased him and told him we would water him and maybe he would grow.  Small in stature, but not small in heart.  Otis had his own story.  He blew in with a spring thunderstorm, and never left.  What a gift that he chose us, and gave us so much love for so many years.

There are strings around my heart that will never be untied…one of them is most certainly Otis.   But there are others.

And now there are the healersand Buddy Brown Dog

And, if we are lucky enough, more on the horizon.  And if not, well, I’m with Mark Twain:)

Farm News:  More rain.  But Curtis did manage to get 27 bales of hay up.  The rest really needs to be cut….but rain and thunderstorm chances everyday.  And I caught up a little on the garden work, but lots of weeds growing and , yikes!

What’s in the bucket?  Shallots, arugula, potatoes, kale, collard, chard, beets, edible bouquets with cilantro, mint, lavender and/or calendula.

Recipe for the week…in case you are getting tired of potatoes.  A new twist on potato salad.  A lemon dressing makes it a little lighter, and good warm or cold.  Mint or cilantro will work just fine!  From NY times-

INGREDIENTS Yield: 8 servings

2 pounds small waxy white or yellow potatoes, roughly about the same size

Juice of 1 lemon, more for serving

1½ teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup thinly sliced scallions,  or shallots, white and light green parts, more for serving

¼ cup torn mint leaves, more for serving (or cilantro)

¼ teaspoon Turkish pepper, more for serving

PREPARATION Step 1 Place whole unpeeled potatoes in a large pot with enough salted water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until potatoes are just tender, 15 to 25 minutes depending upon size. Drain and cut potatoes into 1½-inch chunks as soon as you can handle them. Step 2 In a bowl, whisk together lemon juice, salt and olive oil. Step 3 Transfer hot potatoes to a large bowl and toss with dressing, scallions, mint and Turkish pepper. Let cool to room temperature, or refrigerate until ready to use. Just before serving, top with additional lemon juice, scallions, mint and Turkish pepper.

Happy Eating,  Happy Puppy Love,  and Thanks for buying Local Food from Circle S Farm!

“Keep smiling”  -Lovella

A picture from 2007.

Curtis’s Mom helped me with the CSA for a number of years.  Probably the reason we ever got it off the ground.  Today, well into her 80’s, she could still outwork me and smile the whole way down the row.  This is her waving from “the pea patch” as she would call it.  It was probably 100 degrees that day.

2007 was also the first year for the buckets.  Some of these buckets have been around for a long time!

Farm News:  Diamond tried to follow the snake up the tree.  This snake (I think it is the same one) has lived part time in our chicken house the last several years.  The chickens don’t love him, but he keeps any rodents away, and I love that.  On this day, he went all the way up the huge oak tree by our house.  He went into a hole at the top I’m thinking in search of baby birds.  Jennifer and I were afraid he was going to drop out on us while we were washing up the veggies to put in your buckets.  He’s a big guy…Curtis thinks 10-12 feet.

As far as smiling goes, I was not today.  My dehydrator gave out.  It acted a bit funny last week, but today….ker plunk….ker pluey.  I had all my Temple Top Dog Treats loaded into it and ready to go.  I tried to switch them into my oven and THAT was a total disaster.

What’s in the Bucket:  Red and green bibb lettuce, kale, collards, kohlrabi, leeks and potatoes.  Oh and ….peaches.  Did I read that right?  Yep.  Roy at Jones farm is going to set us up with some peaches this week.

Oh – and by the way.  Roy has opened a farm store.  If you live in our area, or are up for a roadtrip, he is selling all sorts of things at his farm store.  Jones Farm peaches and produce, plus Circle S beef, lamb from Sequatchie cove, cheese from Rosemary and Thyme, and some other things too.  For more info look up www. jonesfruitfarm.com

The recipe this week is for Kohlrabi.  Kohlrabi hashbrowns.  Don’t be afraid to throw some potatoes in there too!

From Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables.       
Serves 4 to 5

Ingredients

• 4 medium kohlrabi bulbs (about 1 pound total)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 small onion, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
• 2 tbsp. dried bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. dried red pepper flakes
• black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions

1. Peel and grate kohlrabi.  Wrap in dish towel and squeeze away excess water.
2. Combine eggs, onion, bread crumbs, salt, ginger, red pepper and black pepper in a large mixing bowl.  Blend together.
3. Add kohlrabi and mix together.
4. If desired, roll into 1 inch balls.
5. Heat oil in large, heavy skillet.  Add kohlrabi mixture or balls to skillet.  Flatten the balls with spatula or continuously mix the mixture.
6. When golden brown, flip the flattened balls.  (5 to 7 minutes per side)

Happy Eating, Happy Last Best and Thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm!

Happy Eating, Happy Memorial Day, Happy Best Last, and Thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm!