La Buena Vida Farm is serving up delicious pizza this Saturday at the Portal Cafe…and selling pizza crust for those of you who want to make your own at home.
Here’s how:
March, 2010
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Pizza – get it hot or make your own!
Saturday, March 27th, 2010Getting your goat
Monday, March 22nd, 2010[This is a guest post from :)Ibti,who is biking around the country while learning about and practicing sustainability. She recently visited La Buena Vida Farm.]
I consider myself a bit of a foodie. As such, I was in good company last week during my time spent with the good folks at La Buena Vida Farm. I learned quite a bit about community building and sustainable farming. One of the other things I particularly enjoyed was the free reign the family allowed me in the kitchen. The first night, we enjoyed quinoa and a thai curry loaded with fresh veggies from the farm. Pretty simple and tasty. Ah, but the second evening, now THAT was a dinner: curried goat, couscous, a loaf of Jerry’s fresh bread, and a savory kale saute.
In fact, it was the first time I’d cooked (or eaten) goat. I know, funny when I think about it, having grown up eating lamb, but there you have it. When Jen offered me a chance to fiddle with a beautiful goat rib roast — one of their own pasture raised goats, butchered a couple of months ago — I happily accepted the challenge and dove into my bag of travel spices. Yes, I travel with spices. 25 of them, actually. I like to cook, what can I say? Here, for your culinary pleasure, is approximately how you might recreate the Indian-inspired meal:
Defrost one 3 1/2 – 4 lb. pasture-raised goat rib roast
Combine the following in a small bowl:
6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
8 – 10 crushed cardamom pods (or 1/2 tsp ground cardamom)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Rub the spice mixture on the roast. Place the roast in a crock pot, add 1/2 C water, cover, and cook on high for 1 1/2 hours (or cook in a 300F oven for 1 1/2 – 2 hours in a roasting pan) until a meat thermometer inserted to the center reads about 130F. Let rest 5 – 10 minutes before carving. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and serve. (Serves 4-6)
If you want to recreate the savory kale side dish: Saute 4 – 5 cloves of minced fresh garlic in 1 TBSP olive oil in a wok (or deep pan). Add 1/2 lb fresh kale, 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, a handful of chopped almonds, and a handful of raisins (or chopped, dried plums). Saute until the kale is just wilted.
Nearly all of these ingredients are sold by the folks at La Buena Vida Farm weekly at the Portal farm stand. So pick up some fresh goodies and spices and get cooking!
“Meal in a bag” – What do you think?
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010La Buena Vida Farm is thinking about putting together “meals in a bag” that would include a recipe and almost all the farm fresh ingredients that you would need to make a tasty meal.
We are planning on a relatively low price for this ($8-15 depending on the meal) with you supplying common ingredients like flour, oil, and milk.
We’d like your opinions on this idea. Please take this survey, and tell us what you think! Thanks.
Also, don’t forget that the deadline for the early spring round of CSA is coming up this Friday, March 19. Let us know if you plan to participate!
Pasture-raised kid goat meat
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Friday harvest
Saturday, March 13th, 2010Friday at the farm is harvest day. Yesterday, we harvested lots of delicious lettuce, greens, herbs, potatoes, and turnips for the Saturday farm stand.
After the produce is harvested, it’s into the house for washing. Then everything is bagged and labeled for sale at the farm stand. The lettuce this week looks so good!
After the harvest this week, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with a great salad and fabulous pizzas that Jerry made. (He’s promised to post the recipe soon!)
If you’d like to see how your food is grown or even help out with harvesting, we’d love to see you. Just drop us an email or give us a call. Otherwise, we hope to see you at the farm stand to enjoy the fruits of our labor!
Taking the next step
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010(This is a guest post from karen. karen is a local Portal resident who interested in local food and sustainability issues. She is also an avid cook and posts recipes on this web site.)
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Vashon Island Food Summit in Washington. It was a wonderful gathering, focused on the topics of food sustainability and small farms.
Many of the presentations concerned what a community needs to be self-sufficient and the role that small local farms can have in that. Because Vashon is an island, the residents are particularly attuned to issues of self-reliance, much as we are here in the San Simon valley.
The theme of the summit was “Take the Next Step.” Sustainability is a continuum, and wherever we as individuals are in our relationship to food and the environment, there are steps we can take to become more self-reliant, healthy, and happy.
Here are some ideas that were presented for how each of us might take the next step:
- Buy food that is natural and organic.
Food that isn’t filled with artificial chemicals is not only good for the environment, but it’s tastier and healthier. - Eat local once a month (or week).
Buying local helps to build a food source that will be here when we need it. Also, food that is trucked into to chain grocery stores from faraway places is often loaded with preservatives and contains genetically modified ingredients. It may sometimes be cheaper, but it isn’t good for us. - Try a meatless Monday.
Meat takes a big toll on the environment and takes a lot of energy and calories to produce. If you aren’t vegetarian, try eating meatless once a week (or month) and see how you like it. - Know your food.
Knowing where you food comes from and what is in it is good. As individuals, we are better able to certify food quality than the government. - Find replacements for plastic bags.
We’ve all seen ugly plastic bags blowing around, and ultimately many of those bags end up in the land fill or the environment, killing animals and poisoning our environment. Next time you go to the grocery, take your own cloth bags instead. - Try growing some of your own food.
We have rich soil and a long growing season here in the San Simon valley, perfect for beginning gardeners. - Get to know others who are interested in this.
We can all learn from each other, whether its by trading knowledge or exchanging local good and services.
These ideas are what La Buena Vida Farm is all about. We hope you’ll read more about these topics here and even come visit the farm to see these ideas in action.
Salad ideas
Friday, March 5th, 2010It’s a great time for lots of fresh salad greens at La Buena Vida Farm. I love a fresh salad with most every dinner, and it’s sometimes nice to have a dressing that doesn’t come pre-made out of a bottle. Here are a few quick salad dressings you can whip up in a few seconds. All amounts are approximate; use your own taste as a guide.
Lemony garlic oil
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
5 tablespoons of olive oil
Whisk together, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of Dijon or other dark or whole grain mustard
5 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey (optional)
Whisk together garlic and mustard. Slowly add olive oil while whisking. Keep whisking while you add balsamic vinegar and honey if you like. Add fresh ground pepper.
Honey mustard dressing
2 tablespoons of Dijon or other mustard
2 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of white wine or rice vinegar
Whisk together mustard and honey. Slowly add olive oil while whisking. Keep whisking while you add vinegar.
Asian sesame dressing
1-2 teaspoons ginger paste
1 tablespoon miso paste (optional)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Whisk together ginger and miso. Slowly add olive oil while whisking. Keep whisking while you add tamari and vinegar.
Also, if you don’t have any fresh tomatoes, carrots, or other veggies to put in your salad, here are some additions that you may have around to give your salad a little different flavor and texture:
- raisins
- nuts
- orange and grapefruit sections
- grilled onions
- hard boiled eggs
- fried tofu cubes
- dried fruit
Farm stand starts this Saturday!
Monday, March 1st, 2010The farm stand in Portal will be starting this Saturday, March 6. We’ll be open from 10-noon every Saturday.
This week we’ll have:
- Gourmet lettuce mix
- Simpson lettuce
- Arugula
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
- Dino and red kale
- Cilantro
- Tatsoi
- Pak choi (bok choy)
- Cabbage
- Bread
- Eggs
If you want to be sure to get just what you want, you can call or send us an order form and pick up your produce on Saturday.
See you at the farm stand!