Thursday, December 12, 2013

Chef Camp #1: Priorities


Chef Camp #1: Priorities


Budget? Health? Low-sodium? Organic? Vegetarian? Vegan? Allergies or sensitivities? Time?


All reasons are important.  What works for you may not work for anyone else.  The best priorities are the most important ones to you and your family.


Taking some time and seriously considering the aspects of food and eating that are important to you and your family can help you define your cooking style and your kitchen.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Site Updates



Hey folks!

Just a few updates around here you might like to check out.

1. Check out our Publicity and Press page: WSU Global Campus recorded one of our college course farm tours and made it nice and neat for their students.  There is a link to the 45 minute tour you tube video on that page.  Fun!

2. We are in the process of moving all our photos from various hard drives (some of which have died... again...) to Flickr.  You may have noticed a bit of a change in our page tabs at the top: now instead of just "Photos" you'll find a link to Facebook Photos and to Flickr Photos.  You should be able to see the photos whether you have an account for the services or not.  (If not, let me know!)

Monday, December 2, 2013

Pumpkin Potato Pancakes



A.K.A. Pumpkin Latkas

Part Hannukah, part Thanksgiving, part necessity.

Pumpkin Potato Pancakes

I was surfing the web looking for inspiration for an egg-free breakfast and these are what I came up with.  Egg free in part because my chickens are on strike again and store-bought eggs are just so different!  Egg-free in another part because as much as farm eggs are yummy and healthy and filling and delicious, some people still simply cannot eat eggs.

Oh yeah, and it's kid approved...

Untitled

See that?  Sour cream not even touched...

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Chef Camp: Monthly goals: December



Happy December Folks!

While I'm sure you all are loving reading about my opinions on how to improve yourself and your kitchen, I'd bet that everyone would love to hear also about your challenges and growth.

Many of the various "boot camp" ideas also have a participation or sharing component.  It's that whole build community thing, right?

I would love to know that some of you would like to grow and stretch as well.  Make a list.  Not a long one, a short one will do.  A list of what you'd like to improve upon, learn about, try out, etc. in your kitchen this month.  Feel free to share some or all of your list here and then at the end of the month, lets report back and talk about it.  Lets work together, build some community, and hold each other accountable for what we'd like to try.

Ready?  I'll start with mine below...

1. try out some pre-made breakfast type pastries for HM in the mornings and quick breakfasts for the rest of us.
2. find one new reasonably fast breakfast idea a week.

PLEASE NOTE:
All statements made within this blog are my own experiences and opinions only.


Part of Omache Farm’s mission is to educate consumers about our products and philosophies.  Please feel free to copy and distribute any information with citation.  Use information for your life that works for you and your family and feel free to discard the rest.  What works for one family doesn’t always work for another!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Chef Camp: Introduction


The inspiration for my newly minted Chef Camp was a letter to the editor in WSU's school newspaper, The Daily Evergreen.  Here's the link to the letter I read.

A bit about ME. 
A.K.A. Why I feel qualified to stand on this particular soapbox.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Chef Camp



Wishing you could tame that food budget?

Wish you could expand your recipe repertoire?

Want to learn how to figure out something new without consulting every recipe book and the internet?

How about cooking fresh, delicious meals on the fly?

Introducing: Omache Farm's Chef Camp

After a recent Letter to the Editor in the Daily Evergreen (WSU's student newspaper) from a student complaining that they really don't have time or money to cook healthy food for themselves, I was inspired to create a set of blog posts to help other folks improve their kitchen sense, their food budget and their health.

Here are the topics I will be working to cover in the near future.  Any other subject suggestions are happily welcomed!  What stumps you?  What is your kitchen goal?  What do you continually struggle with when it comes to food?  Please make a comment here or send us an email!   OmacheFarm@gmail.com

Topics:
Your pantry and the food bill
How to cook from scratch
Cooking on the fly
Fast Meals
Breakfast Variety
How to try a new vegetable
Protein other than meat and eggs
Bread
Gluten Free
The Potluck with Allergies
Cooking as a family
Cookbook bookshelf
Hands-free cooking
Cooking with Pastured Meats
Farm Fresh Pastured Eggs

PLEASE NOTE:
I am not a professional nutritionist.  All statements made within this blog are my own experiences and opinions only.


Part of Omache Farm’s mission is to educate consumers about our products and philosophies.  Please feel free to copy and distribute any information with citation.  Use information for your life that works for you and your family and feel free to discard the rest.  What works for one family doesn’t always work for another!

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Winter Stuff Pickup



We have our first pickup scheduled for our Winter Stuff folks!

What am I talking about? visit our Winter Retail page...

Tuesday November 26, 2013 from 3-6pm.

With Pork, Lamb, Eggs, produce, gourds, wool and farm crafts, there is quite a bit to choose from for November!

Wilson Banner Ranch will also be taking orders for Tuesday pickup this week.  They are offering butternut squash, Banana winter squash, more pie pumpkins and eggs, mix and match boxes of pears and apples and of course their famous apple cider!

If you have yet to sign up for our Winter Stuff email list so you too can order fresh, local food and other farm products from your local farmer, email us at OmacheFarm@gmail.com to get on the list.

Hurry!  Ordering for this week's pickup closes at 10am Tuesday morning!

Farm Family Update



I'm sure that this news has filtered a great deal of the way through the grapevine already...

One of our greatest assets as a local family farm that direct-markets all of our products is you, our customers!  When we say you're a part of our farm family, we really mean family.

As a part of our farm family, I'm sure you all will be shaking your proverbial finger at us for not telling you sooner!  (And rest easy knowing that everyone and everything is now fine!

Last week, HannaMae was run over by one of our trucks carrying half a load of grain.  Nothing punctures squished or broken, just sore muscles and after a week of taking it pretty easy she is pretty much back to normal.  Here is we all give her guardian angel a pat on the back...

Here's the extended version.

HannaMae was escorted across the road and sent to inform Papa that it was lunch time.  After doing that task, she decided not to wait with Papa to go back to the house (since he was still finishing up his task at hand) but to walk back right then.  She walked back through the gardens and waiting at the road for Grandma to come out to escort her back across the road, as per The Rules.  After waiting for a bit she decided to lay down on the field road edge to wait.

About 45 minutes after having sent HannaMae off, Grandma began to get worried.  She hadn't seen HannaMae come back to cross the road and Papa hadn't come back yet.  So Grandma takes the small truck (still loaded with grain) out to check on Jason and look for HannaMae.  Jason and Grandma both get worried since it had been about half an hour wince Jason had seen HannaMae (Who had of course refused any coat heavier than a light sweater for her quick trip).  Jason and Grandma head out in different directions looking for her.

Grandma drives back to the house and turns onto the field road below the gardens by the hoophouses (where The Rules say children must wait to cross the road and where HM had laid down to wait) to look for HannaMae.  HannaMae was in her own world of thoughts and didn't see or hear the truck and with the field road as bumpy as it is, Grandma didn't feel anything unusual in driving on the field road.  Grandma got out of the truck to call for HannaMae and heard her screaming.  Upon finding HannaMae she carried her across the road to the front yard and met with Jason just getting back from his search on the tractor.

Jason carried HannaMae inside and checked her head to toe and found nothing appearing to be broken.  He did, however, find bruises around her hips and lower back.  He called Margaret at work and took HannaMae to the ER.

The nurses and Doctor at the hospital took wonderful care of her, brought her temperature back up since she was outside for about 45 minutes on a cold day with little more than a sweater on, and checked everything over twice.  The doctor used the ultrasound to check her organs and everything was perfect.  They called the radiologist to do x-rays on her legs and pelvis and nothing appeared to have even a hairline fracture of any sort.

We spent the afternoon and part of the evening in the ER.  HannaMae rested and when she showed that she could walk, with lots of help of course, she was allowed to go home.  We spent the next several days resting on the couch, using lots of help to walk around and stretch and by Monday afternoon, she was walking, slowly, without help from even the wall.

Tuesday HannaMae went back to school and by Thursday her muscles and joints were functioning enough to climb even big bus stairs and she rode the bus to and from school the rest of the week.

By now you can hardly even tell she had anything happen at all.  She even almost kept up with Margaret while putting away sheep yesterday.  More or less back to normal.

We have thanked her guardian angel profusely.  I'm sure they are exhausted after that ordeal.

We thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers and understanding.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Winter Market!



Hungry for more ham?

How about some grass-fed lamb?  Mmm... Garlic leg of lamb roast... YUM!

How about a delicious pie pumpkin for the first test run of dear Aunt Edna's famous pumpkin pie recipe?

You will be able to find us for any or all of the above three at Moscow's first Winter Market!

Saturday November 9th
10am to 3 pm
1912 Center in Moscow, ID


See you there!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Microwave Winter Squash Recipe



Everyone knows that winter squash should be baked.

This is true, but what if you want something home-made and fresh for lunch?  With a little preparation at time and a microwave at school or work, you're set!  You'll also have the rest of the building or lunchroom drooling!

You'll have to tailor this recipe to suit your tastes, as always, but I have the basics to begin upon here.

Microwave Winter Squash Lunch
Makes enough for 1 person.
Time: 15 minutes preparation, 8 minutes cooking.

Ingredients:

One small winter squash, softball size or appropriate to your appetite.

Filling:
Whatever strikes your fancy.  My favorite choices are below
1. Cranberry
       2 tbsp dried cranberries
       1 tbsp honey
       1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
       cloves
2. Sausage Rice (sweet with brown sugar or savory with seasonings)
       1/4 cup of your favorite breakfast sausage, cooked.
       1/2 cup cooked rice
       seasonings (salt, pepper, sage) (optional)
       brown sugar (optional)

Instructions:
@ Home
1. Gather your filling ingredients.  You can mix them all together in a sandwich bag (cranberry) or microwave-safe container (sausage) and store it in the refrigerator.
2. give your squash's skin a scrub.  (Generally a good policy no matter who you got it from!)
@ Work
3.  With a knife, stab the squash so that steam can escape.
4.  Microwave the whole squash for about 4 minutes, turn it over, microwave for 4 more minutes.
5.  CAUTION!  HOT!  Let the squash rest for a few minutes until you can cut it open without burning your hands on the steam.
6. with a spoon, scoop out the seeds and toss (or compost!) them.
7.  if you chose the sausage filling (or something similar), reheat it while your squash is cooling.
8.  Mix and Enjoy!  if you have extra room in your container for the sausage filling, scrape the squash from it's skin into your container.  If you just had your squash and your sandwich baggie of yummies, you'll have to scrape the squash filling loose and mix with your filling in the skin.

YUM!

Please share in the comments your favorite filling for squash, baked or microwave!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Pork Extras!



All those parts of the pig that aren't typically found in your grocers meat case anymore.  Whatever should you do with them?  We have some of them in abundance and would love to share some of the things we have done or have been told about (with some basic research on our part to verify those things of course!)

Pork Bones

The neck bones, because they have already been cut in half, add a wonderful gelatinous factor when making things like baked beans, gravy, and spaghetti sauce.  (I hate having my sauce run all over the plate!)  I've also seen recipes that will roast or bake the neck bones much like one would for a rack of ribs and to serve it with cabbage (roasted or perhaps with our Colcannon Recipe?).  You could also make pork stock.  Not to be too simple or anything.

Other bones may be used to make stock as well but if pork stock isn't your thing, perhaps you have a dog or a friend with a dog who would love to have those bones!

http://www.k9natural.com/learning-center/raw-meaty-bones

This page has great info on feeding your dog bones in general and the best way to do it for the health and safety of your dog i.e. RAW ONLY.  Do NOT give your dog any bones that have been cooked.  It changes the way that a bone breaks (splinters!).  Watch your dog with this new food for them to make sure they don't try and do something silly like swallow it whole or in ridiculously large hunks.

Pork Fat and Leaf Lard

We get the extra fat trimmings and leaf lard back from the processor in it's natural state, neatly packaged of course.  Using fats from animals on a more natural diet has all sorts of benefits.  One of the biggest differences is in the ratio of Omega-6 and Omega-3 Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA).

http://flyinghfarm.blogspot.com/2010/03/pastured-pork-produces-perfect-lard.html

This site has a wonderful and in-depth explanation and some comparisons with other fats and oils as well.

Long story short, Lard is good for you.  Not to mention the pie crusts made with lard are so flaky that they might as well float away.  Lard is a healthy and natural food that we should be consuming again.  The ratio of Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids is much more appropriate from a pastured pig than from a confinement hog, especially when they are eating more roots and greens.  Our pigs aren't quite there yet but there is a noticeable difference in their lard because they do eat some grasses and roots and the quality of their grain feed is much higher than the corn and soy diets fed in confinement operations.

How to Render Lard

The above website is another blog but the one that I followed the first time I rendered some of our own lard.  It works and she has some beautiful photos illustrating the instructions.  And you can put the initial cracklins back in to render a little more and then have a super yummy snack!  I hear that cornbread with cracklins baked inside is amazing as well!

You can render the backfat as well. (point also mentioned in the above link).  However you will want to reserve it for cooking when you don't mind or want a bit of a porky flavor.  When we cook our bacon, I save the fat from the pan to grease the pan just before I do eggs or in other ways where I'd like a bacon-y flavor as well.

There are many ways humans have found to utilize 100% of an animal besides those oh-so-wonderful loin roasts or pork chops or bacon.  Part of the reason is practical.  Humans need the nutrients that come from some of those parts.  Also, one does not have to dispose of much of an animal when one finds ways to consume all of it.  Another part of the reason for utilizing the whole animal can be spiritual in a way.  The pig spent the time creating all those things, why waste what Mother Nature has provided?

Friday, July 26, 2013

Ginger's Memoirs - The Stinky Hay



One summer, Dad was out in the barn, cleaning out old hay from the upper level, tossing it into the wagon below to be carted off somewhere more useful.  He’d dig his pitchfork into the hay and toss it over his shoulder and out the doors to land neatly in the wagon with the waiting horse team.  It was calm and quiet.  Just the “shick...schick...schick...” of the hay being picked up with the pitchfork.  Suddenly, his pitchfork started to jump and shake in his hands of it’s own accord!  Dad yelled and threw the fork away from himself into the piles of hay in the barn.  As the fork went flying across the barn, a skunk fell out from between the tines!  Dad wasted no time and jumped out the door and into the wagon below, startling the team who decided they were leaving too.  After dad regained control of the horses, he turned back to look at the barn where he saw the skunk peering out the barn door watching the excitement he had caused.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Pastured Pork Cuts NOW AVAILABLE!




Pork Chops
Loin Roasts
Shoulder Roasts
Spare Ribs
Country Style Ribs
Ground Pork
Old Fashioned Sausage
Good 'n' Sagey Sausage
Pork Fat
Leaf Lard
Soup Bones

All will be available at the Moscow Farmer's Market This Weekend!
8am-1pm Saturday
Main Street, Moscow, ID

Also available starting this week at the:

Tuesday Grower's Market
4-6:30pm 
Moscow Food Co-op Parking Lot

Pullman Farmer's Market
3:30-6pm Wednesday
Spot Shop Parking Lot

Get there early for the best selection!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Ginger's Memoirs - Ringing Hogs


Every year, Mom, Dad and I would ring hogs before they went outside to the fields.  The hogs were run through the chute, rings put in their nose and castrated.  Needless to say, there was a lot of squealing in the barn on those days!  Mom’s job was to open the gate from the chute so the hog could run out the shed and into the fields outside.
            There was on instance where Dad and I both turned around when we heard Mom screaming.  A hog had run between Mom’s short legs and she was riding the animal!  The hog took her with on its mad dash down the chute and outside.  Louder even than the hogs, she screamed the whole way out!
            Dad and I nearly fell over we were laughing so hard.  Once she made her way back in to the gate at the head of the chute, she laughed just as much as we were.

            That is one sight I’ll never forget.  I’ll bet she didn’t either!

Ethiopian Cabbage Dish


Prep Time: 25 Minutes            Cook Time: 40 Minutes          Ready In: 1 Hour 5 Minutes
Servings: 5

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
4 carrots, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
5 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:
1.                  Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2.                  Cook the carrots and onion in the hot oil about 5 minutes.
3.                  Stir in the salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, and cabbage and cook another 15 to 20 minutes.

4.                  Add the potatoes; cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are soft, 20 to 30 minutes.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Ginger's Memoirs - The Jam



My mother wanted to make jams and jellies for the winter.  So, she hooked up our Ford Ferguson tractor to her small wagon and took off for the fence line where she’d seen some wild grapes growing.  She loaded the wagon up and returned home to process the grapes.  Making several jars of jam, she proudly showed my dad her efforts.  Dad started to laugh.  As soon as he managed to calm down, he informed her that she had been picking poison ivy berries and had made poison ivy jam!

My mother was in bed for a week with the worst case of poison ivy the doctor had seen in a very long time.  Since that incident, she developed an allergy to poison ivy.

The jams were thrown away.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Cilantro-Lime Coleslaw


We made this recipe on the 4th of July and it was FANTASTIC!  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 lime, zested
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce
2 teaspoons white sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh
cilantro
1/4 red onion, finely diced, or more to
taste
4 cups shredded green cabbage, or more
to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk mayonnaise, lime zest, lime juice, rice vinegar, garlic, sweet chili sauce, and sugar in a large bowl, stirring to dissolve sugar. Mix cilantro and red onion into dressing. Stir cabbage into dressing mixture, about 1 cup at a time, until all cabbage is coated.

NOTES:
We added in shredded carrots and didn't use sweet chili sauce because we didn't have any to hand.
1 whole large-ish head of our cabbage plus carrots and the rest all fit into our 6-quart KitchenAid mixer.

Cilantro-Lime Coleslaw from AllRecipes.com

Baby lambs!



Surprise Surprise!  not one but TWO new little lambs on the 3rd and 4th of July!

Can you find them both?

YouTube video


Ginger's Memoirs - The Raspberry Thief



Every year, Mom and I would make delicious red raspberry jams and preserves to enjoy all winter long.  We had grown two of the best thirty foot rows of raspberry bushes just for that purpose.  There was one particular year that was looking like a bumper crop.  The morning we went out to pick our berries, there wasn’t a single ripe berry on a single branch.  The whole patch was picked clean!  A few days later, as more berries began to ripen to perfection, we found the culprit!  Our collie-shepherd farm dog had discovered the perfect way to curl his lips and use his teeth to gently pick each ripe raspberry.  We never thought we would have to fence out the dog more than the birds from our berry patch.  Every summer after that we had the most forlorn looking dog sitting outside the new raspberry fence.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Ginger's Memoirs - The Geese



My folks were new to farming but wanted to raise geese. So, they ordered them and Mom and I picked them up at the Eldridge Post Office in a three foot by three foot, five inch tall box. We took them home and put them in a pen in our summer kitchen. After a couple of weeks, Mom and I decided to let them swim in the two foot deep horse trough. They loved it! They paddled around, bobbing their heads. Everything was great! We decided to run into town (about 20 minutes away) and leave the goslings to play. What we didn’t realize is that goslings get their waterproofing from their mother. Since they did not have a mother goose, we returned to find 23 little heads and beaks just barely floating above the water and little feet going like crazy to keep themselves afloat! We spent the rest of the afternoon drying off and warming up drenched goslings under a heat lamp and keeping them moving. We were lucky and saved all twenty three goslings.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

WE FOUND MORE PIGS!!!



See? I told you we'd let you know.

We have discovered that one of our neighbors who is less than 5 miles from us is getting back in the hog business after several decades.

Their pigs are of various breed mixes so this'll be very exciting.

We have not yet finalized pricing on custom hogs yet but we anticipate having pricing finalized by the end of July at which point I will publish our Info Sheet for all to see!  You'll be able to find it here and at all the markets.

If you are interested, you can see what last year's pricing was HERE.  If you know you want to be at the top of the list to buy a whole or half hog, please email us at OmacheFarm@gmail.com.


Hooray!

Ginger's Memoirs



For YEARS Jason’s family have been trying to get Ginger to write down all the different stories she tells us about her life growing up on a farm in Illinois in the 1940s and 50s. Sneaky little me has found a way and talked her into contributing to the newsletter each week! Lucky You! Presenting…

Ginger's Memoirs

In what you could call a series, we will share short stories from Ginger of her life growing up on her parents' farm.  You can tune in every week (most weeks) or you can search the blog posts for "Ginger's Memoirs".

If you would like to hear Ginger tell the story, come visit us at Markets, she is there most of the time.  Reading the stories are great but hearing Ginger tell it is even better!  (hmm... do I hear folks want videos of these stories? hmmm...)

Cabbage Coleslaw



I used to hate coleslaw.  Despise it.  As it happens, what I really hate is the preservatives and oey-goey white… something that seems to be present in quantities more vast than the supposed star of the recipe: Cabbage.  And frankly, if you have a mandolin or cabbage board or accessory for your kitchenaid, it’s really easy.  It was one of the most favorite dishes I would make for my fraternity boys.  If it got their approval, I’m sure it’ll get yours!

Creamy Cole Slaw
Prep Time:10 min  Inactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time: --
Level:  Easy  Serves:  8 servings

Seasonality



Just this morning, while trellising tomatoes and cucumbers in the hoophouse, Jason found the very first ripe cucumber!  It was so amazingly juicy and cucumber-y and amazing as it is, cool on the inside.  Just barely.  We have a tradition around here that I hope gets almost downright silly in future years.  Whenever someone finds the first ripe something that is best eaten fresh, like a tomato or cucumber, everyone gets to share a piece.  That includes the first cherry tomato… yeah, go ahead and imagine that.  Now imagine that with employees someday… are you laughing yet?  Yeah, me too.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Broccoli: The Other Parts...


When one consumes broccoli, one is only eating a small portion of the plant.  The heads stand about two feet off the ground and grow from the middle of large leaves.  I don’t know about you but I like to use as much of a plant as possible.  Sure, I've got chickens and pigs and they love this kind of stuff but what is wrong with using as much of the plant as possible most of the time?

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Parmesan Spinach Cakes


Parmesan Spinach Cakes

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/parmesan_spinach_cakes.html

From EatingWell:  September/October 2008

4 servings, 2 spinach cakes each | Active Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

12 ounces fresh spinach
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese, or low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
2 large eggs, beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Roasted Swiss Chard with Feta



Prep Time: 10 Minutes            Ready In: 45 Minutes             Cook Time: 35 Minutes          Servings: 4
Ingredients:
1 bunch rainbow chard - leaves and stems separated and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces feta cheese, broken into ½ inch pieces

Deep-Fried Bok Choi Recipe



Deep-Fried Bok Choi Recipe
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/dimsumrecipes/r/chineseseaweed.htm

Serves 4 to 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 pound bok choy
1/4 cup toasted almonds
2 cups oil for deep-frying, or as needed
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Kale With Roasted Peppers and Olives



Kale With Roasted Peppers and Olives

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/kale-roasted-peppers-olives-10000000524082/index.html

Serves 8           Hands-On Time: 15m             Total Time: 25m
Ingredients
2  large bunches kale
2  tablespoons  olive oil
2  cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2  teaspoons  sugar
1  teaspoon  salt
12  Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1  4-ounce jar roasted red peppers
2  tablespoons  aged balsamic vinegar

Kale-Apple Smoothie



Kale-Apple Smoothie

Serves 1           Hands-On Time: 05m             Total Time: 05m
Ingredients
3/4  cup  chopped kale, ribs and thick stems removed
1  small stalk celery, chopped
1/2  banana
1/2  cup  apple juice
1/2  cup  ice
1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The Daily Evergreen Online


This article by Jessica Ganje talks with us and the Market Manager for the Moscow Food Co-op, Britt Heisel.
The Daily Evergreen Online - Co-op market promotes sustainability 

The whole "Life" section of the Evergreen (WSU's Student Paper) covers all three Farmer's Markets this week!  Check it out!

http://dailyevergreen.wsu.edu/read/pullman-market-offers-exposure-for-vendors

http://dailyevergreen.wsu.edu/read/moscow-farmers-market-offers-food-music-and-handcrafted-items

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Introducing: Ronn & Ginger Parsley!



We'd like to take a moment to introduce our new partners in farming.


Ronn & Ginger Parsley!


Ronn and Ginger are Jason's folks.  Over the course of the last few years, Ronn and Ginger have spent an average of 63 days per year working on our farm in bits and pieces on one project or another.  After being laid off last summer, Ronn decided he had had enough of the engineering and construction industry.  After many long and involved talks, the four of us have decided to work together in partnership on Omache Farm.


So far, things are working out well.  They have brought some new things to the table that are allowing us to take some larger steps in growth on the farm in order to become our main or only source of income for both families.  I am sure you will take the time to get to know them and enjoy the new offerings they are helping to bring to market each week.


Full biographies follow below:

More Publicity!



We just got the link to a new video put together by Stevee Chapman from KREM about us.  Very nicely done video!  Thank you to Stevee!

Local Farm opts out of Organic Certification

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

New Publicity!



We're in the Newspaper!

The Whitman County Gazette did a feature article on us for their 2013 Agriculture Edition and sent us PDF copies of the pages for us to share with you!

You can check them out on our "Publicity & Press" page or by following this direct link to that same page:  Publicity & Press

Monday, April 22, 2013

New Photos!



We've posted a few fun new photos of life on the farm.  Hop on over to our Facebook page to check it out or you can go through our "Photo Gallery" page.  (you do not have to have a facebook login to look at our photos!)

Have fun!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

It's like herding... pigs!



Spring around here is probably the most exciting and busy and stressful time of the year.  Especially since we have extra projects beyond simply operating the farm because we are just starting out and growing.  There are a lot of things that we have experience that is limited to the theoretical.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Internship



2013 Internship (pdf)

It's time to find an Intern!  All the details are in our .pdf file linked above.

Ideally, we'd like to have someone from as soon as possible through the end of market season in October.

A weekly schedule during the bulk of summer should include at a minimum a Monday or Friday harvest day and a Wednesday market day.

You do not need to require an internship for our degree or be a part of WSU's Organic Agriculture program to apply!

You will learn about EVERYTHING we do.  Vegetables for market and a CSA, sheep for fiber and meat, pork, chickens for eggs, and a few ducks just because.

We'll talk about planning, producing, day-to-day administrative activities, marketing, and everything else you can pick our brains on.

To apply, all you need to do is email us at OmacheFarm@gmail.com.  If possible, we'd like your resume and a brief cover letter.   (Start with letting us know you're interested!)

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

We've got Chickens!



Our farm is really starting to feel alive!



Every morning we have to let chickens out, check for eggs, go out to the barn and feed our little bottle lambs.   all before breakfast!  Each morning and evening as we are letting out or shutting in the chickens, finding more eggs is exciting and a bit of a surprise!  They are funny and beautiful creatures too!


Sunday, February 3, 2013

God Made a Farmer




Thursday, January 24, 2013

It's Lamb Time!


Surprise!  Apparently summer wasn't too hot because here they come!  Earlier than ever!

So far, we have 3 ewe lambs (one set of twins! yay!) and two goat kids (one of each).

Let the adorableness ensue!
Pictures:

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Brief Updates



Happy New Year Folks!

I know we haven't written in a while so I thought we might catch you up with a little business

For those of you on the list for Lambs with deposits paid:

Lambs will be going to "Freezer Camp" around the end of January or early February of 2013.
Your final invoices will be delivered with your box of lamb cuts.  Payment is due upon delivery please!

For those of you on our list for a 2013 CSA Share:

We will be mailing out Statements in the next few weeks.  Now that snow has finally arrived we are done with most of the outside buttoning up and can now proceed to all that formal paperwork type stuff.

If you know of anyone who might be interested in a CSA share... We have lots of room!  we are expanding our CSA a fair amount and have lots more shares to offer this coming season.  I know most people aren't drooling over truly fresh veggies just yet but we have been drooling over our seed catalogs!  The sooner you sign up the better.  (Anyone signing up after March 1st will be paying $400 instead of the $375!)

Other than all that, We hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas holiday and we'd like to wish you blessings and prosperity in the new year!