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From Field to Table
What's Happening Now at Magicland Farms
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Issue Number Eighteen
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Monday - November 16, 2009
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Magicland
Farms
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Everything We Sell We Grow Ourselves
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Greetings!
Welcome to the Magicland Farms' newsletter for the week beginning November 16th. We hope to keep you up to date with the happenings at our farm, along with providing you with some of our favorite recipes and other information we think you might find of interest. If you know of someone who might be interested in receiving our newsletter, you can forward it to them by using the forward link at the end of this newsletter.
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This Week at Magicland Farms - November 16th to November 21stApples-Over 35 different varieties!
Mutsu, Northern Spy, Golden
Russet, Fuji, Granny Smith and many more including most common
varieties. Variety peck baskets with at least 10 different labeled apples,
along with printed apple variety descriptions, are available. Also winter squash including acorn,
butternut, Heart of Gold, hubbard and buttercup.
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The recipe below is one of my husband's favorite soups. It is perfect for warming up the house on a cold winter day. One additional benefit is that the soup freezes very well.
Czechoslovakian Cabbage Soup
2 pounds beef soup bones
1 cup chopped onion
3 carrots, pared and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 pound beef short ribs
1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
8 cups water
8 cups coarsely chopped cabbage (1 head)
2 pounds fresh tomatoes or 1 quart canned tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons sugar
1 pound sauerkraut
Place beef bones, onions, carrots and garlic in roasting pan. Top with short ribs; sprinkle with thyme and paprika. Roast, uncovered, in 450 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until meat is brown. Transfer meat and vegetables to large kettle. Using a small amount of water, scrape browned meat bits from roasting pan into kettle. Add water, cabbage, tomatoes, salt and Tabasco. Bring to boil. Cover; simmer 1 1/2 hours. Skin off fat. Add parsley, lemon juice, sugar and sauerkraut. Cook, uncovered, for 1 hour. If desired, remove meat from bones; cut into cubes and return to kettle.
Yield: 12 servings
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Specials In The Spotlight
November Specials:
½ Bushels of Jonathan,
Empire, Red and Golden Delicious and Jonagold, -- $6 each or two for $10
Squash: $4 a half-bushel, $7
a bushel, three bushels for $18.(Bring your own containers.)
Sauce Apple Special: Spartan, Jonadel and Macoun
apples $3 a half bushel
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The Boss's Corner
Hi,
Last week we looked back at 2009;
this week we look to 2010. As you may
know, we only sell the fruits and vegetables we grow ourselves. Because of this, we must grow an enormous
variety of fruits and vegetables. In a typical
year we have enough apples, peaches, plums, pears, pawpaws, strawberries and
black walnuts(this year was an exception) for sale. Some years we have a big enough supply of
cherries, blueberries, hickories, pecans, chestnuts and/or apricots that we can
sell them. With regards to vegetables we
grow sweet corn, green and yellow beans, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers,
potatoes, beets, sweet onions, garlic, watermelons, muskmelon, slicing and
pickling cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, all types of pumpkins,
cabbage, broccoli, radishes, Brussels sprouts, turnips, kohlrabi, carrots,
parsnips, rutabaga, sunflowers for cutting, gourds, popcorn, Indian Corn and
herbs.
The question is: Do you have any suggestions for another
vegetable you would like us to grow? I
do listen to suggestions. As an example
of this about four or five years ago, I remember talking to a lady customer who
either was visiting from California
or moved from the Golden State. Well anyway,
she asked if we grew garlic. I said no, although
I mentioned to her that I was thinking at the time about elephant garlic. She told me elephant garlic isn't worth
growing or using - no real flavor. She
really sounded like she knew what she was talking about and advised me that
garlic would be a good idea to grow for the market. That summer, I kept her suggestion in the
back of my mind. When fall approached I
decided to make a small test planting of garlic so I ordered five pounds of
German XtraHardy garlic, which is the stiff necked type. I discovered through considerable research
that the stiff necked variety had larger cloves than the soft necked type and
was, in general, of better quality. It is
interesting to note here that ten years ago nearly all soft necked garlic
(which is usually the only type supermarkets sell) came from California. Today, it
comes almost exclusively from China! We now plant
both German XtraHardy and Music, both hard necked types. This year we became very fond of the garlic
scapes (the new seed stalks) - they are tender and have a gentle garlic flavor
that is scrumptious! It seems it may be
worth growing garlic just for the scapes!
Garlic
isn't the only new crop we started because of customer input. Another crop we made a test planting of this
year, and hope to sell next year, is sweet potatoes. Several people each year ask us if we have
any sweet potatoes. This year we test
planted three different varieties of sweet potatoes: Beauregard, Georgia Jet
and an unknown variety we picked up at a local supermarket. I kept careful records of the test planting,
along with photos, with the idea of possibly writing an article in a magazine
about growing sweet potatoes. I recently
queried the editor at Grit magazine about an article and he was
interested. I told him I would get a manuscript
out to him by December 1. Well, it isn't
a sure thing it will be published but there is a fair chance. I do recommend Grit magazine. For more information go to their website..
I believe the editor mentioned he hoped to get my article in the
May/June 2010 issue. This assumes, of
course, he accepts it.
Again,
I would really like to hear from you about any new crop you would like us to
plant. You can email me at magiclandfarms@yahoo.com
. Believe it or not, we already are receiving seed catalogs in the mail!
Just
a reminder. We will be closing for the
season on Wednesday November 25, the day before Thanksgiving. There is some indication that a cold spell will hit Newaygo County around November 23rd or 24th. This cold air will be unusual since it looks like it will get all the way down to southern Florida and perhaps even farther. Because of this, we may have to close a few days earlier than planned. Until then, enjoy the mild,
October-like weather.
Nashle!
Tom |
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We appreciate your business and hope to see you this week at Magicland Farms.
Sincerely,
Tom and Annemarie Fox
Magicland Farms
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4380 S Gordon
Fremont, Michigan 49412
231-652-2368
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