September 2011 Newsletter  Volume 6, Issue 8
Dunlooken Farm Extra
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"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
- George Eliot

What a busy month this is! It all started with the Minnesota State Fair. We have such a good time there. Family and friends visited, we went to the areas we always check out, the Ag-Hort building to see orchids and then the dahlias. This year I talked with a dahlia judge and learned so much! Do you know that people who seriously show dahlias often give their flowers umbrellas? It keeps the flowers from fading in the sunlight. And just like in everything else there are fads in dahlia shows. Right now the fad seems to be having extra leaves on the flower stalk. The judge I chatted with was not amused by this.

The Creative Activities building is my favorite place after the goat barn. I had a great time visiting with the spinners and weavers who were demonstrating their crafts. The highlight for me in the exhibits was a huge quilt depicting a cow.

And the goats even did a bit better than expected. CharisManor Ballroom Bunny Hop (see pic) seems as if she’ll have a very promising show career.

Shortly after we got home from the fair we had Linear Appraisal. This is something we try to do every year. It’s when a trained appraiser comes from the American Dairy Goat Association. The appraiser gives your goats scores on their conformation and then a final score that you could look at as a percentage of perfect. We had 2 does appraise with a final score of 91. I think the highest score ever given to a goat was 94.

Following Appraisal we had our final goat show of the year in southern Minnesota. Shannon and Bev and the children all went down and camped for two nights. The competition was very strong and we came away with a couple of first prizes. Bunny Hop got two of them.
This show is always fun because we get to show against people we otherwise never see. We have a great time meeting new friends, enjoying the company of old friends, and eating a wonderful meal on Saturday evening. We did have some trouble with a broken brake line just as we were getting ready to leave. Thankfully, some talented friends cobbled things back together and we got home with no problems at all.

The CSA and Gardens

The garden is on its last legs. We’ve had no rain in what seems like forever. After eventually stopping with way too much rain it seems that it cannot start up again. We really aren’t set up well for watering the garden but I’m doing what I can to keep the things the frost didn’t take to keep growing. Oh, I didn’t mention the frost? Well, we had a good one three weeks too early. Thankfully some CSA members showed up with blankets and sheets and helped us cover as much as we could (thank you Nina, Linda, and Judy!). It was an interesting 2 weeks. Got home from the fair, had Linear Appraisal, fought the frost, then ran off to a very cold goat show and the problem with the brake lines. And somewhere in there the boys went back to school!

We had another light frost in the garden this morning, Sept. 23. I don’t think it hurt much but a few peppers. Right now peppers, squash, a few tomatoes and lima beans are about all that’s still out there. And boy do we have green tomatoes!!  See ideas for them below in the Recipes.

The Animals
 In other animal news we traded a pair of turkeys to Harmony who helps us with the honey. In exchange she gave us a pair of Indian Runner ducks! Our pair are called “grey” by those in the know but are really just colored like a mallard, from whom all the domestic breeds but Muscovies are descended. I love this breed, known for both its shape ( I think someone needs to give them arms!) and its ability to lay eggs. The breed originated in the West Indies and were at one time called Penguin ducks. Duck eggs are so very very good for baking and just plain eating. Many people who are allergic to chicken eggs can eat duck eggs.

We also had our first hatch of Muscovy ducklings from our new group of ducks. The four little things are growing fast. And I noticed yesterday that we have had a hatch of new baby chicks.

The pigs and the calves will soon go to their final destinations. They’ve had a wonderful summer digging in the dirt and grazing in their yard very unlike their lives would have been if they hadn’t come to us. It’s hard to have them butchered. Even though I’ve been eating meat that the family raised my whole life it’s never gotten easy. Still, knowing that I’ve allowed my food to live a good life living as God intended the creatures to live helps.

Recipes of the Month: Green Tomatoes

Green tomato raspberry jam.
I’ve heard it tastes and looks just like the real thing. I haven’t tried it, yet.

2 Cups SUGAR
3 Cups CHOPPED GREEN TOMATO
1 Pkg. RASBERRY JELLO

USE FOOD PROCESSOR TO CHOP TOMATOES FINE
BOIL COMBINED INGREDIENTS FOR 15 MINUTES
LET COOL 20 MIINUTES
STORE REFRIGERATED IN SCREW CAP JARS


Green Tomato ChowChow
All vegetables finely chopped
1qt. green tomatoes (stem core removed)
1 cup cabbage
1 green pepper
1 small hot pepper
1/4cup onion

3/4cup vinegar
1/2cup sugar
1 tsp salt

Bring vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil.
Add mixed veretables to liquid.
Simmer 20 minutes, stirring often.
Remove from heat and cool.
Place in airtight container and refridgerate.
Serve cold.
Excellant condiment for hotdogs, hamburgers on buns
or with a steak and beans dinner.

http://southernfood.about.com/od/greentomatoes/Green_Tomato_Recipes.htm  has a number of good sounding green tomato recipes. Although I must say that I’ve tried the Green Tomato Mincemeat and didn’t like it at all and I love mincemeat pies.

There is another thing you can do with green tomatoes that I’m planning on trying out before our open house on Oct. 1st. Green Tomato Bread!!! All you do is use your favorite zucchini bread recipe but use green tomatoes instead of the zucchini. Some have recommended that you puree the tomatoes in a blender or food processor and drain before using (or freezing!) others just have you dice finely or shred. I’m going with the shredding.