It's the last Farm Festival of 2012!

 
It's the last Farm Festival of the year, so come out and show your love for our farmers! We've had a great season and want to thank all y'all who make it possible

This week, we''ll have pumpkin painting/decorating at 4:30pm. Just bring your own pumpkin to our event tent and make a Halloween masterpiece.
 
Stock up on winter squash, honey, apples, leeks, local meat and potatoes.

And the holidays are right around the corner! Pick up some beeswax candles and honey from Lenny B's, jams from Wright Farms, and put it all in Woodstock Farm Festival bag!

If it's Wednesday, it's Woodstock, 3:30 - 6:00pm

 We'll be out on Maple Lane from 3:30pm - 6pm. Please join us for our second to last market of the year!

Stock up on local meats from Northwinds Farm, all matter of produce from Four Winds, Migliorelli and Clove Valley CSA, and delicious apples, pears and baked goods from Wright Farm. If you'll be missing the gingerbread biscotti or fennel semolina bread from Our Daily Bread over the winter, pick up some this Wednesday! And of course, smoked fish and honey from Lenny B, maple syrup from Oliverea Schoolhouse Maple and ice cream from Lazy Crazy Acres. For dinner, maybe a tamale, falafel, or a delicious local hamburger.

Deb Tankard and Friends will be performing at the market as well!

October Riot!

Don't forget that the market is closing earlier these days - 6:15pm on October 10.

Let's talk about winter squash. There are so many beautiful kinds at the Woodstock Farm Festival and it's also some of the easiest produce to store. Pumpkins and butternut squash store at 50 - 55 degrees for 2-3 months, Hubbards for 5-6 months! Stock up for winter.

Deb Tankard and Friends will be playing at the market around 5:30pm.

Lazy Crazy Acres is still with us til the end of the market...don't forget to stock up on all your ice cream favorites! 

The maitake mushrooms are out in force! Stop by Migliorelli's booth and Rick will hook you up. They are delicious with medicinal qualities to boot. Foraged super food.

 

There's only a few more weeks to buy this year's Farm Festival T-Shirt - perfect for the pun lover in your life. Now just $8. Bags are $5!

Our friends at Yum Yum and Oriole 9 hosting a Food Truck Festival on October 19 at Fiber Flame. Perfect for breaking the monotony between Woodstock Farm Fests. 

 

Apple pie contest coming your way October 3!

It's October! Which means you only have four more precious 2012 Woodstock Farm Festivals left. So, come on down! We're having an Apple Pie Contest! Bring your best pie to the market by 4pm; we'll be doing tastings at 5pm. 

We also have a great raffle prize from the generous folks at Omega - Two places at their Design by Nature Conference October 19 - 21.

The drawing will be October 12 and tickets are $10 each. Stop by the market to get yours or contact us at info@woodstockfarmfestival.com. It's a great program at a great place!
  
We've got all the great fall produce, local meats, fruit, and all matter of prepared foods.

Ch-ch-check it out!

Long Live Leeks!

Hubbard Squash

Sickle pears

Late melons...

Here at the Farm Festival, we're real fans of the fall crops. As the weather changes, it's the perfect time to make a pot of soup or casserole...blue Hubbards are some of our favorites.

Potato Leek Soup

• the white and pale green part of 2 large leeks, split lengthwise, washed well, and chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 pound boiling, potatoes
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

In a large heavy saucepan cook the leeks in the butter with salt and pepper to taste, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are softened but not browned. Add the water, the broth, and the potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. In a blender purée 1 cup of the soup, stir the puré into the remaining soup with the parsley, and season the soup with salt and pepper. 

From Gourmet Magazine


Brown Sugar Hubbard Squash Pie


Master recipe for roasted squash puree
2 to 21/2 pound Hubbard or butternut squash, to yield 2 cups puree (extra can be frozen)
3 tablespoons salted butter, softened
2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
 
Put seeded, unpeeled Hubbard cut into chunks (or unpeeled butternuts halved lengthwise) on a rimmed baking sheet, lined with a sheet of foil. Rub the flesh with butter, orange juice and maple syrup or brown sugar, heated together till butter melts. Flip over and roast at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, until the skin is blistered and browned and the flesh is tender. Lift squash with tongs and poke with a paring knife to check. When cool, the pulp is easily scraped from the Hubbard skin (or scooped out of the butternut halves).
 
For the custard
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
 
For the pie:
1 unbaked 9-inch pastry crust (any favorite recipe using unsalted butter).
Refrigerate dough 1 hour before rolling. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate and crimp and shape the edges. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before filling.
To roast the squash, see accompanying master recipe. Put 2 cups of the cooled squash in a food processor and whirl until smooth. Lower oven to 375 degrees. Set rack on lowest position. Combine the puree with the brown sugar, eggs, cream, spices and salt and whisk until smooth. Pour into the pie shell and bake until the custard is puffed up but still has a small wet spot in the middle, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool. Serves 8.

Ris Lacoste, Taunton's Fine Cooking

Woodstock Farm Fest keeps it coming til October 24

We've had some chilly weather, and the days are getting shorter, which means we're close to the end of beloved summer crops like string beans and tomatoes. Come stock up on the last of the crops at this week' s market!

Deb Tankard & Friends will be playing at the market from 5:30pm until we all go home!

Nothing says Fall like apple cider donuts!

 

 

Or actual apples!

Pear-ginger bread from Wright Farm - a new addition!

And don't forget! We're having an apple pie contest on October 3. Bring your pies to the market for a reckoning at 4pm. Tastings will begin at 5pm. This is the last one of this season so don't miss out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last days of summer and the weather's fine.

Ok, so, we're just going to come out and say it: summer's almost over. BUT, that means a whole slew of fall vegetables coming to the market, as well as a couple more weeks of tomatoes and other summer favorites. Try some delicious Asian pears, raspberries, winter squash, tomato juice and tomatillos. And, in homage to the vegetable we'll personally miss the most, here's a red pepper jam recipe from Eve at The Garden of Eating. 

Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating

Red Pepper Jam
Makes roughly 2 pints (or 4 half-pints)

Ingredients

* 12-15 large, sweet red peppers, rinsed and with the stems, ribs and seeds removed
* 2 cups apple cider or white vinegar (I used apple cider)
* 3 cups sugar
* 2 Tbsps salt

Directions

1. Chop or blend the peppers in a Cuisinart or blender. Remove to a bowl, sprinkle the chopped peppers with the salt and let stand for 3 to 4 hours then drain.

2. Place the peppers in a pot, add the sugar and vinegar and simmer gently until thick and jammy, about 40 minutes to one hour.

3. If you plan to can any of this delicious stuff, use this time while the jam is simmering to sterilize your canning jars and lids and get your canner pot ready to go. If you don't want to preserve any, just kick back.

4. Once the jam has reached the desired consistency (it should thicken a little when it cools, mind you), if you're canning, ladle the jam into the sterilized jars, wipe the rims clean of any drips, apply the sterilized lids and bands and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Let cool in a draft-free place then test the seals. If good, you can store for up to a year. Any that have not sealed properly should go into the fridge and get used within a week or two. If you're not canning it, let it cool a bit, then pour it into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Our Daily Bread has some delicious new semolina bread with fresh corn (hard to explain, ya gotta try it)

 

And if you haven't tried Tipsy Joe, the Kahlua/coffee concoction from Lazy Crazy Acres, run, don't walk!

 

And all this deliciousness, too! 

 

Deb Tankard and Friends will be playing in the market starting at about 5:30pm

It's Scarecrow Festival!

It's Scarecrow Fest! Join us for crafts with Fiber Flame, a cider pressing demonstration with Chef Curt Robair, storytelling with Heather Longyear in the Long-Year Farm hay wagon, and lots of super cool handmade scarecrows!

 

Jorge Valcarcel heads up the folk/rock band, Boxcar, under the music tent at 5pm. 

Super Fire Woman, the Roller Dancing Super Hero Of The Heart, will be sharing her new poem Sizzle In My Fizzle under the music tent at 4:15pm.

Deb Tankard & Friends will play in the market at 5:30pm. 

And hey! We have new bags for $5 at the market and shirts for $12!

 

 

“Like” us on Facebook & we get a dollar!

 

Great news! A generous supporter has offered to donate $1 for every new “like” we receive on Facebook by Monday, September 17 up to $250.00 !

The money will be used to bring you even more delicious local food, fun events, and great music.

      If  you have a Facebook account, it’s very easy to do – just follow these simple steps: 

      1) Click here to visit the Farm Fest’s Facebook page. 

      2) Once the page has loaded, just click the little “Like” button with the thumbs up next to it that appears to the right of the words Woodstock Farm Festival underneath the big photo at the top of the page. That’s it!

Or, if you’re already a fan of the Farm Festival on Facebook, click here to let your Facebook friends know about this easy way to support local farmers, sustainable agriculture, and help build community.

Even if you’re not on Facebook, we bet you know someone who is! Please share this message with them so we can make the most of this brief opportunity to raise money to support the farmer’s market.

Our fans on Facebook have access to all the latest photos, updates about the market, events, musicians, great seasonal recipes and more. And if you “like” us right now, you’ll also be helping to raise money to support our community mission.

It only takes a few seconds to click the “Like” button but all those clicks will add up to something very meaningful for our local farmers and for our community.

Please join us on Facebook by Monday, September 17. Every new “like” we receive means a dollar to support the market.

Please feel free to spread the word about this easy, quick way to support local farmers and local food systems, too.

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Meat Curing Demo + All the Usual Suspects

We're going to be all cosy-like together in the parking lot tomorrow! 

Peter Barrett will join us at 5pm to do a meat curing demonstration. Learn how to cure duck breasts and make duck prosciutto. Peter cooks with and writes about all manner of local food. You can often find his work in Chronogram and Edible Hudson Valley, and at www.acookblog.com

Deb Tankard and Friends will play in the market at 5:30pm!

It's harvest time...time to start (or continue) those canning projects and think about storing the bounty (tomatoes, we're looking at you). If you're over or not into canning tomatoes, here's an easy freezing recipe for Tomato Sauce. Thanks to Eve Fox for bringing it to our attention - it'll make you happy in January!

From: The Girls Guide to Guns and Butter

And if you're not over the canning and love, say, peaches, why not make peach pickles? They are amazing.

Texas peach pickles (makes 6-7 pints)
8-10 pounds small texas peaches, peeled, pitted, and halved
lemon juice or crushed vitamin c tablets for aciduation (to prevent browning)
1 quart distilled white vinegar
5 cups organic cane sugar
1 small knob ginger, peeled and left whole
whole cloves-5 for each jar plus a tbsp for the syrup
whole allspice-5 for each jar plus 1 tbsp for the syrup
cinnamon sticks-1 for each jar plus 4-5 for the syrup

Place vinegar, sugar and spices in a large stock pot. heat until simmering to dissolve sugar. add peach halves, bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes. turn off heat, cover and allow to stand overnight where the peaches will plump up and say howdy. sterilize jars and prepare canner and lids while you heat this mixture back up to the boiling point. add 5 or so whole cloves and whole allspice and hot peaches to hot jars. add 1 cinnamon stick to each jar and top with syrup and adjust for 1/2 ” headspace, removing any air bubbles as you go. process for 20 minutes in a hot water bath.

You could also take these beauties from Clove Valley CSA and whip up some lacto-fermented squash. Around here we've reached our summer squash threshold by this time, but what a lovely burst of summer in February!

Lacto-Fermented Squash from Cultures for Health
Ingredients:

• 1-2 medium sized summer squash, cut into 1/2″ chunks (just enough to fit in a quart jar)
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• a few sprigs of flowering cilantro.
• a couple of mesquite, oak, or grape leaves (to keep them crunchy)
• 1 quart of filtered water
• 2 tablespoons sea salt

Instructions:

1. Combine water and sea salt, stir well and set aside.
2. Add the crushed garlic and one sprig of flowering cilantro to the bottom of a quart jar. Fill jar halfway up with chunks of summer squash. Add a bit more garlic and cilantro and fill the jar with squash chunks up to 1-2″ below rim.
3. Pour salt water brine over the squash. At this point you want to weigh the squash down in order for it to remain below the level of the brine and ferment evenly. This isn’t an ideal solution, but I like to use a narrow-mouthed lid in my wide-mouth quart ferments. Just press it down until enough brine covers it that it weighs the squash down. You could also use a cabbage leaf or a cleaned rock.
4. Cover tightly with a canning lid and ring. Allow to sit out at somewhere near room temperature, ideally 60-80 degrees. Check your jars and burp them every 12 hours or so by loosening the lid and allowing some gas to escape.
5. Let ferment 2-5 days, depending on temperature and then transfer to cold storage (refrigerator, root cellar, etc.).

Back to School Bash with Scarecrow making, Ratboy Jr. and storytelling

 It's our Back-to-School Bash! Ratboy Jr., a rockin' duo for all ages, will be joining us at the Festival at 5pm.

 Wendy from Mountaintop School will be storytelling at 3:30pm.

Jes from Woodstock Zumba will be doing an also rockin' Zumba demo from 6-6:30pm, and then Ratboy Jr. will take the stage again.

And, we'll be making Scarecrow at a crafts booth in honor of our Scarecrow Fest on September 12! Come by around 4:30pm. 

It's the Tomato Pie contest today...that's savory or sweet or pizza or quiche or however you can swing it. Bring your pie to the festival by 4pm for judging. We'll be having tastings after 5pm. 

 

For a little inspiration, here's a Southern-style tomato pie recipe from Bon Appetit 

 

Don't forget to pick up some blackberries, Spaghetti squash, leeks,tomatillos and all the other produce, fruit and general deliciousness as harvest time rolls in...