Local farms give something to their communities during every season, with freshly-picked strawberries to sprinkle over ice-cream in the spring, summer’s sweet corn for the Fourth of July, and pumpkins to celebrate the fall.  And, in winter, local farms offer the opportunity for outdoor recreation, with public access to much of the open farmland when the growing season is at rest.

Imagine a group of snowmobilers, attracted to the recreational opportunities of freshly fallen snow, making tracks in the landscape of unimpeded white.  Then, later in the day, a party on snowshoes passes by, adding their unique set of tracks to the white terrain.  Finally, just as the sun begins to set, cross-country skiers leave a third set of markings in the once untouched snow as they glide by with the soft, almost silent swish of slides.  All are enjoying the trails and paths that cross over the open land made available for recreation by local farms during the winter season.

According to Trevor Hardy, of Brookdale Fruit Farm and vice president of the Hollis Nor’Easters, Brookdale has allowed recreational use of his farmland for as long as he can remember. His father, Chip Hardy, created the Hollis Nor’Easters snowmobiling club in 1970, and the land has been used for recreation ever since. “It is a win-win situation,” says Trevor Hardy. “The farmers plant their land during the spring, summer, and fall seasons, and the community gets the fresh produce. Then, in the winter, the community gets to use the land for recreation.”

And, readers may not be aware of another “win-win” situation – how public access to farmland for recreational use helps local farms lower their operating costs.   In New Hampshire, any farm that has its land classified under “Current Use” for property tax purposes, may apply for a “Recreational Adjustment”.  With this adjustment, the landowner qualifies for a reduction in their property taxes in exchange for public access to his or her land for hunting, fishing, snowshoeing, hiking, skiing and nature observation.  So, the tax reduction lowers the farmers’ operating costs, helping them to stay in business, and we get a local source for our food and access to their land for recreation.

In some areas of farmland, such as strawberry and hay fields, there is a possibility of damage from winter access.  In order to protect these areas from any damage that might occur to the soil or plants underneath the snow, the Hollis Nor’Easters maintain trails and clearly mark them so that the public knows where to go. “The most important thing that we can do to protect the actual soil of the land is to clearly mark all of the trails and ask that no one goes off of them,” says Trevor Hardy.  However, these sensitive areas do not dominate the acreage of local farms, so there is plenty of open land available for the public’s use, including not only Brookdale but other farm areas such as the Woodmont Orchard (owned by the Town of Hollis), and Beaver Brook.

Maps of local trails can be found at www.beaverbrook.org/welcome/visit-us/trail-maps-and-guides, and www.noreasters.org.

So, instead of spending money on a trip up north, with gas, toll, hotel and admission fees, consider spending your winter recreation time on local farmland.  Whether it is cross country skiing for practice, competition, or quality time with your family, snowshoeing in the afternoon so that you can watch the orange and pink pigmentations as the setting sun fills the sky, or a fun, fast-paced, thrill-filled snowmobile ride with your friends, local farmland during the winter can offer all of that.  And, in addition to being much more affordable, it benefits local business and provides opportunities for us to connect to our local communities while we enjoy winter’s many outdoor activities.

Ingredients

• Snow, clean
• Maple syrup

Directions

1. Gather snow from outside
2. Place maple syrup in a saucepan and heat it on medium-high for 10 minutes. Stir the syrup constantly to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup cool for approximately 2 minutes before using.
4. Pour the syrup onto the snow. The snow will solidify the maple syrup into a hard candy.  The snow candy can be eaten with a spoon.

Created by Liz Barbour of The Creative Feast www.thecreativefeast.com

Adrian Lavoie, of Lavoie’s Farm in Hollis, planted five-thousand trees on his farm this past spring.  However, the trees were only about four years old and one foot tall, and it will take another seven years for the trees to reach the desired height of six to seven feet tall.

And, before he could put any of the trees in the ground, Lavoie had to make the same preparations that anyone has to make before planting a tree. “Well, you have got to get the soil nutrients correct for the particular trees,” says Lavoie. So, the soil had to be fertilized so that the trees would not die from malnutrition, and the grass around the trees had to be cut down so that the root systems of the grass and the newly planted trees would not compete with each other for nutrients.

After the trees were planted, Lavoie was faced with the challenge of making sure that his new trees would not fall prey to pests and diseases. “Japanese beetles and mites will chew the bark off all the trees,” says Lavoie of the various pests that he has to combat. “If there is a heavy infestation, we have to spray the trees.” Lavoie uses a heavy oil to smother the eggs of the mites, which has a much smaller impact on the environment than using a pesticide.

Lavoie planted five different varieties of Christmas trees: four kinds of firs and one type of spruce.  Though the Balsam fir and Fraser fir are the most common Christmas tree found in New England, it seems that locally, people like the aromatic Colorado Blue spruce more. “Well, it is because they have a sturdy branch, and that they are very prickly,” says Lavoie. “Kids and animals do not like to play with them because they grab the sharp needles and they hurt.”

If young children and mischievous pets are not a problem, the Concolor fir has a beautiful thin, long needle, which makes for a very pretty tree once it has been decorated with beads, lights, and ornaments. Finally, the Douglas fir, a tree native to the west and fairly uncommon in New England, has thick needles and a consistent triangular style that make for a very beautiful and traditional Christmas tree.

But, we don’t have to wait out the years for the trees to grow at Lavoie’s Farm, as Christmas trees and decorations are available right now at local farm stands.  And, wherever you end up shopping, be sure to look at the wide variety of wreaths, garlands, kissing balls, and ornaments available at most stands.  Wreaths, ranging in size from small enough for a child to carry, to large enough to hang on the side of your house or barn, are sold either undecorated or filled with colorful berries, pine cones, and sparkling bows.  In Hollis for example, Lull Farm and Brookdale Farms both sell colorful explosions of festivity called kissing balls, as well as swags, roping, and mantelpiece decorations.  In addition, Brookdale sells decorative bows, wreaths, and wooden reindeers made from birch trees (and, you just might see a small herd of real reindeer there to greet you as you drive in).

Written by Julie Christie

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs fresh scrod (cod) or haddock
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and diced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or hot water
• 1 ½ cups milk (low fat is fine)
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 2 cups baby arugula
• 1 Tbs fresh flat leafed parsley, chopped
• 1 Tbs fresh tarragon, chopped
• Kosher salt, ground pepper

Directions

1. Cut the fish into three-inch pieces and refrigerate.
2. Melt butter in a heavy bottomed eight-quart soup pot over medium heat.
3. When it foams, add onion and reduce heat to low, cover with lid and cook gently five minutes, until soft.
4. Add the diced potato, stock (or water), milk and cream and heat until just simmering.
5. Simmer until fully cooked, about 15 minutes.
6. Add the greens, herbs and fish pieces and simmer uncovered eight to 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and opaque.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Recipe can be made up to one day in advance and refrigerated.
9. When ready to serve, gently reheat soup over medium-low heat, uncovered.

Created by Liz Barbour of The Creative Feast www.thecreativefeast.com

John Chapman, who is better known as Johnny Appleseed, was most famous for planting apple trees throughout America. However, the people who harvested the apples didn’t just use them in desserts such as apple turnover and apple pie. They used apples to make the most popular beverage of the day: apple cider.

Brookdale Fruit Farms and Lull Farm in Hollis have been producing apple cider for wholesale and retail for more than 30 years.

The apples that Brookdale collects for its cider consists of picked apples and “drops,” which are apples that have fallen off the tree. Even though the regular harvest of apples was decreased by the crazy weather in March, April and May, the amount of drops increased.

Brookdale’s close neighbor, Lull Farm, handpicks all of the apples used in its cider. Lull presses its cider right on the spot and sells cider only from its Hollis and Milford farm stands, so pasteurization isn’t required. In 1981, when Lull farm began pressing apples for the first time, it started with a 22-inch wooden press, but quickly upgraded to a stainless steel press.

Because the flavor of cider depends on the blending of juice from different apple varieties, Lull Farm will sometimes focus on one or two apple varieties so a specific flavor can be attained.

First, the apples are collected and cooled. Then, they’re ground up and pressed so that the cider comes out. The cider is cooled before it’s bottled and ready for sale.

It’s important to note that although apple cider and apple juice are made from apples, there is a difference. Apple cider hasn’t been filtered to remove the raw pulp or sediment, whereas apple juice has been filtered to remove solids and pasteurized so that it will stay fresh longer. The pulp and sediment contains a lot of the healthy vitamins and minerals that are found in apple cider, but the vitamins have to be put back into apple juice.

Hollis elementary schools have realized the many health benefits and have decided to include local apple cider in the daily meal choice for students. So, not only are kids getting a delicious local addition to their lunches, they’re getting the health benefits of cider, as well.

As a seasonal treat, apple cider is enjoyed by all ages, and in many ways. Whether the drink is served piping hot or is mixed into treats such as apple cider donuts, people throughout the ages have enjoyed it and relied on it. The crisp, fresh flavor is only known to apple cider, and makes memories of fall for some, while bringing memories back for others.

In addition to enjoying apple cider as a drink, it’s a great ingredient for cooking, so consider using it in your baked goods, poultry, meats and more. A quick Internet search can turn up recipes for apple cider pancakes, caramels, custard and doughnuts, as well as ideas for chicken, pork and beef dishes.

From Liz Barbor of the Creative Feast at www.thecreativefeast.com.

Makes 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Tbs unsalted butter
• 3 Tbs flour
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 2 Tbs shallots, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup dry sherry
• 1 ½ cups apple cider
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey stock
• 2 Tbs fresh sage, chopped or 3 tsp dried
• Pan drippings from a roasted chicken or turkey if you have them

DIRECTIONS

1. Using your fingers, knead the butter and flour together to form a sticky paste.  Set aside.
2. Place the olive oil and chopped shallots into a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat. If you have pan drippings from a roasted chicken or turkey, add those as well. Cook, stirring occasionally just until the shallots soften, about 2-3 minutes. Add the sherry and apple cider to the pan.  Raise the heat to medium-high.  Stir to scrape up any browned bits, and cook until the liquid reduces by ½, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the stock and sage to the liquid and bring back to a boil and cook for 5 more minutes.
4. Whisk the butter paste mixture into the simmering liquid one tablespoon at a time and cook until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Reduce the heat and cook for an additional 3 minutes to cook off any flour taste. Season with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately or cool and refrigerate for later use.  This sauce freezes well so make extra and freeze!

The toughest part may be deciding which variety to buy.  Whether you’ll be decorating with carved and painted pumpkins, or using them for cooking, such as for the mini-pumpkin cheesecakes featured in the recipe at the end of this article, you’ll want to select the right pumpkin for the job.

Typically, the Magic Lantern, Wolfe, Gladiator, and Big Moose varieties are used for carving, but choose whatever inspires you.  The Lumina (also good for cooking) has a ghostly white exterior that contrasts with the deep orange interior when carved and lit with a candle.

Special decorative varieties, like Ironsides and Cannonball did especially well this year. These smaller pumpkins, not appropriate for carving, are almost perfectly round and have tough, hard shells. Their shelf life extends well into the winter and they are perfect for painting.

A good carving pumpkin should be firm, but have a shell that is not too hard to cut with a serrated knife.  Tap the pumpkin and listen for a hollow sound.  A dense pumpkin is good, but too dense and the walls will be too thick and block the candle light and any carving details may be lost.  Also, make sure that your pumpkin can balance on its base.

For cooking, choose smaller to medium-sized pumpkins, as larger pumpkins tend to have a higher moisture content and mild flavor, and may disappoint. The Cinderella pumpkin, the Lumina pumpkin, or any sugar pumpkin will taste wonderful in a pie or pot of soup.  The Cinderella and Lumina, along with new varieties such as “The Red Warty Thing”, are attractive for both their decorative and cooking qualities.  Be sure that your pumpkin is free of blemishes, feels heavy for its size, and still has its stem attached.  Store your cooking pumpkin in a cool, dry place or your refrigerator.

Pumpkins are extremely healthy and one of the most nutritious offerings of the fall season.  The bright orange color of a pumpkin’s skin and woody flesh is a dead giveaway to its heavy concentration of beta-carotene. Pumpkin is high in fiber, delivering three to five grams per serving.

Pumpkin puree has the highest concentration of fiber, as the puree is thickened by cooking it down, thereby concentrating the nutritional content.  You can boost the nutrition of any meal by adding a scoop of puree to oatmeal, soup or any fruit pie filling. And, don’t forget about roasting your pumpkin seeds, as they are full of anti-oxidants, high in fiber and protein, and are easy to prepare.

Many people recognize the Giant Pumpkin – colossal vegetables that are popular attractions at local fairs and fall festivals.  But, few people know about special varieties such as Estrella, which are grown on some farms for recreational use such as hurling or firing competitions (sometimes known as “Pumpkin Chunkin”).  The American Chunker team, which recently demonstrated their “chunker” at Trombly Gardens in Milford, has fired pumpkins over 4,300 ft!  For more info on the chunkin, visit the Trombly Gardens Facebook page or see www.americanchunker.com.

Brookdale Farms has sold Lumina pumpkins to the record holding Yankee Siege team from Greenfield, NH. Utilizing a medieval-style war machine called a trebuchet, Yankee Siege set a world record at the 2009 World Championships by hurling a pumpkin 2,034 feet! This year’s championship will be held November 2-4; for more information, go to www.punkinchunkin.com.

Makes 12 mini cheescakes

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
• 1 ½  Tbs sugar
• 1 ½ Tbs melted butter
• 12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup canned pureed pumpkin
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp Asian 5 Spice or pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

Crust

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the crushed graham cracker sugar, and melted butter together and mix well.
3. Press 1 Tbs of the crumbs into the bottom of the mini cheesecake molds.
4. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Let cool while making the filling.

Filling

1. Lower heat to 300°F.
2. Beat cream cheese in a mixer or food processor until creamy and smooth.
3. Add the sugar, pureed pumpkin and spices.  Process until well combined.
4. Add the egg and continue to mix for about 1 minute. Finally, add the cream and mix thoroughly.
5. Spoon equal amounts of the cheesecake filling into prepared molds.  Fill to just below the top of the mold.
6. Bake until the cheesecakes are set, about 13-15 minutes.  Do not allow to crack on top.
7. Cool for 30 minutes in the molds. Carefully run a thin knife around the edges before pushing from the bottom to remove.  Serve at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold.

Note: Mini cheesecake pan can be purchased at williamssonoma.com or bedbathandbeyond.com

New Hampshire farmers are used to Mother Nature’s surprises, but this year she was particularly tricky.    Spring arrived weeks early and was followed by a cold snap that caused significant losses to the local fruit harvest.  Fortunately, not all the reports from the Hollis farms are bleak, as geography and crop diversity contributed to a formula that kept Hollis farms productive even as Mother Nature threw her curve balls.

David Orde of Lull Farm estimated that he lost close to 50 percent of his apple crop.  “That hot weather in March caused the apple buds to appear 2-3 weeks early.  Then the freeze came and killed off so many apple flowers.”  But, farms with orchards on higher ground and hillsides fare better during frosts, as cold air falls and hovers on low-laying orchards and is particularly threatening to smaller dwarf trees and the lower portions of standard trees.  Fortunately, many Hollis orchards are located on higher terrain, and managed to avoid the bud losses that other areas of New Hampshire and Maine did.  “Farms all over northern New Hampshire and Maine lost much more than we did” says Orde.   “Now, when we go into the Boston produce market to sell our apples, they are begging us for more. The Macintosh and the Macouns got hit the hardest this year, but we’ll hold them back from the Boston market so we can keep them at the stands” says Orde.

Just up the street at Lavoie Farm, Adrian Lavoie fared better as well.  The crazy weather pattern of the early spring did not negatively affect his fruit crops as much as he had feared. Once the weather settled and the spring rains came, the orchards fell into to their normal pattern of growth. “We have plenty of apples to pick and sell this year” says Lavoie.

Losing so much of an important revenue crop can have a domino effect for smaller farms.  Years ago, apple farmers focused mainly on apple and cider production, and a frost that knocks out 50 percent of a farm’s revenue generating apple crop would be a devastating hit.  But today, many farms have expanded their crops to protect them from weather disasters.  Hollis’s commercial farms offer a variety of fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, dry goods, nursery stock, and gifts as a way to diversify offerings and entice customers.  “When I started Lull Farm I was harvesting only apples, but now apples are only 15% of my business” said Orde.

Hollis farms pride themselves on their many varieties of apples, most of which you will not come across at a grocery store, but will instead find filling the wooden bins at farm stands and local farmer’s markets.  Whether you are shopping at a farm stand or taking the family for an outing at a “Pick Your Own” stand, you will have plenty of apples to choose from – Gravenstein, Zestar, Paula Red, Golden Supreme, Mollies Delicious, Ginger Golds, and Honey Crisp are just some of the varieties you are likely to find.

While all are delicious eating apples, some are better than others for baking.  Macintosh, Macoun, and Delicious are best for snacking on or slicing into a salad.   Select varieties that hold their shape for cooking, such as Honey Crisp, Jonagold, Cortland, Granny Smith, and Jonathan, are great for cooking and baking.  Use a combination of two or three of these for your next pie or the apple sweet potato tart recipe that follows.

If you are looking for homemade pies or the perfect apple crisp, be sure to attend the Hollis Apple Festival on Sunday, October 7^th at 2:00PM on Monument Square in Hollis.  This town-favorite festival and band concert is not to be missed as a celebration of the  importance of our local apple harvest. For festival information go to www.holliswomansclub.org

This post was written by Liz Barbour of the Creative Feast www.thecreativefeast.com.

Makes 8

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package puff pastry sheets,     cold
• ¾ cup oats (rolled, not instant)
• 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1⁄3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 ounce almond paste, crumbled
• 4 tablespoons unsalted  butter, cut into small cubes
• 2 Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 Cortland apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 small sweet potato, about 1 cup, peeled and cut into thin slices
• ¼ cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 375 degrees

1. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flaxseed, cinnamon, sugars, almond paste and butter your hands until the mixture comes together in moist crumbs.
2. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick coating. Cut each sheet of puff pastry into four squares. Place the pastry squares into the cups of a muffin pan.
3. Toss the apples and sweet potatoes with ¼ cup sugar in a bowl. Divide the mixture among the pastry cups.
4. Spread oat topping evenly over the apples and sweet potatoes.
5. Bake for 35 minutes or until the crumb mixture is golden and the apples give off some juice and sweet potatoes are soft.
6. Remove the tarts from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
7. Remove the tarts from the pan and cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving.
8. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

www.thecreativefeast.com