From Liz Barbour, of the Creative Feast….
As we head toward the end of summer, our favorite local crops – corn and tomatoes – are finally available at our local farm stands. However, you might be wondering if the recent lack of rain and intense heat has had a negative effect on these crops.
Quick and easy way to incorporate the fresh produce into your daily diet. This recipe is from Liz Barbour of the Creative Feast.
Submitted by Liz Barbour of the Creative Feast (original recipe by Ina Garten)
The following pancake recipe is a personal favorite at my house. They have wonderful flavor, and the best part is that they’re quick and easy – even the kids can make them! The sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt if you prefer) makes the pancakes thick and soft and the lemon zest adds a refreshing zip to the dish. (Note: The original recipe calls for bananas rather than blueberries, but together the two fruits would be delicious.)
If you have not bought or picked strawberries yet this season, you’d better hurry. Although strawberry season started in late May and usually lasts about 5-6 weeks, this year’s season will be shortened by about 2 weeks due to this spring’s crazy weather. Unexpected warm weather was quickly followed by a frost that damaged many of the first strawberry producing flower buds. According to Eleanor Whittemore, of Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis, the loss of the first flowering buds or the “King buds” can hurt a farm’s bottom line for the first cash crop of the growing season. “Fortunately,” says Adrian Lavoie of Lavoie farm, “we plant many varieties of berries so they ripen at intervals throughout the harvest. There are plenty of berries to pick.”
Save room in your tummy for the best strawberry shortcake around. There is no tastier treat than one grown, picked, prepared, and served from a community that keeps it simple. This recipe published in June’s Down on the Farm article in the Nashua Telegraph is from Liz Barbour of the Creative Feast.
May’s “Down on the Farm” article by Liz Barbour
Ask anyone to define “local agriculture” and they’re likely to suggest “row crops” or “orchards” and consider the question answered. While both responses are correct, they only partly define our local agriculture. For example, although Hollis was once home to several dairy farms, it now has far more horses than cows. And, horse owners depend upon the local hay businesses to provide a source of feed that is grown locally and delivered directly to their barns. This combination of equestrian and hay businesses is a big part of “local agriculture”, and plays an important role in the local economic value of agriculture and the maintenance of much of our open land.
This recipe from Liz Barbour of the Creative Feast published in May’s Down on the Farm article in the Nashua Telegraph is minty-sweet.
Take a walk through the orchards in Hollis’s town center, enjoying the firm, dry paths beneath your sneakers and the warm breeze against your face. Walk by rows of peach trees pushing out pink blossoms, and note the field hands gently raking the protective winter coating of straw off the rows of strawberries. In the distance, you may see a cloud of dust as a tractor turns the soil, preparing a field for the first of the spring plantings. Sounds like the perfect spring day on the farm doesn’t it? But, not everyone is feeling as carefree when walking the fields. A warmer than average winter, the lack of snow and rain, and an early burst of high temperatures have local farmers observing this scene with great concern.
This recipe from Liz Barbour of the Creative Feast published in April’s Down of the Farm article in the Nashua Telegraph is great! Not only is it delicious, but its easy for even me to prepare!
A number of useful links for the agricultural community:
A good overview of local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) efforts: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
The New Hampshire Institure of Agriculture and Forestry provides a business “incubator” model to educate and Continue reading
