Down on the Farm

Henry is home - Day 2

These pics almost broke the cute-o-meter, but I decided to post them anyway. We will return to farm blogging eventually, but for now, this site is temporarily kid blogging.

Wavy holding Henry.

Wavy explaining how Henry is very tiny.

Wavy attempting to kiss Henry on the top of the head, and actually getting him somewhere between his chin and neck.

I am sensing that many years of shinanegins stretch out before us.

Henry Seamus Griffin

Henry Seamus Griffin born November 23, 2005, 9:38 a.m. We love him!!!

Kat and Aleda

Kat and Aleda modeling their end of season bonus - Old Shaw Farm t-shirts! Thank you very much you two -- and Laura too -- for all your hard work this past season!!

Biodiesel shed

The plans for converting the greenhouses to biodiesel got bumped up a bit on the priority list with the hike in oil prices, and also because we were lucky enough to have help from Kat this fall with building the shed and assembling the equipment. We've started gathering the oil from the Creamery, a yummy restauraunt in Danville which buy veggies from us in season, but making the first batch of actual biodiesel will probably wait till spring. Usually Waverly goes with me to pick up the oil, and the way she says "biodiesel" always makes me smile.

Greenhouse progress

The ribs and purlins are all up, and the baseboards are all on and half buried. Peter says we're probably over halfway there. The end walls need to be built, the plastic put on, and all the equipment put in. (Waverly's carrying her baby doll in the front pack while she inspects.)

Happily, the weather continues to be all over the place. Sunny and 60 and beautiful today, sleet tonight. But enough nice weather to be able to continue making progress.

Sledding

This morning playing in the new snow. What a difference a week makes. Last Saturday, we were still in full-on Indian Summer. The jackets came off just after the picture below was snapped, and we were running around in our shirtsleeves and still hot!

Greenhouse progress

Lots of progress on the greenhouse. A lot of credit goes to Kat who is awesome and also the good weather, and Peter of course. The photo above shows the posts in, which was a huge step forward. Each post gets driven into the ground; they're what anchor the greenhouse. Also, maneuvering around the big rock took some figuring. But we're actually even further along. All the ribs are in plus the purlins, but I need to get back out there with the camera. Next steps are the baseboards and framing out the ends.

For the love of kale!

Nichole, one of the awesome members of the OSF CSA, sent us this recipe. Thanks Nichole!!

1 bunch of kale
½ lb pasta (skinny rice noodles, thin whole wheat spaghetti or whatever you have)

sauce:
4 Tablespoons peanut butter (thick or crunchy all natural kind is best)
4 Tablespoons sweet chili sauce
3 Tablespoons tamari
A splash of water

Remove stems from kale and chop into bite-sized pieces. Rinse, but do not dry leaves. Wilt kale until tender in a hot frying pan. No oil or additional water is needed if the kale is wet from rinsing. It may take several batches depending on the size of your frying pan.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with kale in a large bowl.

Gently heat sauce ingredients in the frying pan until smooth and warm. Add to pasta and kale and toss again.

This dish is even yummier when eaten with chopsticks! (I’m sort of kidding, but somehow that’s the only way I like to eat it...)

Sometimes I add leftover chicken or sausage (if so I make extra sauce), but this dish is totally satisfying by itself.

We tried this the other night and it was awesome. As Wavy demonstrates, finger lickin good!!