Marsh Edge Farm Notes

Marsh Edge Farm Notes:
Welcome to my farm blog. I don't have a farm, but I do everything possible to have fresh produce on my table all summer long, as well as can and preserve much of what I grow. I live on the edge of Tolland Marsh and three years ago began calling my home garden Marsh Edge Farm. I created a label to place on all my canned goods, and everything I preserve, from jams to saurkraut end up with one of my simple labels.

I have two gardens, one is a spring garden and the other is my summer garden. From each garden I usually can grow enough to keep me in fresh vegetables for the whole summer, as well as enough to can and freeze to last the winter.

I also grow many of the herbs that go into my dishes. One of my favorite things to do with all these vegetables is create recipes that my family will eat. That is what this blog is mainly about, the recipes I develop or create in my kitchen as I experiment. Hope you enjoy reading my farm blog, and I hope you will try some of my recipes.

Updates for 2014

After a few years of very bad crops, I have left behind the vegetable gardens for awhile. However, I have found that fresh produce is available throughout the summer at the many farmers markets in the area. Here is a list of some of the markets and farms I gather my fresh fruits and vegetables from.

Rockville Farmers Market: Thursdays from 10 to 1 at the courthouse parking lot.

Tolland Farmers Market: Saturdays from 9 to 12 on the green.

Coventry Regional Farmers Market: Sundays from 11 to 2 at the Nathan Hale Homestead on South St.

Wright's Orchard on South River Road in Tolland, CT

Larry Lemeks Berries on Goose Lane in Tolland, CT.

Johnny Appleseeds Peach Orchard on Old Schoolhouse Rd. in Ellington, CT.

Buell Orchards in Eastford, CT.

There are many other farmers markets throughout the state of Connecticut on different days as well as numerous roadside stands. Support your local farmers no matter how small and you will gain in health and well being by eating the freshest of the fresh.

A link to the Connecticut Farmers Markets for 2014
http://www.ct.gov/doag/lib/doag/marketing_files/2014/fm_listing_as_of_07-01-2014.pdf



Sunday, June 26, 2011

Tonight's Creation - Without a stove

We are currently redoing our kitchen, so I have been without a kitchen since Monday, June 20.  I am sick of going out to McDonald's, or KFC for supper, so I decided to get creative.  What I have to cook with is a grill, an electric frypan, a George Foreman grill, and a microwave oven.  First creation:
   
Incredible Noodle Saute:
 
Ingredients:  fresh sugar snap peas (with pods) that came from my garden
                     No Yolks broad egg noodles
                     fresh grated parmesan cheese
                     Smart Balance original buttery spread - 3 tablespoons
                     salt and pepper to taste
                   
First, fill a 4 quart microwave safe container with water.  Heat on high in a microwave oven for 14 minutes.  Pour in egg noodles.  Cook for an additional 12 minutes.  Drain

Remove ends of sugar snap peas.  Place Smart Balance in electric fry pan.  Set pan at 200 degrees.  Saute peas for about 6 minutes. 

Mix in egg noodles, grate about 3 ozs of parmesan cheese and add to noodle mixture, and heat through until cheese is melted.  If noodles seem dry, add a bit more Smart Balance

Best Boneless Barbequed ribs

Ingredients:   boneless pork ribs
                      2 - 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
                      1 - 2 cups water
                      1/2 red onion
                      Kraft original barbeque sauce (or what you like)
                      salt and pepper to taste

Pour water into a microwave safe baking pan.  (I used an 8 inch square glazed ceramic pan)
Add vinegar.  Dice red onion.  Add 2/3's to water.   Place ribs in water, and top with remaining onion.  Place in microwave and heat at around a 6 (out of 10 settings) for about 9 minutes.  Turn over and cook at a 6 for another 6-8 minutes, so no longer pink.
Take out red onion with slotted spoon and add some to the barbeque sauce.  Place ribs on grill and brush on sauce, then barbecue over hot charcoal for about 15 minutes, turning often and brushing with barbeque sauce.  What I ended up with were extremely moist, very tasty ribs.  They were so tender they just melted in my mouth.

Last item I used for my dinner was a garden salad, made from lettuce from my garden, some peas without pods, full sugar snap pea pods, red pepper, cucumber, vine ripened tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and just a little swiss chard.  So you can cook a very tasty meal without a stove or conventional oven, it just takes a little forethought as to what to microwave first. 
    

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