Monday, March 29, 2010
Pasta, Pork and Potential
It is so refreshing to see our children following in our footsteps of producing home-made food. Our oldest daughter is beginning her first season of producing hand-made pasta. It is slow going, taking about an hour to produce a couple of pounds. It is interesting to consider all of the "business" decisions that she has to make. Who is her market? How much can she produce? How does she package? How long will it stay fresh? How much to charge? On and on....and then the actual discipline that it takes to return phone calls regarding orders and deliver orders on time! What an opportunity to learn these things before a mortgage or business loan burdens her with the need to succeed...or else total failure! The pasta needs to carry a warning label that says something like "WARNING...eating of fresh pasta causes the consumer to NEVER eat store-bought pasta again...EAT at your own risk" This stuff is delicious!
Pigs are amazing animals. They are fairly predator-proof, they work hard tilling up my summer garden, and in the end, they taste delicious! The 3 little pigs that we are "hosting" at the farm are growing steadily. They have figured it out that the Bessettes bring good things to them, so they are getting more and more friendly!
I've been thinking about the great life that these animals have and it makes me happy to watch as they root around and just act like pigs! I look forward to the 150 pounds of fresh pork that each will provide our family...(ribs and bacon are my favorites).
Finally on the topic of "POTENTIAL"...Holly is our Jersey heifer, who currently is full of potential! We watch her girth expand, as her calf inside grows. We watch her udder steadily increase, as it prepares to feed the new arrival, and hopefully us! We love our milk RAW and with full cream (no skim milk in the Bessette house)! We have "invested" over 2 years into the potential of this animal...she stayed "on" her momma for as long as her momma let her. I have read that the quality of the milk that a dairy calf is fed will affect her future potential for cream production. If a calf is fed "milk-replacer" they will develop "leaner" cream-producing cells. If they are fed full-cream momma's milk, their cream-production increases. We incurred an "expense" of giving more milk to Holly instead of using it ourselves..we'll see if the investment was worth it!
Good food takes time. Good food is SLOW food, verses "fast-food"...Ahh...pasta, pork and potential!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
There's no place like home
Although I love seeing my family up north, it is always good to get home. Our trips need to be well-planned and usually short, unless we have someone tending the animals. It is easier if we don't have any milking responsibilities...that is why I seldom bottle-feed and let the kids/calves share the milk with us. That way I can let the little one stay with the momma while we are gone. I have read that this is not the best way to manage dairy animals, but we have not had any problems "using" the babe to "fill in" for us for our milking chores...and they never complain!
As we drive down the half-mile, bumpy, gravel driveway approaching the house I find myself doing a visual assessment of the farm...I do a mental "head-count" as different pastures come into view. Once home, we immediatley feed & water everone and thank the Lord that all is well!
Our home is a log cabin, only 4 years old, but in the Dennis Bessette style, it is made to look much older! We built it ourselves...it is quite comfy. Not fancy, but sturdy and solid! Wonder if the kind of house you live in can be descriptive of what type of person you are...I do think sturdy, solid and not quite fancy accurately describes the Bessette family!
Before this house was built, we had lived on 5 different properties since we were married. We actually have lived in 7 different "situations" on these properties, as Dennis rennovated historic homes and sometimes the original homes were not inhabitable! Although I went kicking and screaming, we have lived in a construction trailer for 2 years, and even an unfinished basement with no utilities for 3 months. Our kids have learned that home is not a structure, but the place where we gather together. Some of our fondest memories are of that tiny trailer. All 3 kids shared a room, each having a sleeping loft and cubbies for toys underneath. They comforted each other when bad dreams woke them...Our room was so small that I had to crawl over Dennis to get to my side of the bed!! It sounds crazy to me now, but I'm grateful for those experiences. Often, when I turn on the faucet, I praise the Lord that we live during a time where we can enjoy hot running water!
One of our "best-friend" families just announced the engagement of their oldest son, Daniel. It makes me think of what a miracle it is that 2 people from different backgrounds can marry and somehow create a new, unique home. Almost always different from what each grew up with. New traditions, new favorite meals, new priorities. Having visited my family, I realize how different my life is from my sister's life. We do not have neighborhood children knocking at our door to come out and play...our dogs just run loose, on the 25+ acres that we call "home"...we pick our cow milk up at a local farm instead of the local store...our cars are much dirtier than suburban-cars! Yet, despite all these differences, we each have nuances of our original "Zylka" home...the foods we like, the things that make us laugh...my kids say that each family we are close to has it's own "smell". They can identify a lost item of clothing just by the "family scent"!! Amazing.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Spring has Sprung!
The calendar says it's still 2 days away, but Spring has cast her green hue on Bessette Family Farm. Spring always makes her entrance in this manner here in Esmont...like a jack-in-the box...the crank turns through the month of February; the tension builds as we wait, and then POP! Up rise the tender blades of grass and the thicker "spears" of the approaching daffodils. Trees present their buds in a very well orchestrated sequence. Maples leading the charge!
On the farm, we have planted "snow" peas, which hopefully will produce 10x better than average due to the 10x better than average amount of snow this winter! Sounds logical, right? I love the idea of companion planting, where certain plants naturally improve the growth other plants. So, I try to plant in friendly pairs. Surrounding the peas, we have spinach, parsnips, mustard greens and radishes. Last year Dennis built cold-frames and positioned them for early planting. The soil in these boxes has been warming, in preparation for our first plantings. Cabbage plants went in, potatoes are next.People around here say potatoes should be in by St. Patrick's Day, but I have found that waiting another week or so is better!
Our farm mission has always been to produce as much of our own food as possible and share the abundance with our community. This works well, because we are our own primary "consumers" (pardon the pun)! We work diligently to produce the best tasting meats, eggs, pastas, breads, milk, cheeses, veggies, fruits, jellies and more....selfishly, because we love to eat delicious gourmet foods. We can't eat as much as we produce, so we sell the extra. If it's not good enough for the Bessettes, then it's not good enough to sell!
Although our vegetarian efforts are just beginning, our meat production is well on its way. Duroc piglets are happily rooting, getting fat on hickory nuts an grubs. Holly, the Jersey cow is due to calve in May. Jersey cream, butter, ice cream, mozzarella cheese mmm mmm! Violet, Austyn's bottle fed Angus, is awaiting her 15 month birthday, so she too can become a productive member of our farm! Flower, our Alpine goat, gave birth to 2 bucks this year. These guys are enjoying her milk now, but not for long! Fresh chevre', feta and yogurt are coming soon! The egg production is rising and the eggs sell faster than Lainey can collect them. New this year, is a slower growing variety of chickens for meat. We actually hatch them right here on the farm from our own breeding flock. Traditionally, farm-raised chickens for meat are purchased from a hatchery as day old chicks. They are shipped through the US Postal system and sometimes don't eat or drink for 3 days. They can survive for up to 72 hours without food or water, but it is certainly not ideal. I can tell you that they are ready and willing to eat and drink just hours after fluffing up! We are more comfortable with hatching them at home as it seems more humane and is certainly more sustainable. Our chickens spend their entire life on our farm...not a bad life considering how beautiful it is here!
God provides most of the beauty here on Bessette Family Farm...but Dennis and Alex sure do help. They are always busy building some new structure, from movable chicken pens to luxurious decking around our pool! We want to enjoy the view here at the farm. We guard against taking on an "industrial" farm look. Aesthetics are very important to us. We have seen many productive farms get junky over the years. We hope to be productive, but not at the expense of the beauty of this place.
Wow, this is a much longer post than I expected. The whole family will be contributing to this blog in the future, so readers will share in the experiences of the whole family, on this family farm.
On the farm, we have planted "snow" peas, which hopefully will produce 10x better than average due to the 10x better than average amount of snow this winter! Sounds logical, right? I love the idea of companion planting, where certain plants naturally improve the growth other plants. So, I try to plant in friendly pairs. Surrounding the peas, we have spinach, parsnips, mustard greens and radishes. Last year Dennis built cold-frames and positioned them for early planting. The soil in these boxes has been warming, in preparation for our first plantings. Cabbage plants went in, potatoes are next.People around here say potatoes should be in by St. Patrick's Day, but I have found that waiting another week or so is better!
Our farm mission has always been to produce as much of our own food as possible and share the abundance with our community. This works well, because we are our own primary "consumers" (pardon the pun)! We work diligently to produce the best tasting meats, eggs, pastas, breads, milk, cheeses, veggies, fruits, jellies and more....selfishly, because we love to eat delicious gourmet foods. We can't eat as much as we produce, so we sell the extra. If it's not good enough for the Bessettes, then it's not good enough to sell!
Although our vegetarian efforts are just beginning, our meat production is well on its way. Duroc piglets are happily rooting, getting fat on hickory nuts an grubs. Holly, the Jersey cow is due to calve in May. Jersey cream, butter, ice cream, mozzarella cheese mmm mmm! Violet, Austyn's bottle fed Angus, is awaiting her 15 month birthday, so she too can become a productive member of our farm! Flower, our Alpine goat, gave birth to 2 bucks this year. These guys are enjoying her milk now, but not for long! Fresh chevre', feta and yogurt are coming soon! The egg production is rising and the eggs sell faster than Lainey can collect them. New this year, is a slower growing variety of chickens for meat. We actually hatch them right here on the farm from our own breeding flock. Traditionally, farm-raised chickens for meat are purchased from a hatchery as day old chicks. They are shipped through the US Postal system and sometimes don't eat or drink for 3 days. They can survive for up to 72 hours without food or water, but it is certainly not ideal. I can tell you that they are ready and willing to eat and drink just hours after fluffing up! We are more comfortable with hatching them at home as it seems more humane and is certainly more sustainable. Our chickens spend their entire life on our farm...not a bad life considering how beautiful it is here!
God provides most of the beauty here on Bessette Family Farm...but Dennis and Alex sure do help. They are always busy building some new structure, from movable chicken pens to luxurious decking around our pool! We want to enjoy the view here at the farm. We guard against taking on an "industrial" farm look. Aesthetics are very important to us. We have seen many productive farms get junky over the years. We hope to be productive, but not at the expense of the beauty of this place.
Wow, this is a much longer post than I expected. The whole family will be contributing to this blog in the future, so readers will share in the experiences of the whole family, on this family farm.
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