Did you know that eggs are a seasonal food just like many fruits and vegetables?

How often a hen lays an egg is deeply influenced by the hours of daylight in a day. So when the daylight decreases in the winter months so does their laying.

Each winter the older laying hens molt and significantly decrease the amount of eggs they lay. Then in late winter/spring they slowly start to pick back up. Our pullets or new hens start to lay their first eggs in the spring as well.

The pullet eggs are currently flowing in and the older hens are quickly picking back up and egg season is in full swing.
This brief window between the beginning of egg season and the opening of summer farmer's markets is the one time a year that our farm fresh eggs go on sale.

So here are some ways you can take advantage of the current spring influx of eggs and our Preserver's Sale.

Egg Salad Sandwiches and custards are a must in the spring but my personal favorite way to really take advantage of the extra eggs is to make and freeze breakfast items. It's a win win because I can use up eggs when they are abundant and then I have easy peasy breakfasts saved up for winter when eggs are scarce.

Breakfast Burritos & Egg Bites are both easy to prepare/freeze and quick to reheat and eat on a busy morning. You can find my burrito recipe + tips and tricks to make them with less work here on my blog.  My egg bite recipe is also available on the blog.
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And I know we all wish we had more farm eggs available for Christmas baking. Spring is a great time to freeze raw eggs and use them for baking all winter long. Whisk several eggs together and pour into ice cube trays. Each ice cube then equals 1 egg. Once frozen transfer to a freezer bag and store frozen for up to 1 year.  When it's time to use them, place the cubes in a bowl in the fridge to thaw. 

We even have one customer that freeze dries our eggs and then uses them for camping and back packing.

To help you take advantage of the spring abundance we are offering a Preserver's sale - buy 3 dozen for $14 or $60/case of 15 dozen.

With 3 dozen eggs you can make and freeze:
60 breakfast burritos or
60 egg bites or
30 breakfast burritos AND 30 egg bites and still have a few eggs left for using fresh!

Text Emily at 712-249-3187 to arrange pick up at the farm or to see when she will be in Atlantic next.

Enjoy!
​Emily

Grandma Gwen did a little 'eggs-periment' this weekend and her results blew us all away! Our homegrown brown eggs far exceeded expectations and blew the traditional white eggs out of the water!

The brown eggs held the dye better and resulted in a deeper, richer, more even color than the white eggs. 

You don't have to take my word for it though - check out the photos below. In the photo below, the two top eggs started out as brown eggs and the two bottom eggs were white prior to being dyed. You can really see the difference!

The best part is Grandma Gwen used food coloring that she already had in her kitchen - no special dyes needed!

Going left to right, she used neon blue food coloring for Eggs #1 & #3, neon purple for egg #2 and plain red (not neon) for egg #4.

Many boxes of food coloring have instructions on them but if yours doesn't, here are some basic directions:

Mix 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 tsp vinegar and 10 to 20 drops of food coloring in a cup to reach desired color. Repeat for each color. Use a spoon to dip your egg into the dye and let it sit in there for 2-5 minutes depending on how dark of a color you want your egg to be. Remove and allow to dry on a paper towel or in an egg holder.

Now that you now how easy it is to create these beautiful eggs - stop by the farm this Saturday, March 21 from 10-Noon and grab a couple dozen brown eggs to wow your kids and grandkids this Easter!

See you soon!
Emily

I've been making breakfast burritos for my husband and kids for a decade now. And while I enjoy a breakfast burrito from time to time myself, MY favorite make ahead breakfast is Egg Bites. These little guys are packed with protein and easy to grab and go which is so important when I'm trying to get the kids ready and out the door on school mornings!

I actually really enjoy my egg bites cold, so that makes them even more accessible on busy mornings or as a quick afternoon snack.

**Pro-Tip** I DO highly recommend using a silicone baking pan or silicone cupcake liners for the easiest clean-up and the smoothest egg bite texture.

Like with most cooking, you can create limitless flavor combinations so I will share the base Egg Bite recipe and 2 of my personal favorite variations.

Egg Bites

Ingredients
8 large eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Blend eggs and cottage cheese together until smooth. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Spoon into a muffin tin. - makes 12-15 muffins
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes

Ham & Cheese

• Fill muffin tins about half full with egg and cottage cheese mixture.
• Top with chopped ham, chives and shredded cheese
• Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until egg mixture is set

Sausage & Potato 

• Cut potatoes into 1 1/2 inch chunks,
• Boil potatoes until soft
• While potatoes cook, brown 1/2 pound of your favorite sausage - drain and set aside
• Once soft, place one potato piece in the bottom of each muffin tin and smash with a cup.
• Pour egg and cottage cheese mixture over top of the potato until muffin cup is about 3/4 full
• Top with browned sausage
• Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until egg mixture is set.

It's hard to believe but I have been making breakfast burritos for NP for a decade now. The recipe has stayed largely the same but I've shifted methods over the years to increase efficiency and decrease the work.

Where I used to cook everything in the skillet on the stove top, I now bake the hashbrowns in the oven and then the eggs as well - in the same pan! (now less pans to wash is a REAL win ;) )

I used to put each ingredients in a separate bowl and spoon into the tortilla one by one. Now, I mix all ingredients together in one big bowl and use a measuring cup to take one big scoop from the bowl to the tortilla - MUCH less work and again way less dishes to wash!

It's a good thing too because the littlest farmer has taken a liking to daddy's breakfast burritos too and so I'm making twice as many these days.

My old recipe is still floating around on the blog somewhere but here is an updated version of my Breakfast Burrito recipe. Hope it makes your mornings a little bit easier too :) 

Note: this was written a couple of weeks prior to posting - it's spring and so we've been hustling here on the farm. 

Last week was a doozy of a week for us here at the farm. We experienced a series of unfortunate events  – it felt a bit like a really bad comedy – a new problem at every turn.  We blew a spark plug in our truck, LOST our truck and trailer, irrigation malfunctioned, well ran dry, woke up to bee hives flying around the yard – not the bees, the HIVES, and then I temporarily lost access to my email service.  

It was a week.

But it left me in awe of the community we have. And reminded me just how interdependent each of us is on one another. I have long believed that it is impossible to do anything great truly on your own and this week showcased that in high definition.
When our truck broke down, it was 9pm on a Friday night and we were a good hour from home. No parts stores or mechanics within walking distance and most would soon be closed.

In an incredible stroke of fate, we were just over 2 miles from a farm whose owners we had met about a year ago. Desperation and wild hope gave me the courage to hit call on their phone number and Matt not only answered but was so incredibly gracious, coming to our late night rescue and after a failed attempt to attain parts, he and his wife sent us home in one of their vehicles so we could get some sleep and regroup in the morning.

When NP & I returned to the side street where we had left our truck and trailer the previous night, both were gone - as if they’d never been there. Our first several phone calls to law enforcement and tow companies were unsuccessful and it was looking like we would need to file a stolen vehicle report. While we were making one last scoop around the neighborhood just in case it might reappear, NP got a phone call from a patrol family member – he had tracked our truck and trailer to a tow service in Underwood.

Thank goodness!

We made it to the impound lot minutes before it closed for the weekend and the owner was kind enough to allow us to fix the truck on the lot. Unfortunately, despite the combined experience of NP & at least 2 knowledgeable friends, our repair attempts were unsuccessful and we had to call in even more help to tow the truck and trailer home. My dad was quick to agree to bring a trailer to haul the truck – even though we later learned he had to first unload a pile of concrete siding that had been on the trailer. In order to get both truck and trailer off the impound lot and home before dark, Gil, another fellow farmer, also drove the hour+ to our rescue to drive the trailer home.

Looking back on this series of events, what stands out to me most is the sheer number of people who were willing to help us. AND just how much worse our scenario would have been without each of these people.
I truly believe that no-one succeeds on their own.

This is just one example of how our community has rallied around us over the years. There are countless examples of shared resources, information, connections, kind words, etc that have ultimately played a part in our success.

In the United States we have phrases like “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” & “self-made businessman” but both of those ideas are downright absurd. Sure, most success stories require hard work and sacrifice but every success story also involves a whole lot of support, kindness, mutual cooperation and a little luck too.

I know that we can never truly repay those who have done so much for us over the years and so I hope instead that at the end of the day, we manage to pay forward the same kind of help and support that others have shown us. And most of all, I hope we never forget just how interconnected we are. 

Your Farmers,
​Emily & Nathan

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite winter time foods. Heck, I even crave them in the summer time. It wasn’t always that way though. When I was a kid, you couldn’t have paid me to eat a sweet potato.

The first time that I enjoyed eating sweet potatoes was when they came as a side dish to my burger at a local restaurant. The experience was transcendent. The sweet potatoes were…. SAVORY. I had never experienced savory sweet potatoes before. I had never even considered that it was a possibility.

After that, I was on a mission to recreate these delectable bites at home. I finally cracked the code and my family and I now regularly eat sweet potatoes. My kids even gobble them up – so long as I don’t accidentally over do the spice level.

In addition to being delicious and filling, sweet potatoes are full of vitamin A, Vitamin C and Manganese. They have antioxidants to protect us from cancer causing free radicals and improve immune functioning. Sweet potatoes also contain both soluble and insoluble fiber which is good for your gut and something all of us could use more of. According to the American Society for Nutrition, just 7% of adults are getting enough fiber each day!

Sweet potatoes are often smothered in marshmallows and branded as a ‘Thanksgiving’ dish – and while that can be delicious, if we step out of that marshmallow/Thanksgiving box for a minute, sweet potatoes can be a welcome addition to our everyday supper table.  

Sweet potatoes can be mashed, steamed, fried, and roasted. They can be savory as well as sweet.
I dearly love savory sweet potatoes and my all time favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes is to dice and roast them with Southwest Seasoning.

Prepared this way sweet potatoes are the perfect complement to burgers, meatloaf, roasted chicken, pork chops or any kind of BBQ. Savory sweet potato bites also go great with omelets and scrambled eggs.

Bonus tip: When I cook sweet potatoes, I always make extra because I love them as an afternoon snack. Sometimes I heat them up but honestly I love them straight out of the fridge too.
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Southwest Sweet Potato Bites

• 2lbs sweet potatoes, cubed, skin on
• 1-2Tbsp southwest seasoning – taco seasoning works well too!
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 425F. Toss cubed sweet potatoes with olive oil and southwest seasoning. Place on a cooking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes. Flip potatoes about half way through cooking time.
At my last market, I asked customers how they like to use sweet potatoes and here are some of their favorites!

•  Sweet potato tacos
•  Diced & roasted with rosemary + sea salt
•  Sweet potato curry
•  Sweet tater bites with curry powder
•  Steamed sweet potatoes – this was my go to when the kids were first starting solid foods and although my kids are way past finger food stage of learning to eat, I still frequently make steamed sweet potato wedges when I am short on time.

What's YOUR favorite way to eat sweet potatoes?? Tell me in the comments!

But most of all ....
Enjoy!
Emily

​Chicken legs are seriously underrated. With grocery prices going up, it’s a great time to give chicken legs a second look. Chicken legs are rising in popularity with home chefs and restaurants alike and I can see why! They are juicy, flavorful and the most cost effective cut of chicken we have available.

I roasted chicken legs for supper last night plus extra to turn into burritos which I will freeze so we have something quick and easy in the freezer that I can just reheat on those long summer days.

Prepping the legs was easy and then I just put them in the oven and forget about them until the timer goes off.

Chicken legs has been a recurring dish on our table the last couple of year but this was the first time that I have cooked ‘extra’ legs to use in a dish like burritos and the cooked legs were way easier to debone than I anticipated. I just held the bony end of the leg and used a fork to scrape the meat off the bone. This was a quick & effective way to remove all of the meat and in short order I had several cups of chicken ready to go into our burritos. My summertime self is going to be so happy with wintertime me when I can pull supper out of the freezer at 9pm when the fading sunlight finally forces us in from the fields.

How to cook chicken legs? I like to roast them at 425F for about 50 minutes. Here’s my process + the seasoning I used last night:

1. Turn oven on to 425F
2. Pat chicken dry with paper towel
3. Rub legs with paste made from olive oil & herbs/spices
4. Place legs on a baking rack on a cookie sheet – optional but using a silicone mat under the rack with help with clean up
5. Place in 425F oven for 35 minutes
6. Flip drumsticks and return to oven for 15-20 minutes more
7. Remove from oven and let rest 3-5 minutes before serving

Using a baking rack on top of your baking sheet is totally optional but putting the legs on a rack does make the skin crispier – and who doesn’t love crispy chicken skin??

You can use any seasoning you like but since I was using the leftovers in burritos, I mixed up a southwest seasoning.

Another herb combo I like to use on chicken is rosemary, thyme & garlic.

Here’s my Southwest Seasoning Recipe:

Southwest Seasoning for 8 chicken legs
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano, dried
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Mix together herbs and add enough olive oil to make a paste
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I paired these with roasted sweet potato bites – I will share that recipe in my next blog. If you have been looking for a low prep, simple supper idea, give chicken legs a try!

Enjoy!
​Emily

I’m always looking for new books to read (ok..listen to - audiobooks for the win!) so I thought maybe we could do a little exchange? I will share a few of my favorite books with you and perhaps you could share one or two of yours with me?

You probably won’t be surprised that food themed books are at the top of my list. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy all sorts of books from romance to mystery to fantasy and even suspense on occasion, but these 5 books have a special place in my heart. I’m even planning to re-read a couple of them which is something I almost never do.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, author Barbara Kingsolver shares her family’s year long adventure of eating only what they could grow themselves and/or buy from local farms. Kingsolver infuses her story with humor but doesn’t sugar coat the challenges in sourcing 100% of their food from close to home.

Bet the Farm by Beth Hoffman

Author, Beth Hoffman and her husband moved from city life in California to her husband’s home place in rural Iowa. Although, Beth’s father in law managed to keep the farm going through the farming crisis of the 80’s the farm was losing vitality and Beth and husband, John, had to find a way to keep the farm afloat. Although our farms and our stories are different in many ways, I found myself nodding along at almost every anecdote Beth shared. We have both had to reach outside the traditional ‘agriculture’ model and I feel the ups and downs that Beth shares in her story deep in my soul.

American Grown by Michelle Obama

I can’t lie, this book almost had me leaving the farm and volunteering myself as tribute to community gardens across Southwest Iowa. Economic realities however, reeled me back in and instead I am doubling down on raising healthy food for my community here at the farm.

In American Grown, Michelle and several others tell the story of the White House garden which Michelle spearheaded during her husband’s presidency. The garden grew into so much more than just a few vegetables for the president’s table. When the call was put out for volunteers to help tend the space, they had to create a waitlist because the community was so deeply moved by the experience of tending the soil. The stories of children connecting with the food and the land were especially touching to me.

How We Eat – The Brave New World of Food & Drink by Paco Underhill

So, this book isn’t exactly local food but it does paint a fascinating picture of our food system in general.

Paco Underhill is a food researcher that has worked around the globe. He shares the nitty gritty of how food companies influence what we buy and therefore what we eat and drink. Eye- opening is an understatement. Despite sharing some concerning details about our food system, Paco still manages to maintain an optimistic undercurrent throughout his book. I don’t often read books more than once but How We Eat is actually going on my list to re-read this winter.

Finding Freedom by Erin French

Erin French is the chef and owner of the world renowned restaurant called The Lost Kitchen. Erin’s journey to success was far from a straight line and her tenacity is inspiring. Her journey with food and the many iterations of her restaurant remind me that we can always pivot. Erin’s unconventional story inspires me to continue bringing community together via good food whenever possible.

There you have it, my 5 favorite local food books. What are some of your favorite books? Let me know in the comments!

Peeling Butternut Squash can be a challenge but if you precook for 3-4 minutes in the microwave or for about 15 minutes in a 300F oven, the squash will soften just a bit, making it easier to peel. Be sure to poke holes in the skin and you may need to allow the squash to cool a bit before peeling.

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lbs butternut squash, peeled and diced 3/4-inch
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

 
Directions

• Preheat your oven to 400°F.
• In a large bowl, toss the butternut squash with oil, maple syrup, salt and fresh ground pepper. Place in a baking dish, cover with foil and roast in the center of the oven for 25 minutes.
• Remove foil, turn the squash and bake an addition 15 minutes, or until fork tender (time will vary depending on the size you cut the squash).
• Makes 3 cups.

I stared down at the bag on the counter … cucumbers. What in the world was I going to do with all of these cucumbers?

It was 2010 and I was in my college apartment. Mom had sent home produce from her garden- mostly cucumbers.  Now, I liked cucumbers. They were a favorite even.

However, cucumbers were something to slice and put on a sandwich or to eat a few slices of from a relish tray. What was I going to do with FIVE of them??

Mind you, I was grateful. I had helped mom in the garden for as many summers as I could remember and I knew the effort it took to grow them. Furthermore, I was a poor college student, always nervous about making rent and paying the next semesters tuition. So of course food wasn’t going to waste on my watch.

And so, I ate those cucumbers. I piled slices on sandwiches until it was questionable whether the sandwich could really be called a turkey sandwich anymore of if I should just call it a cucumber sandwich. Then I ate them plain as a side dish. For a snack I sprinkled them with salt.

I peeled those suckers and made them my main course. Then I did it again with the next bag of cucumbers that came home with me. I really began to look forward to them. The more the merrier!

Now, 14 years later, I know a few other ways to utilize cucumbers. If I had only known then what I know now. Ha. But I reckon that was a cannon event. And honestly, plain or with salt is still my favorite way to eat a cucumber. 

Looking back those cucumber filled days were the beginning of the shift in my relationship with vegetables. Growing up, veggies were something I ate a token portion of to say I did it. Some things I truly savored like fresh corn on the cob, cucumber on a sandwich or new potatoes but really, veggies – especially raw veggies - just weren’t something I ate a lot of.

Today, vegetables are a big part of what I eat. It’s been a slow but conscious shift.

In America it’s easy to skip veggies altogether and hardly realize it. In a culture where hot dogs & mac ‘n cheese is considered a complete meal, the days can fly by before you realize you haven’t had a vegetable all week. You have to actively work to keep veggies a relevant part of your diet.

Slowly, over the last 15 years, I have learned that I feel so much better when I DO get those veggies in.

That truth was really driven home for me this spring when, thanks to the National Young Farmers Coalition, I had the honor of visiting Washington DC to speak with my congressional representatives about land access. For the 3 days that I was in DC, the NYFC organized most of my meals. Now I wasn’t looking forward to eating out for 3 days. Typically more than one ‘restaurant meal’ in a row has me feeling pretty blah. However, we were served meals from places like The Halal Guys and Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant. These meals were heavy on the veggies and honestly I have never felt better after days of eating out than I felt after that trip.

I came home with a renewed conviction to put the effort into serving both myself and my family an abundance of veggies.

A few things I have learned over the last 10-15 years that help me keep veggies relevant in our meals:

1. Plan/cook the veggie part of the meal first: I have found that when I am tired and in a hurry, I often only have the bandwidth to prepare 2 dishes for a meal. After preparing meat and a carb like potatoes or pasta, the veg often got left out. So now I start with the veggie and occasionally we skip the meat or the carb but more often than not I find that those 2 aspects of a meal fall into place on their own.  And honestly, if we skip meat or carb once in a while, is that really a bad thing?
2. Raw veggies as a side dish to your meal: it took me a long time to realize that I could simply slice a cucumber, carrots, cabbage, bell pepper or even just offer up a bowl of snap peas, cherry tomatoes or even raw green beans as a side dish to a meal
3. Relish tray snacks: snack time has been a struggle for me ever since the kids started eating solid foods. The ‘snack’ aisle at the store is my least favorite place to shop and here I was serving So. Many. Snacks. Aka So. Much. Junk. Food. Figuring out 3 snacks a day and keeping it interesting and not totally bogged down in junk and sugar can take A LOT of mental energy. This bothered me for a long time. Then one day I was looking at a small, cut glass serving tray I inherited from my grandma and lamenting how I wouldn’t have much cause to use it. Then it hit me – why not create a mini relish tray for snack that day? I served up carrot coins, apple slices, cheese cubes and a few crackers and…… The kids LOVED it. These mini relish trays have become an almost daily occurrence and the kids and I both eat more veggies because of it. The trays vary based on what I have in the house but generally always have one or 2 veggies, a fruit, a cheese or meat (most often cheese but sometimes we have summer sausage or ham on hand), and a carb (ex. Pretzels, oyster crackers, saltines).
4. Not every meal has to ‘make sense’: For a long time I thought that I had to serve sides that ‘made sense’ with the main course. For example, many people eat pizza as a standalone meal and if there is a side that does ‘go with’ pizza, it would probably be a lettuce salad. But one day when I was feeling the lack of veggies but also wanted to use up the leftover pizza in the fridge I thought “why can’t I serve steamed cabbage or corn on the cob or anything else for that matter with the pizza?” Who decides which foods 'make sense' together anyway? I decided there was no good reason and so now you may find any manner of sides with pizza in our household. And yes, I know we could just pile veggies on our pizza –and sometimes we do – but sometimes you just want a piece of pepperoni pizza without all the extras, ya know? So for us, serving whatever veggie is available at the time works. Same is true with tacos, spaghetti, chicken pot pie and on and on.

 
Now this is an abbreviated version of my food journey. I didn’t go from suspicious kid asking how many bites I had to eat to vegetable devotee overnight. My journey took me through food courts in college, a roommate with Celiac disease who vastly expanded my ideas of food and cooking, my first garden of my very own at my first home post college, to preserving what I could from my garden, to the farmers market first as a customer and then as a grower, then into motherhood and the journey continues to this day.

Now, don’t get me wrong, vegetables aren’t the only foods we need in our diets but it seems to me, that in my house at least, meat and grains fall into our meals easily enough. I feel strongly that we have to fight to keep fruits and vegetables a daily part of our diets. And my body and my brain feel so much better when I engage in that fight.
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Well now, that pile of cucumbers that I harvested sure did take me down a path didn’t it? We missed seeing you at market this week but hope you had a Happy Independence Day! We look forward to seeing you at Produce in the Park this coming Thursday July 11th. We’ll have cucumbers ;)
 
Your Farmer,
​Emily