Roast chicken in wine & broth

I'd forgotten how I'd drooled over my sister-in-law's Le Creuset roasting pan when we visited last Christmas...until I opened their gift to me this Christmas morning.

Somehow, cooking it in a beautiful, fancypants pan makes even plain roast chicken highbrow. (Thank you, Rick & Sandy!)

Thank you

scooping out from the Christmas storm

So here we are, in that in-between time. Still ruminating in the blessings of Christmas, and looking forward to flipping the calendar to a new January.

It seems an appropriate time to say Thank You to our farm customers. Some of you are new to us this year, others of you have been with us, loyally, since about 2003. And while we do appreciate your purchases, what we especially value is your friendship, your advice, your words of support and encouragement. So...thank you.

As it always is, this in-between time is a time of planning, of trying to predict the future and make decisions about it. We will run numbers, make our best guesses, and come up with a plan for the farm in 2010. Though I won't say it out loud, I think I already know what that plan is going to be. But I'll keep an open mind and run the numbers anyway. And when we think we've got it figured out, you'll be the first to know.

Blessings and good fortune to you all in 2010.

How to Cook : Pizza

I really can't believe, out of all the recipe posts I've done, that I've never done pizza! It's an almost-weekly meal at our house during the fall, winter & spring months. (And I'm working on mastering pizza on the grill in the summer.)

When the girls were littler and had fewer activities, every week we had "Friday Night Pizza Night". It was the one night of the week we let the kids drink pop for supper and eat in the living room. These days I just try to make it on any night of the week that we're all home together, and we still drink pop and eat in the living room :)


Assembled pizza's, ready to go in the oven

First, the crust! This is a nice, soft, slightly chewy crust. You can make it in a bread machine, stand mixer, or by hand. Prebake for 5 to 10 minutes, then top with your favorite pizza sauce.

Next, the toppings. We have lots of good things to choose from at the farm. Italian sausage comes already seasoned, just brown it before topping your pizza. And our Italian sausage is MSG-free! Ground pork can be seasoned to your own taste (but here are some ideas to get you started!). Our cottage bacon has a Candian bacon taste, wonderful for pizza! Or how about bacon cheeseburger pizza with regular bacon and ground beef?

Finish it all off with cheese of your choice and bake for 13 to 18 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is baked through.


The finished product!

Homemade Pizza
1 cup warm water
2 T. oil
1 T. yeast
1 T. sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
2 t. parmesan cheese
1/2 t. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix water, oil, yeast and sugar together. Mix in flour & seasonings. Knead dough until smooth & elastic. If dough is too wet, knead in a little extra flour. If it's too dry, add water 1 teaspoon at a time.

Place dough on baking stone and let rest 10 minutes. Roll out and let rest another 10 minutes (or more, for a thicker crust.) Bake 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, add toppings, and return to oven. Bake an additional 13 to 18 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is baked through.

You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille

Things definitely do not look like this at the farm today! Add 12 inches of snow, subzero temps and 35 mph winds to this scene and you'll have it.

At least, that's what I've been told.

I left town on Tuesday night, just ahead of the storm, to fly to Las Vegas for a work conference. Good timing, huh?

Just get it all cleaned up before I come home tomorrow night, will you?


1 year ago:

How to Cook : Pumpkin Pie

Small Farm Business : Permission Marketing

How to Cook : Ham Alfredo

Piglets, Iowa Food Coop, & winter deliveries

I caught the piglets free-ranging in the yard, making divets underneath the girls' volleyball net. Stinkers. I've been working with Ava, teaching her to keep them out of the yard and back by the buildings. At first she just looked at me like, "won't I get in trouble for chasing them?" But she's catching on now.

Today is the first day of the December ordering cycle at the Iowa Food Coop website. You can order through December 12. Delivery will be December 17. We were pleased with our sales in our first month, hopefully they continue to grow!

Our local winter deliveries are starting this week! Charles City will be Wednesday evening (ordering deadline is today!), and Mason City will be Thursday evening (ordering deadline Wednesday.) See our Google group page for more information.