Winter on the Farm

Hello Friends!

Happy 2008! I can’t believe it’s already January. The holiday season was so busy and fun that I’m just now catching my breath. Oddly enough, it was the mushroom logs that inspired me to write you all. Yes, the mushroom logs. Over the weekend we discovered that our mushroom logs were producing shiitakes. How wonderful! We could tell that in addition to the mini-harvest we picked on Saturday, there was a second flush in progress that would almost surely be killed by the dropping temperatures. Bill then mentioned that to really have good mushroom harvests, you need to keep them inside in controlled temperatures. I thought that made sense in concept – after all, our little house is not big enough for four humans, a fat beagle, and mushroom logs. Bill, of course, being a man of action, decided to put four of the most promising mushroom logs into … the shower. Naturally. So now we’re all showering with oak logs, trying not to douse them with shampoo or soap. I really can’t believe it. I figure at some point Bill will read that broccoli produces better if it sleeps in my bed.

(On a related note, Bill is also ramping up his overall mushroom planting. He’s inoculated logs for shiitake mushrooms, which we hope to have at the 2009 market. I hope the shower will not be involved.)

You may be wondering what else Bill is doing this time of year. Well, he does sleep in quite a bit later! He is also out chopping wood for the woodstove, repairing the tractor, reading seed catalogs and ordering seeds, repairing equipment, cooking, hunting and butchering. Bill and our good friend Dave Kennell are also converting a Tuff Built cultivating tractor from gas to electric. It will be nearly silent when in operation and will have no nasty fumes! They’re so excited. I’ll be posting photos and more detailed information on a separate blog entry for people who want to read about wiring, batteries, and the like.

Bill’s also spending time in the Lazy Boy reading. We thought you might enjoy catching up on reading as well this winter, and the following is our list of absolute musts for the bookshelf …

Cookbooks
1. Alice Waters (any cookbook)
2. Joy of Cooking
3. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking – Marcella Hazan
4. Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers Markets – Deborah Madison

Cookbooks “Plus” (a lot more commentary)
1. Cooking by Hand – Paul Bertolli
2. The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating – Fergus Henderson
3. Larousse Gastronomique (French cookbook or the French bible, as Bill calls it)
4. Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats – Sally Fallon
5. Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Cultured Foods – Sandor Ellix Katz
6. Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini – Elizabeth Schneider
7. Pig Perfect: Encounters with Remarkable Swine and Some Great Ways to Cook Them – Peter Kaminsky

Science of Food
1. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen – Harold McGee
2. Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition – Paul Pitchford

Food-related books
1. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto – Michael Pollan (his most recent)
2. Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals – Michael Pollan
3. Real Food: What to Eat and Why – Nina Planck
4. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – Barbara Kingsolver
5. French Women Don’t Get Fat – Mireille Guiliano

Farm-Related Books
Wendell Berry – anything!
The Organic Salad Garden – Joy Larkcom

Bill just read “In Defense of Food,” the latest book by Michael Pollan (of Omnivore’s Dilemma fame). Bill really enjoyed this book, but I have yet to read it. Apparently, Michael does quite a job of comparing the American diet and approach to eating to that of Europeans, particularly the French. So tonight at dinner, Bill suggested that we eat a bit slower and really savor the meal. Of course, that meant delaying the custard that he’d made. Noah was bouncing around in his chair asking about the custard for the entire meal when Bill reminded him that we were trying to be more like the French and that he’d just have to wait a bit longer. Noah said, “Dad, I don’t think we should try to be like the French.” Touché.

We also enjoy movies in the winter. We recently watched an amazing movie on bugs. No narration – just awesome footage. It’s called Microcosmos and may be French. (I think it’s the same people who made “Winged Migration.”) When two bugs would start feeling each other up with their antenna, Noah would ask, “What are they doing??” Bill would say, “They’re kissing.” Then Noah would ask, “Are they married?” What do you say to that? “Well, son, sex outside of marriage is quite common in the bug world.” Nah. We just said that they were, in fact, married.

Other favorite movies this winter include Once, The Live of Others, and The Yes Men.

Goodness, I just re-read this email and realized that it’s just one big description of what we like to do in the winter. What we read, what we watch, what’s currently living in our shower. I hope someone enjoys it. And for the rest of you, don’t lose hope. At some point I will update the blog with information pertinent to the farmers market!!

And one last thing ... since this is a blog, we're looking forward to hearing back from YOU! Do you have any great books or movies to add to our list?

Thanks!
Mercy Davison