Think Local This Holiday Season

Thanksgiving is this week! I am very excited to eat all the Thanksgiving goodness. Although, I must say, this will be my first gluten-free Thanksgiving. I probably won't be 100% gluten-free because it is just so easy to sneak into my diet. I most likely will not be able to forego the desserts. It will be well worth it though!

Anyway, I am getting side tracked, I really wanted to share with everyone the idea of eating and buying local this holiday season.

For Thanksgiving, think of buying those potatoes local or getting your turkey from a local farm. Personally, I will be using our own potatoes, onions, garlic, and squash but I did buy butter, carrots, and even sour cream from local farms. Putting that money back into my local economy is good for everyone involved.

As for the gift-giving season, there are a couple of different events going on where people will have the opportunity to purchase local and get some good deals. November 26, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, there is a national movement emerging called Small Business Saturday. We all know the craziness of Black Friday but usually that only occurs at the big box stores. You should definitely check out the local shop deals on Saturday too (maybe instead of going to those crazy stores on Friday)!

If you live in Whatcom County, there are some other great places to get local gifts if you are so inclined. Personally, I love gifts that are sourced locally. The gifts are made with great craftsmanship and have something a little extra special. Last year I got my bro-in-law a really great sushi set, my mother an awesome wooden bench, Tyler some woodsy-smelling soap (he loves that stuff), my sister some jewelery, and my dad's whole family some Seattle Organic all purpose cleanser, local roasted nuts and of course, chocolate! I am sure you could find something for anyone in your family too if you take a peek!

If you need inspiration, here are some local events happening in our corner of the state:

- November 25-December 4 is Buy Local week. Many local shops will be having sales.

- Sustainable Connections is holding an auction to benefit their Farm to Bank On program. They have some great items that can be used as gifts...even a gift for yourself.

- Allied Arts holds a festival every year featuring many local artists. Find out more here.

- Ferndale businesses are holding open houses during the first weekend of December.  

- The Bellingham Farmer's Market is still open for business until December 17th.

Those are just a few of events going on in my local community. Make sure you check out your newspaper and find out what you can attend in your area. Plus, don't forget all the local shops that would love your business over the holiday season.

Now you can go put up your holiday decorations. Well, maybe wait until after Thanksgiving.

- Emily

First Frost - Squash Pudding

Hello again Red Planet Farm Friends! It's been about a month, I know. In that month, we have been pulling out the summer's plants, planting a cover crop, and harvesting the last of our fall veggies. Last week, I pulled out the rest of the pumpkins, squash, and lettuce. It was just in time too because we got a pretty good frost that would have wiped out the lettuce.

I can't wait to eat butternut squash everyday until the daffodils bloom! Have I ever told you how much I love squash?!

In fact, last night after making a pot pie from the Whatcom Locavore blog (but of course adding squash into the mix), I made a divine squash pudding. I know that doesn't sound too appetizing but with ice cream it tastes a bit like pumpkin pie and it is definitely a comfort food! The way the ice cream melts into the pudding after it is warm from the oven is so great. Not to mention, the kitchen smells just like autumn baking.

Go ahead, try the recipe yourself. Squash is in season now and while we aren't selling any, there are a lot of other Whatcom County farmers that would love to provide you with a great butternut squash!

Squash Pudding
serves about 6
adapted from Vegetarian Times

INGREDIENTS
1/2 smaller sized butternut squash
1 3/4c milk (or cream if you are feeling fancy)
1/3c cornmeal
1/2t cinnamon
1/4t ground ginger
1/8t ground nutmeg
1 pinch of salt
1T butter
1/4c brown sugar
2T molasses

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 350. Place squash (remember 1/2 of the squash) cut-side down on a baking sheet or in a baking dish. Bake for 1 hour. Let the squash cool when it is done and then scoop the flesh into a food processor and puree until smooth.
2. Reduce oven to 275. Coat a 1 quart, or 6 cup, baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Whisk together milk, cornmeal, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in saucepan.

4. Cook over heat slowly for 5 - 10 min until the mixture has thickened.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and add butter. Mix well.
6. Into the pan, stir in the squash puree, brown sugar, and molasses.
7. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake, uncovered, for 1.5 hours. When done, a knife should come out clean when inserted into the dessert.
8. Let cool for a couple minutes and then serve with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

-Emily

Season 1: Market Day 7

This Saturday, October 3, will be our last Saturday at the Ferndale Public Market. I HATE to say that but alas, it is the truth. Our garden just won't give us more with these cool nights.

We have had a great time though at the Market and while we aren't ready to be full time farmers, we certainly are excited for the next season! We have learned a lot and are already planning.

So, make sure you come visit us on Saturday, we will still have some great stuff:

- Melons

- Lettuce
- Tomatoes (great heirlooms!)
- Cherry Tomatoes (Sungolds and Green Doctors)
- Green Kale
- Tomatillos
- Cucumbers
- Winter squash (spaghetti, buttercup, Pennsylvania dutch crookneck)

- Green and Purple Peppers
- Flower Bouquets (mostly dahlias)

After you are done visitng us and eating the delicious produce from Red Planet Farm, make sure you come visit our blog over the winter for updates.

Thanks for buying local!
-Emily

Squash Soup - Better Than it Sounds!

Winter Squash Soup 

makes 5 servings

Created by Emily Marrs

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup (1/2sitck) butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 large garlic cloves, chopped
5.5 cups (or 3 14.5oz cans) veggie broth
3lbs (or about 8 cups) peeled winter squash (any type winter squash: butternut, delicata, pumpkin, etc) cut into 1-inch pieces

1 ¼ t minced fresh thyme
1 ¼ t minced fresh sage
1 ½ t ground cumin
½ t ground ginger
1t Salt
Pepper
¼  cup whipping cream
Sugar to taste (I used about one teaspoon)

METHOD
1. Melt butter in large pot over medium heat.
2. Add onion and garlic and sauté on low until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Add broth, all squash and herbs and spices; bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. *If you wanted to follow steps 1-3 and then throw everything into a slow cooker on high for 6 hours that works too. Just follow steps 5-6 when you get home.*
5. Working in batches, puree soup in blender.
6. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and sugar; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe is DELICIOUS with a broiled bread. Put butter on one side of bread and broil for one minute. Flip bread over, cover with your favorite cheese and some salt and pepper and broil for another minute. Awesome!

Season 1: Market Day 6

Today is the first day of autumn and I am pretty sure it was the best first day of autumn I have had in my entire life! The sun was shining, the air was about 75 degrees, and the wind was blowing the warmest breezes. I think the melons and tomatoes felt the same way about the beautiful weather. They seemed to perk up a bit at the sun rays. Too bad this won't last for another week though!

Autumn on the farm

Luckily it looks like tomorrow will be about the same weather so the Market will be quite pleasant.

The Market only has 4 more weeks left (including tomorrow). Unfortunately, I don't think we will make it to the very end. Our melons will only be around for this weekend and maybe next. So yes, that means, get them tomorrow! The weather (as explained above) just won't finish ripening all the great summer vegetables/fruit. But, I suppose it is autumn now. Although, with summer's end and fall's beginning, you will see our first "winter" squash out tomorrow. Squash is so good in soups and stews. I promise to get you some recipes soon!

Anywho, without further ado, or rambling, here is what we will have this weekend:

- Melons – we sold out last week! (icebox watermelon, a few kinds of honeydew)

- Lettuce (buttercrunch heads and a lettuce mix with pansies)
- Tomatoes (great heirlooms!)
- Cherry Tomatoes (Sungolds and Green Doctors)
- Green Kale
- Potatoes
- Baby beets (with greens)
- Tomatillos
- Cucumbers
- Summer Squash
- Winter squash (spaghetti, buttercup, Pennsylvania dutch crookneck)

- Beans
- Green and Purple Peppers
- Eggplant
- Flower Bouquets (mostly dahlias)

-Emily 

Sautéed Green Beans with Vinegar Reduction

Sautéed Green Beans with Vinegar Reduction
makes 2 servings
Created by Emily Marrs

INGREDIENTS
- 1 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 lb fresh green beans, stems removed
- 1 medium tomato or 2 small tomatoes cut into wedges
- 1 Tbls balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper

METHOD
1) Steam or boil the green beans in boiling water for about 6-10min or until soft.
2) While steaming, put a pinch of salt on sauté pan and begin heating. Once warm, add oil.
3) When oil is warm, add onion and garlic to sauté pan and stir until onion is soft, about 4 minutes.
4) Add dried thyme to pan. Let sit for one minute then stir to incorporate.
5) If beans are done, drain and set aside. If they are not done, let finish.
6) Add tomato to sauté pan, sauté for about 4 minutes until tomatoes wilt.
7) Add beans to pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for 3 minutes.
8) Add vinegar to pan and let sit for a couple minutes while it caramelizes with the veggies. After it sits and bubbles, stir to mix. Continue for a about 3 more minutes.
9) When the veggies are browned and the vinegar has all been boiled away, the dish it ready to eat. Season if desired.
10) Enjoy!

Season 1: Market Day 5

Wow, this week went by super fast. I barely had time to make new recipes and eat all of our awesome tomatoes and melons! But fear not, it is 9pm on Friday and I am here to tell you what we have this week...hoping that someone looks at this before the Market in 12 hours.

The new sign. Tyler made it!

Actually, first I would like to address this melon business. Yes, we do have "spray-free, no pesticides used" melons. Yes, we grew them. Yes, they are heirloom varieties that you can't find in stores. Yes, they have seeds in them. Yes, they are the best melons I have ever tasted. So, come on down and get a melon. We have a green-fleshed honeydew and a striped flesh honeydew. We have ice box (small) watermelons. The cantaloupe varieties are still not ready unfortunately.

FYI: Last week we did sell out of our melons so make sure you come grab them quick!

Here is the list of everything else we will have:
- Lettuce (buttercrunch heads and a lettuce mix)
- Tomatoes (great heirloom varieties!)
- Cherry Tomatoes (Sungolds and Green Doctors)
- Savoy Cabbage
- Green Kale
- Potatoes
- Carrots (thumbelina)
- Tomatillos (makes such great salsa!)
- Cucumbers
- Summer Squash
- Beans
- Green and Purple Peppers
- Eggplant
- Flower Bouquets (mostly dahlias)

See you soon! - Emily

Salsa Verde

I love me some salsa. This year I discovered salsa verde with tomatillos. It certainly is delicious. Sometimes you just have to switch things up from the regular red salsa to some great green, fresh salsa!

Tomatillo Salsa Verde
created by Emily Marrs

INGREDIENTS

10 tomatillos, husked, washed and quartered
½ medium onion dices
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 jalapenos, roughly chopped
good handful of cilantro

Juice of 1/2 lime

Pinch of cumin

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

If you have a food processor just throw everything in and puree until smooth. Season with salt if desired.

If you don't have a food processor, dice all ingredients until quite small and mix together in a bowl. Let sit for at least 15 minutes so all the flavors mix and mingle.

-Emily

Season 1: Market Day 4

Wow, today it was rough getting out of bed (before the sun had fully risen). Alas, I had to roll myself out to do some farming before leaving for my non-farm job. After getting up (and whining a bit), I threw on some sweats, grabbed some clippers and stumbled outside to pick the veggies for ya'll to eat.

Despite my whining, once I stepped outside I was cured of my sleeping sickness! It is so beautiful outside these days in Western Washington! I perked right up and realized I felt super comfortable in mid-September at 6:30am in a t-shirt. (Although, September is always nice in Washington, people just always forget that.) It is a good thing too, those tomatoes and melons really need some hot sun.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is I got up reluctently but was so glad that I did and I got to be outside while there were still no humming of cars and the birds were just waking up. So thanks all you Red Planet supporters, without you, I would probably still be in bed wasting away a great morning.

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Okay, I will get on with the Market information though....
This week we should have:
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes (great heirloom varieties!)
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Beets
- Potatoes
- Carrots (thumbelina)
- Tomatillos (makes such great salsa!)
- Cucumbers
- Summer Squash
- Beans
- Flower Bouquets (mostly dahlias)

The melons still aren't 100% to our satisfaction so if we take some there won't be very many but hopefully all this great weather softens them up a bit more!

-Emily

Recipe for Day 3

I made this recipe last year and re-vamped it a bit this year. It is so full of flavor and deliciousness, I had to share it. I hope you enjoy!

Spaghetti with Creamy Vegetable Sauce (low fat version added)
created by Emily Marrs
makes 2 large servings or 3 single servings

*asterisk ingredients sold by Red Planet Farm Market Booth

INGREDIENTS
- 2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- ½ medium sized onion chopped
- ½ small zucchini* sliced
- ½ small summer squash* sliced

- 1 carrot* shredded (or 5 thumbelina carrots)
- 1 stem of rosemary*, leaves stripped and minced

- 2 tomatoes*
- 1 Tbls flour

- ½ cup cream (for a lower-fat choice, use whole milk instead of cream)

- ½ cup milk

- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (for a lower-fat choice, omit the cheese from sauce and use only to top the spaghetti)

- salt and pepper

- ½ package of spaghetti

DIRECTIONS
1. Begin heating a large saute pan. Add a pinch of salt to the bottom of the pan. Begin heating your water for the spaghetti with some salt and oil in the water.
2. When saute pan is warm, add olive oil.
3. After about 20 seconds (before olive oil begins smoking), add garlic, onion, zucchini, and squash to pan.
4. Saute until onion is semi-soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. If your spaghetti water is boiling, go ahead and cook the spaghetti according to the package.
5. Add carrots and rosemary to saute pan. Saute for 4 minutes stirring occasionally.

6. While carrots are sauteing, roughly chop the tomatoes and add to food processor, mix until pureed. If you don't have a food processor, chop the tomatoes as much as possible. Set aside.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Add flour to pan and stir to incorporate, mixture should be covered in flour.
9. Add cream and stir continuously until sauce begins to thicken a bit.
10. Add milk and stir continuously until sauce thickens.

11. Add pureed (or chopped) tomatoes and all its juice. Bring to a boil for 3 min or until the right consistency is met. Add more milk if sauce is too thick. Add flour (pre-stirred in another bowl with a bit of water, to prevent clumps) to thicken.
12. When the sauce is the right consistency, turn off the heat and add ¼ cup cheese, stir and let melt in pan.
13. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain and put on a plate. Add the sauce on top and sprinkle with the leftover cheese. Enjoy!

This recipe is great with oven-warmed bread too!

Season 1: Market Day 3

We are back and ready to go!

This week we will have:
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes (great heirloom varieties!)
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Beets
- Potatoes
- Carrots (thumbelina again and some bigger varieties)
- Tomatillos (makes such great salsa!)
- Peppers (green and purple)
- Cucumbers
- Summer Squash
- Zucchini
- Beans (purple variety, great to steam and cook with balsamic vinegar!)
- Fresh Rosemary and Oregano
- Flower Bouquets (mostly dahlias, my fav)

Mr Farmer in his tomato patch

We may have some melons too but we still need to make sure they are ready to go. The few we have taste tested so far are so delicious. If you ever get one, it will be the best melon you have tasted. Pinky promise.

And yes, I do have a great recipe for this week but it will be up later today. So check back later.

Saturday News

This weekend is the Ferndale Street Fair. It is a super fun event with music and a lot of community members; however, we aren't convinced it is a good place to sell produce. People come to stay and enjoy the weather and music, they don't want cucumbers and potatoes warming nicely in their sunny car.

So because of this, we decided not to sell this weekend.

Instead, we will be enjoying the Street Fair ourselves and doing some major weeding in the garden! (Trust us, we rather be selling!)

In other news, Mr Farmer is creating a logo for us. It will be a rendition of this picture, well picture of the plant. Tyler's arm won't actually be in the logo:

Season 1: Market Day 2

Mr. Farmer and Farmer's Wife got up early this morning to pull, wash, bundle and store some of our produce for tomorrow. Just looking at all this fresh food is making me hungry!

Things you will find at our Ferndale Public Market booth include:
- Red Beets
- Golden Beets (a personal favorite!)
- Strawberry Carrots (carrots shaped like strawberries and perfect for cooking...picture above)
- Purple Kale
- Green Kale
- Snap Peas
- Lettuce
- Cucumbers
- Zucchini
- Summer Squash
- Fresh Oregano and Rosemary
- Flower Bouquets (dahlias, lilies, daisies, and echinacea)

This week, we are going to do something new and provide an "in-season" recipe to go with our produce.  New, and even re-vamped, recipes are always perfect to try with in-season produce. The taste is fresh, crispy, and delicious.

The recipe for this week is:
Summer Tacos
created by Emily Marrs
makes 6 corn tortilla sized tacos
(the ingredients with the asterisk are items you will find at our booth this Saturday)

INGREDIENTS
- 2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 medium sized onion chopped
- 1 can of black beans (or 3/4c of dried beans, soaked and cooked)
- 1 small zucchini* sliced
- 1 small summer squash* sliced
- 5 or 6 strawberry carrots* cut in half or quarters
- 2 stems of kale*, leaves stripped and cut
- 1 stem of oregano*, leaves stripped and cut roughly
- handful of cilantro chopped
- 1 lime
- salsa and/or hot sauce
- package of corn tortillas or taco shells

DIRECTIONS
1. Begin heating a large saute pan. Add a pinch of salt to the bottom of the pan.
2. When pan is warm, add olive oil.
3. After about 20 seconds (before olive oil begins smoking), add minced garlic and chopped onion to pan.
4. Saute until onion is semi-soft and translucent.
5. Add zucchini and squash. Saute until soft, about 4 minutes.
6. Add carrots and kale. Saute for 3 minutes, until kale begins to wilt.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Add beans and oregano. Squeeze the juice of one lime on top of ingredients in pan. Saute for 5 minutes.
9. Give the dish a taste and season with salt and pepper if more is needed. If you have agave, about a teaspoon is great in this dish!
10. When the saute is done. Warm your tortillas in another pan until soft.
11. When all your tortillas are ready, take out and add your saute on top with some fresh cilantro, hot sauce/salsa, cheese, and any other fresh toppings you like on tacos. I love sour cream.
12. Fold and enjoy!

August 6 & 13

Thanks to everyone who stopped by on July 30th to see us off to a good start at the Market. We had a lot of fun meeting people and sending people away with great food.

Our first sale!

For our first day, we ended up taking everything we had ready so I regretfully must report, we won't be at the Market on August 6 & 13. (The 13th we have a wedding to attend.) However, on August 20, we will have lots of produce to bring! When we return, we should have tomatoes, maybe even a couple melons, and all the summer food that has not been ready because of the weather.

We will keep you updated on what will be available in the coming weeks. In the mean time, still go the Public Market and support all the other local vendors! We will be weeding and looking forward to the 20th.

To Market, To Market Week 1

It is time for our first week at the Market! We are super excited but also nervous. It must be those first week jitters.

With this interesting "summer", all the tomatoes, squash, beans, etc aren't ready yet. However, we will be coming with some great things. These include:

Heads of Lettuce (Red Leaf, Green Leaf, and Buttercruch)

Purple Kale
Green Kale

Baby Beets with Greens (great for salads)

Red Desiree, All Blue, and Fingerling Potatoes
Rosemary
Oregano
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Wild Flowers Bouquets

Getting Ready!

Red Planet Farm Intro

Meet Tyler and Emily Marrs.

See Tyler's onions.

See Emily's potatoes.

They are the farmers at Red Planet Farm.

Red Planet Farm is a new Ferndale, WA farm that came out of the enjoyment of growing naturally fresh, nutritious, and delicious food for our own family . After 3 years of growing mostly for ourselves and sharing with our family and friends, we have decided to offer our produce to people in our community.  2011 will be our first season at a Farmer's Market. We are very excited to share our bounty with others and meet people along the way!

We will begin selling vegetables, fruit, and flowers at the Ferndale Public Market beginning July 30, 2011. Please come visit us there!

Please check back each week to see what we will have available.