Ayers Creek Farm Newsletter January 25 2015 Market

The ringing cowbell announcing the opening of the Hillsdale Farmers Market at 10:00 AM tomorrow also heralds another installment of last summer's sunshine carefully stored by nature in the first instance, and by us in the second.

Loganberries and raspberries harvested following the summer solstice still glow in the jars of preserves, and on your toast next week. Likewise the frikeh was harvested and roasted on the longest days. The currants and gages finalized their flavor in the midsummer sun, when people still take the season's heat for granted, waving it aside. The corn, cayennes, squash, beans and pumpkin seeds entered their maturity as the yellow of school buses reminds us to linger a bit longer before the warmth is truly precious. When we bring in the fiori d'inverno, the flowers of winter, this week, the roots that create those beautiful chicories fattened up around the autumnal equinox. Likewise the sweet potatoes and spuds, and the leaves that form the onions. The quinces and grapes captured their summer moment a bit tardy, ripening in the last rays of sun after the equinox.

The diversity of organs that store the sun's energy is also striking. There are seeds, fruits, leaves and stems all in the mix, all accomplishing the same storage function. With time, they are continuing to mature and their flavors are changing. This week, we encourage you all to try a slice of the hard-skinned Sibley squash and the purple sweet potatoes, both of which reach their prime in terms of sweetness and flavor in late January. For those on quest for ever more anthocyanins in their diet, the purple sweet potatoes have intense concentrations of these desirable pigments.

Finally, a nod to that great perennial root, the horseradish, which accumulates several years of summer light before it is ready for harvest.

With that, we hope to see you all anon,

Carol & Anthony Boutard
Ayers Creek Farm

Ayers Creek Farm Newsletter February 3 2013 Market

We are taking a moment off from filling out the 2012 Census of Agriculture to fill up the van for Sunday's Hillsdale Farmers' Market. We expect the market will start around 10:00 AM because it always does. Ho hum.

For Saturday, the 9th of February, Anna Stulz of Slow Food Portland together with Friends of Family Farmers has put together an evening at the Vintage Design Collective (7126 SE Milwaukie) centered on corn and wine. We will be joined by our good friends Kathryn LaSusa Yeomans and Mark Doxstader, who will cook up some corn treats, and Shari Sirkin of Dancing Goat Farm will enhance the evening with their vegetables. Arcane Cellars will be pouring wine for tasting. It will be a fun evening. Here is a link to the details:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/my-portland/2013/02/slow_food_portland_event_satur.html

Earlier the same day, we will be at Pastaworks, 3735 SE Hawthorne Blvd, from 3:00 to 5:00 for a Beautiful Corn event co-hosted by Powell Books. A busy day.

Here is what we will bring tomorrow:

Cornmeal: Amish Butter and Roy's Calais Flint
Acres USA is a national magazine for farmers dedicated to "eco-agriculture." The term encompasses organic, biodynamic and permaculture. This month featured an interview with Anthony and it has been interesting fielding the calls from kindred spirits in the corn world. They are scattered across the country, working with traditional varieties similar to ours. We are at the cusp of a re-localization of this wonderful grain. It is also encouraging to hear how our gentle approach to managing the land resonates with other growers.

On Monday, we gave a tour to 170 members of the North American Raspberry and Blackberry Association. They were a more skeptical audience, though over the years we have made a modicum progress with people at Oregon State. Nonetheless, they still regard Chesters as an unattractive and unpleasant fruit, and remain mystified that we are able to sell them. The problem is that they push their Chester for high yields as opposed to limiting the fruit and drawing our the best flavor. Funny how people understand the idea of limiting fruit load in wine grapes but reject the notion in berries. The same principle hold for corn as well where high yields and high quality are mutually exclusive outcomes.

Popcorn: Amish Butter.

Pulses: Dry beans and chick peas.

Cayenne Peppers: whole dried.

Winter Squash

Greens: various and chicories.
Treviso types, with their beautiful arching leaves and unsurpassed flavor. Also, some of the Catalogna types with their long green leaves bearing a crisp center rib. If you cut them lengthwise in linguini-sized strips and plunge the strips into ice water, they curl up corkscrew fashion. Dress with lemon juice, olive oil with a couple of anchovy fillets mashed into the mix.

Preserves: The tart cherry is now labeled and we will have it tomorrow.

Sweet Underground: horseradish, lots of beets, spuds, daikon, sweet potatoes, parsnips.

No more dithering, otherwise the van won't get filled.

Our best,

Carol and Anthony Boutard
Ayers Creek Farm