Lots to Be Thankful For!

I know, I know. It is only October. Halloween hasn't even come and gone! Our holiday cards arrived in the mail today (the only reason why I am super early this year is because of Groupon. Seriously, last year, I think our cards went out after Christmas!) and I have the urge to get our Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving (ed. note, we have never ever in all of our years living together had a Christmas tree!). So, what gives?

I don't know. Maybe it is because we have our first real house and we can decorate and entertain. Maybe it is because we know have a little person that solidifies our family unit. Maybe it is because after a long year of treatments for my dad, things are starting to look up! Maybe it is because Michael and I are heading (at the end of the season, thank you very much!) to our first real vacation in several years!! Do you really need a reason? Sometimes you do...

Or, maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with the delicious fall vegetables that have been miraculously appearing in my fridge! How can you not get excited for the holidays when you have something like this to make for dinner:

Buttercup squash, red-flesh potatoes, yukon potatoes, sweet potatoes and turnips! One measly clove of garlic (someone, who shall not be named raided our house of garlic unbeknownst to me) made it into the concoction, but I am thinking that the natural, fresh flavors of these root vegetables will eliminate the need for more (any??) garlic!

As the season winds down (just a few more weeks left...and then we have a vacation...did I mention that? Oh, yes, I am sorry; I did just mention that!), I think back to all that I have eaten from the farm this year. As we like to say in our family, it was gooooood eatins!  I am thankful for all of Michael's hard work and dedication to this humble endeavor and hope that you all enjoying eating the fruits of his labor as much as I do!

This week's share: arugula, escarole, rutabagas, winter squash, brussels sprouts/broccoli/cabbage (your choice!), and greens.

Insert Clever Title Here

Based on the title alone, you should have guessed that I decided to give Kristin the night off and write the post myself. For those of you who don't know Kristin and I personally, you might not know how incredibly supportive she has been about the farm since its inception as One Acre Farm, but it goes further back then that.

It is coming up on our 6th wedding anniversary and I thought that this was a perfect time to go to the highest mountain top, or in this case, the oneacrefarmgirl blog, and express my deepest love and appreciation for the truly great farmer of the family. "Farmer" you say? Let me explain: My definition of a farmer is someone who takes care of his/her herd. In her case the herd is her family; in my case it is the crops I sow. Although I am getting better at farming all the time, she seems to just have the je no sais quoi for it. There is no way the farm would exist without her, but that dwarfs the fact that there is no way I would be me without her.

To understand that point, lets go back to the beginning of our relationship, or on second thought, lets skip that and just give you some facts.

-We met as infants at pool parties only to learn years later, and at least months into our dating in high school, that we met as infants at pool parties. (her parents and my parents have mutual friends with, you guessed it, a pool!)

-We went to different colleges and after our four years moved in together in Brooklyn; she for law school, me for film.

-After two years I said, "enough!" and moved from my urban chic Brooklyn apartment to a cinder block migrant work house on a farm way outside Baltimore as the only English-speaking person to work manual farm labor. If anybody wants to option that story for a movie or book, make me an offer!

As a side note, most reasonable women in her shoes probably would have told me to get lost, but she saw the passion in my heart for farming (I had worked on a farm in PA during and after college that I didn't mention earlier in the section but I digress).

-After she moved home to Maryland, we were married...had a beautiful baby...and I still have the farm. (the details are important, but seriously, how much of this do you really want to read?)

Where was I? Basically the point is she has been standing beside me encouraging me the whole time for truly selfless reasons. I am sure she would be happier having me be home on weekends, (I am not sure why, I am not that pleasant of a person to be around) and take a week off in the summer to go to the beach as opposed to the one nighters that I barely allow myself to go on now...("I wonder how the tomatoes are doing?" I ask aloud when we finally start relaxing near the water under a shady umbrella. Like I said, I am kind of a pain in the ass.)

The farm would truly not exist on any level if it wasn't for the incredible devotion she has given me at every step of the way. If I were to have gone it alone, I know I wouldn't have passed step one, much less made the march I have to get where I am today. "Who knew Farmer Mike had to march to get here?" Her selfless encouragement and patience has made One Acre Farm possible, and in turn, hopefully created a few loyal followers who can see the sacrifices she has made to make my dream a reality. To be clear, I am not trying to compare her to Ghandi, I mean she is completely incapable of tightening a lid on any jar, so if you go to shake salad dressing and haven't confirmed for yourself the tightness of the lid, forget about the mess you will have on your hands!

In short, when you see the t-shirt that says, "Have you hugged your farmer today?" Perhaps it should say, "Have you hugged the truly excellent farmer that makes the decent farmer that grows your food today?" But I guess that doesn't have the same ring. And if you needed any more convincing about just how great she is, she will have edited this before I send it to you. Just so you know, that should be the most important point to you dear reader. If you had any idea how much I lack in basic grammar skills, punctuation, spelling, basically anything relating to written communication, you would wonder how the hell I went to an accredited four year institution of higher learning. We only hope that our daughter has her mother's terrific writing skills or god help her.

This weeks share has Potatoes, Beets, Radishes, Turnips, Winter Squash, Greens, Garlic and Broccoli.

Ed. note: I only moderately edited this blog. Any grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors were intentionally left in so that you could hear Michael "speaking." Well, that and I  have a contract to review tonight :)  

The Eggsperiment

People are getting ready to watch the first presidential debate tonight (not exactly sure what that entails, but I have seen multiple references online to various debate-related drinking games; I digress).  While the candidates espouse their proposals to make our country better (reduce taxes! balance the budget! end the war! etc.), I have my own "proposal" for you to consider. I know, sorry, so much to think about and on a Wednesday, no less.

I am trying to figure out how to offer more than just vegetables to my members. I've tried this in the past -- trying to create partnerships with other farmers or vendors and while the interest is there in the beginning, when push comes to shove, the interest wanes and I'm left with no choice but to stop offering different types of products.  In the past, I've offered (for separate purchase), eggs, peaches, sweet corn, and coffee.  I've asked whether any one would be interested in purchasing locally caught (although frozen) fish. I've had someone inquire as to whether I'd be interested in selling their granola to my members. You get the idea.

Ideally, what I'd like to be able to figure out is a way to offer these items for purchase online -- where you could simply pre-order (with enough time for me to pick-up the offered items you've selected) what you want for that week (imagine, you could even set up a recurring order!) and either pay online or pay when you pick up your goodies.

There are a lot of logistics to work out, the first being are you even interested?  If you are, then the next step is figuring out...what is the best way to go about this?  Offer a significantly more sophisticated website which would track online orders and convey the information to me (calling all web designers who'd help for a pittance...or a barter!).  Or, would you prefer an option to add a fruit share, a meat share, and/or a misc. items share (e.g., coffee, granola, breads, flowers, etc.) for an additional upfront cost. 

Obviously, I haven't figured out the details yet...I'd also have to establish relationships with vendors that would be of interest to my members and be able to get you the best deals possible while still figuring out a way to cover my additional expenses and make a small profit (again, I emphasize the word "pittance").  Did I mention that I'd have to have enough interest??

So, before I embark upon this journey of figuring out how to bring specialty items to my members, I need to hear from you, The People.  What would you be interested in purchasing if I could get it? How much would you be willing to pay for the particular items that you'd like (a range would be good, i.e., I'd pay 4-5 dollars for a dozen eggs or, there is no way I'd pay more than 10 bucks for a pound of coffee).  You get the gist.  The more specific you are, the better.

If you are interested in seeing something like this, please let me know.  Hopefully you won't mind participating in a few additional conversations/Q&A periods so that we can figure out (a) whether this is even worth everyone's time and (b), if it is, how is best to go about it.

We Want (to hear from) You! [insert copyright image of Uncle Sam here]

This week's share includes: broccoli, sweet potatoes, greens mix, amazing turnips, winter squash, & tat soi.