April News: Crowns and Clucks

Published: Thu, 04/01/21

Spring Has Sprung

Greetings ,

The winter and spring rains have slowly changed our hills from grey-ish brown to bright green, and daffodils along our pig pen and grove have popped up as well. It is a sight to behold. Seeds that have lain dormant through out the dry summer are sprouting up as grass, filary, wild mustard and many other types of flora. Our herd is happy with this change of scenery, and they have been munching down on the fresh feast (and we enjoy their help with the weed control).

At the moment, weather is back to dry and warm, but there is still a chance of showers in the future, and we can't wait.

Crowns of Spring

With the coming of Spring, our asparagus crop has started to poke their spears out of the ground. We grow two varieties: Purple Passion (purple asparagus) and Farmer's Favorite (green asparagus).

Our asparagus adventure began when we tasted some freshly picked spears from my parents' garden. We fell in love with the flavor and decided to plant 100 crowns (a name for the root system of an asparagus) of the vegetable. Our crop has only grown from there. It now consists of 150 producing crowns and 100 developing crowns. In May, we will be returning to the market with asparagus. Come and try some for yourself!

Some New Peeps

On our usual outing to the local feed store, we expected to purchase typical supplies for the month--hay for the herd, kibble for the dog, and maybe a some new nest liners for the chicken coop. However some peeping sounds coming from a big metal tub in the corner of the store caught our attention. Chicks for sale! We couldn't resists picking out a couple of fluffy babies to bring back to the farm.

Tomato and Pickle are Mottled Houdan chickens. They will grow up to lay white eggs and sprout a giant wreath of feathers on their head. Our flock will have some great new additions.

Spearing-heading Spring Frittata

Because we're coming out of the winter months, our hens have started to lay more eggs. And with the asparagus season starting, we decided to dust off the family cookbook and make one of our favorite dishes: Frittata!

Ingredients: 6 eggs, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 cups asparagus (chopped into 1/2 inch pieces), 1 cup shredded cheese.

Instructions:

1) Combine eggs and cream. Whisk the eggs, heavy cream, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Put aside.

2) Cook asparagus. On the stove, heat the oil in a cast iron or oven-safe nonstick skillet. Add asparagus and sauté until bright green.

3) Add egg mixture. In the skillet you just cooked the asparagus, spread the pieces evenly across the bottom of the pan. Then, pour the egg mixture over the asparagus. Tilt pan until the eggs settle evenly across the vegetables.

4) Add cheese. Sprinkle cheese over eggs.

5) Broil frittata. Place skillet on the middle rack of your oven. Broil until eggs are set and the top begins to brown (about 5 minutes).

6) Serve. Let frittata cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then slice into wedges and enjoy.

May the month of April be a time of new growth for you and your loved ones.

Warmly,

Dave and Anna

Chetwyn Farm