Food & Farm Blog
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Open Farm Day 2021
Open Farm Day is an annual event held across Maine, where farmers open their doors to their community and invite them to explore and learn about their farming practices. We always have an open door policy, and invite our customers to shop at our Farm Store and meet our family/animals year-round! This past Open Farm Day, we stocked up our shop with many seasonal treats including produce from Ironwood Farm, cheese from Swallowtail, Crooked Face and Copper Tail, yogurt from Fuzzy Udder and Milkhouse, and raspberries from Fruitful Meadows. It was a community-highlighted Farm Store that was supported by many of our wonderful community members throughout the day! Despite less-than-ideal weather…
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RECIPE: Briny Pork Chops
Briny Pork Chops The secret to succulent, juicy pork chops? There are many factors: pork breed, their diet and environment… And a few that you can influence in your own kitchen! Soaking pork chops in a flavorful brine overnight really adds a great acidity that not only starts to break down some of those proteins, but instills a wonderful flavor that contrasts this fatty cut. Ingredients: Misty Brook Farm pork chops, thawed Equal parts apple cider vinegar and water, enough to submerge the chops Aromatics: garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, and other spices and herbs you have on hand Salt and pepper Variety of root vegetables Olive oil Directions: Make the…
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Happy Birthday, Bumbles!
Last week we celebrated Bumble Bee’s 16th birthday! She is a truly loved part of our farm and family, and has been with Misty Brook since the very start. If 16 sounds like a lot of years for a dairy cow, you’re not wrong… It is definitely something worth celebrating! The average life span of a dairy cow in the United States is 4-6 years, though their natural life expectancy is drastically more: 15-20 years! We hope to have many more years with sweet Bumbles. The life span vs life expectancy of most dairy cows in this country is so low because many farmers think that their cow’s productivity drops…
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RECIPE: Ham Hock and Beans
Maybe its the New Englander in me, but few things are more comforting on a cold winters day than a bowl of sweet but salty, savory baked beans. I have many memories of ladling the molasses-sweetened, creamy beans onto a plate at public bean suppers; I remember the smells that slowly filled my home as as my dad slowcooked in the old crockpot his famous Great Northern baked beans. It wasn’t until I was an adult and left to my own culinary accord when I realized just how much sweeteners and processed ingredients (think ketchup and barbeque sauce squeezed out of a tube by the cupful) go into a pot…
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RECIPE: Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
While our rye seed originated up in Aroostook County, we have been saving seed and regrowing this crop since we relocated to Maine, making our rye a uniquely-Misty Brook variety. Rye is a very popular cover crop in this part of the country because it grows rapidly to create a ground cover that holds soil in place against rain and wind. The deep-reaching roots of rye helps keep soil areated and loose, ready to absorb rainwater and nutrients from soil amendments and fertilizers. We mill our rye into flour, common mostly in baked goods originating in Germany and Scandinavia. Most rye breads that are baked today contain a combination of…
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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Early Riser Cornmeal
At Misty Brook Farm, we grow open-pollinated Early Riser field corn for our cornmeal. This multi-purpose corn is well-adapted for cold, northern climates. It has great genetic diversity, with both dent and flint characteristics. Dent corns are typically high in starch, while flint corns are low in water content making them very resistant to freezing temperatures. Both of these traits make Early Riser a great choice for cornmeal, which is what much of our crop goes to! If we don’t mill it into flour, we save it to plant for next year’s crop. This variety is so hardy, that it is the only corn that survived “The…
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RECIPE: Wheat Berry Chili
It’s that time of year again when we crave warm bowls of soup, an excuse to fill our kitchens with warmth from a hot oven full of baking bread. It seems like there are unlimited ideas for what to fill your soup bowl with. From chowders and bisques to classic broth-based, veggie-packed soups, it’s chili that I’ve been craving lately. The spicy flavors add an extra element of warmth to cold December days, and this recipe could use any of our ground meats that are readily available in our Farm Store. I chose to use the standard ground beef, though next time I’ll probably swap it out for a heartier-flavored…
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RECIPE: Farm Pâté
Liver has something of a bad rap in the American diet, though I don’t think it would take much to chang that. You might immediately think of your grandma’s over-cooked liver and onions, a classic dish where the sharp flavors of onion cut through the sometimes metalic taste of the liver. Or maybe you’ve been turned off by ever using this nutrient-packed item because recipes often call for “soaking in milk to remove bad flavors” and you can’t get past that step. Whatever your reason for dismissing liver, I’ll try and convince you here and now to become a lifelong liver lover. Or at least try something new. Liver makes…
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RECIPE: Wonton Soup
Wonton soup can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Chances are your local Chinese restaurant can get you a plastic quart sized container of the soup, or you can create your own delicious, home-made version with a few simple ingredients! We made this wonton soup with one store-bought ingredient (wonton wrappers are a true time saver!) as well as some Misty Brook favorites: ground pork, our little pullet eggs, and veal bones for the rich broth. If you want to make your own wonton wrappers, we like this recipe. Check out our own stock recipe here! Wonton Soup Ingredients: 1 lb shredded cabbage (you…
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What’s the deal with these tiny eggs?
You may have noticed that some of our standard-sized eggs have been replaced by smaller ones, not quite filing out the little nesting cups of the carton. What’s with these little eggs? Do they come from smaller chickens? A different variety? Young chickens, old chickens, nutrient-deprived ones? These are “pullet eggs” that come from our young, new-to-the-laying-game hens! A pullet is a female hen that is less than one year old. When a chick loses its downy feathers and develops adult feathers, it becomes known as a pullet (or a cockerel if it is male). They usually begin laying eggs between 16-24 weeks of age depending on the breed and…
