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…

  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…

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…

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…