Meet the Sleight Farm Woodchuck. He lives outside our kitchen window and spend his mornings and evenings eating dandelions. He needs a name, so leave your suggestions here or on facebook.
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Archive for May, 2010
Name the Woodchuck
2010
05.14
05.14
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
2010
05.14
05.14
A wise farmer in our family used to say, “Too little rain and you’ll be poor, too much rain and you’ll starve.”
Even technology can’t beat Michigan’s Mother Nature. A week ago, $500K work of steel and modern technology plowed, seeded and fertilized this land. A satellite GPS system planted each kernel six inches apart, three inches deep. Today the field is a shallow river, with gravity pulling the kernels downstream to the deep culvert.
T.S. Elliot said April is the cruelest month….breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain. I beg to differ. May is the cruelest month. The road washed out, the cellar sprung a leak and the muddy garden waits yet another day for plants. Trying to stop the water is like holding an umbrella over a duck, so wear your boots.
First Signs of Michigan Spring
2010
05.06
05.06
Michigan Localvores to the table please…this is our first Michigan born meal from the Sleight Farmhouse kitchen. My cousin brought over a few pounds of new spring asparagus, raw milk from a dairy down the road and a fresh loaf of bread with homemade cultured butter. Bliss.
Spring Asparagus Soup
INGREDIENTS
2 bunches asparagus, ends trimmed if they are rough and tough
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Salt, peppper
3 Tablespoons flour
32 ounces low sodium chicken broth
1.5 cups milk, or (or almond milk for a vegan version)
DIRECTIONS:
- Break asparagus into pieces, wash and drain. Set aside. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, saute until onions are opaque and carrots are soft.
- Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Heat until fragrant. Turn down heat to medium low. Add flour and cook for 3-5 minutes until flour is light brown.
- Increase the heat to medium high. Add stock. Bring to a boil, add asparagus. Simmer on medium heat until asparagus is soft, about 10-15 minutes.
- Take off heat and allow to cool a bit. With a hand mixer, puree soup contents until coarsely chopped. Add the milk, return to a simmer, serve.
Makes 4 servings