Delayed Gratification, What's That? 11/4/16

Hello SMALL Farm Enthusiasts!

Delayed Gratification, do you have it?  Do you know what it is?  In our fast paced, "got to have it now" society making a choice which limits the ability of getting something now, for the pleasure of being able to have something bigger or better later, is not "The American Way".   Many of us (Americans) barely know what it means to save up money now for something more desirable in the future.  Instead, we opt for that specialty coffee drink, the latest electronic gadget, or the new Ford 4x4, that will give us pleasure, NOW, and keep us distracted to the truth of the rat race we are in.  Many do not even know what it is like to eat fruits and vegetables in season, instead we settle for mediocrity and eat tomatoes all year that taste like cardboard.    That is the main juxtaposition of not having delayed gratification, you settle for mediocrity.   Why am I bringing this up, you ask?  I'll tell you.  I was thinking about persimmons and sweet potatoes and chestnuts and how they are in season, right now, in our North Florida biome  and what a treat they are to us, as a family, because we do not eat them all year.  Instead we have fond memories of eating chestnuts, hot out of the oven, on cool fall evenings, either sitting on the trampoline, around a fire, or both.   Eating foods in season, when the environment is right for that plant to fully express itself, without the help from man-made props (chemical fertilizer, controlled irrigation) will result in the gratification of better health in the future. Drinking a soda or eating a fast food meal may feel good at the moment and be a great time saver (instant gratification), but choosing water to drink and cooking a homemade meal will determine the health of your future and your children's.  God, in His great wisdom, has set up a natural order to life.  To experience the greatest joys this life has to offer we need to step into that order and not rush it but revel in it!

Gardening is one of the greatest teachers of delayed gratification.  Take a beet seed, drop it into the soil, cover it up, weed it, water it, tend to it and in 2 months you will have a big, round red beet with dark leafy greens, bursting with nutrition and satisfaction!  Industrial Ag takes that away, in fact they fumigate unripe fruit to make them ripen before their time and we eat it and think that is what fruit is supposed to taste like.   This brings me back to our sweet potatoes, chestnuts and persimmons.  You may think that a box of 40lbs of sweet potatoes is a lot and you may not go through them fast enough, well the slower the better!  The sweet potatoes actually  age, ripen and get sweeter the longer they sit.  The first ones you eat may be somewhat mediocre but as they continue to cure they will get sweeter.  The same with the chestnuts.  The first time we cooked some, shortly after they were harvested, they were quite bland but now, after a few weeks, they are sweet, nutty and you keep reaching for another one (before the kids eat them all).  The persimmons force you to have delayed gratification because you cannot eat them until they are soft and squishy.  They are astringent and will be that way until completely ripe.  Hopefully those that have bought them from us before were aware of this, if not, you may think persimmons are horrible and can't understand why anyone would eat such a mouth-puckering, disgusting fruit.  It all has to do with delayed gratification, wait until the right time and it is transformed into the sweetest bite you can imagine!  Great things come to those who wait.

Milk Shortage:  This is the time of year when our hot weather grasses wain and our milk production starts to decrease.  Our cows are getting plenty of peas  and stockpiled grasses but it does not produce milk like rapidly growing, green grass does.  Soon we will have rye but not for a few months.  So, we are sorry for not having as much available but it is time to work that delayed gratification muscle and eat more cheese.

Turkeys, Yes We have Them!  Produced by Eden Farm, completely free range and supplemented with certified Non-GMO feed. We have 3 size ranges: Small (13-15 lbs.), Medium (16-17 lbs.), and Large (18-20 lbs.). If by any chance you would like one bigger than that let us know as we sometimes get a few larger than 20 lbs. The price per lb. is $7.00.

We need help with our delivery from Tampa to Clearwater.  Becky is bursting at the seems and both Clearwater and St. Pete continue to grow.  If you would like to help us out with the Clearwater delivery let us know.  You would need a vehicle that can accommodate a few coolers and would need to be available every other Thursday from noon to 4PM. 

New Products

Sweet Potatoes from Sammy, a local farmer, are back again this year, not organic but, almost as Sammy says, "if he produces it he is going to have it on his table and he will not eat chemicals". He rotates the sweet potato patch around to different places on his farm every year thus leaving behind any build up of pests to reduce or eliminate the need for the natural pesticides he has used in the past.  We are also offering "seconds" which are not the prettiest and tend to be smaller than the "firsts" but were still produced the same way for $20 instead of $30.

New from Living Breads:

Organic Sourdough Banana Pecan Muffin

Yummy 100% Sourdough Spelt and Rye, Banana, Pecan Muffins

Ingredients (All Organic):

Sourdough culture, Freshly ground Spelt flour, Freshly ground Rye flour, Bananas, Pecans, Vanilla, Fresh grated nutmeg, Vietnamese Cinnamon, Sea Salt, Maple Syrup, Maple Sugar.

Alicia says that these our the best muffins she has ever had.  The texture is slightly chewy and the flavor is very rich and nutty and not overly sweet.

Candles! Our local friends George and Lucie come from France and sell the most incredible French candles from a family owned company that started over 100 years ago. We find these candles exceptional in every way, try them. http://www.giftonaline.com/store/c2/Candles.html

Pork Highlights

Hello faithful customers... thanks for your support. I appreciate being able to work outdoors, among the natural world, and in the company of animals who seem very content to live simply and enjoy the moment. They are a good example to me, to just be content with the gifts I've been given, without always wanting more. But it ain't easy to be content, having grown up in normal American culture of single-click escapism... TV, movies, websites, all too many options can make a man restless and discontent. So that's when I need to look back to the animals, the kittens, the piglets, the cows, and see how they simply exist, graze, frolic, or nurse their young without hurry or distraction..animals really are present to the moment in ways that it is hard for humans to be.  Speaking of animals, I got a new group of piglets recently.

They are always fun. Also we recently got Chorizo seasoned ground
sausage back. It comes in 1 lb packs. The seasoning includes salt,
pepper, Garlic, sweet smoked Paprika, and Cayenne Pepper. Its a little
spicy, and goes great with scrambled eggs and cheese for a hearty
morning breakfast. Last of all we now have NEW large cuts of pork
available for those cooking for a group around thanksgiving or
Christmas. These cuts are extras from our recently re-stocked USDA
restaurant pork supply, and include Whole Belly, Whole Ham Roast, Whole Jowl, Whole Loin Roast, and Full Rack of Ribs 

We are also looking for any restaurants interested in quality,
sustainable pork. Please forward me any leads you might have. My number
is 805-280-5935. Thanks, from Ben.

Thanks for supporting a small, family farm and contributing to a more sustainable future,

Dennis and Alicia