Blog - Page 12 of 40 - Five Feline Farm

Home Preserving

Home Canned Green Beans and Tomato Juice

Do you remember when people talked about “putting things by”?

Perhaps this is just our own vernacular, but to us it means to preserve food for the future.

Garden goodness in Central Illinois doesn’t last forever. We eat fresh vegetables from the garden during the growing season, but what about winter? Do we resort to buying everything at a big box store?

No. We make the most of what we have and preserve for future needs.

Depending on the vegetable, we can, freeze or dehydrate. The tomato sauce post is an example of preparing a sauce that freezes well. Green beans and tomato juice typically go in the canner.

Canning is actually a misnomer. Home canning is not in “cans” at all. Glass jars with two-piece lids in pint and quart size cover our needs for shelf stable “home canned” items.

Although home canning is not complicated, below are a few pointers to ensure a high quality and safe product.

Home Preserving Tips

—Follow a tested recipe from a reputable source. Not every recipe on the internet can be trusted. Your best bet is to get a Ball Canning book or use your state home extension website.

—Know your vegetables. Low acid foods must be canned under pressure, while high acid foods can be processed in a water bath canner. Use the correct process for the vegetable you are preserving.

—Use only new flat lids to ensure a successful seal. Bands and jars in good condition can be re-used.

—Before using a pressure canner, (unless it is brand new) have the lid tested for proper working condition at your local home extension office.

Home preserving does require some effort, but the reward of home grown vegetables all year long is worth it.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for almost daily reports on the activities of Five Feline Farm.

Fall Garlic Planting

Walk into any decent Italian restaurant and take a deep breath. That warm spicy aroma tingling your nose is quite likely garlic. The incomparable deep flavor makes Italian dishes renowned, but also enhances any number of other recipes.

You can bring this culinary delight into your own kitchen through bulbs of garlic purchased at a box store, often imported from China, but why do that when garlic is so easy to grow?

If you are interested in growing your own garlic, now is the time to order. It is somewhat counter-intuitive, but garlic is one of those plants designed to spend winter nestled in the cold earth.

How to Choose Garlic

There are two basic types of garlic and a number of varieties within those types. Like any other plant, the specific varieties have different advantages in terms of flavor, storage, etc.

Hard Neck Garlic

These bulbs of garlic are different from the kind you normally find available in the store. The bulb forms a hard center stem that grows up through the bulb to support the leaves. When you open the bulb, there are typically 6 or 8 cloves of garlic around this center stem. The cloves are full and large. Varieties include Music, Bogatyr, and German Red.

Soft Neck Garlic

This garlic does not form the hard center stem. Softer leaves shoot out of the middle and many cloves form around this center. The outer cloves are reasonably sized with smaller ones near the center. Even the outer cloves do not attain the size of the hard neck types mentioned above. Varieties include Inchelium Red and Burgundy.

Soft neck garlic can be stored in braids by leaving the stems attached and braiding decoratively to hang.

Planting

After you receive your garlic bulbs, either through a mail order supplier or somewhere local, do not remove the papery outer cover. Store the bulbs in a cool, dry place until ready to plant, then peel off the outer covering and separate the cloves, leaving each clove cloaked in its paper cover.

Choose a sunny location that is well drained with rich soil. You will need 6-8 inches of space per plant. Push each clove into the soil approximately 2 inches deep with the pointed end up. Cover with soil and mulch.

In Central Illinois, mid-October is a typical planting time, with harvest the following June.

If you have questions about planting garlic or any of the other crops grown at Five Feline Farm, you can contact us through social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) or email. In the meantime, be sure to check out our online Mercantile for other available products.

Cat Burglar Balm

All businesses must name their products. We tend to come up with some unusual ones for our products. One of these has garnered a lot of attention and questions recently: Cat Burglar Balm.

What is it?

Well, there’s a story if you have a few minutes.

Back in the 14^th Century the Bubonic Plague also known as the Black Death killed a quarter of the population in Europe and Asia. This highly contagious bacterial infection circulated again in the early 19^th Century. During one of these outbreaks, it is rumored a group of robbers went from home to home stealing from the dead. Somehow they did not catch this deadly disease. When they were finally apprehended, the authorities offered leniency in exchange for their secret to immunity.

The thieves identified a concoction of essential oils with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties that they claimed protected them from the plague. This mixture of essential oils became known as “Thieves Blend”.

Here at Five Feline Farm, we have formulated our own proprietary version in a handy balm. Lemon, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Cinnamon and Clove essential oils are blended with beeswax, coconut oil, vitamin E oil and sweet almond oil to create Cat Burglar. We use it on minor cuts, scrapes and insect bites to aid healing.

But what about the name?

Well, of course we are Five Feline Farm. Our thieves would all be Cat Burglars.

What else would you expect?

Does it work?

We are not making any health claims; however neither of us has come down with the Plague.

Get yours on Saturdays through September at the 18th Street Farmer’s Market, Fridays and Saturdays this fall at our onsite Mercantile and anytime through our online Mercantile.

How To Shop The Farmer’s Market

A Farmer’s Market can be overwhelming. Who has the best product? Who has the best prices? How do I know I am getting a good value for my dollar?

This post will answer your questions.

Get to know the vendors.

Ask questions about their products. Growers and market vendors should be able to answer your questions. Some questions you can ask are: “When was this picked? Where was it grown? Has it been sprayed? Is it a GMO seed?” Based on answers to these questions, you can make your decision about what to buy.

If this is your first visit to a market, do a quick sweep around the market to see what is available and prices. In small markets, prices will usually be similar with only a bit of variance based on the variety or quantity available. Larger markets may have a more significant price difference among vendors. If you are a regular customer, you will know what to expect from your favorite vendors.

After a quick perusal of what is available, go back and make your purchases. One caution however, vendors may have limited quantities of some items. If you have an established relationship with particular vendors based on their reputation for quality and price, you may want to shop those vendors first.

Learn what is in season.

Eating seasonally will not only provide the most nutritious bang for your buck, but also the best flavor. Local produce has a limited availability due to growing conditions and climate.

For example, you can find tomatoes in Illinois in May, but these are not likely to have been grown locally. The best tomatoes in Central Illinois are available from early July through the end of August, sometimes even stretching into mid-September. These tomatoes will be fully vine-ripened, bursting with tomato flavor.

Shop a Farmer’s Market first.

Above all, find a local farmer’s market and shop there before the big box stores. Produce will be fresher and there are other some great finds like honey, balms, craft items and much more.

Plus you have the opportunity to develop relationships with great people. What could be better?

If you would like to read more about how we found a community at the 18^th Street Farmer’s Market, check out this book: The Long Road to Market. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.