We are continuing to wage war on the groundhogs. Our multi-prong approach appears to be working. We have to keep reapplying some of the repellent and move the sonic ground stakes around, but fewer groundhogs are visible.
On July 17, 2021, Doty and Dexter will be playing in the Corn Crib from 1:00PM – 3:00PM. The Mercantile will be open from 12:00PM – 4:00PM. Come out, bring a lawn chair and a friend to enjoy some wonderful music.
As we prepare for special events like this, we are also developing some new products and improving on some of our classics. You will find improved scones, new soap scents and more.
You can find us on your favorite social media or through email.
Until next time,
Donna, Julia and the Felines
P.S. We do apologize for the recording quality. It is another area we are working to improve but experiencing some technical difficulty along the way.
We are at war with Groundhogs. Whistlepigs. Woodchucks. Those are the nice names they are called here at Five Feline Farm. Given their damage to our gardens, a lot of not so nice names prevail.
Since the recording of this podcast, we found an additional breach. In the area they tunneled under the boardwalk, at least one then climbed the garden fence and munched on cucumber leaves. Until we personally witnessed them climbing redbud trees, we thought groundhogs were just that groundhogs. The one that went over the garden fence left behind claw marks and telltale fur.
More fencing, repellent granules, hot pepper and the sonic stakes we reference have been added to that area.
The sonic stakes do appear to be having some positive effect. We will continue to report on that in future episodes.
Make sure you subscribe to one of our social media channels or email to get updates on this war.
Five Feline Farm is small in the world of farms. We have five and a half acres but we try to take advantage of everything this land provides.
Right now, in late June the gardens are producing a lot of good food. Green beans, peppers, carrots, and eggplant to name a few. But we also have wild, native food to gather.
Black raspberries are one of those native wild berries that are delicious. Full of seeds and nutrition, we use these in pies, jams and now vinegars. The blackberries will be next in the wild harvest. The black walnut trees are loaded with nuts this year.
On this episode we talk about all of those things and more.
Until next time,
Donna, Julia and the Felines
P.S. Don’t forget we are closed on the 4th of July holiday weekend. You can still follow our social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and email (sign up here) during this time.
Gourmet potatoes dressed with chive blossom vinegar.
Here at Five Feline Farm, we have started experimenting with infusing vinegar. We start with either white or apple cider vinegar, then add ingredients from our gardens to steep. We started with chive blossom and garlic scape infusions. The chive blossoms turned the vinegar a beautiful pink color. Garlic scapes keep the original color of the vinegar. But the flavors are phenomenal!
Now we are trying other fruits and herbs.
Small batch with farm-fresh flavors beats those fancy specialty oil and vinegar shops any day.
The next question is always, “How do you use these delicious vinegar infusions?”
The first obvious choice is on a salad.
Pile your favorite greens and salad toppings into a bowl. Drizzle a good quality, flavorful olive oil across the top. Then splash with an infused vinegar. Add some fresh cracked pepper and sea salt to taste.
This simple dressing allows the flavors of your salad ingredients to shine.
You can also make a quick vinaigrette dressing. Start with blending dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and infused vinegar in a bowl. Blend in olive oil with a whisk drop by drop, then in a thin stream to create an emulsion. You can adapt the proportions to taste.
But you do not have to limit yourself to only topping a traditional green salad. Here are some more ideas:
—Scrub new or small heirloom potatoes and cut them into bite-size cubes. Boil in salted water or steam until tender. While still warm, toss with olive oil, infused vinegar, and salt to taste. The potatoes will pick up the gentle underlying notes from the infused vinegar.
—Or slice colorful raw beets very thin. Use the same dressing ingredients plus some freshly ground pepper.
—Splash infused vinegar over grilled chicken breast.
—Make a pan sauce after roasting chicken or fish. After cooking, remove the meat from the pan and return the pan to medium-high heat. Deglaze the pan with infused vinegar, then add butter to thicken the sauce. Serve over the meat.
As you can tell, infused vinegar is delicious any time you need a bit of acidic tang to your meal.
