The Shop Is Almost Finished!

Christmas Pictures

We drove 6 hours down to Georgia, and 6 hours back. To amuse myself, I played with my camera.

After much coaxing, I finally convinced everyone to let me take their picture.

We had a great time with Dad's parents and my uncle. We all cooked breakfast together one morning. We had fun, and the food was delicious!

We also went to Mom's parents' house for Christmas Eve. I always enjoy seeing our extended family.

Dinner Prep

We always read the Christmas Story from Luke 2 before we open presents. Jacob and I used to read, then Ansley and Sierra read it when they learned to read. Now Ford does a wonderful job reading to us.

I almost didn't recognize Sierra this year. She's getting really tall.

Ford always keeps us laughing. He is constantly saying something witty, and he LOVES to open presents. :)

Sierra and Ansley smiling for the camera

Happy 19th Birthday, Jacob!

Veggie of the Week: Hakurei Turnips

These turnips were so much fun to harvest. Their uniformly round roots poke up out of the dirt so it's easy to tell which ones are ready to pull. The slightest tug pops them up from the soil and a quick rinse reveals their lovely snow white skin. The roots are crisp and mildly-flavored making them a perfect addition to a raw garden salad. The greens can be mixed into salads, too. Of course they also can be cooked the traditional Southern style and served with cornbread. Want to try some? Come by our farm on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays or visit our booth at the Franklin Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until noon.

Buy Beaverdam Creek Veggies A La Carte

BUY LOCAL! Stop by Beaverdam Creek Farm for Your Fresh Fall Veggies!

Dear Friends and Neighbors of Beaverdam Creek Farm,

Our autumn garden is beautiful and thriving! We’d love for you to have some delicious Certified Naturally Grown vegetables for your family meal table!

Here’s your opportunity to buy Beaverdam Creek Farm Veggies ala carte! Below is a list of what’s currently available along with prices. We’ll be open for sales on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. (Closed Wed. Nov. 25^th – Fri. Nov. 27^th for Thanksgiving Holiday) Just give us a quick call at 931-623-3732 or send us an email to arrange a time to stop by so that we can harvest what you need and have it ready for you. That way, your produce will be absolutely fresh and delicious!

What’s Available?

Red Russian Kale – This beautiful purple-veined kale is more tender than the curly-leafed variety so it requires less cooking time. Our favorite way to prepare kale is simply to saute it in olive oil with fresh garlic, salt and pepper. ($3/bunch)





Beets – Our beets are sweet and tender. They're scrumptious raw in salads or cooked as a side dish. Have you ever tried cooking beet greens? They taste exactly like spinach and they're super good for you! ($3/bunch)





Galisse Lettuce - This beautiful bright green ruffled lettuce has been popular for more than 150 years because of its tender texture and mild flavor. ($2/head)

Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce – A delicate, light-tasting head lettuce. This is a best-seller at the market! ($2/head)

Encore Lettuce Mix – A delicious mix of colors, shapes, and textures adds up to the perfect salad combination. Varieties include Blackhawk, Firecracker, Red Saladbowl, Tango, Parris Island, Deer Tongue and Rouge D’Hiver. Just rinse, spin and add your favorite salad dressing. This mix is so much tastier than the bagged store-bought kind! Once you’ve tried ours, you’ll never want to go back to factory-farmed salads! ($6/half pound)

Arugula – is a spicy little salad green with a rather pungent mustardy/peppery flavor. It has been popular in Italy for centuries but wasn’t well-known in the U.S. until the 1990’s when its popularity soared making it what some now say is “our national salad green.” It’s also known as Italian rocket, garden rocket, Roman rocket (rocket being a corruption of “roquette”), Italian cress, rugola or rucola. The internet is loaded with recipes for this trendy Mediterranean veggie. ($3/bunch)









D’Avignon Radishes – Another of our most popular farmers market sellers. Also known as French Breakfast Radishes, this elegant veggie is milder the traditional round radish. If you can resist eating them long enough to cook with them, try them sautéed in olive oil. Then toss them with the cooked pasta of your choice and top the dish off with freshly ground parmesan cheese. ($2/bunch)

Bright Lights Swiss Chard – I think this is one of the most beautiful veggies we grow! The neon-colored stems give it an almost surreal appearance. But alas! It fades upon cooking. So, be sure to show this veggie off to your Thanksgiving guests before you cook it. Better yet, let them pitch in and help with the preparations. It’s so much more fun preparing for a feast when friends and family work together in the kitchen! Check out this delectable-looking Swiss Chard Gratin recipe from SmittenKitchen.com. What a unique and satisfying side dish for your Thanksgiving Feast! ($3/bunch)

Butternut Squash – This little veggie may look plain on the outside, but open it up and you’re in for a big surprise! Its bright orange flesh is sweet, nutritious, and super delicious! And it’s so very easy to prepare. We prepare it the same way as our Honey Bear Acorn Squash (see above).($2/pound)

Mesclun – (pronounced mes cloon) This is French for “mix”. It’s a tasty blend of baby garden greens such as kale, mazuna, bok choi, and tat soi. Mesclun is quite a bit more nutritious than standard salad mix because baby greens have more concentrated amounts of vitamins and minerals than plain lettuces do. ($6/half pound)

Mustard Greens – I like the way the Whole Foods website describes mustard greens - “spunky and soulful!” They’re a peppery-tasting green that add a certain spicy kick to any Southern menu. We love to boil them in a pot of water along with some bacon grease and a tad of crushed red pepper. They’re fantastic with fried chicken, creamed potatoes and cornbread. They’re great with turkey and dressing, too! ($2/bunch)

Spaghetti Squash – A low carb alternative to pasta, this squash has a rich, buttery flavor. Serve with your favorite Italian red or white sauce or simply toss with butter, salt, and pepper for a simple side dish. ($2/pound)

Decorative Gourds – Fascinating is the word that comes to mind. These little gourds will make your jaw drop with wonder. Their bright colored patterns look as if they’re painted on! At the market, children and adults alike stop to marvel at these wonder-veggies! Of course, they’re not edible but they make an absolutely marvelous centerpiece when placed in a basket or arranged on a tiered dessert plate. ($1 each)

Try Out Our CSA or Extend Your Share!

Have you been wondering what it might be like to join our CSA? Well, now's your opportunity to try us out for a week or two. We have extra produce in the garden! So for the next two weeks, we're offering an extension of our regular CSA season.

Who can participate? Anyone! You don't have to be a regular CSA customer to take advantage of this opportunity. Maybe you're wondering what it would be like to be a part of our CSA program. Maybe you're a regular customer and you'd like to continue to have your basket of Certified Naturally Grown farm fresh veggies delivered right up until Thanksgiving week so that you don't have to resort to canned or frozen factory farm food for your special feast.

Here's What We Think Will be in Each Extension Basket (Lord wlling, of course):
Week of Nov. 9 - 14: Mesclun Mix, Black-Seeded Simpson Lettuce, Butternut Squash, Broccoli Raab Greens, D'Avignon Radishes
Week of Nov. 16 - 21: Kale, Carrots, Swiss Chard, Galisse Lettuce, Sweet Potatoes, Winter Squash

Prices:
Half Share Basket $17.50
Full Share Basket $30.00

If you'd like to participate, simply email us at trish@beaverdamcreekfarm.com.

Reformation Day 2009

Here are the pictures I took on Reformation Day. I was struggling to come up with captions, and most of the ones I typed out were boring, to say the least. Jacob to the rescue! I hope you'll laugh as hard as I did.

-Tricia Ann

One of my favorite pictures of the day

"I know you...shot with you in high school?"

"You know...after you grin all the way through a 2 hr. turkey shoot...your cheeks get sore."

Queen of Reformation Trivia

Nice sweatshirt! "and it starts at my toes, makes me crinkle my nose"

They call me...MISTER BoomBoom.

Jake the excellent marksman (most of the time) ;)

"Wait...I got a four?!?!? Yessssss....."

Turkey-shoot spectators having a good time "It's not fair! They've got the guns! All we've got are these rocks!"

TJ tied for 1st place! I'll bet that Mountain Dew had something to do with it. :)

"Hi, Mom!!!!!"

Sacrebleu! Hoh-hoh!

Walking by Faith

The Diet of Worms line-up. Ages 8 and under only.

Loads of fun.

Or maybe not.

I think Allen enjoyed himself.

Ummmm...I think you're a little too old for this.

The parents had more fun with the marshmallow shooters than the kids did. ;)

Drumroll, please...

the Praise Your Wife Competition

"My precious"

"Let me tell ya about my wife..."

"You can clearly see that I have the fairest wife in the land!"

"Wait..what?"

BoomBoom airs his head whilst Andy asks, "Are you ready for some footballlll??!?!?!"

Seems like somebody should be tackling somebody...

"It's a jolly good day to watch the boys hit each other, wouldn't you say?"

"Oh! Yes! I'm so glad you could come, Millie!"

Gardening since 1996

...or maybe before. :)

Shop Construction

We began building our shop a couple weeks ago. It's all framed up, and we're in the process of putting on the roof. We've had a lot of good help, and have been moving along pretty quickly. I don't know much about building; I just take the pictures. :)

-Tricia Ann

Framing up the 2nd wall

All 4 walls up

Beginning the rafters

The guys on the roof were getting the rafters up faster than Daddy could cut them.

"Bubble-wrap" and purlins

Daniel and Jacob hanging out on the roof

Ground Crew

Cable

The Foreman

John

I thought this picture came out really well, if I do say so myself.

Here's how it looked before they started putting up the sheet metal. I'll post an updated picture soon.