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what I love…

You know what I really love?

I love being in the garden, noticing some juicy kale buds that are just about to bloom, and plucking them at their sweetest for a batch of kimchi.

I love *using* the cilantro that went to seed because — at that point — it’s fresh, green coriander seed for gosh-sakes, and it makes turnip pickles taste delicious.

Curious Farm Sauerkrauts, Kimchi, and Pickles — the company — came from our garden. I began to explore the world of vegetable fermentation because I wanted to find a way to preserve the bounty and save as much fresh flavor and nutrition as possible. Though I’ve always had to supplement my efforts with organic produce grown nearby because of our garden’s small size, all of the recipe ideas and so much of the deliciousness came from our own muddy, hard work out there.

In trying to make Curious Farm viable, I tried to make the company bigger. I tried to make more sauerkraut, sell more, do more… until I felt too broken to wander out in my own garden. I know many people think that getting your products into grocery stores is the sign of success. But maybe it’s not? Or maybe it’s just not the right way for Curious Farm to grow.

So here I am this week… I am weeding and prepping the soil for our garden here, and I am surveying Curious Farm at large. In the last two years…

With the help of our amazing and devoted customers, Curious Farm turned a profit in late 2012.

My husband David built a commercial food processing facility, on site here, that is licensed by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

We participated in two joyful years at the Beaverton Farmers Market. [Thank you, everyone. We will miss you this year.]

We successfully placed customer-favorite products into some great grocery stores.

I’ve taught dozens of wonderful students how to ferment vegetables safely and confidently.

I produced some amazing kimchi, sauerkrauts, and pickles. Curious Farm products are different from anything on the market regionally. We use an extra-long fermentation cycle that lets the vegetables’ flavors shine.

You were brave, hungry, honest, and mostly loved it all.

Sadly, though, my health and family suffered from my 90-hour work weeks. Curious Farm — the company — may have turned a profit, but we haven’t been able to bring a dime of it into our family yet or to afford help. We hoped to do that this year if I could just work a little harder and if we could just get a little bigger.

You know what? I can’t do it.

I’m almost 50. I love my husband. I love my 8-year-old daughter. Our elder mothers need extra care now, too. And I never, ever want to be too tired to wander out into the garden to discover the sweetest kale buds.

But I’m not going to give up. We’re just going to slow down, get smaller, and see what happens. Here’s the plan:

Curious Farm won’t be at the Beaverton Farmer’s Market this year, but you can buy whatever sauerkrauts, kimchi and pickles we have direct from our farm in the NW Portland/Cedar Mill/Beaverton/Bethany area. Just look at our Available Now page to see what’s lively and delicious and ready right now.

Curious Farm Ginger-Turmeric Sauerkraut, Leek-Horseradish Sauerkraut, and Nettle Sauerkraut will be available at Food Front Co-op in NW Portland, beginning in May 2013. I’ll be there doing demos much more frequently, and I can’t wait to see you there.

There will be more classes at Curious Farm. I love teaching *you* how to celebrate the seasons by fermenting vegetables. The classes are joyful and empowering.

Not so bad… yeah?

Need some sauerkraut or kimchi? Just let me know. I’ll have pickles here later in the summer.

cherries, deer…

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We have fencing all around our small property, but the deer jump over even the tall fences. I think the deer are flourishing in Cedar Mill and need more places to go to raise their young as the herds multiply.

D thinks that a mamma dear leaves her fawn here while she goes off elsewhere in search of food. Sometimes we find the spotted fawn all over our yard, and he/she jumps like she’s on a pogo stick to hide in the wild rose and hawthorne near the creek.

It’s very hard to hate the deer. So far, they are more interested in eating shrubs than in eating what we grow in our garden. In fact, they like cherry leaves more than the cherries themselves. Right now, it looks like our cherry trees have earrings!

Sandor Katz on Fresh Air

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Enjoy Part One of a great interview with Sandor Katz about fermentation on Fresh Air — vegetables and yogurt in this segment.

His new book The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from Around the World in now available.

the fairy gate later

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Do you remember the fairy gate we made? More than two years ago, the crape myrtle suffered wind damage so we kept her shed branches. They had so much character that we decided to create the Fairy Gate.

eloise under the fairy gate

And then there was this later in the summer:

e under the fairy arch in 8/10

And now there is this:

This was taken today, two years after the first photo — E missing her two front teeth and wearing the same shirt as almost two years ago.

Remember, though, that last year I found that a volunteer rose had come up at the base of the fairy gate?

And here is that rose today:

fairy gate rose

And again from a different perspective:

While I love the images that show how my daughter has grown, I also am so touched by this rose that grew on her own right next to the fairy gate. She grew in the middle of a bed of brassicas. She hasn’t flowered yet, but I think she’s a dog rose or a climbing rose of some kind. These small miracles keep me going. How could a climbing rose know to grow right there, where she could stretch happily over some old branches? I think the fairies planted her.

Magic is afoot at Curious Farm.

curious farm at Food Front 3/5

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We’re excited to share samples of Curious Farm products at Food Front on NW Thurman Street on Monday, March 5th, from 1pm – 5pm. We’ll have samples of:

Ginger-Turmeric Sauerkraut
Leek-Horseradish Sauerkraut
Pink Lady Sauerkraut
Spicy Radish Kimchi
Garlic-Ginger Chili Sauce
Beet Kvass

Come eat some culture!

the hens…

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I don’t have favorite hens, but I have a strong bond with Little One — our littlest Black Barred Rock hen who has just one eye after an accident in her pullet-hood. There was a week back in March when I didn’t know if she’d live. She did survive, and I think she thrives. She takes care of herself last but strategically — always when the other hens are busy doing other things. She also doesn’t take attitude from anyone. I learned that she hangs back in the run when I let the girls out to range because she wants to eat in peace so I always make sure to shake the feeder so she gets enough of all the heavier best bits she wants. This photo of her is from April, when she was still a young pullet.

But there is a sweet little Buff Orpington who also has me wrapped around her finger. She is the first one to figure out how to get into the garden, and she does so more regularly and always in heart-warming ways.

Once I found her coo-ing in a rose bush. That soft (manipulative) coo-ing sound tugs on heart strings. She also has become quite adept at working her way through the strings on top of the gate that separates the huge backyard (1/3 of an acre with creek) and the vegetable garden. This week I’ve found her doing this twice.

Today I carried her out to meet Eloise’s school bus. I realized while I was holding her that I was doing that rhythmic rocking that people do when they hold infants. And then I realized that this big fluffy chicken is about the weight Eloise was when she was a babe, and I rocked her just the same.

pepper joy

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Today I rescued the last of the hot peppers. I was trying to let more of them ripen on the plant, but it’s been quite cold at night and very damp. Even green, I can use these Cayennes, Serranos, and Krimson Lees.

I put a few of these peppers in another batch of kimchi. I hope those of you who bought a jar have enjoyed it. You all cleaned me out my kimchi stock so I have another batch started. (I’m very happy to need to make more!)

The other peppers are going into a new batch of fermented chili sauce. The first batch tastes wickedly good already, but I’m going to let it ferment another few days. This is a thick, spicy, concentrated sauce to be used wherever you need some lively heat. I think it tastes great on eggs, on rice, on vegetables, and in a burrito. You also can use it as the heat element in other sauces, too. I can’t wait to share this new sauce with you in December.

Back to those peppers… don’t they look glorious? It seems odd to be harvesting perfectly wonderful peppers in the middle of November, doesn’t it? Is it this funny year we’ve had with the weather? Or does one normally find healthy peppers this late in the Pacific Northwest? I’ve never had this big of a pepper harvest before so I’m confused. (Not that this is a big harvest, but from four plants, I’m pleased.)

Do you know that we’re still harvesting side shoots from broccoli plants we started in the garage last January? We’ve held off on composting the plants because they’re still producing just enough tender flowers for us to have for dinner. (Farmers get the bruised leftovers and the tender, sweet, stray bits of last glory. I don’t feel sorry for myself.)

Have I mentioned that we had more than 200 pounds of summer squash this year? And 150 pounds of green beans? We are so honored to be able to share our bounty with you. Thank you!