Family holiday recipes are near and dear to our hearts! When we first talked cranberries, I shared my family’s much loved cranberry salad recipe. And I made it last week as did my sister!

 

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With our latest episode talking about my family’s traditions, I thought it may be good to share some of the other recipes our family has enjoyed for decades! My mom credits her mom Louise with all of these recipes, not sure where she found them or came up with them.

My mom & sister’s crumbling cornbread & biscuits for dressing.

Corn Bread Dressing

This is the absolute must-have with turkey. Mom says she remembers having it on the table as a kid in the 40s and 50s and it remains a staple for the holidays in my family. And we like to have enough for leftovers so you may see us double this family holiday recipe! We’ve found reheating it in the panini maker is perfect cause all of us like a little crisp to the edges!

Ingredients:

1  10′ skillet cornbread
3 cans biscuits ( app. 25-30)
1 1/2 qt. broth
2-3 onions chopped
6 boiled eggs chopped
hot water
3-4 pieces chopped celery
sage
poultry seasoning
salt & pepper

Bake and crumble corn bread and biscuits. Use broth from turkey. Mix all ingredients together, season to taste. If extra liquid is needed, add hot water until mixture is fairly soupy. Bake in greased  9 by 13 inch pan in oven at 350 degrees about 30 minutes or unit it browns.

Ambrosia

This is one of the fruit salads that was a constant for us and it goes incredibly well with pound cake the next day for breakfast!

Mom gives the shortest directions which may make you think this is quick and easy but remember you section oranges so it takes time!

Equal amounts of crushed pineapple and sectioned oranges ( I usually start with 2 cans of pineapple and about 7 or 8 oranges for a family dinner)

Add some shredded coconut and a little sugar. Blend together and chill.

We’ve made it with fresh pineapple too, chopping the fresh pineapple after you’ve cored it takes some time. It tastes great but not sure the extra effort pays off so much because you definitely want added time to let the pineapple sit in it’s juice for a while.

Part of my sister’s Thanksgiving table this year — mac & cheese, dressing, ambrosia and deviled eggs! We like the carb color pallette!

Malcolm’s Favorite — Jam Cake

This cake was a mainstay when my mom was growing up and through her early adulthood. It was my granddad’s favorite so even though it takes longer than most cakes, grandmom would give in and make it. My brother is probably the biggest fan in the family now and we have it sometimes but not every holiday these days. (If you listened to the episode you will see why I preferred grandmom’s pies!) But we all think of it when it comes to family holiday recipes.

4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
¾ cup shortening
1 tsp soda
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ cups blackberry jam
1 tsp nutmeg
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp allspice

Cream shortening and sugar until creamy. Add 2 whole eggs and 2 yolks beaten. Cream everything together. Stir the soda into buttermilk and add that to the mixture and stir. Sift the flour & spices into it, add jam and stir well. Bake in three layers at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Divinity Filling and Frosting

2 cups sugar
2 egg whites
¾ cup water
1 cup ground raisins (it takes a little less than 2 cups raisins to get the cup)

Cook together sugar and water until it threads when dropped from a spoon or forms a soft ball in cold water. Beat egg whites until stiff. Stir syrup into whites and add ground raisins.

My grandparents…. he was a butcher and she was a homemaker extraordinaire who put in the extra time for his favorite cake at the holidays.

The post Trusted Family Holiday Recipes — Dressing, Ambrosia & Jam Cake appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.

Holidays bring together an amazing combination of foods & traditions, but how often do we step back and talk about how our families celebrated the holidays 25, 50, even 75 years ago? And how do our individual family holiday food traditions change?

That’s exactly the conversation we have with my mom (Ada Person) in this latest episode. She shares her memories of holiday celebrations in the 1940s explaining what was on the table for meals, the gifts & decorations all. And we talk about some of the factors that have driven changes in the seventies as she raised kids and much more recently as her grandchildren and great grands are a bigger part of the equation.

Remembering Thanksgiving in the 1940s & 50s

At various times over the years, I’ve asked mom this and that about the holidays when she was growing up. But for this, I gave her a heads up what I was thinking and she said she would take some time to get memories refreshed.

I love hearing that some of our favorite dishes trace their origins to mom’s childhood! Since her dad was a butcher, they always had meat for the holidays — he was a meat and potatoes guy — so mashed potatoes or candied sweet potatoes were usually on the table.

It was usually turkey or ham, and wherever turkey appears, we must have dressing!  Mom remembers that on the table from her earliest holiday memories. The family’s dressing recipe has stood the test of time, beating out any contenders new spouses may have offered up. We put a few of those family holiday recipes up on the site too.

The reality that the holidays push us to go above and beyond is clear with the way my grandmom would make granddad his favorite cake. This photo of my grandparents was taken as they celebrated at my parents’ wedding.

Holidays Get Big in the 60s & 70s

My parents had four children and mom’s big brother and his wife had a bigger family. My Uncle Larry & Aunt Martha had six kids and they moved to Texas in the late sixties or early 70s. That meant big family gatherings as they returned to celebrate the holidays! This photo from an early birthday party for me shows we really had the bases covered!

My dad also had brothers who moved far away or who had older children, so we didn’t see a lot of them. With ten kids just across the two households, we would have a lot of foods and started adding some things. I remember mom & grandmom making pies, the cranberry salad I have raved about before, ambrosia (a fruit salad I still crave) and more.

Once my granddad died, our house tended to be the gathering spot and mom took more of the cooking on. As we went from kids to teens, we added more foods and soon we had enough food to cover our pingpong table!

Lots of Change in the 80s & 90s

As big hair came & went, we were going to high school & college, moving for jobs, starting families. The cousins were all busy with their households and inlaws too. We had more opportunities to see how everyone else did things.

Some holidays were really low key but we looked for some way to celebrate together with our favorite foods and new ones too. There was a jello salad we lovingly call pink stuff my nieces liked that their other grandmom made. The beloved macaroni and cheese entered the picture too.

Cheryl & her family moved to North Carolina after school and the distance and three young girls made back-to-back long trips too much. I lived in New York part of the time and there was the Macy’s Parade to catch — that day our holiday food came from the Hard Rock Cafe. We started splitting holidays with them traveling some and Memphis family traveling some.

Setting New Family Holiday Food Traditions

With generations of us spread around the country, by the early 2000s, we looked for ways to gather that allowed us to use a commercial sized kitchen and provide places for all of us to sleep without being on sofas and air mattresses. With 30 or more of us and the reality that we have dear friends we want to share the holidays with we really stepped it up and have rented a much loved campground.

We do this on a schedule rather than every year so everyone really prioritizes it. (That flexibility has let me travel lots of other places to celebrate the holidays too!) And while the  has gotten AMAZINGLY deep! We still have the family must haves but we also have plenty of cooks to bring in things from the houses they were raised in too! One favorite recently added is the banana pudding a niece’s partner brings!

Another niece sent me this photo as I asked about who had pics of various dishes on the table.

With so many households we have experts in all sorts of dishes. My brother brings eggs from the farm & we have deviled eggs, my sister-in-law makes a great chai in bulk for the cold days, my brother-in-law makes his famous cheesecake… we need one six-foot table just for the desserts!

 

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And everyone, except infants & toddlers, makes it to the kitchen to help during the weekend.

We’ve done various work projects lifting the campground up a notch. We take hikes, enjoy campfires (and s’mores of course!) And we have all the fun! One of the crazier things I mentioned in the podcast is we play human hungry, hungry hippos (and laugh uncontrollably as you can see in that video)!

What’s next?

Who knows but I bet it will be a mixture of traditions and new foods with lots of smiles to be had.

The post How Our Family Holiday Food Traditions Have Shifted: A Conversation with My Mom appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.

We’re off the farm in this episode as we ask listeners and friends to share their favorite holiday foods and traditions. As we hear from five people tell us about the foods that must be a part of their festive season, it is impossible not to reflect more on our own traditions. It’s also impossible to finish this show without wanting to try at least one dish!

When we published our update on growing cranberries, we asked listeners to share their holiday food stories. Knowing some can be cautious about stepping forward, I also messaged a few people. Our episode includes a lot of different foods and holidays/festivals. Hopefully you recognize pieces of your family’s celebrations in here while also learning something new.

Lots of Celebrations in Mexico

Ari Mateos is first up. He lives just across the border in Mexicali. The holiday season in Mexico starts with Dia de los Muertos on November 2 (the day of the dead where ancestors are honored) and goes until February 2 with Día de la Candelaria when candles are taken to church to be blessed.

One food that is central to the holiday is pozole, a pork and hominy stew that is common in Mexico. Ari mentions that while it is common throughout the year, making pozole at home is important in the holiday season. He says is ia a real comfort food for winter and it also has some magical properties that can aid in recovery Ari says. My friend Adriana Martin has a green pork pozole recipe that is cooked in the instant pot.

The food that is the focus of Christmas Eve dinner for the Mateos family is Bacalao a la Vizcaina. It’s more labor intensive than pozole and with that in mind, it’s a special dish for the holidays. Love that he helps us understand how his family likes to make it. Starting with dried cod fish there is a process of soaking in cold water to remove the salt before frying and adding in the various onions, tomatoes, capers, olives, etc. I love the tip about the best part of the dish at the end with the broth! Again Adriana’s got a recipe for her bacalao a la vizcaina if you want more detail.

Focus on Family & Traditions

Josie Gordon shares some of the holiday foods her family enjoys. Like many American families, the Gordons have a combinations of cultures — her husband’s general Southern background as well as her Cuban and Puerto Rican roots.

She says she learned to cook a traditional Thanksgiving the way her in-laws would celebrate. The family cooks together often and each of her kids have favorite dishes in the turkey, dressing & sweet potato mix that only come with holidays.

Cuban foods and traditions take the lead when it comes to Christmas and church, family and food all come together on Christmas Eve as is tradition for many Latin families. The much loved pernil (roasted pork), rice, black beans, a salad of some sort and tostones / fried plantains. And a night of Christmas pjs, stories and laughter… it’s perfect!

What Holiday Foods Make or Break the Meal

In central North Carolina, Nikki Miller Ka started cooking holiday meals for her working parents as her grandmother needed a hand. Cooking for people is a central piece of the holidays for Nikki, but she admits now and then there may have been problems with the main course… a turkey that was dry or under-cooked, or whatever.

By the age of 14, she had created a macaroni and cheese recipe that makes her family happy at a range of holidays and recently has made the internet go wild. As a freelance writer, Nikki pitched her recipe and it published it last year as a Thanksgiving prep piece & it made the list of Food and Wine’s top recipes of 2021. As a Southerner who loves mac and cheese, hearing about her big break, I HAD TO get her this shirt from a friend’s shop.

The Foods and Depth of Meaning of Hanukkah

Not participating in Hanukkah myself, I have only picked up tidbits here and there. Thankfully I knew Dana Zucker (remember the farm stay at Sugar Water Manor?) could get us the big picture as well as help us really understand the roles of foods. The 8-day festival of lights is about the dedication to keep going despite destruction, the perseverance of the oil-based candles. With that, foods that are fried in olive oil are central to celebrating Hanukkah.

Dana tells us about latkes and went through some tips to help make the potato pancakes hold together better. Her family has cooked so many so often that they set up to cook them outside! She says sour cream and apple sauce are the traditional go to but her family prefers Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream. They’ll also do some with spinach, an egg, or even make latkes out of sweet potatoes.

Another food that is part of the celebration is sufganiyot (jelly-filled donuts). The sweetness of the jelly provides reason to celebrate. She’s put some of her Hanukkah recipes up on one of her websites if you are looking for more on her favorite holiday foods.

Celebrating Multiple Cultures with Holiday Foods

Rosemary Mark develops recipes in the Bay Area. The holidays are a chance to look at the family’s immigration stories and share those with others. Like others she has elements that are deep in tradition with some little tweaks here and there.

Her parent’s immigration from Germany comes together with a big holiday meal with spätzle, a unique type of egg noodle. I love the way Rosemary talks about how the noodles are made because I immediately thought of making pasta and this is done very differently. It sounds like a perfect comfort food.

She also talks about lebkuchen — a spiced cookie similar to gingerbread that I had the chance to see in full force while visiting Christmas markets in Germany a couple of years ago. Some are really ornate, sold at markets, others packaged in tins, but Rosemary’s lebkuchen recipe has a few tweaks we discuss. In the photos she sent below you can see the wafer foundation on the cookie too and check out how festive those tins are!

Her husband’s family immigrated from China and the tradition for his mom was making wontons with the perfect filling. She always made them on Christmas day because she would have lot of hands around to help with the time intensive work of rolling, folding, stuffing and sealing lots of wontons! The family now welcomes in friends for the group project and Rosemary says not only does the group enjoy the fruits of their labor but they make enough so people can take some home. Check out these photos she sent — both in process and as they are being served!

Next Up? Hopefully My Family

Listening to all these stories makes me want to share the food traditions and evolutions for my family. I’m asking a few family members to help. Cross your fingers for me, I’ll need the good vibes!

The post Holiday Foods and Traditions: Stories from Listeners & Friends appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.

The role of food in holidays is unmistakeable and everyone has favorite holiday foods! Over the years of the podcast, we have had a variety of way to talk about holiday foods in the farm and the kitchen. While the page on favorite foods helps us find posts with the holidays tag, with so much content, it’s gotten unwieldy.

So we’re creating this to offer simplicity!

As you scan through the headings & links, know you can always come back here for more good info on your favorite holiday foods. We’ll start with the farm and move tot he kitchen just like food does!

Hear From Farmers who Grow Our Faves

The commitment to growing food is something all farmers share, but some farms seem to shine brightest at the holidays as the foods they grow are central to festivities. Here are links and brief descriptions for some of our past episodes that are so holiday friendly.

Sweet Potato Farmer Todd O’Neal Is Feeling the Love as Sweet Potatoes Grow in Favor

Turkey Farmers Are Deep Into the Holiday Rush

For Egg Farmers, Both Chickens and Eggs Have to Come First!

Growing Corn in Iowa, Dave Walton is Not The Stereotype You May Hear

Growing Sugar & Baking Cookies is the Sweet Life

Pumpkin Patch & the Passing of Time Means We Need An Update

Life Beside a Cranberry Marsh: Smoothies, Ecology and a Cran-Baby (Updated)

Favorite Holiday Foods in Our Kitchens

You’ll frequently find my entire family in a kitchen during the holidays, some working while others visit. We’re going to have to add more to this arena. So if you have some holiday foods you’d like to share recipes for or wondering about something we mention on the show, please drop a comment to help us

Holiday Foods and Traditions: Stories from Listeners & Friends

Cranberry Recipes Tested on Farm and in the City

What’s New Year’s without Black-Eyed Peas for Luck? I’m Not Tempting 2022

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I cannot believe it has been two years since we ventured toward the cranberry marsh that cranberry farmer Amber Bristow works. With the central roll this uniquely American fruit plays for my family’s holidays (I posted family favorite cranberry recipes for Amber & my families) and so many others, we took some time to catch up.

And there has been a lot going on with Amber! She’s added a cran-baby to the family, and yes, he already likes cranberries. How cool is that? But we talked about a lot more than cranbabies. So much has happened in the last couple of years, so let’s take a rundown on what she’s been up to!

Cranberries and TikTok

We talked to Amber before cranberry juice went viral! Remember that TikTok of the man riding his skateboard, just chilling and drinking cranberry juice? This one video just captured the feeling that everyone was longing for. So much so, that sales of cranberry juice went crazy with folks looking to pick up that vibe.

@420doggface208 ♬ Dreams (2004 Remaster) – Fleetwood Mac

The phenomenon gave Amber the boost she needed to join TikTok, and she very quickly discovered that the folks on TikTok definitely want to see her cranberry videos! It took a little courage because putting herself out there on TikTok was a little outside her comfort zone, but her following just blew up one day after she shared a cranberry harvest video. She’s not too sure how but one video of harvest this year has 6 million plays already! Seems folks love seeing how unique cranberry farming is and the chance to see what a real cranberry marsh looks like!

Please note: links for Stur & cranberry seeds are affiliate links and we may make a small commission on purchases.
There is no change in the price paid though.

Good for the Body

We also explored some new foods Amber is loving that showcase cranberries. She has found some delicious water enhancers called Stur that is great for jazzing up your glasses of water. And the pomegranate cranberry flavor is pretty great. And then there are cranberry seeds. Ocean Spray has partnered to help reduce food waste by turning a byproduct of juice-making into a healthy booster for salads and smoothies. Turns out, cranberry seeds have a lot of great vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants, and can be used like chia seeds or flax seeds to boost your favorite foods! I had never even heard of this before, so you can bet I had to order some.

Great for the Planet

Whether you’re in the midwest like Amber and call it a cranberry marsh or you live in the northeast and call it a cranberry bog, cranberry farms can be a great support to the local ecosystem. Many animals take advantage of the cycle that the cranberry marsh follows.

Amber sees so many wild animals on the farm, from the pairs of geese that return year after year, to frogs, raccoons, possums, and now a family of otters! With all of that ecology talk and knowing how kids would be interested, we had to do a lesson plan about growing cranberries! It’s available on TPT if you teach, homeschool or want to purchase for someone who does.

She also helped me understand how climate change is affecting cranberry farmers and how the extension service is coming through for farmers with data and recommendations.

 

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The 2022 Cranberry Harvest

Of course, I can’t share an update without cranberry marsh harvest videos. And no one shoots cranberry harvest videos like Amber does!

 

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You can find Amber on the web and social media everywhere as CranberryChats!  She has several recipes there too!

The post Life Beside a Cranberry Marsh: Smoothies, Ecology and a Cran-Baby (Updated) appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.

Back in 2020, we talked with Shannon Latham who runs a pumpkin farm up in Northern Iowa. Well, now that 2022’s pumpkin season has rolled around, we headed back to the pumpkin patch to find out what the latest news is for Shannon and Enchanted Acres.

An AI generated transcript is available.  

Shannon shared are lots of decisions to make when it comes to running a pumpkin farm. And while people tend to think about pumpkin patches for six weekends in the fall, farm families have something on the calendar most of the year with planting, pest management and there’s all that time thinking about what to plant.

Pumpkin Patch Basics

Shannon told us that the seed catalog for pumpkin growers is a half-inch thick and full of different pumpkins. Each pumpkin has its own unique characteristics. She struggles to keep her plantings down to only 20 varieties from the hundreds available to choose from laughing while saying some women really like shoes, clothes or whatever, for her it’s pumpkins!

Some are sweet and suited to baking, others big with thin walls for carving Jack-o-Lanterns, and still others are huge and can only be moved with a forklift or a tractor! And that’s not the half of it! You’ve got warty pumpkins, pumpkins that look like Cinderella’s coach, white pumpkins, green and yellow speckled pumpkins, and on and on and on.

And you can find many of these at the pumpkin patch, whether that’s Enchanted Acres’ pumpkin farm or your own local pumpkin patch.

The most important thing to consider is what you want to do with your pumpkin. Do you want to cook it, carve it, paint it, etc? Knowing that will help you decide which pumpkin to get when you visit your pumpkin patch.

Pumpkin Season Recipes

Pumpkins are tasty any time of the year, but especially now that there’s a chill in the air and the leaves are starting to turn.

Shannon gets so excited talking about cooking with fresh pumpkin that you’ll be hungry by the time you finish listening to the episode.

Here are some of Shannon’s favorite recipes using pumpkins, and a couple of bonus squash recipes!

• Pumpkin pudding (like pumpkin pie without the crust!)
• Pumpkin pie in a bag
• The family’s favorite pumpkin muffins
• Savory pumpkin recipe from the gourmet cooking club
• Sausage & Squash Soup
• Butternut squash bake

What’s the latest?

2022 has been a record-breaking year for the Enchanted Acres. Shannon was happy to share that they had more visitors this year than any other year, and their pumpkin crop has been amazing!

Her favorite pumpkin is still the Cinderella pumpkin because it reminds her of Cinderella’s magic coach!

Even with the excellent year, 2022 will be the last year they will be hosting the pumpkin patch. She started out with a 10 year plan and failed to stop at the decade. She also admits it just isn’t the same since her father passed away — adding she and her brother had no idea how many hours dad must have been putting in. And her own kids have gone to college and are beginning to build some of their own things.

They have returned to the past, putting a great pumpkin back out to bring some wonder to evening drives in the area.

Enchanted Acres is looking to the future, and dreaming beyond the pumpkin farm. Shannon says the farm and venue will remain a part of the community but she hopes someone else decides to plant lots of pumpkins.

Farming is all about looking toward the future, so we are excited to see what that holds for Enchanted Acres!

The post Pumpkin Patch & the Passing of Time Means We Need An Update appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.

I grew up in a Southern family which included a range of traditions. It’s long been a tradition to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day to set the good luck for the year.

And while the tradition is now deeply Southern, the origins go back much further. The New York Times recently talked to food historians about all of it:

How to Serve Black-Eyed Peas for Luck

If you haven’t eating peas for the holidays, you may be wondering whether the way you eat them matters. I don’t think so. Just go for it!

I immediately think of slow cooked black-eyed peas when I think of New Year’s Day. In my family, the peas are cooked slowly with some pork for seasoning. We usually ate them with a relish made of pickled green tomatoes we call chow-chow. My mom and grandmother would make chow chow each fall as tomatoes were unlikely to ripen. Now you can even get chow chow on Amazon!  (Here’s an affiliate link for one mom and I tried called Tennessee’s Best Old Fashioned Chow Chow. I liked the hot one most even though mom’s homemade was better.)

Here’s a photo from a New Year’s past to show what I mean.

For friends and family in Texas, usually had their black-eyed peas in a dip with tortilla chips. They’d call it Texas Caviar and I’ve had it several times on New Year’s too. I like getting creative with recipes honestly but that one from All Recipes is the kind I would look at as I decide what to add or subtract.

And in the Southeastern U.S. it’s more likely to be Hoppin’ John that has the pork, peas and rice all in one dish.

Learn More about Peas

We’ve done interviews with a couple of people about peas that you may want to call up.

• This year we talked with Priyanka Gupta who’s a plant breeder working with grasspeas in Morocco. Like other peas, it’s a good source of fiber and protein. She talked to us about how improving the plants will make a real difference for the developing world.
• Closer to home, Terren Moore grows purple hull peas and greens in Texas. Purple hull peas are closely related to black-eyed peas but tend to be a bit creamier and don’t have the prominent coloring.

If you aren’t a fan of peas, maybe you should check out some of the other New Year’s foods and traditions. Years ago, my friend Albert (you may remember his episode this summer talking about bitter gourd)  added noodles to the traditions I observe for New Year’s as they bring long life! I haven’t decided yet whether I’m going with rice noodles or a wheat-based pasta yet for this year but I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.

The post What’s New Year’s without Black-Eyed Peas for Luck? I’m Not Tempting 2022 appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.

It’s the age ol’ question that continues to perplex us – which came first? The chicken or the egg? Most days, eggs are far more likely to be part of the breakfast mix than that may mean they come first for a lot of us. But for egg farmers like Dianne McComb it’s the care of hens that deliver the incredible, edible egg! So both stay front and center!  (Podcast transcript available here — Talking with an Egg Farmer)

Getting to Know Dianne

McComb’s farm is in Ontario, Canada, just two short hours from downtown Detroit Michigan. She says the area still offers all the benefits of that country, rarified fresh air experience when it comes to growing resources and rearing livestock. The farm’s rolling hills are nestled in among other farms and small cities making for an excellent sense of community, interdependency and life that helps to foster the legacy she and now four generations have crafted.

Currently, Dianne and her brother operate the farm. They took it over from their parents a few years ago. And although Dianne’s children have chosen not continue on with the family farm legacy, the farm is in transition as new family of owners.

At 400 acres, her farm is average, and at one time featured beef cattle, crops and egg-laying hens at one time, but now eggs, corn, wheat and soybeans make up the main compliment of resources that Dianne and her farm provide. Believe it or not, the corn makes for an incredibly recyclable resource as they feed the egg-laying hens the grain to make them healthy and strong, then when the hens eliminate, their manure is used as a fertilizer to help make the corn (and wheat and soybeans) grow strong and fine, just like the hens and their tasty bounty!

Taking Care of the Hens

For some context, Dianne’s farm features 25,000 hens currently which make it an average-sized hen operation in Canada. When we compare it to the hen farms in the United States however, the number of hens increase to a  million on average. That’s a lot of eggs!

What also comes with the hens, is the ongoing, evolving relationship of care. When you walk into the barn, they know you’re there and interact appropriately. In a smaller operation like Dianne’s, that’s incredibly valuable. That top level of animal care results in hen health, regular laying activity and standard of quality.

Although a backyard chicken coop may take a few minutes a day to take care of, a flock like the McCombs are more like a regular business day. After starting her day at 8 am, Dianne walks through tending to the hens needs,  collecting eggs and the detailed cleaning needed to preserve biosecurity in her farm. She says most days, she’s done in the barn by 3:30 pm, which was especially nice when her kids were school aged. It’s a lot of work, but it’s truly a labor of love.

While the grind of a farm IS a daily activity, Dianne has a number of helping hands come in on the weekends to help round out all of the duties to take care of the farm. The housing system they used is called “enriched housing” for hens.  Hens are inside all the time, have a perching area, a nesting area, and dedicated feed lines that run inside the living quarters. When the hens lay their eggs, they roll out onto a belt that collects them. Their manure is also managed to help keep both the hens and their general environment clear and healthy.

Dianne is active with a program called Farm & Food Care and pointed us to some videos that would help us see what the farm is like.

Focusing on the Eggs

The post For Egg Farmers, Both Chickens and Eggs Have to Come First! appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.

As we round the foods on the holiday plate, it’s time to talk about growing corn! Corn isn’t just one of the staples for a healthy holiday season, it’s a consumable that has been around since the beginning of time. With so many types, varieties, colors, flavors and people that grow and harvest it, there’s a TON to learn about this little, robust and incredibly diverse crop!

Iowa Corn Farmer Dave Walton

To walk us through corn, we turn to Dave Walton of Walton Farms in Wilton, Iowa! (Yes, that’s a photo in a soybean field. Oh well!) Connect with Walton Farms online today and tell them the Grounded By The Farm Podcast sent ya’!
Walton_ Farms on Instagram

WaltonAgSeed on Twitter
Walton Farms – Iowa on Facebook

What is teosinte?

When we say the word teosinte, what comes to mind for you?

Teosinte is a tall grass native to Mexico and Central America. And it is commonly considered the ancestor of the corn that the world enjoys today in a vast number of ways. I don’t mind admitting that it just looks like a bunch of overgrown grass till you look at the seed head.

While we’re talking about corn, did you know that teosinte is inedible until it is processed by grinding or something?

Growing and eating corn is a BIG deal! Speaking of “Big” do you remember the movie scene from Big Janice mentioned where Tom Hanks eats “baby corn”? You will after watching this scene!

Different Types of Corn

How many types of corn do YOU know about? Inside this episode you’ll learn about many different kinds of corn – not all of which is bred for human’s to eat… some high starch corn is used for livestock, in processing and even fuel.

Sweet corn is right where many of us go to when we think of corn…. I mean, it is so amazing fresh out of the field!

What is your favorite way to eat corn on the cob? While sweet corn has more sugar content, and yellow dent corn has more starch, there are many different ways and types of corn to eat.

Ever heard of “really old corn?” There are a series of corns that Dave talks about that are actually from colonial times! It’s unique, grows tall, but looks pretty different from his field corn. He sent us a photo that shows the difference in cobs — the one on the right has more starch in it and dents as it dries down, the one on the left is one Dave grinds for use in food at home.

Where can one find more information about “heritage corns” and corns from different times in history? It takes getting creative, but Dave says it’s worth the networking!

Farmers like Dave test the moisture in corn to keep an eye on quality. It’s the same process Matt walked us through when we talked about growing quality popcorn last year. Listen to this episode of Grounded By The Farm to make sure YOU have the right level of POP in your corn!

Keeping Corn On-Hand

Looking for the secret to freezing corn to save for later in the year? Farmers like Dave Walton have got the system down! He shares his in this episode… give it a listen to hear his tips.

You can also check out this post from my friend Leah who’s written out our family’s fast and effective how to freeze corn in great quantities if you are lucky enough to have that deep freezer ready in July!

Home Ground Corn for All the Things

Dave shares some of the ways the family uses corn at home in this episode saying that they love to make tortillas with some of the blue corn and some of the older varieties make great polenta too! He even sent photos of some of the polenta he had made.

Masa – are you familiar with masa? It’s mentioned several times in this episode and is critical to those tamales! Dave and company make it “Fresh as it can be” at Walton Farms. Dave talks about grinding corn to various textures.

 

Holidays and Corn Go Hand-in-Hand

How many of you have CORN CASSEROLE during the holidays? It’s a centerpiece inside of many tables – including Dave’s! And cornbread / cornbread dressing is the best! Definitely a family favorite of ours.

Being Southern, I turn to tamales for Christmas-time enjoyment of corn! Having friends of Mexican heritage, tamales are the spot, but I also spent years in the Mississippi Delta — a region that holds that food so dear that they have a tamale trail! And I can hear it calling me and may have to head back down once covid is behind us. For anyone in the St. Louis area, you should check out The Tamale Man — feel free to hit me up if you want help placing that order! I love what they are doing!

Growing Corn in Your Garden

With corn being native to the Americas, it can be grown in most areas of the US. And growing corn is pretty popular in backyard and community gardens. We asked Dave what we should know? and he points out using top soil as a base.

And many home gardeners The Three Sisters Method: Are you familiar with it? It’s a way for corn, beans and squash to all thrive together.

Importance of Healthy Soil

Ready to help your soil be healthy, retain structure and stay in place? Dave talks through you how to keep our soil healthy and ready not just for corn – but for “Cover Crops” that are a used on farms all over the world!

Links Mentioned in the Show

Brandon Whitt, who grows barley for a local Nashville brewery is beginning to play with some of the heritage corn varieties too.

Tips on how to freeze sweet corn.

Natasha uses a lot of companion planting like the three sisters in the We Sow We Grow garden.

 

The post Growing Corn in Iowa, Dave Walton is Not The Stereotype You May Hear appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.

Todd O’Neal is a sweet potato farmer in Louisiana and his enthusiasm for the crop is electric. He talks to us about how sweet potatoes were considered something for poor people, as small farmers always had a patch to feed their family. But recently, the crop has been better understood as flavorful, nutritious and versatile. Todd talks to us for our holiday foods series about the ins and outs of growing them as well as give us his tip on the best way to enjoy sweet potatoes.

Todd is with Black Gold Farms, you can connect with them on online:

• On the Web: https://blackgoldfarms.com/
• Like Them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackGoldFarms/
• Connect with Them on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/black-gold-farms/

Watch Todd talk growing sweet potatoes this season with the team at This Week in Louisiana Agriculture.

Sweet Potatoes are now grown & enjoyed 12 months out of the year! It’s no longer just a holiday thing!

Did you know that the “regular potatoes” you think of are often called “white potatoes” or “Irish Potatoes?”

The Curing Process in Sweet potatoes: Regular/white/Irish potatoes are brought inside to an environment to cool. Sweet potatoes on the other hand are heated up to help break down the sugars inside the sweet potato which makes it “sweet”.

The biggest time of the year for sweet potato farmers? Thanksgiving! Holidays are big in general. Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter are all big times for sweet potatoes. But they have been gaining ground and are now enjoyed year round!

Why are sweet potatoes so popular? At one time every farmer grew sweet potatoes but there was a steady decline as farming numbers dwindled. At one time, sweet potatoes were somehow aligned with people “being poor” and so they fell off the general chart of attention span. In just the last decade, sweet potatoes have gained attention momentum, being associated with a general focus on health, being offered as solutions to many people with a variety of dietary needs including those who are diabetic and take take on the starches that are provided in the Regular/White/Irish Potato.They are high in Vitamin A & Beta Carotene.

It’s in the bag, man: When COVID-19 began gripping the US, there was a swell in sales of sweet potatoes (and all general foods that could be purchased/acquired at grocery stores). Todd also noticed something strange in a photo of a grocery store’s produce area – the only things left were “loose apples” which helped to craft a new plan to help the sale of sweet potatoes. It was clear that people were grabbing things in a BAG, because people were paying attention to how many surfaces were touched by how many people.

There’s only ONE kind of sweet potato, right? There are many varieties of sweet potatoes – The Bayou Belle: It’s not the prettiest potato but makes for great sweet potato fries! The Orleans sweet potato is the pretty one for fresh market handsome go to processors and there is a lesser known type – The Beauregard – all of which were developed and named – clearly – from their development at Louisiana State’s Sweet Potato Research Station.

The Count Matters – Which state tops sweet potato production? Wondering who is on top of the “sweet potatoes heap? North Carolina currently grows the most. Mississippi is in the second slot. California comes in third, and Louisiana takes the number 4 slot.

Lookin’ Mighty Fine (For a sweet potato…): Todd is SURE, (not because he lives and has a sweet potato farm there or anything) that Louisiana Potatoes LOOK the best of all available sweet potatoes.

What makes these so great? Silt loam soils!

Silt is a solid, dust-like sediment that water, ice, and wind transport and deposit. Silt is made up of rock and mineral particles that are larger than clay but smaller ..

Loam is a special type of soil that has been formulated to contain a mixture of sand, silt and clay. Sandy loam soil is a very desirable medium that is used by farmers, gardeners, landscapers and property owners because of its very beneficial qualities.

You can learn more about the passion for soil in this conversation with Mr. Ray Young that’s mentioned.

Did You Know: A sweet potato will cure in 4-5 days in general, but depends a bit on time of year, temperature and humidity.

Some Like It Hot – But Not Wet: 85% humidity and nice cool temperatures (55 degrees or so) is best to put sweet potatoes “to sleep” to help prevent CO2 levels form climbing too high that would cause the sweet potatoes to rot. They also like dry environments like Shay told us onions do…

Smart Buildings Help Feed People? Huh? Sweet potato farmers often use buildings that detect how much CO2 is building up to help prevent unfavorable conditions!

The Root of the Matter: A sweet potato is a root. It’s part of the morning glory family – it’s a WEED! It has the same type of flowers you may have seen in a vining garden.

SORRY! You’re Going to Have to Listen to This Episode to Find Out… The process of growing and cultivating sweet potatoes is incredibly detailed! Be sure to listen to this episode of Grounded By The Farm to understand all of it! Thanks, Todd!

Big Machines – Beautiful sweet potatoes – ACTION! Interested in seeing ALL of the sweet potato farming machines in action? “Dig It!”

https://youtu.be/EGFo3bZj_SM

Planting sweet potatoes takes 40-50 days! Harvesting is probably 75 days of the year!

Ready to learn more about “H2A Workers”? Be sure to check out The Grounded By the Farm episode on growing peppers for more details!

Counting Workers to Help Make It COUNT! Did you know that the Black Gold Farm location that Todd supervises, has almost 300 employees? Feeding people requires hard work and they truly enjoy their effort knowing that it will put food on the plates of many people!

You Say “Yam” But They Say “Sweet Potato” — What’s the Story? Are Yams and sweet potatoes the SAME THING? As much as we want you to read and then know the answer, you’re going to have to listen to this episode of Grounded By The Farm with Todd O’Neal from Black Gold sweet potato farm to find out! Suffice it to say, Louisiana is marketing smart!

Finding sweet potatoes near you! The market for sweet potatoes has grown sometimes due to food services and restaurants.

• Do you know what a QSR is? It’s an acronym that in this case stands for Quick Serve Restaurant!
• Do you know what an LTO is? It’s an acronym that in this case stands for Limited Time Offer!
• What does YOUR favorite “QSR” offer as an “LTO?” Tell us PDQ, or you’ll be SOL, and end up doing KP and if you’re in the we’ll surely all end up DOA!

Curious about ONIONS? Be sure to check out the episode of Grounded By The Farm featuring onion farmer that’s so good it’ll make you CRY! https://groundedbythefarm.com/growing-onions/

Black Gold offers value added & bulk sweet potatoes! There are so many innovations that go beyond individual sweet potatoes or bags, doing poly-wrapped and more. Fresh at the grocery really went up when more people stayed at home, but the company also offers them in bulk of 40 pounds at their Delhi, Louisiana location.

How does a sweet potato farmer prefer to eat a sweet potato? First it gets peeled. Then you warm up a seasoned cast iron skillet. Slice the sweet potato length-wise. Toss in half a stick of butter and brown it up on both sides – sprinkle a little salt on it and you’re there! He’s had sweet potato biscuits, sweet potato cakes and more! What’s YOUR favorite kind of sweet potato preparation? Contact us via The Grounded By The Farm’s social media and tell us what yours is!

The Struggle is REAL: Sweet potatoes WITH or WITHOUT – PECANS? That’s a controversy

Storing them at home — keep them in a cool, dark place. Heat is the enemy that causes it to put sprouts on and it changes the texture inside.

Stick It – In The Window! Even Todd grows sweet potatoes in his window sill! Have you tried to be a sweet potato farmer? He gives the instructions on how to do it inside this episode! Listen, Learn, Grow and EAT!

We Need to Hear from You! 

What did YOU find interesting about this episode of Grounded by The Farm? What would you like us to be sure we include in the second season of the podcast? Tell Janice what you thought about it now and we just may use your feedback on a future episode

The team at EditorCorps.com helped with show notes and editing of this episode.

The post Sweet Potato Farmer Todd O’Neal Is Feeling the Love as Sweet Potatoes Grow in Favor appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.