Testimonial

We got this email today and thought it was just too great not to share with everyone. Thanks Joanne for your email. We certainly look forward to seeing you next year!

Dear Les and Pat, I used the pie pumpkin you gave me for making Thanksgiving pies and pumpkin bread this year and have to tell you, it was the best I had ever eaten. First of all, baking the pumpkin proved easier than I anticipated. The Pumpkin just fell off the shell and the pulp was ready to go! Amazing. The taste was incredible. I cut back on the use of sugar because I felt it didn’t need that much. Everyone I shared the pie and breads with commented on how delicious it was. Thank you again for your generosity in giving us that pumpkin. Next year I will definitely be back out at St. Coletta’s and purchase one. With this experience, it is impossible to go back to canned pumpkin, ever! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and blessings on all you are doing! Sr. Joanne

Back to Work

We had a great weekend. "Thanksgiving", the turkey that is, has settled back in - again thanks to whoever brought him back. The sun is coming up over the hill/pasture and the calves that Steve (Honey Creek Dairy) moved into the livestock shed in East Troy seem to be enjoying the sunrise too. Looks like everyone is ready for work to begin.

BlackSheep Enterprises: Thanksgiving!

BlackSheep Enterprises: Thanksgiving!: "Thanksgivings Coming!!!! HIDE ME - HIDE ME!!!"

Thank-you for whoever hid him and then brought him back to us on Thanksgiving day! Les

Pumpkin wine the "easy" way!

Hey! Learned something new from another backyard/kitchen wine maker last night. When you decant the wine from the pumpkin shell, they suggested putting it in a bowl in the fridge for 12 hours, then do the second decant into wine bottles. Then put a strong balloon over the top. If the wine is still active, this will let gases out, but keep bacteria and other bad yeast from getting in!!! I've got to try this on this years batch!!

We're also working on trying to do the first decant directly into champagne bottles and sealing for a "sparkling" pumpkin wine.

Supper salad

Supper tonight - fresh field harvested spinach, onion tops, beet tops, heritage garden peach tomatoes, with Wisconsin apples and crasins. The advantage of having local produce available!

More of current harvest - spinach

Fresh "field harvested"November spinach!!!

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgivings Coming!!!! HIDE ME - HIDE ME!!!

Next weeks crop!!

YES!! It's the middle of November in Wisconsin and we still have heritage tomatoes in the greenhouse. Have you ever had a "Garden Peach"? Well this small heritage yellow tomato is for you! Fresh - ripe from the vine, these tomatoes have been used by a customer to make a tomato sorbet for a white linen restaurant. The credit goes to the "chef"!

See our availability lists for your family holiday menu items. Many we hope will become "Foodie Favorites"

On the left is our line of open pollinated blue corn for milling, next our white line, then yellow, then dark red. All are organic produced, open pollinated varieties that were developed by BlackSheep Enterprises. The line on the right is one of the parents that selections were made from. We do corn breeding/selection different from others. We plant our selections at @ 60,000 (normal would be 25,000), if they stand, produce a hefty ear, and pollinate totally, then they stay in the genetic pool for the future of the line. If not, the goats and sheep love them!

We have pound packages available this year call 920-210-6028 for availability for home milling purchases and details.

We will be offering some of the yellow line and white line for cattle silage corn crops for 2011. The white line got to about 14+ feet this year with 1 foot+ ears. The yellow line got 12+ feet tall with slender ears over 1 foot on almost every stalk. The lines, we have been told, that cattle will leave other feed to eat the ears of our lines.

Trying something new If this works, buy a wine pumpkin for pie and/or wine the easy way. Well it didn't work. Note the lighter colored pumpkins, as these are the "cannery" pumpkins we developed.

We have moved squash and pumpkins under cover in both East Troy and Jefferson to keep them fresh and ready for Thanksgiving (or for supper tonight). Call Les or Pat and we'll set up a time for you to chose the one's for your table!
920-210-6028 or 920-210-1238
REMEMBER - Co-op's for resale, or restaurant chef's, or 2011 paid CSA members get wholesale pricing!!!!

That's the spottttttt!!!!!!!!

First time blogger!

I'm trying to get this to work. If it does, I'll try to be more regular on updates. I have some cool pictures and info from time to time.

Current projects:
Digging the last of the fingerling's
Harvesting spinach
Harvesting Brussel sprouts
Harvesting soybeans - We have the only seed that can be found for Vinton 87 variety soybeans. The ultimate for toffu makers
Harvesting red, white and blue organic corn for milling into colored corn meal.
Harvesting our newest offering - COLORED "GOURMET" SQUIRREL CORN. Watch these clowns of your yard feast on multicolored corn all winter long!
Digging and planting horseradish
Planting garlic for next years crop
Planting cover crops yet
Planting strawberry plants saved from the sister's plantings from years ago.
Gathering "Hops" - (wild) roots for starting our organic Hops yard next spring
Of course, fencing, clean-up, and hopefully starting construction on new greenhouses at Jefferson.

Exciting times are upon us!!!

Sunset

     The sunset last night was incredible from the top of the hill on the farm in Jefferson.  The sky was a specatular display of colors dancing to a rythm all its own.  When I finally came out of the aw effect I wished that Rachel had been there.  (That's  my daughter in-law and beside being a wonderful daughter in-law, she is a talented photographer.  I fell in love with a recent photo of a Penn Barn in fall color with a rainbow.)
     Oh I suppose I should remind everyone about the Making Pumpkin Pie from Scratch workshop next week at Basics in Janesville, 4:00PM Wed. Nov. 10th.  It will feature the pumpkin that Les has been working on over the years.  It is similar to a canner pumpkin with a dull orange out side, and thick bright orange meat that has  a flavor to die for.  And yes we have plenty for the holiday pie making/ wine making season.  Check out tips and recipes on the website or better yet join us on Wed the 10th.