Hello, January! The Latest News from Farm & Larder and Bella Luna Farms
Happy New Year! As 2024 gets underway, we would like to convey our heartfelt thanks: We have been delivering our weekly boxes filled with fresh, seasonal fare and housemade provisions going on 11 years now! We couldn’t do it without you and truly appreciate your enthusiastic feedback and support. To our new 2024 subscribers, welcome! We cannot wait to share the bounty of the farm with you in the year ahead.
On that note, we are in the midst of moving our F&L headquarters into a new warehouse space located near to the farm that will enable us to have more room to prep your weekly boxes. Once that move is complete, we will update you on when you can expect those weekly deliveries to begin! Meanwhile, in between trips to and fro, we have been pulling together some exciting new menus and organizing fresh and fun provisions for the months ahead; we cannot wait to share the best of the farm with you.
As we also wind down from the holiday season, now is a time of planning here at the farm. Seed catalogs are beginning to arrive, a most awaited and favorite time to read of new varieties and old favorites, reminding us of the delights of spring with the anticipation of new seedlings soon to be popping up in the greenhouse. The milder than usual winter weather has made farm chores seem like less of a chore, as we walk about the farm caring for the animals. The “girls” are still busy laying while all snug in their coop and the other resident animals are staying warm and toasty, cuddled up in extra straw to weather the cold nights.
During darker evenings or gloomier days, you can find us in our happy place: our in-house creamery, Bellsong, where our two resident cheesemakers Pam and Meghan are ever-busy working on new creations like herbed-kissed fromage blanc, creamy ricotta or silky crème fraîche. And, of course, we are all eagerly anticipating our first Classes on the Farm workshop of the new year on January 27th covering these very same cheeses; register today and join us!
We hope your New Year is off to a safe and healthy start—here’s to great growing, connecting and, of course, eating in 2024!
Hi, December! The Latest News from Farm & Larder and Bella Luna Farms
Heading into December, the days are getting shorter and shorter while also seemingly getting busier and busier as we embark on the very merry holiday season!
Speaking of merry, we have had such an amazing time launching our new Classes on the Farm series here at the farm over the past month; thanks to all of you who have joined us and have helped make it such a success already! The joy will continue this holiday season and beyond: We have more curated classes and workshops coming up soon, including a Holiday Cocktails & Appetizers class being offered this Saturday, December 9th from 2-5 p.m.
Join us for a delightful and delicious afternoon as Conjure Catering owner and mixologist, Cooper Smith, guides us through the art of creating holiday cocktails and mocktails with seasonal, homemade cordials, garnishes and tinctures, as well as treats us to an incredible, seasonally-inspired, multi-course lunch served in our stunning Grapehouse. Reserve your spot here!
In between readying the farm for these fun events, we have been busy putting the ornamental flower gardens to bed and also adding heavy straw mulch to the vegetable plots, which will remain fallow over the winter to protect the soil and keep weeds at bay. In other areas of the vegetable garden and in our cut flower field, we planted cover crops which will be tilled in during the spring to help add nutrients to the soil before planting. We are busy digging and storing dahlia tubers, and the first seed catalog has just arrived in the mail!
As the holiday shopping season commences, look no further than the farm. We have a little something for everyone on your list, with subscriptions to Farm & Larder’s weekly delivery service, gift cards or gift baskets all available for purchase. And, of course if you come visit us for a workshop this month, you can shop our curated winter market here at the farm, featuring farmstead provisions and fresh-made goods from our own creamery. We would love to put together a custom gift basket or flower arrangement for you—please let us know how we can help!
On a scheduling note, the last F&L delivery of the year will be on Thursday, December 21st and then we will pick back up again per usual in the New Year—we will keep you posted on dates and details here in the next few weeks so you can mark your calendars. From all of us here at the farm, we wish you and yours a merry holiday season and a Happy New Year!
Hi, November! The Latest News from Farm & Larder and Bella Luna Farms
As we turn the corner into late fall with the arrival of November, the farm is awash in color—from the beautiful fall leaves fluttering to the ground in bright scarlet and yellow hues from our collection of Gingko, chestnut, oak and maple trees to the crisp and colorful apples and pears we are still harvesting in the orchard.
In between our usual fall farm chores, we are busy prepping the farm for the premiere of our new Classes on Farm series, which kick-off this upcoming Saturday, November 11th, with a festive wreath-making workshop! It’s just the first of many: Resident cheesemaker Meghan McKenna next guides us through the wonderful world of buttermaking on November 18th; then, our friends at Conjure Catering helps us preserve the fall harvest through jams, jellies, and more on November 19th, and definitely don’t miss the duo’s holiday cocktail class on December 2nd! We are so excited to once again open our doors and invite the community to gather, learn, and grow together. We hope you’ll join us; class details and registration can be found here.
Elsewhere around the farm, the birds are busy feasting on the dark purple Evergreen huckleberries, bright orange rose hips and windfall apples both in the garden and orchard. Squirrels are busy seemingly everywhere, burying walnuts, chestnuts and acorns for their winter food. On crisp fall mornings, you’ll find our very tame and social goats hanging out in their barn, and now that they have all day to dream up trouble, they seem to be up to even more mischief than usual. They are a curious bunch, keeping their eyes on both what we are up to and all the goings on at the farm, hoping for treats every time we pass by.
We are also taking advantage of the days by finishing putting up the last of the harvested tomatoes—this fall, we have preserved over 900 pounds of juicy, ripe tomatoes in big batches of our Nonna Pat’s marinara sauce. The orchard apples will be making their way into apple sauces and apple butters, and we are also setting aside spiced pears and beets, and making preserved lemons with the remaining fruit from the Meyer lemon trees that are now pulled close to the barn for shelter from the cold.
One special note: There will be no F&L box the day of Thanksgiving (November 23rd), but we will get you all set for the feast in the preceding week’s delivery which, per tradition, will be full of all our favorite holiday provisions. Your weekly delivery will pick back up again on Thursday, November 30th—have a happy turkey day with your loved ones and know that we are grateful for you!
Hello, October! The Latest News from Farm & Larder and Bella Luna Farms
Coming off a wet week of some much-need rain as we start the month of October, those aforementioned drippy days, plus the cooler nights and brisk mornings, are indeed telling us it truly is fall.
Here at Bella Luna, the leaves are just beginning to turn color—brilliant shades of red, yellow and orange, and the local wildlife are beginning to stash provisions like crazy. Squirrels are busy darting to and fro, carrying off acorns, walnuts and chestnuts—some as big as their heads—to bury for food during the winter months. The blue jays are also busy squabbling with one another, battling the squirrels and each other for hazelnuts.
In addition to the time spent tending our clients’ gardens for our landscape design firm Parterre, we are also hosting a few fall weddings and other gatherings, like the two farm dinners we hosted this past weekend in partnership with Conjure Catering and also Chef Tomas Litrenta. Keep an eye out for more special event announcements soon, including more details on our November 18th butter- and cheese-making class with renowned cheesemaker, Meghan McKenna.
Originally from the Midwest, Meghan started out as a cheesemonger for Metropolitan Market in Seattle and while there, developed the very popular hand-stretched mozzarella program. She later worked at Mountain Lodge Farm as their cheesemaker and more recently as a cheesemaker at Cherry Valley Dairy. And, in the most exciting news yet, we are thrilled to announce that she will be joining us this week as a cheesemaker here in our on-farm creamery, Bellsong Creamery! Our handmade cheeses will be crafted with cow’s milk sourced from local third generation Groeneveld Farm, and we cannot wait to share our new cheeses and butters with you in the months to come.
In between events here at home, we are harvesting apples and pears from the orchards, and pulling the last of the heirloom tomatoes out of the hoophouse, which are destined for more batches of our Nonna Pat’s marinara. As the tomatoes end their season, they make way for fall plantings of kale, cabbage and Swiss chard to overwinter for early spring harvest. These hardy crops always renew our excitement for fall and its distinct pleasures—like foraging for mushrooms in the woods or enjoying the distinct flavors of autumn over a warm and cozy supper.
We hope you are also enjoying the start of fall and the harvest season as it gets underway!
