From Farm to Fork

Psst! yeah you. Wanna try some handmade cheese? How about some butter? As you may know, Superstition Farm and Udder Delights are starting a organic food buying club (sign up here! http://www.superstitionfarmtours.com/organic.html. We have been working on some butter and cheese recipes to offer all our friends on the farm and Udder Delights. We are at the point of getting some products out in limited quantities while the final details are ironed out and we go through the regulations of becoming a food manufacturer.

Currently, one can purchase nest run eggs at the farm and Udder Delights. Did you know all our baked goods at Udder are made with our eggs fresh from the farm? We also only use milk from the farm cooperative in our foods and at our 30 flavor Milk Bar. You can also buy real milk at both places - when was the last time you had real whole milk?!

So to our friends we are offering up a special treat. Sign up for the organic buying club and get some special treats! We will be giving away some farmstead handmade butter and cheese to all our friends who join the club. We want your feedback! Tell us what your taste buds tell you! We are excited about offering up some unique products and flavors - Agave butter, anyone? Rosemary cheese? Get in my belly!

If you are not able to join the club, send me an email. While delicious, tasty and nutritious organic foods are not for everyone, dairy products certainly are! If you are interested in some local artisan butter, cheese and ice cream (special flavors not found at Udder Delights) let me know and I can keep you all updated.

Be a part of a our local movement. Your taste buds will never be the same.

Farmer Casey

Party Time!

We had our first birthday party of the new season today. When the reservation was made last month it sure was hot! We were pleased to wake up this morning wishing we had a sweater when we did our morning chores. Ok, it was probably in the low 70's - but this is Arizona......

Sherene (my best friend and partner at Udder Delights) and I interviewed a pastry chef - Jamie. As luck would have it, she applied for the job as we were getting ready for the party. Her interview was to decorate these cakes! The theme was farm-ey as the family actually has a ranch in New Mexico. How did she do? We hired her! :)

The family enjoyed the farm tour and animals. Yes, Carmichael was on his best behaviour today - although he was trying to pass his goat droppings to kids as Milk Duds. Some went in our arena to ride the horses while udders camped out on the hayride as a comfy home base.

We had a photographer from the San Tans News come out to take some photos they will use for a story about our farm. Gordon Murray aka "Flash Gordon" (I swear I am not making this up!) came out and saw the party, our local food tasting we prepared for our Organic Food Club and sampled some of our homemade Ice Cream. I wonder if Carmichael will make ANOTHER news story?! I need his publicist......

Animals Eating Hay and Whey?

Today I made some fresh cheese from our cows. It was a Queso Fresco with garlic and pepper - yummy! When I finished I had some whey left over. I took some to Redbone and he drank some. Handsome the Turkey also liked it. He would stick his whole head in the bowl to get a drink. Turkies are not that smart, fyi....

So since everyone else was liking it, I took the last 3 gallons over to the goats. Now, they say goats eat everything. This is true. As it turns out a group of goats will eat everything; individual goats can be picky eaters - just hang around Charmichael for a day and you will see (yes to eating children's hats, no to brocolli, for example).

So everyone turned their nose up to the whey. Except Cupcake. I watched him drink some and he liked it. I came back later and it seems this tiny little goat drank all three gallons. His stomach was so huge! He was laying on his back and tried to get up to greet me - but he couldn't roll past his big gut and ended upsidedown! Like a turtle he couldnt flip himself back the other way.

There is a happy ending. After I wiped away my tears from laughing so hard, I went inside his pen and helped him back onto his hooves. He thanked me by trying to eat one of my socks. Good ole Cupcake.....

Organic fruits and veggies you can afford!

Today I met Dave. He has started an organic food buying club. Currently, people have to drive to Central Phoenix to pick up his wonderful goods. Believe me, it is worth the trip! But here is some good news! Udder Delights and Superstition Farm will be the official East Valley pick up points for his organic buying club.

We are SO excited to partner up with him and offer pickup points for the East Valley. Along with great produce and fruit he provides, Udder Delights and Superstition Farm will be offering other treats for our friends. In the future you will be able to pick up farmstead cheeses, handmade butter, delicious desserts, nest run eggs and other surprises.

I have been wanting to do something like this for over a year now. It has been difficult to find any local farmers in the valley who can take on any more work. They are already too busy! In fact many CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture) are full and do not take any new customers. The best part of joining this club versus a CSA is you do not share in a crop loss if there is a disaster on a farm. You will "pay as you go."

Please support this idea. The food is beautiful and much more affordable than buying at a retail location. If you want to sign up or want any further information, drop us an email to get the started. http://ourorganics.weebly.com/

Farmer Casey

Superstition Farm Organic Garden

Friday, July 11, 2008

Today at the Superstition Farm Organic Garden, we began tidying up to prepare for tomorrow’s Mesquite Pancake Breakfast! Inside the garden, we cut down the dried up plants and composted them. As well as this, the clubhouse (or “Bunkhouse” as we learned it was called) had its trim painted and fixed (see picture). Laurie spray-painted the metal fence a charming purple to go along with it. To go inside the Bunkhouse, Suean and I stopped by her house to get a nice shelving unit. It worked perfectly for holding some of our gardening equipment!

When we first arrived at the garden, Suean pointed out something that was intriguing. A few weeks ago, we had built a pumpkin patch with mulch that “shaded” the soil. After it rained yesterday, we found that though the mulch looked wet, the soil underneath was completely dry! Also, some of our pumpkin plants that had sprouted were being eaten! We suspect that the culprits were the squash bugs in the area.

After all of our work in the garden was complete, we helped to set up for the Pancake Breakfast by putting out folding tables, sweeping the floor, and bringing out recycle bins. We cut the tops off of old water bottles and used them as vases for some flowers we grew in the garden. They made a great decoration for the tables! I can’t wait until tomorrow; hope to see you there!

~Sammy J.

Organic Garden at Superstition Farm

Today, the Superstition Farm Organic Garden Team fixed up a
wonderful old shed to add to our front walkway! First, we had to fill
in the cracks with drywall putty. We tried to lift our shed and put
it in the place we wanted, but it ended up being MUCH heavier than it
looked! We called on Juan to bring in the forklift and help us move
it. Thanks to his fabulous driving and precise adjustments, we
managed to get the shed in the perfect place in front of the garden.
Afterward, Juan used a chain and hook to attach the roof to the
forklift too and put it on top of the shed.

Next, we painted the shed. On the top portion, we slapped on a coat
of light blue. On the bottom, pale orange. We tested out a pretty
purple color for the trim, and it worked out nicely. After many dips
into the paint buckets, we stepped back and looked at our work from
afar. Once a run down old shed, now a beautiful clubhouse!

Hope to see you next time!

~Sammy J.

Duck Eggs!

I was worried about our newer duck! I couldn't find her and was afraid that something might have happened to her...what if one of those mean coyotes got her?? Imagine the relief I felt when I was feeding Lover the Horse and found her sitting in his little haystack! She was sitting on 8 eggs!..I think one of them is a chicken egg! She will be sitting patiently for the next 3 weeks. Perhaps then we will have some little duck soldiers strutting around. We will post some photos.