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Flying Tomato Farms

  • Thanksgiving Plans

    Number of comments: 2
    Yes, it’s very nearly Thanksgiving, and I’ve been working out the menu with H’s daughter K, who has agreed to do the bird (a locally-raised beauty) roasted with some whole small local onions and chunks of apple and the gravy and cranberry sauce and host the thing at her place. That [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 6:33pm EST
    by flyingtomato

  • Whole Wheat Penne with Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Sauce

    Sometimes I cheat. What I mean is, we’re not all Martha Stewart around here, and when the days are filled with errands and dishes and visits to the library and impromptu soccer matches and dog park excursions, dinner is sometimes a matter of figuring out how most gracefully to use whatever’s [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 12:35pm EST
    by flyingtomato

  • Home Remedies: Horseradish

    Number of comments: 1
    I’m not a doctor, but I play one at home.  The following is not medical advice, but my own experience.  Consult your doctor with serious medical issues. That said, I employ a variety of home remedies that have been pretty effective for me and my family for various non-serious maladies.  In [...]
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    Posted: November 23, 2009, 10:58am EST
    by flyingtomato

  • Wouldn’t it be cool if…

    Number of comments: 1
    So this morning I took off my farming and food hats to put on my rural booster beanie under my techno-geek helmet and did a little research into a new social media craze that I’ve seen showing up via Twitter in the last few months. The social media tool that is [...]
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    Posted: November 21, 2009, 12:42pm EST
    by flyingtomato

  • Critters in my Care

    Number of comments: 6
    So, I may have mentioned that we took on a cat. We took on this cat, which belongs to H’s daughter, because his daughter went traveling for some indeterminate length of time.  The cat, who is named Little Girl, is staying at my house for an also indeterminate length of time [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 6:10pm EST
    by flyingtomato

  • Goosemobile in Vermillion

    Number of comments: 4
    Mark your calendars for December 12 from 1-2pm, as Tom and Ruth Neuberger’s famed Goosemobile will be swinging through Vermillion on their holiday route.  They’ll be setting up in the (old) Pamida parking lot. The Goosemobile carries all kinds of naturally raised and organic South Dakota meats–goose, sure, but also beef, [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 8:43am EST
    by flyingtomato

  • A Chicken in Every Pot

    Number of comments: 2
    …or what to do when swiney’s got you down. I’ve been on a mostly liquid diet for the past several days–chicken soup, lentil-garlic soup, split pea soup, curried squash soup–plus broth and tea and juice and water (and a few honey-whiskey-lemon toddies before bed).  Frankly, I’m a bit tired of it.  [...]
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    Posted: November 15, 2009, 8:08pm EST
    by flyingtomato

  • Crock-Fermented Dill Pickles

    Number of comments: 1
    This is my second year making crock dills in cooperation with my friend Cathy, who lends me the crocks her grandmother used.  The cukes come out of my gardens, as well as the peppers.  This year’s dill came from my friend Amy’s garden, and the garlic is Patti’s from Evergreen [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2009, 7:14pm EST
    by flyingtomato

  • Sick Days

    The weather has been gorgeous for the last week, but the last I managed to get done at the farm was the garlic planting a few days ago.  Despite my strategy of hiding out and working in my house, I finally came down with the crud that’s spreading like wildfire [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 10:34am EST
    by flyingtomato

  • What’s Better than Garlic?

    Why, MORE garlic, of course! I spent much of the morning working on poetry unit updates for my lit classes (no rest for the wicked or for online teachers) and the late morning and early afternoon hours cleaning up the yard again, now that the last of the leaves have fallen. My [...]
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    Posted: November 08, 2009, 6:28pm EST
    by flyingtomato

  • A Day Off

    Yesterday was gorgeous–74 degrees or so and sunny.  A perfect fall day.  I kept telling myself, since  I was trapped inside grading papers all morning and most of the afternoon, that it was actually a little too warm to work in the gardens. Instead, I worked online down at the coffee [...]
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    Posted: November 07, 2009, 6:21pm EST
    by flyingtomato

  • Crockpot Pork Shoulder Roast

    Number of comments: 1
    Last night’s local feast featured a pork shoulder roast from our friend Nate, mashed potatoes made with Gary Bye’s Pontiac reds and local (Burbach’s) milk, plus some applesauce I’d canned last year from an abandoned apple tree in the neighborhood. The roast was maybe three pounds, bone-in, and it was still [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 7:37am EST
    by flyingtomato

  • Lately…

    Number of comments: 2
    I’ve been tempted to post an “out of office” note here–though knowing my own tendencies I would likely begin blogging three times a day simply because I said I wasn’t going to.  Instead of that, I’ll just say posts may be a bit more sporadic for an indeterminate length of [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 11:24am EST
    by flyingtomato

  • Manure and Garlic

    Number of comments: 1
    Manure day!  At first our neighbor Kathy (who boards horses) and I talked about loading my truck, then she’d bring some loader-scoops down while I was shoveling out the truck-load–saving a bit of gas and wear on her machine. But that manure was WAY wetter and heavier than I thought it’d [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 9:46pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Autumn on the Vermillion

    Number of comments: 1
    Since I got that great anti-pull harness for the dog, I’ve been able to take walks without the guilt that hits if I leave her behind. Cotton Park Trail along the Vermillion River is beautiful this time of year–and almost completely empty.  I’ve seen a total of two people in my [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 3:50pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • B.J. Running for Secretary of State!

    By, B.J. I mean, of course, Ben Nesselhuf, our hard-working District 17 Senator.  The contest is still a year away, but I’m guessing Ben is making his intentions known early enough for other possible candidates for his current seat to step up. I’m interested to know who that will be.  And [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 2:29pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Testing…

    Number of comments: 1
    An attempt to de-couple my blog from Facebook. I’ll still link to posts, but you’ll have to come here to read them! [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 2:12pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Later ‘Mater

    Clearing out the last of the tomatoes, so I can move the wire rack I’m holding the excess produce on back into the sunny bedroom window for the houseplants (which is its main function). I had three pint boxes of ripened red pear tomatoes, plus a couple peach lugs about half [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 10:21am EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Back to the Canner

    I’ve taken a few week hiatus from the canner as I work on my courses and get the house in shape after the growing season.  But I did buy a big box of apples at the farmers market, and I’ve had my mind set on chutney ever since I got [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 5:49pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Battle for Whiteclay Showing This Week

    Number of comments: 1
    USD campus, Churchill Haines 118 on Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30-10:45am.  Following the conclusion of the film on Thursday, one of the featured activists in the film, Frank LaMere, will be present to lead discussion. From the website battleforwhiteclay.org: Whiteclay is an unincorporated village of 14 people in northwest Nebraska bordering the [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 9:18am EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Lack of Communication Hurts Dems

    Number of comments: 2
    Down here in the Berkeley of South Dakota, you’d think we’d have a well-oiled lefty machine.  And while our votes tend toward that southpaw direction (certainly in the Central Ward), we seem to be missing some pretty essential organization and communication machinery. Case in point: the McGovern/Abourezk Town Hall at the [...]
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    Posted: October 25, 2009, 12:14pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Putting the Beds to Bed: Farm Edition, Part Two

    Good field sanitation isn’t my favorite farm chore of the season.  It’s just not that much fun to take down, clear, out, compost and burn everything it took all season to build up. But it’s far from a thankless task.  In fact, it’s probably the number one way to make the [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 1:39pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Putting the Beds to Bed: Farm Edition, Part One

    According to MSN’s Careerbuilder page, farming and ranching is the fifth most dangerous occupation in the U.S. Rest assured dear readers, I am not in that much danger–I don’t use big machinery that could tear off my arm (well, maybe the chipper-shredder could), and I’m not going to get trapped in [...]
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    Posted: October 19, 2009, 7:46pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Putting the Beds to Bed: Home Edition

    Having made my manure-supplier call for the farm gardens (and realizing it’ll be a week or two before I’ll be able to get that project underway), I settled on using these lovely weekend days to focus on getting things in shape at home. The home gardens don’t get much love during [...]
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    Posted: October 18, 2009, 8:12pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Eatin’ Good in the ‘Hood

    Number of comments: 1
    There’s no question that my neighborhood is home to more than its share of excellent cooks.  Whether its Jason of the weekend breakfast bonanza or John of the sourdough loaves and chocolate chip cookies, or (if I do say so myself) my local food fetishism. Shall I just come right out [...]
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    Posted: October 17, 2009, 8:49pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Digging Parsnips in the Rain

    Tomorrow is our next-to-last market in Vermillion, so I thought I’d get out and dig those parsnips now that we’ve had some frosts and freezes.  There are still leeks out there, too, and I took in about twenty more of the biggest ones. I dug some horseradish, too. I was whining [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 6:15pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Decorating for Fall? Buy Local!

    Number of comments: 2
    I am hearing from a lot of local producers that they’ve got a glut of pumpkins and gourds this year.  I’m also seeing a lot of great-looking ornamental corn, tiny pumpkins, pretty squash, and other great decorative fall produce. The only problem is, a lot of those producers are having a [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 7:19pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Autumn FAIL

    I woke up at 4:30 this morning, after a sleepy little boy padded down the hall to use the bathroom and then a sleepy big guy also woke up to use the bathroom.  I’m actually not that light a sleeper except during the hours of 4-6 a.m.  At that time [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 8:22am EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Pre-Freeze Harvest Notes

    I managed to get a few images of the pre-freeze harvest Friday after critiquing student essays and heading to Sioux Falls to pick up M. Usually there’s a bit more than 24 hours between the first killing frost and hard freeze, but that wasn’t the case this year. Thursday morning I [...]
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    Posted: October 11, 2009, 10:51am EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Here Comes Winter!

    In between critiquing a gazillion composition essays, I’ve been running around outside the house, clipping bunches of herbs from the home gardens to throw in the dehydrator. I also pulled in the volunteer buttercup squash and am looking closely at whether or not to harvest a bagful of nasturtium leaves, beet [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 1:16pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • This is the End, Beautiful Friend

    Low temperatures at the end of this week will hit the twenties, and we may even see a few flakes of the white stuff.  Tonight’s low (last I checked) is projected at 33 degrees.  It was time. I went out and picked–all the good-sized sweet and hot peppers, the few pods [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 5:42pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

    Number of comments: 1
    While domestic violence and domestic abuse can happen to anyone, women are most often the victims.  And while October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, it’s a good idea to talk about domestic abuse as well–because it is often harder to spot, even for the victim. Domestic abuse, also known as spousal [...]
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    Posted: October 04, 2009, 9:13pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Fall Frustrations

    Number of comments: 1
    Out on the wide unused highways north of Watertown, where the big power poles slingshot across the prairie, there are signs for Titan Machinery and “Your Ag Chemical Superstore.” I look out at the brown fields stretching along the interstate corridor–scalped beanfields and drying-down corn, and I wonder if we’ve forgotten [...]
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    Posted: October 04, 2009, 3:24pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Heading for the Coteau

    At the last minute, I had a change of scheduling with M so that he’ll be up north for Summit’s annual celebration of how crazy their weather is (a.k.a. Fog Fest) this weekend and down here for a longer weekend to celebrate USD’s homecoming (with parade and chili cook-off) and [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 12:00pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Variety Notes–Cherry Tomatoes 2009

    Number of comments: 1
    I grew five varieties of little tomatoes this year.  As much labor as they are to pick, they’re so lovely and fun that I can’t help but try new varieties as well as keeping around the old varieties. My number one criteria, as always, is flavor. After that, I look for [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 9:59pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Frost on the Pumpkin

    Number of comments: 1
    When I walked out the door this morning, I thought, no way–not even close.  It seemed downright warm, though I was wearing a couple layers top and bottom in anticipation of a chilly work morning in the Community Garden.  There was not a frosty blade of grass in sight. Then I [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 1:00pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Harvesting Like There’s No Tomorrow

    Well, sort of.  There’s a frost advisory tonight, and even though we’re in the Southern Paradise of the Dakotas here in Vermillion, it’d be foolish of me to disregard the forecast of lows about two degrees above freezing.  That’s just too close for comfort. The first thing I did this morning [...]
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    Posted: September 28, 2009, 7:25pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Spirit Mound Hike

    Last night at a party, a friend confided to me that she was so sick of canning and preserving, she just wanted to die.  I thought that might be a little dramatic until this morning, when I started going through the tomatoes in the house and realized I have about [...]
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    Posted: September 27, 2009, 9:09pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Oh My God! He’s Got a Gun!

    Number of comments: 4
    Hat tip to Cory at Madville Times. I can’t help but display a little snar-casm at the headlines about Tea schools going into lockdown over a guy getting ready for hunting season. The man unknowingly caused the lockdown. He was apparently holding a gun while on his property, which is located by [...]
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    Posted: September 27, 2009, 5:54pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Simple Late Summer Casserole

    In tribute to the BlogHerFood 2009 convention in San Fran (which I am missing here in SoDak), I’m whipping up a late-summer casserole of thin-sliced zukes, tomatoes, sweet red peppers, and shavings of yellow onion. It’s a pretty simple prep and a lovely dish: oil the casserole with EVOO, then start [...]
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    Posted: September 26, 2009, 2:56pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Breaking Down

    Number of comments: 2
    The gardens are starting to fade, and it’s time to start cleaning up and practicing good field sanitation. I’m going to burn all the nightshade family residues this year–the tomato vines, pepper and eggplant, potatoes.  There are a few trellises of tomatoes that are far enough gone from a variety of [...]
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    Posted: September 26, 2009, 9:28am EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Shorter Days

    Back from the farmers market and all unpacked.  The sun was setting as I headed home at about quarter after seven, having torn down and packed up what was left of a pretty good day of sales. The produce left over was only enough to pile a small basket full, and [...]
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    Posted: September 24, 2009, 8:16pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Today at the Market

    Today I’ll be bringing tomatoes (mostly paste/sauce–the season is ending for tomatoes!), sweet bell peppers, relleno stuffers, and Hungarian Hot Wax peppers.  I’ve got several boxes of the little mixed cherry toms as well–and I DID pick the Coyotes today, so they’ll be in the mix. For greens, I’ve got spicy [...]
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    Posted: September 24, 2009, 12:56pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Autumn: Soup’s On!

    Despite my marathon tomato-soup canning seminars of late, the point of those sessions was simply to deal with the excess of produce and to put it by for the later, colder months–not to eat on a present-day basis (though H and I did eat the last of the second batch [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 1:00pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Marriage and Partnership, Part II

    I posted a little over a week ago on a term I found on the blog Fastidious.  While the post was somewhat of an excoriation of Fastidious’ use of the term, for the most part, it was an exploration of “shack-up whore” from a feminist perspective. Among the responses to the [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 9:02am EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Fates are Sealed

    Number of comments: 2
    So, I checked on the tomatoes today and realized that every tomato in the house was dead ripe.  About thirty pounds. Don’t worry–I picked more–though they’re still in the back of the truck as of this moment. It’s Tuesday, and although I could do the Elk Point market today, I haven’t really [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Tomato Soup

    In the ongoing struggle to preserve as much of the season’s bounty as possible (besides what I sell at the two markets I attend), I decided to make a new recipe: Putting Food By’s Country Tomato Soup. I’ve made and pressured-canned plenty of tomato-vegetable soups, but I hadn’t tried to do [...]
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    Posted: September 20, 2009, 10:37pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Pumpkins and Soup

    I pulled one of my Neck Pumpkins from the field too early, and it wasn’t curing well, so I carved it up this morning and roasted the slices piled in a buttered 9 1/2 x 13 dish covered with foil.  I’ll scoop the mass of flesh out of the pan [...]
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    Posted: September 19, 2009, 4:40pm EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Sudden Disappearance Explained

    Back on the ‘nets after a sudden several-days hiatus in which I pressure-canned 11 quarts of ratatouille, 4 quarts of TOS (that’s tomatoes-okra-squash), and seventeen assorted-size jars of salsa. I also dried a couple of trays of Red Pear tomatoes, harvested for and attended two farmers markets, and tried to keep [...]
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    Posted: September 19, 2009, 9:14am EDT
    by flyingtomato

  • Fastidiousness, Feminism, and Homelessness

    Number of comments: 10
    Trundling about the internets Sunday morning, I noticed I had a trackback from a blog I hadn’t seen before: Fastidious. So, I clicked on over to see what this blogger had to say about what I’d said.  Actually, it turned out that it was not Fastidious herself, but her “dear husband” [...]
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    Posted: September 14, 2009, 1:26pm EDT
    by flyingtomato
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