CSA member with First Wood Fired Oven Bread and CSA Basket for the Week!
CSA member with First Wood Fired Oven Bread and CSA Basket for the Week!
Wood Fired Oven with Face Started
Wood Fired Oven with Face Started

The Wood Fired Oven is finished enough for the first bread to be baked! The actual oven is finished, but the face of the oven still has to be completed. Making bread has become the priority for oven builder and baker, Seth Wiggin. He has been working over time to get his prep area ready to start producing bread for his LA HOULETTE de vie BAKERY. Bread will be on sale today at the St. Thomas Farmer’s Market and at our Farm for CSA Customers. Seth is setting up a Bread CSA to Start the beginning of July. More details on that front to follow.

First Bread Baked in the New Wood Fired Oven
First Bread Baked in the New Wood Fired Oven

Having the first beautiful loaves come out of the oven was amazingly rewarding, uplifting and exciting. It is hard to find the words to describe the feeling!

Jeanne Clipping Switch Grass Field with Queen and Ned
Jeanne Clipping Switch Grass Field with Queen and Ned

On the farm front, the CSA pick-ups are finishing out the second week today. We have all of our tender outdoor transplants in the field and our first hay of the year is in the barn! We have been busy too! There is lots of beautiful spinach in the CSA pick-ups and we had Spanakopita for supper last night with some of our fresh jersey cheese from Utah’s milk! She has settled into the routine here and has responded to Charlotte’s gentle handling. Last night I milked her and she walked with me to and from her pasture to the milking stall with ease.

SPANAKOPITA

1 Full bowl of Orchard Hill Farm spinach from pick-up room (washed well, drained and squeezed dry)
¼ cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
6 green onions, diced (including 4 inches of green)
¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
¼ lb. feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ lb. ricotta or cottage cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoons olive oil
10 sheets phyllo dough

Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan or large pot. Sauté the onions and green onions until tender. Add the spinach and dill and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the spinach is wilted and heated through. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.

Remove from heat and set the spinach aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the feta, eggs and ricotta (cottage) cheese. Add the cooled spinach mixture and mix until combined.
Combine the melted butter with the olive oil in a bowl. Using a pastry brush, lightly grease a 9 x 12 rectangular pan.

Unwrap the phyllo and carefully remove the phyllo roll from the plastic sleeve. Most packages come in a 12 x 18 inch sheets when opened fully. Using scissors or sharp knife, cut the sheets in half to make two stacks of 9 x12 inch sheets. To prevent drying return the unneeded sheets to the plastic sleeve for future use.
Prepare the Pie:
Layer 10 sheets of phyllo on the bottom of the pan making sure to brush each sheet with the butter/olive oil mixture.

Before baking score the top layer of phyllo to enable easier cutting of pieces later. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 20 to 25 minutes of cooking time until the top turns a deep golden brown.