LAST DAY for us at Ruidoso Farmer's & Artisan's Market

The cold is upon us and many veggies have called it quits.  In preparation, we harvested a great deal of produce.  The van is as packed as it can get.  We are bringing: sweet corn, carrots (lots!), bell peppers, mini-sweets, eggplant, NM Big Jim's ($3 for a grocery bag full - pretty good for chemical free!!), some tomatoes on the vine, some tomatoes picked, and cherry tomatoes on the stem.  See you at the market!

Eat well.  Be happy!

LAST DAY OF THE SEASON AT THE FARM!!

Friday, October 13, is our last day of sales from the farm for this season. See produce board for discounted prices. The Big Jim's are, well, big! As well as red, green and in-between: good flavor without a lot of heat this year. Big sale, DO NOT MISS OUT!

Eat well.  Be happy!

Rain, Rain, Rain...

This rain is making it difficult to get you all some good veggies.  We are having trouble picking corn.  Further, rain continues in the forecast for Saturday's Farmer's & Artisan's Market.  Rather than just bail on our faithful market customers, here is our solution for Saturday:  We will be at the usual Saturday market location from 8 am to 9:30 am and we will only bring produce that has been pre-ordered by phone or email.

We have:  tomatoes (regular, cherry, and just a few heirloom); sweet corn; sweet bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, purple); mini-sweets; carrots (purple); Big Jim chilies, Anaheim chilies, eggplant (Japanese or Italian heirloom).  Leave me your number to call back and I can confirm whether we have what you want.

To place a pre-order, you may call us at 575-354-2444 or email us at coelhonaturalfarm@outlook.com.  All pre-orders must be in by 1 pm on Friday, September 29.

Thank you!
Dena

Special Hours This Week!

This week only, the farm will be closed on Friday, September 22.  So come get your veggies this Wednesday from 10 am to 5 pm.  We will have sweet corn, tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, mini-sweet peppers, herbs and more!

Our produce will still be sold at the Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market on Saturday, September 23.

Eat well.  Be happy!

September 16 Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market

Hey all.  Here is our produce board for the market.  See you there!

Eat well.  Be happy!

Character of the Week

I am calling this mini-sweet pepper "Raspberry."

I have had produce squirt me, fall apart in my hand, and hurt me with its stickers, but getting a raspberry from a veggie is a first.

Eat well.  Be happy!

September 9 Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market

Here is our produce board for Saturday, September 9 at Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market.  See you there!

Eat well.  Be happy!

Character of the Week

Character of the Week:  Marathon Man

This is one of our purple carrots.  If anyone has a better name, tell me at the Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisans Market on Saturday, September 9.  You could take home this week's character!

September 2 Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market

Here is our produce board for the Saturday, September 2 Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market:

Lord willing, I will be there and set up by 7 am.  See you there.

Eat well. Be happy!

Character of the Week

Character of the Week:  Betty Davis Eyes.  (unless you have a better name...leave it in comments below)

Today at the farm we have: Sweet corn, tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, green chilies, jalapenos, green beans (while they last), onions, parsley, chives, beets (while they last), green romaine.

Today is the day to stock up for Labor Day Weekend!

Eat well. Be happy!

Farm Re-opening Wednesday, August 30

We are re-opening tomorrow, Wednesday, August 30.
We are sincerely thankful to this wonderful community for the support we received during such a difficult time. While we may need a little more time to heal, the plants are bursting with produce that refuses to wait any longer to get to your table. Our days and hours will be the same, Wednesday and Friday from 10 am to 5 pm. The produce board is not ready yet. Currently, we are harvesting sweet corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, herbs and a few canteloupe. We expect to have green beans again either later in the week, or next week. and will again have our Wednesday, Friday hours of 10 am to 5 pm. See you while supplies last.

 STUFF THIS! Our other bell peppers are coming ready!

 Eat well. Be happy!

August 26 Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market

The Produce Board for Aug 26 Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market is pictured below. Even though we are closed due to a death in the family, Beth Miller picked up produce from our farm tonight and here is a list of what she will have in the morning.

 Eat well. Be happy.

Farm CLOSED This Week

We have had a death in the family. As a result, the farm is closed this week.  We will announce a re-opening.

We thank you for your patronage and kind words.

Myron & Dena

Ring Bell. If no answer....

We are open tomorrow (Wednesday, August 23) from 10 am to 5 pm. We have tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, sweet onions, beans (green & yellow), bell peppers, eggplant, sweet corn and herbs. We have a few canteloupe ready, but still waiting on the watermelon.

Produce List for Saturday's Ruidoso Downs Farmer's Market

Hey all!  Here is the list of produce we are bringing.  As a heads up, we sold out of produce by 9:15 am last week.  THIS BOARD IS MISSING TOMATOES!  We are bringing just over 20 pounds of tomatoes:

Eat well.  Be happy!

Got to get me SOME CORN!

Friday, August 18, we are open from 10 am to 5 pm. We have green beans and yellow wax beans, canteloupe, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers (bell, NM chili, jalapenos), red and green romaine lettuce heads, sweet onions, tomatoes, basil, chives, french tarragon, parsley, AND sweet corn! Enjoy the clip on the link below:

I HAVE GOT TO GET ME SOME CORN!

Eat well. Be happy!

Produce Picked for Wednesday's Sales at the Farm

Hey all!

Sure wish we could share a pic of our produce board.  However, as you locals know, sometimes the phones go down around Nogal.  Then sometimes the internet goes out.  Today, both are out.  In desperation, we drove to Carrizozo to make business calls and at least put up a short post to give you an idea what we picked for sales at the farm on Wednesday, August 16.  Here is the list: yellow wax beans, sweet bell peppers (purple!), tomatoes!, cucumbers (slicing - no pickling), zucchini and golden squash, chives, parsley, french tarragon, salad mix, green romaine, red romaine, sweet onions, and...drum roll please...Canteloupe!  We are filling a wait list on the sweet corn. If we have any left over, it will also be for sale.

Hopefully, communications will be back up tomorrow.  (At least we got dinner out of the deal!)

Eat well. Be happy!

Produce List for August 12 Farmer's Market

Hello all!  Here is our produce list for the Saturday, August 12 Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market.  I plan to be there at 7 am.  Hopefully the rain will hold off (as forecast) until the veggies are gone.
See you there!

Eat well. Be happy!

Update: Sweet Corn Already Sold for the Day!

We just sold all our sweet corn for the day!  (Do not worry, we will pick more for Friday).

However, we also just picked some very ripe canteloupe.  Those are selling fast as well.  Only 3 left.

We still have the other produce on the board - at least for now.

Eat well.  Be happy!

Open at the Farm!

Coelho Natural Farm, LLC will be open for on-site sales beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, August 9.  We will be open on Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 am to 5 pm, unless otherwise posted here or on Facebook.

For our first day open at the farm in 2017, we have heads of green romaine, green beans, yellow wax beans, eggplant, zucchini squash and golden squash, purple bell peppers, chives and french tarragon.  We also have a limited quantity of tomatoes, sweet corn, sweet onions, jalapenos, broccoli and beets.  Our produce board is pictured below:

See you soon.

Eat well.  Be happy!

Produce List for August 5 Farmer's Market

Produce List for Saturday, August 5 Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market.  See you there!

Eat well.  Be happy!

Farm Remains Closed This Week

Unfortunately, due to family medical events, the farm will NOT be open to the public this Friday, August 4.  We hope to have the farm open to the public on Wednesday, August 9.  Hours and days of operation as well as available produce will be published next week on both Facebook and this blogsite.  In the meantime, we will be at the Ruidoso Downs Farmer’s & Artisans Market this Saturday, August 5.  A produce board for Saturday will be published tomorrow.

We look forward to seeing our faithful customers soon!

Eat well, be happy!

July 29 Ruidoso Downs Farmer's Market

Here is our produce board for Saturday, July 29 Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market.  See you there!

Eat well. Be happy!

Farm Picture

We are not ready to open at the farm yet, but we can share a picture!

This is the western end of the field with sweet peppers, NM Big Jim peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and borage (flower for the bees).  The sweet corn, ALMOST READY!, can be seen in the background.

Eat well, be happy!

Produce List for July 22 Farmer's Market

The picture below captures our produce and price board for the Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisan's Market on Saturday morning, July 22.  We are usually set up by 7 am and sell out of the sweet salad mix right away.  See you there!

Produce List for July 15 Farmer's Market

Hello all,

Here is our produce and price list for the Farmer's & Artisan's Market at Ruidoso Downs on Saturday, July 15:

We are usually sold out by 11 am and some items earlier than that.  Looking forward to seeing you all at the market!

Eat well.  Be happy.

Patience

"Patience is a virtue." (from the poem “Piers Plowman” written between the years 1360 and 1387)

"Patience was born from our inability to control much in our lives." (Oliver Burkeman)

We had some cool nights as well as hail storms that have slowed down the growing process.  These are just a couple of the challenges of high altitude, southwest growing.  We sure appreciate your patience on the produce.  Believe me, we are as anxious as you to get these tasty veggies on the table.

We will be at the Ruidoso Downs Farmer's & Artisans Market this Saturday, July 8, with just a few items:  French Tarragon ($4/bag), Chives ($3/bag), and Green Onions ($2 bunch - be warned, this batch is REALLY strong flavored!)

Many of our customers are unfamiliar with French Tarragon, therefore we have posted below a recipe for Tarragon Chicken and instructions for making flavored vinegar.  

Since we only have a few items ready now, we are not yet open at the farm site.  See you at the market!

Eat well.  Be happy!

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Poulet à l'Estragon (Tarragon Chicken)

By thirschfeld

There are lots of ways to make this dish. You could use whole fresh tomatoes, you could eliminate the cream and you could make it complicated by using multiple pans. I haven't done any of these but what I have done is keep the recipe simple and straight forward which in the end creates a rewarding and satisfying comfort food. I rarely cook anything other than a whole chicken, whether left whole or cut into pieces. Thighs would be great for this as would (I have put my hands over my eyes) boneless skinless chicken breasts. If you use the breasts be very mindful of your cooking time or you will dry them out.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken, 3 1/2 to 4 pounds, cut into 8 pieces
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 cups chicken stock or water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 shallots, trimmed, peeled and julienned
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons tarragon, minced, plus four sprigs
• 1/2 cup dry white wine

Instructions:

1. Season the chicken with salt and white pepper. Place a heavy bottom 12" skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is hot add enough olive oil to form a thin film on the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken skin side down. Brown the chicken to your liking.
2. When the chicken is brown quickly remove it to a plate. Add the butter and the shallots to the sauté pan. Saute the shallots until golden.
3. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and let the wine reduce to a tablespoon or so. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste and the sprigs of tarragon. Place the chicken back into the pan and let the sauce come to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
4. Place a lid on the pan and simmer the chicken until tender. About thirty minutes. Meanwhile heat the oven broiler.
5. When the chicken is tender remove the lid from the pan. Carefully place the pan into the oven under the broiler and broil it for 3 to 5 minutes or however much time it takes to crisp up the skin. Remove from the oven.
6. Remove the chicken to a platter. Place the pan over high heat. Add the cream and stir it in. Add the chopped tarragon. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. Stir and bring to a boil.
7. Sauce the chicken and serve over rice with extra sauce on the side.

Source for recipe 

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Flavored Vinegars - Flavored vinegars can be safely prepared. They are best stored in the refrigerator.

Pre-Preparation

Containers. Select and prepare containers first. Use only glass jars or bottles that are free of cracks or nicks and can be sealed with a screw-band lid, cap or cork. Wash hands well before starting any food preparation work. Wash containers thoroughly, then sterilize by immersing the jars in a pan of hot water and simmering for 10 minutes. Once the jars are sterilized, remove from the simmering water and invert on a paper towel to dry. Fill while the jars are still warm.

Lids and caps. If using screw caps, wash in hot soapy water, rinse and scald in boiling water. (To scald, follow manufacturer’s directions, or place caps in a saucepan of warm water, heat to just below boiling and then remove from the heat source. Leave caps in the hot water until ready to use.) Use non-corrodible metal or plastic screw caps. If using corks, select new, pre-sterilized corks. Use tongs to dip corks in and out of boiling water 3-4 times. Prepare two-piece metal home canning jar lids according to manufacturer’s directions for canning. If using these lids, allow enough headspace between the lid and the vinegar so that there is no contact between them. Plastic storage screw caps that are made for canning jars are also now available and would work well for flavored vinegars.

Herbs and spices. Commercial companies that make herbal vinegars dip the herbs in antibacterial agents not readily available to consumers. As an alternative, briefly dip the fresh herbs in a sanitizing bleach solution of 1 teaspoon household bleach per 6 cups (1½ quarts) of water, rinse thoroughly under cold water, and pat dry. For best results, use only the best leaves and flowers. Discard any brown, discolored, trampled or nibbled parts of the herbs. Fresh herbs are best picked just after the morning dew has dried. Allow three to four sprigs of fresh herbs or 3 tablespoons dried herbs per pint of vinegar. Spices such as peppercorns and mustard seed are also popular in flavored vinegars.

Vinegar selection. The type of vinegar to use as the base depends on what is being added. Fruits blend well with apple cider vinegar. Distilled white vinegar is clear in color and best with delicate herbs. Red and white wine vinegars work well with garlic and tarragon. Do be aware, however, that wine and rice vinegars contain protein that provides an excellent medium for bacterial growth, if not stored properly.

Preparation

To make flavored vinegars, place the prepared herbs, fruits or spices in the sterilized jars, being careful to avoid overpacking the bottles. Use three to four sprigs of fresh herbs, 3 tablespoons of dried herbs or 1 to 2 cups of fruit or vegetables per pint of vinegar to be flavored. Heat vinegar to just below boiling (190F), then pour over the herbs and cap tightly. Allow to stand for three to four weeks in a cool, dark place for the flavor to develop fully. Then, strain the vinegar through a damp cheesecloth or coffee filter one or more times until the vinegar is no longer cloudy. Discard the fruit, vegetables or herbs. Pour the strained vinegar into a clean sterilized jar. Add a sprig or two of fresh herbs or berries that have been sanitized as described above. Seal tightly. Store in the refrigerator for best flavor retention.

The flavoring process can be shortened by a week or so by bruising or coarsely chopping the herbs and fruits before placing in the bottles and adding the hot vinegar. To test for flavor development, place a few drops of the flavored vinegar on some white bread and taste. When the flavor is appropriate, strain the ingredients one or more times through a damp cheesecloth or coffee filter. Pour the strained vinegar into a clean sterilized jar. Add a sprig or two of fresh herbs that have been sanitized as described above. Seal tightly. Store in the refrigerator for best flavor retention. 

Source for flavored vinegars