Photos from Farm Stay 1 Perimeter Hike

News for the week of October 8th

Rural Campus News

Farm Stay 1 Begins

This week our first Farm Stay of the year begins. We will be harvesting the fall produce and taking care of some important pre-winter projects. The students are thrilled to be hosting our second annual Halloween Event. Look for Farm Stay updates on the Land School Blog. http://lakecountrylandschool.blogspot.com/

Class F Potato Harvest This Wednesday

The potato year has not been great. Early spring and heat brought an influx of leafhoppers and growth stopped short mid summer. But the potatoes that did develop are holding well in the soil and we will be harvesting as many as we can on Wednesday with Class F. Look for the yummy spuds at the Thursday markets! Thanks Class F!

Halloween Event Coming Soon

This year our Fall Event will again be a "Halloween Event" and we are excited to see what fun activities and games the students will come up with. Come on out to the Land School from 4 to 8 pm on Saturday October 20th. This event is for the entire Lake Country community. This year we are asking for all potluck items to feature some item of local food. So start looking at recipes. We are looking forward to one of the best potlucks of the year!

Class G Thanks

Thanks to the parents, students and staff of Class G for an incredible overnight visit last week. Every one of you came together to get the work of the harvest and the Harvest Festival preparation complete. Thank you! The signs you made are beautiful and we plan to keep them for next year!

Harvest Festival Thanks

Thanks to the Junior High students, the families and to the staff who helped make our Harvest Festival a huge success this year. Although the weather was chilly, there were no beetles, box elder bugs nor wasps in the cider. So that was nice. 

Apple/Squash Soup and Muffin recipes

Thanks to Kristyn for these recipes:

A great way to use up squash and all the apples from the apple orchard. 

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Ingredients

·       2 tablespoons unsalted butter

·       2 tablespoons good olive oil

·       4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)

·       2 tablespoons mild curry powder

·       5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)

·       1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples)

·       2 teaspoons kosher salt

·       1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

·       2 cups water

·       2 cups good apple cider or juice

Directions

Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

Gluten Free Butternut Squash and Apple Muffins

Ingredients

·         1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced (3 cups)

·         3/4 cup superfine brown rice flour

·         1/2 cup millet flour

·         1/2 cup hazelnut flour

·         1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

·         1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·         1/2 teaspoon baking powder

·         1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

·         3 large eggs

·         1/2 cup light brown sugar

·         1/4 cup cane sugar

·         1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

·         1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

·         1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

·         1 sweet apple, such as Gala, peeled, cored, and grated (1 cup)

·         2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts

Directions

1.     Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with 12 baking cups.

2.     Steam squash until tender, about 10 minutes, then transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth.

3.     In a large bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, 1/2 cup squash puree, sugars, oil, vanilla, and lemon zest.

4.     Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until well incorporated, then fold in apple. Spoon batter into baking cups and sprinkle with hazelnuts.

5.     Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Bok Choy Recipe

Kristyn says... "Here is on of my favorite bok choy recipes:"

2 cups Bok Choy Leaves (I like a little more since the Bok Choy is my favorite part, can use spinach)
20 asparagus spears
1/2 cup fresh, coursely chopped apricots
1/2 cup julienne of red onion
1 tablespoon corn oil

In a heavy skillet, heat the corn oil over moderately high heat and sauté red onion, asparagus spears and apricots until just tender.  Finish with the bok choy leaves and season to taste with salt and pepper.

So simple, but really interesting.  Works as a great side dish with pork tenderloin and polenta.

20 September Potential Harvest

Cut Flowers.

Lettuce Mix.

Greens: Kale, Chard, Bok Choy, Napa Cabbage, Cabbage.

Broccoli and Cauliflower

Beets and Carrots

Tomatoes and Tomatillos

Peppers, Hot Peppers, Eggplant

Onions, Garlic, Scallions.

Maybe Potatoes. Maybe Kohlrabi. Maybe Okra.

Herbs: Parsley, Cilantro, Fennel, Dill, Shiso, a little Basil

Winter Squash and Pumpkins

News for the Week of Sept 16th

Rural Campus News

Orientation Visits

Last week every E1 class came out to the rural campus for an Orientation visit. The classes divided into three groups and then rotated through three activities. One group took a hike and talked about how to plan a small group visit, one group visited the Farmstead and learned about the Four Respects, and the third group harvested pumpkins and visited the Homestead. These visits were intended to inspire our E1 students to come out to the Land School as a "Going Out," and we are excited about another season of Wednesdays with Mr. Fitch bringing students out. Thanks to everyone who helped make this week work - staff, students and parent volunteers.

Class G Thank You

Last Thursday Class G came out to help with the vegetable harvest. There were groups picking potatoes, tomatoes, beans, flowers, and also a group washing and packing vegetables. Thank you immensely to Class G. It was our biggest harvest of the year so far!

Harvest Help This Week

We could use some help this week with the harvest. Any LCS community member is invited to come out on Thursday or Wednesday and help bring in the bounty. contact us at the Land School if you are interested in joining the fun! Thank you.

September Birthdays
Andy and Katie both had birthdays this week at the Land School. Yay!

Harvest Festival Coming Soon. We need you.

The Harvest Festival is on Saturday October 6th, with a potluck starting at noon and activities to follow. We need YOU to help make our annual Harvest Festival a true community event. Do you have a skill, craft or outdoor game that you would like to bring to the Harvest Festival? Think of it as fun community expo. In the past, LCS community members have led paper-making, face painting, wreath-making, kite-flying, wool-felting, cider pressing, nature hikes, and many other activities. You might even have a new idea that will become a Harvest Festival tradition. We are especially putting the call out to volunteers who sing and play musical instruments. It is a great gift to have rousing singing and old-time music supplied by the LCS community. We also need volunteers to greet people, supervise the potluck, wash pumpkins, and to help with set-up and clean-up. Please consider volunteering with your whole family. It is a great way to experience the Harvest Festival. Please contact the Land School staff to sign-up to volunteer.

Anticipated Harvest for September 13th

Class G is coming out to help with one of the biggest harvests of the year. Yay!

Green beans and purple beans.
Herbs. Basil Plus others.
Greens! Kale, Chard, Spinach, Raab, Bok Choy, Cabbage, Na[pa Cabbage.
Broccoli. Gobs of it. Maybe Cauliflower.
Kohlrabi.
Onions, Garlic and Scallions.
Sweet Corn. I think the next batch is ready. Last week's was not all the way filled out because of the lack of rain.
Zucchini?
Cucumbers.
Carrots, Beets, Potatoes.
Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant.
Watermelon.
Cut Flowers. It is getting close to frost time, so enjoy these flowers.