Wow! Can’t believe it’s been 2 weeks since the last post. We sure are busy at Hobby Hill Farm. Working on bringing in new products such as the “Pour” top screw on lid for Mason Jars and Welcome Home Bakeware. This paper bakeware is perfect because I do not need to wash pans and then oil and flour them. Cuts out the handling and the additional calories. Look for us in Goochland and Powhatan. We are so excited as the Markets open 5/5. Looking forward to seeing you. Feel free to check out our new facebook page just for the market – It is called Hobby Hill Farm-Fresh ! Because Fresh Food starts at the Farm!
Getting Ready for the Markets
Posted by on April 28, 2012 Leave a Comment
Help us pick a winning design
Posted by on April 10, 2012 Leave a Comment
We need some help picking a winning design and we want to reward you for your efforts. Ladies do you love your ball cap and wear it all the time. I don’t wear sun glasses just my ball cap and it can become filthy with dirt and sweat stains so I like to change them out often.
Two weeks ago we purchased a design called COWGIRL and embroidered that on our new style of ball caps. These are great for ladies because the back portion is open allowing more room for someone with a lot of hair to put up in a clip or high top pony tail.This design was awesome and we wanted to come up with a few more that reflects our business and personalities. Some of our fans even suggested a few names to embroider on the caps. What a great idea and the “post” was born.
I was speaking with Melissa at Tilly’s Nest and we were throwing a few names around and thought we could get the best results by teaming up, doing a poll and then having our fans submit pictures of their ugliest hat. Besides who would know best – the fans who follow our pages. We would then select the person who was seriously in need of a new ball cap.
Here’s how it’s going to work – Starting RIGHT NOW – go to Tilly’s Nest and vote for the name you like best of the 5 names listed. Then start looking at your ball caps and take a picture – post that picture to the Facebook page for Hobby Hill Farm. We will move those over to an album. You only need to vote once on Tilly’s nest and upload your picture. Sunday we will pick the ugliest hat and if all goes well with the pics and voting then we will pick a winner. That person can choose from the colors we have in stock as well as the name they would like to have on their new cap.
Sounds easy doesn’t it. It is so easy – Ready, vote then upload picture to www.facebook.com/hobbyhillfarm
Please make sure they you like both of our pages on facebook & Good Luck!
Sunny Side Up
Posted by on March 26, 2012 Leave a Comment
Although I do not have chickens on our property at the present time I do know one day they will come! In the interim I want to gather as much information as possible. Should I purchase day old chicks? Where should I buy them? Would it be better to hatch our own chickens? What will I feed the chickens? So many questions swirling around. I do not want to be confused with the person who goes into the feed store and picks up 1 dozen baby chicks without having a “PLAN”. This includes more outside preparation than anything else. If you have chickens you know what I am talking about. Coop and Run are crucial for chickens survival. Not only do I have other livestock but I have to worry about preadators from the land and air. I love the fact that you can get fresh eggs on a daily basis and that chickens will help to clean out the fridge but I am more intune with the other factors that are involved with chickens. Everyone I speak with LOVES their chickens. I think the Backyard Chicken Movement is perfect – you know where your food comes from and you determine the sanitation policies. I can’t wait until we have our own backyard chickens but for now I will just have to enjoy our beautiful chicken and rooster designs on products we sell at the farm. If you have chickens in your backyard please feel free to comment or upload a picture to our facebook page. www.facebook.com/Hobbyhillfarm
Keep your Sunny Side Up!
Starting Plants indoors from Seed
Posted by on March 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
Tomato Plants 2012
It has been many years that we have started plants indoors from seeds. It just seemed so easy to go to the local nursery or garden center to pick out plants ready to put in the ground. It didn’t matter if it was flower or vegetable. Talk about being easy.
This year we have taken a different route. We started all of our tomato plants indoors from seed. 4 different kinds (Big Daddy, Big Boy, Salsa and San Marzano). I used the 36 cells from Burpee x 2. Put 2 seeds in each. Who would have thought that I would ever get 72 from each cell pack? Certainly, not I. But it’s true. I have already tranplanted into the 3″ sq and 3″ round peat pots. Someone told me to bury down to the leaf to create a stronger root and stem system. I did this and just 30 days from being in a package we have tomato plants that are almost 6″ higher and are not leggy at all.
I figure I have 30 days to get ready for the installation of these tomato plants so the next question is “where do I put them?” I figure that I can find homes for some and will ultimately end up with 75 plants by April 15th. Wow – I can’t wait until they start to produce fruit.
Dinner Italiano – The Mystic Blue Spice Way!
Posted by on March 8, 2012 28 Comments
Hello Hobby Hill Farm Fans! My name is Trish and I am The Mystic Blue Spice Company. The Mystic Blue Spice Company is a family owned and operated (I mean me) All Natural Spice and Seasoning company out of Arizona. Some of you may have seen my company name floating around face book and stalking your favorite foodie pages. I sort of came onto the scene like an atomic bomb with the dream of making The Mystic Blue Spice Company a household name. So, needless to say, when Sharon from Hobby Hill Farms asked me to be part of her butter and pasta making classes….. I was totally honored! Then, she asked if I would like to guest blog, I jumped at the chance!
Something you may not know about me is…..I do love a good giveaway and I am quickly earning my nickname as the “Giveaway Queen”. I am also very passionate about what Hobby Hill Farm is about, that is why this Giveaway is going to be THE best yet! I’ll let Hobby Hill Farms fill you in on the details. Today is for talking about a glorious homemade dinner.
Today is for talking about an Italian Dinner. We are talkin’ Homemade Marinara Sauce served with Homemade Garlic Herb Pasta and Garlic Bread. Oh, you heard me……I said Garlic. Twice.
I have a phrase that I use from time to time; “Make it All Natural, Make It Mystic” and we are making this a Mystic Dinner 3 ways, by using spice blends from The Mystic Blue Spice Company……Pssst, That’s me.
1. Italian Herb Seasoning in the Marinara
2. Garlic Herb Seasoning in the Pasta
3. Garlic Bread Seasoning in the butter for our Garlic Bread
Let’s start with our Marinara, it’s super easy…I promise & while it is on the stove you can prepare your pasta. (Recipe for Marinara is shown below.) Serve Hot over your favorite pasta! This is such a great, easy, flavorful sauce that you’ll find yourself making it all the time and before you know it…..store bought sauce is a thing of the past and you’ll find yourself saying “bye-bye” to store bought preservatives.
Now, when it comes to homemade pasta… every cook has their own way of doing things.
You can search the web and find recipes for days on how to make homemade pasta. This is just one way to make pasta in your own kitchen and there is one thing I know for certain….you can and should make things easier on yourself. I also know many Italian Nana’s will tell you that you should roll out your dough with a rolling pin. That being said, I use a hand crank pasta machine that mounts to the end of my counter and if you are fancy enough to own a Kitchenaid pasta attachment bust it out! Modern day does have some advantages :0)
Ingredients
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
5 TBS Mystic Blue Garlic Herb Seasonings
¼ Tsp Salt
3 Eggs
1TBS Milk
1 Tsp Olive Oil
1.Combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 5 TBS Mystic Blue Garlic Herb Seasonings and 1/4 Tsp salt on pastry board, cutting board, or countertop; make well in center. Whisk 3 eggs, 1 TBS milk, and 1 Tsp olive oil in small bowl until well blended; gradually pour into the well of the flour mixture while mixing with fork or fingertips (from the inside of the well out) to form ball of dough.
2.Place dough on a lightly floured surface; flatten slightly. To knead dough, fold dough in half toward you and press dough away from you with heels of hands. Give dough a quarter turn and continue folding, pushing, and turning. Continue kneading dough for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding more flour to prevent sticking if necessary. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and cover with a towel; let stand 15 minutes.
3.Unwrap dough and knead briefly (as described in step 2) on lightly floured surface. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to 1/8-inch-thick circle. Gently pick up the dough circle with both hands. Hold it up to the light to check for places where dough is too thick. Return to board; even out any thick spots. Let rest until dough is slightly dry but can be handled without breaking.
4. Lightly flour dough circle; roll the dough loosely around the rolling pin.
5. Gently slide the rolling pin out; press dough roll down gently with your hands and cut into strips of desired width with sharp knife. Carefully unfold strips.
To cook pasta for immediate use, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook fresh pastas 3-4 minutes or just until al dente. Drain will and dress with Marinara sauce. To store pasta for a later date, hang strips over pasta rack or clean broom handle covered with plastic wrap and propped between two chairs. Dry at least 3 hours; store in airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.
You still with me?
I hope so because the best is about to come…..Garlic Butter for our Garlic Bread. I get so super excited about Homemade butter, if this is your first go around with Homemade butter……get ready for a great love affair!
Sharon is teaching you all how to make butter so we can move on to the yumtastic part!
Ingredients
1 Loaf of French Bread (sliced vertically)
¼ Cup Butter (Room Temperature)
1 TBS Mystic Blue Garlic Bread Seasoning
1 TBS Olive Oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 350*. In a medium bowl mix Butter and Olive Oil together, then mix in 1 TBS Mystic Blue Garlic Bread seasoning. Slice your bread and place on the baking sheet cut side up. Slather both slices of bread with your Garlic Bread Butter and back in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until it reaches your desired crispiness.
This dinner is a great way to get the family involved, let the little ones measure, stir, kneed, mix and you can enjoy the wonders of teaching a younger generation how to make an All Natural “back to basics” meal.
Thank you everyone for spending time with me today, I hope to see you soon. You can find me on Facebook as The Mystic Blue Spice Co. and at www.mysticbluespice.com
Spice On Folks….There’s Nothing But Flavor In Here!
Who wants to win a Black Box Collection of Garlic Bread, Garlic Herb, Italian Herb and my new Hot-Sweet Itailan Sausage seasoning? Hold on tight because here is how you can do it! (Available to residents in the USA – only valid for those who have not won within the last 30 days.)
1. Like Hobby Hill Farm on Facebook – Post a comment here on this POST stating that you “love” us
2. Like Mystic Blue Spice Company on Facebook – Post a comment here on this POST stating that you “liked” Mystic Blue Spice Company
3. Want to earn extra entries? “Tweet” Hobby Hill Farm on Twitter @Hobbyhillfarm – Post the comment here on this POST
4. Follow our blog in the RSS Feeds to add another chance – Post your comment here on this POST
5. Post a comment here on this POST about how much “Garlic” is too much Garlic? Hint – You can never have enough!
Good luck! – Hobby Hill Farm will pick a winner on Saturday evening at 11:00PM EST and announce via our blog and on facebook.
Winter is still here – darn!
Posted by on March 5, 2012 13 Comments
What is with this crazy weather? Tornado’s hitting the midwest earlier than expected, snow in Virginia when we have already had days with 80 degrees. Come on now!
I am ready to get into that garden on a regular basis. I have onion sets, garlic bulbs, seed potatoes and some of our cold weather seeds. Garden has been tilled and its just tempting me to some down and put something into the wide open space.
This is my favorite time of year as I can envision where our plants will go and what new things we are going to try. Thank goodness for Pinterest. I have seen some excellent projects for us. Do you use Pinterest? Have a “PIN” for the garden? Click the link on the right hand side bar and you can follow Hobby Hill Farm. We would love to see what you are doing so comment with your link to Pinterest.
Come on SUN we have missed you these past 2 days!
Homesteading – What does it mean to you?
Posted by on February 27, 2012 Leave a Comment
“Homesteading has more than one meaning. It used to mean qualifying for free government land because you lived on it, built a house on it, and so on. Now it means living on the land and trying for at least some degree of home production of your needs, especially food. When people who were raised in cities try to accomplish that, I believe it can be every bit as much of a challenge for them as crossing the plains was for our pioneer ancestors. People go to all kinds of places to do their homesteading: the suburbs of their city, the mountains of Appalachia or the western United States, the northeastern United States, the Midwest, northern California, Alaska, Canada, Mexico. No matter where you are or go — if you can grow a garden and raise some animals, you’re a homesteader. And a fortunate human being!” — Carla Emery, The Encyclopedia of Country Living
My definition of Homesteading – providing for the needs of you and your family no matter the cost. This doesn’t have to be in a catastrophe. This can be everyday life. Over the last 2 years I have read and experimented with foods in the garden, different types of compost, different food storage methods and most of all trying to make the foods we consume on a daily basis without breaking the bank.
We are part of the Preppers movement. We store dried foods with a shelf life greater than 5 years. We are working towards new sources of renewable energy. Most of all – networking with other families and farms for the items we do not have. Let’s face there are 24 hours in a day. If you worked all of those hours you still would not finish all of the chores necessary to care for many types of livestock. Concentrate on what you do well. If you have chickens – then you have eggs and a meat source. Have a dairy cow? then you have access to dairy and meat. Have a goat? Dairy, Meat, access to soap making. The list is endless.
We garden well so our focus is on the fresh and dried vegetables. Everything else we can barter for if necessary.
What do you think the definition of homesteading is?
Hearty Hamburger Beef Soup
Posted by on February 12, 2012 1 Comment
Found this great recipe for Hearty Hamburger Beef Soup from facebook site – The Canning Granny. She makes this soup and cans the soup for a meal on the go. You can make a satisfying meal of soup and serve with 2 yeast dinner rolls or crackers. Great for Lunch or Dinner as it is not too heavy.
I already had some potatoes and carrots hanging around so the cost comparison for the soup came out to about $12.00 and it makes at least 10 bowls of soup. Definitely, a great meal for the cost. We froze our leftovers.
Want the recipe? Click the title.
Local Food Swap for 2012 planning underway
Posted by on February 11, 2012 2 Comments
I have been reading alot of information on the web and on facebook about Food Swaps. Have you attended a food swap in the past? Looking into the logistics of setting up a food swap for the Powhatan-Goochland areas this summer. Not only do they swap canned foods but you can swap fresh and foraged foods – there is no selling as this is not a farmer’s market. Currently, there is a group setup in Maine that has put together a closed group on facebook which has beneficial tips in setting up a successful food swap. I have joined this group and will co-ordinate with them on some details so that we have a smooth running event.
Once we have established the location we will set the date. If you are interested in volunteering or would like to attend the food swap please contact me – Sharon@hobbyhillfarm.com In the interim, I have set up a tab for the Food Swap on the top of the page so please stop by often to see what changes and updates have been posted.
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