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farming

Good Karma Garlic

Good Karma Garlic

On October 11th The Husband and I made our final journey to the Skaneateles Farmer’s Market, lamenting the insufferable shortness of Upstate New York’s growing season. What a delicious summer we had! And what passionate and inspiring people we met. And yet, here we were, at the end.
Since practically everything The Husband and I cook contains garlic (for which we are staunchly unapologetic), and since the folks at Good Karma Garlic grow the very best in our region, we bee-lined to their table to stock up.
“You should come out to the house and see what we’ve been up to,” Marty said with a twinkle in his eye. “We’re experimenting with ways to extend the growing season.”
Extend the growing season? Experiments? Yes, Marty, we will come.
Just four years ago, inspired by Chester Aaron’s book Garlic is Life, Good Karma Garlic’s Barb and Marty purchased and planted a variety pack of garlic bulbs. Just for fun.  They planted a second crop from the resulting bounty. Then a third. Four short years later their gardening hobby has blossomed into a fresh-food family farmette of garlic, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce greens, beans, melons and much more from which The Husband and I – and many fortunate others in our area – happily feast.
And now there’s a hoop house.
“We want to see if we can grow our food through late fall and be the first to market in the spring,” Marty said. Inside the warmth of the hoop house we found growing newly-planted rows of peas, carrots, salad greens and beets.  We mentioned to Marty how happy all this made us considering The Husband and my plans to take up canning and food preservation to carry us through the winter never actually materialized, and he immediately shared with us his tried-and-true tips for canning. Once again proving food is in his soul.
Now that their property is transforming into large garden patches, and Good Karma Garlic’s reputation for providing real food to the region is spreading, Marty and Barb have new plans for next season: they hope to start a long season, short season, and working share CSA. “We love growing things; it’s weeding we don’t really care for,” Marty confessed. Many hands make light work, and many folks eager to reap the benefits of locally-grown food will likely keep the gardens of Good Karma Garlic beautifully weed-free.
Garlic husks.
Thousands planted;
thousands more to go.
Because we can all use a little good karma in our lives.






To learn more about Good Karma Garlic’s 2013 CSA plans and farmer’s market schedule, contact them on Facebook.


























Garlic & olive oil @ 400 degrees
 for 45 minutes.
Spread on toast.


Yogurt of the Gods at Wake Robin Farm

When I stopped into Wake Robin Farm this morning I found the Jersey cows out to pasture and Megan Schader darting about the store with the speed and precision of a hummingbird. I asked if she was getting ready for the Regional Market. “Always,” she replied without hesitation.
She ushered me into the creamery were we talked while she busily labeled and crated Wake Robin milk. What I wanted to discuss was the yogurt – my favorite on the planet – and find out why they pulled it from a major area grocery store chain last year. As anyone who knows her might expect, Meg was open and direct.
“See how I’m preparing this milk?”
“By hand?”

“Right. We do the same with our yogurt. We were preparing it here then loading it up in our truck and delivering it ourselves to each store. We were spending hours and hours on the road and putting hundreds of miles on the truck. We went back to the store and told them it just wasn’t working for us. We asked if we could deliver the yogurt to their central warehouse. They said, ‘no, this is how you have to do it.’ It was hard because they were a major revenue source for us. But we realized we had some decisions to make.”
“That must have been scary.”
“Very.”

Sometimes when you buy local it isn’t just because buying local is a good thing; sometimes you buy local because the product is, literally, the best on planet Earth, and even if it wasn’t the cool thing to do you’d still go out of your way to get it. That is the case with Elderberry Pond’s basil; it’s the case with the truffles at Lune Chocolat. And it’s the case with Wake Robin Farms yogurt. I’m a yogurt person. I used to be loyal to a national brand you’d recognize, oblivious to the high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavor and coloring it mostly was (go ahead, check your own fridge). One taste of Wake Robin yogurt and I dumped it like a bad habit. It’s not just that WRF’s yogurt contains just a few simple ingredients, or that you get to see the happy, healthy cows responsible for it grazing in the pasture when you buy it, or that the people who make it are committed to quality and love what they do; what hooks you and keeps you coming back is the gorgeous flavor. Creamy. Buttery. Delicious.
I’m glad the Schader’s decided to continue their dairy farming endeavors rather than pursue a career in truck driving.
Their yogurt is of the gods and you can get it for yourself in these four places: the Wake Robin Farm Store on Brutus Road in Jordan, the Skaneateles Bakery, the CNY Regional Market, and the Syracuse Real Food Co-op. If you visit the Farm you can pick up some Wake Robin milk, their award winning artisan cheese and a variety of other regionally produced foods. And if you’re lucky you might also get to see the cows.
Oh how I enjoy the Wake Robin Jerseys. Watching them in all their glorious cowness is a mesmerizing affair. I confess to gawking impolitely which is probably why they weren’t especially impressed with me this morning. I stared; they chewed; stared back. Then one shook its head in disapproval and trotted off. I swear I heard it mutter under its breath, “Why don’t ya’ just take a picture, it will last longer.”
So I did.
The color you see is natural; not a drop of bronzer needed on these Jerseys.

The Husband enjoys Wake Robin Farm plain yogurt for his savory dishes; The Girl likes Wake Robin Farm vanilla yogurt for her smoothies; I prefer Wake Robin maple syrup yogurt to top off my morning granola, pictured here with Mu Mu Muesli cereal, sold in the Wake Robin Farm Store, topped with dried fruit and nutmeg.