Ohio Country Journal: Gibson Orchard

Who We Are

The past few years, the area where I live, Crawford County, Ohio, has seen a wonderful explosion of younger families who are embracing the joys and challenges of living off the land. Because of them, amazing things are happening which have been embraced by our community. Farmer’s markets have been created and on-farm stores have opened. Families dedicated to growing organic produce and naturally raised meats are meeting the public’s needs for locally raised foods. And at the heart of this movement are the women.

Ohio Country Journal is my attempt to share the essence of farm life, focusing on, but not limited to, women. My goal is to bring you into our circle of friendship by inviting you to share your stories and experiences with us. You don’t have to be a full time country woman to benefit from joining us; you just have to be you.

The full-time country women featured in Ohio Country Journal are an inspiration to anyone who dares to follow her dreams, whether it is to live in the country or to bring the country life-style to their urban neighborhoods.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Cryogenic Apples

Apples do well in deep freezes. For instance:

From This:

To This:

Here's part of the path:

1. buds are hibernating in winter's frigid temperatures
2. harvested apples are sliced and stored in a freezer
3. TA DA! while new buds hibernate, we enjoy a hot apple crisp!

The months between sleeping buds and hot desserts include a lot of work, of course. Pruning, spraying, mowing, harvesting, freezing.

Is it worth it?

Yeah, Baby, Yeah!

Marcheta *smacking lips

P.S. need to leave now, will post an update later today with apple crisp recipe. Promise.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The Simple Truth

We are what we eat.

This is no surprise, is it?

But the surprise comes from not knowing exactly what has been added to the innocent food that we've always been eating. The reason that I love local markets is that you get to talk directly to the person who raised the food that you are buying.

Dr. Oz addresses hidden 'stuff' in food on his show today.
http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/hidden-chemicals-you-re-feeding-your-kids#cmpid=em013013

I think that today's Oz will be a show worth watching.

This picture is one that I took last summer at NorthSide Farmers' Market in Galion. It has Witter's Produce in the foreground with a grain farmer harvesting in the background. This is where food comes from in our area, from hardworking farmers like Becki Witter (and her hubby, of course!), and large scale farmers like the one pictured in the background.

And this picture is of our apples and cider at the same market. The cider has 1 ingredient: apples! Our cider is not pasteurized, instead it is treated with UV light, which kills e-coli and 5 other pathogens, a process that we deem safe while retaining the good qualities of the juice. No chemicals, like preservatives, are allowed.

We make it fresh for each market we go to. The price? Cheaper than store-bought pasteurized and over processed cider. Why? Our overhead is lower.

It's the Simple Truth.

Marcheta *to our own selves, be true