Although it snowed and sleeted on our hilltop today, the farm is not in total hibernation!  With milder weather this winter we still have (but not for sale) healthy kale, cabbage, and cauliflower!  All these crops are able to withstand the cold well and are very low maintenance in the wintertime.

Supplement your knowledge, and our vegetable gardening classes, with these online gardening resources:

Johnny’s Seeds Grower’s Library

Kitchen Gardeners International

If you would like to share your favorite gardening, cooking and sustainability websites with us, and the community, please leave a comment here.

View looking out onto the fields from the farm office.

We’re hiring for the 2012 season!  Can you imagine working outdoors every day with this lovely view on the horizon?  We’re looking for a farm crew made up of people who are enthusiastic about farming, food, and sustainability.  If that’s you, we’d love to hear from you.  Learn more about the position online at http://hilltophanoverfarm.org/farming.html . 

Jen Abbate manning our booth

Many thanks to Dana and Marilee of Natural Awakenings Magazine, and Doreen and Alice of Whole Foods, Yonkers for organizing and coordinating the Natural Awakenings Community Wellness Day at Whole Foods, Yonkers.

Together with 15 other vendors, showcasing everything from acupuncture to zumba, we had a great day at the beautiful new Whole Foods store at Westchester’s Ridge Hill.

Visitors to our booth showed significant interest in our CSA shares and volunteer opportunities, so we look forward to seeing new faces on the Farm this coming season!

Participating in events such as the Community Wellness Day is a wonderful way for us spread the word about the Farm.  If you have an event coming up that would be an good opportunity for us to showcase the Farm, contact us at hhf.farm@gmail.com.

The best antidote for a dark January day, is looking at the colorful images of bountiful vegetables bursting from the pages of the many seed catalogs at the farm.

Of course, Farmer Brett has been pouring over these catalogs for weeks, and is now ready to place the seed order.

Some of our favorite catalogs:
Johnny’s Seeds and High Mowing,

If you are a home gardener looking for  local heirloom varieties visit Hudson Valley Seed Library.

The F Barn never looked so pretty and festive, decorated with fresh evergreen swags; a fantastic center piece of winter branches (inc. holly and magnolia) all found at the farm, and twinkling lights.

A Great Crowd!

Starting at 5pm and throughout the evening farm friends arrived and filled the table with wonderful dishes to share, including: a quinoa salad with beets; chicken marbella; freshly baked french bread; homemade cakes and cookies; and a great dish of Hilltop broccoli, fresh from the field, prepared by our Farmer, Brett Alcaro!

Representatives from the evenings sponsor, Green Mountain Energy, were on hand to discuss renewable energy source alternatives with attendees.

Hudson Crossing, the amazing bluegrass band, kicked off the evening and were so well received by the crowd we look forward to having them back again in 2012.

Helen Brady, President of the Friends of Hilltop Hanover, gave a run down of 2011 accomplishments and emphasized that building a community at the farm is a focus for 2012.  “Hilltop is – Your Farm!”

Lucille Munz, Farm Director, continued the list of programming and operational accomplishments in the past year, acknowledged 2011 Honorees: Annie Farrell and the Berolzheimer Family, and thanked three volunteers whose efforts were invaluable to the farms success in 2011;  Patti Shulman, Lorraine Terlecki and Sue Hubbard.  Honorees and volunteers were presented with citations from the New York State Assembly, courtesy of Assemblyman Steve Katz.

Janis Sharkey and Tracy Basile, introduced their movie short, A New Crop, which focuses on the necessity of educating and providing opportunities for young farmers in Westchester, and how Hilltop is fulfilling that need.  The movie is a product of their course experience at the Jacob Burns Media Lab.

A silent auction and raffle was held with items from the following generous individuals and organizations:

American Museum of Natural History; Brenda Dietrich; Jacob Burns Film Center; Janis Sharkey; Irene Marks; Valerie Casicone; Yorktown Cleaners; Country Florist; Green Growler Beer; Rendez Vous Nail Salon; Yorktown; La Petite Spa; Husdon River Museum, The Blue Pig; Dr. Ferdinand Esser; Saw Mill Club; Club Fit; Berger Appliance; Cafe of Love; Restaurant North; Susan Lawrence; Yoga Marmalade; Family Britches; Ana Styger; Beehive Goods; Iron Horse Grill; Crabtree’s Kittle House; The Travellers Rest; Jennifers German American Restaurant; Anne Ring – Main Street Media; Oasis Day Spa; Hudson Valley Horse Source; Millwood Animal Hospital; Faraway Farm Alpacas.  Thanks to Cecilia Davis, Victoria Donaldson and Dana Hartman for securing such wonderful items to raffle and auction off.

Proceeds from the silent auction and raffle will support farming and programming in 2012.

To everyone who shared the evening with us, particularly the wash-up crew, thank you!

Evergreen Swag Made From Farm Greens

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup sunflower seeds, optional

¼ cup raisins

½ cup shredded carrots

½ cup shredded zucchini

½ cup maple syrup

½ cup melted coconut oil or melted butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Oil a cookie sheet.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and oats. Stir in the seeds, raisins, carrots, and zucchini.

3. In a bowl, whip together the maple syrup, oil or butter, and vanilla.

4. Stir liquid ingredients into the flour mixture until well blended.

5. With a teaspoon, drop batter onto the prepared cookie sheet, flattening slightly.

6. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Process the vegetables and add miso a little at a time until consistency is

achieved. Miso will add salt, so not too much!

1 cup nuts or seeds, soaked (your choice: sunflower seeds, walnuts,

pecans, almonds, etc)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped kale

¼ cup chopped fresh green beans

¼ cup fresh herb (basil, parsley, etc)

1 clove garlic (2 if small)

Juice of ½ lemon

½ hot pepper, optional

1 tablespoon mellow miso

Sea salt (optional–see note above)

1. Process the nuts or seeds, carrots, kale, green beans, garlic, herbs,

lemon juice and miso in a food processor for a spreadable consistency.

2. Season with sea salt, if necessary.

3. Serve on sprouted grain bread or crackers, vegetable slices, or nori sheets.

½ cup pine nuts, toasted

2 cups packed basil (or one bunch)

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

Your choice of in-season vegetables

8 oz. udon noodles

Zest of 1 lemon

Toasted pine nuts for garnish

1. In a food processor, combine garlic, pine nuts, basil, oil, and salt.

Process until smooth. Set aside.

2. Sauté the vegetables of your choice.

3. Cook noodles; drain. Toss with pesto and vegetables. Garnish with lemon

zest and additional toasted pine nuts.