Farmer Colin came home looking sheepish carrying some goat cheese and a small amount of cash. He said he felt like Jack and the Beanstalk, having traded away not the whole farm for beans, but only 90 bales of hay for goat cheese. He had agreed to a partial cash, partial trade arrangement, whereby we will be receiving several installments of assorted cheeses from the goat dairy in exchange for most of our first crop of hay. It’s really fine because it was an accidental hay anyway. We let some of our cereal rye cover crop go a little too long to till in. We saw it happening and said, boy, we sure oughtta till that soon. But then we never did and then we were awed by its beauty and height, seven feet. Our landlord, Bill, was gracious enough to mow and bale it for us. Normally, organic hay goes for five dollars a bale at the feed store, but ours was not the finest quality, being sort of an accident and all, so it went for four. And mostly in cheese at that. So just as we enjoy eating the fruits of our labors in the form of veggies here, so we will enjoy eating cheese that our hay had a part in making.

Several years ago, Kirsop Farm had interns, two per year, and one year, one of them found a solution to the onion naming problem. We grow sweet onions from Walla Walla Onion Seed. The onion growers of Walla Walla Washington have banded together and branded their sweet onions with a trademark name so that a farmer in Olympia Washington cannot claim to have Walla Walla Sweets. Something similar went on in Georgia with the Vidalia onions. Anyway, our clever intern, Justin, coined the term Oly Oly Sweets to solve this dilemma. So, dear members, slice them on your burgers and sammies, chop them in your salads, but whatever you do, don’t call them Walla Wallas. Even though that is what they are.

My cat, Seven, loves me. I can tell by the way he gets on my lap any time it seems to be available, which in summer time is not that often. I can also tell by the way he sort of follows me around and just stays near me. This is endearing and frustrating, because I love Seven the cat, and I love barn swallows. Barn Swallows are lovely, companionable birds that nest in, you guessed it, barns, and fly around eating bugs and filling up their nests with adorable baby barn swallows. The mother and father barn swallows, understandably, freak out when Seven the Cat comes out to the barn to be near me while I am working. They sound the alarm, over and over again. They dive bomb him, chirping madly all the while. Sometimes he acts like he doesn’t notice, other times he leaps into the air and trys to catch them.
My cat often brings me gifts of things he killed, and I am choosing to believe that none of them were previously barn swallows. Maybe a Robin or a sparrow, but not a barn swallow, never that.


Killarney, or Kilarney Garlic may be a cross between Spanish Roja and German Garlic. It is a Red Rocambole type with 8 cloves on average, those cloves are easy to peel and spicy sweet. According to Mr. Stinky’s website, these are very rare in Canada and grow great in a cold winter with wet weather. Floyd Granlund, better known as “Mr. Stinky”, is the owner of “Stinky’s World of Garlic”. He grows over 350,000 bulbs and buys over 1 million bulbs from other growers in Eastern Ontario to help supply the demand his company has crated for Canadian Garlic. Floyd has been growing garlic for about five years, and, in that time, he has been both President and Vice President of the Garlic Growers of Eastern Ontario.

Chicken Roasted with Garlic and Rosemary – Madison Herb Society Cookbook
1 roasting chicken 1/2 cup dry white wine
1 heaping TBSP dried rosemary pinch of rosemary
salt and pepper 1 1/4 cup chicken broth
20 or more cloves of garlic with skins on
Place chicken in a roasting pan. Using your thumb, crush the rosemary in the palm of your hand and sprinkle over the chicken inside and out. Generously sprinkle salt and pepper over all and arrange garlic around the chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour or so, allowing 15-20 minutes per pound, or until the chicken skin is golden brown. Put chicken and garlic on a platter. Drain pan and discard the fat. Place roasting pan over a hot burner and add the wine. Let the wine boil and reduce by about half. Add the pinch of rosemary and the chicken broth. Again, boil and reduce by half. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the sauce on the side. Makes 4-6 servings.

Call me to order a chicken to make this recipe!!