Welcome to the farm.
I'm just finishing up with
the last few cows milking.
I've got my nephews
helping me today.
In exchange for their help,
I'm taking them on a picnic
in the pasture.
I'm making pork pies
and a black currant fool.
For these ingredients, I'll be
going to Hilltop Community Farm
in La Valle, Wisconsin, to learn
about forest gardening and
to pick up the black currants.
Then it's off to my neighbor's,
the Deutsch family,
for pasture pork.
Gather with us,
Around the Farm Table.
I'm your host, Inga Witscher.
>> All: Gather with us,
Around the Farm Table.
>> A few years ago,
I moved up to Wisconsin.
I started an organic dairy farm
at St. Isidore's Mead.
That's when I discovered
the abundance of Midwestern
local food
and small-scale farmers
growing everything
from green zebra tomatoes
to pasture pork.
I'm taking a break
from the cows,
hittin' the road
and seein' if I can't satisfy
my epicurious appetite.
Here at St. Isidore's Mead,
we milk our cows
using a bucket milking system.
It's really convenient for us.
It also is wonderful, because
we're making a small-batch
cheese and the bucket system
helps the fats in the milk
stay together better.
A lot of farmers
are using stall barns
with a pipeline system.
Also effective for them
is a milking parlor.
Growing in popularity
is the robotic milkers, where
the cows can come in and out
and milk themselves
as they please.
We can't produce
a lot of milk at our farm.
What we can do is try to produce
the highest quality milk
that we can.
There's a lot of different
factors to doing that.
But most importantly
is how we milk that cow.
We always want to make sure
that they're clean,
and comfortable, and happy.
The first thing we do is
we start by washing that cow off
with a wet towel.
Ethan, can you hand me a towel,
please?
There you go.
I'm just going to remove
any debris, any dirt
from her utter,
and get it nice an clean.
This also stimulates her
to let her milk down.
Mason, I'm going to get that dry
towel from you, please.
Then I'll dry her thoroughly.
Get that utter nice and dry
so that I know
it's nice and clean.
Here, do you guys
want to hold this for me?
Now I'm going to
strip the cow out.
I'm stripping out
the first of her milk, just to
check for any impurities.
This is where she also holds
the majority
of her somatic cell count.
That's her white blood cells
that we don't want to have
in the milk,
so we're getting those out
as well.
As well as, she just knows now
it's time for milking, so.
There we go.
Good job, Bridget.
Okay, now it's time
to put the unit on.
Good job...
It's important
not to over-milk that cow.
The last thing that we do,
let me just get this
out of the way.
We're going to dip that cow
with an iodine solution.
We try to do that
within 30 seconds
of taking that unit off.
Okay, now that we're done here,
I'm going to get cleaned up
and go off
for some wonderful ingredients
for our picnic this afternoon.
Do you guys want to go with me
or stay with Uncle Joe?
>> Both: Uncle Joe!
>> Geez, all right.
Well, have a good time.
Give me kisses.
Thanks for the help.
I'm at Hilltop Community Farm
in La Valle, Wisconsin.
Farmers Rob and Erin
do forest gardening.
They do a CSA, and they're also
hosting an event
called "Currant Events,"
pun intended.
They're going to be talking
about currants today, forest
gardening, sheet mulching,
and a host of other things.
Let's go learn about currants,
mingle with some other farmers,
and have a great day.
[no audio]
>> We're looking at, like, about
just under a one-acre orchard.
The farm itself is 60 acres.
We are all about small scale
and diversity, as kind of our
management and seed bank,
if you will.
Our CSA, our vegetable
production is on about
8,000 square feet.
For those of you who are, like,
"Where do I start?"
Well, start somewhere.
You can start small
to a big impact.
We'll talk about a little bit
of the design,
which has worked well,
both from a production side,
so far, as well as kind of
a social metaphoric side.
We basically have four main
planting strips.
We did, like,
20 different guilds.
Are folks kind of familiar
with the idea of a guild?
The formal definition
is a perennial polyculture
of multipurpose plants
that share resources, or create
networks of mutual support.
You can grow your own food,
and fuel, and fiber, and
fertility, and "farmaceuticals,"
and fun!
Lots of "F" words all lined up
into forest gardening.
Our design, kind of criteria,
was find fruits
that are grower friendly,
well adapted to the area, and
are really highly nutritional.
A lot of these fruits,
like quince, and elderberry,
and currants,
and saskatoon or juneberries,
some people may know them as,
are pretty high in antioxidants
and they kind of
blow blueberries, actually,
off the antioxidant chart.
These are our honeyberries.
We have a couple, like,
Blue Pacific, Arctic blue,
and I forget the third one.
We tried Kamchatka which is
funny because that's where
honeyberries are native to,
the Kamchatka Peninsula
of Siberia.
But they didn't like it here.
It must have been too warm.
But anyway, these also need
another pollinator,
so planting them, I know
a few folks from Richland County
are doing a lot of honeyberries,
and they have some
good expertise there, too.
But the more mixed ones
you can add together,
and we think if you add
them sort of close together
to ensure pollination,
that will help.
We did start out
with gooseberry.
The irony is gooseberries
are growing all over our woods,
but we grew them here
and only two survived.
I accidentally weed-wacked
them the first year, so.
[laughter]
But I think that was
because they like it shadier.
That variety there
is American elderberry.
It's the native one.
We'll just harvest
the whole umbel and freeze it.
It's a lot easier than
to like, they'll just kind of
shatter right off the umbel.
>> Oh, so then you take it...?
>> Then we don't have to worry
about like, the funky green film
that, you know, you don't want
to consume too much of.
>> An umbel is a cluster
of fruit, right?
>> A cluster of fruit, yes.
>> You guys are growing
all these things I never thought
possible to grow in Wisconsin.
>> That's been kind of a theme
at our farm too, I think,
really focusing on design
and what we can do,
but also inviting other people
into helping us get feedback
and shape the story.
>> So when we went to do
the orchard, we wanted to see
if we could find
some similar crops that,
once they were established,
wouldn't take a lot of effort.
They wouldn't be bothered
by insects or diseases, and
would produce a reliable crop
of food that would, hopefully,
be novel and inspire people's
interest.
The quince growers again,
is anybody--
Who else is growing quince?
It had a peculiar
kind of taste to it,
which did not appeal to me,
so I was not enthused
about the quince.
A couple of years ago,
we actually had the first one
or two fruits off these trees.
And I have to say,
I was really impressed.
This particular variety
tastes kind of like
a hard Granny Smith apple,
is about what it tastes like.
It's a little harder than that.
So the mouth feels a little bit
challenging for fresh eating,
but I think people could be
convinced that it is a fruit
worth buying.
That's what we're hoping.
>> This is kiwi.
>> Holy cow!
>> So lesson learned here,
if you're going to plant kiwi,
invest in trellising unless
you're happy climbing trees.
The trees
make good trellises too.
>> It goes all the way up!
>> I planted it,
and I just thought, well,
you know, it was just a lark.
I'd forgotten it was even here.
Then one year I came out
and there were blossoms on it.
I was like, what?
>> It worked!
>> Is this really going to
happen?
I thought maybe it had blossomed
and the blossoms would fall off
every year, and I'd just never
noticed it.
But ever since then,
it's produced a great crop
every single year.
>> They'll get about
the size of your thumb print,
and they're not fuzzy.
>> What do they taste like?
Do they taste like a kiwi?
>> Yeah, they taste like a kiwi.
Yep, and you actually want to
harvest them when they're, like,
that puckery avocado green,
a funky 70's look.
That's when
they're at their best.
>> How do you market them?
>> Through our CSA, and then
by the pint or the pound.
* Laugh when you're happy
* And cry when you're sad
* Goin' down to Cripple Creek
* Goin' on a run
* Goin' down to Cripple Creek
* To have a little fun
* Goin' down to Cripple Creek
* Goin' on a whirl
* Goin' down to Cripple Creek
* To see my girl
[applause]
>> Hey, it's nice to see you,
Inga.
>> Thank you!
Thank you guys for saving these
for me.
>> I just picked them yesterday.
>> This is for you.
I gave the money to her.
That's okay, right?
>> That's fine.
>> No problem!
>> Thank you guys.
It was fun.
I came for currants
and I got a whole lot more.
I was glad that I got to come
for the Currant Events.
It's a great job
you're doing here.
>> Thank you.
>> Nice to see you.
Come up and see me some time.
>> We'd love to, we will.
Thank you.
>> I'm taking the back way
into the Deutsch family farm,
right through the wheat fields.
I first met the Deutsch family
a few years ago
after my husband and I,
we went to this little bakery
right here in Osseo.
We saw there was local pork
on the menu.
We asked, well, who are the
people doing this local pork.
The lady gave us the brochure
for the Deutsch family.
We came over, had a tour
of the farm, bought some pork,
took it home, came back,
got more, and continued that
over the years.
We've been able to build
a friendship.
Right now, they're actually
custom grazing
some of my calves.
We've babysat their kids.
We've been able to form a
friendship and build a community
around finding out
who is growing our food.
That's just one
of the many benefits.
Come on,
let's see if they're home.
>> So what's goin' on out here?
This is really nice.
>> These pigs have been in here
for 24 hours.
You can see how quickly they--
>> Can root everything up.
>> They tear it up, so they have
some cooler dirt to lay on.
These are mothers,
and they will have babies
the first week of September,
in a little over a month.
>> Oh, okay.
How many babies do they have
at once?
>> About ten.
>> Oh, no kidding!
That must be cost effective,
because don't they have a couple
litters a year?
>> Two, yep.
>> How do you decide
what to keep?
What to breed back to
and what to keep?
How is that process?
>> We try to find old genetics,
the way pigs used to be raised
before confinement.
>> We have really old lines
of Duroc and Hampshire
and Berkshire.
Our market pigs are a mix
of all three of those.
We've been doing this
for seven years now,
and we've finally found
a good marbling.
>> I know that your pigs are
really important to you guys,
and the welfare
that you put into your pigs.
It's really important to
always make sure they're happy.
Are you guys certified humane,
as well?
>> Yeah.
>> So, what does that take?
What kind of commitment does
that take to make sure that
your pigs are well cared for?
>> I think the biggest factor
on flavor is stress.
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, okay.
>> We try to raise everything
stress-free.
They like to have
certain-sized groups.
If they're over crowded.
then they fight.
We do everything we can
to prevent stress.
If it's too hot, then we try
to keep them cool with shade,
and we water them down.
If it's cold, we try
to give them lots of bedding
for them to bury themselves in
to stay warm.
>> A lot of people might say,
well, you'd be more profitable
if you farmed differently,
if you had them more confined,
and you were able
to raise more animals.
>> It's a concern
to be profitable, but.
>> We don't ever want to hear
a squealing pig.
They just grow so much faster
when they're healthy, and clean,
and happy.
We try to keep the pens
as clean as possible.
Pigs are just really susceptible
to sickness.
They can catch pneumonia
really easy.
I mean, there's a misconception
of, you can put a pig anywhere.
Well, if you have one or two,
maybe, but not if
you're going to make a living.
>> And especially when you're
trying to do things organically.
That preventative care
is really important.
>> Right, because we can't
medicate them.
It does effect how the meat
tastes, if they live in filth.
>> Because, if you take some
genetics, they wouldn't survive
being raised this way,
outside this far north.
>> Or in open pens, even.
>> Right.
>> Yeah, genetics have been
manipulated enough
that the psychology of pigs
has changed over the years.
A lot of breeds can't even
handle being together.
You know, when you hear
on the news that they're
going to change confinement
barn settings, and you know,
and get rid of gestation crates,
the pigs that are in those barns
can't even live together.
They'll kill each other.
>> It sounds like my family!
[all laugh]
>> So, yeah,
there's a behavior issue.
We have two little kids,
so we have, number one,
we pick for meat quality,
and then number two, these pigs
have to be nice enough
to tolerate all of us.
>> Sometimes I give gifts,
especially my mother-in-law,
she always likes it.
One of the things that she says
is how it reminds her
of what pork tasted like
40 years ago.
It's this wonderful flavor
and texture
of this old-world pork.
It's always a wonderful thing
to be able to share
with someone,
so thank you guys.
>> Thank you.
>> Nice to see you again.
>> Thanks for coming.
>> Yeah, see you soon.
So, we're going to
turn the currants into a fool.
A fool is a traditional
British dessert.
It's often used with
more of a bitter fruit,
say like a rhubarb or currants,
even gooseberries.
The purpose is to have
that bitter, sour fruit kind of
complemented with the softer
cream.
It gets the flavors really
going well.
What I did, is I took a pint
of the currants that we had
and I stewed them
with a cup of sugar,
and just a tablespoon of water.
If you add too much water,
it can get really syrupy,
and you don't want that.
You want it just to be,
you know, thick,
and incorporate that sugar in.
As you can see, it's just
a beautiful dark purple flavor.
I was surprised to find out
at the Currant Events just how
healthy currants really are.
They're full of those
antioxidants, and they even have
three times more Vitamin C
than an orange.
We're putting these
into a dessert,
but it's a healthy dessert.
I've got about a cup of cream
I'm using,
then just a hint of vanilla.
Oops, there we go.
And some powered sugar to add
a little bit of sweetness.
It's really easy
to assemble your fools.
You can do it one of two ways.
Fill the bottom
of a nice little glass.
I'm using these.
It could be a total mistake to
take these out into a pasture,
but that's okay.
That's what they're for.
I want to pile
the whipped cream on top.
That way, when you're putting
your spoon in,
you can dig down and get
a little bit of those berries.
You could even layer this
like a parfait.
Let's just see
what that looks like.
I'll put a little bit
of the juice there.
Maybe finish it with
a little-dab-will-do-ya there.
It seems like a lot of farmers
these days are adding currants
and edible forest
to their farmland.
It's nice to have
a couple of aces in the hole
when it comes to making these.
I'm also going to try
to make some into some beautiful
chutneys, as well.
I think that will go good
with pork later on this year.
I can can it and have it ready.
But I think I'm also going to
freeze some of the ones that
I bought and make currant fools
all winter long.
To top these off,
these are so beautiful,
but they need a little bit of
green though, so top these off
with a little bit
of lemon balm, if you have it,
or mint.
I've got lots of lemon balm
growing in my garden,
so I'm going to use that today.
You could even use
a few whole currants
to add a little bit more color.
Now you've got a nice
little dessert
for your picnic in the pasture.
All right, we're going to start
with making the pork pies.
These are a fantastic food
to take on a picnic.
They're individual, so
everyone can have their own pie,
walk around with it,
do whatever they want.
The kids love these.
They're really simple to make.
We're going to start
by chopping up some rosemary.
You can use whatever herb
you have.
I was going to use sage and
thyme, but my sage and thyme
didn't come back over the course
of this growing season.
My rosemary did, so
I'm going to use the rosemary.
Experiment with what flavors
you want to have in there.
All righty, now one onion.
I've added the rosemary
and now the onion to
two pounds of that minced pork
that we picked up
from Alison and Jim.
Okay, it smells good
in the kitchen.
To this now, I'm going to add
about a tablespoon or so
of mustard powder.
You could also use
an English mustard, if you had
something like that on hand.
All right, there we go.
Add Worcestershire sauce, and
season with salt and pepper.
A good chunk
of cracked pepper here.
Finally, we're going to add
about a teaspoon
of freshly grated nutmeg.
This is one of my favorite
things to do.
I love grating fresh nutmeg.
It smells good.
Okay, now I'm just going to
stir this all together
and get it nice and combined.
This recipe, too,
would work well in the fall
when the apples are getting ripe
and you've got plenty of those.
Maybe chop them up really fine
and add them to this pie.
Pork and apple and nutmeg,
I think it would be fantastic
together.
I'm going to try that
later on this year.
Okay, for this pie we're going
to use a lard crust today.
I've got five cups of flour
in my Cuisinart
with a little bit of salt.
On my stovetop, I have a cup
of water and 1/2 cup of lard
that I dissolved in there,
so it's a nice liquid.
I'm just going to pour that
in my measuring cup
so that can pour it easier.
This is our liquid
for our pie dough.
So, on with the Cuisinart,
and in we go.
When this starts to come
together, we know it's done.
I think there's going to be
enough water in there.
It looks good.
It's always the temper
of the day.
If it's a humid day, you
might have to use less water.
This is a fun dough to work with
for something like this,
because it's really flexible.
It's not like a butter crust
that I sometimes use
that's always breaking apart.
This one holds.
It's like Play-Doh, almost.
It holds together.
If you're going to use lard
for baking, ask your butcher
to save the leaf lard.
That's the lard found around
the kidney of the pig.
It's the cleanest
and flavorless, odorless.
It's the best for baking.
Use the leaf lard specifically.
Render it down for your baking.
Now you can use all the other
fat just for your frying,
your potatoes,
for making a savory pie crust,
like we're doing today,
or anything else that
you're going to use it for.
Lard is also prized
for having the same healthy fats
as avocado and olive oil.
We might think it sounds
a little bit unhealthy,
but it's not.
It's really good for you,
as long as you're getting it
from pigs that have been raised
on pasture, and they're
exposed to eating good things.
Save about a third
of that dough.
Set it aside
and wrap it up in something.
I'm just going to
place this over it
to keep some of that heat in,
so it's easier to work with.
Now we're going to roll out
the bottom crust for these pies.
Lightly flour
your surface there.
Roll it out pretty thin.
Now we're ready for cutting out
the dough.
I use a dessert-sized plate.
You want this to overlap in
your muffin tins a little bit.
My muffin tins
are the bigger ones.
I thought that since it's a meal
they should be
a little bit bigger.
Just make sure it overlaps,
and falls over
in your muffin tin a little bit.
We're ready to fill our pies.
You know, I love making pies.
I make a lot of pies,
because I love that you have
that shell and filling,
and they're so versatile.
Everybody likes 'em.
These are not a small meal.
I'm packing 'em with pork here,
so that everybody
gets filled up.
When I get to the tops,
I kind of almost make
like a little mound.
I'm just putting it all in here.
All right, and for the lids,
I found, don't ask me how,
but the martini glass
is a perfect size for the lids.
I have the extra big
martini glasses, so you
only have to fill them up once.
That's four, five, six.
We'll get that out of the way.
Now just scrunch your lids
just like you would with a pie.
Take an egg yolk,
slightly beaten, and brush that
over the tops of your pies.
That's what's going to give it
that beautiful
golden brown look.
Pop your pork pies,
say that three times fast,
in the oven at 350
for a half hour.
After the buzzer goes off,
take your pies
out of the muffin tin and then
put them right back down
on your cookie sheet.
Brush them again around
the sides with the egg yolk.
Pop them back in the oven,
this time at 400
for another half hour.
Then you'll be ready
to eat them.
Well, I hope this
has inspired you to find
some farmers in your area
to take on a picnic.
I hope you'll gather with us
next time,
Around the Farm Table.
I'm your host, Inga Witscher.
[cow moos]
>> I wish I had one of those
robots at my farm.
[dramatic, mysterious music]
[zany kazoo music]
*