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Cheap and Decadent Chicken in a Pot

Chicken is a pot is a versatile, cheap, and tasty meal! Making soup with the bones and leftovers adds to the savings.

This meal is satisfying, tasty, and is quick to throw together . You can toss the ingredients in a pot and let them cook while you’re changing out of work clothes, cleaning kiddos, or taking the dog for a walk. Not only is it frugal by using the whole chicken, it also allows for a second meal the following night in the form of soup (stay tuned for a future ‘Spin on that). And, it is amazingly versatile, meaning you can literally use whatever food you have in your kitchen, besides the chicken of course.

But mostly this dish is simply delicious! You won’t miss the crisp chicken skin at all, trust me. The taste and juiciness of the chicken will make you forget all about crisp skin, and you’ll be turning to this chicken in a pot time and time again.

HOW-TO

To make a chicken in a pot you need only four types of ingredients. I’ve even used vegetables that were starting to turn to the low-side of fresh and saved them from the compost bin. Below I give you two versions of this dish, but here are the basic ingredients. Let your own culinary tastes be your guide:

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 3 or 4 kinds of vegetables
  • Seasonings or spices
  • 1/4 cup of liquid (your choice)

The basic process is to first grab a large dutch oven or pot that will hold a whole chicken plus vegetables. You can fill it to the brim, just as long as there’s room to put a lid on it. No stirring is necessary in this dish, so your pot doesn’t need to be ginormous; just-big-enough is fine.

The first step is to place about a tablespoon or two of oil (olive, vegetable, or any sort of fat will do) in the bottom of your pot and brown both sides of your bird. Be sure to sprinkle some salt and pepper on the chicken, to taste. You can brown the bird as deep a color as you like–once I even accidentally burnt the damn bird, and went with it anyway. It worked out fine and gave the dish a nice “smoky” flavor. Another time I was in a huge hurry and bypassed the browning altogether, simply throwing everything in a pot and calling it good; it still tasted great!

After the chicken is browned on both sides, add your chopped vegetables. I always like to include onion and garlic in mine if I have them on hand, so I tend to pop those in before the other vegetables and let them brown a bit, too. Next, add the rest of your vegetables, which have been chopped into chunks or slices. Keep in mind that root vegetables need to chopped smaller than something that will take less time to cook, like cabbage. But this dish is very forgiving and you can easily leave the pot cooking until everything is cooked through. There is zero worry that the chicken will dry out.

Lastly, toss in about 1/4 cup of liquid, cover the pot, and turn the heat to medium-low. Let the chicken cook, covered, for about 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reads between 165F to 180F.

GET CREATIVE

Here are some variations on this theme. Feel free to make up your own!

Cabbage, onion, and garlic chicken in a pot. I keep it simple by adding just salt and pepper, and white wine for the liquid. This simple version is a favorite.

Sweet and white potatoes and purple kale were the main vegetables for this version. Salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary added abundant flavors, as did chicken broth for the liquid. This was very tasty!

 
 

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Creating a Personal Seedbank

Heirloom, open-pollinated plant varieties are your only bet for a successful personal seedbank.

You have probably heard of seed saving, where you save a plant’s seeds or tubers at the end of a growing season to serve as the seed source for the following year. This is great because choosing the proper plants and practicing proper seed-saving methods gives you to a free, self-perpetuating garden year after year. Saving seed also means you can share seeds with friends and neighbors, so everyone can start growing their own.

Many people, however, are not as familiar with the concept of a personal seedbank. A personal seedbank is like seed saving on steroids. You save seed for the coming season’s planting, but you also bank seed for longer storage, just in case.

What that “just in case” might be varies. Some people have created a personal seedbank as insurance against crop failures. Others believe a personal seedbank is necessary in the event of a partial (or total) societal collapse. Many people just like the idea of being sustainable and self sufficient. And, of course, seed saving can be a fun hobby.

PLANNING YOUR SEEDBANK

The most important thing to remember when planning your personal seedbank is that you can only save and store open-pollinated, non-hybridized, non-GMO seeds. Why? Because genetically modified and hybridized seeds have been dinked with by large corporations such as Monsanto, which doesn’t want you to be able to save your own seeds. Why? Because they want you to have to buy seeds from them year after year. Hybridized or GMO seeds frequently have sterile first generation offspring (F1 is a designation you might have seen). This means that while you’ll get viable plants from the seeds you buy, the seeds you save from those plants will likely be sterile. If they’re not sterile, they’ll produce offspring that are so unlike the parents with such a wide variety of characteristics that they will be a disappointment and not useful. Only buy heirloom, open-pollinated seeds from trusted sources.

The second thing to decide when planning a seedbank is what kinds of seed you want to save. The best seeds to save are from fruits and vegetables you enjoy eating the most, but experience comes into play, too. If you’re a beginning seed saver, to start it’s best to bank seeds that require the lowest skill set. This way you can focus your first growing season on learning seed saving techniques and still have viable, usable seed banked in preparation for the following growing season, at which time you’ll expand your skill. The easiest seeds to save and bank are self-pollinated seeds (see below for more info on this).

The third thing to decide when planning a seedbank is what seeds would be best to save. This can vary greatly depending upon the reason why you are choosing to create a personal seedbank. If you’re banking seed as insurance against a crop failure in your garden or to be more self sufficient, then banking what you like is the best option. If you’re banking seed as insurance against a societal collapse, then you’ll need to bank a wider variety of seeds and include many types that you may not have ever grown before, including grains like wheat or barley. Be advised, though, that in these cases it is a good idea to get some experience growing these seeds before a collapse occurs; your seedbank will be useless if you don’t know how to grow the seeds you have.

Ready-to-order seedbanks are great options until you have a chance to store your own varieties.

SEED SOURCES

If you’ve never saved seed before, you’ll have to buy your first seeds from a commercial grower or be lucky enough to have seed-saving friends who are willing to help you with your first crop. Excellent commercial sources for heirloom, open-pollinated seeds include Seed Savers Exchange, Native Seed Search, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Sustainable Seed Company, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, and Abundant Life Seeds, among others.

Another alternative is to buy a pre-made seedbank that is already packaged and set for storage. This is a great idea for those who want a head start on their seedbank and have some insurance on-hand until a self-made seedbank has been created (which can take several years). A good source for a seedbank such as this is sold by Camping Survival. They sell a 6-can set that is organized by use type. For instance, the “Culinary Herb” can includes a variety of common herbs from basil to thyme, and the “Ancient Grains” can includes barley, flax, amaranth, and others. The ‘Medicinal Herbs” can is especially beneficial to have and is often overlooked in seedbanks.

SELF-POLLINATED SEEDS

The best and easiest seeds to save (and therefore bank) are self-pollinated seeds, which include tomatoes, beans, lettuce, peas, chicory, and endive. These plants have reliable seed set the same year they are planted, and they are self-pollinating. Self-pollinated seeds fertilize themselves, meaning the pollen from a plant’s flower fertilizes the stigma on that same flower. No muss, no fuss. There are few worries about cross-pollination or accidental hybridization. You get the same variety of tomato or bean year after year, though it is recommended to separate varieties by a row, just in case.

Self pollination is one way seeds of concern to home growers reproduce; the other two modes of reproduction are insects and wind pollination. This is where things can get tricky, because in these cases pollen from a plant up to a mile away can fertilize a plant in your garden. This increases the chance of hybridized plants, whose seeds will not breed true when planted. Because of this, insect- and wind-pollinated plants such as corn or onions have to be manipulated by the grower to ensure that pollination is limited to same varieties.

WIND- AND INSECT-POLLINATED SEEDS

More experienced seed savers can take on plants that require more intervention to insure that saved seed breeds true.  Crops such as corn, cucumber, radish, spinach, and squashes (among others) produce seed the same year they are planted, but require the grower to intervene to prevent unwanted hybridization. This intervention can come in the form of hand-pollinating the plants to prevent cross-pollination, or making sure there is considerable distance between the variety you are growing and other varieties (this distance can vary between 100 feet and a mile, depending upon the plant).

Biennial vegetable seeds set seed the year after they are planted, and as a result expert seed savers can take on the two-year commitment needed to save these seeds. Biennial vegetables include onions, carrots, cabbages, beets, swiss chard, turnips, celery, leeks, and others. Instead of harvesting at the end of the first growing season, the plants need to be successfully overwintered the same year they are planted (this can vary depending upon if you live in the north or south). The second growing season is when the plants will flower and set seed. These plants also need to be separated from other varieties to avoid cross-pollination.

Seeds like beans, peas, and cucumber can be dried and frozen and remain viable for storage.

ORTHODOX SEEDS

No, this has nothing to do with religion. What it does have to do with is how well a seed withstands the freezing and drying conditions that are necessary to maintain a seedbank. Orthodox seeds can be dried and frozen for storage and remain viable for a period of time, but some seeds take to this better than others. Some seeds can be stored up to 10 years or more, others begin to lose viability after one year. For most common vegetable plants, three to five years is about as long as they can be stored, though some plants (like parsnips) really need to be used within a year or two.

Ideally, seeds need to be dried to less than 7% moisture and, for maximum storage length, frozen to no warmer than zero degrees Farenheit (a home freezer may reach this temperature). The lower the temperature, however, the longer seeds will remain viable. Most vegetables known to the home gardener are orthodox seeds, such as peas, corn, and tomatoes. In fact, about 80% of plant species are orthodox seeds.

Recalcitrant seeds can’t be dried for storage and must be planted immediately. Tropical plants such as mangoes, coconuts, and tea are recalcitrant. Intermediate seeds can take some drying for short-term storage, but they are not viable options for a personal seed bank. Examples of intermediate seeds include coffee, papaya, and others.

SEED SAVING SPECIFICS

The best free online resource for learning how to save specific vegetable seeds can be found at the International Seed Saving Institute. They have a complete seed-saving guide that you can find here, which includes how to address the pollination needs of individual plants and harvest the seeds to best advantage. I’ll be writing plant-specific seed-saving Spins this growing season, but for now ISSI is a great resource.

If you have a personal seedbank story that you’d like to share, please do so in the comments!

 

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Spinach and Quinoa Casserole

Any grain can be used in this hearty, filling casserole but we used quinoa for its ease and speed!

What the hell is quinoa, you ask? It’s a grain-like food that is frequently thought to be related to grains like rice, maize, and wheat. However quinoa, which is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium sp.), is really more closely related to plants such as spinach and beets than grains. As such, it packs a ton of nutritional benefits including being a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids. It’s also a great source of manganese, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, Vitamin E, and fiber. Other benefits of quinoa are that it is easy to cook, cooks in 15 minutes, and it is versatile, making for a quick side dish when paired with other ingredients of your choice.

If you don’t have access to quinoa, rice and barely are great substitutes in this dish. But no matter if you use quinoa or a grain, this casserole is delicious, filling, and is a quick and hearty meal for the family. The main benefit with quinoa, though, is as an alternative source for meat-like protein. In areas where meat is particularly expensive, if you are trying to eat healthier forms of protein, or if you’re a vegetarian, it’s hard to beat the benefits of quinoa.

INGREDIENTS:

(This recipe serves 2 as a meal or 4 as a side dish. Double it to serve 4 as a meal!)

  • 1 package frozen spinach
  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked following package instructions and set aside until assembly (substitute rice or barley if you like).
  • 1 cup cheese, grated (we used white cheddar, but you can use whatever cheese you wish, or a combination of cheeses)
  • 3 slices bacon, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes (if you don’t like spicy food, use chili flakes only to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 375F oven

Remove your spinach from the package and place it in a colander to thaw and drain. I generally place a heavy bowl on top of the spinach to press out the extra moisture as it thaws–it’s like killing three birds with one stone (thawing, draining, and pressing). I’m lazy like that.

Cook the onions, garlic, chili flakes, and parsley until sublime.

After your spinach has thawed, place it in a bowl large enough to accommodate the spinach and your remaining ingredients. Then take your chopped bacon and saute it in a skillet until cooked through and as crisp as you like it. Remove the bacon and set aside onto a paper towel-lined dish. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat.

Add to the skillet your chopped onion, garlic, parsley, and chili flakes and cook until the onions are wilted and browned. Deglaze your pan with the wine and add everything to the bowl along with your spinach. Also add your quinoa (or rice or barley), cooked bacon, grated cheese (reserve some for the top), salt, and pepper. Mix well to incorporate.

Preheat your oven to 375F. While the oven is preheating, let your ingredients sit for about 15 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid that accumulates in the bowl by tilting the bowl and using a large spoon to hold the ingredients in as you pour off the liquid. You don’t want it all to be bone dry, but you don’t want your casserole to be watery, either.

Transfer your mix into an appropriately sized baking dish and sprinkle the top with your reserved cheese. Place, uncovered, in your preheated 375F oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly and everything is heated through (about 20 to 30 minutes).

 
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Posted by on February 10, 2012 in Recipes

 

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Cheap and Decadent Turnip Gratin

(Guest Spin and Photos by Umut Newbury, Lawrence, Kansas)

Turnips are cheap like potatoes, yet make for some decadent dishes, like this gratin.

Turnips are cheap. And tasty. And because of this they started making a comeback a few years ago as a go-to vegetable for the unemployed and otherwise frugally minded. It’s a wonderful root vegetable, but when it comes to root vegetables, most people would rather stay in the comfort zone of potatoes and carrots. Even carrots (outside of being a scant ingredient in chicken noodle soup) are sometimes pushing it in mainstream American food culture.

So, what of the other poor, unpopular cousins of the root vegetable world, like turnips, beets, or kohlrabi? Even when they show up in traditional grocery stores, early spring farmers markets, or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery boxes of well-meaning healthy eaters, they usually end up in the compost pile. Why? Most people have no idea what to do with them. That’s a shame because turnips and other root vegetables, when harvested in their prime, are crisp, tender and delicious; and could be turned into a number of economical and hearty family-pleasing dishes. And even when they have been out of the ground for awhile, they can be a very delicious and economical addition to all manner of casseroles, soups, and other cold-season kitchen creations.

This is why I was thrilled to receive a small bag of turnips as a gift from a friendly organic farmer, Stephanie Thomas of Spring Creek Farm in Baldwin, Kansas, last week. Here in the Heartland (even with the unusually warm winter we’ve been experiencing) colorful, fresh, local vegetables have been unavailable since before Thanksgiving. There may have been a few winter squashes and sweet potatoes left over from the end of the growing season, but for the most part, local produce in December and January amounts to exotic greens at best. So, any produce that can turn into something other than a salad is more appreciated in the dead of winter, especially if it can save me money.

Turnips are great raw for those with an open mind and palate. You can slice them and minimally season them for a great snack or grate them to use in salads, along with carrots. But, if you want to win the hearts and minds of skeptical turnip eaters everywhere, the surest way to accomplish this is by way of the awesome gratin. This recipe originally appeared in Gourmet magazine, but is very versatile and forgiving; I adapted it to conform to what happened to be in my pantry at the time. This is another way to save money: use what you have on hand! And you can have a hot meal on the table in about 45 minutes, with about 10 minutes of actual hands-on time on your part.

INGREDIENTS

(Adapted from the October, 2007 Gourmet magazine recipe)

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 1/2 pounds turnips, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon sage
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 cup heavy cream (or Alfredo sauce, or milk, or whatever you happen to have on hand)
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (This amount can be decreased as calories and budget allow…it’s still tasty even with minimal cheese!)

Simple ingredients from the pantry for a hearty and economical family dinner.

Here’s our Spin on this recipe: Preheat oven to 450F. Thinly slice the turnips. Butter a round baking dish and arrange turnip slices in a circle, tightly overlapping each slice. Pour half of the cream (in this particular case, we were out of cream and substituted Alfredo sauce), the cheese and the spices (we were also out of sage, so we increased the thyme and cayenne) over the turnips. Repeat layers. Bake for 10 minutes at 450F. Reduce oven temperature to 400F and continue baking for another half an hour until the gratin is bubbly and nice and golden on top. (For the carnivores, we’re pretty sure a sprinkling of bacon on top would be an added bonus!) Cool for 10-15 minutes and enjoy!

The original directions from Gourmet say: “Preheat oven to 450F. Melt butter in an ovenproof 12-inch skillet. Slice turnips, arrange in a thin layer, overlapping. Sprinkle 1/3 (to ½) of spices and cheese. Repeat layers, cook for 10 minutes. Add cream, cook for 20 minutes. Bake for 10-15 minutes.”

 
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Posted by on February 8, 2012 in Farm Profile, Recipes, Saving Money

 

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Step 1 for the Urban Homestead: Dream and Plan

Turning this blank slate of a backyard into a productive space for fruits, vegetables, an orchard, dog run, and chickens will be fun and rewarding.

Last June I moved into a small brown house on the Colorado Front Range. My plans for turning my new backyard into an urban homesteader’s dream started to form before the house was even officially mine. It’s basically virgin territory back there, so I can do what I want. Starting over from scratch in a new house can be a daunting task, but my brain quickly organized the parcel into potential use areas. Now the growing season is moving in and it’s time to nail down these vague ideas into specific plans. I’m impatient, and I want my property to become as productive as possible as quickly as I can manage.

Coming up with a master plan for your garden is always a good idea. A master plan allows you to do three things: 1) it allows you to really think about what your goals and needs are, and plan to those needs through time, 2) it allows you to build and expand as your budget allows while sticking to those plans, 3) it allows you have a lot of fun.

The first thing you need to do when you sit down and start to plan your homestead (big or small) is determine where the sun is. This involves you checking out your yard in the summer and noting where the sun/shade is once every hour. Do this from sun up to sun down for a few days (say, two Saturdays in a row). Vegetables, fruits, and herbs need a solid six to eight hours of sunlight a day, so if you want food plots in your yard their location is 80% dependent upon sun exposure. What’s the other 20%? Access to water. This is especially important if you live in a semi-arid environment like I do. The basic gist is that if you will need to supply supplemental water to your plants, you don’t want to be hauling hundreds of feet of hose around every day; it will soon become a pain and your plants will suffer. But if you get plenty of rain in your area, I am jealous!

Once you know how the sun behaves in your yard, you can decide what you want to include in the whole area and plan their locations accordingly. There are many options for space use, but they generally fall into some main categories, and you can have fun with a rough-drawn plan of your yard and some tracing paper, sketching out locations for different spaces (if you have a plat of survey that’s ideal). Here are some popular use areas and things to keep in mind as you plan out your space:

Animals: If your local city codes allow it (and many do so don’t assume you can’t keep small food-producing animals) adding some protein-producing critters like chickens or rabbits to your urban homestead can bring many rewards in both food and fun. But first do some research to determine what kind of environmental conditions the animal you’re interested in needs. If you want to keep some chickens, for example, you want them located close enough for easy care and in an area where they can get some protection from excessive wind and sun, but maybe you don’t want them right up against your deck. And make sure you include protecting your food plots from foraging biddies.

Cut Flowers: I’m a huge believer in allowing garden space for cut flowers. There’s just nothing quite like being able to go outside and cut some zinnias, sunflowers, salvia, marigolds, or other pretty plants to bring joy into the house. Starting them from seed and growing your own allows you to have fresh flowers in the house all season, at a fraction of the cost of buying them at the store.

River says, "I need space, too." Who can deny such a face? I sure as hell can't.

Dog/pet run; If you have a dog you might consider a way to separate the dog from the garden at times. I love my dog and she’s well-trained; when she and I are in the garden together I have no worries that she’ll rip into anything. But when I’m gone for an afternoon, I feel better knowing she’s in a nice dog run, protected from her own dogness with a barrier between her, the chickens, and the beds. Plus, it’s just an added barrier against her being stolen or escaping the fenced yard.

Entertaining: People tend to underestimate the value of planning formal entertaining space in their yards. This can be deck or patio space, but also allow room for ornamental plantings and maybe things like a fire pit or badminton area if you’re into that sort of thing. You’re putting all this effort into planning your yard space, and you may also want to include areas where you can share it with your friends.

Fruits and Vegetables: People spend most of their time planning these areas. We’ll write more posts on planning how much space is needed to grow food for a family, but you can grow more food in, say, a 4-foot by 8-foot bed than you think. My advice here is start smaller than you think you’ll need until you are skilled at preserving all of your produce.

Herbs: Nothing beats fresh and fresh-dried herbs to season your food with all year long. And let’s not forget herbal teas. Herbs can also be used as ornamentals, and when I worked as a professional horticulturist long ago, I frequently incorporated herbs (and even vegetables) in with regular landscape plantings. An herb garden supplies us with wonderful tastes, smells, and beauty and a well-planned garden should include space for herbs.

Orchard: Don’t think you need acres for an orchard; an orchard can include just two or three fruit trees. And you can incorporate your fruit trees in your larger landscape, overlapping with other uses such as entertainment areas, or the chicken/animal area. For small yards there are plenty of dwarf orchard trees available and with proper pruning, you can maintain small, productive fruit trees in the space you have available.

Allowing space for cut flowers in the garden is well worth it!

Ornamental Plantings: I know there are folks out there who feel that plants that are strictly for ornamental purposes are a waste of space, but to me that’s like saying paintings are a waste of space…or music. Some things are worth having simply because you like the texture of the leaves, or the fall color is exceptional, or the sounds of a water garden. Don’t put beauty on the back burner. Life is too short for that.

Perennial and Shrub Food Plants: These productive plants are planted and stay there, year after year. Not only are asparagus and rhubarb included in this mix, but woody plants like blackberries, gooseberries, and currants are, too. Again, these plants can double as ornamentals, so feel free to incorporate them around your deck or patio, or even your front yard. But once you plant them, they’re there for good (unless you rip them out), so make sure they’re in an area where you can maintain them for full food production.

Utility: Last but not least, your plan must include a utility area for compost or storing tools if you don’t have a garage. But don’t think such an area needs to be hidden away–it doesn’t. In fact, I believe a well-working compost pile is a thing to show off! Healthy compost piles do not smell, and hiding them away will only make them hard to maintain, and they need sunlight, too. You should be proud of everything you plan in your garden, and the utility area is no exception.

If you have any tips or ideas for planning a garden, please share them!

 
3 Comments

Posted by on January 20, 2012 in Garden Construction

 

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Maggie’s Farm

Barbara givin' some well-earned love to one of her sheep.

Maggie’s Farm is a magical place, and epitomizes what I am working towards to create my own little piece of Nirvana. Friend Barbara (Maggie is the family dog) has created a modest operation supplying fresh produce to the weekly farmers market, and sheep-to-scarf wool products for purchase. Barbara and her husband raise a small herd of sheep (Lincoln x CVM), where each one is named and loved, and the flock is sheered twice a year to supply Barbara with the wool that she cleans, dyes, and spins into wonderful yarns. The yarn is available for purchase on their website, and Barbara also weaves the yarn into beautiful shawls, which are also for sale.

 

Barbara has been practicing her craft for 25 years, and several years ago she decided to take the leap and bring sheep onto the land to close the supply loop. It’s not only wonderful to visit her cute-as-heck herd, it’s also inspiring to see someone who can weave their own blankets, clothing, shawls, and more in a completely self sufficient system. And not only is her system self sufficient it also follows organic principles and standards, from the wool she supplies to the vegetables she sells at market. According to Barbara, the sheep are especially fond of the garlic she grows, and so are we at Rural Spin! It is delicious.

Check out the Maggie’s Farm website if you’re interested in purchasing one of Barbara’s beautiful shawls, or some of her yarn.

 
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Posted by on January 7, 2012 in Farm Profile

 

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