Fisher Hill Farm

November 7, 2020

The 7 Things You Should Know About the Farm Right Now

There’s just so much going on right now, at the farm and in the country, that we wanted to make sure you knew all that we had going on at the farm so you can, at the very least, plan what you might have for dinner over the weekend (if nothing else!)

Below is a list with some helpful links for the 7 things we have going on right now that you might want to know about heading into the holidays.

Thanksgiving Turkey Still Available – We have sold out of organically raised turkey but there are still conventional turkeys left, but they are going fast! If you need a turkey for Thanksgiving you can still order here: THANKSGIVING TURKEY
Farm Pre-Order Pickup Wednesdays – From now until 12/23 you can pre-order your groceries and pick them up at the farm on Wednesday nights from 3pm until 6pm. Submit the order form by Tuesday of each week and we’ll be ready for you. IF you’re interested click here: ORDER FORM
The Brighton Market will Continue OUTSIDE – The Brighton Farmers Market will be outside with regular hours from now until Thanksgiving and then have reduced hours but remain outside until Christmas. For more information click here: BRIGHTON FARMERS MARKET
Stewing Hens are Back! – The hens are back and just in time to make soups, stocks, and hearty dishes with them. If you are not familiar with our stewing hens, check out the following for ideas and recipes: CHICKEN STEW, CHICKEN RAGU, CHICKEN TACOS, CHICKEN POT PIE
Our Partnership with Flour City Bread Continues! – Our online pre-order grocery pick up is still ongoing! And, they are offering to cook you Thanksgiving dinner this year too. Check out all the details here: FLOUR CITY BREAD
Christmas Turkeys will be available – We will have turkey for Christmas dinner this year. Details to follow. We have ducks available too!
Rochester Public Market – Here every Saturday as well as a special pre-Thanksgiving pick up day on Wednesday 11/25. We will also bring produce that day as well.

Well that’s a lot! We hope that helps you plan your holiday! See you at the market!

October 22, 2020

Can Fresh Green Beans Freeze without Blanching?

Without further ado let’s answer the question at hand. Nothing is worse than clicking on one of these articles to find that the question is buried somewhere deep in the text.

The short answer is YES!

Fresh green beans can be frozen without blanching and actually come out better. But there are limitations to what you can do with them after you freeze them. If you have frozen blanched green beans when they thaw back out they can be a little soggy. Freezing them without blanching helps this soggy problem out, but doesn’t completely solve it.

The process is simple enough. Snap the ends of your fresh green beans, give them a wash, dry them off, and then freeze them. We try to spread them out on a cookie sheet after they are dry and freeze them for 30 minutes before putting into freezer bags. This way they don’t stick together and you can take out just a few at a time if you needed to.

The limitations are that they don’t remain the raw crispness of a true fresh green bean. But they do retain more snap than canned beans or your average grocery store freezer aisle beans. We recommend using them in a casserole, soup, or another cooked dish.

We used ours for the classic side dish Green Bean Almondine! (pictured above) Here’s the recipe we followed.

What You’ll Need:

-About 1lb of Green beans

-1 large shallot clove

-1 large garlic clove

-1/2 cup almonds, crushed up a little

-2 T of butter

What You’ll Do:

Thaw out the beans in the fridge overnight. Toss them in a bowl with a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper and place them in a small baking dish. Chop the shallot and garlic and sprinkle over top. Place the almonds in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them up a bit. Place those on top of the beans. Chop up the 2 T of butter and put on top. In the oven covered for 35 minutes at 350 or until they sizzle and you have a perfect little dish!

If you didn’t save any green beans this year, don’t worry. We’re going to grow lots next year too. This is a great side dish for Thanksgiving dinner as well. If you need a turkey this year, we have some left.

Click here to learn more about our turkeys!

October 20, 2020

Crop Report: Fall 2020

Many articles, blogs, and conversations start with the same thing this year….I can’t believe this year is almost over! It’s been such a tough year!

That is most certainly true. But one thing that didn’t change all that much is the fields. Rain and sun still came and we still had to weed. Now the fall is in full swing. Despite the pandemic, the crops have come in nicely for the fall and we’re excited to share them with you.

Noteworthy News

As we head into the winter months, Brighton Farmers Market will remain outdoors in the Brighton High School Parking lot into December. For more information please visit https://brightonfarmersmarket.org/

Turkey is available for Thanksgiving while supplies last. If you would like a fresh local turkey this year visit our turkey information page https://fisherhillfarm.com/thanksgiving-turkey/

Our partnership with Flour City Bread for online pre-order grocery pickup on Fridays will continue as long as there is demand. Check out the new Friday dinner options as well as some upcoming Thanksgiving items.

What You Will See on our Tables at Market

This week expect the following produce:

Beets with greens
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Leeks
Kale
Kohlrabi
Peppers
Potatoes
Rutabaga
Onions
Scallions
Sweet Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Turnips
Winter Squash

September 19, 2020

Thanksgiving Already?

We know what we’re thankful for this year. Do you?

Wow. It was strange to type the word ‘Thanksgiving’ up there. We can’t believe that this year is already coming into holiday season. Once the kids go back to school (well, for some..) it seems like a matter of minutes until you’re opening presents under the tree.

We’ve definitely had a strange year, as so many of us have. We went from the depths of winter thinking about the spring planting season to worrying about our friends and family to worrying about our farm. But the community pulled together and we were able to be a part of that. This year we’re thankful for our strong local community.

$20 today gets you a farm fresh turkey on Thanksgiving.

Having such a strong focus on local throughout the region allowed us to continue our operation and get food on plates. That’s what it’s about for us. We want to grow good food that people enjoy. We love what we do and we love seeing how the community responds. We’re thankful for our customers and they’re thankful that we can continue to grow food!

Local doesn’t stop for us when summer ends. We’ll have plenty of storage crops and are able to provide lots of veggies far into the winter. We also have eggs, chicken, and duck during the winter too. Keep your eye out for info on the duck! It’s limited!

Right now our focus is turkey. As odd as it feels to be planning for Thanksgiving already, it’s time. Our poults are in the barn and we’ve officially opened up our reserving turkey on our farm store. $20 today gets you a farm fresh turkey on Thanksgiving. We have organic turkey too. Either way, all our turkeys are fresh and local!

Click here to reserve your turkey!

September 4, 2020

It’s Almost Turkey Time: Is Thanksgiving Dinner Healthy?

It hasn’t gotten consistently chilly at night quite yet but as soon as it does it calls for some comfort food. The most comforting meal that we can possibly think about is Thanksgiving Dinner. Always a great day to spend time with family and of course, over eat. But is Thanksgiving dinner really that unhealthy?

The short answer is unfortunately, yes. It probably is. But it isn’t necessarily what we eat but how much. Plus, really hard to say no to delicious pies even after you’ve already eaten a few helpings. But what about the star of the show? How about turkey?

Corn Salsa Recipe - Fisher Hill Farm — Corn – Fisher Hill Farm

The question with turkey is always the same; white or dark meat? Which really comes down to whether or not you want to have a slice of turkey breast or leg. You might think that this is because of health, but in reality it’s more about taste, because health wise, there isn’t enough of a difference in calories or fat in the meat to make much of a difference.

Roasted Turkey Breast (Skin-On)
Calories: 160; Fat: 6g; Sat Fat: 2g; Unsat Fat: 2.5g; Protein: 24g; Sodium: 55mg

Roasted Turkey Breast (Skinless)
Calories: 130; Fat: 2g; Sat Fat: 0.5g; Unsat Fat: 1g; Protein: 26g; Sodium: 85mg

Roasted Turkey Leg (Skin-On)
Calories: 180; Fat: 8g; Sat Fat: 2.5g; Unsat Fat: 5g; Protein: 24g; Sodium: 65mg

Roasted Turkey Leg (Skinless)
Calories: 140; Fat: 3g; Sat Fat: 1g; Unsat Fat: 1.5g; Protein: 25g; Sodium: 70mg

Source: USDA

Where most of the unhealthy-ness of turkey comes from is the skin. So if you’re trying to watch out for fat than skip the skin. That being said its all unsaturated fats. So if you decide that crispy goodness is for you that day, you don’t have to feel guilty about deviating from the diet.

We do have some friends that deep fry their turkey. We’ve tried that too and these is very little room left for doubt that it’s really fantastic. But we don’t have to tell you that it’s not very healthy to eat anything fried. Our turkeys are raised to be very tender and juicy after hitting the oven. Plus we feel like the deep frying process takes away from the taste of the turkey itself, which we think is awesome!

One thing to consider when choosing a bird this year: Read the label. Some store bought turkeys are injected with a sodium solution to improve and retain flavor after freezing. When you buy a turkey from us it never gets frozen. It goes right from farm to table. So if you have someone in the family that might be watching their sodium intake make sure to keep that in mind.

Let’s get back to the original question; is Thanksgiving dinner healthy. The over eating part probably isn’t, but if you are selecting local fresh ingredients to put on your table and the star of the show comes from us, chances are it’s really not that bad for you. As long as after dinner you don’t have eleven pieces of pumpkin pie. Maybe this year just have five.