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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!

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

Local Farm Rochester New York Turkey

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.

The start of fall squash harvest

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.

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2020 Reflection: What went right, what went wrong

Fisher Hill Farm - local Farm Rochester New York

It seems pretty early to look back on the year already but whenever fall starts to come around it means it’s time to reflect and start preparing for next year. But, boy oh boy, was this year a bit different than most.

We all have our ups and downs in life, some more than others, and we can connect with people who have shared a similar experience but it’s fairly uncommon that we all live through the same ordeal. What this pandemic has taught us might be different from what it taught you, but we all went through it; the whole world!

But maybe that’s the way we should all look at it. Try and change the lens from which we are viewing the last six months into what we’ve learned from the experience and what we learned is that we live in a vibrant community who’s support and creativity allowed us and many others to get through this thing. We’ve been drawn into a tighter knit community whether we realize it or not.

Try to look at what the pandemic has brought us and not what it took away.

So, looking back on the year as a whole, we might not be ready to do on the farm just yet. But our first thought was to stay positive, try to look at what the pandemic has brought us and not what it took away. When things do open back up completely, hopefully those new understandings will stay with us and allow us to appreciate all that we are fortunate enough to have.

Happy fall everyone!

Stay tuned for more updates with crops, recipes, and more throughout the fall.

We will get some turkey information up as soon as we have it! But…they’re here!

-Phil and Sandi

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Crop Report – End of July 2020

Fisher Hill Farm Sweet Corn

This summer is flying by already! It’s been a busy one, but that’s a good thing. We’ve tried to get our chores done and then spend some time outdoors. Although we wish a little more rain has fallen for the crops, it’s been nice to be able to spend lots of time outdoors in the summer sun. After everything that’s happened with COVID-19, we all need a little time in the sun.

We’ve been able to keep the deer at bay after an early bout with them. They were after just about everything but they certainly seemed to like the summer squash this year! The lack of rain has been problematic but we have solutions for that too with a water truck and irrigation systems. We’ve been able to keep the crops from getting too thirsty and everything looks healthy and green.

Fisher Hill Farm beets with greens

A few major highlights from last week will be back in sweet corn and cantaloupe. Everyone was so happy to see those out last week! This week on our tables at the Rochester Public Market, the Brighton Farmers Market and elsewhere you will find the following crops:

Beets with greens
Cantaloupes
Cucumbers
Garlic
Garlic Scapes
Green beans
Kale
Lettuce
Scallions
Shallots
Spring Onions
Sweet Spanish Onions
Sweet Corn
Summer Squash
Swiss Chard
Zucchini

Chicken and Eggs

Storage Crops:
Potatoes
Onions

We’re looking forward to seeing all our regular customers, CSA pickups, and friends this week. Always glad to meet some new ones too. Be safe, be happy!

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Cooking Duck Hearts

Duck Heart Lettuce Wraps - Fisher Hill Farm

We get a lot of questions about our chicken and duck hearts. They aren’t every day table fare and if you’re not used to seeing them it can be an interesting sight.

We have written about them before in a post about yakitori, which is a Japanese chicken skewer. It’s an easy recipe and a good way to get familiar with using hearts as a main ingredient. This works well as a grilled appetizer and the novelty of it is always fun during a gathering or party. You can check that post and recipe out here. 

A lot of our friends have let us know that they buy the inexpensive chicken and duck hearts as a treat for their dog. But they’re not just for Fido! They are packed with protein, Omega 6 fatty acids, Vitamin A, Vitamin B-12, Iron, Zinc, and have a low Glycemic load.

The heavy iron flavor is often times what people are the most deterred by, but a recipe like the following one is an easy way to incorporate the flavor and enhance the other flavors so the taste is homogeneous and delicious.

Duck Heart Lettuce Wraps

This recipe can substitute other poultry hearts such as chicken without altering the recipe.

What You’ll Need

One container Fisher Hill Farm Duck Hearts

Half cup of chopped Celery leaf

1/2 Red onion, chopped

1/2 lemon cut into slices

Soy Sauce

Sesame oil

Korean Red Pepper

Sriracha

Salt, pepper, sugar

Unseasoned cooked, cold white rice

What You’ll Do

You can find us at the following markets!

Rochester Public Market

Thursday 6:30am -1 (June – October)Saturday 6am -2 year roundGet Directions

Brighton Farmers Market

(Special Rules and Ordering Procedure due to COVID-19.)

Click Here to Order

Click here to learn more about the new rulesDuring the Winter (week after Thanksgiving till week before Mother’s Day)Brookside Community CenterEvery Sunday 1pm – 4pmGet DirectionsDuring the Summer (Mother’s day till Thanksgiving)Brighton High School Parking Lot 9am – 1pmGet Directions

Thompson Hospital

In the front parking lot in front of M. M. Ewing Continuing Care CenterJune-October Every Monday2:30pm – 5:30pmGet Directions

Victor Central School

Early Childhood School/District office parking lot

June – October Every Tuesday 3:30pm – 6pm

Get Directions