Summer Provisions Box (Copy)
In recent weeks the days got shorter, the shadows grew longer. The frost now clings to yellowing grass, to red and golden leaves recently fallen from barren limbs of maples and hickories. Late fall has arrived at Lost Creek Farm. The seasonal shift reminds us to reflect on the immense privilege of a busy summer connecting with this land through another cycle of growing and harvesting and preserving for the months ahead.
We’re honored to share a piece of this special place with you in our Farm & Forage Provisions Box! In this season’s box, we’ve included items that mean a lot to us, our families and our community. The snacks, pantry provisions, and artwork inspired by time-honored communal traditions of autumn in the mountains. On the webpage below, we’ve pulled together a few recipes, recommendations and stories, so you can share the experience of fall at Lost Creek Farm.
Starting Snacks
Communion Wafers with Toasted Squash Seeds
These crispy, savory crackers were made by Mike’s grandmother, Betty Williams in the basement kitchen of Emmanuel Baptist Church, where elders were known to break out into song as they cooked extensive meals and baked wafers for Sunday service. Though Mike didn’t attend church with his grandma, he snacked on plenty of these wafers, and we serve them frequently during our Farm & Forage Supper Club events.
FROM THE orchards
Bourbon-Sage Apple Butter
If you ever visit us for one of our Farm & Forage Supper Club events, you’ll likely enjoy a taste of our Bourbon-sage apple butter paired with communion wafers and fresh farmers cheese. Whether spread on crackers, biscuits, or salt-rising toast, apple butter evokes an important Appalachian rite of fall. Amy grew up making apple butter, joining family and neighbors in cooking fresh apples in large cauldrons over an open fire for the better part of a day. Though hints of Bourbon and sage from our garden reflect our own flavorful twist, our base recipe is steeped in tradition passed down for many generations.
VIDEO: Make fresh farmers cheese to pair with apple butter and communion wafers!
seasonal Seasonings
For Spanish and Italian Sausage
Among the most revered fall traditions in our families and community is the butchering of hogs raised on small farms and homesteads. With butchering comes a variety of tasks, like curing bacon and ham, and making and preserving sausage. As a nod to the time-honored Harrison County traditions of Spanish and Italian sausage-making, we’ve included two spice mixes so you can make small-batch heritage sausage at home. Refer to the information card included in the box for recipes and techniques.
for a well seasoned sipper
Mulling Spices for Cider or Wine
As the cold weather sets in and the holidays get closer, we find ourselves looking forward to evenings by the wood stove with a hot cup of mulled cider or wine. The included spices will season 1 gallon of apple cider or wine (about 2 750 mL bottles). In a pot, simply add the sachet of spices, a small sliced orange and a few slices of lemon to your beverage of choice. Bring to a simmer and heat for 30 minutes. For dry wine, you may want to sweeten to taste.
FOR THE tablE
Amy’s Cast-Iron Cornbread Mix
We are thrilled to share a special blend of red, white and yellow West Virginia cornmeal. The mix includes Bloody Butcher corn grown and ground here at Lost Creek Farm, white Hickory King corn by Arbaugh Farm in Greenbrier County, and other varieties from The Davis Brothers/The Vegetable Garden in Preston County. Simply follow the recipe on the back of the package for an earthy, savory cornbread that pairs well with our Bourbon-sage Apple Butter, as part of hearty fall meals, or as the base of a Thanksgiving cornbread pan dressing.
hand-Picked and preserved
Dried Heritage Apples
In late-fall, the heritage apple trees here at the farm and in orchards throughout West Virginia produce an abundance of fruit. Apples are traditionally sliced and dried, often smoked, for long-term preservation and use in cooking throughout the year. Dried apples are used in hand-pies and apple stack cakes, as well as plenty of savory dishes. One of our favorite uses of dried apples is in a hearty skillet of braised autumn greens. Late-season kale, chard, collards, or turnip greens are the perfect match for apples. For some extra apple flavor, we like to add a splash of fresh-pressed apple cider.
Something SWEET
Black Walnut Brittle
Some folks consider them polarizing, but we sure love those black walnuts that fall by the hundreds each fall. You’ll find the flavorful funk of black walnuts on our menus throughout the year, but we especially love to honor their arrival in a seasonal sweet treat. One of our favorite recipes is Amy’s classic Black Walnut Brittle, which we’re excited to share with you in our fall box.
hand-carved, hand-printed
Sausage-Making Block Print
For the fall Farm & Forage Provisions box, we’re honoring local sausage-making traditions in various ways. In addition to the spice mixes included in your box, enjoy this original blockprint, inspired by long days spent with our friends and neighbors stuffing, tying and smoking hundreds of meaty, flavorful links for future use.
hand-carved, hand-printed
Original Blockprint Notecards
When we started rebuilding the farm, we uncovered dozens of antique farm implements as we tilled soil and sifted through remains of old outbuildings. So varied in shape, size and utility, these tools gave us a glimpse into the hand labor that went into working this land to grow and preserve enough to feed large families, neighbors and communities.