Announcing Farm Camp 2014!

We’re thrilled to share the details for this summer Arcadia Farm Camp! For dates, camp themes, and registration info, view here. Registration opens January 31st.

Farm Camp 2013 was incredible. We went from 2 weeks with 48 campers in 2012, to 4 themed weeks with 114 campers in 2013! It was quite an expansion, but one that opened up farm learning experiences to so many more children.

We also increased the number of scholarships we were able to offer. A total of 23 campers from low-income families received full scholarships funded by donations from Arcadia supporters. Hear the camp families stories in this video and learn how to give to our Farm Camp Scholarship Fund. We aim for 30 full scholarships this year -- a quarter of our campers.

We're making a few changes this year to make camp even more fun-filled and accessible. We are again offering round-trip transportation from Old Town Alexandria to Arcadia Farm, and we’re extending the hours for this service. To better accommodate busy parents, drop off will be at 8:00 am and pick up at 4:30 pm. See full details on the website.

Early Bird Registration is discounted for those who sign up before March 1, 2014, and we also offer sibling and multi-week discounts. See our Fees and Discounts page for more details.

Farm Camp is open to children from ages 6-11 years old.

Every week of camp includes Farming, Food, and Fun, but each week also has a special theme with additional enrichment activities. This year we’ve added a week focused on all of the bugs and animals on the farm: Farm Creatures week!

  Farm Camp 2014 weekly themes are:

• July 7-11: Young Farmers
• July 14-18: Seasonal Eaters
• July 21-25: Farm Creatures
• July 28-Aug 1: Small Chefs

All the features of Farm Camp everyone loves will remain the same... because why mess with a good -- and delicious -- thing? Campers will do morning chores (like weeding, watering, collecting fresh eggs, and bug squish’n), participate in chef demonstrations, learn with Educators & Farmers, play water games on hot days, and harvest veggies for the snacks we’ll make together during the day.

Come out and see us! Attend our free Farm Camp Open House on Saturday, April 26th  from 1-3pm. Your budding farmers will get to explore Arcadia Farm and all the learning spaces we use during Camp. They’ll also get a sneak peak at a few of our  hands-on activities. Register here to let us know you're coming.

In the meantime, before registration opens on January 31st, head over to our Farm Camp page and our FAQ page to learn more!

         



                         

Turkey Soup Keeps the Cold at Bay

Soup.  I am all about soup these days.  It's easy to make and it fills the house with delicious smells. Making soup is a good way to use up slightly wilted vegetables and leftover grains or noodles. You can throw everything together into a big pot, and leave it to simmer for hours while you make a loaf of bread.  What's better than a bowl of hot soup on a cold day?  I can't think of anything better.

YUMBO TURKEY "GUMBO" -- serves 6

1 package turkey legs (3 in a pack)
1 peeled, sliced red or yellow onion
2 peeled, diced sweet potatoes
3 carrots, cut into chunks
2 tomatoes, diced, or 2 TBSP sundried tomatoes, or 1 can diced tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water or apple juice/cider
1 cup dried apple slices, or 1 apple, peeled and sliced
1-2 TBSP salt and pepper
1 TBSP dried marjoram, thyme and oregano, or 4 sprigs of each herb, fresh

1-2 cups water or vegetable broth
1 handful of frozen peas
1 cup precooked rice, barley or noodles, that have been drained and rinsed 

Optional:  1 TBSP miso paste

Directions:

Plop the turkey legs into a roasting pan, and spread the veggies and apple slices around them.  Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and herbs.  Pour the water or apple juice into the pan, and bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  

Remove the veggies and apples from the pan with a slotted spoon, and put them in a soup pot.  Dispose of any juices that have accumulated in the pan. 

Pour enough water or vegetable broth over the veggies to cover them, and put the pot on simmer.  

Return the turkey legs to the oven, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes.  Remove the legs from the oven, cut the meat off them and add them to the soup pot with the rice, barley or noodles, and the peas and miso paste, if using.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Another way:  My friend taught me this, and it is divine.  Perfect to make on a long, chilly day when all ya wanna do is putter around the kitchen.

Simmer a turkey carcass (leftover from a holiday dinner) in 3 bottles of beer (cheap is fine) and a cup of water, with 2 stalks of mashed, fresh lemongrass  stalks, some oregano and parsley, and salt and pepper for 4 hours.  Stir every now and then.  Add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and cook for another 15 minutes.  Oh, it's SO good!

When The Wind Blows

I was a big fan of the Little House on the Prairie series when I was little, and I used to pretend that I was in my log cabin during a blizzard. The other night it was 4 degrees. Four degrees! Not a blizzard, but still freezing cold! I wanted to cook something quickly so that I could spend as much time by the fireplace as possible.  So I put on my "homesteader woman" thinking cap, looked in my larder, and pulled out the ingredients for dinner.  The  vegetables roast up sweet, the bacon adds a smoky flavor. Our family camped out in the living room by the fireplace and shared this meal together. The wind was howling outside, but we didn't care.  We were together and warm, inside and out.

Gnocchi with Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4

3 sweet potatoes, peeled & diced small
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cauliflower, broken into small pieces
1/4 cup water
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup raisins, plumped in hot water, then drained
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 package gnocchi
1/2 pound bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sweet potatoes, red onion, garlic, cauliflower, and water in an oven-proof skillet or roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir to coat. Cover and roast until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Remove the lid, add the raisins and almonds and let cook another 10 minutes until the vegetables are slightly browned. Fry the bacon until crispy, then drain and crumble. Cook the gnocchi according to package directions. Drain the gnocchi and mix with the vegetables and bacon.