Around the Farm Table

[upbeat acoustic music] [chickens clucking] - I'll get that for you.

Here you go.

[cows mooing] All right, I'm gonna go for a walk, okay?

[upbeat music continues] Welcome to the farm.

With the arrival of snow, the slow season begins, which makes it the perfect time for entertaining.

I've invited some friends and neighbors over to help kick off the holiday season.

I'll be mixing up some of my favorite recipes, trimming the tree, and creating some beautiful crafts to decorate for a homemade holiday.

Gather with us, Around the Farm Table!

I'm your host, Inga Witscher.

[tail thumps] Hey!

I'm Inga, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, milking cows and making cheese on my small farm in Wisconsin.

I'm passionate about exploring new places, meeting new people, and finding the best local ingredients that I can turn into delicious meals.

I would like to invite you along on this food and farming adventure.

– Announcer: Around the Farm Table is funded in part by Marge Engelman, Dr. Mark Head, Wisconsin Farmers Union, St. Isidore's Dairy, Trempealeau County Tourism, Cowsmo Compost, Bender Dairy Equipment, Scandihoo, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

- I love to decorate during the holidays, and I really like to use simple decorations.

I like to achieve that Scandinavian minimalist look.

And so I decorate using natural things like dried oranges, eucalyptus, paperwhites, and even oranges that are studded with cloves.

It just is beautiful, it's very cost-effective, and it's a natural way to decorate for the holidays.

And the best part is when I'm taking things down, I can compost everything.

So today, I wanna show you how I make my wreaths.

These are great to give away as gifts or just to hang all over the house to celebrate the holiday season.

The first thing you're gonna do is you wanna dehydrate your citrus.

Now, you can use oranges, you can use grapefruit, or you can use lemons and limes, whatever your heart desires.

Dehydrating is really easy.

The first step is gonna be to slice your citrus as thin as possible.

Once it's all sliced, put it in your dehydrator.

I prefer a dehydrator over the oven method.

It just makes the dehydrated fruit look better and cleaner.

So you'll dehydrate your fruit.

Just follow the directions on your dehydrator.

I usually do it for eight hours or even overnight.

When that fruit comes out of the dehydrator, it's gonna look beautiful.

It almost has that stained glass quality to it that I just love.

So now we're ready to make our wreaths.

I like to start with eucalyptus.

Eucalyptus, you can probably find it at your farmers market later on in the season, Septemberish.

A lot of people grow it here in the Midwest and all around, and it's a wonderful, wonderful plant.

And you can, it dries easy, so you can use fresh or dried.

I've started using embroidery hoops as my wreath base, so I just found these at my thrift store.

I grabbed different sizes so I can make different-size wreaths, and it just makes it fun and, I don't know, just a different look.

So I'll start with my eucalyptus, and just have two cut here and I took some leaves off.

And I'm gonna run some hot glue on my stems here.

They're gonna look a little bit messy.

And then I'm just gonna place my stem and squeeze it right onto my hoop.

If your fingers aren't burnt from hot glue, you're crafting wrong.

And then on my next, a little bit more glue.

And then I'm just gonna squeeze that on too.

It's gonna look messy, but that's all right.

It won't when we're done.

And now, I'm just gonna use my dried citrus here.

I'll put a little glue on the back and press it right onto my wreath, pushing down to just make sure that it's sticking.

Another orange.

We'll put that right down here.

So it's looking pretty cute.

Right, it's kind of cute.

And then I'm just gonna add some bells so it will jingle along and be in the holiday spirit.

Now, you can add a bow to this too if you'd like.

I'm not a great bow-tier, so I don't.

Okay, so how cute are these?

And you can really make it your own by adding a few more decorations.

Even a nice, big red bow would look really good.

I'm gonna make a few more of these wreaths to decorate the house with, and then we're gonna get our number one decoration, which is the Christmas tree.

I'll see you over at the Christmas tree farm.

[upbeat acoustic music] [Inga knocking] Oh, hi, Therese.

– Therese Olson: Hi, Inga; welcome.

- Thank you for having me.

- Welcome.

Sit down; I just made us some hot cider.

- All right, thank you.

- Let's have a Christmas cheer.

- Cheers to the holidays!

[cups clinking] Boy, this is so cozy inside your cabin.

I haven't been out here for quite a while.

- Well, welcome.

- Tell me this whole story about how this started.

- Well, we go back quite a ways.

My husband and I purchased the property in 1981, and, at that time, it was a tired, old soybean field.

And we knew that we wanted to plant something.

And we explored different plants, different varieties, and we came across the Christmas tree industry and the real Christmas tree industry, and decided to start planting trees.

- So when you say "the real Christmas tree industry," is it, I suppose a lot of people think maybe you can just go out in the woods and cut down a tree.

What is special about having a Christmas tree farm?

- The Christmas tree industry in Wisconsin and around the country of the United States is one that is a managed agricultural crop.

And unlike a annual crop such as corn or soybeans, it takes anywhere between 10 and 14 years to produce our crop of a Christmas tree.

So it's a long-term investment.

- What does the year look like for a Christmas tree grower?

- The typical year is always related to the weather.

So we typically, we'll start doing our planting in the spring and the fall.

And those are taking our seedlings from the time they're about five years old when we put them out into the fields to the time that a family will come and harvest them here at our farm 10 or 14 years later.

- Why is it important for you to be able to provide this to folks?

- I think it's something that Tim and I started way back when we were young and we were novices at doing this.

We wanted to make sure that we were doing something sound for the environment, and we wanted to leave this piece of property, which was being overfarmed, as something that can be looked at in generations when we're gone as very much improved.

The real Christmas tree growing operations that we do have produced 100% improvement over this property particular, in most farms.

We have produced less erosion.

This is sandy soil here in our part of the world, and keeping the trees on has definitely reduced the amount of soil erosion.

It has created a great habitat, an amazing habitat for the birds.

We also feel very, very good that we're producing something that's renewable, that's recyclable.

This is the ultimate environmental message here.

For every acre of Christmas trees that are grown, it produces the oxygen for approximately 18 people per day.

And that is significant for us, as well as the beauty of the Christmas tree.

It is the centerpiece of everyone's holiday.

It's their traditions and their memories when they come out here to celebrate with their families, their individuals, their friends.

They come out here all bundled up, whatever the weather is, and either cut their Christmas tree and select it, or they select one that we've cut and brought up to the cabin here for them to choose from.

- Therese, thank you so much for spending time with me today.

And I came to grab a Christmas tree.

I know that the busy season is about to start and you're about to open to the public, so would you mind if I popped out and grabbed one?

- Well, you can pop out or you can put your coat on.

- [laughing] I'll bundle up first.

– Therese: And we'll give you a sled and a saw, and point you in the right direction.

- Well, thank you so much, and Merry Christmas.

– Therese: Merry Christmas.

[upbeat acoustic music] - Watch out, Sam!

[cheering] ["O Christmas Tree" by picadillyCircus] I've invited Christl over to show me how she makes her straw ornaments.

Christl, I just love the look of these ornaments.

They're just gorgeous.

– Christl Iausly: Thank you.

- Now, you come from a region in Germany where this is a very traditional ornament, is that correct?

– Christl: Yes, that is correct.

The Erzgebirge, which is near my hometown, they invented Christmas.

- Well, you're the perfect person to teach me then.

[both laughing] How was this even thought of, using these stems as something to make into something beautiful?

- Well, it was something that was necessary because we couldn't use the tops of the wheat.

We couldn't use them because we needed them to eat.

- Right.

- And so we children just used this and started making the stars without the hats.

- Wonderful.

So this, you've been doing this for a while?

- Oh, ja.

I was about eight years old or so when we started, or six, or something like.

I don't think I went to school already when I did that.

- Well, I would like you to teach me, but I'd like you to have patience with me 'cause I might not be as crafty as you are.

- Oh, well, I think you will learn.

[both laughing] - So what do we start with?

I see you have some straw in your hand.

- Ja.

- And now, these were soaked, correct?

- They were soaked.

They have to be soaked in water for overnight.

If you don't soak them, they might break in the middle because they are fragile.

- So soaking 'em, they can just become more pliable.

- Ja, so they're still somewhat moist now, ja.

- And then you can just take any thread you have, right?

- Any thread you like.

You can use colors that you like or... - So how do I start?

I've got my... - And you start on the top and have your thumb on top.

Ja, over and under.

- Over and under.

- And it's a good thing to do that twice.

- The back.

- Ja, mm-hmm.

- So both.

- And then you knot it up; you knot them together.

– Inga: I could see how this could be very relaxing too.

- You'll have the one on top again.

- And then it's a over, under, over, under.

– Christl: Yes.

Okay, I think you're there, aren't you?

– Inga: I think I gotta go right back to here.

Now I'm back to where I started, right?

– Christl: All right, lay it down.

– Inga: Lay it down, and then tie it off again.

– Christl: Tie it up.

You see that these bows need a little shortening.

- Mm-hmm.

- So we kind of decide to cut 'em all.

Okay, leave it long enough and start here.

Two, see, now it's under your thumb, and you can reach the other one.

And when you get to the two again, you already went too far.

I always make two knots.

But you leave enough for the hanger to hang it onto the Christmas tree.

And we have some samples that we probably can show.

- This is perfect.

I've gotta get in the kitchen and start cooking.

I'm gonna keep Christl here to make more decorations for me while I get cooking.

How does that sound?

- That sounds great.

[Inga laughing] ["O Christmas Tree" by picadillyCircus] [gentle ending note] - Since we're hosting a holiday celebration, I decided to invite my secret weapon into the kitchen with me.

My mother, Cynthia.

– Cynthia Witscher: Hello.

– Inga: And I have asked her to show me how she's gonna make her world-famous cheese truffles.

So tell me a little bit about your truffles, Mom.

- Well, back in the '70s and '80s, we all served a nice cheese ball.

We could buy it at the store, we could make our own.

And then we went to the cheese log.

And now, I'm making cheese truffles.

And those are going to be little cheese balls.

- That seems like it'll make it easier to eat.

- So we're gonna start off with eight ounces of cream cheese, softened to room temperature.

And so she's gonna, we're just melding this.

We are not ever putting this in the Cuisinart or a blender.

- Would it overmix?

- Totally overmix and turn to mush.

And then we're gonna add, you're gonna grate me a good 1/4 of a pound of a hard cheese.

- Okay, and I'm gonna use the cheese I make here on the farm.

So I've got my cream cheese here and then this is, I just do a cheddar.

All right, this looks beautiful going in here.

– Cynthia: Isn't that great colors?

– Inga: Yeah.

– Cynthia: And a small, you know, the smaller grade you can do.

- You wouldn't microplane.

- No, no, no.

- No.

- You know, but you can make long strands or the short strands.

Make a short strand for the ease of eating.

Okay, my secret weapon, Inga, for this cheese is pepper jelly.

I'm gonna put in about 1/4 of a cup of pepper jelly, which will give it the sweet and the spice.

So I'll let you pour that in.

– Inga: All right.

- That is, Inga's doing that over there.

I am going to take about 3/4 of a cup of chopped nuts.

I love pecans.

Personally, I would really like to try cashews.

And then the next ingredient, we are going to have Wisconsin cranberries.

- All right.

- All right, so this goes in with my nuts over here.

And to finish that, to give it another kick, we're going to put in about 1/4 of a cup of chopped chives.

And because we're putting these into cheese bites or truffles, small size, I'm only giving Inga 1/3 of this bowl.

- So I'm gonna incorporate the 1/3 of the mixture she did into the cream cheese.

So that this, I like this idea 'cause then when you're biting into it, you're getting a little filling and a little crunch in every bite.

- Right.

Now we're gonna start forming our small truffles.

– Inga: Okay.

– Cynthia: And because we've added the sweet pepper jelly.

– Inga: Yeah?

– Cynthia: They're a little loose.

- Oh, that's okay.

- And they will get hardened once in the refrigerator.

- They'll set back up nicely.

- But look.

– Inga: I think they look good.

- Okay, now you can try to add... Look at that, is that nice?

- Then you can pick 'em up with your little skewer.

– Cynthia: And you can pick 'em up with your skewer.

- We're gonna finish making our cheese truffles here, and then I'm gonna put my mom to work decorating the tree.

And then I need to get my main course in the oven.

[upbeat acoustic music] Now that it's the holiday season, I've been thinking a lot about family traditions.

And what is my family tradition?

Really, the only one we have is to celebrate during the middle of the day.

I'm a fourth-generation dairy farmer.

My entire family are farmers, so we need to eat between the morning milking and the evening milking.

With my guests coming today, we're gonna be eating about noon, you know, so we can get back out to do chores.

The cycle of dairy farming is never-ending, but it's always enjoyable.

The other tradition we have for our family is my folks have been vegetarian for as long as I can remember, and it's during the holidays when we really like to showcase some really exquisite vegetarian dishes.

So I want to wow my guests today with a beautiful vegetarian lunch featuring sweet potatoes.

I'm gonna be making sweet potato steaks with a white bean puree.

And then I'm gonna top that all off with an herbal salad.

So let's get started with the sweet potatoes.

I'm gonna just slice off the nose of this sweet potato and save that for my chickens.

And then I'll just slice these into about half-inch steaks.

I couldn't find a better word to use than "steaks," so that's what I'm calling them.

Slice right down the outside of that sweet potato.

And then watch your fingers here.

And then cut the others out.

So I'm getting these really beautiful steaks.

And look at that color--that's just full of betacarotene.

I'll do two.

I'm just gonna cut the tip off of that one so that it sits better on my cutting board.

And now you can just lay your sweet potatoes out on a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Lay them all down.

And then now, I'm just gonna glaze it using a maple syrup, garlic, and butter glaze.

The glaze is very simple to make.

Alls you need is a half a cup of maple syrup, half a stick of butter, and one clove of minced garlic.

You'll add that right to a saucepan and melt it down.

And then now, I just glaze the top of my steaks here.

Now we'll season these with a little salt and pepper.

[pepper mill grinding] And now, these will go into a preheated oven.

I've got my oven set to 375.

These are gonna pop in for about 20 to 25 minutes, just until they're fork tender.

Now I'm gonna make a white bean puree with some rosemary to top onto the sweet potato steaks.

And this is really good.

You could use it even just as a dip with some crackers.

That's how good it is.

The first thing I'm gonna do is chop up, just roughly chop some fresh rosemary.

I'll pop that right into my food processor.

And then, let's do three cloves of garlic for this.

I'll pop my garlic right into the food processor.

[food processor whirring] Give it a little whirl just to get that garlic minced up before I add the rest of the ingredients.

And now I'm gonna add in two cans of white beans, unrinsed.

And then just give this a blend.

[food processor whirring] I'm gonna add a little bit of lemon juice for some acidity.

Probably a half a lemon will do.

A nice glug of extra virgin olive oil.

And some salt and pepper just for the seasoning.

[pepper mill grinding] And then I'll give that a final puree, and it'll be ready to go.

[food processor whirring] The last part of this dish is gonna be an herb salad.

And I'm gonna start by doing a homemade salad dressing.

I'm gonna start with a shallot.

[shallot crunching] And you'll just wanna mince finely your shallot here.

And that goes right into my bowl.

And now I'll do two cloves of garlic, and these are gonna be minced as well.

And then that goes right into my bowl as well.

And now I'm gonna add salt and pepper to the bowl.

A little bit of Dijon mustard.

And then I like to use a sweetener, like a honey or a maple syrup.

I have a friend who keeps bees on my farm, so I have lots of honey, so I'm gonna use that in my dressing.

Okay, this looks good.

I'm gonna add a little bit of lemon again for that acidity.

The rule of thumb is, I believe, two parts oil to one part vinegar when you're making your salad dressing.

But the best advice I can give you is taste as you go and adjust as needed.

You could also use a sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar.

Any kind of acidity like that would work well here.

And then a little bit of extra virgin olive oil that I bring out for occasions like these or if I'm making a really delicate salad.

Now I'm gonna add some herbs.

I'm adding dill, cilantro, and parsley.

I like the way the three work together, and they're gonna complement the sweet potatoes very nicely.

I'm trying to chop everything uniformly so when you're eating it, it feels nice on your palate.

Stir that in nicely.

And now I'm gonna add a little bit of crunch with some walnuts.

I might chop these up a bit, just a handful of walnuts.

And then I'm gonna add a little bit of feta.

The feta cheese goes nicely with this.

It's a nice salty cheese.

And then some really beautiful pomegranate seeds, since it's the season of pomegranates and they look really festive and holiday in this dish.

And now we can plate it up.

The best part about this recipe is you can serve it at room temperature or warm, so it goes well with entertaining.

You don't have to kind of try to plan everything around when your guests are sitting at the table, making sure everything's warm getting to the table.

That's why I love this recipe.

So I've got my sweet potatoes there, and I'm gonna add a little bit of the bean puree to the top of the potatoes.

And then I'll add my salad right on top.

And maybe a few more pomegranates here just to make it look festive.

And a bit of cheese.

And now, we're ready for a party.

I'm a big fan of thrifting, garage saleing, finding little treats here and there.

And I love to decorate my table using all of my really fun finds.

And when I set my table, I love the idea of mismatched glassware, mismatched dishes, and just using what you have on hand.

I decided to have my cheese board run right down to the middle of the table.

I love going to holiday parties and sampling all different kinds of cheese and charcuterie.

But the problem is, is then when you get to the table, you have to leave the cheese plate at the appetizer table.

So I wanted to bring everything right to our lunch here.

So I just put down a layer of parchment paper and then built my cheeseboard right on top of that.

I also love the idea when it comes to holiday giving, if we can start giving anything that kind of can come from the heart.

I think we should be shopping less at stores and showing more appreciation to our host or hostesses through a homemade gift.

I think everything's ready.

I'm gonna invite my friends to the table.

[upbeat acoustic music] Well, cheers everybody.

Thank you for coming.

– All: Cheers!

- Happy holidays!

[guests chatting] [guests laughing] Well, I hope this has inspired you to invite some friends over to kick off your holiday season, and I hope you'll gather with us next time, - In unison: Around the Farm Table!

- I'm your host, Inga Witscher.

[laughing] Cheers, you guys, thank you.

[upbeat acoustic music] [upbeat music continues] - Announcer: Around the Farm Table is funded in part by Marge Engelman, Dr. Mark Head, Wisconsin Farmers Union, Saint Isidore's Dairy, Trempealeau County Tourism, Cowsmo Compost, Bender Dairy Equipment, Scandihoo, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.