Welcome to My Farm

>> Funding for this series has been provided in part by Manna Pro.

>> As much as we count on them... >> They count on us all the more... >> To nurture their lives... >> With the same commitment.

>> Manna Pro -- nurturing life.

>> And Meyer Hatchery.

>> Meyer Hatchery offers more than 160 breeds of poultry and carries a full line of eggs, supplies, gifts, and decor.

With nearly four decades of experience, the Meyer family is committed to supporting our customers through their entire poultry journey.

Learn more at www.MeyerHatchery.com.

>> Fall in New England, and especially in Maine, is such a magical time of year.

I guess I would say it's my favorite time of year, but I really do love all the seasons.

But in the morning after I let the chickens out, the air is so crisp and cool, and I pour my cup of coffee and go out on the porch and just look at all the colors of the trees.

I just love it.

It just feels like home to me.

Of course, the days are getting shorter, so everybody's going to bed a little bit earlier, myself included.

I make sure that there's nice fresh straw in the coop and that everybody gets a little extra treat before they go to bed.

Today is such a beautiful day.

I'm going to head to a nearby orchard and pick up some apples so I can bake my favorite apple pie recipe, make some apple cider vinegar, and I've even got a special treat in mind for the chickens.

[ Rooster crows ] I'm Lisa Steele, author, blogger, and fifth-generation chicken keeper.

I live in rural Maine with my husband, flock of chickens, ducks, and geese, Winston, the Corgi, and Linus, the indoor-outdoor barn cat.

We moved to Maine for the peace and serenity.

We wanted a simpler life and to step back in time where there are still corner stores and your neighbors still know your name.

Welcome to my farm.

[ Chicken squawks ] It's a gorgeous Saturday morning here in Maine.

I am at Treworgy farms in Levant, which isn't too far from my house, picking some apples for a pie later.

And then maybe try to get a tour of the orchard to see what else they have to offer.

>> Hi, Lisa.

>> Hey, Matt.

>> Welcome to the farm.

>> Such a beautiful morning.

I'm so excited to be here.

>> Yeah.

>> So I want to bake a pie, so I'll need some apples for a pie.

So what would be your top picks for pie baking?

>> I really like the flavor of McIntosh in a pie.

But something like a Liberty or a Cortland might hold up a little bit better in the pie so that you'd actually be able to see the slices.

McIntosh will actually kind of melt down.

>> But you can mix.

I mean, you don't have to use just one variety.

>> You might want to put McIntosh in for flavor, put Cortland in for texture, to have kind of a mixed apple pie.

>> That's just such a New England, Maine apple variety.

>> It's really the traditional apple.

When people think of fall and apples, McIntosh is kind of what they think of.

>> So why is Maine good for apples?

>> Maine's climate is really good for apples, actually.

Cold weather actually allows the tree to produce a little bit more sugars, so our -- the quality of our apples can be a little bit higher than in the southern states.

>> Good to know.

So when's the best time for picking?

>> Right from the end of August, right through the beginning -- or the end of October, beginning of November.

But this is probably the peak time.

So end of September, early October, you get the best taste, crispness.

You know, you have the most varieties available.

>> So I noticed this balloon... >> Yes.

>> ...tied to this tree.

What does that mean?

>> Well, over the years, we figured it was actually kind of difficult to show people where the best picking was in the orchard because you can't have a sign because it's all surrounded with trees.

You need something really high in the air.

And so we figured, let's tie a balloon to the tree and say the best picking is by the Red Balloon.

And it's worked really well.

People flock to the Red Balloon.

>> So this is the best picking.

>> This is the best picking right here, this tree.

And, actually, I'll pick a nice, nice high one for you that other people can't reach, because I'm a little tall.

There you go.

[ Apple crunches ] It's good, huh?

>> Delicious.

It's good.

Thank you so much, Matt.

I really learned a lot about apples, so I'm going to pick some more and then head home and bake my pie.

Thank you so much.

>> It's been really nice to meet you, and it's been good spending some time together.

>> I really enjoyed it, Matt.

Thanks.

Bye.

So I'm here with John at the entrance to this absolutely awesome corn maze.

I've never been through a corn maze before.

I came here for apples today.

I didn't even realize that all this was here.

I heard that you are the one who designed this whole thing.

What was your inspiration for this?

>> Well, in this specific one, the inspiration was the famous children's book "Blueberries for Sal," which is my family's favorite children's book.

Our whole operation is focused around families getting out in nature, gathering food, having great experiences outdoors together, and that's what the book is about.

And so we reached out to the publishers and asked for permission, and they were super excited.

Both of Robert McCloskey, who wrote it, his daughters still live here in Maine, and they were really excited to let us use it, so that was where the inspiration came from.

And then we had to pick an image and put it together and make a maze out of it.

>> Is this normally how tall corn grows, because I grow corn, and mine doesn't get this tall?

>> Yes.

Well, we actually pick a corn variety that is specifically bred to grow tall.

So we're not feeding it to cattle.

It's not sweet corn.

I mean, you could eat it if you were in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend it.

>> If you get lost in the maze.

>> Yeah, if you get lost in there.

>> That was my question.

Growing up, we used to call this cow corn.

>> It is.

Yes, it is cattle corn, but it is a specific variety of cattle corn that's intended to grow tall, so it puts a lot more energy into height.

We plow it down in November, and by then, it's been frosted.

It doesn't have any nutritional value for animals.

And so what we do is we just plow it back in.

It's called the green manure.

And we just till it back in, and it contributes to the soil health.

>> Thank you so much.

>> You're welcome.

>> I am going to go get lost in the maze now.

>> Get lost.

And have a great time.

We'll find you if it's dark and you're not out.

We'll come out, and we'll find you.

We'll give you some food and a blanket.

>> Corn.

I can eat the cow corn, if I have to.

>> You can eat it.

So have a great time.

>> Thanks so much.

I'm back from the orchard, and I can't wait to get started on this pie.

Apple pie is one of my favorite fall recipes, and this recipe from my father-in-law is so quick and easy to put together, and it tastes delicious.

I actually had never made my own crust until I got married, and then my father-in-law was visiting for the weekend, showed me how to make homemade crust, and I've never looked back.

You can actually literally make the crust by hand using one of these pastry blenders, but it comes together much quicker in a stand mixer.

First, I am going to get my flour into the mixer.

You need 2 1/2 cups of baking flour.

You can use pastry flour.

I just use all-purpose flour.

Then I'm going to add a teaspoon of salt.

The salt will bring out the sweetness of the apples, and then I'm just going to give that a little bit of a swirl to mix it up.

Then the first key to the perfect pie crust is using ingredients that are really, really cold.

So I've actually had this butter in the freezer for a few minutes to make sure that it's ice-cold.

And then I'm just going to cut it into small pieces.

I've got two sticks of butter here.

You don't want to handle it more than you have to because you don't want it to start melting.

So I'm gonna just let this mix for maybe 30 seconds to a minute just to kind of get everything incorporated and for the butter to break down a little bit.

I also am using some ice water.

I just have some ice cubes in my cup measure.

You're going to need anywhere between 1/4 and 1/2 cup, depending on how much moisture is in the air.

You want to add it slowly because you don't want your dough to become wet.

So I'm just going to kind of slowly trickle it in and let the dough come together.

Now we get to the second tip for the perfect pie crust.

That's adding some apple cider vinegar to your dough.

You can use store-bought apple cider vinegar or homemade.

I'm going to use some of my homemade apple cider vinegar.

What this does is prevents the gluten from fully forming, and it'll keep the crust really, really tender.

My father-in-law uses a cap full of vinegar in his crust, so I'm going to use -- it's about a tablespoon that I'm going to add to my dough.

So now it's done.

The dough has come together into a nice ball.

You want the glutens in the flour to have a chance to rest.

Otherwise, your dough can be kind of tough and chewy, so I'm just going to divide it into two sort of equally-sized discs.

So now I've got my two discs, top and bottom crust, and I'm just going to wrap them in plastic wrap and let them rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes while I'm getting the apples ready.

This also will lead to a really tender, flaky crust.

Now I'm going to get started on the apples.

Honestly, peeling the apples is the hardest part about making an apple pie.

The nice thing about it, though, is that I'm going to use all the peels and cores to make some apple cider vinegar, so nothing is going to go to waste here.

So I'm going to want to cut pretty thin slices to make sure that they cook through while the pie is baking.

I usually use about 10 to 12, depending on the size of your pie plate.

But a really easy trick is, once you have your bowl of apples, just pour them into your pie plate to see that they're going to fill it and mound up a little bit, and then you'll know you have the right amount.

That looks good.

I've got enough apples for my filling, and I've got a nice pile of scraps for my apple cider vinegar later.

But right now, I'm going to continue on with the filling.

I'm going to put a squeeze of lemon juice in.

The acidity will play really nice off the sweetness of the apples and the sugar.

And then, I'm going to add 1/3 cup of white sugar and brown sugar.

I like to use a combination.

I think the brown sugar just gives it a really nice taste and consistency.

And I'll just stir that up a little bit.

Then I'm going to add my spices.

I'm going to add a teaspoon of cinnamon.

Then I'm going to add some nutmeg.

I like to use whole nutmeg and use my zester.

But you can get the regular powdered nutmeg, as well.

Maybe 1/2 teaspoon.

I love nutmeg, so you can use your own judgment.

I'll give that a good stir.

And then it'll sit while I roll out the crust.

If you're not interested in making apple cider vinegar, you can always feed these to your chickens or put them in the compost pile.

Now comes the fun part -- rolling out the crust.

I've had it in the refrigerator, so it's nice and chilled, and I'm going to leave the second crust in the refrigerator till I'm ready to use it.

I like to roll it out on a cloth instead of a cutting board because it's easier to then get the crust into the pie plate.

I'm going to roll it out into a circle that's a little bit larger than the diameter of the pie plate.

You can add more flour if it starts to stick.

But having the dough chilled makes it a lot easier to roll out.

It doesn't get sticky, and it rolls a little bit harder because it is chilled, but, ultimately, it's easier to work with.

Okay, that looks pretty good.

Now I need to get it into my pie plate, and you can use the whole cloth and fold it in half to make it easier.

But this dough is pretty easy to work with, so I'm just going to fold it in half, then drop it into my pie plate.

There we go.

We have a bottom crust.

I can already smell the cinnamon and nutmeg mixing with the apple.

It smells so good.

It's already starting to create a little juice, too, so I definitely want to make sure all that gets into my crust.

I'm just going to trim off the excess.

I'm going to leave probably an inch overhang because I'm going to need to fold that under with the top crust to make sure that the pie doesn't overflow and leak out while it's baking.

And then I'm just going to put a couple of pats of butter on top.

And as the pie bakes, those are going to melt in, and they're just going to make this really rich, buttery goodness in the pie filling.

Now I'm going to set this aside and get the top crust rolled out.

And that looks good.

And again, going to fold it in half, put it on top of the pie, and then unfold it.

So same thing here.

I'm going to trim it with about an inch overlap over the edge of the pie plate.

And I'm just going to take both crusts and pinch them together and fold them under.

So if the juices start to bubble, they're not going to bubble out all over my oven.

They're going to stay in the pie.

Then just to be a little fancier, just take my fingers and make a little bit of a ruffled edge on the pie.

Then I'm just going to cut some vents.

You need the steam from the apples to escape once the pie starts baking.

That looks good.

And then I'm just going to put a little sugar on top, and this pie can go in the oven.

I'm going to bake the pie at 400 degrees for about an hour.

I usually check it after about 45 minutes to make sure that the crust isn't burning.

And then I'll put tinfoil around the edges if it is, but it should be done at just about an hour, once it's bubbly and the crust is a really nice golden brown.

While we're waiting for the pie to bake, I'm going to turn these apple scraps into apple cider vinegar.

If you use a lot of apple cider vinegar in your house, it starts to get expensive.

You want to always buy the good stuff, which is raw with the mother in it.

But you can absolutely make your own that's just as good, if not better, and it's super easy.

So first, I'm going to take some of these peels and cores and put some in the bowl.

There's no real amount that's the right amount of apples to use.

If you're not making a pie, you can just save apples as you eat them in the freezer.

And then when you've got enough for a bowl full, you can make up a batch.

So I want to fill it about halfway full, and then I'm just going to add water to make sure that the apples are completely covered with, like, an inch of headroom, maybe, because you want all the apples to be submerged.

I'm just going to take a plate and kind of press it down on the apples.

You want them all to be completely submerged in the water, because otherwise, they can mold.

I add apple cider vinegar to my chicken's water.

I add about a tablespoon per gallon of water a couple times a week.

It helps with respiratory and digestive problems, it helps boost their good bacteria in the summer.

It even helps keep the water clean.

So making my own apple cider vinegar really saves me a lot of money.

I'm just going to cover it with a towel, and I want to put this bowl in a dark spot, not in direct sunlight.

That's going to help with the fermentation.

Anywhere between like 65 and 85 degrees is a good temperature.

So absolutely in the house.

You can just keep it on your kitchen counter.

And I'm going to let it just sit like this for about a week.

After about a week, you're going to strain your liquid into mason jars, and then I cut a piece of cheesecloth to use as the lid.

You don't want a solid cover because the yeasts are still working, and you need the gases to be able to be released.

Then I put these in the pantry for about another six weeks, at which time they're really going to turn into vinegar.

And after six weeks, you'll have something that looks like this.

The color will have really intensified.

You'll smell the nice apple cider vinegar smell, and you can put a solid cover on it.

At this point, your vinegar will be shelf-stable almost indefinitely.

And as an added bonus, I like to add a couple cloves of garlic to my apple cider vinegar right in the jar.

And then that kind of infuses, and all the garlicky goodness gets infused into the apple cider vinegar.

Garlic is also really great for chickens, for their immune systems and overall health.

The pie is out of the oven, and it's been cooling, so I think it's ready to cut into.

The kitchen smells like fall, and I cannot wait to taste this pie.

I'm going to be serving it in the New England tradition, with slices of cheddar cheese.

Again, another thing I had never heard of till I got married.

But my father-in-law swears it's the only way to eat apple pie when you're in Maine.

Today has been such a gorgeous day.

On really nice fall days, I really like to spend as much time outside as possible because before we know it, it's going to be snowing here.

So you might have noticed this basket I had with me at the orchard.

I love these baskets for collecting eggs or apples, obviously, vegetables from the garden.

So this afternoon, I'm going to make another basket, and I'm going to show you how.

All you need to get started are two pieces of wood.

These are going to be the ends of the basket.

These are roughly 5x7.

And then I just used a jigsaw to round off the bottom corners.

Then I used my drill with a 1/2-inch drill bit and drilled a hole in the top of each one, which is where I'm going to string my clothesline for the handle.

One thing I love about the basket is you can make it as large as you want.

So, I normally make one about this size, about 8 inches wide.

But if you just use a larger piece of wire, you can make the basket 2 feet long if you wanted to.

So, what I've done is fold it over about half an inch on either of the long sides of the wire.

That way, I can just bend the wire around my wooden frame and then staple the wire to each side of the basket.

So, now I'm just gonna staple my wire to the wood.

And I'm going to start down about a half an inch so I leave space for the dowel.

Then, I'm gonna do the same thing on the other side.

[ Nail gun firing ] I've got two dowels that I cut the same length as the basket, and I'm just gonna position one on either side.

So now, I'm just gonna nail my finishing nails into the dowels.

Okay.

And we're almost done.

I'm just gonna thread a piece of clothesline through the two holes to make my handle.

And there you have it.

That's all there is to it.

Now, I have a brand-new basket for eggs and apples.

[ Duck quacks ] [ Chickens clucking ] This is Amy.

She's a Black Ameraucana.

You can see that she has these cute little cheek puffs and a little beard.

Because she has virtually no comb or wattles, she's really cold hardy.

Despite having originated in South America, Ameraucanas are really great in Maine because, normally, frostbite would occur on the comb and wattles.

And since she doesn't have much of either, she's really, really well-suited for our farm here in Maine.

Because she's an Ameraucana, Amy lays beautiful blue eggs.

So, this is Mean Kate.

She's Amy's sister.

Mean Kate is a Blue Ameraucana.

So, she's the same breed, just a different color variety.

This is Clarabelle.

She is a Lavender Ameraucana, so a third color in the same breed.

She also lays blue eggs, small comb and wattle.

Clarabelle is kind of the clown of the flock.

Super friendly.

She follows me around like a little puppy dog.

She's my girl.

Completely different personality than Mean Kate.

And Clarabelle also lays... Clarabelle, this is your egg.

Clarabelle also lays pretty blue eggs.

You can see a trend here.

I really like pretty eggs in my egg basket, other than brown or tan.

So, these three are all same breed, different color varieties.

This is Abigail.

She's Amy's cousin.

So, it's Abigail Adams and Amy Adams.

But she's their cousin because she is an olive-egger.

So, she's half Ameraucana but half a brown egg-laying breed, probably a French Maran, because they have the dark- brown eggs.

So, she has the same cheek puffs and beard as the Ameraucanas, but she has a little bit bigger comb, like a Marans would.

And she also has feathers on her feet, like the Marans have.

So, she's a mixed breed.

And she lays olive green eggs.

This is Sage.

She is one of our new girls from last spring.

She is a Favaucana, which is a new designer breed that's not really technically a breed at all.

But she's half Faverolle, half Ameraucana.

So, what they did was take the blue egg-laying Ameraucanas and cross them with Faverolles that lay sort of a cream-colored egg.

The thought was, since Faverolles aren't very hardy, they're really timid, and Ameraucanas tend to be a little bit more aggressive, by mixing the two breeds, you would get something like a happy medium.

Sage is is a mix of the two breeds, and she still has the cheek puffs, a very little comb.

She sort of has feathers on her feet because Faverolles do have feathered feet.

But her name is Sage because she lays pretty sage-green eggs for me.

So, so far, she's been good.

She's, again, very cold hardy because she has the small comb, since both of her parents were small-combed breeds.

I saved some eggs that I cracked for this morning's breakfast, and I'm gonna make some really cute eggshell candles out of them.

I rinsed them out and let them dry.

And then, I took some cotton wicks, and, with melted beeswax, attached one in the bottom of each shell and then filled each shell with the beeswax and let it harden.

Once it hardened, I just cut the wicks off to about an inch or half an inch or so.

And then, I put them in a ceramic egg tray, and I'm gonna use them as the centerpiece for tonight's dinner.

[ Chickens clucking ] I've got a couple apples left, so I'm gonna make some fun treats for my chickens.

A lot of them are molting right now, growing in new feathers for the winter.

So, the peanut butter and sunflowers in these treats are gonna give them some really good protein to help with that growing of new feathers.

For me, today was the perfect day.

If you like picking apples, baking pies, being outside in this gorgeous weather, Maine is the place to be this time of year.

>> Log on to FreshEggsDaily.com to learn more about poultry, backyard farming techniques, recipes, or anything you may have seen in today's show.

>> Closed captioning for "Welcome to My Farm" is made possible by Grubbly Farms -- food for healthy pets and planet.

Funding for this series has been provided in part by Manna Pro.

>> To protecting them... >> Helping them grow... >> And thrive.

[ Duck quacks, chicken clucks ] >> Treating them... >> As well as they treat us.

>> Manna Pro -- nurturing life.

>> And Meyer Hatchery.

>> Meyer Hatchery offers more than 160 breeds of poultry and carries a full line of eggs, supplies, gifts, and decor.

With nearly four decades of experience, the Meyer family is committed to supporting our customers through their entire poultry journey.

Learn more at www.MeyerHatchery.com.