week 4: a few little things

this week on the little dream farm

What a week!

We kicked it off with snow beginning Sunday evening and continuing into most of Monday. The 12-14 inches that blanketed the farm is the most snow Chris and I have seen to date in our area…and it was beautiful!

We’re excited for all the ways we’ll be able to use a tractor once we get one, to include snow removal, but in the meantime we’re using our strength and grit to shovel ourselves out and make paths for the donkeys and hens to encourage them to get outside while the ground is covered in snow.

Our lovely neighbors have offered to plow for us and we’ll lean on that help in really bad snowstorms.

In the meantime, while it might look like a lot of work to shovel it’s really not. We’re choosing to create paths for the animals because we want to, not because we need to. The donkeys and hens would be just fine to hang in their barn and coop following lots of snow, but Chris insists they have room to roam and I love that he’ll put in the effort to make their days better…so it gets me out there happily shoveling away, too.

Our plan has been and will continue to be to go slowly with equipment purchases. Nothing is cheap for a farm—and nothing is cheap right now—so we’re not rushing into any equipment decisions, especially because our needs on the farm will continue changing as we decide on what we’d like to take on next.

For now, we do what we’re able with what we have and we lean on our neighbors for help for the things we can’t do on our own.

Back in late summer we landed on the Ego Zero Turn electric mower and managed to get a really good price in early fall from our local hardware store. I mowed the lawn twice with it just before the end of the season and that should save us about an hour every time I mow this coming season, which will free me up for more time in the garden! So that was our first equipment purchase for the farm and our big purchase of 2022. In 2021 it was the farm itself!

But back to this week!

Wednesday came and I headed off to pick up my mom who flew in from Florida to New Jersey and then my sister who flew in from Alabama to Pennsylvania so we could all gather at my brother and sister-in-law’s house in Allentown, PA where I grew up and where my brother still lives.

My nephew, Mitchell Martin (my bother’s first name and my late-father’s middle name), was born on New Year’s Day and the 25 days of waiting to meet him felt like an eternity!

My brother and his wife tried for a very long time to have a baby, and they announced their successful pregnancy to our family while we were all gathered on the farm back in May last year standing out in the pasture with Dominic and Molly-Max. It was a really special moment then, but it’s even more special to be here with them now…holding and snuggling and giving a million kisses to the very miracle they prayed for for so long.

He’s absolutely perfect and we’ve been soaking up all the baby snuggles and this precious time together. I’m an Auntie!!!

Back home on the farm, Chris ended up with another two inches of snow on Wednesday and spent the remainder of the week working and pulling single farm dad duty! Happy to report that everyone is on their best behavior and I’ll be back on the farm Sunday afternoon.

With the animals at home and the many chores on the farm it’s hard for Chris and I to both get away together, but we’re in the business of making the most of everything and this is no different.

I’m writing this Farm Note to you while my family (and thankfully Mitchell Martin) sleeps peacefully and I’m filled with love and gratitude for this time we’re able to spend together.

I’m sure my fuzzy little editor Micro isn’t so thrilled about me writing Farm Notes away from home without him, but I’ll bet he lets me make it up to him with lots of snuggles Sunday evening!

I wanted to leave you this week with what turned out to be quite a popular recipe I shared via Instagram Stories last Sunday!

You should know that I totally made this recipe up on the fly, but I’ll share in detail what I did so that you can re-create it all the same.

Outside of baking, which requires more precision, I generally cook by feeling. I’m known not to measure anything, always adding a little dash of this and a pinch of that, and I like to taste as I go and build flavors along the way.

I have to say, this soup was really, really good, and when I shared it via our IG Stories, we got a bunch of messages from others saying they were planning to make it the very next day. So! If that was you, I’m eager to hear what you thought in the comments!

Before you dive in to the recipe below, let me know in the comments if you plan to make it, or feel free to share another good snow day soup or other cozy recipe you love! Did you have a particularly good or bad week? Anything happy, sad, silly, weird, or funny to share? Feel free to add that in the comments too. I’d love to hear about your week and how things are going in your neck of the woods.

And now, without further ado, here’s a little comfort food recipe for you to make this coming week or to tuck away for a cozy day meal:

Sarah’s Snow Day Sausage, Tomato, and Gnocchi Soup

Time: 20-30 minutes
Serves: 2 (with lots of yummy leftovers!) or 6 if making for others

You’ll Need:
-2 large cans of crushed tomatoes (I used two 16 oz. Ball jars of tomatoes from our garden)
-1 package ground hot Italian sausage (We get this from a local farm. You could use sweet and you also could buy links and cut the casings off if you can’t find ground)
-2 12. oz packages of gnocchi (We like to make ours fresh but this time we tried Capello’s Almond Flour Pasta Gnocchi and we enjoyed it. We put the frozen gnocchi directly into the soup without cooking first!)
-4 cups beef broth (plus more for the next day when you reheat, you may want to thin with more broth. We use Pacific Foods Beef Bone Broth and I keep extra on hand to thin soups if needed)
-1 large white or yellow onion, diced (I used a yellow sweet onion for this)
-1 tbsp. minced garlic
-4-5 cups fresh spinach
-1 tbsp. olive oil
-Salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, all to taste
-Fresh cream, Parmesan cheese, and parsley for garnish
-Optional: pair with crusty garlicky bread for dipping

Directions:
1. In a large sturdy pot, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and add diced onion, cooking over medium heat until fragrant.
2. Add hot Italian sausage, breaking up the sausage while cooking.
3. Stir in 1 tbsp. minced garlic and cook another minute.
4. Add 2 cans crushed tomatoes and stir to combine.
5. Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and parsley, all to taste.
6. Once heated through, stir in 4 cups beef broth one cup at a time to desired consistency (soup will thicken as it cooks and rests) and bring soup to a slight simmer.
7. Fold in 2 packages of gnocchi directly into soup (even if using frozen) and reduce heat to low.
8. Once the gnocchi softens after a few minutes, stir in 4-5 cups fresh spinach and allow it to wilt into the soup. Turn heat off.
9. Spoon into bowls and drizzle in a tablespoon or two of fresh cream and top with grated Parmesan cheese and parsley.
10. Savor and enjoy, especially if pairing with that crusty garlicky bread!