Lehman's Country Life

Webworms at work in my apple tree. (Click on the photo if you

Webworms are bad this year in our part of Ohio. I’m not sure where they come from or what their purpose in life is, but wherever they build their webs, the leaves die. And this year, I’m seeing them everywhere. Along the roads, in ornamental trees and, most tragic of all, in my fruit trees.

I’ve heard you can control them with Malathion or sevin, but I always prefer and believe in natural solutions, if possible. The “natural solution” for webworms is to cut them out of the tree and burn them. That’s always been my choice. (Webworms can also be controlled with dormant oil spray, usually considered gentle on the environment. But, that must be applied in the Spring before they emerge.)

This year, I was faced with an ethical struggle of mythical proportions in
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Tune in this Saturday, September 12th at 11 a.m. (EST) to hear our own Jay Lehman, plus many Lehman’s products and lots of other local treasures, featured on Michael Feldman’s Whad-Ya Know radio show.

This week’s show will be broadcast live from the College of Wooster in nearby Wooster (our county seat, located about 13 miles from our store in Kidron).

With an audience of about 1.5 million, Whad’Ya Know is one of National Public Radio’s most popular weekly shows. A great jazz band, audience participation, quizz shows and Feldman’s wacky, offbeat humor are the show’s hallmarks.

Check your local NPR listings, stream live from our local affiliate, wksu.org, or get more info at notmuch.com. It’ll be wild, weird and funny for sure!

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Hi there! My name is Matt Lehman. Some of you may have read the blog article I wrote while fulfilling an internship. Since then, times have changed, and I now find myself at college once again. As many of you might have read in my dad’s blog posting, I brought a small square foot garden out with me to college this year, in an attempt to grow my own vegetables year around.

Two weeks into college, the garden seems to be doing remarkably well. Sadly, I had to replant my cucumbers, as the small sprout that grew on my way out to college suddenly broke off at a single touch (oops). My green beans and tomatoes, however, are thriving. The joyous moment of my day was that, while watering, I discovered that one of my green cherry tomatoes had turned a light shade of greenish-orange, practically overnight!

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Even if cold weather is little more than a dream for some of you while you’re still having searing temperatures, it will come! For some of us, cold weather really never left this year, but either way, cooler or colder weather is coming and we need to prepare for it. It may seem early to be thinking about it, but better a little early than a little late.

Have you made a list of what needs to be done? Here’s mine:

• Check furnace or chimney and stove closures, seals and seams, etc. Replace filters on furnaces.

• Clean out coat closets. See what needs to be replaced before cold weather. If your household is like mine, cold weather gear is gratefully dumped on the first warm day of spring and heaven knows what kind of condition it’s in.
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Greetings! I am Karen Geiser and our family lives on a farm just a few stone throws down the road from Lehman’s in Kidron. We raise grass-fed Hereford cattle, pastured chickens, a handful of Jerseys, a couple goats along with a small herd of free range children and various other pet critters (including a neighborhood peacock). I also tend about an acre of garden that feeds our family plus supplies a ten-family CSA.

At our house, September is a full and abundant season with harvest in full swing. So right now there are pears in the dehydrator, tomatoes begging to be made into sauce, more fall spinach  waiting to be planted and a school bookshelf needing organized. In the midst of the busyness, I sometimes wish for a winter moment when I can curl up in a blanket and read a good book (or seed catalog!). But we’ll keep plugging away and be very thankful in January when we can rest and enjoy all the good things from the garden that we “put up.”  
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As fall is beginning to move in, afternoons are focused on the famous after-school snack.  Afternoon snacks are important to school age children because many have eaten lunch in late morning and their systems are ready to crash.  To children of the preschool age, daily snacks are even more important and can be a challenge.  Many preschoolers get as much as one-third of their total daily calories from snacks.  It is almost impossible for kids to get all the nutrients they need in just three meals.   Some easy tips, recipes
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Here in northeast Ohio, it’s potato digging time, so we thought we’d open up the blog for some great potato recipes. They can be new, old, hot or cold, but they must be delicious! Feel free to post yours as comments. For now, here’s one to get us started, from the Lehman’s 50th Anniversary Cookbook:

Golden Parmesan Potatoes

6 large potatoes (any kind), raw with skin

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/4 c. flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/3 c. butter

Quarter the potatoes lengthwise. Combine flour, cheese, salt and pepper in a plastic bag. Moisten potato pieces in water and drain well. Place a few pieces at a time in the bag and shake gently to coat. Pour melted butter in the bottom of a 9″x13″ baking dish. Top with potato pieces and bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees. (Turn once during baking.) Serves 4.

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Too many tomatoes? Here’s a quick and easy salsa recipe, along with an amazing way to take out all the work:

Ingredients
3 large tomatoes, quartered
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, seeds and veins removed, chopped
2 tablespoons red win vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
salt
fresh lime juice

Separates and removes skin and seeds. Pulps, purees or chops any soft fruit FAST!

Here’s the amazing work-saving part: Run the tomatoes, peppers and onion through the Lehman’s Best Food Strainer with the optional Salsa screen. (To see the Strainer and optional Salsa screen, click here.)

After you run the tomatoes, peppers and onion through the strainer, add the garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and cilantro to mixture and stir. Add sale and lime juice to taste. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Want to see more? Check out our YouTube video, shot in our store last week by clicking here.

Galen Lehman, President, Lehman’s


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Click the photo above to see a full sized image you can read more easily.

Nothing makes my day more than a nice thank-you note from a customer! Here is one that came in last week’s mail.

In case you can’t read the image of it above, here’s the full text:

Dear Mr. Lehman,

Unfortunately, two freight items I had ordered sustained damage during shipping. I contacted Julie in regard to the damaged items. She arranged to have the
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Mary's photo of Lehman's entrance.

Click here to see the full article: Mary’s Treasured Memories: A fun trip to Lehmans

Thanks, Mary!

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