This years planting of Summer veggies has been very successful. We got the starters in the ground at the right time around about a month ago. It really makes a heap of difference to plant at the right time. Our zucchini, crookneck, tomatoes, bell peppers, basil, and cucumbers are flourishing, the result of a most favorableenvironment.
A special thanks to "The Fav Five" the girls contribution has been invaluable-our soil has never been more alive!
Zucchini
Tomatoes, Basil
Bell Peppers
Cherry Tomato
Thursday, July 7, 2011
"Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade.
Rest your head
in her lap.
Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts."
-Wendell Berry
Dragon carrots from the garden.
Pink, yellow, three-color, and orange carrots.
Daily salad for lunch. Cucumbers and butter lettuce from Finley Farms. Everything else is from our yard.
Remember when we introduced you to our new neighbors back in mid-June?
We weren't sure if the mother and father had abandoned the nest because we didn't hear or see them for about a week. We thought maybe we'd scared them away. You see, every time we opened the back door the mother would fly away and perch on the phone wire. We tried not to use the door, but it just didn't make much sense after awhile.
A couple of days ago we were eating lunch outside near the chicken coop and heard peeps coming from the eaves. Lo and behold, the nest was not abandoned and the babies have arrived!
We used the zoom and snapped some photos from inside the house.
We counted four babies total. The one you see above is the largest, strongest and feistiest. He/she gets most of the food. The mother and father trust us enough to allow us to watch their feeding. Yesterday it was so hot (close to 90's), so the mother nudged the babies onto the ledge next to the fence.
Also, if you look close you can see white hair. We realized it's fur from when we brushed and bathed a shedding Little White Fox!
The flowers are flourishing with the warm, summer days. As the heat rises, so do the sunflower stalks! It's so beautiful, I just had to take the camera and snap some photos. Enjoy!
Bird's eye view of a bee inside a squash blossom. (Squash blossoms are an excellent addition to sauteed vegetables or pizza.)
Last week we burrowed Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook at the Solvang Library. We hoped to use local ingredients while experimenting with the famed Waters recipes. We found a Plum Upside-Down Cake recipe which is perfect because our plum tree is plum full of plums!(Try saying that fast ten times.) You can find the recipe HERE.
Recipe Changes:
Our tree is produces Santa Rosa plums, so we did not use Elephant Heart Plums.
We used raw whole milk.
For the batter, we used about 9 tsp stevia instead of 1 cup sugar.
Instead of all-purpose flour, we used organic whole wheat pastry flour from the bulk section at New Frontiers.
When we were kids we would shine the plums on our shirts before eating.
The Little White Fox LOVES to steal plums!
Kale, zuchinni, eggs, turnip, snow peas, three-color bush beans, strawberries and plums.
Eggs and plums from the backyard.
Completely baked!
Ta da! We served thin slices with a dollop of McConnell's coconut ice cream (a Santa Barbara company).
Years ago, when our son played Little League Baseball, we learned the art of playing pickle defense. A "pickle" is a situation that occurs when the baserunner is caught between two bases protected by two defensive players. The players close in on the runner in an attempt to tag them out. Here's a YouTube video example of a runner successfully escaping the pickle.
When the kids were young we used to meet up with another family of five to play baseball. The father of the other family (let's call him Mr. Pickle for the story's sake) was caught in a pickle between myself and one of the kids. He did the "pickle dance" and then took off for the opposite base, I threw the ball with all my might. I nailed Mr. Pickle in the head and he went down. The kids gasped and yelled, "Mom! You hit him!" After a moment of stunned silence, we realized he wasn't hit hard and was just fine. Always a clown, Mr. Pickle flopped and rolled like a fish out of water, moaning and calling out, "I've been hit! I've been hit!" He had all of us in stitches.
Now today we're going to talk about pickles, but not THAT kind of pickle. THIS kind of pickle:
Last week we bought some beautiful pickling cucumbers from Finley Farms at the Solvang Farmer's Market. I've tried pickling cucumbers before, but it never came out right. We wanted a simple recipe and found something that looked promising.
The recipe is as follows (our changes/omissions are highlighted in yellow):
Put the following Pickling Solution into a pot and bring to a boil:
6 cups water 2 cups vinegar WE USED APPLE CIDER VINEGAR 1/2 cup canning salt USER COMMENTS CAUTIONED AGAINST USING THIS MUCH, SO WE FOLLOWED THEIR ADVICE AND HALVED THE AMOUNT TO 1/4 CUP SALT 1/2 tsp. alum (optional) WE DID NOT USE THIS
While that is coming to a boil, do the following:
Wash enough fresh pickling cucumbers to fill a 1 gallon jar CHOOSE THE THIN CUCUMBERS AND FORGO THE THICK, ROUND ONES. THE LATTER DO NOT PICKLE AS WELL AS THE FORMER. THE ROUND ONES CAN BE SLICED AND USED RAW ON SALADS, ETC. SO WON'T GO TO WASTE. WE ONLY HAD ABOUT 1-2 POUNDS, BUT CHOSE NOT TO ALTER THE SOLUTION PORTIONS. 1 large bunch fresh dill weed (about 1/4 lb) 1 large onion 2 whole cloves 2 tsp. sliced garlic
Clipping dill leaves.
Clipping dill flowers.
Sliced onions. (Garlic skins on top left. The garlic was already chopped and added.)
Layer whole, unpeeled cucumbers, onion, cloves and garlic and dill.
First layer: Raw, unpeeled cucumbers.
Second layer: Chopped garlic.
Both cucumbers and garlic from Finley Farms.
Third Layer: Dill from the backyard.
Fourth Layer: Onions from Finley Farms.
When the vinegar solution reaches a boil, turn off the stove and pour it over the layered cucumbers, etc.
Solution poured onto the layers.
Let set on counter for 3 or 4 hours.
Refrigerate, ready to eat in 2 to 4 days. WE TASTE TESTED AT TWO DAYS AND THEY WERE DELICIOUS! AT FOUR DAYS THEY WERE PERFECT! I THINK WE SHOULD USE A LITTLE BIT MORE SALT NEXT TIME, BUT MY DAUGHTER BEGS TO DIFFER. SHE LIKED IT WITH 1/4 CUP. I MIGHT TRY JUST OVER A 1/4 NEXT TIME.
See how the color has changed? Ready to eat!
Variation: Sliced cucumbers may be used, and ingredient amounts can be varied to your taste. WE WANT TO TRY THIS NEXT TIME!
THE PICKLED ONIONS ARE DELICIOUS, TOO! GREAT TO SLICE UP AND EAT.
Thanks to Cooks.com for providing a basis for this pickling recipe.
Next up: After scanning recent posts, we realized that we've become extremely cooking-centric. So, we're going to try and spend more time blogging about the backyard farm, the in's and out's of growing our own food, and ways we're trying to "live simply." We're also going to share with you how we constructed and designed our chicken coops, raised them from chicks, and more!
Our favorite dinner to make each week is "Grilled Vegetables From Finley Farms." Both us work day jobs in addition to our afternoon/evening backyard farming gig. Simple, easy dinner prep is therefore a blessing. Grilling vegetables is tasty, healthy and simple to do.
Grilled Vegetables For Dinner
Serves 3 with plenty of leftovers.
You can use any vegetable combination. For this particular dinner, we used:
4 leeks (from Finley Farms)(clean thoroughly and slice in half)
3 tomatoes (from a different farmer, most likely hot house, organic - we couldn't resist)
1 large onion (Finley Farms)(slice into three thick discs)
5 carrots (Finley Farms)(no need to peel, chop off stem end if desired)
3 fennel (Finley Farms)(chop off tops, leave end on, cut into three sections)
4 zuchinni (Los Olivos Roots)(cut in half)
11 small golden potatoes
Coat everything with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place on grill. Best to put fast-cooking leeks and tomatoes on the top rack. When the everything else is almost ready, bring the leeks and tomatoes down. Everything will finish at the same time.
This zuchinni produces a nutty flavor when grilled.
As we reach the home stretch, we placed the tomatoes onto the bottom level for finishing.
Grill fennel until soft. It is sweet to the taste. It is finished when it can be effortlessly sliced.
Because no meat was prepped, you can use the same dish for serving. Easy clean up!
Serve with slices of bread drizzled with olive oil.
We also grated asiago and placed in a side dish for sprinkling upon the vegetables, giving the dish a salty, cheesy kick.
Don't have an outdoor grill? You can achieve the same dish by chopping everything up, coating in olive oil, salt and pepper, and placing into an oven-safe dish and baking.
Blue potatoes, leeks, zuchinni, fennel, onion, and brussel sprouts.
The deep blue color of these potatoes is reminiscent of blueberries.
In fact, both blue potatoes and blueberries contain the same antioxidants.
We fed the fennel and carrot tops to the chickens.
All other scraps were composted.
Next up? What to do with Leftovers.
