meme from Naturally simple who got it from Tabitha:
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. I will try to make these be about or tailored to those five lucky people. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
- What I create will be just for you.
- It’ll be done this year
- You have no clue what it’s going to be.
The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well, if you expect me to do something for you! And please link to your blog so that I can visit and read in case we are new friends.
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Friday, January 23, 2009
Friday, August 31, 2007
one local summer week #10
eat your view, i guess is a popular bumper sticker in europe. it embodies all of the concepts of eating local but takes my mind to saving the landscape by supporting the local small farms. i just read a fascinating article no bar code, thanks phoebe. it is a great read and supplied me with great answers to many questions. why do you raise chickens? why do you have such a huge garden? is it really worth all the work? i'm kinda heated up...
it is really worth all the work, especially for our kids. ok, stepping off the soap box.
locally grown steak dinner, grilled okra, and pickled beets.
the steak was t-bone from merlin our butchered calf. zero miles from the pile.
the okra marinated in soy sauce and grilled with the steak zero mile except the organic soy sauce. the pickled beets, a household favorite, are zer-o-local except the cinnamon, cloves and vinegar. although, the final product is local and we plan to make our own apple cider vinegar once our orchard is of age.
baby carnivore.
you are what you eat eats. if the foodglomeratly grown tomato in americas fridge was raised in marginal soil on petrol based fertilizers, awful pesticides and genetically modified to ship pretty. we missed point. why do we settle for, embrace, poor quality in our food chain?
it is really worth all the work, especially for our kids. ok, stepping off the soap box.
locally grown steak dinner, grilled okra, and pickled beets.
the steak was t-bone from merlin our butchered calf. zero miles from the pile.
the okra marinated in soy sauce and grilled with the steak zero mile except the organic soy sauce. the pickled beets, a household favorite, are zer-o-local except the cinnamon, cloves and vinegar. although, the final product is local and we plan to make our own apple cider vinegar once our orchard is of age.
baby carnivore.
you are what you eat eats. if the foodglomeratly grown tomato in americas fridge was raised in marginal soil on petrol based fertilizers, awful pesticides and genetically modified to ship pretty. we missed point. why do we settle for, embrace, poor quality in our food chain?
Sunday, August 26, 2007
one local summer week #9
one local summer meal was just the left over spaghetti sauce that didn't fit in the canner.
this is copied directly from tabitha's blog. it's protected and i thought it was compelling and useful information.
tomato sauce requires a lot of tomatoes. i measure mine using these 3 large bowls i have, when full of fruit they weigh about 15lbs. so i am guessing each time. this most recent batch was 5 bowls, 75 pounds of fruit.
you also must have a pressure canner if you wish to can it. freezing is okay, too.
boil a large pot of water, dump in a bowl of fruit at a time for 30 seconds and remove to cold water. slip of skins and cut out stems or bad spots, and keep the good parts in a bowl.
when all your tomatoes are peeled in this way, fill your biggest and best (thick-bottom!) pot with tomatoes. if, like me, your biggest is not your best, use the smaller better pot and only add what can fit. over medium heat cook them down, have them boiling, and stir often. be careful! the thickness of the fruit can sink to the bottom, air can get trapped underneath and when you stir, it can splatter upwards and burn you causing Confusion and Delay.
as soon as there is room, add more fruit until it is all added. at any point if it is nighttime, turn it off, cover it well and leave it out until morning. as long as it was at a boil when you covered it, it will be fine. uncooked fruit should not be left out. try to add it all on one day. you'll notice there is no need for grinding the tomatoes, they will fall apart. another hint: if the bottom of the pan starts to stick, remove it from the fire immediately and pour it off into a new pan, cleaning the old pan and switching it back. if you get that burned flavor mixed in it is over.
next, continue to cook it down until it is sauce-thick. now it is time to start adding yummy things. my recipe (and while canning manual will tell you it is critical that you never change amounts, they are wrong) changes, but is usually several cups of chopped onions, many a clove (whole, peeled) of garlic, salt and pepper to taste, it will take a lot of salt, two bunches of basil chopped, some oregano, a teaspoon of anise seeds and a dollop of honey. sometimes chopped chard stems, sometimes a bunch of fresh italian parsley, chopped. we eat meat, we add ground beef. a 75-lb pot takes 3 pounds but it doesnt matter if you use less or none or even more. add it raw to boiling sauce or brown it first in a skillet.
once it is all added, bring it back to a boil and have your canning stuff ready. if anyone wants detailed pressure canning info let me know. otherwise cool it and pack it for freezing. or make lasagnes with it all and freeze them. delish!
this is copied directly from tabitha's blog. it's protected and i thought it was compelling and useful information.
tomato sauce requires a lot of tomatoes. i measure mine using these 3 large bowls i have, when full of fruit they weigh about 15lbs. so i am guessing each time. this most recent batch was 5 bowls, 75 pounds of fruit.
you also must have a pressure canner if you wish to can it. freezing is okay, too.
boil a large pot of water, dump in a bowl of fruit at a time for 30 seconds and remove to cold water. slip of skins and cut out stems or bad spots, and keep the good parts in a bowl.
when all your tomatoes are peeled in this way, fill your biggest and best (thick-bottom!) pot with tomatoes. if, like me, your biggest is not your best, use the smaller better pot and only add what can fit. over medium heat cook them down, have them boiling, and stir often. be careful! the thickness of the fruit can sink to the bottom, air can get trapped underneath and when you stir, it can splatter upwards and burn you causing Confusion and Delay.
as soon as there is room, add more fruit until it is all added. at any point if it is nighttime, turn it off, cover it well and leave it out until morning. as long as it was at a boil when you covered it, it will be fine. uncooked fruit should not be left out. try to add it all on one day. you'll notice there is no need for grinding the tomatoes, they will fall apart. another hint: if the bottom of the pan starts to stick, remove it from the fire immediately and pour it off into a new pan, cleaning the old pan and switching it back. if you get that burned flavor mixed in it is over.
next, continue to cook it down until it is sauce-thick. now it is time to start adding yummy things. my recipe (and while canning manual will tell you it is critical that you never change amounts, they are wrong) changes, but is usually several cups of chopped onions, many a clove (whole, peeled) of garlic, salt and pepper to taste, it will take a lot of salt, two bunches of basil chopped, some oregano, a teaspoon of anise seeds and a dollop of honey. sometimes chopped chard stems, sometimes a bunch of fresh italian parsley, chopped. we eat meat, we add ground beef. a 75-lb pot takes 3 pounds but it doesnt matter if you use less or none or even more. add it raw to boiling sauce or brown it first in a skillet.
once it is all added, bring it back to a boil and have your canning stuff ready. if anyone wants detailed pressure canning info let me know. otherwise cool it and pack it for freezing. or make lasagnes with it all and freeze them. delish!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
one local summer week #8.5 extra credit
our very own grilled chicken with the best marinade ever
marinade
sage, rosemary, honey, garlic, mustard, celery seed, cumin, fresh squeezed tomato, basalmic vinegar, olive oil, soy sauce, salt and special hand imported pepper.
that chicken was fabulous. the exact proportions of the marinade are forever lost due to the three fat tire beers that i drank wile making it.
home grown grilled okra with a marinade from the passionate vegetarian
that marinade was wonderful also. if you have never had grilled okra you are really missing something.
chilean salad with our own tomatoes.
freshly picked zero mile edamame steamed. we picked the beans earlier and they were about as fresh as possible.
the entire meal was zero mile with the exception of a few of the listed spices from the marinades.
this is what a 10 month old looks like eating zero mile grilled chicken
Friday, August 17, 2007
one local summer week #8
fried okra
local cornmeal 50 mi
ocra 0 mi
rice (oops california they don't grow rice here)
meat sauce
merlin beef 0 mi
tomatoes, basil, onions 0 mi
Sunday, August 12, 2007
one local summer week #7
eggs in hell
omelay fresh eggs
local 50 mile pasta
zero mile pasta sauce
100 mile sour dough
zero mile garlic and butter
fresh milk
of course we had omelay pico de gallo and chips for an appetizer.
the eggs are poached in spaghetti sauce and poured on the pasta. simple and cheap.
that meal cost us very little except the hard work to have this little farmstead.
the girls (chickens) fend for themselves this time of year. nimue pays for herself in sold extra milk and the spaghetti sauce is is from our garden. water and propane are the only things paid for to raise and cook this meal.
next year we plan to completely offset our seed purchase. alas that is for another post.
garden cost breakdown
water bill increase $35 per month
gas for tiller $10 all summer
soaker hoses and repair kits $40
string and extras. $10
seeds and starts $75
water $ 140
seeds $ 75
gas $ 10
hoses $ 40
string$ 10
garden disposable cost $275
differed costs
tiller $700
cattle panels $130
fence posts $200
ok already, it's a life style. it pays off because the quality and caliber of this food just isn't available here.
omelay fresh eggs
local 50 mile pasta
zero mile pasta sauce
100 mile sour dough
zero mile garlic and butter
fresh milk
of course we had omelay pico de gallo and chips for an appetizer.
the eggs are poached in spaghetti sauce and poured on the pasta. simple and cheap.
that meal cost us very little except the hard work to have this little farmstead.
the girls (chickens) fend for themselves this time of year. nimue pays for herself in sold extra milk and the spaghetti sauce is is from our garden. water and propane are the only things paid for to raise and cook this meal.
next year we plan to completely offset our seed purchase. alas that is for another post.
garden cost breakdown
water bill increase $35 per month
gas for tiller $10 all summer
soaker hoses and repair kits $40
string and extras. $10
seeds and starts $75
water $ 140
seeds $ 75
gas $ 10
hoses $ 40
string$ 10
garden disposable cost $275
differed costs
tiller $700
cattle panels $130
fence posts $200
ok already, it's a life style. it pays off because the quality and caliber of this food just isn't available here.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
one local summer week #6
i might be a bit early but here is tabithas lasagna.
as we all know the milk is local--thick, rich, raw, creamy and unpasteurized. the bread is baked in springfield. we don't have time to bake our own bread during garden harvest and canning.
lasagna
our own sauce some of what we'll be eating all winter. the sauce is 100% local to our farmstead.
tabitha made lasagna noodles from our own eggs and italian style flour. yeah i know, but we localized the flour by making our own noodles.
the cheeses are mostly local (queso fresco and cottage cheese). the asiago is not local but that is my guilty pleasure.
most of the spices are local too. salt and pepper are the exception.
the kids loved dinner and i got to take the left overs for lunch the next day.
toly additionally got to eat his favorite garden fresh tomatoes.
as we all know the milk is local--thick, rich, raw, creamy and unpasteurized. the bread is baked in springfield. we don't have time to bake our own bread during garden harvest and canning.
lasagna
our own sauce some of what we'll be eating all winter. the sauce is 100% local to our farmstead.
tabitha made lasagna noodles from our own eggs and italian style flour. yeah i know, but we localized the flour by making our own noodles.
the cheeses are mostly local (queso fresco and cottage cheese). the asiago is not local but that is my guilty pleasure.
most of the spices are local too. salt and pepper are the exception.
the kids loved dinner and i got to take the left overs for lunch the next day.
toly additionally got to eat his favorite garden fresh tomatoes.
Friday, July 27, 2007
one local summer week #5
merlin, it's what's for dinner.
nimue our milk cow had a calf merlin. he was full blood jersey and had horns. we didn't castrate him because it seemed a little too violent. he shared milk with us. we got the morning milking after he'd been locked up all night. merlin got everything else. nimue wouldn't let her cream down for us, she'd save it for merlin. it was a constant battle for tabitha until we weaned him. then we got a real taste for what having fresh jersey milk is all about. merlin became uncontrollable and we opted to have him live with mikes cows. mike fed him out on alfalfa and grain with his other cows that were queued to go to slaughter.
during his stay with mike we visited him and told the kids that he'd be merlin burgers and all other manner of beef we were going to eat. they warmed to the idea and our visits to visit merlin became less frequent. when the "big day" came (slaughter day) no tears were shed and everyone looked forward to merlin burgers and beef. tonights dinner was beef short ribs--merlin style.
dinner
bbq beef short ribs (merlin 0 miles)
cantaloupe (cousin bruce 2 miles)
sliced tomatoes (our garden 0 miles)
fresh milk (nimue 0 miles)
pickled beets (our garden 0 miles)
more than 100 miles
bbq sauce (st louis, mo)
crappy beer (st louis, mo)
an appetizer of pico de gallo and chips. the pico was local and made by me. the chips were organic and petrol imported.
we picked the rest of the onions from the garden this evening. we also pulled tons of weeds that had overgrown that area. we'll till and plant some more herbs in that area. we already have a healthy stand of basil and some mint at the southern end of that sliver of the garden. we need more cilantro our salsa will suffer unless we take drastic measures. store bought cilantro just doesn't feel the same.
chicken ex-tainment is mostly successful. we have one small chink in the armor. i'll make the necessary repairs tomorrow and monitor for further breeches. on other chicken news our new girls (the austrolorps) are laying and i'm well impressed--they are three weeks early for their breed. henny penny sally is getting broody again and is looking for a clutch. we might let her set another clutch and give some of the brood to bob. he is looking for some girls to keep his guineas home and lay an egg or two once in a while.
just a few photos of the kids
nimue our milk cow had a calf merlin. he was full blood jersey and had horns. we didn't castrate him because it seemed a little too violent. he shared milk with us. we got the morning milking after he'd been locked up all night. merlin got everything else. nimue wouldn't let her cream down for us, she'd save it for merlin. it was a constant battle for tabitha until we weaned him. then we got a real taste for what having fresh jersey milk is all about. merlin became uncontrollable and we opted to have him live with mikes cows. mike fed him out on alfalfa and grain with his other cows that were queued to go to slaughter.
during his stay with mike we visited him and told the kids that he'd be merlin burgers and all other manner of beef we were going to eat. they warmed to the idea and our visits to visit merlin became less frequent. when the "big day" came (slaughter day) no tears were shed and everyone looked forward to merlin burgers and beef. tonights dinner was beef short ribs--merlin style.
dinner
bbq beef short ribs (merlin 0 miles)
cantaloupe (cousin bruce 2 miles)
sliced tomatoes (our garden 0 miles)
fresh milk (nimue 0 miles)
pickled beets (our garden 0 miles)
more than 100 miles
bbq sauce (st louis, mo)
crappy beer (st louis, mo)
an appetizer of pico de gallo and chips. the pico was local and made by me. the chips were organic and petrol imported.
we picked the rest of the onions from the garden this evening. we also pulled tons of weeds that had overgrown that area. we'll till and plant some more herbs in that area. we already have a healthy stand of basil and some mint at the southern end of that sliver of the garden. we need more cilantro our salsa will suffer unless we take drastic measures. store bought cilantro just doesn't feel the same.
chicken ex-tainment is mostly successful. we have one small chink in the armor. i'll make the necessary repairs tomorrow and monitor for further breeches. on other chicken news our new girls (the austrolorps) are laying and i'm well impressed--they are three weeks early for their breed. henny penny sally is getting broody again and is looking for a clutch. we might let her set another clutch and give some of the brood to bob. he is looking for some girls to keep his guineas home and lay an egg or two once in a while.
just a few photos of the kids
 |
| 7-27-07 |
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
one local summer week #4
chicken soup
tabitha and the kids are sick--kassi is now also. tabitha thought that a healing chicken soup would be a big help. she took an entire frozen chicken and dropeed it in a pot of water, boiled it while i was at work--i took my half day today because of the illnesses. when i got home i cooled it off and stripped the meat off the bone. i took some onions and sauteed them with two heads of whole garlic cloves. i turned the broth back on and added the meat and sliced carrots. i let that cook down and added a mess of spices--i cook by taste. these are the main spices garlic, rosemary, ginger, sage, bay leaves, salt and my new black pepper. tabithas friend sent us some black pepper from their 2004 trip to india. it was local to the region they visited. i know it doesn't count against the carbon footprint like truly local does but damn it is great pepper. pepper like this is impossible for me to get locally, regionally or even nationally and i sorely missed having great pepper.
so i cheated and cheated big but i'll atone for my sins by eating locally all week long. well, my sacrifice isn't too large since eating locally for the rest of the week was my plan anyway.
after the soup rolled for a while laden with spices i wisked three eggs together and drizzled them into the soup. it makes for beautiful lacy flower petal droplets. i turned off the bruner and chopped and added swiss chard mostly stems. that was it--soup fit for a meal.
our farm
chicken butchered this spring 9lbs
eggs thanks girls
swiss chard
onions
garlic
cheats
pepper
salt
carrots organic (not locally available)
those tomatoes are queued for ketchup today.
tabitha and the kids are sick--kassi is now also. tabitha thought that a healing chicken soup would be a big help. she took an entire frozen chicken and dropeed it in a pot of water, boiled it while i was at work--i took my half day today because of the illnesses. when i got home i cooled it off and stripped the meat off the bone. i took some onions and sauteed them with two heads of whole garlic cloves. i turned the broth back on and added the meat and sliced carrots. i let that cook down and added a mess of spices--i cook by taste. these are the main spices garlic, rosemary, ginger, sage, bay leaves, salt and my new black pepper. tabithas friend sent us some black pepper from their 2004 trip to india. it was local to the region they visited. i know it doesn't count against the carbon footprint like truly local does but damn it is great pepper. pepper like this is impossible for me to get locally, regionally or even nationally and i sorely missed having great pepper.
so i cheated and cheated big but i'll atone for my sins by eating locally all week long. well, my sacrifice isn't too large since eating locally for the rest of the week was my plan anyway.
after the soup rolled for a while laden with spices i wisked three eggs together and drizzled them into the soup. it makes for beautiful lacy flower petal droplets. i turned off the bruner and chopped and added swiss chard mostly stems. that was it--soup fit for a meal.
our farm
chicken butchered this spring 9lbs
eggs thanks girls
swiss chard
onions
garlic
cheats
pepper
salt
carrots organic (not locally available)
those tomatoes are queued for ketchup today.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
extra credit lunch & dinner
i had left over beet soup with fresh swiss chard chopped and added while it was reheating. i also got some fresh dill weed to add on the top of the dollop of fresh cream. there is still about 3 quarts of beet soup in the fridge. i tried to take a photo but the camera battery said NO.
i made more fresh pico de gallo for dinner. we had left over roast chicken as tacos. one of those handy canned jars of black beans, fresh cream, fresh cheese, a sliced cucumber, icy fresh milk and imported tortillas. both kassi and tristan loved it. the pico wasn't quite as hot as usual cause i wanted kassi to love it too. she doesn't like spicy--yet.
it was incredibly hot today. when i got home from work we piled into the car and went to the heavily air conditioned target, tjmax and homedepot. we shopped for stuff we didn't need and guess what, we found some. i suggested that we go to the creek but it was too hot even for that.
i cleaned part of my garage out yesterday. i need room to paint and repair our new bath tub. i still have a torn-up bathroom we still need to purchase the cement board sub-floor. maybe we can afford it by friday.
on the brighter side the solar shower is really showing its stuff. i didn't get to take a shower last night until after dark. it had cooled off and i was worried that i'd have a cold shower. i was pleasantly surprised. i took a nice long shower and when i was finished tabitha squeezed a shower in after me without loosing hot water.
tabitha picked beans again until the mosquitos carried her off--i'll miss her.
i made more fresh pico de gallo for dinner. we had left over roast chicken as tacos. one of those handy canned jars of black beans, fresh cream, fresh cheese, a sliced cucumber, icy fresh milk and imported tortillas. both kassi and tristan loved it. the pico wasn't quite as hot as usual cause i wanted kassi to love it too. she doesn't like spicy--yet.
it was incredibly hot today. when i got home from work we piled into the car and went to the heavily air conditioned target, tjmax and homedepot. we shopped for stuff we didn't need and guess what, we found some. i suggested that we go to the creek but it was too hot even for that.
i cleaned part of my garage out yesterday. i need room to paint and repair our new bath tub. i still have a torn-up bathroom we still need to purchase the cement board sub-floor. maybe we can afford it by friday.
on the brighter side the solar shower is really showing its stuff. i didn't get to take a shower last night until after dark. it had cooled off and i was worried that i'd have a cold shower. i was pleasantly surprised. i took a nice long shower and when i was finished tabitha squeezed a shower in after me without loosing hot water.
tabitha picked beans again until the mosquitos carried her off--i'll miss her.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
one local summer week #3
here is our week three submission. i know i'm a little late but i'll do an extra credit lunch very soon. fresh milk from our cow. see how the cream sticks to side of the jar. there is usually a three to four inch layer of cream that will support any kitchen utensil.
spaghetti sauce fresh from the garden tomatoes and spices (not salt & black pepper)
meat balls our cow, fresh eggs and fresh basil.
cheese tabithas queso fresco (she makes about five pounds a week now)
sauteed squash and onions yellow crooked neck squash and onions from the garden.
noodles angel hair from hodson mill yeah this is the only thing that isn't from our farm but they are local to gainsville, mo--less than 50 miles away.
tristan loves tabitha's meat balls and has been begging for them for several days now. his dinner request repertoire always amazes me--so wide ranging and he'll pull stuff out of his hat that we havn't had in months. kassi is still eating very blandly and hates any deviation from the usual suspects. although one redeeming characteristic of late is, she has taken to eating everything with chopsticks. we encourage this individuality and hope that her culinary breadth widens soon.
toly eats anything. especially stuff that the older kids have abandoned in a less frequented corners of the house. he is so agile and strong these days. he regularly walks the entire house without touching anything. the most amazing thing is his feet first off the bed move and then he'll climb right back up. the bed is neck high to him but he still negotiates it easily.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
one local summer make-up quiz
since this is only for partial credit i'll give our worst example of a local meal around the pile.
yeterday lunch
black bean quesadillas with fresh salsa
we buy black beans in bulk (no local grower and we don't have the garden space yet). they come dried in 25# bags but tabitha localizes them, well makes them much more convenient. she soaks around 5 pounds of them in water overnight. then fills canning jars with the swollen beans and adds our own garlic and a bit of onion and salt. she then pressure cans them and puts them in the pantry. they are so great a quick easy side-dish or main course.
tabitha also has perfected queso fresco. having a cow with ample milk makes the trial and error method of cheese making reasonable and somewhat necessary. this cheese is so good, fresh and stringy. we love it.
the tortillas--well their store bought. making our own is in our plans but there is only so much time in the day and the kids eat an incredible amount of tortillas daily.
then there is the salsa fresca (pico de gallo) fresh tomatoes, onions, pepper, garlic and cilantro from the pile. the lime, salt and black pepper are shipped in via some smoke spewing petrol consuming machine.
well it doesn't quite qualify for 100% local but that is about the worst it gets around here. partial credit please?
yeterday lunch
black bean quesadillas with fresh salsa
we buy black beans in bulk (no local grower and we don't have the garden space yet). they come dried in 25# bags but tabitha localizes them, well makes them much more convenient. she soaks around 5 pounds of them in water overnight. then fills canning jars with the swollen beans and adds our own garlic and a bit of onion and salt. she then pressure cans them and puts them in the pantry. they are so great a quick easy side-dish or main course.
tabitha also has perfected queso fresco. having a cow with ample milk makes the trial and error method of cheese making reasonable and somewhat necessary. this cheese is so good, fresh and stringy. we love it.
the tortillas--well their store bought. making our own is in our plans but there is only so much time in the day and the kids eat an incredible amount of tortillas daily.
then there is the salsa fresca (pico de gallo) fresh tomatoes, onions, pepper, garlic and cilantro from the pile. the lime, salt and black pepper are shipped in via some smoke spewing petrol consuming machine.
well it doesn't quite qualify for 100% local but that is about the worst it gets around here. partial credit please?
Friday, July 13, 2007
one local summer #1 week 2?
tabitha made borscht (beet soup)
early during my last trip to st. petersburg i had the most amazing soup. it wasn't like any soup i'd ever had. i decided to make it my quest to try every version of borscht possible during my month long trip. i told everyone that i loved borscht and russians being very proud, dinner invites for borscht ensued. at every restaurant i ordered borscht. if i understand properly borscht just means soup--usually with beets.
i focussed on what i liked about each version and whenever appropriate asked what the ingredients were. huge dinner discussions surrounded borscht and homemade vodka recipes and rituals. broscht is a wonderful lens of russian culture. you might be thinking that i'm weird and obsessive and you'd be right--but my version of weird obsession has brought me great pleasure.
my borscht recipe derived from this study is not really a recipe at all. only a set of rules--my rules not really russian rules.
#1 my borscht is beet soup and must be a soup (not a stew) and contain beets as the main ingredient.
#2 the broth must be of beef and any added meat must be beef. sliced pan seared tri-tip being the best choice but seared ground beef will do.
#3 fresh dill is a requirement.
#4 the rest of the ingredients like to be root based vegetables. carrots, turnips, beet tops, onions, garlic, and leeks. other veggies that we like in there are swiss chard and sometimes celery.
#5 lastly a large dollop of fresh sour creme and fresh chopped dill on top.
last nights dinner was all local to our farm. from the fresh creme, garden beets, fresh dill, to the *merlin roast that tabitha cubed and pan seared. black pepper being the exception.
our kids love it. tristan kept saying over and over "this is my favorite"
tabitha just informed me that we have an official recipe for this at garlic pimpernel please enjoy.
the pear trick from the above recipe is something that a great chef shared with me from one of my favorite restaurants in S.F. and is a wonderful addition to any soup. yes, if it's not obvious, i generally love all soup.
early during my last trip to st. petersburg i had the most amazing soup. it wasn't like any soup i'd ever had. i decided to make it my quest to try every version of borscht possible during my month long trip. i told everyone that i loved borscht and russians being very proud, dinner invites for borscht ensued. at every restaurant i ordered borscht. if i understand properly borscht just means soup--usually with beets.
i focussed on what i liked about each version and whenever appropriate asked what the ingredients were. huge dinner discussions surrounded borscht and homemade vodka recipes and rituals. broscht is a wonderful lens of russian culture. you might be thinking that i'm weird and obsessive and you'd be right--but my version of weird obsession has brought me great pleasure.
my borscht recipe derived from this study is not really a recipe at all. only a set of rules--my rules not really russian rules.
#1 my borscht is beet soup and must be a soup (not a stew) and contain beets as the main ingredient.
#2 the broth must be of beef and any added meat must be beef. sliced pan seared tri-tip being the best choice but seared ground beef will do.
#3 fresh dill is a requirement.
#4 the rest of the ingredients like to be root based vegetables. carrots, turnips, beet tops, onions, garlic, and leeks. other veggies that we like in there are swiss chard and sometimes celery.
#5 lastly a large dollop of fresh sour creme and fresh chopped dill on top.
last nights dinner was all local to our farm. from the fresh creme, garden beets, fresh dill, to the *merlin roast that tabitha cubed and pan seared. black pepper being the exception.
our kids love it. tristan kept saying over and over "this is my favorite"
tabitha just informed me that we have an official recipe for this at garlic pimpernel please enjoy.
the pear trick from the above recipe is something that a great chef shared with me from one of my favorite restaurants in S.F. and is a wonderful addition to any soup. yes, if it's not obvious, i generally love all soup.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
rainy daze
tabitha is sick, cold or flue or something. summer illness is the worst. i went to the farmers market to sell a few cucumbers this morning and pick up the coop order. no one was buying. i made the following signs cucumbers 3 for $1, organically grown and japanese long heirloom. these missouri hicks don't care much about organic. there was a stand selling some stuff with seven dust (malathion) still covering the veggies. they had an inferior hybrid 5 for $1. they were twice as small. to the ill informed smaller normal cucumbers are better but these japanese longs are best at the size that i was selling. i ended giving them to some friends. in the grand scheme of things, it was probably better to have given them to a family that will truly appreciate them. kassi went with me. she is my precious angel.
it has been raining a slow rain all afternoon. i am just hanging around in the house this evening. the kids are holdup in the house. i set up a large train track for tristan. he hasn't played thomas the tank engine in quite a while. toly plays toly-zilla and wants to destroy the entire complex. there has been much strife over keeping toly away and interested in other things. he just wants to play trains with his big brother.
tabitha is making borscht for dinner. a nice treat with fresh beets, dill and merlin roast. i attempted to join the "local summer" meme but received no reply. no big deal cause just about any give night we are 95% zero mile dinner. most comes from our little farmstead and what we can't get local (pepper, olive oil, grapeseed oil, and so on) we get in bulk. we kind of take the view that we an are isolated farmstead of an hundred ago. it is naturally a lessor carbon footprint than the processed grocery store paradigm.
one way that i could really make a carbon footprint difference would be to get our solar thermal system up and running. once the bathroom is finished it'll be much higher on my agenda. the root cellar is so close to being finished it is almost sad. i like the process of life better than the material accomplishments. but having a finished root cellar will be great.
it has been raining a slow rain all afternoon. i am just hanging around in the house this evening. the kids are holdup in the house. i set up a large train track for tristan. he hasn't played thomas the tank engine in quite a while. toly plays toly-zilla and wants to destroy the entire complex. there has been much strife over keeping toly away and interested in other things. he just wants to play trains with his big brother.
tabitha is making borscht for dinner. a nice treat with fresh beets, dill and merlin roast. i attempted to join the "local summer" meme but received no reply. no big deal cause just about any give night we are 95% zero mile dinner. most comes from our little farmstead and what we can't get local (pepper, olive oil, grapeseed oil, and so on) we get in bulk. we kind of take the view that we an are isolated farmstead of an hundred ago. it is naturally a lessor carbon footprint than the processed grocery store paradigm.
one way that i could really make a carbon footprint difference would be to get our solar thermal system up and running. once the bathroom is finished it'll be much higher on my agenda. the root cellar is so close to being finished it is almost sad. i like the process of life better than the material accomplishments. but having a finished root cellar will be great.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
animal roll call at the pile
nurtured animals
laying chickens 25
broiler chickens in tractor 25
guineas 10
goats 2
cows 2
dog 1
cats 2
people 5
feral animals
whistle pigs 2
squirrels 8-10
squash bugs 10,000
please consider yourself tagged and comment here so we can tally all.
laying chickens 25
broiler chickens in tractor 25
guineas 10
goats 2
cows 2
dog 1
cats 2
people 5
feral animals
whistle pigs 2
squirrels 8-10
squash bugs 10,000
please consider yourself tagged and comment here so we can tally all.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
tristan has fever
my poor boy is very sick. he has a fever and sore throat. we took him to get a throat culture yesterday. i have been grumpy as a result. last night i was awake with him more than a dozen times getting little sips of water, cleaning up vomit mess if he drank too fast, trying to coax him to take children's advil and generally trying to comfort him. he has always had terrible nightmares and has learned to take control of his nightmares and turn them into good dreams. last night he had night terrors and was too sick to consciously change them. he was screaming and flailing. i just held him and told him i was there and wouldn't let anything happen to him.
i have a special empathy for his plight since i too had night terrors as a child. he is so much further along than i ever was. it took me well into my twenty's before i got a handle on my nightmares and learned to take an active role in them.
yesterday afternoon i cut down four trees in the shaded pasture. three of them were black locust. they are also not native. i dislike them because they have huge thorns that grow up their trunks and seem to encourage poison ivy to grow up them. i hauled about six wheel barrow loads of cord wood up to the barnifactors pile--which is almost complete. he came by the other day and got the first cord of wood. that was the same day that the washer repair man came to show me how to un-clog our own washer. mike stopped in to see what all the excitement was and took the circus of visitors to the next level.
it has been raining here and we need it. soft wet ground makes it difficult to push a fully loaded wheel barrow up from the ravine. maybe by the weekend things will get a little less sloppy and i can finish hauling wood to the barnifactors pile. next in the queue is our wood for next winter. i plan to cut, split and stack the wood in little piles in the forest. then next fall i'll either barrow bobs tractor and trailer or solicit mike with his gear to help me get the few loads from the forest. this winter will be the true test of how easy it will be for me to get wood ready for next year.
tabitha got me the soundtrack to elizabeth town and we have been enjoying it. now we have to rent the movie again. some marketing genius figured out an excellent way to get even more money for their movie release.
tabitha looked up the word meme (rhymes with theme) and the results are interesting. so my snippet of cultural information that i'd like to exchange is: my favorite move that i saw this year was *walk the line*
what was your favorite new movie viewed in 2006?
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