put your shovel where your mouth is

learning to love the co-op

2012-01-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

I shamefully admit I am really late to joining my local co-op. It's not that I never shopped there--and I was briefly a member of a struggling smaller co-op before it closed--it's just that I never felt like I went there enough to benefit from joining.

But, times change, and since I'm trying to support smaller and local business when I can, joining Willy Street was one of the small steps I took in in this goal. At the heart, I am a non-shopper, and I hate going to multiple stores to get everything I need. Now that doesn't mean I hit the super-walmart, but it does mean I tend go to a larger, semi-local/semi-worker owned grocery, that has sundries such as toilet paper and bandaids and vinegar. And yes, the co-op has many of these things, but I honestly can't afford to do all my shopping there.

Over the summer, I learned to love the side trips, and found the convenience of having local items like cheese and potatoes available on non-market days. I also love their transparency in labeling, their bulk bins, and that they give a discount if you ride your bike. I was happy this week to get their annual report, which noted that members contributed more than $180,000 to local charities this year (via a register donation program). The idea of getting a statement of finances is enlightening in itself, and reinforces that I am a part-owner, not just a shopper.

Its not all roses, I've had some customer service snafus (but that happens everywhere), and I admit to feeling at times a bit of the elitism/smugness that can be a criticism of such shops (Whole Foods, anyone?). But at the end of the day, I'd rather get an enthusiastic lecture on kombucha than have a grey-faced stranger turn to me in the aisle and say "Don't you wish you never had to eat at ALL?" (This actually happened to me! I was too stunned to reply...)

This past week or so I have been reading Trout Caviar's excellent book (of the same name), much of which is about wild foods of Wisconsin and Minnesota. It fits in this discussion because he talks a bit about foraging in your own food-shed, helpfully including your own backyard AND your local businesses and markets. While I might not currently be much of a wild foods forager, I could relate to the idea of how your habits change along with your growth as a cook, gardener, or more thoughtful consumer. It's about having your eyes opened to what's available, whether it's an apple tree growing at the edge of a golf course, a cheese shop off the highway on your way to a camp-out, or a co-op a short detour from your usual bike route home.

off season activities

2012-01-20T05:52:00.000-08:00

Winter has finally arrived here! The big lake is frozen over, ice shanties are inching farther out of the bays, and we've had enough snow that the skis and snowshoes have been put to use. Waiting on another round of snow to start today, and the high is a balmy 9 degrees. I love it.

Inside I've puttered with a few sewing projects. I made an apron as a gift, using the same pattern I made up last year. The fabric is a Alexander Henry print called "Jardin de los Muertos".

And for me, out of some awesome veggie fabric and some other scraps, new hot pads. Pretty basic and functional, but so much better and brighter than the dingy ones we had been using.

Not bad for a tuesday

2012-01-17T16:54:00.000-08:00

Well, we're excited here in Madison, as we officially recalled our misguided governor today. Volunteers pounded the pavement for 60 days, and collected over a million signatures--almost twice what was required by law. It's a complicated issue, painted by national news as mostly a public workers and union battle, but in truth brought out folks of all ages and backgrounds, and from all parts of the state. Its about the environment, about big money in campaigns (and heck, writing actual legislation), about the economy. The signature gatherers I spoke with were not involved in politics before, but were woken up by current events to be active participants in a democratic process. This month at a hearing on a mining bill, 500 people showed up in Hurley, WI (population 1800).

The process isn't going to be perfect, but I guess I have to think its a good thing for folks to start paying attention. We live in interesting and somewhat infuriating times.

And, on a lighter note, I finally had my camera in hand when one of our resident foxes made an appearance. We have at least one pair in the over-sized city park down the street, and they have been very active of late--just not when I was prepared! Today I was snowshoeing at the dog park (we have snow finally, YAY!) and spotted this fellow (or vixen) working his way down the shoreline, looking for snacks, I suspect.

He's such a beauty this time of year, but you can see how if need-be he can blend into the marsh or woods in an instant. But for the most part they are quite used to their semi-urban lifestyle: I see them watching people and dogs often, and once or twice a year we spot them walking up our street on a winter's night.

Besides being, you know, a liberal hotbed, Madison has some pretty cool stuff.

And yes, I should probably worry a bit about Mr. Fox and my hen-house, but I think he has plenty to eat (heck, help yourself to the voles and squirrels in MY yard anytime!).

Hoopdate, January 2012

2012-01-06T06:20:00.000-08:00

I fear the unusual weather is not making my first winter with the hoop as much of a learning experience. We are starting to have the normal bright and sunny January days, but instead of subzero temps we have record highs in the 50s! Still, my low temp this week was 8.6 degrees (finally got a min/max thermometer!). But, as I've said before, it's good to have a successful beginning year at whatever you try in the garden, so as to be more inspired in the future--and to remind you when you do have failures that good things are possible.

a mix of greens, looking perfectly content to grow (slowly) mid-winter

In contrast, parsley, looking sad, but still useable, the centers are perking up a bit.

There's not a ton of harvest-able main-course stuff in here, there's plenty of herbs, but only enough spinach or salad greens for using once a week or so. We have quite a few leeks left (I'm hoarding a bit) and a few more carrots. It's a small space: optimizing it is something I'll learn eventually. But I also know in another 6 weeks I'll be rolling in greens that we can't eat fast enough, even with the small patches I have. So it's all good. There's plenty of stuff in the pantry to use up, even though I seem more inclined to eat a handful of fresh kale in a dish than dig out an entire bag of frozen goodies. I can totally see how having a winter garden can adjust your preserving habits, even when you just have a small space like mine.

lacinto kale, started a bit late and still a baby

And once again, a reminder that winter gardening need not require special equipment at all: Kale and broccoli made it through that single-digit night just fine on their own, and seem to be making new leaves and florets. It's kind of nice to have a control group:

What winter gardening teaches me is that pushing the growing season past the first and last frost dates is way more than cold frames and structures. I'm growing (and eating) different foods altogether now, and everything I learn tweaks what "seasonal" means to me. As for the hoop, it definitely has it's benefits--harvesting on a sleety day--much better, even if the kale is the same size inside. There will definitely be a boost in early planting and growth due to the bonus heat (and more imporantly) the drier conditions that will aid in early planting. And the smell of earth and sunshine trapped inside in January? Heavenly.

solstice

2011-12-22T09:28:00.000-08:00

This year, we've had very little snow so far, and lots of gloomy days, making the dark side of the calender seem even darker than usual. VERY glad to celebrate the light returning.

Yesterday they sun kept trying to burn through the clouds, but only managed it at the very end of the day. The sun set at 4:25 in the afternoon, not even 9 hours after rising.

I don't mind winter, actually looking forward to snowshoeing and tromps on the ice. The coldest weather is to come, but there's something about those frigid sunny days here up North in January and February, you can still feel the sun getting stronger, little by little.

Back home we lit a fire in the mud oven, and watched the flames from the house while we had a simple meal from the gifts of summertime.

Tomorrow will be 5 seconds longer!

messing with the hens

2011-12-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

My first batch of birds were production hens--little laying machines. They slowed down in the winter, and when they molted, but all in all were reliable producers most of the time. (As they aged, some started laying every other day, but the eggs were HUGE!).

I'm missing the early snow this year, but the girls are happy about having grass in December.

This batch, yard-candy breeds that they are, don't really keep up. Most of the time this is fine, with a household of two we don't really need 4 eggs a day, and in springtime I have to unload eggs on friends and neighbors as it is. But, this fall, they all molted, and basically decided to take the rest of the year off of laying. Normally, I let them follow their instincts, but this year, darnit, I was tired of buying eggs! And--my ice-cream habits have been severely hampered.

So for the first time this year, I tweaked the birds. I put a light on a timer, just to run a few hours every morning. And after a few days, success! I'm getting one or two eggs every other day, which with judicious use is plenty for us--I actually have an entire dozen in the fridge currently. And really, who doesn't mind a little extra light this time of year?

Once we get a bit past the Solstice, and start hitting the really cold Wisconsin temperatures, I will put it back to my normal winter setup--which is a full-time water heater and a thermostat plug for the light--it will only come on during very cold nights.

Its easy to forget eggs are seasonal in their way, just like asparagus and brussel sprouts. Its yet another example of our mixed-up culture that feast days involving copious amounts of rich baking occur during the shortest days of the year, when eggs should be in short supply. But I guess I'm okay with subverting nature just a little bit, when it comes down to it.

positive reinforcement

2011-12-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a book gets to you at just the right time. You know how when you were a kid, you'd sometimes read a book that was just beyond you, and it could or would ruin a story, or an author, for years? Sometimes forever? I had that a lot as a kid who's reading skills were often farther advanced than her emotional age.

The same thing happens to me now with cookbooks, or just books about food. At the right moment, inspiration (I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle at the beginning of August, I think, right as the preservation season was kicking in). At the wrong moment, lots of internal eye-rolling and a setting-aside to return to perhaps later, or maybe never. Same goes with teaching skills and techniques, some click with us, and some don't.

So anyway, I'm rambling, but this week's library book is An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace, by Tamar Adler (who also, by the way, wrote the article I mentioned about Thanksgiving leftovers, funny how that works out). And I can see how this book, at an earlier stage of learning how to cook, might be frustrating. But this winter, in the lulls of short, dark days, it is in tune with my mood and my food cravings, telling me my instincts for improvised comfort foods and stretched leftovers are on the right track. It's not a book for following exact rules or measuring ingredients, it's about following the flow of ingredients and time and techniques into a matrix that becomes a meal, or three.

Last weekend there was a lot of baking going on, due to a dying furnace and a cold house. I made a big batch of pitas, and cooked up a pot of chickpeas for hummus, and there were extras of both. Tonight I stewed up a few pieces of chicken, making a broth, and made Chicken Fatteh. This is a middle eastern dish, I've had it a few times at a local restaurant. It's perfect for leftovers, even though I made the broth tonight it would be super fast with pantry stock and some cooked meat or vegetables.

Fatteh is one of those classic cross-cultural dishes--you can see versions of it in American stuffing or English bread pudding, panzanella, chilaquiles. Anyway, this version is basically a layered dish: toasted pieces of pita on the bottom, with stock poured over to soften. Add a layer of chickpeas and chicken, a little more stock, and then cover and put in the oven until warmed through, 20 minutes or so.

After it comes out, pour a wisked yogurt on top: flavored with garlic and mint. Add some toasted nuts--I used walnuts here, but pine nuts are more authentic--and maybe a little parsley for color.

Best yet, I have a quart and a half of stock remaining, which lends itself to the weekend's meals. I see soup, a browsing of winter vegetables, and more bread baking. A meandering path ahead of meals, one leading to another.

Potstickers

2011-12-04T06:19:00.000-08:00

I've had somewhat of a dumpling thing lately. It started with too-tired nights after canning or yard work, and we abandoned dinner plans and ordered takeout. But after a few orders, the expense (and a few cold potstickers) made us thing we really should be able to do this, right? And after a trial run, we made a bunch this weekend to freeze, so hopefully lazy nights will now be filled with fresh hot dumplings, for less money and time than ordering out.

One revelation was the use of the pasta machine for rolling. WAY faster than rolling out 40+ little balls of dough, and the thickness is nice and even.

The recipe for wrappers and filling came from Bittman (How to cook everything). We used ground pork with leeks, scallions, tatsoi and chives from the hoop. Flavoring is ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine.

This site had excellent instructions on shaping the dumplings, so I won't bother repeating it! We also use her recipe dipping sauce, which is awesome. We may try the shrimp version next time.

One problem: it's hard not to eat too many the first night, but we do have a bag full in the freezer for the next craving or two...

on winter non-gardening

2011-12-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

An early December Harvest:

And not to dissuade anyone of their hoop dreams, but that broccoli is growing out in the open, and we are having temps in the teens this week. The kale that's also out there looks as good as the indoor stuff, though this came from inside the greenhouse while I was pulling the beets.

See, we have this idea that we have to give up the garden after the first frost, or manipulate the climate for winter gardening. But some stuff--no cover at all except for fall leaves blown up against the plants--is quite happy this time of year. And even if the broccoli gets too sad or un-tasty, I leave it out there, the rabbits (and today a vole, so says my dog) nibble on it all winter and leave piles of fertilizer in return. I figure it's a fair trade.

Nature is pretty amazing. I found these out on my walk this week--teeny tiny but blooming at the dark end of the calender year, nontheless.

So what did you do with your turkey?

2011-11-29T19:07:00.000-08:00

This year especially, since it was just the two of us for dinner, Thanksgiving was all about the leftovers. Ironically my bird turned out better than it usually does for guests--maybe it was that I just had less distractions during the roasting--or that we didn't try to cram a lot of extra side dishes into the schedule.

Nicely summarized by this article, I do love the process of planning for a weeks' worth of meals from one smallish bird. Its a cross between feeling obligated and feeling challenged, in a time of year seemingly full of wastefulness, to make the most of what I have. Instead of shopping, part of our "black Friday" was spent making stock out of the picked-over carcass.

So besides a few lazy days of classic turkey sandwiches, we had:

Turkey pot pie, with biscuits on top. Somehow with all fresh homegrown herbs and veggies (leeks, carrots, broccoli, celery, parsley) in November, not even all from the hoophouse!
Creamed turkey on leftover biscuits (yes, I'm on a biscuit kick lately...the lazy person's bread)
Turkey hash: potatoes, leeks, kale, turkey, and leftover gravy, mixed together and browned in a skillet.

And tonight, another tradition, turkey mole enchiladas.

My mole recipe comes from my sister, whose husband's family is from Mexico. I'm sure it's dummed-down a bit from a more authentic version, but we like it, and it's simple enough for a weeknight:

Mole Poblano sauce:

6 or so dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
4-6 cups turkey or chicken broth
several cloves of garlic
1 small onion, chopped
salt

In a saucepan, simmer the chiles, garlic, and onion with a dash of salt in the broth for fifteen minutes to a half-hour, or until everything is soft. Let cool slightly, and puree (I use an immersion blender, but you could also use a food processor or blender, just be careful of flying hot liquids in all cases).

Once liquified, add the following to taste:

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
a few tablespoons: brown sugar (or honey, etc)
1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder
salt and pepper

Return to a boil and simmer until reduced to a desired consistency. In this batch, I used one quart of stock and was pretty thick right after blending. It also mellows nicely if you make it the night before.

-------

So after six days, we are calling the bird done, and best of all, I have another meals' worth of meat in the freezer, and 3 quarts of stock canned!

hoopdate, mid-November

2011-11-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

I've been awol a bit. A quick trip to my p's in Florida...and general malaise at the change of seasons. Not sure what to do in this space this winter--I'm not going to do Dark Days this year--so I'm thinking about other ideas. Or maybe I'll just take a break.

But I do want to update on the hoop once in a while of course!

feeling pretty full in here, though herbs are taking up a lot of space

Despite having a prolonged fall this year (I biked to work 3 times this week!) we are finally having some cold nights in the low 20s. And so far, even without an extra layer of row cover yet, the hoop plants are mostly un-phased. I blew it on my lone cauliflower though--I waited one day too long and it was frost damaged and mushy. I did find a bunch of worms underneath the head, hiding from the Bt, so that might have been the cause too.

The leaves on our silver maple are finally down, so there is more sun reaching the hoop. Spinach, kale, and lettuce are the most prominent, and the carrots we are pulling (left from summer) are wonderfully sweet.

I still have a wide range of plantings going, from just sprouting to getting-overgrown. A lot of the later plantings will sit as tiny babies until longer days return.

how to fix your yogurt

2011-10-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

I've been making yogurt for a couple of years now, I think. I used El's method: heat milk to 180 cool to 116, add a tablespoon of yogurt and stick in a cooler with a jar of hot water for 8 hours. It worked. Every once in a while I'd get a runny batch, and once in a while I'd pick up a fresh culture (ie, storebought yogurt).

For some reason, I had a string of bad batches lately. Everything was the same--equipment, temps, milk, culture (though I did try a new brand to see if that was the issue). Totally runny. Even straining it with a coffee filter had dismal results.

So after a bit of frustration (and one accidental batch of ricotta when I tried to experiment*), I finally remembered to turn to Sandor Katz and the Wild Fermentation book. Lots of good tips:

Don't be tempted to add more culture to a batch thinking it will make it thicker. His explanation made sense to me from sourdough bread experience: You are aiming to achieve the perfect "population" of organisms to get the culture to your desired product. Too many good bacteria, too little food, and they will peak and start to die off, leaving their end products behind (in both cases, a sour watery-ness). His rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon per quart of milk.
Longer is okay: 8 - 12 hours of culturing, even up to 18, is fine. I always worried about going longer, but its a range, really. You might get you some extra tang, but won't affect safety.
Cooler is okay too--Katz's cooled temp (before adding the yogurt) is only 110 degrees. Obviously there is some flexibility to different recipes. So, like everything, find the method that works for you.
Finally: He had tips for failed yogurt. One--let it go longer, after 8-12 hours, if not thick, add more hot water (to the cooler, or replace your jar of hot water with a fresh one) and let it sit another 4 hours or so. Two--add a little more culture, stir it gently, and let it sit (again, check after 4 hours or so).

fresh raspberries for breakfast in nearly-November are a treat!

So what worked for me? A little of everything. I started cooling my milk to 110. My first new batch was still watery after 8 hours, I panicked and added more culture AND more hot water and let it go another 5-6 hours. PERFECT. The next batch, I checked after 8 hours (pretty watery), then replaced the hot jar of water and let it go another 4. Perfect. This last bach: I just let it go 12 hours without disturbing, and it came out just fine. Yay!

I don't know what changed for me, I am tempted to ask the smallish dairy that I get milk from if they had any changes--bad hay year, different feed, lots of young cows? (That's the nice thing about using a local producer, I know the milk I'm getting is only from 2 farms, not hundreds!). But for whatever reason, a longer fermentation period seems to be what I need.

* Oh, and as for the ricotta, learn from my mistake and don't re-heat your failed yogurt thinking you can start again. Reheated acidified milk is how you make cheese! I'm not really a cheesemaker, but I've dabbled, and I realized once the curds formed what had happened. I strained off the whey and voila! Creamy ricotta! Another good way to use up a failed batch of yogurt besides muffins and biscuits!

why is it?

2011-10-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

When these have made me SO VERY TIRED of tomatoes:

Tired of the smell, tired of processing them into various yummy things, tired of fitting bags of sauce into my freezer. When I swear that I don't care if I don't eat a ripe tomato until July?

But then, I see these (ripe on the vine! on OCTOBER 26th! in Wisconsin!)

And I coo like a happy chicken?

All buttoned up

2011-10-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

Our streak of warm weather has ended, and we're looking at 30s for lows this week. (Though it's still absolutely lovely outside, perfect for garden cleanup this weekend!

The hoop is closed up for winter, we put up the last of the panels this week, and I closed the roll-up side as well. I have been opening the screen on the door on sunny afternoons, and the venting window is still opening as-needed. I'm debating whether to worry about any small gaps, but as the space is not insulated, I kind of doubt that a few drafts will make a difference. Still, I may close up any glaring spots.

Inside, it's looking a bit more filled out. Spinach is coming along, as is kale. I also have one tiny head of cauliflower, from a late planting (a halfhearted attempt with seeds I bought for next spring). That was an exciting find.

The tomato was pulled in order to get one of the last panels in place, so today I planted that spot, and also installed the last bed on the end. I made it fairly small so that I can still reach into the corners (and step across in the summer to exit the back), but figured a little more growing space can't hurt! Today I seeded some more spinach and winter greens, and transplanted a few strawberry plants thinned from an overgrown patch. I figured this year is an experiment on what does well, so a little bit of everything is the way to go.

It has already been an education watching the temps rise and fall. I've found the hoop is a bit shady this time of year, as our big maples to the South have not lost their leaves yet. So even as the days get shorter we will end up with a boost of light in a few more weeks.
Also--pests! I've already had a bit of an aphid invasion, as well as the blasted cabbage worms, which should peter out now that the moths cannot find their way in. So far I've been able to just hand pick them off, and/or wipe and spray the aphids with water. I have quite a bit of mustard and kale growing, which are such targets for bugs.

For now, not too much greener inside than out but that will soon change!

roasted tomato soup (a non-recipe)

2011-10-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

I think I first made this at a job I had years ago, it might have been from a Williams-Sonoma cookbook they had laying around. At any rate, it needs no recipe. Every season I try to make more of this for the freezer, but the nature of the recipe is that you don't make it until the very end, the dregs of the veggies, so I always worry we won't have enough, until suddenly we do!

Roast a sheet pan or two of tomatoes. And a pan or two of miscellaneous veggies. Use your favorite method for toms, I like to roast then puree/strain mine (a la henbogle's version). For the veggies, I try to get them roughly the same size, and toss them with olive oil and salt/pepper before spreading them out. No rules here--except that garlic and leeks or onions are probably important. Carrots are great for sweetness, and this time I added a couple of potatoes for creaminess. I roast until they look caramelized and lovely. It doesn't even matter if they are slightly underdone as they'll finish up in the soup later.

this batch has carrots, garlic, peppers, zucchini, onions, and potato

Dump the tomatoes and vegetables into a large pot, and add stock. In this case, for three pans (2 tomato, one veggie) I used a quart of stock. (Since I am freezing this, I'm going for a condensed version and want it pretty thick, but you can always add more later). If there are yummy looking bits left in your roasting pans, use some broth to dissolve it and add to the pot as well. I add some chopped celery and parsley at this point too. Simmer for a half hour or more until everything is soft, then puree with an immersion blender.

I freeze this in fairly small containers (2-3 cups) for two people. When reheating I add milk or cream, which makes it grow a bit. Also the smaller portions thaw pretty fast, even for an last-minute weeknight dinner. Perfect with a grilled cheese sandwich on a cold winter night!

bummer

2011-10-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

Lost a hen last night. :(

Red was definitely the bellwether of our little flock. She was the first to find things, the first to sneak into the garden fence and lately, the first to figure out how to raid the compost pile.

Yesterday I couldn't find her when putting them in their pen, searched the yard but found her in the coop, before dark, perching--and not coming out for treats. I knew that was odd, but figured I'd keep an eye on her: this morning she was gone. She hadn't laid in a few days, but the rest of the girls are molting so I figured she was starting too. Hard to say--maybe she ate something, or was eggbound. This is usually how I lose hens, suddenly, very little symptoms/warning. I know it's not unusual, but with a flock of only five, it's a little more disconcerting. I'll keep an eye on the rest, but I suspect it was an isolated incident. She was only 2 1/2, and one of my better layers, so a bummer. OH well.

Adventure: Reedsburg Fermentation Fest

2011-10-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

Proving we could in fact get out of our yard AND have fun, yesterday we headed North and West to the Reedsburg Fermentation Fest. This is put on by the Wormfarm Institute, a group whose goals, in part, are to "connecting urban and rural, people and land, culture and agriculture".

The farmstands were designed by artists too, I loved how the shelves pulled out on this one.

We didn't take any classes this week, though the fest stretches over 2 weekends and I might be back. Yesterday, we went for the Farm/Art DTour, a 50 mile driving loop scattered with farmstands, informational displays, art installations, and community projects.

Reedsburg is on the edge of Wisconsin's driftless area--a part of the state missed by glacial activity and left with a high ridges and river valleys. It's not a wild place (well, in places), its a big agricultural area of the state, and inexpensive--which has brought both Chicagoan/Madison market-farmer wannabees and Amish/Mennonite families who relocated from the east coast. Plus your classic old-school Wisconsin dairy farmers. It's a fun mix!

This piece was beautiful in motion, all the bands vibrated in the breeze.

And honestly, on an 80 degree October afternoon, at the height of fall color, we were ready to chuck everything and move out here.

It wasn't hard to remind myself, though, that where we live is beautiful too. (With jobs! And biking to work! And our own mini urban farm!). I love Wisconsin in all four seasons, but in fall, its almost unbearably lovely. In town and out.

Though we did talk about retiring out there (I believe the conversation went "and by retire, I mean, become subsistence farmers").

Back home at the dog park, my pup has NO idea that not all dogs live this well.

grass (a rant)

2011-10-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

I'm actually not in a ranty mood this morning, so perhaps I won't be too grouchy afterall.

bare feet in October!

Just a heads up on a lawn care issue: Our neighbors use a lawn service (sigh) which sold them on a new, safer product a year or so ago. It was low toxic ("I don't even have to wear gloves!" said the employee--yegads!) and better for pets and the environment, they said. Turns out, Imprelis is a tree killer, specifically pines and spruce. Our neighbor lost a 40 foot tall tree, which acts as a privacy and noise buffer for them and somewhat for us. Thankfully their other pines seem okay for now. A coworker of D lost a tree as well. Talking to the lawn service, who said they only used it on 10% of their clients, THOUSANDS of trees in our area alone were affected. Per DuPont's "fact sheet" the damage is spread across Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Wisconsin. (Note, if you find the the carefully worded info provided by the manufacturer scary, there may be a problem...)

Thank goodness this product was only approved for professional use, imagine if it was on the shelves of Walmart. Imprelis was "voluntarily" pulled from the market this summer, and a large claims process is proceeding. (Another note: my neighbors were offered 3 years of free service as part of their reimbursement over the issue...SIGH.) And of course, I have to ask myself if they didn't know it had the effect of killing pine trees, what other affects did the chemicals have (on wildlife, or edible plants)?

But this isn't the end of the story. Grass clippings from yards with Imprelis, per the label, are not to be composted. Mulch from the killed trees, per their website, is not to be used for landscaping purposes as well. (Firewood is okay). So where are all of these thousands of trees going? For trees reported to the company, there is a protocal being created for disposal. Many homeowners may not even know the cause of their tree loss, and send those pines to the municipalities for mulching, or have them shredded by the tree service. And if not, thousands of these trees are going into landfills.

It's a pickle, and we are concerned about using our free city compost and mulch next year. What to do? Free mulch is a mainstay of my garden paths, and I use it in ornamental gardens as well. There's no guarantee where purchased mulch comes from, either. I suppose we can try to find a known source--a tree taken down for other purposes, perhaps? I'll definitely be making my own leaf mulch this year too. As for the compost, I know people bring their grass clippings to our dropoff sites, and I'm sure at least some of them are from treated lawns. In the past, I've weighed the benefits of the program against the relative risks: Recycling yard waste and keeping it out of the landfill is a great service, and the input of chemicals along with all the leaves and compostables seems pretty small, but STILL.

One final afterword: I am also grateful that our state has a pesticide notification registry. Lawn care services are required to give a days notice before applying herbicides or pesticides. I can keep my hens in, and not hang up laundry on the days they are spraying. It's not a great solution, but I do appreciate it. Also--when I ratted on the lawn service last week (new employee, didn't call ahead, and was snarky to me when I asked him about it), I had an awesome conversation with my representative from the Department of Ag: she was well aware of all the nuanced issues involving the Imprelis recall, and gave me a sense that they were on top of the issue. See, government regulation, and State employees, a GOOD thing!

I did feel a bit guilty calling to complain, but then again--who is holding these services accountable if not us? While I don't fault these guys for trying to make a living, I do beleive they should have to follow the rules at all times. I have a BIG problem with a business that exists to poison the soil, all for the vanity of a perfect lawn. I feel like they prey on the insecurities of new homeowners to conform to an unrealistic idea of the carpet-like lawn. I do try to not give my neighbors a hard time (though I'm pretty sure they know how we feel by now). I do try to live a good example, and hand out organic produce and fresh eggs. And I don't apologize for my weedy lawn.

bits and leftovers

2011-10-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'm waiting out a frosty morning. One more night of frost advisory ahead and supposedly a week in the 70s. We'll see. I picked most anything close to ripe, but my late green beans are *so* close to ready I am hopeful that they will make it through to next week. So a few misc. things that never made it into posts this summer.

Serindipitous finds: I found this beauty at a garage sale riding home from the market this summer. Thank goodness I had an extra side bag clipped to my bike! It's a le creuset (enamel over steel, not cast iron) and was only 3 bucks! It immediately went to work blanching tomatoes for peeling, and making soup. I even pressure canned my first-ever chicken stock! Which, by the way, freaked me out. Why this seems different than the jars of tomato products sitting on my shelf I don't know, but I still find it amazing they are storing happily at room temperature. I suppose I felt the same way about my first jar of jam too.

Things not working out: I have had three failed batches of yogurt in a row, and can't figure it out. The first was just a runny batch, so I figured it was time for a fresh starter. The next two were all-out failures with fresh yogurt culture (2 different brands, but the same milk and procedures as always). Weird. I did inadvertently learn to make ricotta cheese while trying to reheat and salvage the last batch. So all was not a complete loss!

Goaltending: I feel pretty happy about reaching most of my preserving targets for the season. I'm a bit short of tomato sauce, but there are still a lot of ripening tomatoes on my counter, so I think over the next few weeks I'll add enough to the freezer to last the winter. Our tomato harvest this year was pretty underwhelming--I'm glad we got enough for basics, but was hoping for a bit more. We're definitely down on fun stuff like dried tomatoes and roasted tomatoes in the freezer.

But maybe its for the best. We're spending a fair amount of time the last few weeks looking back at the amount of projects we accomplished. No wonder we are so tired at the end of this summer! So maybe it's a good thing we didn't *ALSO* get overwhelmed by our harvests. And, we keep telling ourselves, next year all we have to do is just grow the food!

Other lessons learned. I realized this summer that growing your own sometimes means missing out on some goodies of the season. A few fruit gifts from friends and neighbors made me realize that I tend to skip the farmers market on the weeks that the fun stuff is there. Donut peaches and plums! Its a forest/trees thing: Too much focus on using up and preserving what I have, too little time spent enjoying the season. Next year: more sailing, more adventures, more peaches! I have to remember whilst being the ant, that sometimes its fun to be the grasshopper too.

Just about ready

2011-09-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

A few tweaks left here and there, but we're just about ready for winter, hoop-wise at least.

D finished the last of the end panels this weekend, and also installed the hinged window with the univent! With a few adjustments to the door and with securing the rolldown sides, we should be ready to button everything up in a few weeks for winter.

squash curing, with very happy herbs

Inside, I have been looking for excuses to putter, so did some record-keeping. Now I have a better map of what (and when) I planted, and made markers so I will have a better record of what does well. I looked back at last year's notes and pics, and I'm about on the same schedule for spinach and greens, hopefully that means things will do at least as well as last year in my low tunnels. And as an added bonus, my roma is still ripening fruit better than any of the plants outside, so already it's having a positive affect on my harvests.

Its a tight fit, but we can squeeze in a couple of camp chairs and a crate/bench for holding morning coffee cups. And sometimes a dog :)

a few details

2011-09-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Forgive me going on and on about the hoop, I'm rather excited about it!

The end panels are going into place. I'm sure we are being a little futzier than needed on doing the ends, but I think they will be very handy since they are small for storage during the summer, and we can play with the amount of ventilation--and/or add screens if needed for pest control. The triangular pieces are done as well, but we haven't installed them yet. The only part left to do is the back center panel, which will include a window that opens with a auto vent.

Yesterday we played with the roll-up sides. We ended up using two12-foot half-round trim pieces for the "pole". They were inexpensive and made it easy to sandwich the plastic. We will work on ways to secure it better, but for now a bungie works. For the closed position, we used wiggle wire to secure the sides down, and for now just have a board to hold the pole in place at the bottom.

I know outside of winter we will have these open almost all of the time, even on a cool day we are already reaching 100 degrees inside with the sides mostly open! I suspect we may need shade cloth too, I know I have a LOT to learn over the next year of experimentation.

and more

2011-09-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

We survived our frost advisory, along with most of our vegetables, though I spotted frost on the rooftops when I woke up Wednesday morning. Thank goodness for a large collection of row cover, and dinner guests who were recruited for the evening drape-a-thon. I think there are more ripe tomatoes and peppers in our future after all.

This weekend we made more progress on the hoop: and I even remembered to take a few in-progress photos. Friday D had a futzy job of making rounded wood pieces to go over the door and on the back side. They fit over the purlin ends so had lots of tweaking to fit properly. Once up, though, they made a nice clean surface to attach plastic, with no sharp metal pieces.

Plastic on, front and back (over the door) attached, and the sides.

Saturday was a perfect fall day for working outside, except that it was too windy for putting on the cover. So, we puttered on with prep work: I sanded any sharp corners of the frame where there would be contact with the plastic, D made battens to attach the cover to the frame. There was site clean-up, lots of checks on the forecast, a dog walk, and various procrastinating. Finally, towards late afternoon, the wind calmed a bit, and we decided to go for it. For insurance, I put rocks in old tube socks to serve as extra "hands" to hold down the edges while we worked.

Attaching to the side frames with battens.

All in all the process went pretty smoothly. The wind was mostly a non-issue for pulling the cover on, though it did make tensioning a bit tricky. Fortunately as it got closer to dark it calmed more, and I am pretty happy with how tight we got the cover.

I can say that we LOVED the wiggle wire. We used it on each end (just over the doors) and along the sides. It really helped to be able to adjust the tension without compromising the cover. We are also using it to lock down the bottom sides for winter (they will roll up in the summer).

Here you can see the curved wood piece over the door.

Halfway through days like this, you realize all the research and preparation is good, but there's a point when you're just on your own, doing something totally new, and hoping you can figure it out. There are things in life you do so often, it's muscle memory: coring a tomato, pouring a cup of coffee, reaching for the toothpaste. But to do something completely new and unfamiliar? I think it is good exercise (therapy really) for the psyche.

hoopdate

2011-09-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

When we were tackling the giant yard projects this spring, bumping the final hoophouse assembly to fall seemed smart. Of course, I forgot we'd be busy preserving this time of year! We are moving along steadily though, in between batches of salsa and pickles. Also squeezing in fall plantings of spinach and other greens.

We're just about ready for the top plastic now: the door is hung, and end walls are framed. Still to do is creating a window/vent that opens on the back side, and a custom piece for the top of the door. The plan for the ends is to make removable framed sections that fit into the triangles/rectangles.

Exciting to be this close, and apparently a good thing as we have our first frost worries this week! Almost a month early (sigh). After a weekend with 3 days in the mid-80s, tomorrow's high is not expected to hit 60, with lows in the 30s and 40s for a few nights. The weather this year has sure been a roller coaster.

Generally our south-facing and sloped yard is enough of a micro-climate that it stays a bit warmer than predictions. Still, I'm a little worried about my peppers and tomatoes, which still have a lot of fruit to finish up. I also have a late crop of green beans just starting to bloom... I will watch the forecast, do some strategic covering, and hope that the temps trend a little higher than the forecast. A definite reminder though, that the end of the outdoor season is approaching fast.

well lookee here

2011-09-05T05:49:00.000-07:00

3-dimensions! And look at that sky.

This week we had a mini heat-wave, with a high of 92 Thursday, and days later we have catapulted into fall weather with a high of 66! Nothing like a radical temperature shift to inspire you to finish fall projects!

We started of visiting one of our favorite perennial nurseries on a mission: to look at various hoop details. They use high tunnels in a large array, so we were able to look at construction methods.

we liked how they made their end walls, though we won't use polycarbonate, at least at this point.

Some of us our visual learners around here! We headed for home in the rain and Sunday got to work. We have all the hoops up, the purlin set and leveled, and while I was on a grape mission* D put the side boards in place. Next up is end walls and a door, and when the weather really starts turning we'll be ready for the cover! I suppose it will be sooner than we think.

I had somewhat caught up on tomatoes, and took a lovely 3 days off during the hot spell. Yesterday I should have started back up--but oh well!

*Have I mentioned the grape cooperative? I have a neighborhood "fruit broker" who shares her grapes with us (she is in her 80s, so we swap labor for shared juice). She called with a lead on more grapes from another friend of hers around the block, so now I have a few more pounds of those to juice, and more to sort through today. And more ripe ones to pick at her house!

slowly adding up

2011-08-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Zucchini bread & butter pickles

I did a mid-preserving season count last night, and was surprised to find I have processed 78 jars of food already (since May)! And this doesn't count frozen items. It seems like a lot, and I remember a few years back when 100 preserved items TOTAL was my goal for the year.

And then D was at the farm store, and the woman checking him out said she canned 50 jars of tomatoes yesterday. See? I'm not an over-achiever at all! Most of my canning is done in batches of 3 to 7 jars, and only an hour or two of labor. Once I get up to speed, have my equipment at the ready, and have a decent attitude (that one can be harder), it can be pretty painless. This weekend I finished up a batch of applesauce while we had (unexpected) company, and I'm not sure they noticed!

The world is full of tasks that seem hard from one perspectives, easy from another.

another project

2011-08-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

This idea has been in the works since before we even purchased the side lot. But you know how it is...

D gets all the credit for this one: he completely improvised the design based on materials we had on hand. He was able to build the entire thing using the fence that we took down on the old lot line, as well as some "inherited" wood passed to us from a neighbor. The only items we had to purchase were a couple of boxes of screws and one board for $1.80 at the habitat re-store.

It's not fancy home & garden magazine material, but we can now safely hike up that hill to the new garden with ease!

In other news. Apples. More Grapes. Tomatoes. Zucchini. Eggplant.

I am, as always, awed by the amount of produce that comes out of this little city lot. I get a little overwhelmed, and a bit cornball about it--but it's a privilege to have this abundance every August. I try to do it justice.

the zucchini bread that could save the world

2011-08-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

You might as well go all-out, in that case:

I was totally caught up: The last zucchini grated went into this cake yesterday morning: and then I went out in the afternoon and there were 5 or 6 more!

the zucchini crisis has been downgraded

2011-08-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

All week, I struggled to keep up with produce. It's not exactly that we're swimming in tomatoes (not at all, yet); more of an battle of motivation and other parts-of-life-busyness. There's been some pickling, canning, baking, and some great meals, but still a feeling like I wasn't keeping up.

no matter how busy I feel, I am never as busy as these guys...

And all week, I kept thinking if I could JUST MAKE ZUCCHINI BREAD, it would somehow indicate that I was catching up, and in that way would SAVE THE WORLD. But it never happened. Zucchini bread is just never a priority, no matter what you tell yourself.

Did I mention the 20 pounds of grapes from the neighbor's vines?

So today, I tackled the nagging chores in my head, the ones that appear first thing in the morning when you hit the alarm clock and try to doze for another 7 minutes. I picked the greens that need picking in the wee hours before it gets hot. I made yogurt, scraping the last 2 tablespoons from the old jar for the new batch (as always just-in-time production, sigh). Pizza dough was prepped for dinner; dishes were done, scum was skimmed from the pickle crocks; I cleaned the damn house. I picked more tomatoes and cucumbers. I purged the fridge of old leftovers, and composted last year's horseradish roots that for some reason I kept saving in the chill drawer, despite their sad condition. I did the semi-weekly countertop tomato prioritization, and started a batch of sauce with the most-ripe, and have a colander ready for the dehydrator later.


not-very-impressive but notable: my first batch of pressure canning! Check that off the "things that I am afraid to do" list.

When all was said and done, the 4 zucchinis left in the fridge were the least of my worries, and I put off the bread for another day. I'm sure there's a moral to this tale somewhere, if you find it, let me know!

getting perspective

2011-08-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

Before:

June 4 - remember how roomy it was?

After:

August 12 - I can hardly walk around now...in some spots at least.

Today I'm working on seeding and transplanting fall crops, and I was feeling a little unorganized. Why did I plant things where I did? Why don't I have more space? Why didn't I keep better records? So I needed to back up a little. There's a reason my garden is a little fly-by-night this year. Much of it didn't exist four months ago. And having a garden packed-full in August means that there is FOOD growing there. Maybe not all food that I want or need at this stage (HA), but it's healthy and abundant.

Good things: Holy eggplants! We couldn't keep up with eating them so today will freeze/pickle some I think. Lots of blossoms yet and more fruits on the way.

Less good:

Beans on the fence (thank goodness they are dry beans so I don't need to get in there. Zucchini and butternut growing into the hoop and over the compost...And there are tomatillos in there too, sigh.

What was I thinking planting that much squash in the back corner? The one creeping into the hoop area is a zucchini that I may pull, though it is SO healthy. But I have new ones started elsewhere, and even a smaller plant inside that jungle, so soon I will convince myself to commit zucchinicide. Plus, at some point, I have to start putting this hoop up!

I did manage to find room for some fall sets of kale and cauliflower, and I seeded a few other greens. As more beets and leeks come out I will start sowing spinach and winter greens. Learning my lesson, I am being much more diligent on recording my late summer and fall plantings, I want to be able to look back next year and know what worked.

gathering steam

2011-07-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

I have noticed around the internets and "real" gardening friends, a moment of doubt, a spot in the lull between spring bounty and the late summer onslaught where we wonder if we planned right, if the weather will cooperate, and maybe it's not going to be the year of our dreams garden-wise.

But then, suddenly, a few days later a walk through the garden yields another picture--of the very beginnings of a deluge of Very. Good. Things. I've compared it in the past to being at the top of the roller coaster, where you feel you are not getting anywhere, right before the swoosh of speed.

Not a huge harvest, but not bad for one patch--the golds were from two little organic grocery store spuds that sprouted. Gotta love recycled/free food!

thanks to Bt and some active wasps, my savoy regrouped and turned out lovely!

Not that all is perfect around here, I am somewhat bemused to find my brand new beds are out-performing my older established garden. My tomatoes are a little under-loaded with fruit. Here I was thinking that years of soil amendment would trump fresh soil. I think I may have overworked my original garden a bit, a few years of 3- and 4-season plantings, not enough room for proper crop rotation, and not enough feeding. I think I will give it all a well-deserved rest this winter, with lots of manure, cover crops, and conscientious planning for next year.

fairy tale eggplants, as prolific as described in the catalog, and so pretty! I have a feeling this may be the year of the eggplant.

But the new garden: 4 foot tall eggplants! 6 foot high tomatoes. Crazy bean patches and running squash. My Trombetta climbing zucchini is ginormous, perhaps too happy as it is slow to make real fruit despite being 8 feet tall!

Climbing summer squash, thank goodness behind it are ground cherries, who are also out-of-control.

The ideas for dinner are way outpacing the number of meals in a week here, I think we have to start having people over. A lot. I also took a load of kale and other veggies to a food pantry in my neighborhood, which I am planning on making into a habit.

leek love

2011-07-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

I credit El with helping me diversify my onion-y plantings. I had one really good onion year a few seasons back, right when I was getting serious about growing food. I used purchased plants of storage onions, and we ate most of the winter. After that? Not much luck. I started trying to grow from seed, and have not had good success. Or maybe it was just a really good onion year, followed by meh.

Anyway I've since learned to spread my wings a bit, and now grow lots of alliums in all seasons: walking/potato onions, Tokyo bunching, chives, etc. And the leeks. For some reason these have been way easier for me to grow from seed, and this year I have a wonderful crop.

As a newbie cook I looked at any recipe including leeks and in my mind read "expensive onion" and just substituted. To buy a leek, and then use the miniscule "only white" parts per the instructions, just seemed beyond me. But I bought a pack of Bleu de Solaize leeks from Seed Savers, and now, I'm a believer.

They are easy, they don't take up much room, and they are lovely. Both to look at and to eat.

tonight's dinner: goat cheese, leek, tomato and zucchini galette.

I'm going out of my way to look for leek recipes now :)

just enough

2011-07-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

In a time of fiscal crises, I find myself more enamored with the concept of "just enough". I feel like our country has pushed so long for going as big as possible-- the most money, the biggest cars/houses/mortgages (sigh), the largest profits on paper that don'tt add up in human terms.

I have been puttering in the garden, and the satisfaction I feel far outweighs any financial gain or job-related success. (I know a lot of people feel fulfilled from their job...but but my day job serves to pay expenses, and that's about it. I like it, but it doesn't feed my non-$ needs)

And while I love a full pantry, what I really love is having three jars of tomato sauce left on the shelf, with a loaded tomato plant ready to blush at any moment. A few sad frozen peppers as the first fruit fill out on the plant. Abundance is certainly welcome around here, as is having enough to share, but growing just enough is the real prize.

So I don't have 30 tomato plants, I have 15. That's enough for us. And that means means I have room to try new things, to grow my first artichoke and discover the wonder of cutting open my first radicchio...

mid-summer lulls

2011-07-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

Not too much new around here, a few posts mulling in my head, but are not yet fully formed. I did pull the garlic this week, and we had a lovely 105 heads of average size, and a few puny extras. Last year they were bigger, but we had such a rainy season I think these are more "normal". Three heads left from last year as these cure on the patio, that seems just about right.

As expected, the spacious garden expansion looks more reasonable as plants are taking off. Pole beans are at the top of their bamboo, and bush beans are spilling into the paths, but I still have room to walk. Perfect!


It took a year, but somebody finally moved in to the uke

2011-07-03T15:37:00.000-07:00

Around here 4th of July weekend is kind of a deadline of sorts--we have a big fireworks event in our neighborhood, and it becomes an arbitrary goal to finish outside projects. Neighbors build decks, and seal their driveways, primp their yards and mulch their garden beds to at least hide weeds for one weekend (okay, that last one is mine).

note random black-eyed susans, the patch moves around the yard from year to year.

And while we're normally a sleepy little street, for one day loads of people walk by, so my front yard has an audience other than the immediate neighbors.

Early July isn't our biggest bloom-time in front, but it has some color. It's not all veggies around here...

And now I find myself in a lull, what to do, besides harvest the broccoli and beets that are ready? Tomatoes are setting, I found a bud in the artichoke (woohoo!) and with a little 90 degree weather the eggplant and peppers are finally looking happier.

Soon, meal planning will entirely revolve around what needs eating. For now, it's a pleasant wander clipping good stuff here and there.

2011-06-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

I'm on vacation this week, and entirely enjoying myself despite the fact that I have gone nowhere and have done things like wash the side of my house, cleaned the car, and weeded. But there's been plenty of fun stuff too, like this

strawberry rhubarb jam

And this:

scape pesto

The first of these I've ever grown.

That went into this:

fresh pasta with peas, favas, broccoli, fresh herbs, and dried tomatoes & mushrooms.

And if I'm not crazy enough, I just put a strawberry pie in the oven at 9:00. It's a special kind of madness, isn't it?

Also on the gardening front, I discovered the ultimate mulch today. The vacant city lot (across a sidewalk from the bit we just bought) gets mowed every few weeks or so. If you go through and mow it with the bagger in another week, you get this perfect mix of partially dried and extra long grass clippings. It's like free hay! Well, definitely worth the wee bit of gas I used to mow it, and I made the neighbor happy too, since it looks a lot better after a second grooming.

And, my dog mauled the pea patch today (he has learned to jump the 4 foot fence). I should have never let him watch me shell the first picking, he's way too clever and decided to harvest his own! Between the chickens and my pea-loving hound, this may be my worst pea season ever. Oh well, next year!

midsummer?

2011-06-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

Doesn't feel like mid-summer here, but the thunderstorm that just passed was a classic summertime event.

So even though the main planting is done, more projects remain... This week I've been back working on our original veggie garden.

We rearranged the fence which now encompasses the entire back corner of the yard and mulched (no more mowing!) Having paths along the outside means now I can reach each side of my four-foot-wide beds. Also--no more chickens and/or dog eating peas through the fence! The gateway is recycled from our old fence line, and the gates need a little work still.

It's funny having two garden spaces. I'm learning where I should be redundant (parsley! Definitely need in the closer patch--now remedied). But I am also looking forward to being able to rotate crops more easily.

Note the one covered row here, the brassicas are bursting out of their hoop now, but looking good:

Picking beets this week, and lots of kale, but ready to be eating some summertime crops soon.

winging it

2011-06-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

For some reason this season feels like I am just winging it. I'd like to think that I confidently know what I am doing by now, but the reality is that I'm a little overwhelmed by the giantness that was the expansion this year. Nearly doubling the size of your garden will do that--definitely a case of not taking my own advice.

So my succession planting is a lot less organized this season. I have high hopes for next year--I mean, what will I do with all the free time if I'm not building fences and raised beds? I have one patch left in the hoop garden for another planting of beets and carrots, etc. Plus spring greens are in the process of coming out, with garlic following fairly soon. So maybe I still have a chance to get back in the game.

And of course, the good news is, the garden IS bigger. Lots of good stuff on the way. Some of it's already here!

"dilly" scapes

Pantry planning

2011-06-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

Lets say (theoretically) that your garden is in, summer crops are growing but not producing yet, and you have a little lull in your steady workload of backyard. This is probably a good time to do a little planning for your preservation needs. For me this is a multi-year process. I didn’t figure it out all at once, and it’s still changing as my habits and skills evolve.

It of course all starts with garden planning, way back before you plant your garden. But that's another entire topic! Now is when I make the game plan for actual preserving--how to divvy up that potential produce into the useful pantry items we need. Here’s what I do.

First, look back at how much you put away last year. Hopefully you have notes, or an inventory, from back around November. Next, look at what you have NOW. Are you swimming in frozen corn? Have you been out of salsa since December? Be realistic in what you were hoarding, or what you just didn’t like. By looking at this data, you should hopefully figure out about what you need to have on hand at the end of the summer to last until next. It’s not an exact science, but you can usually come up with a basic plan.

Take another look at your leftovers. It’s fine with canned goods to rotate stock that’s over a year. But, don’t make a boatload more of something if you have lots leftover. Last year I had quite a few jars of plain tomatoes at the beginning of the season. I had upped my tomato sauce production, and found I didn’t use as much of the plain jars. That’s fine, but I was sure to use up the oldest jars first, AND to adjust my goals for the next year so I didn’t have too many. Now, as gardening is unpredictable, it may be nice to have a little extra on hand in case of a crop loss, such as the tomato blight year. However, don’t keep making 50 jars of tomato sauce a year if you only use 20. Everyone has a story of cleaning out a grandparent’s basement with hundreds of jars of unused jam and pickles. Use it up, give it away, and stop making it if no one eats it!

After making this year's list, I stuck a few more tomatoes in the ground.

Also keep in mind you will be eating fresh veggies for much of the summer! This sounds silly, but do remember that for (hopefully!) 10-12 weeks of the year you should have a goodly (or perhaps ungodly!) amount of summer veggies to eat fresh. If you think you need a jar of salsa or tomato sauce every week, this is three months you don't have to preserve for. And, I find the more I eat seasonally, the less I want winter-type staples in the spring and early summer.

last year's list...

So after all this self-assessment, my goals for the year are a simple list written on a piece of paper and kept in the kitchen. As I freeze/can/pickle/dry, I make a hash mark on the list. This really helps me prioritize: if I have a counter of miscellaneous vegetables, I can look at my list and think “ooh, still low on salsa” and choose what to do next. I also tend to save easier tasks for later in the season—I am enthusiastic about chopping peppers and onions early in the year, while by late September it might be easier to just make plain tomato sauce, or throw some veggies in the dehydrator.

Keep an eye on your list, and consider stopping when you reach your goals! It’s nice to have a few extra jars for gift giving etc, but remember to take a break too. Perhaps take a week’s harvest to a food pantry instead, or help a friend or neighbor who wants to try canning. All in all my goals for the last season or two go beyond preserving what we need for an entire year. It’s also about having fun, enjoying the process, and having time to spend on non-garden summertime activities!

overview, and a few detail shots

2011-06-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

Up on the garage yesterday, and couldn't resist taking a picture...Hard to believe this was a mostly empty space a little over a month ago.

And a couple of detail shots. D made this retaining wall for the raspberry patch using a huge board we inherited from a neighbor. He also curved the wall around using the found stones from all our excavating.

Finally, a little bench. This was made from found "driftwood" on the lake shore. We think it's oak, but might have been from an old dock?

Well, better get busy, another lovely day here!

stick a (pitch)fork in her, she's done

2011-06-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

For the day, anyway! Today I hauled mulch for the garden paths, and I'm at the point where I feel I'm finished with this new garden space; for a while, anyway. New beds are all planted and mulched, with a few spaces left for succession planting.

It's strange to feel like I have too much space between beds, but I know in a few weeks when the beans are spilling over, the peppers are 4 feet tall, and the tomato patch is a jungle, that it will feel about right. There is definitely room for one more bed along the front of the hoop. We stashed the cold frame there for now, but may add to it in the fall once the hoop is set up.

It will all feel more settled after the plants mature a bit, and the mulch gets packed down.

I'm tempted after looking at my canning needs for the season to stick another tomato or two somewhere, and I just might! Meanwhile, the first beans are up, eggplants and peppers are luxuriating in 90 degree temps, and I AM DONE for the day.

something new

2011-05-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

I like trying out new veggies every season. It keeps things interesting. New this year:

Windsor Favas. They are really loving the long cool spring we are having, and I love the black and white blossoms. Hopefully they will not resent the sudden change to summertime (after those two cold nights*, and a day in the 50s, we nearly hit 90 today!).

Also a first timer:

I love the spiral forming in the center

Radiccio (Chiogga Red Preco from Johnny's). Since I am apparently fond of the more bitter greens, I thought I'd give this a try.

Speaking of greens, I tried a new kale recipe today. When talking to a neighbor about possibly unloading some veggies on them, they mentioned a kale salad that they like from Whole foods. I looked it up, and tried it out tonight. It would be more seasonal in fall, but I had the ingredients on hand.

Kale Waldorf Salad

I used our cutting celery (which has self-seeded ALL OVER the garden), and some dried cranberries mixed with the raisins. Also added a little yogurt to the dressing to make it creamier.

So far I don't think I've tried a kale recipe I don't like, which I think means: I like kale! :) Hope the same holds true for the radicchio.

* we hit lows in the mid-thirties on our frosty night, but I covered up the tender plants and everything seems to have come through fine. Hopefully we're in the clear now!

Argh, frost

2011-05-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

We have a forecast of lows around 34 and patchy frost tonight! I think we're mostly okay in our sheltered location, but I will cover a few things just to avoid shocking the plants... and my strawberries as they are in the height of bloom and I want those berries, darnit!

This is almost two weeks past our "safe" date for planting. It's been quite the spring.

Good thing the apple trees are about done blooming, this was last week...

a little more

2011-05-24T17:04:00.000-07:00

Took a day off for one more day of hard labor, ha.

Today we finished the fencing and three new beds along the fenceline, and built a new composter! All our new beds are based on a 3 x 6 design, and the composter is 3 x 3. So, the plan is to move it every year or so as part of our crop rotation.

For the main bed additions, we actually did a formal double-dig, which buried the creeping-sod as we went along. Those beds have some lovely soil--a mix of clay and topsoil, and supplemented with municipal* compost and a little peat moss. These three side beds we used a quicker (ie half-assed) semi-lasagna method: The bottoms are lined with extra sod, then they were topped with half-finished compost from a temporary pile (lots of fall leaves) and then topped off with city compost. It will be interesting to see how the beds compare, though I am using the less-developed beds for things like zucchini which I figure if impaired or stunted somehow would be a good thing! I may also plant beans, as sort of a edible cover crop to improve the soil. I know by next spring these will be in good shape.

* Our city collects leaves and yard waste and makes really good sifted compost, available for free or a nominal fee (3-5 bucks!) if they load it for you. It potentially could have stuff like grass clippings from treated lawns. We mostly try to use our own compost (as we know where it comes from), but this is great for filler and when we're expanding. Mostly it's great stuff, keeps lawn waste out of the landfill and lakes, and I consider it a benefit of city taxes! ;)

At last

2011-05-23T18:13:00.000-07:00

Finally planting here. Most (but not quite all) of the main summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants).

And finally feeling like we're making headway on this garden expansion. Four main beds are built and filled/amended. 3 more are framed and in progress. D built two gates today, and we should finish fencing off the garden area tomorrow.

Now to the prettying: grading, mulch, misc. tweaking, and the return to maintaining ALL the other garden areas that have been neglected in the meantime. Lots of weeding and mulching to do.

And some eating.

spinach, kale, lettuce nearly out of control, and a forest of cilantro...

hoop doings

2011-05-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

More progress, another long weekend.

We pounded the side poles in, and I got to learn how to drill screws into metal for the first time, a fun new skill :)

Monday I filled the beds. I had reserved an adjacent 4 x 8 bed for this purpose last fall, and added piles of compost before winter. Somehow this and some soil from the fence post holes mostly filled the 2 main hoop-house beds. It may sink down a bit! Also added hardware cloth around 2 edges so far, to keep out voles. Will eventually do all the sides, and back fill a bit.

check out the BIG stone we dug out, no wonder post 3 stopped 10 inches in, sigh...

Had some grass clippings available too, so I went ahead and started to mulch. Now I have to figure out what to plant!

Just starting to get shade late in the afternoon. The last bed on the end will come later as more soil is available. It's a little easier to work around for now.

For a bit this will stay as-is, as we prioritize other garden beds. We will probably hold off putting the plastic up until early fall. Our thinking was: A) less watering for this season, especially since our hose logistics aren't worked out yet; B) one less summer of sun damage to the cover, and C) Just too many things still left to do!

We have pretty warm summers here, so it's not a real need, except for wishing I had it up 6 weeks ago for our coooool spring (we had two nights with frost advisories this week).

On the level

2011-05-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

We finished the fence (and gates) this week, and can move on to garden projects!

A plan had formulated while we fenced in the space, and was plotted on graph paper. But, since I'm a bit spatially challenged, I built a few of the raised-bed frames first so I could move them around and better envision how things will work together.

My original garden layout is quite tightly packed, so I am aiming for wider paths and breathing room. Eventually there will be four beds here, with more to come along the fence line.

My main goal with staging the bed layouts this week is to see how they will relate to this: the future hoop!

As you've probably noticed by now, our property is not particularly level in any way--another reason graph paper is not the best way for me to visualize the plan! Over the last several weeks, I've been clearing sod and turning over soil, and today we worked on leveling the hoop base.

The hoop base is 10 X 12, with long beds a few inches wider than 3 feet. Also to come is a third bed across the back, which should make up for growing space lost in the center. I just really wanted to be able to reach into the beds, and also have enough room for a seat for wintertime sun therapy! Also--there will be some extra space to set flats and containers.

On the left (South, and facing the front of the yard) will be a cold frame, which will take advantage of the drop in elevation, and act somewhat as a retaining wall. It should benefit from the reflected heat and light from the hoop.

More to come....

Ahh, that's more like it

2011-05-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

This is the weekend I really needed. Lots of this:

But also this:

Which was sorely needed around here! And finally, after a long day's work, a little of this:

logistics

2011-05-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

We are finally making headway now. Our wood order was delivered around 3 on Wednesday, and we had 4 holes dug and posts set by 7 or so that night! Yesterday, we added the dog-eared pieces.

This is the back corner of our (now extended!) lot, and there is a public walkway running to the street behind us. This first section of privacy fence will obscure the view down into our main yard, and also make the coming hoop house a little less obtrusive to the neighbors. The remaining fencing will be only 4 feet and much more open feeling. Overall the lot faces mostly South, the new fence is on the West side.

So garden design, which of course has been ongoing, is adjusting a bit to the feel of the new space. The hoop house will be centered in the back, with about 6 feet of clearance to the fences. We have an overgrown raspberry patch in this area, which is being tamed a bit to run behind the hoop and along the older fence. I think raspberries should be able to handle the slightly shaded conditions.

I am planning beds alongside the new fence as well, but not sure how shady it will be. We don't have a lot of experience with shade in our crazy sunny yard, so this is a new one for us. Possible options are just to have compost bins there, or it might be good for asparagus or summertime greens? Climbing beans?

Also a logistics issue is water. Our current and only exterior faucet is WAY down that hill, on the far side of our house (you can barely see behind our garage...which yes, is at eye level here, its quite a hill). Long-term, we'd like to add another faucet, but for this year at least we'll just be running hose or creating a holding tank. Any suggestions for favorite quick-release extenders for hoses, or alternative ideas?

So much to do, and the gulf between the neat potager garden of my dreams and the chaotic messy garden of reality is great. So off the computer I should go, and get to work.

investment

2011-05-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

I've said in the past, that I get tired of participating in a system that rewards the wrong people for the wrong behavior. But what do you invest in?

When it became apparent the real estate market was uncertain, and that it would be best just to stay put for a while in our little homestead, we opted for a little investment in our own lives. We fixed a few things that had needed it for a while (windows, doors, floors) and finally took the leap to purchase the side lot adjacent to us.

To us, our home isn't a financial investment, it's the place we live, and the place we DO things. Yes, there are financial benefits and pitfalls to owning it, but its VALUE to us is what we give to it and get from it. Our base of operations. Home.

So now we're investing again, lots of hard work and materials and planning. After a long winter of politics and cold weather I'm happy to just be using new muscles and brain power.

And we're doing pretty well on that consumer diet issue. We've rediscovered a fantastic local lumber store that has great service and selection, and have been utilizing municipal compost and mulch, and our local habitat re-store for recycled bits.

New kitchen drink station, the top is made from laminated oak stair treads from the Re-Store! (drawers are still in progress)

Not that we're doing this sans cash, it's quite the pricey month around here. But in the priceless category, one more material posession to share:

My potter friend brought this over when picking up eggs last week. It's a fermenting crock, about a gallon size. And his artistry speaks for itself. I'm thinking it will take a lot of eggs to exchange for this....

that darn rabbit!

2011-05-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Lots going on here, too many projects at once! We are plugging away, and I'm trying to take pictures to update here once in a while, but you know how it is this time of year.

But this seemed worth sharing briefly:

I've been seeing this rabbit in our main veggie garden. A lot. The dog has chased her several times, but she hasn't seemed to do much damage. A little slow on the uptake, it finally dawned on me that if she wasn't there to EAT, she must be there for other purposes.

So we did a check, looking under the rhubarb plant, examining the heavily mulched garlic (that's a favorite spot), and didn't find any nests.

Today I am pulling off row cover and valuating my main greens bed, looking at the about-to-bolt spinach, and seeing what all I need to harvest (soon!) in order to plant tomatoes in there in the next week or so. I bend down to pick up a little tuft of dry grass, and it MOVED.

For heaven's sake, she nested right in the center of my garden! In a hoop! It's clever really, our yard is not very friendly to predators, it's fenced for the dog and chickens, and the garden fence mainly keeps those two critters out.

now that I look at it, there is kind of a bare spot...nest is center left along the edge. Right next to that lovely patch of lettuce, must be so convenient when she's feeding them...

But what to do? I've had them in my herb garden before, and just held off harvesting the nearest plant until they left the nest. But this is my main tomato bed! Oh well, maybe if I disturb them enough she'll move them. Maybe I'll go pick that spinach after all....

speaking of digging up grass....

2011-04-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

Was I crazy not to borrow a tiller?

Actually, a confession: I have never used a tiller! I have always just either done the classic double-dig a-la shovel or used heavy mulching to develop new beds, and as our garden has grown gradually over many years, this was pretty do-able.

Had our purchase of this side lot finished up in the fall, I would have probably just sheet-mulched the entire area. But as it is, spring is here and all the rain has made pulling sod pretty easy. And by sod, I mean creeping charlie. Which probably was not the best thing to till up anyway. This is just the footprint of the hoop house, and much of the rest of the beds will be added gradually, we just needed this area to be level and starting from scratch seemed the best bet.

Another confession involves a tiny hot tub acquired via craigslist. I know, its not the most eco-friendly possession, but its value for physical and mental wellness can not to be overstated. And that's where I'm heading now!

earth day in the city

2011-04-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

It's trash day here, and as often happens, we didn't really have any to put out. Even our recycling bin has been half-empty the last few pickups, and they only come every other week. Its funny how the little things add up: buying in bulk, cooking from scratch, reusing items when possible, and of course composting. We aren't aiming for zero-impact here by any means, it just turns out the things we like to do usually end up being pretty eco-friendly.

When we bought this house, it came with an old washing machine (still running!) and no dryer, but a clothesline. We were poor and thrilled after apartment living to even have on-site laundry, so hanging out clothes was a no-brainer. Though we eventually got a dryer, we caught the habit and continue line drying in all but wintertime. We live in a 50s-era neighborhood, and I love that clotheslines are standard in every yard, and except for a few that are now grape arbors, many are still in use regularly.

another fan of the clothesline...

While Madison isn't some huge urban center we have mass transit and an awesome local food system that means we can walk or bike to multiple farmer's markets and co-ops. We might not be as hip as Portland but we have a decent setup for biking to work, and we can feasibly go for long periods without driving if we choose to.

This reminds me how living in town works for us, how in some ways its easier for us to live lighter on the earth in a more urban setting, and how fortunate we are to live in a place that supports this. Its not that we've never had the fantasy of moving out to the country: I would assume most people who enjoy the outdoors and love to grow food have considered taking the leap to a farm. But to be honest, all of our crazy food growing/animal husbandry/local eating escapades were dreamed up right here on our city lot, and there's still plenty of grass left to dig up and plant before we run out of ideas.

spinach and ice cream

2011-04-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, two completely unrelated topics.

First spinach. I was wholly gratified to see "frost kissed" spinach at our first outdoor market today for 8 dollars a pound! We've been eating spinach all week, it seems like. Spinach in soup, on pizza, in scrambled eggs, and one of our personal favorites: spinach triangles.

spinach, feta, garlic, onions, oregano, in phyllo dough (folded just like those paper footballs)

We really only have about a 2 x 4 patch of overwintered spinach, with a few more rows scattered about elsewhere, but boy is it producing. One good thing about a long cold spring, I guess, and we can at least feel rich in one kind of green stuff!

As for the ice cream, it's another one of those do-it-yourself tasks that have become routine around here, another item we can't imagine buying any more (joining yogurt, jam, salsa, among others). One mainstay recipe, especially in winter when there are less seasonal ingredients to choose from, is caramel. I love that this recipe uses one bowl and one pan, and a mere 5 ingredients that are almost always on hand, and three of which are easy to find locally!

Caramel Ice Cream, adapted from Ice Cream! by Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a heavy sauce pan, carmelize the sugar by adding just enough water to dissolve, and bringing to a boil over high heat. This isn't really very tricky, the only tips I have are to have a clean pan, don't stir once the sugar is dissolved and boiling, and wash down the sides of the pan with a little water at the start if you have any bits of sugar on the edges. Let boil away until it starts to turn a color, then watch closely and let it get as dark as you dare before burning. At this point you can turn the heat down a little and give the pan a swirl to slow things down a bit. The darker you can get it the more flavor it will have.

There is a magic to turning sugar into gold...

At this point add the cream slowly, it will cool the sugar syrup rapidly and boil over if you're not careful. If the cream is cold, it may solidify the sugar, but don't worry, just let it sit on a medium heat until the caramel dissolves, stirring once in a while. Then, add the milk, and bring to almost a simmer.

In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks until light and creamy (I just do this by hand, but you can use a mixer). Temper in about half of the milk gradually while whisking (so as not to curdle them), and add the mixture back into the sauce pan. With a whisk or heat-proof spatula, stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens. It doesn't take very long, maybe 5 minutes. Pour the mixture out through a strainer (just in case you cooked the eggs a bit this will catch any bits), stir in the vanilla, and chill the custard until cold.

Churn in your ice cream maker of choice for about 25-30 minutes. We often add toasted pecans to this, or in today's case, some dark chocolate, during the last five minutes. Freeze until firm, and try to make it last more than 2 or 3 days, I dare you.

from-scratch convenience foods

2011-04-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

I don't usually buy a lot of convenience foods, except when we're going camping--and I tend to hit the natural foods aisle for better quality treats in this case. So last year I picked up some multi-grain pancake mix (Bob's red mill, I think) for a trip. And darn if that wasn't handy to have around even after getting home. One thing I especially liked, is if I'm going to impulsively make pancakes or waffles on a whim or under extreme sleepiness/hunger, I probably won't reach for the futzy whole-grain recipe: these were healthier, and are really a better morning fuel than their white-flour brethren.

So after that was gone, and I had a house full of really good wheat flour, I decided to just make my own. I found a recipe in Whole Grain Baking (a King Arthur Flour book):

Homemade whole grain pancake mix

3 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
4 cups wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
3 T sugar
3 T baking powder
1 T salt
1 T baking soda
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Grind the oats in a food processor until fine but not a powder. Combine with the remaining dry ingredients, and mix while drizzling in the oil. (I just used the food processor for a half-batch trial). The mix should just hold together when squeezed in your hand--adjust the oil as needed to get to this point. Store in an airtight container in the freezer indefinitely.

To make:
(Tip: write this formula on some freezer tape and put it right on your container in the freezer)

Combine 1 and 1/2 cups of mix, 1/2 cup each yogurt and milk (or use buttermilk), 1 T orange juice, and one egg. Let stand 15 minutes, the mix will thicken up a lot as the oats and wheat flours absorb moisture. (Also note, the original recipe also only calls for 1 cup of mix per batch, but I found that really thin. 1 1/2 cups seemed perfect, but you might need to adjust for your flour and personal taste. )

I made a half-batch the first time to test, and while I was happy with it, I might try tweaking a little next time around. I'm pretty sure I added a little extra sugar. You could also add honey during the final mix as well. Fun additions might be ground flax seed, or cornmeal, and I might try melted butter instead of the oil, at least in part. Of course you can add fruit or nuts (or chocolate chips) as you please.

hoopdate - early April

2011-04-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

I am so happy with the running start I have this spring. While my low tunnels weren't great for actual winter harvests (hard to access once we had much snow), they have been awesome and easy now that the season has changed. They are also very good at keeping me patient when the rest of the garden is too cold/wet to work on, and I can't quite get started on my other big projects this spring.

winter lettuce, bordeaux spinach, and check out that giant winter spinach (it's in front of the green onions in the way back)

Last year I put the hoops up in late February. That did get the soil warmed up and I planted pretty early. This time, plants started themselves, and I'm harvesting by the time I planted last season! Though I am filling in spaces with new seeding, the bulk of the work was done back in October/November. And some of it I didn't do at all--I have a great cilantro patch and some celery that self-sowed.

spinach for dinner tonight.

Today I'm planning to pull off the plastic, as our temps are back to normal for now, and all these plants are cold tolerant. I'll leave the row cover on for a while yet. The other nice thing about low tunnels is that they are so portable, and I can move them to a new bed as needed.

random thoughts in a holding pattern

2011-04-01T06:07:00.000-07:00

Like most people in the upper half of the states, we're still stuck in a bout of below-normal temps and not-very-springlike weather. We have snow in the forecast today, thankfully not very much! Things are looking up, the sun has been shining most of the week and we might approach the FIFTIES soon.

even this finch seems demoralized by the weather....

Also painfully close, our acquisition of a side strip of land, extending our yard and garden space. We thought we'd be finished with this by January, but the end is finally in sight. It's possibly a good thing that the weather has also not cooperated with this project, as I'm very impatient to start tearing up grass and sinking fence posts, not to mention a certain hoop-shaped object. Thank goodness for the low-tunnels pumping out greens right now.

Politics? Sigh. Holding pattern.

So in these limbo times, I'm ~~drinking~~ baking a lot! After being in a rut/rhythm of making the same sourdough most of the winter, I've branched out a bit. This week's obsession was bagels. And we've been eating them at almost every meal since they came out of the oven:

recipe from BBA, with more wheat flour than called for, as always.

And finally, a humorous chicken tale: I noticed over the winter that my hens' ancient waterer was not working that great. I'd find the reservoir empty, even with water in the main tank. I could fiddle with it to keep it going, but didn't want them to be running out of water, especially once the weather warms up. So last week I replaced it. Afternoons, I'd let the girls out for their walkabout, and they ran frantically to the old waterer that I left in the middle of the yard. Or to the pond/bird bath, and start drinking as if their lives depended on it. Egg production dropped. WTH? Apparently, they are terrified of the new object in the coop. Despite the fact it's nearly identical, and in the same spot. And actually has water in it. Tiny, tiny brains they have, don't they?

five hens and a pumpkin dust bath. good times.

ciabatta

2011-03-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

Intial mix, it can really be this wet.

Ciabatta is one of those breads that is really satisfying for me to make at home. It's kind of magical--turning what starts out looking like kindergarten paper mâché paste into a lovely artisan loaf of bread. It's also one of those breads you can never really get anywhere else, at least in my experience. I'm not sure if my version is truly authentic, but it's WAY better than the facsimiles served at chain restaurants, and even some of nicer places I've seen it offered.

After a first "turn" in the bowl, it's starting to have some structure

I mainly use the formula from Artisan Bread Bakers Across America, a pretty coffee-table type book that is a great read, but also has some very reliable recipes. I make two changes: I use sourdough starter for my initial biga stage, and I use a lot more wheat flour than called for. I also tend to make my biga a bit wetter than their version, and depending on my sourdough activity level I sometimes don't let it ferment for a full day.

The key to ciabatta is starting with a ridiculously wet dough--more of a batter--and then doing several turns until it starts to gain structure. While this is somewhat of an advanced technique, it's not really that different from the no-knead recipes out there, it just takes a minimal effort during the long rising process.

I generally do my first few turns right in the bowl, dusting it with flour and using a bowl scraper to flip the mixture up and over itself a few times. I do this "turn" three times every 30 minutes. The fourth/last turn involves dumping the dough out onto a heavily floured counter. It's still very close to being a liquid at this point:

Now, I use a metal bench knife and slide it under the (floured) edges, and fold the dough over itself a couple of times:

after the fold on the bench

It has a last rise, untouched, for another 45 minutes to an hour. Then the dough is divided and GENTLY folded into rustic loaves for a final proof. This is a simple three-fold like a letter, and I put the seam-side down on a cloth. Dust this cloth with a LOT of flour, it can be sticky at this stage still, and will also give you the classic ciabatta look after baking.

These rise for about 45 minutes or so, in the meantime preheat your oven (with a baking stone) to 450 degrees. When ready to bake, carefully lift or tip them out of their cloche and give them a stretch as you put them on the peel. You can also add some finger pokes to make the overall thickness of the loaf somewhat even. This is an excellent occasion to use parchment paper--it makes sliding the sticky loaves into the oven painless. (Otherwise, you'll have to use a lot of flour to prevent sticking). For whatever reason, I have found that if you are gentle with the initial shaping, but rougher with this final handling, you end up with the lovely rustic open holes you are looking for.

Let these bake until well browned, let them go a little longer than you think as the inside can be pretty wet if you don't. For these smaller loaves, 25-30 minutes is about right.

I like the smaller loaves as they are great sliced horizontally for a sandwich. They also freeze quite well, and will thaw in a few minutes while you're making dinner, making a perfect accompaniment for a salad or soup.

march madness

2011-03-25T06:54:00.000-07:00

20 degree below normal temps: A hard stretch of weather for a gardener who had a taste of spring last weekend.

This can lead to some random desperate acts...

...such as impulsively making chocolate ice cream at 8 o'clock in the morning while waiting for milk to cool for a batch of yogurt.

I love this about DIY processes which involve periods of watchful but inactive time: while letting dough rest for 20 minutes, I find I can blaze through a load of dishes, or whip up a batch of granola. In this case, it was simple thought of "well, the pan had milk in it already....look at those eggs on the counter...do we have chocolate?" By the time the yogurt was ready to inoculate, I had custard ready to chill. (And a few more dishes added to the sink.)

bridging the seasons

2011-03-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

World events can make you feel helpless. The internets can be...unhelpful. Thankfully, there is finally opportunity to get outside and take a break from things out of my control. Temps are nearing 50 degrees, cranes and robins are back in large numbers, and I found the first crocus today!

Also excited this past week to be able to both plant and harvest again. I found a few overwintered carrots in the low tunnel last week--I had left a few to see how they would do. And the greens that survived are finally starting to take off.

bordeaux spinach

winter lettuce mix - soon to be spring mix

So last night's dinner featured a combo of ingredients from this season and the past: backyard eggs, freshly picked spinach and scallions, mixed with a ton of last summer's veggies: frozen broccoli and peppers, plus garlic scape pesto and dried tomatoes. Combined with some WI cheddar and butter, local milk and flour, and some farmers market bacon, we had a quiche worthy of a photograph:

Today I planted out my sets of kale and lettuce, plus a few bunching onions. Eggplants and peppers are sprouting indoors under lights. Tomatoes get seeded later this week. Thank goodness for seasons, there is always something to look forward to.

Day 27

2011-03-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

Day 27. The fourth Saturday of protests at the Madison Capitol.

The day the tractors came:

A group of farmers, organized by Family Farm Defenders, came to the square for a "Tractorade" in support of Wisconsin Working families. Their motto was "Pull Together: Support Working Families." And what a cool idea this was.

Their rationale was this: "Rural communities will be disproportionately hurt by the cuts to education and BadgerCare, as well as Gov. Walker’s decision to eliminate funding for other sustainable agriculture initiatives such as the Buy Local Buy Wisconsin program."

Additionally, (one of my personal peeves with this administration) the governor has appointed as the head of the DNR a woman openly disdainful of the department she is now in charge of. There has been much talk of "streamlining" the permitting process for businesses, which includes issues such as water quality for large factory farms. So there were also a lot of signs in support of family farms and in opposition to large agri-business.

This guy stalled at one point, and plenty of willing hands turned up to push him along until he could get restarted.

So they came downtown to join us in rallying, and they were a HUGE hit. The tractors were awesome; some pristine, some rusty and tired, and some covered in mud and manure. Though most of the tractors were fairly local, farmers came from all over the state to speak, and a dairy farmer with a lovely (baritone?) voice sang the national anthem. All of these events have been family oriented, and you can imagine how 50+ tractors go over with kids. And this mini-farmer loved it too.

girl farmer power! :)

The dude of farmers

By mid-afternoon, more than 100 thousand people were gathered for the main rally. Reverend Jesse Jackson led a prayer for the people of Japan, and the gigantic crowd, stretching for blocks, hushed into respectful silence for a moment. I continue to be proud to live in Wisconsin.

2011-03-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

This song is a constant comfort every year at this time:

Whoops--forecast was for rain, but we woke up to this...lovely though isn't it?

You can never hold back spring
you can be sure
I will never stop believing
the blushing rose that will climb
spring ahead or fall behind
winter dreams the same dream every time
baby you can never hold back spring

even though you've lost your way
the world is dreaming
dreaming of spring
so close your eyes
open your heart
to the one who's dreaming of you

- Tom Waits, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards

first attempt - crackers

2011-03-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

While I do make flatbreads and lavash crackers, I haven't done much in the classic cracker realm. But, since I'm aiming for more food independence, I thought I"d give it a try. Also saw a post on Chiot's Run the other day on using a pasta maker for crackers, which I thought was brilliant! I love to find new uses for tools I have already.

I perused a few recipes, and settled on an one from the King Arthur whole grains book. I had all the flours on hand, and it made a pretty big batch.

Multi-seed cracker bread, adapted from Whole Grain Baking:

1 cup each, all purpose and whole wheat flours
1/2 cup each, rye and cornmeal
2 t salt
2 T (or a couple of generous glugs) olive oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup grated parmesan. Note: not in the original recipe, I had this leftover from pizza night, but it wasn't in the original recipe.

1/2 cup assorted seeds (poppy, sesame, etc)
2T assorted dry herbs. I used garlic powder, just to keep things simple
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1 T coarse salt

I blitzed the first set of ingredients in my food processor, then tipped it into a bowl and used my hands to pull it together. I separated the dough into orange-sized pieces, and let them rest a bit while I gathered the seeds etc., turned on the oven to 400 or so, and lined some pans with parchment paper.

I treated the dough much like I do pasta: I "kneaded" using the largest opening on the pasta maker, folding it in half and re-feeding it about 5 or 6 times. The first pass or two was pretty messy, but it quickly turned into a nice soft dough--and I didn't need to add much flour to keep it from sticking. Then I continued rolling it, turning down the thickness of the machine. Because I used a fairly coarse grind of cornmeal, I did hit a point where the grains started tearing the dough. (That just told me it was a good time to stop!) At this point, I sprinkled the seed and herb mixture on top, and gave all the pieces a last roll with a rolling pin to press it all together. I cut everything into rough squares with a pizza cutter, and baked them for 7-10 minutes.

The pasta roller made them very uniform, which helped a lot with baking evenly. But, this is definitely a recipe where it pays to watch carefully: they can go from toasted to overly browned pretty rapidly.

I ended up with about a pound of crackers in not-too much time. I think it will go faster next time, and there's a million varieties to try: next time may involve butter, sourdough and more cheese! These were tasty though, and very healthy--though I'm embarrassed to say how empty the jar is already...

things to look forward to

2011-03-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

My husband and I have a friendly disagreement on whether February or March is the hardest. I joke that February is the loooongest month, despite it's shorter calendar page. To him, March is the time when the end of winter is so near, it drives you crazy taunting that spring isn't here yet.

But for me, March is the month I get to start DOING things. I have seeds started, some out on my patio hardening off already(!) and more to be planted today. And when I look back at my garden journal and my photos from last year, I see so much coming in March to look forward to:

crocus blooming--last year March 12!
hanging out laundry
biking to work
open water on the lake (last year, March 26)
sandhill cranes returning (any day now, I just haven't heard any yet, mostly because I've been indoors recuperating this week) and ongoing spring bird madness
getting those gardener hands of mine dirty in some real soil.

And in the meantime, we have some indoor blooms to hold us over for a few more weeks.

sticking to local on a consumer "diet"

2011-03-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

I had a thought the other day. Remember Micheal Pollan's rule to avoid processed foods with more than 5 ingredients? What if we tried to apply that to non-food purchases--substituting "brands" or subsidiaries" for ingredients? This thought came about for two reasons.

1) A chart like this, I read a few months ago, probably linked from Bittman's site:

source: https://www.msu.edu/~howardp/organicindustry.html

I don't buy a ton of snack or convenience foods, but when I do I try to read labels and go for the smaller companies using the fewest/best ingredients. Too bad: most of those small companies have long ago been bought up by larger conglomerates. Oops.

2) Due to current events, there has been a lot of info out there on companies to support or boycott based on their political contributions. I have mixed feeling on this--if an individual who owns a local business gives a few hundred dollars to a campaign fund, how much does that really affect things? Are restaurants coordinating the donation of hundreds of pizzas and gallons of coffee to the cause really champions, or just taking advantage of good feelings and good press? BUT, when a gigantic company donates millions of dollars to multiple PACs to affect election results, I might just take a peak at their corporate website and see what's up.

Since 2003, Koch companies have completed more than $32 billion in acquisitions and investments. They own Georgia-Pacific, in itself a huge operation that proudly lists all the brands they manufacture. I can sure try, but to avoid supporting a company this vast is nearly impossible. They are in the packaging (paper), the delivery (oil), and the building projects (plywood and plaster).

What's a consumer to do? Well, I can buy local. I can go right to the source and purchase goods and services from the folks producing them. I can rely on the diligence of a small local shop that does the research for me and offers products that I can trust. I can put my shovel where my mouth is, and grow as much of my own food as possible, and aim for getting the rest in ways that minimizes packaging, middle-men, and mainstream. I can re-use, recycle, and buy used.

I'm not the hugest consumer anyway, but I know I have some habits I can improve upon. Can I make a difference? Maybe not in the huge scheme of things, but possibly in the lives of some real people. And I'm tired of participating in a system that rewards the wrong people for the wrong behavior.

people

2011-02-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

This is not a very political space, and I'm not that much of a political person. Most of my adult life I was a disillusioned non-voter, I just started participating in the process a few elections ago (I think it was the Bush/Gore election that convinced to me how important it was to vote). I'm also somewhat of a misanthrope--I don't like big crowds. The gigantic Dane County Farmer's market on the square, while awesome, is not my idea of a good time or a pleasant weekly grocery trip (I tend to hit the smaller, neighborhood markets).

So you have to understand that it is Not Like Me to go downtown with thousands of people, and protest unfair legislation. Scott Walker has managed to push all of my personal buttons (and those of a lot of other people) in a very short 6 weeks in office.

And the thing I didn't expect is this: I found out some amazing things about people. In the midst of large crowds and high emotions, I have never seen so many be SO NICE to one another. Doors are being held open, police officers are being thanked for their service, long lines are jovial and patient. There are signs reminding people to be peaceful, to clean up, and to share. From across the state and across the country, folks are donating pizza and coffee and bottled water.

On the edges, outside the louder rallies or parades, people are wanting to talk. On Sunday, in the capitol building, we met a woman who had spent the night with her grade-schooler, another who lived a few blocks from us. We talked with a parent who brought her teenage daughter with Down Syndrome and who was worried about the bill's proposed changes to Medicaid. We all made space on the balcony so they could get a view crowds below us. Yesterday there were retirees and nurses and prison guards, some from the private sector and some lifelong union members. We talked about the challenges in their jobs, heard about their families, commiserated in our frustrations with the political system.

Despite the inordinate amounts of communication in this world, we are often isolated. We seek out familiar voices and opinions, we stay in our neighborhoods and workplaces, even internet communities. Whatever the reasons for protest (and believe me, in a crowd of 60,000 people the range of opinions is vast), this event has created a huge sense of community. And a sense of responsibility--to each other, to the folks who disagree, to the rest of the country which is facing similar circumstances.

Last week I despaired about what would happen to our state if all of the plans of our governor come to pass. Now? I have such a renewed respect for the people of Wisconsin. No matter what happens, the character of our community is evident. And this cynic has a greater opinion of people in general.

Goodbye Winter

2011-02-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

Strange creatures dared leave the comfort of their covered coop/run (finally)

It's amazing how the balance can turn in just a day. Yes we've noticed the days getting longer, and the sun feeling stronger, but there comes a moment when winter invariably loses its grip. Not over, of course, but on the way out. This year we saw it coming in the forecast, and squeezed in a few more winter activities this weekend before the Big Melt. And I found I was a little sentimental, soaking up some last views of a frosty world. Maybe not as much as when taking a deep breath on the last late summer day--but still.

In other news, seeds are being started, and my first sprouts are up (kale, arugula, tatsoi, lettuce). In the low hoops spinach is already rebounding, I'll know more by this weekend what has survived once the snow abates a bit.

Speaking of sowing seeds, we're having a bit of a lesson in democracy around here:

I won't go into all the details, but I can say the issues are a bit more complicated than they are being presented on national news. Will it bear fruit? Hard to say. But, I've never quite seen anything like it: thousands of people, very polite, from all walks of life, trying to have their voices heard.

(more) tips for beginner gardeners

2011-02-09T07:04:00.000-08:00

El's post on the matter, here, inspired me to make a list of my own. I totally agree with the "start small" mantra. You want your first season or two to be successful, and be inspired to keep going. Even now, I have to curb my impulses in spring so that I don't make myself crazy in late summer. Keep it fun. And remember that every garden had humble beginnings.

Our yard when we moved in: A blank slate! The only "useful" plant we had was that patch of rhubarb in the corner

First year's garden, I can hardly remember what was in there: tomatoes, and lots of herbs I think. Lots of weeds! We grew birdhouse gourds on the clothesline pole and they took over...

Go cheap or free as much as you can. Do take advantage of your energy levels in spring, and use it to save some cash: Look for municipal compost sites, or free manure on craigslist. Leaves and grass clippings are easy to come by. Don’t invest in expensive infrastructure at the start of a new garden: you may be rethinking or expanding your layout, so committing to fixed fencing or permanent raised beds may not be the best bet for the first season or two. Share seeds with family or friends. Tools can be found at garage sales. Start-up can cost a bit, so go small and improvise when you have to.
Ideas and Advice are often free: Be observant at the farmer’s market: Talk to your vendors, or if you’re shy, take a careful look at what they are selling. They are growing things that do well in your particular climate. If you see something you've never eaten--buy some and give it a try. Also—having a bad year with a certain veggie? Maybe it’s not just you. Until you have earned a few seasons of experience, use someone else’s! Same goes with neighbors and community gardeners—most people like to talk and share about their gardens. University extension offices have great information suited for your climate, check their websites for free publications. I read a lot of bulletins meant for market gardeners.
Find your own way: Related to the above, beware of gardening advice that says you HAVE to do things a specific way. Every area and gardener is different, and it will take you a while to find the style that fits you best. Like a healthy diet, there is rarely one size that fits all. So watch and learn, and use the resources you find in your area. I find this is like bread baking—there are lots of techniques and one will click for you. And be flexible yourself, be willing to try new things, my gardening style has changed SO much over the last 10+ years.
Don’t torture your plants, especially when starting plants indoors. Better to get started a little later and have small sets than have tall, leggy, root-bound plants that will take longer to recover after transplanting into the garden. Smaller plants often do better and catch up faster than big ones. And if you buy sets, smaller plants cost lest too! Same thing applies here: take good care of them, don’t let them languish for weeks before planting.
Harden off! It’s a little early to talk about this, but I see a lot of new gardeners that plant out tomatoes in the middle of a 70-degree day, and they shrivel up or break in the first blast of wind. Plants have to acclimate from their sheltered early lives: get them used to changes in temperature and sunlight, and let them feel some gentle wind to make strong stems. Here’s where a little torture is okay to get them used to the harsh world. Plant on a cloudy day if you can, or after the heat of the day has mostly passed, to make their first day out less stressful.
Hold back some reserves: We almost always get some nasty hailstorms in late spring. By holding back some sets of plants, I have a backup in case of a catastrophic loss. Leave those extra plants in a sheltered spot, and in some shade to keep them from getting too big or pot bound.
Do take some risks. It’s okay to plant one or two plants early, just to experiment, especially when you have some spares in reserve (see above). Make an improvised cloche or cold frame, and see how things do.
Finally, keep notes. Watch what happens. Take pictures. Make a garden journal or get a planner/calendar (whatever works for you) and write down what you do and what you see. Spring weather, consecutive plantings, draw MAPS of where you plant things. Update on how things did. In future years, you can look back and see what worked for you, and you'll have a record of the history of your very own micro-climate. And you'll see how much you've grown as a gardener!

A few years in: crummy fencing, and the start of raised beds. I was told it looked like a graveyard!

Most recent addition, a couple of springs ago. It looks better filled with veggies1

Blizzards and late winter cooking

2011-02-07T09:17:00.000-08:00

How will I know when things start growing under there? My hoops are rather difficult to get to this week. The cold frame was completely under a drift, but now is "insulated" by 2 feet of snow in all directions. Hard to believe last year we had crocus blooming by March 12. I'm still loving winter though--we are out every day snowshoeing and skiing (if not shoveling) and you can definitely feel the sun getting stronger. The birds can tell too--I heard the cardinal singing a courtship song and the sparrows are chatty and making plans.

And the eating is good too. I'm out of a few local staples like onions and potatoes, due to the blizzard I stuck to organic grocery store options this week to avoid driving more than I had too. But definitely reaching into the homegrown stocks for some good meals without leaving the house! We had a few meaty dishes (Turkey enchiladas with mole sauce, and a hearty beef stew) which put me in the mood for some veggie fare:

Veggie Tagine: an amalgamation of a Bittman recipe and some veggie ones I had looked at online. This had chickpeas, the last of the local onions and some local carrots, plus homegrown eggplant, green beans, garlic, tomatoes, chiles, and butternut squash.Flavored with all those "C" spices: cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne. Homemade turkey broth added for sauciness, raisins for sweetness, and toasted almonds thrown in at the end gave some crunch. Seriously good stuff.

Burger night:

My mother-in-law has a tradition of mailing us avocados every winter from her friend's yard in Florida. They're the gigantic (and slightly watery) variety, and it's amusing to pull them out of the box on a cold day. We've been eating a LOT of guacamole the last week! Thought we'd use some up on burger night. Followed Trout Caviar's methods mostly, though our beef was pre-ground--and, since we had some southwest flavors going on, added some finely chopped jalapeno and onion before forming the patties. We "grilled" on a cast iron grill pan, (the best of both worlds perhaps? ) and served on a homemade bun with oven fries, pickles, and green bean casserole. I've had a hankering for this, using our homegrown frozen beans, a white sauce made with local milk, flour, garlic, and mushrooms. For the top, I shallow-fried thinly sliced onions tossed with some flour and panko. Very effective and so tasty they almost didn't last until dinner. Just realized I forgot the freezer slaw! Oh well, we were stuffed as it is, though it would have have added some color!

On being a Mark Bittman Fan

2011-02-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

I've liked Mr. Bittman for a while now. I'm sure I was late to the game, but his columns in the NYT, especially the articles on things like "101 meals to make in under 10 minutes" are solidly good. He has a nice take on making meals do-able, and doesn't get too hung up on how authentic they are as long as they taste good. I also have his "How to Cook Everything" App for our ipod, and find it invaluable. (It's also one of the best digital cooking gadgets I've ever used, very well designed, though I suspect that's the result of the programmer/publisher not the author). I mostly just like how pragmatic he is--encouraging people to improvise with ingredients or equipment, and generally making food seem easier, rather than harder.

So it's no real surprise his transition in the last several years toward the political end of the food world is also very like-able. His book Food Matters takes on a lot of the same food-industry issues as Micheal Pollan and others, but also follows up with some real-life solutions that anyone can do: examples of healthy cooking and adjustments to diet that are reasonable, affordable, and have the potential to guide folks into lifelong changes instead of fad diets. I'm looking forward to reading his new column:

Mark Bittman's new column

One of things I really like about his approach is that, while he promotes local and organic foods, he's realistic enough to know you have to go about things in multiple directions at once. Yes, you have to work on policy, and try to make better food accessible to more people. But on the consumer side, you have to get people to start eating carrots before you can get them to eat organic and local carrots. I love his idea of "Civilian Cooking Corps" as it doesn't really matter if people know which foods are healthier if they don't have the skills to prepare it. His manifesto has some Big Ideas, but also small ones.

He's a big city guy, and not really that into the grow-your-own stuff, and I'm okay with that. If we're going to solve some of these big, complex, problems, it's going to have to have big, complex, solutions that work for both rural and urban and suburban folks. Not everyone can have a garden, unfortunately (but maybe we need some Civilian Gardening corps too)!

Dark Days week 8

2011-01-31T18:36:00.000-08:00

Grilled Cheese and tomato soup. An example of very regular (non-elitist) food, that just happens to be local. In fact, so boring I forgot to take a picture, but here's some snow (another foot of this coming down this week!)

On the lake: herding dogs make perfect sine-wave tracks

Roasted tomato soup, frozen in the fall: homemade chicken stock, roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions, peppers (homegrown). A little organic half and half (WI) added upon reheating.

Sandwich: Homemade WW sourdough (cress springs flour), Local smoked Gouda, Wisconsin butter.

Homegrown canned pears on the side

spring thoughts

2011-01-27T10:36:00.000-08:00

Before the snow came back, the girlies loved the last week of sunshine.

Today its pretty cloudy and grey and snowy again out there, but we're starting to get some of those bright, sunny, and pretty darn cold days--classic for a Wisconsin January and February. But you can already feel a change in the sunlight, and plans are forming in my head, if not yet on paper, for next year's garden and the bigger hoop house.

Sad spinach harvest, but D reminded me it was only 18 degrees outside (daytime high).

I've got a bunch of books out from the library--the polytunnel handbooks, and some more hoop house and salad green reference books. Besides reading, winter is good for observation, I've spied a few things to guide me with next year's project:

The future hoop house site gets quite a bit more sun than my original choice (where my low tunnels are now). It gets better morning sun, and an hour or so longer in the afternoons. An accidental advantage. It may get a little more shade in the summer and fall, but that's actually okay. So delaying my plan might have worked out for the best. Funny how that happens more often than not.

Our local farmers market pretty much ONLY has spinach right now (besides storage veggies). It's fairly possible that this may be my only mainstay for January/February. And I realize I'm okay with that. I can still experiment with more unusual greens (that might not be as productive or saleable for the market audience). But I thought about a worse case scenario--half the hoop in spinach, the rest in overwintered plants waiting for February and March to revive--and that's fine with me. Plus I'll still get a few extra weeks in fall and spring added to my season. For the size we're building (10 x 12) it's good to have realistic expectations.

And , my first seed order has arrived! I have a few things to pick up locally, but my main order was from Johnny's this year. Mostly I'm just replacing seeds I'm low on (beets, cabbage), but it's always fun to add some new stuff to the mix:

Caraflex Cabbage: It's pointy!
Fairly Tale Eggplant: I was out of my striped variety (Tiger) and these were lovely looking, and are supposed to be prolific. CAN'T grow enough eggplant.
Radicchio: Because it's traditional to grow one new thing that you've never eaten (don't laugh).

Plus, more kale (since I now have eaten it and love it, see how that works?), fava beans, and a larger Jalapeno variety to aid in our obsession with grilling cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped poppers. Ahhh, I can't wait.

Pitas and Hummus

2011-01-21T06:52:00.000-08:00

Pitas are one of the only breads I still occasionally purchase at the store. But oh they are so much better freshly baked. A little more time-consuming than a single loaf, but not that much difficult overall. If you've never made them before, give it a try! They also freeze well.

Since I had my Flatbreads book out earlier this week, I pulled it out again for these Most pita recipes are pretty straightforward, a few have a pre-ferment stage that I think helps with flavor and texture, but I've also skipped it when pressed for time. In this case I put about half the flour and yeast, and most of the water into a sponge that sat in my fridge during the day. In late afternoon I added the rest of the yeast and flour, and a little more water. Knead, and let rise for an hour or so, until doubled.

My method after the initial rise is to divide the dough into ~ 4.25 ounce pieces, form balls, and let them rest for 15 minutes or so. Then I roll out gently into 8 or 9 inch circles. One key to good pocket formation is not to over-work the dough at this stage, and leave them a generous 1/4 inch thick.

I give the pitas a final proof of 15-25 minutes while the oven is heating up. Bake at 450 degrees for 5-6 minutes. They won't start to puff for about 4 minutes (don't worry!) and then I let them go another minute or two after that. Pitas can also be baked on a cast-iron skillet (flip once to get them to puff). I find it faster in the oven because I can do so many at once, but in hot weather if you don't want to warm up your kitchen, it's a good option.

I have a big stone and can fit six at once. They would also do fine on a baking sheet.

I discovered a homegrown add-in to hummus last fall, and I froze quite a few packs of roasted veggies just for this purpose. Basically I add 2 cups of misc. roasted veggies (tomatoes, eggplant, onions, garlic, peppers) to my standard hummus recipe. It's sweeter and has more depth than the plain version, and though it doesn't photograph well it's a lovely salmon color.

Dark Days week 7

2011-01-21T06:51:00.000-08:00

In early winter I picked up a stewing hen from (I think) Keene Organics at our neighborhood farmer's market. It was tiny but a bargain. It lounged in the chest freezer and made it on the list of "things to use soon" on my post-holidays perusal of the contents. I consulted my 1960's cookbook and the Joy of Cooking for tips, and ended up giving it a long, gentle stew with some carrots, onions, garlic and celery for several hours. I deboned the meat and strained the stock, and put it all back in the pot with a fresh batch of chopped veggies and simmered until they were tender. When ready I cooked some fresh egg noodles in the mix, and added some frozen homegrown broccoli at the very end, as it seemed like it needed a little color.

Served with homemade wheat sandwich bread and apple sauce.

I should add that this the first time I cooked a first stewing hen, and I was impressed by the flavor, even though there wasn't a ton of meat. And for being so small, she went a long way--I also made a separate stock from the bonier pieces (wings and back, plus neck and liver etc) and that went into two more dishes: chilaquiles, and potato squash soup.

foodie thoughts, and chilaquiles

2011-01-18T18:57:00.000-08:00

Last year I did the dark days challenge for the first time, and it was a good boost for me. I was in winter 2 of more serious food preservation, and it pushed me into better habits of using up that food, and seeking additional ingredients more diligently from local sources. This year, I'm a little less enthused. Not that I'm cooking less locally, it's just that homegrown and/or local food has crept into most of our meals, and it doesn't feel like much of a stretch to cook this way.

I realized over the last few weeks that I'm at somewhat of a stasis. Which is really okay with me. We're still expanding the garden, building a hoop this spring, growing more food, so it's not like we're slacking off. I'm super pleased with finding a great source of flour this year too. It's just that I'm pretty content with the quality of food we are producing and purchasing here. Most of it's local or regional and/or organic, some of it's not. And I'm having more fun taking a look at the pantry, getting an idea, and creating something tasty for dinner.

Case in point: chilaquiles

I stewed a chicken the other day, and have stock left to use up this week. We were thinking something soup-y, and maybe to work on our stash of corn we had frozen from last summer. I started leaning towards a tortilla or black bean soup, when I was browsing Flatbreads & Flavors, a pretty awesome bread book which includes recipes for accompanying dishes as well. Opposite of the tortilla soup page was chilaquiles. Even better. We hit the neighborhood Mexican grocery for some corn tortillas and dried chiles, and what the heck, an avocado too. The rest was on hand and mostly local or homegrown. I didn't use my precious stash of homegrown black beans, because a) new recipe risk, and b) sometimes a can of beans is just convenient.

Chilaquiles, adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors

6 or so dried chiles, I used a combo of pasillas and guajillo, stems and seeds removed
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
9 corn tortillas, cut into wedges
1-2 cups frozen sweet corn kernels, thawed slightly under running water
1 medium or 2 small onions, chopped fine
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
16 ounce jar crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried oregano
1 can (~ 2 cups) black beans

shredded cheese, avocado, and yogurt for garnish

Bring the stock to a boil, and add chiles, let simmer gently for a half hour or so, then puree in a food processor or with an immersion blender. In the meantime, fry up the tortillas in a skillet with a 1/4 cup of oil, in batches as needed. They should be puffed and golden but not necessarily crispy. (You could probably get away with just toasting these if you prefer). After the tortillas were done, I also caramelized the corn in the pan, then set it aside. Next the garlic and onions go in (add a little more oil if you need it at this point), and once browned add the blended chiles, tomatoes, and oregano. Let this simmer for 10 minutes. Finally, add the beans and corn, bring back to a simmer, and add the tortillas for a final 5 minutes or so. Serve topped with cheese, avocados, and yogurt.

Apron!

2011-01-17T05:09:00.000-08:00

Quite pleased with how this turned out. I took measurements off a utilitarian apron I had, and lined half with some heavier muslin (which makes it reversible, and I was also able to get the rest out of one yard of fabric). I almost like the back more then the front--and it hides flour a little better.

One thing I've learned from brief forays into professional food life: make the strings long enough to wrap around and tie in front. That way you can tuck a towel in there.

something bright on a grey day

2011-01-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

Look what arrived here this week:

I fell for the eggplant, but now that they've arrived I'm quite fond the onions. I'm thinking an apron is in my future! And maybe some hot pads. It's quilting cotton, though quite heavy, and the prints are LARGE, which is fun.

It's Hoodie's collection for Blank Quilting fabrics. They're kind of hard to find in stores, but I found an etsy shop in Milwaukee who carried it!

Dark Days week 6

2011-01-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

The obligatory Breakfast-for-dinner post.

Eggs are coming fast and furious, and make for a quick dinner. I was also using up some market potatoes that weren't going to store much longer, and some leftover toppings from pizza night. Ah January, the month of frugal meals.

Omelets: backyard eggs, a little sassy cow milk, stuffed with hooks cheddar cheese, homegrown pepper slices (frozen), market onions and some leftover mushroom slices from 'za night. Topped with homegrown/home canned salsa.

Toast: WW sourdough bread, WI butter, homemade strawberry balsamic jam (u-pick berries).

Pecatonica Valley Bacon

Cottage fried potatoes: market red potatoes, cubed and fried with red onions and homegrown garlic in a mix of butter and bacon grease. Ran out of garlic and too lazy to go back in the basement for more, so added a chunk of garlic scape pesto from the upstairs freezer. Mmm.

Pretzel Dogzzz

2011-01-10T14:36:00.000-08:00

We made these last year, I think for Superbowl weekend (not that we care much for football, but we like the excuse for silly food in February). This year I spotted cocktail wieners at the neighborhood butcher shop, and felt the urge to make them again. However, my clever husband suggested we use up the ring bologna that had come with our bulk beef pack. Now there's an idea! Disclosure: neither of us grew up in WI, so we were not raised with ring balogna. So their presence in our beef order was somewhat of a puzzle. We've given some away, threw some in mac and cheese (not bad), and of course just snacked on a fair amount.

And as a pretzel dog? Great!

There are a bunch of recipes online, you can probably use almost any dough. I went back to the Leader book for Bavarian Pretzels. It's a basic, semi-stiff dough with a little bit of butter cut in at the start. It makes a soft, glossy, and firm dough. I used about 25% local soft wheat flour, which gave them a nice color and added some flavor.

For these, I divided dough into just over 2 ounce portions, and cut up the bologna to approximate cocktail weiner size. Let the dough rest a few minutes to relax, then roll into a long strand, and twist around your "dog".

Final process is to boil for 30 seconds or so in water (with baking soda added), sprinkle with coarse salt, and then bake for about a half hour at 350 degrees.

The other advantage of this particular recipe is that you pre-form the pretzels and retard them in the fridge overnight. That breaks up the labor, and you can have the oven hot and water boiling, pull the pan out of the fridge, and have hot pretzels in a half-hour or so. Great for a party!

Now we might have to try bologna corn dogs....

Dark Days Week 5 - beans and greens

2011-01-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

It's not a traditional new year's meal, but to me this felt somewhat appropriate for the midwest.

Baked Beans with Tomatoes, adapted from Meta Givens : Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking, 1959

1+ cup dried beans, soaked (I used Brokton beans, homegrown)
1 medium onion, sliced (market)
several strips bacon (Pecatonica Valley Farms)
1 pint jar of crushed tomatoes (homegrown)
1 tsp salt
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1 dried cayenne pepper (homegrown)
1/4 cup molasses*

Cook pre-soaked beans at a simmer in water to cover for about an hour, checking for done-ness periodically and adding salt about halfway through. Brown bacon in a small dutch oven, then pull the meat, drain off extra fat, and sautee onions in what remains. Then add the cooked beans, tomatoes, mustard, and a chopped/ground cayenne pepper, seeds and all. Once this nears a boil, add the molasses and bacon, and put it covered into a 250-300 degree oven for an hour or so. (I started higher, then found it boiling a bit much, so I turned it down.) The last 45 minutes or so take the lid off and it will form a gooey crust on top.

As for greens, I had a little kale left from my last hoop harvest, and though it was holding up well in the fridge I didn't want it to go to waste. Also, a welcome addition at the turn of the month was a huge uptick in my egg production (hooray for the solstice and longer days!). That, and some aging WW sourdough bread put me in the mood for a strata. I based it loosely on this recipe, but switched kale for chard, changed up the cheeses and herbs, added sundried tomatoes, and cooked all the filling in one skillet to simplify things. I also made the filling ahead and presoaked it with the custard for a few hours in the fridge, which is fairly common in strata recipes.

Happy New Year!

*my molasses was labeled as MI, product of USA, which is possibly the source as Michigan does have a beet sugar industry, but it's also likely they imported the main ingredients from Hawaii.... The original recipe listed brown sugar as an option, I bet honey would also work. But oh, the molasses really makes it taste wonderful.

Late December hoopdate

2010-12-31T07:15:00.000-08:00

This won't be the most exciting or attractive update, but that doesn't mean I'm discouraged. In the last month, we've had nighttime temperatures as low as -10 degrees F, and 20 inches of snow for the season so far. It's also been quite cloudy, and of course the shortest days of the year. So the fact I'm seeing living plants at all is really amazing to me.

Most of the bigger plants are droopy, though the chard still has smaller inside leaves popping up. Looks tasty though I haven't bothered to dig out the hoop enough to harvest (These pics were taken by sticking my camera under the plastic!).

The winter lettuce and mache look just fine, though it's arrested at a very small size still. There are plenty of walking onions, though I'm not sure if my experiments of late-planted onions and leeks will make it. Also fun to watch are the miscellaneous volunteers spotted. Some are weeds, but some are celery, cilantro, and other edibles.

We have bizarre 40 degree weather ahead, and then more normal temps. I'm expecting our usual bitter cold but bright and sunny January coming up, and as the days get longer I'll be looking for some actual activity. I'm hoping for some early greens harvests in February--We shall see!

Swiss Chard and walking onions

Still teeny but happy row of winter lettuces.

I also realize I could have planted a lot more closely in the fall--too much empty space! But at least I have space for some early plantings in the next month or so.

Dark Days Week 4

2010-12-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

I took a picture of this dinner last week but put off posting as it was a good DD meal, just not super interesting. I thought I might have a better meal to write about over the holidays, but that didn't happen!

We made this dinner on the 21st. We usually try to cook a nice meal for the Solstice, a one-night reprieve from a hectic time of year. We kept it fairly simple this year, pretty basic comfort food. Hopefully I'll be a little more inventive after the New Year.

The menu:

Steaks: A ribeye and a t-bone from a beef pack we purchased this fall from a local producer. Seared on a cast-iron grill pan with just a little salt and cracked pepper.
Oven fries: Farmer's Market red potatoes tossed in olive oil and S&P, baked until crispy.
Dill pickles: Homegrown cukes, dill, hot peppers, and garlic.
Green Salad: A very simple affair with just about the last of our winter lettuce harvested earlier in the month, homegrown sundried tomatoes, and market carrots. Vinaigrette with some homegrown garlic and herbs, oil and vinegar.
Baguettes: freshly baked with 25% local organic wheat, served with WI butter.

Pain au levain complet

2010-12-24T05:03:00.000-08:00

Since I've been making this bread every week since the dark days started, I figured I'd add the recipe here.

Pain au levain complet, from Daniel Leaders Local Breads

stiff starter

Levain Starter:
Sourdough starter: 1.8 ounces (50 grams)
Water, room temperature: 2.6 ounces (75 grams)
Stone-ground whole wheat flour: 3.5 ounces (100 grams)

Slightly over-developed levain, ready to go.

Mix your and let develop for about 8 to 12 hours. I keep my starter in the fridge, and have been pulling it out and refreshing it the night or morning before making this levain, which assures a happy, active culture. I usually make this the night before making dough, and have left it much longer than 12 hours in a cool spot.

Final dough:

Water, room temperature: 13.2 ounces (375 grams)
"Type 55-style flour" or unbleached AP flour: 3.5 ounces (100 grams)
Whole Wheat Flour: 14.1 ounces (400 grams)
Levain: 7.9 ounces (though in the instructions, he says to use only a 4 ounce piece, and save the rest for your culture). I've done both and it works fine.
Sea Salt: .4 ounces (10 grams).

Mix water and flours briefly, and then let stand to hydrate for 20 minutes or so.
Add levain and salt, and knead. Leader's instructions call for 10 to 12 minutes. I'm kind of a notorious under-kneader: I do about 5 minutes by machine, let it rest a few minutes, and then give it another couple of minutes. I try to aim for a pretty wet dough here--WW flour will absorb a lot of water, and the dough has an long rise with an intermediate turn/knead, which means you can get away with a very slack dough. It will develop a lot of body over that time so it's okay if the initial dough is a little loose.

Let rise for an hour, then give it a turn and knead a few times, then reshape into a ball and let it continue to rise for another couple of hours, or more if you have time.

Rising loaf. Here's a tip: these elastic food covers are PERFECT for proofing.

Shape your loaf into a tight ball and let rise, smooth side down, in a banneton, or a colander lined with a smooth towel. Proof for up to 2 or 3 hours. 45 minutes to an hour before baking, preheat your oven to 450-475 degrees with a baking stone. This is a long process, to multitask a bit and save energy I often "preheat" by making dinner in the oven first, and bake this bread afterward!

fully proofed, ready to bake.

Tip your loaves out onto a peel or parchment lined sheet, and score. I cut pretty deeply for this loaf, which gives me some nice oven spring.

Scored.

Bake on a stone for 40-50 minutes. Leader's technique calls for ice cubes in a cast-iron skillet for steam; I just use spray bottle and give lots of good mists at the beginning, then again in 3 or 4 minutes (if I remember!).

As you can see, this doesn't rise a ton in the oven. Be patient and get it as high as you can before baking.

Misc. notes: This formula makes a 2 pound loaf. I've been making 1.5 times the original recipe, use the entire levain, and then making two loaves ~ 24 ounces or so. One week I divided right after kneading and added toasted walnuts to one loaf, which was very, very good.

Dark Days Week 3

2010-12-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

It's been a week. Nothing major, just a bunch of unexpected mishaps.

Good thing last weekend was prime for some come cooking. We were somewhat snowed-in, though we just got the edge of the midwest blizzard that buried places like Minneapolis. But we stayed home and made a few things that lasted through the week, or that we could just pull out on a night when we didn't have much energy for cooking.

These were pretty good: I pulled a pack of frozen thanksgiving turkey, and threw it in the food processor after blitzing some garlic and a little red onion. I added some parsley, and rosemary snipped from a potted plant brought in for the winter, and then some grated parmesan and provonella from my usual sources. To make it a little moister, I just added milk, some recipes call for an egg (which we're a little short of this time of year) or ricotta cheese. Either would be fine, but this worked well too. Pasta was made from backyard eggs, but I did use white AP flour...(not especially SOLE).

We served these with homegrown tomato sauce (from the freezer), a little more parm on top, and more of the whole wheat Miche, which is quickly becoming a household staple. A simple weeknight meal. And, we have more in the freezer!

Dark Days week 2

2010-12-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

I may have mentioned before that we are fairly religious followers of Pizza Friday. I'm sure I did pizza night during last year's challenge, but repeat meals are fine by me, and pizza is so easy to vary. In winter, the routine of pizza night is ultra easy: pull a bag of tomato sauce out of the freezer, start some dough (or pull dough, as I often freeze extras of that too), and see what you've got for toppings. We ate a lot of nearly all-local dinners this week, but decided on 'Za for our write-up, keeping it close to 100%

The dough:

I am down to using only two recipes for pizza crust. The first is from Bread Baker's Apprentice, and is a mix-and-refrigerate dough that freezes well, and ends up with a thin, stretchy, crunchy crust that works well for thin pizza and for my stuffed pies. But some nights I want a more rustic, chewy crust, and I've been making a recipe from the aforementioned Local Breads by Daniel Leader. For both, I usually add a percentage of wheat flour, but for the challenge I upped this to 60/40 WW (local/organic soft wheat) to white. In fact, the results were so good I may push it to 90/10 next time. I know a ton of pizza recipes call for high gluten flours, but I generally prefer softer, all-purpose varieties.

For me the key to whole wheat flours and rustic doughs is resting periods: I start with a very wet dough: let it sit for 15 minutes after a brief first knead and it will absorb a LOT of water. Knead some more, then rise, turn after about an hour, and rise for as long as you can stand (today was about 2 more hours). I turn it out onto a floured surface, divide, and let rest for another 20-30 minutes. This is a very slack dough, that I mostly just stretch into a basic oblong shape.

The toppings:

Tomato sauce: homegrown tomatoes/onions/garlic/herbs (frozen)
garlic scape pesto: homegrown scapes, local parm, olive oil, salt (frozen)
Sundried tomato pesto: homegrown tomatoes, olive oil, walnuts, local parm, balsamic vinegar.
Pecatonica Valley Bacon
Market onions (sauteed in that bacon grease)
sliced peppers (home grown, frozen)
Market potatoes, salted, then rinsed and tossed with OO and thyme
homegrown/dried herbs
Farmer John's Parmesan and Provonella cheese

The pies:

The potato/thyme 'za is from the new book Tartine which I had out of the library, so am working from memory. You slice the potatoes thinly and salt to remove extra water, then after sitting in some oil with fresh or dried thyme and garlic, you layer it all on the dough. After it comes out of the oven, add freshly grated or shaved parmesan. The other pizzas were more traditionally American, with pesto and tomato sauce on the bottom, cheese and toppings on top.

Another snowstorm coming tonight, followed by frigid weather, and my husband keeps jokingly asking "but what will we EAT?" if we are snowed in. My only impulse buy while running errands before the storm this afternoon was a bag of sugar to make grape jelly and cranberry sauce for Christmas presents. Let it snow, I'll be canning :)

Dark Days Week 1

2010-12-03T05:36:00.000-08:00

Recently we visited a new restaurant, and I found myself pretty darn inspired for the first dark days meal. When your local food mostly comes from your backyard, and your backyard garden is somewhat limited in space, your palette of food can get a little...limited sometimes. The food that fills my freezer is generally the most productive and easiest to preserve, honestly (think tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli). So we can get into somewhat of a rut. We ate an assortment of dishes that were fresh and creative: turnips with feta, sprouted bean salad, an awesome rabbit sausage, among other tasty bits. Even while sticking to seasonal and preserved foods, they had a fun variety that made me want to stretch my habits a bit.

Also inspiring was my first visit to the winter farmer's market. Along with the usual staples I needed like cheese, potatoes, and onions, were the last of the more precious fall veggies. I picked up a lovely head of cauliflower, which I don't grow at home, and a $1 cabbage (which has just been crammed into a quart jar on my counter to become sauerkraut).

I had a new kale recipe I wanted to try too, so I decided to mix it up and make a medley of veggie dishes for dinner. We've been eating a LOT of thanksgiving leftovers in the last week, so a non-turkey meal was definitely in order.

the menu:

Roasted Cauliflower with garlic and Pecatonica Valley Bacon
Wilted Kale and Roasted Potato winter salad* (our winter kale and garlic, market red potatoes, Farmer John's Parmesan)
Mornay sauce for dipping (flour/butter roux, Sassy Cow milk, Forgotten Valley Swiss Cheese)
homegrown pickles (dill cukes and beets)
Whole wheat sourdough miche (made from my newly-sourced flour)

I'm really happy with my first loaf of WW sourdough! While I add wheat flour and misc. grains to most of my breads, I'm not generally a 100% wheat-y person. I do need a little tweaking on my technique to make a prettier loaf, but the flavor and texture is awesome. I used a recipe from Daniel Leaders "Local Breads" a fantastic book for fairly advanced home bakers.

* I should note the kale/potato dish does have a tahini/lemon juice dressing added at the end. Since I'm a newbie kale eater, and had organic tahini in my fridge (and what canner doesn't have a bottle of lemon juice on hand?), I stuck with the original recipe (SO GOOD). However, several commenters on epicurious made it without the tahini (yogurt sounded like a good substitute) and I think it would be almost as good without it! Maybe I'll try it next time.

Late November hoopdate

2010-11-30T04:23:00.000-08:00

Outside,things are looking a little bleak. We had a strong cold front move through at Thanksgiving, and temps dropped to the teens for a few nights. My broccoli finally succumbed, though that hasn't stopped the hens from pecking at it through the fence, so I guess it's not a total loss.

Inside the hoops,things look about the same! I had harvested the most mature lettuce patches pretty heavily last week, thinking they would fare the worst in cold weather. I was mostly right, they have the most frost damage, but still have good leaves left.

in the back, chard and walking onions, in the front, some wayward peas (still blooming!) and cilantro among misc. volunteers


More exciting, the latest plantings of winter lettuce are filling out already

Kale and spinach, seem happy enough.

bleck friday

2010-11-26T16:08:00.000-08:00

Thankfully, the only thing I plan to purchase today is 20 pounds of organic flour!

Doing a little legwork for the dark days challenge, I re-discovered that an area bakery sells freshly ground flour. Turns out, I can get organic flour (hard and soft wheat) for 65 cents a pound! And...they deliver! To me that's a total win--no shopping, cheaper than the supermarket, and locally produced (the soft wheat is actually grown less than 50 miles from here).

I almost didn't participate in DD this year, but now I'm glad I did. I don't have a particular goal in mind for a percentage of SOLE eating, but the challenge does push me to either source or grow a few more ingredients each year.

A couple of girls enjoying the winter sunshine.

Also...I hopefully recruited a couple friends to join this year, should be fun to have more participants in the area!

hoopdate

2010-11-15T12:38:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to remember to take pics of my low tunnels every couple of weeks. This has been such a good fall for a beginning winter gardener, success always makes you more enthusiastic! These two hoops shown are simple PVC, with a interior layer of wire hoop with floating row cover. The outside cover is 4 mil plastic (not greenhouse quality). Very low-tech and affordable.

I can tell growth is slowing down as the days get shorter, but the second and third plantings seem to be doing well. Even if they hold at a tiny size most of the winter and pick up in early spring, I'll be pleased. Our lowest temps have only been in the 20s so far, and mostly in the 30s and 40s, so none of these plants have been stressed yet at all. In fact last week with unusual 60 degree days, I was worried about venting enough in the afternoons.

winter lettuce mix, with a new row to the top left just starting.

spinach and kale (and lots of dill, despite weeding....sigh)

red winter kale

Tatsoi! Anybody have recipe suggestions for a newbie eater?

Pasties

2010-11-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

I love when a good meal kind of evolves. This week I rediscovered the apple chutney in the fridge, and thought maybe I'd make some pasties to use it up--as well as some aging market onions and potatoes. Upon mentioning this, my savvy husband recommended using the daikon radish in the fridge in place of turnip--oh and the horseradish harvested this week too! Smart man.

So since we were veering off the traditional pasty already, I mostly winged it.

Shell: I used my favorite basic pie crust.

Pasty filling:

8-ish ounces beef (I thawed a small steak, which turned out to be bone-in, so maybe less)
1 daikon radish and one carrot, from the winter garden
2 cloves garlic
3-4 small red potatoes
1 medium yellow onion
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
salt/pepper/dried thyme

Everything was chopped fairly small and mixed together raw. I brushed with an egg wash and baked at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or so.

We served with some kale*, and a quick horseradish sauce (grated root, vinegar, and mayo--though we decided after that yogurt would probably have been just as good).

* Don't laugh, but I'm still fairly new to this whole cooked greens thing--neither of us grew up eating much besides spinach. So part of our winter gardening this year (as a runner up to the big hoop next spring) is not only finding out what grows well here, but also what' we'll EAT. So kale is new to us, and we're really liking it! This was a quick dish with garlic, and a little tahini and lemon juice. Oh MY. We may yet become greens people.

And....scene

2010-10-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

29 degrees when I woke up today, and even the micro-climate of my sheltered yard has met winter this morning. I picked ripe tomatoes from my remaining plum plant on October 27, I call that a good season!

And I was pretty much ready, mentally and otherwise. Yesterday I doubled up on my low tunnels, they now have plastic and row cover. I realized my oldest plastic is getting pretty aged--I'll probably replace it this weekend (this isn't greenhouse plastic, just 3- or 4-mil hardware stuff). I also have a repair to do on my cold frame, but it's accidental ventilation will be actually be okay during this time of year when temps range so widely.

The amount of growing space I have under cover is actually very close to what the future greenhouse will be. Efficiency and convenience are much lower, of course. As I picked bunches of kale, spinach, and lettuce yesterday, I realized my harvest habits will change--maybe checking on the hoops once a week, snipping what looks good, and planning meals around it. No more running out to the garden at dinnertime to snip an ingredient.

I try not to break out the preserved and stored foods until we have some hard frosts and have used up the fresh produce first, and we're almost tired of our rotation of summer meals. We had probably our last BLTs this week (using vine ripened fresh tomatoes anyway), and are eyeing the squash in the basement. Last night's dinner was a good transitional meal--we had samosas, made with freshly picked peas, jalapenos and spinach, mixed with market potatoes (and a bunch of Indian spices). For dipping I made a batch of Nigella Lawson's spicy apple chutney, using up the last of some orchard apples and one last homegrown pear, plus more serranos. Mmmm.

And now for ACT II: Winter meals!

October Harvests

2010-10-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

What's not to love about eating out of your yard in Wisconsin in Mid-October?

Some of this is pure luck--I left a few small fruits on the plants on those potentially-frosty nights early this month. Two weeks of fantastic Indian Summer later, I have lovely eggplants and peppers. The broccoli, which is just our spring planting left to its own devices, is making tons of shoots. (I actually froze a big batch of that earlier in the week, as we had just too much produce to eat this week!)

But some stuff, the radishes and greens, and that basil there, is from me getting my act together this fall. Thanks to the greenhouse (thatwasnottobe), I had started a bunch of cool-weather crops. When we realized the project was going to be moved/delayed, I kept planting anyway, just to prove that the fiasco wasn't a total loss. I set up my low hoops, and have row cover up for cool nights (keeping that basil alive a few weeks longer than it should be). As we hit real freezing temps, I'll double up with plastic, and we'll just see how things do. I just planted another round of cold-tolerant greens last weekend, so I think I'll get a fairly good preview how things will do next year in the big hoop.

In the meantime, we've been eating fantastic salads almost every night. And tonight's menu--grilled eggplant parmesan, and a huge salad with grilled chicken. Everything but the chicken and farmer's market cheese (well, plus olive oil, lemon juice/vinegar, and the flour in the homemade baguettes) is coming from right outside the back door:

Salad: greens (mixed lettuce, baby kale and spinach, tatsoi), french breakfast radish, the last of the fresh cucumbers, zucchini, and tomato, broccoli, green onions, carrot, and garlic.
Eggplant Parm: eggplants, tomatoes, basil, garlic, parm and provonella

Served with grilled garlic baguettes. Ooh, and I almost forgot my other half is stuffing peppers with cheese and wrapping in bacon to grill!

2010-10-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

I needed a break from deep thinking, HA, and turned to physical labor to clear my mind. What better chore than turning the compost?

Do you ever have those loops, where one task is connected to another, forming an endless circle that means you never get started? In this case, it involved building a new compost bin, a chicken coop to be cleaned and winterized (and I'd like to add that fresh manure to the already-turned winter pile), garden beds to be fed, and a lawn with long grass and leaves I want to mulch with, preferable ON TOP of the composted garden beds. And the new bin keeps being pushed back, as other bigger house projects have taken priority, and the ignored chores are building up.

So like a roundabout, I decided today that no matter where I enter the loop, it would eventually take me around and spit me out somewhere else. I turned our compost into a wheelbarrow and stashed the unfinished bits in a free spot in the yard. Then I hauled wheelbarrow loads of good stuff to any bed that had free space. I moved the old bin to the new temporary spot, filled it with all the leftover bits, and cleared a spot next to it to stash a pile of mulch. Whew!

Anybody else love working with compost? I love the smell, the medley of insects that appear, even the fat black vole that I ALWAYS encounter at the bottom. I love that it's like a biblical fish and loaves story, you just keep digging it out and there's always more left (I got at least 7 wheelbarrow loads). It is also a back-killer for a small person who tends to be impatient and lift more than she should though.

So here's my cheap bastard and healthy gardener tip for sifting compost. For the most part, I don't really care if there are some unfinished bits, especially when feeding my beds in the fall. But I wanted to spread some finer stuff in my fall gardens under the hoops, and keep out a few buckets for fertilizing container plants and early spring plantings. I use the milk crate pictured: it has built in handles, and it holds just enough that it doesn't weigh too much and I don't injure myself trying to sift 40 pounds at a time! Just add a few shovels full and shake, it works great!

Confessions of a not-rich foodie, Part two

2010-10-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

Continued from here

During that period of time there were a ton of articles about locavores and people cutting their carbon footprints. They were fascinating tales, but mostly I found them overly neurotic and self-absorbed. And yes, elitist. A lot of the solutions in their lives involved just a heightened level of consumerism, focused on buying the right products to make themselves feel good. I never warmed to the Slow Food movement, even though I ate much the same way. We have a great network of food co-ops and farmer's markets and CSA farms in the area where I live, and I mostly considered them expensive or inconvenient.

I didn't link myself and my hobbies with these food systems, because they didn't seem aimed at people like me.   For whatever reasons, I didn't feel like part of any kind of movement. That my lifestyle tended to be ecologically on the green side was just part of who I was. It was a benefit to living small that I appreciated, but didn't seem to be particularly difficult or worthy of praise.

And then one August I picked up a book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. I had always liked her fiction, that she wrote a non-fiction book about gardening and eating just seemed cool. What I read inspired me. Here was a person who for various reasons decided to eat close to home, but instead of adapting as a consumer, she decided to DO IT HERSELF. I realized I wasn't that interested in people who voted with their buying dollar--I wanted to hear about people who put their shovel where their mouth was. It was high summer, and my tomatoes were getting ripe, and suddenly I looked at my harvest in a whole new light. What if I tried to make enough salsa to last all winter? How many jars of tomatoes do I use all year? This book made the gardening and preserving I was already doing have meaning. If I saw value in eating organically and close to home, the only way I can afford it is to grow as much of it myself as I can.

But another side of the book were the sidebars written by Kingsolver's husband, Steven Hopp. Though not as uplifting a tale, they described the problems with the meat industry, and the systemic problems of Big Agriculture. A lot of these things I knew already, but like a lot of Americans I would dissociate these facts from the neatly wrapped packages at the grocery store. Several times during the reading of this book, I thought "I can't eat grocery store meat any more". In the end, my consumer habits evolved to align with the practices I was using in my own backyard.

To be honest, because meat is not something I can easily grow in my semi-urban location, it really pushed the limits of my frugal habits. Farmer's market beef and poultry is NOT cheap. It's not as easy as planting a seed and waiting for a harvest. Its been a gradual process for us, and it's a combination of eating less meat and finding middle ground with medium-sized producers. I still occasionally buy a package of chicken at the store. We eat meatless meals on many nights. I try to offset the additional costs with the "free" food we are producing at home.

These changing habits brought me back to the local farmer's markets and vendors. I had a new appreciation for these folks, because I was no longer seeing them from the consumer side, I was now identifying with them as a producer. I read the articles that downplay the advantages of eating locally (does it really save energy?) but at the end of the day, I see no downside to putting money into our local economy and into the hands of people who love to farm and take care of the land. If some say organic produce is identical nutritionally to conventional, isn't there still a net-benefit if you consider the farm laborers who aren't exposed to pesticides and the reduced dependence on petroleum based chemicals?

So after all of this, I'm now in some ways pretty much a FOODIE. I have found artisanal products in our area that I love and effuse about to others, I wrinkle my nose at off-season produce and bad processed cheese at the grocery store. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about meal-planning, and putting food by for winter.   I don't have to be wealthy to eat this way. I go out of my way for a few things and spend more on my food budget than I probably need to. But I can still shop at the "big" grocery store (really, they do have some good stuff, you just have to read labels), I still buy a few convenience items, and I don't keep five kinds of olive oil on my shelf. If something is available locally and seasonally, I choose it, but I don't deprive myself of orange juice or an avocado if I want it. A lot of what I eat is plain, regular American food. It's just that my mac and cheese takes a few minutes longer to make from scratch, our lazy nacho-night has home-canned salsa and Wisconsin cheddar. And once in a while I have some friends over and make a fantastic meal that I take a picture of and we talk about for days... on a smaller scale than Mr. Pollan's party, but still.

Confessions of a Not-Rich Foodie - PART ONE

2010-10-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

I read this article this morning, and have been stewing about it a bit, mostly the comments. I'll try to keep this short, because it could probably become a novel. There's this commonly held idea, propagated by so many people, that foodies are all rich elitists. I get it. I mean, Micheal Pollan is a big, egghead, academic snob. I love a lot of his ideas, argue with some of them, and appreciate the way his writing is challenging and not dumbed-down, but I know at the end of the day he lives in a world that's a LOT different than most of us. But I will argue that not everyone who cares about food, and/or where it comes from, is a yuppie with a large expendable income who is competing with their friends at who is the "greenest". For me the way I eat and live has been an evolution, and I for one don't think I fit the stereotypes.

I am a foodie because a few years ago I decided to trade having money for having time. I had a stressful job that I hated, and I gave it up for a low-stress part-time one. In my favor was a little house with a real kitchen, and a sunny backyard. And free time. If I wanted the good but expensive loaves that I liked from the grocery store--the crunchy, European style loaves, I decided I would learn to make them myself. So armed with library books and improvised baking stones, I figured it out.

Both my husband and I had played with gardens at various apartments, so having one was a given when we bought our house. In fact, we got permission to plant a few tomato plants before we even closed. We didn't think about it as food--beyond the fact that it was a source of cheap tomatoes. But with more free time (and less money) my garden grew, because gardening really is a cheap proposition. A garage sale shovel, free compost from the city, and a few dollars in seeds and starter plants, plus labor, is all you need. We gardened organically mainly because we were cheap--pesticides and fertilizer cost money. It was easier to look up a homemade organic method, or just tolerate a level of imperfection.

So very gradually, I got better at cooking and baking and gardening. Even poor results were often a lot better than processed foods or grocery store produce. We started growing more tomatoes than we could eat, and a friend taught me how to can tomatoes and salsa. I didn't necessarily think about replacing my grocery store purchases, it was mainly a frugal desire not to let things go to waste. And then we got chickens.

The chicken thing started out as kind of a joke--our city passed an ordinance allowing a few backyard hens, and we thought the hubbub about it was hilarious. But on reading the stories about it, we were intrigued: As a gardener, the idea of chickens eating up leftover garden waste was appealing--that they exchanged it for fertilizer and eggs was even better. So we got chickens--not because we wanted to know where our food came from, or because it was trendy, but because we thought it would be fun--and useful. And "free" eggs! We built a coop ourselves, bought day-old production birds from a hatchery for less than a dollar each, and read a lot of poultry information online.

I credit the hens with helping me understand how food can be a cycle. In my backyard, there was suddenly a system that I could see in motion. Those girls had a way of teaching lessons. I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about food ethics, but now when I read stories about retired factory hens being dumped at an area landfill (some still alive!) I had a connection to the story that I never had before. I knew I couldn't buy eggs from those places anymore. So when winter came and production slowed, I shelled out a few extra bucks and got free range eggs, either at the grocery or at a local market.

to be continued....

put your shovel where your mouth is

learning to love the co-op

off season activities

Not bad for a tuesday

Hoopdate, January 2012

more winter reading

solstice

messing with the hens

positive reinforcement

Potstickers

on winter non-gardening

So what did you do with your turkey?

hoopdate, mid-November

how to fix your yogurt

why is it?

All buttoned up

roasted tomato soup (a non-recipe)

bummer

Adventure: Reedsburg Fermentation Fest

grass (a rant)

bits and leftovers

Just about ready

a few details

and more

hoopdate

well lookee here

slowly adding up

another project

the zucchini bread that could save the world

the zucchini crisis has been downgraded

getting perspective

gathering steam

leek love

just enough

mid-summer lulls

midsummer?

winging it

Pantry planning

overview, and a few detail shots

stick a (pitch)fork in her, she's done

something new

Argh, frost

a little more

At last

hoop doings

On the level

Ahh, that's more like it

logistics

investment

that darn rabbit!

speaking of digging up grass....

earth day in the city

spinach and ice cream

from-scratch convenience foods

hoopdate - early April

random thoughts in a holding pattern

ciabatta

march madness

bridging the seasons

Day 27

first attempt - crackers

things to look forward to

sticking to local on a consumer "diet"

people

Goodbye Winter

(more) tips for beginner gardeners

Blizzards and late winter cooking

On being a Mark Bittman Fan

Dark Days week 8

spring thoughts

Pitas and Hummus

Dark Days week 7

foodie thoughts, and chilaquiles

Apron!

something bright on a grey day

Dark Days week 6

Pretzel Dogzzz

Dark Days Week 5 - beans and greens

Late December hoopdate

Dark Days Week 4