The farmer's daughter and her living quarters.

Finally got Maggie's room cleaned up, after MONTHS of it looking like a disaster zone. Also, Maggie apparently is into dancing in the rain. I was pretty into it as well, a welcome relief from the 98 degree weather we've had for what seems like forever, but has actually only been 2 or 3 weeks.

I don't know how to make these pictures not look weirdly crappy quality. Frustrating. I don't know if I feel like investing the time to learn blogspot enough to figure out this problem. Sorry, y'all!

I just revisited my old livejournal. Hoo boy. Even writings from 2008 seem extremely dated. I am a different person... or am I? My last entry was a little over a year ago. It went like this:

These days, I'm thinking I'd really like to marry a farmer. I've been thinking that for a couple months now.

Hmm.



Interesting how things change but don't.

Swiss Chard Pasta with Cream Sauce

I'm fighting off a bit of a cold and wanted to get some yummy, colorful chard into my dinner as a vitamin/antioxident pick-me-up. Generally only the leaves are used, but this includes the ribs/stems, which are tasty too.

Chard has quickly become one of my favorite veggies from the farm. Not only is it beautiful, delicious, and versatile - it can be happily included in pasta, omelets, soup, dips, and so much more - but it is also TOUGH. Not tough as in hard to chew, but tough as in not needing to be babied. Some veggies are wimps. Lettuce is one of them. If you so much as LOOK at lettuce the wrong way, it crumples up and then turns brown. Chard, however, is tough and can handle a good amount of rough handling. Let's give a big round of applause to chard! And then put it in our stomachs.


1 cup milk (I used unflavored almond milk)
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup butter
1 bunch of chard, chopped
Garlic, minced
Onions, minced

Sautee the onions, garlic, and half the butter in a large pan or pot. In a cup, mix together 1/4 a cup of the milk and the flour. After a couple minutes, add the milk/flour mixture, the rest of the milk, the chard, and the rest of the butter. Cook for several minutes and then mix with whatever pasta you'd like (I've been super into penne lately). Enjoy!

The beginning of summer.

This little guy became my friend today while we began building a chicken pen.

Farmer Stacy and the bee hives. Honey harvest will be soon!

I forget the name of this garlic variety, but look how gorgeous!
And tasty - used it in my dinner tonight.

A goat and buggy.

While researching goat training information, I came across this gem of a picture. What little girl doesn't dream of being pulled by a team of billy goats?




Goats are smart and can be trained to do many things: cultivate/till a garden, pull carts/wagons, give spa pedicures, etc etc. A Nubian buck that weighs 175 lb would be able to pull about 250 lb. Maggie definitely weighs less than that, so I think we'd have her coach and four taken care of.

Currently preferred livestock breeds

Jersey cow: Known as being sweet-tempered. Extremely cute. High butterfat content in milk.



Dominique chicken: America's oldest chicken breed. Hens are calm and good-tempered.



Nubian dairy goat: Strong personalities. Bond well with owners. Lower volume of milk, but high butterfat content. Can also be used for meat.



Border collie: The working dogs in Babe. 'nuff said.

Rye Toast with Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese

Holy goodness, this turned out even better than anticipated! I've been craving beets and beet greens for weeks now. Finally remembered to pick some before leaving work last night. My tummy is sooooo happy right now. Not to mention that I now am super charged with folate, vitamin B, vitamin C and potassium. Pink-stained fingers are just a side benefit.

What you need:
BEETS with greens
Extra virgin olive oil
Bread (I used rye sourdough from Silke's)
Goat cheese (I used Noble Springs' cherry berry chevre)
Vinaigrette

Wrap beets in aluminum foil, drizzling a bit of olive oil and salt on top. Roast at 375 for approximately 45 minutes (will depend on the beet size - you can tell if they're done by sticking a fork in 'em). Remove from oven, wait a few minutes til they've cooled down, then peel the outer skin off. Slice thinly and add to toasted bread topped with goat cheese.

For the greens, chop, pour a bit of vinaigrette on top, and add in some of the roasted beets.

So dynamic

Today marks the date of my first planting by the biodynamic calendar, according to this garden site. Today is considered a "fruit" day, meaning that now is a good time to work with fruiting plants -- anything from tomatoes to green beans. And pole beans are exactly what I will be planting! Cherokee trail of tears, heirloom, thanks to Justin O. I'm planting them right next to the tomato cages so the bean vines can climb.

Why I like my job today.

Because today I:

Ate 1/3 a watermelon in five minutes
Fed handfuls of clover to Kate and Bristol
Harvested carrots, kohlrabi, kale, garlic, and onions
Watched Emma during lunch break
Got a pat on the back from my boss
Made a rainbow with the hose while rinsing vegetables

Gimme dat sugar.

Today I made a discovery: there is a vegetable I like raw, without any sort of dressing. Sugar snap peas! They are a pain to pick, but so so so so so SO delicious. I had a hard time not eating every single one.

Henry David Thoreau

“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.”

Gleaning! & my very first published recipe

While harvesting carrots at Paradise Produce this morning in the hot hot sun, I asked Farmer Stacy if it would be okay if I took home the small carrots that weren't big enough to bunch and sell. To my delight, he said yes! I am officially a gleaner, just like Ms. Ruth from Biblical days. I left the farm with three bunches of itty bitty carrots (about 2" long): one went to Miss Sheila, Maggie's daycare teacher, one came home with me, and one was traded for a bar of Olive and Sinclair chocolate (coffee bean, mmm).

Today also yielded several tidy bunches of garlic scapes, an exciting piece of garlicky goodness that I only recently discovered. Garlic plants send up these flower stalks when they feel ready to produce seeds, a process that also leads to the plant shutting down its growth. Today it was my job to snap off the scapes to allow the plant extra time to fill out the underground bulbs that will become the familiar garlic I dearly know and love.

Garlic scapes are wondrous things, lovely to behold and tasty to chomp. I threw these curly, wonderful lovelies into the soup pot with the baby carrots and some potatoes and whipped up a nice little spring meal for myself and my dear friend Colleen. Perfect end to a hard day's work.


Potato and Garlic Scape Soup

• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced carrot (I used babies)
  
• 1/2 cup garlic scapes, chopped (more if you're feeling adventurous!)
  
• 6 cups diced baking potato (about 2 pounds)
• 4 cups vegetable bouillon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup 2% milk (I used raw!)
• 2 tbs flour
  

Chop garlic scapes as you would green onion. Drizzle some olive oil in a pan, add onions and sauté 5 minutes. Add potato, carrots, broth, salt, pepper, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender; remove bay leaf.

Use a potato masher (or a big spoon, or really anything capable of mashing) to break down some of the potatoes -- but leave it chunky. Take 1/4 cup of the milk, add the flour and stir together. Slowly stir this mixture into the soup, then add the rest of the milk. Cook over low heat until thoroughly heated.

How to tell if a leaf is too bug-ridden to harvest:

"If there's enough daylight to read a book."