Week #44 - Tasty Experimentation

As the harvest eases, I'm in that sweet spot of having lots of extra food and a bit more time to create some new things! So this week, I experimented with a few new treats in the kitchen! 

A over abundance of red peppers (whoever thought I would write that phrase!) means we are searching for more ways to preserve or process them. We decided to try to dehydrate some peppers as a chewy snack as well as to keep for later in the winter. They can be re-hydrated in stews, sauces and soups. 

We also tried roasting spiced chickpeas! These were tasty and an interesting snack. You can make them as spicy or savory as you want depending on the spices you add. They didn't get as crunchy as I was hoping so I popped the leftovers into the dehydrator to see if they will crisp up. 

Next up was a new recipe designed to use up our butternut squash! The night before I roasted the butternut in the oven with a little bit of olive oil and garlic, mashed with cumin and chili powder. Next I marinated some black beans in some lime juice overnight. When I got home from work, I was toasted pita bread in the oven, spread the squash mixture over the warm pita, followed by the beans, avocado and drizzled with yogurt mixed with some lime juice. For bit of heat, you could sprinkle some cayenne over the top. Turned out pretty good! I think a little bit of cilantro on top would really add some flavour! Definitely one I would do again!  

I've included a picture of our new lunch option section in our fridge! I found that while six people should take a healthy lunch, if there wasn't something relatively easy to grab and go, often people were either not taking a lunch or taking less healthy options! So we resorted to a lunch drawer in the fridge in which we try to keep healthy options ready such as cut vegetables, cream cheese swirls, hummus and mixed nuts and dried fruit. Definitely makes lunches easier and more accessible. Means that less people are 'hangry' (angry from hunger) when they come home from school and work! 

 And finally.... tonight's supper was salmon cakes with fresh leeks from the garden! Salmon (canned or fresh), mayo, eggs, panko breadcrumbs and old bay seasoning are mixed well with your choice of veggies such as green pepper, onions or in our case leeks! Then I pan fried the patties in canola oil. We served them with a curry and mayo mixture that added some zip! They disappeared so they couldn't be that bad! 

Tonight I have a Farmer's Sausage and Potato feast in the crockpot that is smelling wonderful! (for tomorrow's supper). The weekly menu includes a few other new recipes such as Smothered Chicken and an Apple Cider glazed Roast Turkey! 

Wishing you a yummy week! What are you making?  

Week #43 - The wise ones...

We all have them in our lives... old souls that speak wisdom in the chaos of our lives. At times they are babes in arms whose eyes speak volumes, if you only pause to listen. Or indeed many are grandmothers or grandfathers whose hands are wiser than most of us. 

For me, my wise ones are often animals. Similar to young children, their eyes are so expressive and they always seem to know when you need something. While we humans pride ourselves on being sensitive and loving, I find animals something more intuitive and understanding at times. 

Who are your wise ones? 

Week #42 - Food shortcuts to extend your harvest

The fields are cleared and the majority of the harvest is canned, preserved or drying. As the last few weeks of Harvest 2016 wind down, I'm all about shortcuts to make our harvest last. 

Today I made sofrito, a mixture that you can make up when your tomatoes, peppers and onions are fresh and bountiful and fresh as a base for many recipes all winter. 

Sofrito is most commonly used a base for Latin, Puerto Rican, or Italian cooking... but in my mind, there are so many recipes that you need chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers that it is so handy to have some of this ready to go. Freeze it in ice cube trays and then pop out into freezer bags so that you can grab a tablespoon at a time or freeze flat in freezer bags (I do 2 cups per bag) so that you can grab for recipes all winter long. 

Of course, if you are short on freezer space, I imagine you could can sofrito using a water bath similar to salsa or pasta sauce. 

I use these storage tips for all kinds of garden produce. After making a batch of pesto from my basil harvest, I pop it into ice cube trays to access easier a bit at a time. 

This year we have a large number of sweet red peppers that are ripening late in the season (thanks to the late frost). One of the ways I extend our harvest of peppers, is to roast them, skin them and throw them into the vitamix (blender) along with a healthy amount of garlic. This mixture gets spooned into (you guessed it) ice cube trays and is used for pasta sauce, red pepper dip, and throwing into chili, stews and various sauces. 

What are your tips and tricks for extending your harvest and dealing with an overabundance of any one veggie at this time of year? 

Week #41 - Giving thanks

So much to give thanks for this holiday weekend! After a very full week, the girls (Leanne, Taryn, Ariane & Grandma) took off for a girls weekend down to South Dakota, where Philip's sister and brother-in-law live.

We were able to give Ariane a full ranching experience... complete with driving cattle, grooming, trailering and riding horses, bottle feeding calves and various other silliness.

The males on the farm stayed home and worked hard pulling all the plants from the field and getting the barn ready for winter.... (involves a lot of shoveling...).

We came home to a beautiful turkey meal with all the fixings, completely grown here on the farm.

I give thanks for family, both near and far... for good food grown the way nature intended.... for laughter and hard work. My life is blessed to include all of these!

Spent a lot of time staring at the back of cattle,
driving them from one pasture to another....

Rode through beautiful fall forests

Did a lot of grooming... it's burr season! 

Played some serious card games! 

Shared some laughs and giggles...

Did I mention giggles...

and more giggles...

Waiting for us when we got home... 

Week #40 - So long... Sunny September

As we bid September farewell, we must pause and thank mother nature for a beautiful month! Let's hope that October treats us equally well!

The things you find when clearing the field....
We didn't grow corn this year, so?

Dried oregano flowers... so pretty and fragrant! 

The week was spent catching birds (chickens and turkeys) and then trying to squeeze them into the freezers! A big thank you to all our customers who came out to pick up their chickens and turkeys today. It was such a beautiful day!

Oakley enjoyed herself immensely as she had lots of visitors! As a rescue horse she was very thin when she arrived at the farm. Only a month later and she is filled out nicely and seems to be enjoying her new friends!

Jet the cat and Oakley are great friends!