Today's harvest:
From the farm sitting job:
Onions, bunching
tomatoes, cherry
Tomatoes, Roma
Okra
Green Beans
Watermelon

From our farm:
Tomato
Green Pepper
Carrot
Summer Squash and Zucchini

Today's food preservation:
Watermelon Rind pickles, water bath canned, 5 pints
Tomato Sauce, water bath canned - 3 pints
Dilly Beans, water bath canned - 2 pints
Beets, pickled, pressure canned - 1 quart
Green Peppers, dehydrated

Pickled Beets

Recipe by Alton Brown at the Food Network

Ingredients

• Roasted Beets, recipe follows
• 1 large red onion, frenched
• 1 cup tarragon wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Directions

Remove the skin from the Roasted Beets and slice thinly. Arrange in 1-quart jars alternating layers with the onion. In a small pot boil the rest of the ingredients and pour over the beets. Tightly lid the jars and place in the refrigerator for 3 to 7 days before serving.

Roasted Beets:

• 6 medium beets, cleaned with 1-inch stem remaining
• 2 large shallots, peeled
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl toss all of the ingredients. Place into a foil pouch and roast in the oven for 40 minutes.

Chow Chow (Green Tomato Relish)

Green Tomato Relish:

AKA (Chow Chow)
12 large green Tomatoes (cored)
(I used about 20 small to med size)
4 - green bell peppers, seeded

4 - medium yellow onions (I used one very large one)
1 - red bell pepper, seeded
1 - tablespoon + 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seed
1 - tablespoon celery seed
2 - cups cider vinegar
2 - cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Chop the tomatoes and peppers very finely. Either by hand or in small batches in a food processor. I diced up all my veggies only because I like a chunkier relish. Put the chopped vegetables in a large pot (heavy bottom non reactive pot) add the mustard seed, celery seed, vinegar, kosher salt and sugar. Stir well and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook stirring often and skimming as needed. ( I did not have to skim off anything) Simmer until the relish/chow chow cooks down and thickens into a relish, about 2 hours. Turn into hot sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath.

Green Tomato Salsa Verde

My father in law always plants a few tomato plants every year in his yard and this year was no different.  But this year he has been plagued with blossom end rot and has only been able to harvest a few ripe tomatoes from them.  He has left the tomatoes to ripen on the vine, fall to the ground and rot.  When I was there yesterday I asked if it was ok if I harvested the remaining green tomatoes on the vines to use.  McKayla and I picked 12 3/4 pounds of green tomatoes off of those two plants!

So now I just need to use them up... the first thing I am making is a green tomato salsa verda.  Salsa verde is a traditional Mexican sauce made with tomatillos.  Tomatillos, although resembling green tomatoes are actually related to cape gooseberries.  My 2009 "Ball Blue Book guide to preserving" has a recipe for Tomatillo Salsa which along with the recipe for Green Tomato Salsa Verde at ModernComfortFood is how I came up with the following recipe:

Mild Green Tomato Salsa Verde:

4 pounds green tomatoes, cored and quartered
2 cups yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 green jalapeño peppers, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon fresh lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoon honey or sugar
2/3 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

1. Combine the green tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, garlic, salt, cumin, olive oil, and water in a stock pot. Bring to a boil and cook covered on a medium-low heat burner for approximately 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes and onions are soft.
2. Stir in and simmer for an additional five minutes the lime zest, lime juice, honey (or sugar), and cilantro. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
3. Blend the mixture in the pot with a stick blender or spoon into the container of a food processor or blender and pulse until the salsa reaches the consistency you prefer, either chunky or a smooth puree.  Makes approximately two quarts of salsa.
4. Ladle into sterilized jars and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.  Remove jars from the water and allow to cool on the counter.  Test tops for a good seal and refrigerate any that have not sealed properly and use within 2-3 weeks.

Other farm happenings today:
Our alpaca stud Novio bred our female Aberdeen this afternoon.  I will have to keep watch to see if she spits him off in the future.
Spotted a hummingbird in the marigolds in the greenhouse.

Zucchini Bread

I made two loaves of zucchini bread with some of the zucchini that Heather brought over on Monday.  I need to use some more of it up as the ends are getting soft.  I may bake up a few more loaves and freeze them for later.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
 
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.

2.Beat together eggs, sugar, oil and applesauce. Blend in the grated zucchini, and then the sour cream. Mix in the baking powder, soda, cinnamon and flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.

3.Bake for 60-70 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

I also made homemade pizza for dinner tonight.  It is a family favorite around here!  Tonight was a cheese, a pepperoni and a carmel apple dessert pizza too.
 
McKayla's School today included the "F" theme in preparation for tomorrow's celebration of Flag Day.

Letter "F" Activity Sheet (here)
"F" Word Search and Find (here)
Color the pictures that start with letter "F" (here)
Fun with Fruit - shapes and counting (here)
Match the Opposites (here)
Finally, I helped her read through "The Great Race" Thomas & Friends book.

It is interesting to observe how she reacts to this structured learning that she has asked me to do.  She is excited to do her "school work" but about 15-20 minutes is about all she wants to do even though she says she wants to do an hour three days a week.  After about this much time she starts to fidget, not listen well and look for other things to do.  She boars easily if the things I have selected are too repetitive.  When I see her attention start to slack I always ask her if she is done for the day... she has always said "yes", so I send her on her way to play.  I can't imagine forcing her to sit for hours on end, for five days a week, working on repetitive worksheets.  But, I will keep these small  pockets of structure going until she asks me to stop.

Neil got the lawn mowed this morning and then tinkered a bit on the vehicles.  Now that we have our own Suburban back we need to get his parent's Suburban cleaned out and returned.

I discovered three newborn ducklings under our game hen in the barn this afternoon.  She is still setting on about six other duck eggs so I just left the ducklings under her for now.  She is very protective of her hatchlings no matter what species they are.  In the chicken coop I pulled six duck eggs from the pile that has been growing on the floor and put them in one of the chicken nest boxes for one of the hens to set on.

I made stuffed zucchini for dinner with the Patty Pan squash and green and gold zucchinis I got at the Roxboro Farm's Market yesterday.  It was a great one dish meal as I stuffed them with our farm raised ground beef and some Italian sausage.  Here is what I did:

Stuffed Zucchini

4 medium zucchini (I used 2 zucchini and four patty pan squash)
1 pound ground beef
1 link of hot Italian sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs Italian seasoning blend (I make my own)
Salt and Pepper to taste (I used about 2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper)
2 eggs, beaten
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.  Brown ground beef and sausage and add onions.  Cook until beef is cooked through and onions are soft.  Let cool while you prepare zucchini.  Cut zucchini in half the long way and spoon out seeds to create boats.
Reserve seeds to chop and add to stuffing.  Combine beef mixture with bread crumbs, parm cheese, seasonings, reserved seeds.  Stir in beaten eggs.  Stuff zucchini boats fully.  Spoon crushed tomatoes over the tops of filling.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with mozzarella cheese.  Return to oven and continue cooking for 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

Today is a "school day" for McKayla.  We worked on rhyming words today.  We made a matching game out if it and she had fun.  Then she worked on a tracing wordlist that started with the letter "A" (find it here), a "what comes next" pattern sheet (find it here), single digit addition (find it here) and finally she worked on a clock worksheet (find it here).

Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot

I finally used the last head of Bok Choy tonight by making this recipe.  It was really good and I will be making it again!

Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot

3 cups beef broth
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/4 cups chopped green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 cups thinly sliced bok choy
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrot
2 cups cooked udon noodles

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring with a whisk; set aside.  Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add beef, browning on all sides. Add broth mixture, green onions, garlic, and ginger; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until beef is tender. Stir in bok choy and carrot, and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Serve beef mixture over noodles.

Kimchi experiment

Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of vegetables with varied spicy seasonings. It is most commonly made with napa cabbage and other vegetables such as radish, green onion, carrot, chive, and cucumber. Kimchi is the most common side dish in Korean cuisine.

I have never made Kimchi before.  In fact, I have never eaten Kimchi before.  But I do like spicy food well enough so I am all for adding more raw fermented foods into my life.

So, using the two heads of Bok Choy that I soaked in the brine overnight, I followed this recipe:

Kimchi Recipe

2 Cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 cup fish sauce

1/3 cup chili paste (recipe called for twice this amount if you are brave)
1 teaspoon honey

1 bunch green onions, cut into 1-inch lengths (use the dark green part, too, except for the tough ends)

1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks

Put the first five ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth texture is formed.  In a large bowl mix Bok Choy (or Napa Cabbage) with green onion,carrots and sauce from food processor.  Pack the kimchi in a clean glass jar(s) large enough to hold it all and cover it tightly. Let stand for one to two days in a cool place, around room temperature.  Check the kimchi after 1-2 days. If it's bubbling a bit, it's ready and should be refrigerated. If not, let it stand another day, when it should be ready.  Once it's fermenting, serve or store in the refrigerator.

My freshly made Kimchi.

And on another topic... this afternoon Neil got in the pool with the kids which they loved!

Bok Choy done three ways

My friend, Heather, brought me five heads of Bok Choy this morning.  Her kitchen was overrun with it from her garden.  What was I to do with five heads of Bok Choy?  A quick internet search provided the answer...

I chopped, washed and blanched two heads and spread them in the dehydrator.

This dehydrated Bok Choy will be made into Dehydrated Bok Choy Soup a specialty Asian soup.

With two other heads, I chopped and washed as above but then soaked in a salt water brine.

After soaking overnight it will become Kimchie tomorrrow.  The first time I have made Kimchie too.

The final head will be used fresh in a stir fry in the next few days.

Local Farmer's Market, Strawberry Jam & Turkeys

Today our local Farmer's Market opened for the season.  McKayla, Taylor and I went over to see what was being offered.  There was someone selling Grass Fed Angus Beef (which we didn't need), someone selling plant starts (a bought a Cherrokee Purple Tomato and a few herbs), a local woman selling fresh baked goods (I got a rhubarb tart and got cookies for the girls) and then there were fresh strawberries.  Big geaurgous strawberries!  I bought four quarts of them.  The girls and I ate some of them right in the parking lot as we just couldn't wait until we got home to eat them.

Once home I made a quick batch of freezer jam with them.  I cleaned and sliced the strawberries...

Then I added in a package of freezer pectin and mashed it all up until it was the consistenacy I wanted for jam.

Finally, I spooned it into freezer containers and let it set for 30 minutes to gel before putting them in the freezer.  It made 11 half-pint jars.

This afternoon when McKayla and I were out walking around the farm we noticed a turkey hen with baby turkeys at her feet.  I always feel bad about taking babies from their moms but I know if I don't I will loose them all.  McKayla helped scoop them up while I got another brooder pen ready for them.  We caught up seven of them...

McKayla (with wet hair from the pool) holding all seven turkey poults.

Farm Happenings

Neil spent the morning repairing garden hoses and running some of them to the automatic waterers in the barn. So, now we don't have long hoses running along the ground everywhere. He also had the time to fix the water pump that has been leaking out in the pasture.  Once he fixed the underground connection he installed four t-posts around the pipe and ran electric fencing around it to prevent the cows and donkeys from rubbing on it and breaking it again.

This afternoon we all went over to Neil's parents for dinner.  I made a beef stroganoff from our farm raised beef to take over.  It was really good.

Today's mail brought two postcards from Memphis, Tennessee...

Also, Flat Hannah arrived from Texas.

You can follow Flat Hannah's visit here on the farm here.

Farm Happenings

Day two of goat milking went well.  Pepper, one of my oldest does, stood nicely and milked out over a quart today.  Her daughter, Mary Jane, was a bit more jumpy on the milking stand.  Mary Jane also has smaller teats so it takes a bit longer to milk her out fully.  Two of our three goat kids will be picked up tomorrow afternoon.  I love the baby goats and it is so hard for me to let them go when they are still in that uber playful age.  These two will be going to great family with lots of human kids so they will be happy there.

I made a batch of vanilla yogurt today.  It has been a while since I have made yogurt so I had to start from powdered yogurt culture again.  Future batches I will just use some of this batch to culture it.

We got this postcard in the mail today from a Chicago family.  Traded through Postcardkids Yahoo Group.

Southern Shrimp and Grits

I made a new recipe today... Southern Shrimp and Grits.

Neil often orders this when he is eating out when at work.  I wanted to offer him the same experience here at home.  He told me that he really likes the version he has had at Fatz Cafe.  Fatz is a true Southern restuarant chain.  I searched online and happily found their Edisto Shrimp and Grits recipe online.  This came out so good!  I will be making this again for sure.

Edisto Shrimp:

30 pieces jumbo shrimp
12 oz. popcorn shrimp
12 oz. Parmesan cheese
6 oz. bacon bits (warm)

Burgundy Gravy:
¾ cup sliced mushrooms
½ oz. lemon juice
1 oz. diced yellow onions
2 oz. Golden Award or other liquid butter (I used melted butter)
4 oz. Burgundy wine
2 oz. Trio Brown Gravy dry mix (I used beef boulion paste)
drop of garlic-seasoned olive oil
dash of salt
dash of cayenne pepper

Stone-Ground Cheese Grits:
2 cups white stone-ground grits
1 quart water
1 quart milk
2 Tbsp. chicken base
1½ cups mixed Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese (I used all cheddar)
1⁄8 cup butter blend

For stone-ground cheese grits: Bring water and milk to a boil. Add grits, mixed cheese and chicken base. Simmer for 30 minutes. After 20 minutes of simmering, add butter and stir well. Cook for remaining 10 minutes.

For Burgundy gravy: In a pot add Golden Award (liquid butter), onions, mushrooms, wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add salt, garlic and cayenne; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. In separate pot, mix dry brown gravy mix and hot water according to instructions on package. Add gravy mix to mushroom-wine mixture and cook on medium heat for another 10 minutes.

For Edisto Shrimp: Lightly sprinkle jumbo and popcorn shrimp with blackening seasonings and cook on a flat top. (Follow proper blackening procedures.) Place 8 oz. cooked stone-ground cheese grits into bowl; place 5 jumbo shrimp in a circle along outer rim and 2 oz. popcorn shrimp down middle. Add about 3 oz. of gravy, drizzling over entire dish. Sprinkle 1 oz. bacon bits on top and garnish with 2 oz. Parmesan cheese.

Beef Jerky.. yum!

I am excited to say that I made my first batch of homemade beef jerky today. I, of course, used our own home grown Dexter beef for it. It was super easy since I have a jerky kit that came with my dehydrator.

I mixed a pound of ground beef with a salt cure and a spice blend loaded it into the jerky "gun" and formed flat strips of jerky onto the dehydrator trays. Turned the dehydrator on high for an hour and then patted them to removed excess grease and turned the temp down to medium. Took another 6 hours to get a good dry product. Both Neil and I were impressed. I will be making more soon I think.


Other then normal farm duties I prepared as much as I could for our coming snow storm tonight. I turned the water off to the automatic waterers in the barn so they didn't freeze and burst. Made sure there was enough wood for the fire for at least 3-4 days (we have been cutting it as we need it this year). Neil's Dad brought over a kerosene lantern just in case we lost power. Come on snow!

More Easy Bake Oven fun

This time Pizza! McKayla and I made some little pizzas for her and Evan to have for lunch.

This Easy Bake Oven thing has turned out to be fun for both of us. lol

Braised Rabbit for dinner

For weeks now I have been trying to empty out our deep freezer in preparation for our Dexter bull coming back from the processors. Well, this Thursday I will be going to pick him up so I don't have much more time to make space in the freezer. Yesterday I pulled out two rabbits to defrost and tonight I made braised rabbit with them.

It was mighty tasty and the gravy it made was wonderful over mashed potatoes. A few organic peas and the family ate it up with gusto.

Easy Bake Oven

Well, Santa gave McKayla an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas. For those of you not familiar with an Easy Bake Oven it is an oven for children that cooks using the heat of a 100 watt light bulb. Luckily, Santa also gifted McKayla a from-scratch recipe book so we will never have to purchase the overpriced, chemical filled mixes available for it.

The first thing she and I baked up in it was a carrot cake complete with cream cheese frosting!

Here are the two carrot cakes... only a mear 3 inches across!

Stacked and frosted.... looking good!

The first slice gone... yummy!

Happy Thanksgiving

My favorite holiday! Family, food, games... I love it all.

We spent the day with Neil's parents. Had a wonderful meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, peas and hard crusty rolls (my contribution to dinner). My MIL and I played Chicken Foot with the kids. Chicken Foot is a domino variation that I learned after joining this family. We stopped for dessert, which was an apple pie that I had made. It was declared the best apple pie I had ever made! Later McKayla and I played the board game "Sorry" but it got too late and we couldn't finish. I was a good day... now sleep.

Happenings on the farm...

The day started out chilly and raining but it turned into a pleasant Fall day.

Neil took the chainsaw out behind the garage and cut up some deadfall trees for the woodstove. I will bring it up, split it and stack it over the next few days.

Neil and I then started work on the framing for the base of the new rabbit hutches. I am so excited to get started on them. What I am currently using for rabbit hutches where built by the previous owners as poultry breeding pens and were not designed with chewing rabbits in mind. The interior framing is almost gone in some places. Plus, the new location I am moving them too should stay drier. Which means I won't be standing and slipping in 8 inches of mud this winter and spring! Yeah! I still need to get more wire for the hutches and build the wooden nest boxes but I was thrilled to get that project started.

Today I also weighed our two Nigerian Dwarf doelings, Miss Olive and Miss Cheddar, that we got four weeks ago. Miss Olive is up to 19.5 lbs and Miss Cheddar is at 18.75 lbs.

Made a couple of pizzas for lunch; a cheese and a onion and pepperoni. Yummy! Then this evening my mom (who is visiting from Maine) made chocolate chip cookies for the kids.

Day in town.

My mom accompanied the kids and I on our trip into town today.

Had to stop at the recycling center, the post office, McDonald's for lunch, Southern States for livestock feed and finally to the grocery store.

For dinner mom and I made a spinach, feta and Swiss cheese quiche. So tasty! Mom also whipped up a pumpkin pie... Evan's favorite.

Pumpkin Custards

I love Fall! The cool days and crisp air inspire me to cook (yes, even more then I already do). And our favorite thing to cook with this time of year is pumpkin! This morning McKayla requested pumpkin custard so the two of us mixed some up and it is baking right now and Mmmm the house smells good!

Pumpkin Custard Recipe

1 12oz can evaporated milk
4 eggs (farm fresh of course)
1/3 cup sugar
16 oz pumpkin puree (homegrown is best)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix all ingredients together and pour into 6-8 ramekins (depending on size) and bake in a water bath at 325F for 35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and refrigerate for 2 hours. Enjoy!