Turnips get a bad wrap!

When was the last time you had turnips. I remember my Mom serving boiled turnips, pureed with S & P and butter. I wanted to hold my nose to finish the pile on my plate.
Well, never again! You all have to try turnips once again, but in a more sophisticated but easy way!
This weekend we dug up potatoes, onions and turnips! A sea of yellow and white on my harvest table.
I checked my Italian cookbook, Silver Spoon, and found a fabulous recipe just for these three items! This is my adaptation of it:
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 lb white turnips, trimmed of the greens and thinly sliced
1lb of white potatoes sliced (I picked fresh yukon gold)
1/4 cup veggie stock
1 tbsp dried or 2 tbsp fresh minced oregano
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
S&P to taste
Place onion in a skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil and saute on medium heat until opaque but not browned.
Add the sliced potato and turnips, toss to coat and saute for another 3 minutes. Add S&P to taste and the veggie stock, saute to coat with stock and pour in an oven-proof cassorole dish or small roasting pan. Place in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Almost all the stock should be eliminated, if it gets too dry, add a bit more. Sprinkle the minced oregano over the vegetables and sprinkle the mozzarella over the top for the last 10 minutes of roasting. Serve! Yummy!
It's so good, you'll make this a regular dish.
We served it with rib steaks marinated in olive oil and assorted dried peppers ground and rubbed in the meat, grilled, with sauted mushrooms. And for the greens, I cooked the turnip greens like spinach and sprinkled fresh grated parmesean cheese on top.
A fabulous meal after a tough weekend of weeding and mulching the garden with hay. I also had to dust my greens as the worms have been appearing. So, after dusting the entire garden with oganic dust, (took me about 1 1/2 hours) I was feeling satisfied until I wake up at 3AM to fierce wind and driving rain. So much for the dust! And why can't the weather team predict these storms? I sure wouldn't waste the time if they had predicted rain! So, this week I'll have to dust again! The only job that you can be wrong everyday and still get paid!

New addition to the Farm!!!

We have a new baby chick!

Our nesting hen has been taking good care of her eggs. She's been sitting on 5 of them and one hatched two days ago. Steve went into the coop to feed everyone and refresh their water and our black nesting hen was making noises. He lifted her chest to check her eggs and out popped a nice fluffy chick that must have hatched the night before. The chick was moving well and chirping nicely.

Last night, arrived home and hopped on the tractor. I drove around the farm while following Steve. He picked up all the branches that had fallen in the last storms we had a few nights ago. Bucket after bucket full. I love driving the tractor, it's a lot more fun than a golf cart!

Picked another cucumber, yellow wax beans and a lb. of snow peas. I grilled some shrimp, that was marinated in lime juice, cilantro, green onion, grated ginger, olive oil and minced garlic. Then I blanched the snow peas and tossed them with 1 TBSP of Thai Fish Sauce, 2 TBSP soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil and served them over a bed of rice noodles with the shrimp on top.

On the side I whipped up a cucumber salad : Sliced cucumbers, 1/4 cup of rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 green onion, sliced; and 1/4 tsp Saracha chili sauce just for kick! Blend all ingredients in a shallow bowl, let stand for at least 30 minutes in the fridge, then serve.

Dinner: Cognac Carrots & Cream Fettucini

Dinner last night: I had a 1/2 pint of heavy cream to use which I bought to make for the cheese cake but didn't need the calorie overload. So what to make for dinner. I looked in the fridge and saw a half pound of baby carrots calling my name. Inspiration hit!
Take the half pound baby carrots and slice them thin in the processor. Doesn't matter what side they get sliced, just thin enough to cook faster.
Add them to a skillet with 1 tbsp of butter, saute for 3 minutes. Add 1 TBSP fresh Thyme and 1/4 cup Couvoisier Cognac. (Thank you Christine & Gislain) and saute another 5 minutes. Most of the cognac will be eliminated and don't hang your head over the skillet, it's strong! Then add the heavy cream and simmer at a low temperature, from 3 to 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta, 1 lb fettucini, until done. Try to complete the pasta boil at the same time as finish the sauce. Scoop out pasta right from the boling pot and add directly to the sauce skillet. Add all the pasta and toss slowly while it mixes the flavors for about 2 minutes. Serve with fresh grated parmesean and a green leafy salad with basic vinaigrette and a glass of Pinto Grigio.
Yummy!!!!

Chicklettes down of the Farm

The chicks are getting big! They are not quite teens yet, but they are developing personalities, so I call them Chicklettes! The Cuckoo Marans are defintiely the most social and hop over as soon as you enter the brooder coop. The Creve Coeur's and the Polish are active but still skiddish. They are all so cute. This morning, a Cuckoo Maran hopped out to greet me and stood still below my feet. It was facinated with my brown toe nails, (I had flops on) and I put my hand down near the ground and it hopeed in my hand and curled up to snuggle! It was so cool.

I put a bowl of crumbles in front of me so I could take a puicture of it. Others hopped over to check out the action!

Greens: Mustard, Turnip and Spinach

7 lbs of greens, picked, blanched and frozen. That was my tasks for Sunday evening, while I was waiting for the cheese cake to cool; Steve's request for Father's Day! A raspberry cheese cake with chocolate crust and berries sauce on top. Fresh berries picked Saturday morning: blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries cokked for 5 minutes with 1/4 cup of sugar 1/4 cup of Triple Sec and a bit of corn startch to thicken. Yummy! The entree was rib steacks with ancho chile rub, steamed broccoli (picked in the am) with lemon vinaigrette, and fresh garden salad, including radishes, lettuce and cucumbers from our garden. How do you spell FIBER! :)

We took a short excursion on the motor cycle this weekend and discovered a very nice surprise. We always wondered why many of our neighbors had boats! Their ponds weren't big enough to hold them that's for sure. But on our short ride we discovered we live very close to Hillsdale Lake and State Park. Wow! It's beautiful! Full-service camping area, quite large marina and shelters for large crowd gatherings! Steve is very excited and now wants a new toy! A boat!

Steve worked very hard this weekend as well He installed our 250 gallon water tank to the north side of the barn, made a spicket, at the bottom, ready for a drip line hose and now when it rains, all the rain draining on the north side of the barns will fill the tank. The way it's been raining, one good rain should do it, but it will help the gardne a lot. Drip lines will run right out to the garden where my corn and pumpkins pathc is. This area is the hardest to reach by the other rain barrels.

Cultivate, Fertilize,Weed and Watch!!!

Planting is done! For now!

Now I have the tasks of cultivating all the rows, fertilizing with worm castings tea, weed, weed weed, and then watch everything grow until I can pick something.

I am, actually, picking Swiss Chard, broccoli, purple peppers, peas, (both snap and sugar) blueberries, strawberries, blackberries ...and we got our first cucumber! A beautiful 10 inch cucumber. I hid it in the back of the fridge. Steve can demolish an entire cuc in one sitting! It's his favorite snack! He has also requested a cheesecake, topped with mixed berries! Who can refuse such a request?

I am looking for additional recipes for Swiss Chard. I have a lot! I even gave some away at our book club meeting the other night as a door prize! Ha!

Baby chicks are doing great! They are healthy and hopping everywhere! That is everywhere in their brooder coop! Having a great time trying to climb on each other.

Our ducks have deminished by 2. We are down to six because of the fox family that has taken to squatting in our stable up in back. The male comes out every morning and at dusk looking for dinner for his family! We are not amused! Steve is on patrol to scare him away at both shifts each day!

We have another problem, our pear trees. Last year the yield on the two trees was so great, we couldn't can the pears fast enough. This year I keep checking and I have not one pear on the tree. Before the tornados blew through, my trees were loaded with blossoms. They looked so beautiful. Then the next week, my trees have no blossoms or pears! Nothing but leaves! I think the tornados blew off all the blossoms before they can flower into fruit. Does anyone have any other theories? I have never had fruit trees before, so I am learning as I go along. I have 2 apple trees also. I have 1 visible apple. Same thing, blossoms were beautiful, then nothing! How can I go through an entire year without my Ginger Pear pork chops? Impossible!

Dinner from the grill and the garden

After a grueling tennis match (no, I didn't win but had a great time, Thanks Maria!) I was craving protein. Rib steaks on the grill marinated with 2tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp brown sugar and 1 clove of garlic minced. Mix marinade, add to a zip lock bag and marinate steaks for at least 30 minutes. Grill 5 minutes per side, we like them mowing in the middle!

Served with red small new potatoes, sliced not quite through, rubbed with chipotle seasonings and olive oil, wrapped in foil. Place on grill with indirect heat for 45 minutes.

I had 1 lb. of radish tops left and picked 1 lb. of swiss chard. Washed and drained. I cut the chard into 1 inch srtips. Aded the radish tops and chard in a saute pan, added 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp sugar. Saute on medium heat for 10 minutes or until the chard stems are tender.

Wow! What a meal. Everyone should grow radishes! They are so easy, harvest in a month and always make a great crunchy snack and don't forget those greens! Yummy!

Houdini Ducks and green peas!

So, we have houdini ducks who can find their way out of the best fences!!!!
I come home every night and watch across the state road as my ducks sleep under my neighbors huge trees! I am not sure why they constantly treck out of the 3 acres they live in (with a 1/3 of an acre pond) to our neighbors farm across the road! If anyone can lend some advice (besides roast duck) please send us some.
The garden is doing great! I picked the last of the radishes and will replant some this weekend. Potatoes are bulging and I had to pile the soil on the plants. No peaking spuds! With the 98 degree heat my corn has really shot up! As well as the cucumbers. The plants look nice and lush.
We have peas! I picked my first peas last night and yes, it is late. I hope the heat doesn't stunt the yeild. The strawberries love the sun and I pick more each day. I put 4 lbs in the freezer on Sunday. Next large batch is for jam.

The baby chicks are doing fine. A couple little rascals keep hopping out of the brooder and wondering how they did it! They just sit and stare at the other side and can't figure out how to get back! Small brains of course!
Our last black giant chicken has been nesting on 5 eggs for two weeks. She refuses to give them up so we are letting her hatch them. She's taking very good care of them and in one more week we may have a few baby chicks to add to our batch.
If anyone is out driving around on a Sunday afternoon and wants to come buy to visit, you may just go home with some swiss chard. We have a lot! I am now taking orders at $3.99 a pound.
Swiss chard can be used like spinach, but my favorite is in soups and stews. Bacon or ham bits, checken broth, white beans and swiss chard makes a soup to die for! Sprinkle a bit of parmesean on top, slice some crusty bread and pour yourself a nice glass of chardonnay and you are in heaven!

New Arrivals Good & Bad

What a weekend!

Friday started with spitting rain, cloudy skies and too much mud to garden. So, I hit the kitchen and made my first home-made angel food cake, filled with strawberries and topped with strawberry glaze and whipped cream. 6 hours later and a dozen eggs whites peaked to perfection, I decided it was delightfully tasty but too much work. A nice store-bought angel food cake with fresh stawberries is good enough for me!

Lots of chores were done. I worked from 10 in the morning on Saturday to about 6:30PM. Weeding and fertilizing with worm-castings tea. Weeding has to be my most unfavorite activity in the garden. Saturday night we had molasses BBQ ribs, american macaroni salad with diced fresh radishes served with baked beans. Finger licking good!

Monday, midday, Willie and Lexie were coming out to say goodbye before driving back to STL and I called for them both to stop! A 6ft black snake was making his way toward the barn, right across the kids path. He looked nasty! And while they eat their fair share of farm rodents, they also eat checiken and duck eggs! Well, after his initial shock, Willie grabbed the shovel and tried to chop him in two! The shovel blade bounced off his firm body and boy, did he get mad! Coiling in rage he reared up to strike! No worries, he pinned his head against the shed wall with the lawn rake while Willie swung the ax. His aim could have been better but on his thrid swing he chopped his head off. His prior swing cut his body in two p[ieces and out popped a near dead frog he had for lunch! That sucker kept moving for 15 solid minutes after be decapitated! That's what I call perseverence!

Not two hours later Steve drives by me on the tractor, after burying the black snake and he stops at the edge of the pond. He's looking intently at the edge. I follow his sightline and there I see a 4 foot northern water snake with a giant bull frog in his mouth. Well, I now know what to do, I run for the ax, still unclean from the last kill. Steve takes one swing and off with his head! Steve picked him up with a shovel and placed him in the front loader of the tractor. He also moved around for 10 minutes after he didn't have a head! No wonder the ducks have been swimming so close to shore in the pond! They had company in there.

That was enough excitement for me for a year! I hate snakes!

What a day! I was exhausted! Tomorrow we get ready for nice new arrivals!

They've arrived! 27 baby chicks, so tiny they can barely stand up but boy are they noisy! Our new ladies are a mix of black Creve Coeurs, Golden Polish Cresteds and Cuckoo Marans! They have a nice warm brooder to stay in and in 6 months, I'll be able to keep up with my growing egg customer base. Photos above, left to right,Golden Polish Crested, Cuckoo Maran and the Creve Coeur.