Friday, October 25, 2013

Hard Freeze Warnings for Tonight and New Babies at the Farm.


I just got back this week from Palm Springs.  Nights have been 39 to 40 degrees, quite a difference from Palm Springs weather.  Starting last night I picked 30 lbs of green tomatoes, cut all my herbs, picked the tomatillos and covered the cabbage, beans and pepper plants.  Hopefully we will have some warmer weather for a while so I can get a good batch of beans before Thanksgiving.  I really only need one more good week.  Plants are full of blossoms. 
We also have 8 new baby ducks at the farm.  Our Mallard female got together with a mallard male and a Peking male, so we have a mixture of black and beige ducks.  One baby seems to be almost all white and the others look like Dalmatians! It will be interesting to see what they look like as full grown.
With the cold weather descending on us, I made a pot of hearty Butternut Squash Soup with coconut milk and ginger with a bit of spice.  Sort of a Thai theme. Recipe below:
1 large roasted butternut squash, peeled and cut into small pieces
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp. minced ginger
salt & pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 cup of red lentils
1.4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Cook the above ingredients in a crock pot oh high for 4 hours.  Add 1 can of lite coconut milk and stir to combine.  Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth, adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with crusty French bread and Chardonnay! Yummy