Green Bean, Tomato and Feta Salad

So, I have all these fresh green beans, and after prepping most of them for the freezer, I saved about two cups worth for this salad for dinner.  I served this salad with Greek Marinated Pork Chops and Israeli Couscous with chick peas. That's good eating!

Green Bean, Tomato and Feta Salad
2 cups , fresh green beans blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water and cooled to room temp
2 large red tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup of Feta crumbles
Place all ingredients in a large salad bowl and toss with Vinaigrette

Greek Herb Vinaigrette
1/4 cup EV Olive oil
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP White Wine vinegar
1TSP of each: onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried mint,
salt & pepper to taste
Wisk all ingredients in a small bowl until well combined, pour over vegetables.

Makes 2-4 servings.  Two if you eat a lot of veggies like us!

Chinese food time! Those peas just keep on coming!

With harvesting the last of the Pak Choi, and broccoli, then turnips, beets, asparagus, green beans, radishes and many pea pods, its time to whip up some Chinese food.  This week we are concentrating on Thai, to use the Pak Choi, cilantro, fresh garlic and beet greens.  Pea Pods will be great with pork stir fry and carrots.  I pulled up a few test carrots and although they were only about 2/3rd mature, they will be a great addition to the dishes.

We have had rain for about 40 straight days, the garden loves it but my squash, cucumbers and lettuce needs a bit of sun.  Be careful what you wish for, I thought to myself on Sunday: on the first day of summer June 21st, it was 90 degrees and
70 % humidity!  UGH.

This week I have to cover the grapes, the birds are eating too many, pick the plums on the one tree we have and pick the wild blackberries.  Time to start making jam!

So Much Green!

After 32 straight days of rain we finally had a dry day.  Steve and I took advantage of it and got some chores done which included picking some greens!  Radishes, turnips, pea pods, broccoli, pak choy and Swiss chard.  Every type of green loved the cooler weather and the daily rain.

We also went to pick up some hardware for the new chicken coop, which we will be building this week.  On the way home we stopped at the KC Buffalo Co. which is at 203rd St.  We have been meaning to get there since we moved out to the farm. And we are so glad we did.  We met a very nice gentleman who gave us some education in raising and processing buffalo for meat.  We took our time looking through all the selection of cuts and chose several items to take home, one being bison burgers for dinner! Yummy.  I had to take a photo of these juvenile buffalos  before getting back in the car.  They were taller than me but just teenagers.  The lower field was filled with the more mature animals and boy are they big!  You just don't realize how big they are until you stand next to them.  We didn't hang around since we kept thinking of out favorite State Farm Commercial where the buffalo charges the guys car! Terrifically funny as long as it doesn't happen to you!

So we were told to sear the burgers quickly, I added a pat of butter in the pan first and Steve seared those burgers to perfection.  They were great. Tasty, lean , no preservatives and lower fat content than beef.  My kind of red meat!  I also bought a tail cut to make Osso Buco.  Yummy again!

SPRING IS FINALLY HERE!

Busy, Busy, Busy at the farm this spring.  Photo, above,  of Mr. & Mrs. Peacock.  We let Peekachoo (male) and Princess (female) peacocks out for a little exercise this spring.  But, since Peekachoo was eating half of the seeds I planted, and every sprig of asparagus appearing in the bed, they had to go back in their pen.  Princess was visiting next door, with the new male and two other females, so Steve and I went over to get her.  Steve grabbed her and brought her home to our pen, only to get confirmation from Sue that we took the wrong female and had to switch them.  Talk about a wasted afternoon of shitty shirts and lots of head ache.  Steve got shat on all over his clothes and proceeded to get some in his mouth and on his face.  Yuck!

But, seeding the garden went on and we are now seeing two inches of green growth on all the garden rows.  Now we have to clip the chickens wings because they are now attacking my strawberries and biting off the bean plant shoots.  I have replanted the beans and want to get them clipped to keep them out of the garden for good.

Back Deck has been dismantled, waiting to start the house foundation repair.  In the mean time we have cleared a spot for the new chicken coop and building will start this weekend. 
My duties are focused on weeding and finishing laying the tarps in rows to keep the weeds from growing. (pictured above)

A photo of the last batch of spinach we got from our cold frames.  Lettuce is almost done as well and I have replanted both types of greens in my raised beds which are now in the center row of the garden.

With all of this work going on, we had a week delay caused by feeding newly born kittens (2 or 3 weeks old) who were left by the mother (or she got killed) under the deck at Jim's house (our next door neighbor).  Steve crawled under the deck and retrieved them, brought them home and we bottle fed them for 5 days.  After getting no sleep I finally had to call the Great Plains SPCA who came to me rescue.  They took the babies and set  them up in the care of a foster home until they are old enough for adoption. Great, hard working folks who really care about the animals. I even got to feed them one last time when I dropped them off.

We have been getting nice rain showers, every couple of days, so we hope it continues for a few more months. Free water is a luxury these days.

A few folks stopped in for dinner a couple of weeks ago and I served Brined Grilled Pork Chops, roasted Yukon gold fingerling potatoes and sautéed dandelion greens with garlic, caramelized onions and  white wine.  I told everyone they had to try them before I would tell them what they were.  I received clean plates!  One of my favorite spring greens and then you have fewer weeds in your yard.  Just remember, you can't eat them if you spray your lawn with awful chemicals.  They are a treat for us organic growers only!

Its Chicken Soup Season!

Only the birds are surviving this winter weather.  Everyone else I know is either sick or has a loved one that is sick, so I thought I would share a basic chicken soup recipe then add variations, for those of you who have been sick for awhile and are getting tired of regular chicken soup.

I make chicken soup every time I buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store.   We have one or two meals from the chicken, pulled off the bones and the rest goes for the soup.  I do take time to remove the bones after the soup is made as my boys, including my husband, doesn't like to worry about the bones.  That way they can inhale the soup without worry!

Basic Chicken Soup
1 TBSP Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 chicken carcass, with a fair amount of scraps left on the bones
1 TBSP salt
1 TBSP black peppercorns
1 package of frozen classic mixed veggies
2 cups cooked, small size pasta, or rice.

Add the oil, onion, carrots, celery, garlic and salt in a stock pot and sauté and let the onions sweat a bit, until tender.  Then add the chicken carcass, black pepper and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.  I then add the mixed veggies and simmer for another 15-20 minutes.  Before I serve the soup I place a small amount of pasta or rice in a bowl.  I don't cook the pasta or rice in the soup because it gets mushy. Always cook it separately.

Now, you can make variations upon the recipe above:

Thai Chicken soup:
 Add 2 more cloves of garlic, 2TBSP of minced fresh ginger, with the onion carrot and celery. Add Hunan chile with the stock and substitute one can of lite coconut milk for half the water. You can also add mushrooms & kefir lime leaves for even more umami.

Mexican Chicken Soup
Add 1 TBSP chili powder to the vegetables at the start of the recipe, right after the onions are tender.  Then add a can of black beans and 1 cup of medium salsa and 1 can of diced tomatoes to the soup with the water. Reduce the water to 4 cups. I also add a bag of frozen corn and sprinkle fresh chopped cilantro when serving.

Lemon Saffron Chicken Soup:
Same recipe as above but add 1/2 fresh lemon to the pot, 1/2 TSP Saffron threads and 1 TSP Turmeric and simmer.  It gives it a bit of an Indian flare. I have even added 1 lb. of diced Swiss Chard  to this as well. Glorious and healthy.

Korean Chicken soup:
Add 1 cup chopped mushrooms, 1 TBSP diced fresh ginger, 2 Cloves garlic at the beginning with the onion & veggies, then add  1/2 cup of soy sauce and 2 TBSP Fish sauce to pot with the water, reduce the water to 5 cups.  In a separate pan, cook some rice noodles and when serving, place rice noodles in the bottom of the bowl, add soup then sprinkle fresh basil, bean sprouts and 1 TSP sesame oil.  Yummy!