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No farmer's market this week

Kids are sick and demanding. Here's hoping for a better week next week.

Saskatoon Season

Yes, it is saskatoon season. The best way to save money preserving is to get supplies for free, right? Saskatoons grow wild everywhere, I have 3 bushes in my yard alone.
We started by picking an ice cream bucket full of berries. Yakko helped me crush them with a potato masher.

At this point, we were intending to make jam. My neighbor called me during the crushing process and said "you aren't making jam out of these berries are you? The seeds are huge!"

Ok, so we switched things up to make jelly. At least she didn't call me 5 minutes later.

So, to make jelly, we take the crushed berries and boil the hell out of them for 20 minutes. As they cook, we run downstairs and search desperately for some thin fabric because there is no cheesecloth or jelly bags in the house. We found a piece of thin muslin, about 36"x36"
Put the pseudo-cheesecloth in a bowl and pour the cooked berry goo inside.

Tie up the corners of the cloth and make a bag. Hang it somewhere over a bowl or large measuring cup and leave it overnight. Try not to get too attached to your counters staying their original colour. This stuff stains.


Next morning, sterilize jars and fill a small pot with your lids and rings as well as some water. Don't boil canning lids! It makes them not work.



Measure off 3 1/2 cups of juice and pour it into the biggest pot you have. Add 1 package of Certo crystals and cook until it is boiling. Add 5 cups of sugar and cook, stirring constantly until it is up to a full, rolling boil again. Boil it for 1 minute and then remove it from heat


It will grow once you add the sugar! See that line where the juice was? Yeah, that is most of the way up my big pasta pot.

After it has stopped boiling, pour the jelly into sterilized canning jars, screw on the lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. This makes 6 cups of jelly. It's really good!

The Boi says "Wow! It tastes like blueberries and honey!" and he doesn't normally like fruit or jam. 5/5

What you can get for $15

The BC Farmer's Market Association has a program where they provide selected families with $15/week in coupons to use at the market. Yay! I thought I would feature some ideas that the $15 will get ya.
First, a photo of $15. That's lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, green onions, potatoes, baby carrots and a dozen eggs. I probably could have purchased more economical foods, but the garlic and carrots lured me with their siren song. I also got a lot more than 2 potatoes, but we eated them.


Potato Salad
4 good sized potatoes (4-5 lbs)
baby carrots
1/2 c mayo
1/4 c mustard
3 cloves of garlic
Green onions
Salt and pepper

Boil potatoes and chill overnight. Cut into bite-sized pieces and add carrots and any other tasty veggies from the garden. Radishes are very nice.
In a medium bowl, mix together mayo, mustard, garlic, green onions, salt and pepper. Toss with potatoes and add seasonings as needed. Top with devilled eggs because that way, you only bring 1 bowl to the picnic

For Devilled Eggs:
3 hard-boiled eggs
1 tbsp mayo
Salt and pepper
oregano
1 clove of garlic, minced
paprika
Cut the hard-boiled eggs in half, scoop out the yolks. Mash yolks with remaining ingredients except paprika. Put the yolk mixture back in the whites and sprinkle paprika over top.

Boi rates the dish 4/5. Needed salt but we were on a picnic which makes it a little hard to add.

Mustard-sauced potatoes

Just a quickie. No pictures because that would mean I remembered to bring my camera to Mom's


Mustard-Sauced Potatoes (thanks Charmin!)

1/4 c butter
1/4 c mustard
2 garlic scapes
2 green onions
salt and pepper
4 big potatoes, chopped

Melt butter. Whisk in mustard until smooth and chop garlic scapes and onions. Toss together with potatoes, wrap in foil and throw them on the BBQ until done (about 1/2 an hour)

Alternately, roast in a 350 degree oven for about 25-35 minutes.

Yum.

They can't all be winners.

Lets anyone think I am some perfection-obsessed control freak, I thought I would share the failures this week














1. Dehydrated Strawberries


I tried drying these with my new, no instruction book included dehydrator. They all stuck to the trays and apparently I totally overdried them because they turned to powder and tasted burnt when they were done. Lesson learned? Check for dryness on cooled fruit and maybe rotate the trays.

2. The garden.

I really have to go take pictures because the garden does look pretty cool. Unfortunately, peas and lettuce crapped out on me so I only have blank space where those should be. A few other things have been disappointing and the grasshoppers like basil almost as much as I do.

3. The culinary fickleness of 6 year olds.

Nope, can't get him to eat 1/2 of what I make. No way, no how.

It's Hot!

How hot? About this hot.
Today it got up to 37 degrees, but we still have some cooking for you!

Tomorrow is going to be 39, by the way. Hey, it's a dry heat! Seriously, relative humidity today was 18%. It makes me giggle when I see dehumidifiers for sale at Canadian Tire.

Yesterday we went to the Friday Market and got radishes and garlic scapes. It was really nice.
Not just because of the radishes and stuff, but also because they are co-ordinating it with music in the park.
We bought our veggies (the twirly things are scapes)














Listened to good music














Big people napped with very little people.















And I made Radish and garlic scape salad
It's not quite as delicious looking when finished, but the recipe couldn't be simpler.

Radish & Garlic Scape Salad

1 bunch of radishes
1 garlic scape
dill or other fresh herbs
sour cream
salt and pepper

Slice the radishes and garlic scape thinly. Mince fresh herbs. Toss on a bit of sour cream, salt and pepper.Stir well and let it sit for at least an hour in the fridge
Don't use as much sour cream as I did.


















I also made some boiled potatoes from my farmer's market purchases today. Yep. That's excitement.


Boiled potatoes Wash potatoes, boil in water. I guess there is something easier than radish salad

Today's Saturday haul was as follows: Romaine lettuce, bread, rhubarb, swiss chard, spinach, baby potatoes, cherries and eggs. I am quite excited about the cherries. No recipe needed, just eat as is.
One last recipe for such a warm day

Messy Eggs
1/4 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper
3 cooked potatoes
4 eggs
1/4c milk
1/2 c cheese

Saute onion and garlic. Toss in red pepper and potato and cook until hot. Scramble eggs and milk and pour in. Stir a bit until almost cooked, sprinkle cheese on top and put a lid on the pan. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. This is a great way to use of leftover veggies or meat.

Success!

After a week of Boi assuming the dishwasher is hooped, I just fixed it with vague instructions posted on the internet. His eczema and my budget thank me.

Also, I finished at 10:59 Pm. Dude, i'm freaking tired. Still easier than washing dishes though

What I do on Satuday

Unlike a certain former children's show star, I will tell you what i do on saturdays.



I painted! Took me 3 weeks to take Yakko's room from this:














To This:
The paint was a mistint which cost me $4. The bunkbeds were $10 at a garage sale. We plan to throw some plywood up where a top bunk would be to give Yakko a sister-proof play area. Add some supplies and the total cost on this bedroom reno was $15.
As you can see, Dot has now moved in with her big bro too.

It was a pretty half-assed job. The walls are rough and bumpy from the former paint and the overall level of house suckage. The important part is, the people who live in that room? They love it.





Here's a forlorn coconut













And my girls.

Footlong Fries and other kid-friendly foods.

This week, our farmer's market recipe centers around kid-friendly food, cheaper than a frozen pizza. I paid $10 and had enough food for 2 meals plus copious leftovers. Ok, so there was some cheating. I have a few things on hand.

Clockwise from left: Romaine Lettuce from Mendel and Paula, Kale from them too, "rapini" and potatoes from Gus and a little bag of fresh basil from Golden Ears farm.
The rapini looks like a very early harvested spanish onion. Either way, they were pretty damned potent.



The inspiration for the footlong fries should be obvious. in reality, the fries were only about 9" long. That's still a freaking huge potato. That's my hand for comparison.




Wednesday night dinner:
Footlong Fries with Pesto Mayo and Smoked Paprika Mayo

Disclaimer: if you eat raw eggs, you will die or something.


Footlong fries are pretty easy. Simply get some huge potatoes, chop them into fries and toss in an olive oil, salt, dried herb and pepper mixture. Be generous with the salt. Bake on a rack at 400 degrees for about 30-45 minutes

Videos are worth 1000 words, so please watch this video

I used a slightly different recipe, but the principle is the same.
Put 2 egg yolks and some dry mustard in the blender. Turn on and whizz around for 20 seconds. Add olive oil gradually, in a thin stream with the blender running. When the mayo thickens, add salt, pepper, lemon juice and a little red wine vinegar.

When I had finished the mayo, I took half and made Smoked Paprika Mayo

1/2 cup mayo
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp hot sauce or chili paste
salt
pepper


Mix everything together. Eat.

The green mayo is the mayo that was left in the blender got made into Basil Mayo.

1/2 cup mayo
1 bunch of basil. I used about 15 leaves
1 green onion'1 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper

The salad was just a delicious head of romaine with crumbled feta and an oil and vinegar dressing.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 from the Boi.
Kids question: What was your favorite part?
Yakko (6): "I like the fries!"
Wakko (2): "Yellow!"
Dot was sleeping.

Thursday Night: Kale Potato Soup


1 lb ground beef
6 really strong green onions (I would probably use 1 big onion normally)
2 cloves of garlic
3 russet potatoes
3 small purple potatoes
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
1 tsp vegetable boullion
5 leaves of kale, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper

Brown the beef in a big pot. Throw in the garlic and onions part way through and cook until they are soft.
Peel potatoes and dice. Throw them in the pot and add the chicken stock, water, veggie boullion and some salt. Cook for 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Make the potatoes right in the pot roughly with a potato masher. leave lots of chunks.
Add the kale and cream, heat through (4-5 minutes)
Adjust seasoning to your taste



While the purple potatoes are not necessary, they sure are fun. For some reason, when they are cooked, the skin looks remarkably like bacon.

Family review
Boi: 4.5. It would be 5 if there was bacon.
Yakko: "I like the broth. Do I have to eat the green stuff?"
Wakko: "I want more that!

Greens, Greens, they're good for your heart

The more you eat, the more you...

Oh, hi! I know you!

For our first installment of Farmer's market recipes, we have greens. Why greens? Because it's June and that's all that grows.

What beautiful greens they are, though!




Clockwise from left: Red leaf lettuce, red romaine lettuce, oak leaf lettuce, beet greens and heavy rye bread

The lettuce is all from Mendel and Paula from Deadman Creek. The bread is from Bohemian Bakery and the kale is from Golden Ear farm. THe beet greens are from Anna, but we will get to those another day.

I took pictures of Mendel and Paula, but apparently my photography skills leave something to be desired.





The best thing to do with fresh, beautiful greens is, of course a salad. I made some carrot curls and tossed in yet another single radish from the garden for garnish

Salad recipe is obvious. Um, wash and rip up lettuce, add other veggies as appropriate.

My standard dressing went something like this

Salad dressing

1/2c olive oil
1/3c lemon juice
1tsp salt
roughly 1tbsp of minced fresh herbs (I used sage, chives, oregano and thyme)
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
sprinkling of romano cheese
1/8tsp dry mustard

Put it in a small jar and shake it up really well. You can replace the fresh herbs with dried, but only use 1 tsp in that case.

With the kale and bread I made French onion-kale soup
3 tbsp butter
4 onions, sliced very thinly
2 tsp salt
bunch of kale, chopped, stems removed
4c water
2 tbsp soy sauce
dash of Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
Generous application of black pepper (to taste)
dash of hot sauce for kick.
Crusty bread
Swiss cheese

Melt the butter. Cook the onions and salt over medium heat until they are soft. Put the lid on your soup pot and let the onions simmer over lowered heat for about half an hour, until they're really, really soft and quite golden. Add kale, water, soy sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, oregano and pepper and cook for 5-10 minutes (until kale is done) Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste.

Toast the slices of crusty bread and then place over the soup in an oven-proof dish. Top with swiss cheese and put under the broiler until browned.

Kid rating 3/5
Husband rating 4/5 (remarkable, as he doesn't care for onions)

I feel better now

I feel better than James Brown

Some much-needed warmth boosted my gardenosity this week. The yard is green and weedwacked.
















I have saskatoon berries ripening.















Small people are invading sandboxes
















I got my very first vegetable from my garden (a radish, which my daughter promptly chewed and spat out)



My 4'x4' square foot gardens are thriving, with sprouts of soy beans, Armenian cucumbers, a couple kids of tomatoes and some rather delicious hot peppers. I also have chives, oregano and caulioccoli.



Did you know that if you google "caulioccoli" you only get 1 result? Well, 2 now. Who the hell wants to eat broccoflower? Caulioccoli is much more exotic.

Those who know me, nag me to start my "farmer's market recipe o'the week" feature. Next week's will likely be a spinach dish

But, y'all almost got no pictures! Why? Because my computer sucks. I blame Vox, because all of these problems started when my husband moved his blog over there.

Goodnight, Sam

It's been a rough week. Sam (the dog, for my 3 readers who aren't up on my life) disappeared on Sunday. She's 16. She has arthritis and bad hips, like all old Black Labs. She's also deaf, and has of Saturday, apparently a little bit senile.

On Saturday, Mom and Dad found her wandering down the middle of the highway. She has lived at the farm for 7 years or so, and has never set food on the road before now.

Sunday morning, Mom woke up and Sam was gone. She had wandered off during the night, and nobody could find her. They looked at the neighbor's, they looked up the hill. Dad even went down the highway, checking the ditch.

Tuesday, Dad found her on the bank of the irrigation pond, not 40' from the house. She was still alive, but weak. Her hips are so bad, she couldn't climb the bank back to the house and just laid there for 2 nights. She never made a noise. We would have heard her if she barked or whined.

Sam hasn't eaten or drank anything since Dad found her, except for the baby bottle of water mom gave her last night. She sounds like she has pneumonia, she hasn't gotten up off her cushion at all. We're going to take her to the vet tomorrow morning (first appointment we could get) and have her put down. She's had a good run, but nobody should suffer like this. Now all I can hope is that her departure is quiet and peaceful.

Goodnight, Sam. We will miss you.

On meat

I think a lot about food while I am at work. What I want for dinner, how it is grown and the weird shit that is in some food-like substances.

There is nothing more full of fucked-uppittyness than factory-farmed animals. Now, I am not saying that everyone absolutely has to consume organic cows which have been killed under moonlight with a pagan priestess saying prayers to their soul. We should be somewhat mindful that these are living creatures. Creatures who are delicious, especially when allowed to roam and eat other tasty creatures.

If you are what you eat, by extension you are what your food eats. A cow living in a high-density feedlot eats corn. Oh, and also corn. And some antibiotics because it is literally up to it's knees in shit. Many animals are also fed animal by-products to replace minerals and protein, which is a likely reason for Mad Cow Disease.

Eggs are not exempt. Even free run simply means that the chickens are not kept permanently caged, rather they can run around a very crowded barn with other chickens, never to see that light of day. Now, there is a reason for this where I live. The winters are cold and a chicken cannot be allowed outside for 6 months out of the year. Chickens are really dumb and would freeze. Also, coyotes find chickens almost as tasty as I do.

So, what is the solution to all this? Simple. Make friends with your local farmer. The additional cost is minimal and can be very low when buying in bulk.

Winter, you win

Blogging will resume once the snow stops falling once and for all. Right now, I'm just sick of this.

Ripped from the headliines

Woman attacks meteorologist
Burnaby, BC (AP)-- The Global BC studios were shocked today when a woman burst into the newsroom and savagely beat the meteorologist unconscious with a snow shovel.
The suspect, identified only as Throkky, was heard to mutter "I said if he makes one more joke about snow in the interior, I'm going to lose it" shortly before she bypassed security at the station.
The Hawaiian shirt-clad weatherman had reported earlier that several parts of the Interior had received considerable snow accumulations overnight. He was taken to hospital where he is in stable condition.
As the news cameras gathered around, the suspect shouted "where the hell is global warming when you need it?" as she was taken away in a police cruiser. She is to appear in court tomorrow and is expected to plead not guilty by reason of insanity (the Cabin Fever defense)

Square Foot Gardening, fence destruction

No pictures today kids. It has been snowing, melting, then snowing again. The yard is still just as brown as 2 weeks ago. Plus, it's 10 PM, so it's a week bit dark for snapping pics.

Anyways, the wee little garden square is more than half planted. I am using the Square Foot Gardening method this year, to keep it from going too nuts. I already know i will need at least 2 more 4x4 squares to plant what I need.

Each square starts life as 2-2x8s, 8 ft long.l They're screwed together and lined with a hearty amount of newsprint (no coloured inks though). I throw finished compost, peat moss and cheap potting soil on in layers until it is full up to the top.

The box is divided in 1' squares, and I plant a different vegetable in each square. It l.ooks very neat and orderly so far.

Al.so, i ripped down my fence.l More about the how and why tomorrow.

What not so say to a gardener in spring

March 31st, 7:30 am

"Dear, can you wake up? I have to go shovel the driveway before work."

Signs of spring

Despite the desolate look of the whole yard right now, I have found the odd little sign of spring. The tulips are sprouting, the grass has the tiniest little green shoots and all of the snow is finally gone.
Today was the traditional easter egg hunt, and I happened to spot these tiny little hints of life.




I also planted garlic in my square foot garden. It took 3 squares to get it all planted and that is just a fraction of the garlic we consume in a season. I think I am going to need a new more raised beds to even accommodate all the foods we like.

By the way, if anyone actually wonders about the titla of this blog, my yard is so rocky that everything has to be planted in the raised beds. Get it? Dig up? Haha, yeah, it's awful.

Dig up, Stupid

This is my new blog. A blog of gardening, green renovations and trying to do it all with 3 kids in tow.

Today, my garden looks like this:


See that square in the lower right hand corner? That's going to be the vegetable patch. I have random bulbs popping up all over the place.

I really dislike the snow. I wish I could just will that stupid patch of it at the top away.