Drumroll, please

End of year tally!

My high-tech and sophisticated November and December recording sheets (the free notepad left on our doorstep by a local realtor) were somehow confused, so I must combine these two months into one tally.

November/December 2011 Harvest Tally:
17 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
108 eggs

Year to date:
484 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
480 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

Pretty good numbers! I was hoping for a little higher in the fruit and veggie department, but our 3 new laying hens are right on track, producing eggs all through the winter as this is their first laying season.

Just for fun, a list of the produce we have grown and eaten from our property in 2011:
artichoke, avocado, basil, beet, bell pepper, blueberry, bok choy, boysenberry, broccoli, butternut squash, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chives, cilantro, corn, garlic, lettuce, lime, mushroom, nasturtium, onion, orange, parsley, peach, peas, persimmon, plum, pomegranate, potato, pumpkin, rosemary, sage, spaghetti squash, spinach, strawberry, Swiss chard, thyme, tomato, zuchinni.

In 2012 I look forward to trying some new plants like Jerusalem artichokes and hope that some of our trees will produce for the first time, especially the pear and apricot. Maybe this year we will solve the mystery of the lemon trees. We can't seem to keep a lemon tree alive and have tried 3 different ones in the same spot, and all yellow and die. Obviously, something is wrong with that spot. January and February are our big harvest months for oranges and avocados, and this year our avocado tree has finally borne fruit! Can't wait to add those to our menu. Dh pruned the peach and apricot trees this weekend and offered them threats while he was at it. If they don't produce well this spring, they will be replaced.

We have also been having trouble with veggies being stolen from our community garden plot so we are weighing our options for fencing. Electric barbed wire seems to top the list along with an alligator moat and/or tiger pit. What works well to keep your garden safe? What are you growing in 2012?

A fungus among us

Have you ever ordered anything on a whim?  Was it a box of magical dirt? I didn't think so, but I'd love to hear what impulsive catalog buys are lurking in your past. While looking through an awesome seed catalog at http://www.groworganic.com/ I saw this kids' science lesson/husband gift/entertainment-in-a-box and knew I had to order one. 3/4ths of my family shudder at the thought of eating mushrooms and I still think this is really cool.

Basically, the mushroom farm mails you a box of dirt inoculated with a specific mushroom mycelium (many varieties are available) and you just keep it cool, moist, out of direct sunlight, and voila, fungus grows! Edible fungus right in your own garage, not to be confused with that stuff in the gym shoes. This photo is the second crop and yielded about 1 pound. The first crop disappeared early one morning in an assault of butter and onions before I could document it for posterity. The kids and I had to air out the house for a little while, but we knew exactly where the clothespins are kept for such occasions.

Since the mushroom-ivore of the household couldn't keep up with production, I decided to dehydrate this batch. This photo shows a mushroom that is mature. The veil of the cap has torn open revealing the gills, though button mushrooms are usually seen with closed caps. Don't ask me if it makes a difference in taste. I will never know.

I found an endearing video with step by step instructions on how to dehydrate mushrooms- not that there is anything complicated about it. This guy just cracks me up.  

So I dried the shrooms for quite a while because it was raining and I don't think my dehydrator is very powerful. It may be an antique. I think they turned out okay. I may make a soup or something out of them. I guess you could put them in a red sauce for pasta or something if you liked that kind of thing. Oh, one suggestion I read said if slightly rehydrated they were good on pizza. Whatever. I hope the 25% of my household who actually puts these things in his mouth willingly just snacks on them like the video guy. No smell, no clothespins.

Did I mention the magic box purports to give me about 4 pounds of these things? Check out http://www.mushroomadventures.com/ for more varieties. The blue oyster ones look really intriguing...

October 2011 Harvest Tally:
16 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
48 eggs

Year to date:
467 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
372 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

Have you ever grown mushrooms? On purpose I mean.

Say cheese

Have you ever eaten truly fresh American mozzerella? I have and it is incredible. Warm and chewy, I've never seen a batch that's lasted more than 10 minutes. We don't even bother to put it on crackers or bread or melt it over a basil-topped tomato. Making a mozzerella cheese is harder than making soft cheeses like chevre or labneh (or yo-cheese as we call it) but it's a lot of fun, especially the kneading and stretching part. I'm definitely still a beginner at cheesemaking, but it is a great family activity and especially easy if you have access to a lot of great milk. For easy mozzeralla, you'll need to find two tricky ingredients and two easy ones. The easy ones; milk and salt. A gallon of store-bought cow's milk will work just fine and produce about 1 pound of cheese. I prefer whole milk. The less common ingredients are citric acid and rennet. You may be able to find these at a regular grocery store, you'll just have to look. I found citric acid in the bulk spice bin at my local Sprouts. I ordered liquid rennet from Dairy Connection Inc., a cheesemaking supply store, but you may find Junket tablets locally in the pudding and Jello section. Either animal or vegetable rennet will work. I won't describe the whole process because others have already done it with great pictures and explanations. This 30 minute Mozzarella recipe at cheesemaking.com is a great one. Another excellent site for cheesemaking is FANKHAUSER'S CHEESE PAGE which will walk you through the whole process of cheesemaking from beginner to advanced.

Let me know if you try making cheese!

Musical chickens

Another fun summer on my parent's hobby farm has come and gone. Being away for six weeks is an amazing experience for my kids and very relaxing for me, though I have to rely on others to tend my garden and chickens at home. I do have great support and this year thank Kim and Katelyn for keeping everything alive and well while we were gone.

I'd also like to thank (am I winning an award?) my mom for accepting my recycled chickens. This year I gave up the last of my very first city chickens, Hollyhock. The poor thing insisted on going broody two times a year, for nearly 4 months at a time. After moving to the country, Hollyhock quickly met a dashing young rooster and is currently sitting on a nest of tiny white eggs. Our Polish bantam, Poppy, who arrived at the farm a few months previous to Hollyhock, hatched 4 adorable chicks while we were visiting. That is one proud rooster. Petunia also retired to the farm this summer and is the only one of the city transplants to fit in with the flock. The silkie, Midnight, prefers to live with the goats and has become the roommate of a handsome buck named Milkman. My new pullets, Daisy (layer of the double yolk,) Sunflower, and Lemondrop are starting their egg laying careers.

August 2011 Harvest Tally:
47 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
18 eggs
 
September 2011 Harvest Tally:
40 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
28 eggs

Year to date:
451 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
324 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

Great harvest

July 2011 Harvest tally:
145 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
22 eggs

Year to date: 364 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
278 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

I heart tomatoes

Did you know tomatoes are the most popular backyard garden vegetable/fruit? It's probably true, but I just made that up. Do you know anyone who has planted a garden and never tried to grow a tomato? Me neither. I look forward to the first ripe tomato of the summer as much as my kids look forward to Christmas morning. This year we planted fewer tomatoes than usual, about 4-6 plants, but it has still been enough to keep us tomato happy.

My dd and I have already canned 14 quarts of tomatoes to use for spaghetti sauce, soups and chili during the winter. She became an expert at dipping the tomatoes in boiling water to get the skins to crack, then I would peel and core, and she would fill the jars. We make a great team, especially when ds is away at Cub Scout camp. I like this recipe because although the processing time is enormous, the prep work is minimal.

Just when I think I could never eat another tomato, another batch turns red and ripe. Perfect for sharing with friends and neighbors. Or potential friends and neighbors. Here are some of our favorite fresh tomato recipes. I hope you enjoy these super easy recipes.

Stuffed Tomato
Combine 1 can tuna fish with some mayo, diced pickles and celery. Core 2 large tomatoes, hollow out some of the insides and stir with the tuna mixture. Spoon the tuna mixture into the tomatoes and serve.
 
Bruschetta
This open-faced sandwich can have many variations. We like ours like this: Top a slice of bread with fresh basil leaves, tomato slices and mozzarella cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and starting to brown on the edges.
 
Bob and Larry Salad
Peel and chop 2 large cucumbers and about core and chop about 4 large tomatoes. The ratio of cukes and tomatoes should be equal. Add 2-3 TB olive oil, 2-3 TB apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and chopped fresh herbs. Try different combinations of herbs such as basil, parsley, chives, cilantro, oregano and thyme.
Why is it called Bob and Larry Salad?
 
Ratatouille
A fancy name for a simple summer vegetable stew. Many variations of this recipe are available. I like this one, but I don't bother to saute each veggie separately. I just use one big pot. Start with some oil and cook the onions, peppers and garlic first, adding the eggplant and herbs next and squash and tomatoes after a few more minutes. I don't use nearly as much oil either.
 
And of course, there is the requisite BLT, because bacon makes everything better.
 
Enjoy the summertime tomatoes. There is nothing quite like them, not even Christmas morning.

This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday.

June gloom

Ah, summer! Schools out, it's time to hit the beach! Grab the sunscreen and get ready to join the crowds soaking up some rays on the sand. Unless you live here, then hardy souls don their wetsuits while jackets are recommended for picture-taking moms.
A big thank you to Kirk and Tara Lantz at Alive Surfing for the awesome wetsuits. The sun and the crowds will arrive next month, along with bigger produce numbers.

June 2011 Harvest tally:
23 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
33 eggs

Year to date:

219 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies

256 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot and go to the beach even when its cold.