Farm Party

Last week we had the annual barn stomp farm party! It was so wonderful. The music and the food far out did last years event, although I missed the games that we so enjoyed last year.

The beautiful, sunny fall weather quickly turned cold as the sun went down. But we had a great three hours of dancing, eating, and enjoying the beauty of the farm. My friend Dustin was the chef this year and omgoodness did he do an amazing job! He and his helpers set out an incredible feast that included an entire roasted pig (raised by another friend of mine), a bunch of coho salmon, and more veggies from the farm than you can imagine. It was amazing (not to mention DELICIOUS!)

Here is a slideshow of the highlights... what a fabulous evening!

In my kitchen, at 8:22am, Friday, Sept 18th, 2009

Good Morning Sun!

This picture represents about 200lbs of food, made into goodness for the winter.

I am finished. It took 5 days, about 38 hours, and a good friend to get me through this week of preservation frenzy. But I am done. My yearly preservation list is almost checked off. I have a bunch more applesauce to do, and some apple pie filling... but I feel SO accomplished right now.

This is my ginger plum sauce. It is for dipping fresh rolls in. It is nothing but plums, brown sugar, and ginger. And it is so amazingly delicious. I can't imagine why the stores plum sauce has so many ingredients in it. This stuff is perfect, as is.

I had some major successes, and some that were not so great. Like the idea to put blueberries in my fruit cocktail instead of the formaldehyde filled Maraschino cherries. Yeah... that was not the best idea ever. lol! All of the jars of fruit cocktail are completely purple. Not bad, but they don't look great. I am thinking that a bunch of fruit cocktail cobbler is in my future. I am sure it tastes great though!

And here is the Blueberry Jam:

I made two varieties this year. When you have spent a full time job amount of time in your kitchen everyday for a week, you start getting 'inspired'. Well... the line between 'inspired' and 'bored' was very thin anyway.

On the right, we have the Honest Blueberry Jam from The Arugula Files. Great recipe. I also cut the sugar down to 5 cups and it worked great... 7 cups would have been WAY too much.

And then, to the left, we have my own newest creation, Dishonest Blueberry Jam. This jam was my 'inspired' moment. At first I was thinking that I would just add Balsamic Vinegar in place of the lemon juice... and then I was thinking, heck, why not really mix it up and add lavender to the pot as well. It is SO good... like give away for Christmas good. The flavor will knock your socks off. It has an almost blackberry richness, yet a subtle hint of tart and the lavender and blueberry are an excellent mix.

Recipes later. :)

Of course I can!!

Must notice the frantic look:

Found this at a food blog and really felt her pain... and her conviction today. Thought I would share.

I found a couple new food blogs lately that I have been really enjoying:

The Arugula Files

Chiot's Run

I am currently making the "Honest Blueberry Jam" (with my own modifications) from The Arugula Files archives. Must get back to it. But wow... it's beautiful!

In my kitchen at 4:29pm on Tuesday, Sept. 15th, 2009

I set up this table in the center of my kitchen when things get really crazy. You can see my whole set up here. Cutting board and knife in the center, big bowl or pan always to the right of me. Garbage bowl always to the left.

On the table is plums from a friends tree, a pot of apples about to be made into Strawberry Applesauce, a big bowl of bruised fruit to be made into fruit cocktail, and some little green apples from our little tree in the garden.

On the counter there are three half flats of blueberries for blueberry jam.

To the left side of the table is a laundry basket of apples for apple sauce.

Under the table is a box of beets for cake (it isn't full, thank goodness), and two lugs of tomatoes for sauce.

This is my view from where I stand at the other side of the table:

Here is where my littlest plays while I am doing my stuff. Sometimes I give him the less messy scraps to play with in his kitchen. Like the bean tops, or the little green tomato tops.

It is a pretty great set up... I am loving this house the more things I do in it. This kitchen isn't ideal for everyday... there is a lot of 'wasted' space. But for this type of endeavor, it is perfect. Just more proof that this house was meant for us... not just anyone... but for us.

And just as an aside, that table cloth was made from the sheets I posted about in this post. :) It fits both this table and my kitchen table perfectly... and I have enough for 8 napkins besides.

The Mother of all Onions

The Walla Walla was developed by a Italian American who developed it for the early maturation of the crop (weeks before other onions in the season). It was soon known for not only being early, but also being sweet enough to eat like an apple!

This tradition continues with four generations of this same family dedicated to growing the same wonderful crop of onions year after year.

The farms onions were, of course, grown on the farm, but the small farm tradition and the reverence for the Walla Walla variety still live on.

This onion is fast on it's way to bring a bloomin' onion for a wonderful end of summer feast. :)

Here is a recipe for an onion flower and a bit of history of the onions from the farm:

Life is Sweet for the Walla Walla Onion

Market Days

Val says "Get thee to a farmers market!"

Goodness my friends... there is SO much food out there this time of year. It is blowing me away. This is the time of year to shop at the farmers markets. You may get hooked, or you may be a seasonal shopper... but if there was any time to go, it would be right now. Everything is fit to bursting with incredible amounts of... well, everything! We have summer squash, right next to winter squash, we have carrots right next to our second planting of snow peas, we have tomatoes, and basil, right next to parsnips and rutabagas. We have everything!

My list for this week: ("Prepare to be amazed!" (a quote from a little friend)) Leeks, celery, sungold and plum tomatoes, red beets (for cake again), snow peas, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, Anaheim and bell peppers, purple cabbage, Romaine lettuce, Italian zucchini, romaine and red Oak Leaf lettuce, red and yellow onions (one is the mother of all onions!), 2 1/2 lbs of basil, a flat of sauce tomatoes, and 4 half flats of blueberries. In the fridge I have rutabaga, parsnips, a dozen eggs, and a half lb of local Chanterelle mushrooms.

And then I have this:

Bruised fruit from the stand next door to make fruit cocktail.

Apples from a tree offered on freecycle (in WA we have plenty of apples to share).

Menu for this week:

List of food preservation for the week:

Applesauce

Fruit Cocktail

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Plum Jam

Plum and Ginger Sauce

Blueberry Jam

Pesto

Roasted Bell Peppers (in olive oil)

Chocolate Beet Cake (to freeze)

I am going to be a busy lady this week...

Rainy Market Monday and a Menu Too!

I felt lucky to have new tents at the market this year. Last year, when we had a cold rainy day, slowly, ever so slowly, the tent would sag, and then all of a sudden DUMP water on us as we were working. Yesterday though, the new tents saved us from the horrid sudden waterfalls in most ways... by actually working and not sagging and such. So, that was good. What was not good was that we have two tents side by side... so between the two tents was this never ending stream of water pouring down between the two sides of the table. This was uncomfortable. Doubly so, considering that the 15 customers that did come to the market in the deluge asked for things from both sides of the tables... making us walk through the stream of water with every order. I was soaked to the skin (and standing in wet running shoes) the entire day. You really get to see the hard core local foodies when you work the market on a downpour day like yesterday. We thanked each and every person that came to our stand yesterday for coming out in that weather.

You prepare to be cold and wet in Nov... even Oct sometimes (at least you prepare for cold and wet in Seattle in Oct)... but Sept 6th? We were both in cotton layers, and the only reason we had coats is because we got up while it was still dark (ie; still cold). We were not as bad off as some (the lady behind us was in a running outfit and a apron. Poor thing was SO cold by noon that she was dancing around just to keep warm.) but still, a rather uncomfortable day, in which, once again, we made no money for the farm. Sigh.

Living locally in Sept is so easy. It is amazing the things you find this time of year. Anything and everything grows here.... except lemons (which we were asked for yesterday... weird.).

My list for this week: Bell peppers in all sorts of beautiful colors, celery, garlic, cherry tomatoes and Sun Gold tomatoes, red oak lettuce, romaine lettuce, curly parsley, leeks, Rose Finn potatoes, blond cucumbers, crookneck and Italian zucchini squash, purple cabbage, baby artichokes, fresh onions, Walla Walla onions, nectarines, white flesh peaches, a bag of beets for that cake recipe again (SO GOOD!), one dozen and 11 eggs (one broke, so she gave it to me), 12 chicken wings, a pizza and a huge brownie (which I ate there.) Oh, and I was given a 7 lbs (making it a $11) cabbage to make into soup (no one is going to spend $11 on one cabbage and we know it.)

After I got home and took a nice hot shower last night, The Man and I got to go out on a date. On the drive we saw these dahlias at a road side stand. Being local (out of someones front yard) I thought I would include them in the bounty for the week... isn't it beautiful?

Making a menu from this amazing bounty is only hard because there is so much to chose from. This week I chose these selections:

The "notes" section that is on this menu is really nice. I used it to add a couple snacks I want to be sure to make this week. The eggs are already boiled, and the beets are on the oven for a bunch of cupcakes right now. I'll save the smoothies for later in the week. (menu template found here) The Tiny Food Party is actually on Wed for Cyan and her girlfriends... I just forgot in the middle of writing, so I added it to Sunday so it had a place in the week. (Read the way I use my menu plans here.)

Happy Monday everyone!

Garden Photos

As you can imagine... moving twice in a 7 months does not lend itself well to a fruitful garden... but we have gotten a few things.

My first crop of purple potatoes! :) It was very exciting. I think we even got enough for a dinner later this week.

Minutes after I took this picture, that basil went into pesto for the freezer for winter. That just has to be good for you! Those tomatoes were put on nachos later that night as well... Even Logan ate them. :D My little boy is growing up.

Apple Season by Joyce Sutphen

The kitchen is sweet with the smell of apples, big yellow pie apples, light in the hand, their skins freckled, the stems knobby and thick with bark, as if the tree could not bear to let the apple go.
Baskets of apples circle the back door,
fill the porch, cover the kitchen table.

My mother and my grandmother are
running the apple brigade. My mother,
always better with machines, is standing at the apple peeler; my grandmother, more at home with a paring knife, faces her across the breadboard.
My mother takes an apple in her hand,

She pushes it neatly onto the sharp
prong and turns the handle that turns
the apple that swivels the blade pressed tight against the apple's side and peels the skin away in long curling strips that twist and fall to a bucket on the floor.
The apples, coming off the peeler,

Are winding staircases, little accordions, slinky toys, jack-in-the-box fruit, until my grandmother's paring knife goes slicing through the rings and they become apple pies, apple cakes, apple crisp. Soon they will be married to butter and live with cinnamon and sugar, happily ever after.

This was sent to me from my Aunt Pat. Her SIL sent this note along with it, I couldn't help but include the note here:

Hi: I loved the apple poem. Thanks. We had an apple tree in our back yard when we lived in Magnolia. It had three different apples - King, Golden Delicious and Winesap. It bore prodigiously. I made sauce, pies, tarts, and Waldorf salads. This was such a treat for a Florida Cracker, who usually had a singhle apple or two per year. I always approved the devil's choice in tempting Adam. An orange or a banana wouldn't have done the trick. love Dot

The Basics of Preserving/Canning

The more you learn about canning the more you figure out that there are some basics that you just have to know... I thought that I would list out these basics. These are the ones I use year after year.

Basics of Canning

1. Get a canning book. The Ball Blue Book of Preserving is mine and I use it every single year. It has all of these rules and much much more... recipes, techniques, and even some of the science of canning. It is a sticky bible for my canning season that is constantly open each time a new fruit or veggie comes my way.

2. If you are just starting out, pick your jar lids ahead of time. For many, the small mouth makes them easier to pack the jars and get the right head space. For me, I like the wide mouths. They are easier to wash, and I use them for many storage options already. So I only purchase the wide mouth jars. I am kind of a snob about it really... but it helps SO much to know that I only have to buy one size of lid when I go to the store every year.

3. Measure your jars to 1/2 inch and 3/4 of an inch 'head space' with a ruler. Know what this looks like in the jars you choose. Then when you are filling, you don't have to wonder if you are filling them too full (which causes them not to seal) or not enough (which causes funny colors in your food.)

4. Everything has to be hot. Lids have to be hot. Jars have to be hot. Even when you are cold packing the fruit or veggies. I once thought that if I was cold packing the fruit, the jars could be cool (but clean of course) because the fruit could be cool. Not so. The jars break 10 times more often if you do it this way. (Ask me how I know.)

5. Low acid foods should be pressure canned whenever possible. Most veggies fall into this category. Most fruits do not. Tomatoes are always an iffy one... so check with your local extension office, or pressure tomatoes by default. (Your recipe has to have a lower acidity than 4.6 pH to can in a water bath canner.)

6. That brings me to another point USE YOUR LOCAL EXTENSION OFFICE! They are usually little old ladies that have been Master Food Preservers for years and years. They get additional training every year and they have wonderful resources at their disposal. They are also where you go to check if your pressure canner still works. Look in your local Yellow Pages for their number. (I have the numbers for all four counties extension offices around me taped inside my cupboard. It is a good idea to get more than one number. Esp when you need advice in the middle of canning and want to talk to a body.)

7. Pressure canners do not have to be scary! They are a useful tool and just like your average drill, they can hurt you if not used or maintained properly. BUT, just like your average drill, they can become one of the most useful tools in your food preservation arsenal.

8. There are things that it does not behoove you to can. Organic Strawberry preserves cost a LOT to process a home... I have always figured out that it is more expensive to make them than to buy them at Trader Joes. Not always because of the price of organic strawberries... but more for the price of organic sugar! I put my heart first into the stuff we eat all the time. Peaches, applesauce, blueberries, pasta sauce, green beans, etc. Some of those things, to get organic I was paying $4 more a package/jar than for the conventionally grown stuff. That is worth it to can my own. That way, I was putting all my money out at one time and spending less, instead of the prosducts slowly bleeding you via grocery bill each month. But things that only save me $.50 per jar I put low on my list. After all, my time has to be worth something... and if I calculate my time at $10 an hour (a low living wage) then I should be able to at least break even with the things I can. If I can't, then I only can those things if the opportunity falls into my lap (like I get free fruit or something) or I find that during the summer I am somehow bored and can't find something to do. (Jk... that doesn't happen.)

9. Keep a Food Preservation notebook. Write down the dates of what you ran out of and when. That way, you will not put up too much or too little for your family each year. My canning notebook is nothing more than a file at the back of my household notebook. When we run out of things too early, I list that. And I always list how many of something I put up. Like this:

Peaches: 8/28/09

5 boxes (20 - 25lbs)/ 64 quarts / 5 broke

Blueberries: 8/19/09

50 lbs / 18 gallon bags

Pesto: 9/1/09

1 1/2 lbs of basil / 10 half pints frozen

Then next to that I write the date when we run out and then average that 'per week' and figure out how much we need for the next year. Last year most of my calculations were off because Logan went from being a baby to a kid eater, and Alex... well Alex became a teen and food wasn't even safe around him. So we ran out of EVERYTHING early. This was good being that we moved twice and didn't want to move millions of jars of canned goods... but on the other hand, it compromised my local living standards a bit to run out of peaches in Jan. (This is also a good place to put down your favorite recipes... although I just put them in my Ball Blue Book of Preserving.)

It really does help to keep track. Then you know that what you are doing is worth it. Today I have done 10 more pints of tomato sauce, and 8 pints of peach butter. That has taken since 9am until 22 minutes from now when my timer goes off and I get the last batch out of the canner. That is a LOT of time! And that is only one day. I have done this now for three weeks. When I look at my notebook though, and remember that last year we ran out of peaches before Feb, I know that me doing all of this preserving is worth it and my kids will be happily eating peaches, frozen blueberries, garlic green beans, and homemade pizza sauce until next summer. And if they are not... I know to enlist them in the preservation process next year. ;)