I am beyond thrilled to see the fermentation process becoming mainstream! I walked into our local farm store to check out the canning aisle and was delighted to see that they now carry fermenting supplies! I will probably never use them...but I couldn’t resist grabbing some Pickle Pipes just because this little discovery made my heart smile! Another reason to smile? A magazine offer for a new publication. Fermentation. Can’t wait to read the first issue! Always so much to learn! I’m taking a little research trip this week in search of food and flowers and leaving the flower farm in very watchful and capable hands. Looking forward to sharing everything we learn with all of you!
Naturally Beautiful And Delicious
Early springtime meals are always something to look forward to! A roasted chicken from our friend and neighbor’s family farm served with freshly harvested asparagus...lightly steamed then tossed with organic, grass-fed butter from Clear Creek Organic Farms...because life should be naturally beautiful and delicious!
Spring Open House
Spring Open House tomorrow and Saturday from 9 to 5 and Sunday from 10 to 4. Heirloom tomato plants (pictured are the varieties we grow), peppers, Napa cabbage, Pac Choi, celery and Malibar Spinach! Bay Laurel plants, home-baked bread, locally tapped and produced maple syrup, freshly cut, organically raised kale from our greenhouse and if you need some blooming beauties to brighten your surroundings...we have them too!
Malibar Spinach
When other salad greens wither in the summer heat...Malibar Spinach thrives! It’s a heat-loving climbing vine that saves space in the garden when given a topiary or trellis to climb! Delicious fresh or cooked. This is the result of two plants in last year’s garden. Plants will be available at next week’s Spring Open House...May 3, 4 and 5. Friday and Saturday from 9 to 5 and Sunday from 10 to 4.
Goat Milk Ice Cream.
Our Easter treat! Raw vanilla goat’s milk ice cream. Raw milk and pasture raised eggs from our friends and neighbors. I cheated today and used sugar to sweeten (veggie garden planting and mulching...had to be quick). Tomorrow I’m using raw honey or the maple syrup gifted to us by another friend who taps our local trees. Sweetening to taste. Heated to only 95 degrees to preserve the beneficial bacteria and enzymes in the milk then chilled before churning.
Planting Time!
50 lbs. of potatoes planted, part of the veggie garden mulched in, some cold crops in the ground and the shade cloth is on the greenhouse! We’re tired but so grateful for a beautiful and productive day! Happy Easter!
Bay Laurel
We’re thrilled to have Bay Laurel trees available in the greenhouse this spring! If you’ve never had a chance to cook with your own Bay leaves you’re in for a treat! You won’t believe the incredible flavor! Bay Laurel can easily be overwintered in a sunny spot in your house! Spring Open House May 3, 4 and 5! Friday and Saturday from 9 to 5 and Sunday from 10 to 4.
Pickled Eggs!
Looking for something to different to do with all those hardboiled Easter eggs? Pickle them!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/pickled-eggs-with-fermented-brine
Meal Prep. Hello, Spring!
Major meal prep today because spring officially arrives on the flower farm this week! Our licensed plants are coming in, seedlings need to be transplanted and there are more seeds to be sown. Homemade pita bread for gyros served with grass fed sirloin and Tzatziki made from homemade yogurt, cucumbers and dill from the garden. Green beans, julienned peppers and onions from the garden slightly warmed then tossed with lemon and feta cheese. Mexican fare for mid-week with homemade tortillas and Instant Pot refried beans made with organic pintos from Clear Creek Organic Farms (cooking liquid reserved for easy Spanish Rice cooked in the Instant Pot). Finally...a batch of Instant Pot Baked Beans for the freezer because I am determined the giant drift around our grill is going to melt soon and I am so ready for a burger!
Pineapple Water Kefir
Yum!
I couldn’t pass up the Pineapple sales this week! Lacto-Fermented Pineapple Salsa is fermenting on the counter. Sometimes we use the rinds to make Tepache...a fermented beverage...but this time the rinds went to the compost bin because they weren’t organic pineapples. We saved the cores to flavor our water kefir. Water kefir is another fermented beverage made by using particles of bacteria called ‘grains’. A first ferment is completed with the grains added to water and sugar along with some minerals to feed the grains. In this case we added a couple of raisins and a pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt. After 24 to 48 hours the grains and minerals are strained out and fruit, vegetables and spices are added for flavor. Water kefir can be made in pressure treated bottles to create a fizzy beverage and is a healthy substitute for pop but care needs to be taken to prevent bottle explosions. We choose to use mason jars with plastic storage lids to create a refreshing and mildly effervescent beverage.
Lacto-Fermented Pineapple Salsa
Need a taste of spring? Give our Fermented Pineapple Salsa a try! There’s some great sales on pineapples this week! http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/lacto-fermented-pineapple-salsa/
A Bone Broth Marathon
A Bone broth marathon since we’ve been staying close to the house due to the weather. 21 quarts and 10 pints of chicken and turkey broth processed from bones we’ve saved in the freezer. The beef bones are going to have to wait. The forecast for the next few days look nice and I’m heading to the greenhouse!
Ready To Dig In The Dirt!
I know it’s below zero outside but we’re getting ready to sow some seeds for our veggie garden! We sow our onion seeds in the greenhouse at this time of year then transplant them into the garden in May. Our favorite varieties are ‘Candy’, ‘Walla Walla’ and ‘Redwing’. This is a picture of our garden from last July 1. A beautiful memory that brightens a very cold winter day! I’m ready to dig in the dirt!
Thankful For Ace Hardware
This morning’s load of beautiful bone broth was ready for the pressure canner when suddenly the dial gauge quit working. So grateful to Ace Hardware for carrying replacement parts! A quick trip to Fremont and we were back in business!
Instant Pot Bone Broth
It’s a soup kind of day! Bone broth going into the Instant Pot! The flavor and nutritional value of homemade broth is so much better than commercially produced broth...and you control the quality of the ingredients! Don’t hesitate to toss a small piece of turmeric into chicken broth. Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory when used along with pepper and it deepens the color of the broth. Remember that splash of raw apple cider vinegar! It helps to draw collagen from the bones.
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/instant-pot-bone-broth/
It All Starts With A Seed!
Baby herbs coming up in the greenhouse!
Meal Prepping!
It’s been an Instant Pot kind of day! Meal prepping because the upcoming forecast looks glorious and I plan to spend every waking minute in the greenhouse! 🌼 IP Bone Broth, IP Chicken Noodle Soup and IP Bean And Bacon Soup! Made a batch of IP Baked Beans and a batch of Sue’s Hamburger Buns because it might just get warm enough to throw a burger on the grill this week! Check out some of the recipes on the website!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/
Happy New Year!
One of my favorite memories from this past year! Our friend Hunter gifted us the cabbage plant he grew from seed at school. I promised him some sauerkraut. This was probably the most cared for cabbage in the garden. 🙂 We planted it in a special place and checked it every day. Hunter’s cabbage grew to a whopping 9.86 pounds and he got some very delicious sauerkraut! Looking forward to all the happy memories we’ll make in 2019! Happy New Year!
Perfect!
Kale from the greenhouse tossed in a yogurt based dressing along with with home grown onions, organic avocado, fermented giardiniera and cubed raw cheddar cheese served with a bowl of leftover homemade chicken noodle soup...the perfect meal for the night before Christmas Eve!
Merry Christmas!
Santa’s sleigh made a few deliveries today!
