Ah, spring is here again. I have already started working in my garden and for see a very productive garden this year. My friend Mike talked to me a couple of weeks ago about gardening with us, so I am looking forward to the help early on and then later in the summer.
I roto tilled the three garden plots last weekend, and now need to add in some manure and humus. I have been slowly building up the plots so that next spring I can put some boards around them an call them a raised bed.
First thing to go into the ground this year was onions, Liam and I planted them Sunday evening after dinner. I have baby bok choy, lettuce, spinach, potatoes and carrots that I hope to plant tomorrow and Thursday night. I will plant lettuce and spinach again in the middle of May and maybe once more in late June. In late August I will plant the bok choy again for a fall harvest.
Check back soon for pictures!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Happy Friday
Lots of stuff going on right now. Today is my dad's birthday. Happy birthday Dad! Hopefully we will be able to see you tomorrow after you get home from your trip and have some cake.
Our chickens are getting bigger. They can just about fly out of the box we have them in. So, this weekend I will be building a temporary chicken yard for them to hang out in up in the bonus room above the garage. They are eating so much that I have to reload their food can every night. I need to remember to do that tonight for sure.
ViviAnne is off at a birth right now. This one is a long one and I hope that she is getting enough rest and food while working her doula magic. It is pretty amazing that she is able to attend these incredible intimate moments on a regular basis. It seems inspiring to me.
I would like to roto tiller the garden this weekend. Maybe if I build the temporary chicken box tonight, that will free me up some time tomorrow. That way, I can work up the garden and plant some of the early season stuff. Mainly: lettuce, potatoes, spinach and bok choy. I will plant the greens again in May and then maybe one more time in June.
I also need to finish up the outdoor chicken yard. All of my posts are in the ground and in concrete. I just need to add the fencing and make my door.
Our chickens are getting bigger. They can just about fly out of the box we have them in. So, this weekend I will be building a temporary chicken yard for them to hang out in up in the bonus room above the garage. They are eating so much that I have to reload their food can every night. I need to remember to do that tonight for sure.
ViviAnne is off at a birth right now. This one is a long one and I hope that she is getting enough rest and food while working her doula magic. It is pretty amazing that she is able to attend these incredible intimate moments on a regular basis. It seems inspiring to me.
I would like to roto tiller the garden this weekend. Maybe if I build the temporary chicken box tonight, that will free me up some time tomorrow. That way, I can work up the garden and plant some of the early season stuff. Mainly: lettuce, potatoes, spinach and bok choy. I will plant the greens again in May and then maybe one more time in June.
I also need to finish up the outdoor chicken yard. All of my posts are in the ground and in concrete. I just need to add the fencing and make my door.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
New Years
Happy Naw-Ruz everybody! In celebration of the new year, I will be cooking several dishes tonight for dinner as we have a couple of guests comping over to enjoy the evening with us. On the menu tonight is: Thai Pulled Pork, Thai Spiced Pork Loin, Asparagus and Mushroom Stir fry and Fried Rice. For desert, my favorite, Chocolate Icebox Cake. "Never had it", you say. I am not surprised as it is an old Fischer family recipe passed down generation to generation. It is wicked good and so, so decadent. Your new years treat:
12 oz Semi Sweet German Chocolate
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp water
4 eggs (separated into whites and yolks)
1 c hvy cream
1/2 tsp rum or almond extract
1 angle food cake
In double boiler, melt chocolate, sugar, water and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat. Add 1 - 2 tsp of chocolate to yolks, stir constantly, you don't want to scramble your yolks. Continue to add chocolate a bit at a time to yolk until combined. Whip egg whites until stiff then fold into chocolate/yolk mixture. Whip cream with rum or almond extract and a little bit of sugar. Fold into chocolate/egg mixture. Break apart your angle food cake into bite size pieces and put into 9x13 glass dish. One angle food cake should be enough to fill up the dish. Poor chocolate moose over top of angle food cake and place in fridge for hour or so to chill. Serve with whipped cream over top.
12 oz Semi Sweet German Chocolate
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp water
4 eggs (separated into whites and yolks)
1 c hvy cream
1/2 tsp rum or almond extract
1 angle food cake
In double boiler, melt chocolate, sugar, water and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat. Add 1 - 2 tsp of chocolate to yolks, stir constantly, you don't want to scramble your yolks. Continue to add chocolate a bit at a time to yolk until combined. Whip egg whites until stiff then fold into chocolate/yolk mixture. Whip cream with rum or almond extract and a little bit of sugar. Fold into chocolate/egg mixture. Break apart your angle food cake into bite size pieces and put into 9x13 glass dish. One angle food cake should be enough to fill up the dish. Poor chocolate moose over top of angle food cake and place in fridge for hour or so to chill. Serve with whipped cream over top.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Spring Time?
I spent the last two days (in the afternoon) working out in the yard. I raked up most of the dead weeds on our back slope between our house and garden area. The kids then helped me carry them to my fire pit where we burned them. They really like to play with fire, most kids do, I know I did. I remember during scouts that once you put a stick into the fire it had to stay there. If you disobeyed, you ended up having extra chores, like dishes or building a latrine or something like that. I do the same thing with the kids, so they ended up having to sweep the steps or sidewalk for a couple minutes instead of putting weeds into the fire.
My plan this week is to do some weed spraying out by the road and then get the garden prepared for spring planting. I also want to finish up my compost bins and build my chicken yard. It seems like a lot, but I don't think it will take to long. The chicken yard should be great, I am going to use some 8 foot logs that I got two years ago as posts and dig them 2 feet into the ground. I have some chicken wire fencing that I will put around the whole thing and tie to the logs. I will need to build a gate for the fence as well. I am a bit nervous about how the whole thing will hold up against coyotes and raccoons. I will try to bury a bit of fence into the ground as well and spread it out over the ground so they can't dig under the fence. It is going to get into the 60's this weekend, so it should be great for working in the yard. Wish me luck!
My plan this week is to do some weed spraying out by the road and then get the garden prepared for spring planting. I also want to finish up my compost bins and build my chicken yard. It seems like a lot, but I don't think it will take to long. The chicken yard should be great, I am going to use some 8 foot logs that I got two years ago as posts and dig them 2 feet into the ground. I have some chicken wire fencing that I will put around the whole thing and tie to the logs. I will need to build a gate for the fence as well. I am a bit nervous about how the whole thing will hold up against coyotes and raccoons. I will try to bury a bit of fence into the ground as well and spread it out over the ground so they can't dig under the fence. It is going to get into the 60's this weekend, so it should be great for working in the yard. Wish me luck!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Thai Pulled Pork
A couple of days ago I put together a pork shoulder that was fantastic. Slow roasted in the oven smothered in slightly spicy, very sweet and delicious coconut milk marinade.
5 lb pork shoulder roast (with fat on and bone in)
1 c coconut milk
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c honey
1/4 c garlic (chopped)
sea salt, black pepper, dried red pepper and sesame seed oil (to rub on the roast)
Preheat oven to 400. Cut 1 inch deep cross-grain slits into the non-fat side of the pork roast, about an inch or inch and a half apart. Rub salt, black pepper, red pepper and sesame seed oil all over roast. put into roasting pan with rack, fat side down. Combine coconut milk, honey, garlic and soy sauce and pour over roast. Make sure to get inside the slits in the roast with your marinade.
Put into oven for 20 minutes. Take it out and reduce heat to 300, flip the roast so the fat side is up and cover with lid. Put back into oven and cover for 3 hours. Check every 30-40 minutes and re-bast roast with the juices in the bottom of the pan. If the juice is starting to dry, you can add a bit of water to it. Uncover roast and cook an additional 20-30 minutes. Meat should be pulling away from the bone and practically falling apart. Use a fork and knife to break up and pull apart the meat. Use the sauce in the bottom over the meat and with rice or noodles. Yum!
5 lb pork shoulder roast (with fat on and bone in)
1 c coconut milk
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c honey
1/4 c garlic (chopped)
sea salt, black pepper, dried red pepper and sesame seed oil (to rub on the roast)
Preheat oven to 400. Cut 1 inch deep cross-grain slits into the non-fat side of the pork roast, about an inch or inch and a half apart. Rub salt, black pepper, red pepper and sesame seed oil all over roast. put into roasting pan with rack, fat side down. Combine coconut milk, honey, garlic and soy sauce and pour over roast. Make sure to get inside the slits in the roast with your marinade.
Put into oven for 20 minutes. Take it out and reduce heat to 300, flip the roast so the fat side is up and cover with lid. Put back into oven and cover for 3 hours. Check every 30-40 minutes and re-bast roast with the juices in the bottom of the pan. If the juice is starting to dry, you can add a bit of water to it. Uncover roast and cook an additional 20-30 minutes. Meat should be pulling away from the bone and practically falling apart. Use a fork and knife to break up and pull apart the meat. Use the sauce in the bottom over the meat and with rice or noodles. Yum!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Cheap, cheap, cheap
We got our chickens. We had been wanting fresh (and not store bought eggs) for some time, and broke down this last month and ordered 9 chickens. I built a chicken coop (kids helped me paint it red) and plan on building a fence over the next couple of weeks to keep the predators out and our chickens safe.
ViviAnne and I had set the alarm for 5:15 this morning, but had drifted back to sleep, when we got a call on the home phone from the post office that our baby chicks had arrived. We quickly went down stairs and had breakfast before sun up and I drove into town to pick them up. ViviAnne set up the brooder box in the basement bathroom while I was getting them. At the post office I was presented with a chirping box, which I needed to sign for and then headed back home.
Once home we all opened up the box and scooped our chicks into our brooder box and turned on our heat light. They are really cute and after 15 minutes or so they started to warm up and look around for food and water (which they found). I am pretty excited to go home tonight and play with them a little.
Can't wait to have a real egg and not the store bought variety.
ViviAnne and I had set the alarm for 5:15 this morning, but had drifted back to sleep, when we got a call on the home phone from the post office that our baby chicks had arrived. We quickly went down stairs and had breakfast before sun up and I drove into town to pick them up. ViviAnne set up the brooder box in the basement bathroom while I was getting them. At the post office I was presented with a chirping box, which I needed to sign for and then headed back home.
Once home we all opened up the box and scooped our chicks into our brooder box and turned on our heat light. They are really cute and after 15 minutes or so they started to warm up and look around for food and water (which they found). I am pretty excited to go home tonight and play with them a little.
Can't wait to have a real egg and not the store bought variety.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)