{Getting into the Dirt} Community Garden: Week 1

It felt so wonderful to be in the dirt again.  Several other people beat me to the community garden and had already accomplished their plots, but this year I'm not the last one planting, because I'm here--

It's good to see that all but one plot is taken this year.   It should be a beautiful place in a few weeks, and I enjoy seeing what others plant and how.

So here's what my fancy Garden Planner looks like for this space.  Planting this year is about 3 weeks earlier than last year.  I'm so grateful for what comes from the garden.  It makes life richer and I cannot help but feel privileged that I'm eating in such style once the produce starts coming in.  I went to the garden thinking I would only plant a few beans and ended up planting all the seeds I have planned for this area except potatoes...I just couldn't stop.

It's always exciting to experiment with new things in the garden.  I have my favorites, but there's always room for some debuts.  From Sandhill Preservation Center I'm trying some keeper tomatoes for the first time and a few new varieties of zinnias that sound intriguing.  Then I have a new French heirloom bush bean called calima and a Japanese winter squash called black fitsu I can't wait to try, plus a new variety of wax bean I hope has more flavor and holds up better when freezing--another French heirloom called Beurre De Rocquencourt.  There's also a blue beauty tomato from Baker Creek that was sold out last year and suppose to be even tastier that the Purple Cherokee.

With that the garden has officially begun.  This will be a great season--and a great year, my first full one up here.  So much to look forward to.

Pine Success

You all know that most of what I cook is pretty add-lib compared to my baking. My experimental pine vinegar has been a key component in a few add-lib meals lately.  Getting home pretty late on what I believe was last Tuesday after not having eaten since lunch I felt desperate for good home-cooked food.  Raiding the freezer I found my last stash of frozen spinach and a lonely salmon fillet.  I've found that the pine vinegar really works with fish--don't ask me to describe the flavor it lends--but it's fresh and not too overpowering.  With a clove of garlic chopped up, some olive oil, a twist of cracked pepper and salt, and a splash of the vinegar in a skillet with the fish and spinach, some pasta and Parmesan supper was much more rewarding than a frozen pizza.  I've done scallops this way and they're delicious too.

My favorite tea is one that's leaves are smoked over pine bows, I'm impressed with the vinegar, and there's a lot more to keep exploring.

A few other actual recipes I've been trying out...{a lot of Splendid Table lately}

Caramel Yogurt--I like my homemade yogurt plain with a little honey and eat it in mass quantities--I thought I had no need for another yogurt recipe, but when I saw this I couldn't help but try it--now I have a jar for dessert purposes
Brown Rice Patties--very, very fantastic--will become a regular recipe for sure
Apple Core Bourbon--"fussy" drinks are not something I've ever gotten into--but certain combinations are growing on me--apples/bourbon = nice
Green Fettuccine with Asparagus, Basil, and Butter--someday I'll have my own personal stash of asparagus, but I'm going to get back into making my own pasta soon--and one thing I will have plenty of is spinach...
Crispy Cabbage with Poppy Seeds--cabbage is lovely in just about any form

Tuesday {Afternoon}

with the "special" hat

Very late on Wednesday my sister had her baby girl.  It was a long week {actually few weeks}...and I wasn't even the one having a kid--with lots of missed sleep, twists and turns that weren't expected {and made me think those of you who've gone the home-birth route knew what you were doing}, plus at last happy excitement.  The world seemed a lot brighter and spending time with Tuesday {yes, that's her name} quite nice after crashing for a few hours this afternoon after getting home from work.

Certain ones are joking about the family resemblance in this picture...{my own red face is due to a day outside on a field trip}.  I'm looking forward to being this gal's aunt.

A Fox, The Dogs, Tramatized Cats, Tomato Seedlings, & Okra Schemes

In true Spring fashion the seedlings are being prepped and I'm setting up my new little plastic greenhouse on the deck this evening while all the windows in the cabin are open and Buddy Guy, banjos suites, Mumford and Sons, and Dawg's Breath are mixed in with so many birds singing and a red fox on the prowl.

Last year I saw a magnificent dark fox in the area several times; this evening a classically red one was on the main road by my mailbox when I got home from work.  It was after a mouse or something else small in the grass springing up and pouncing down, and then later confidently trotting through the horse pasture near the cabin, a certain thing of grace despite the fact it would eat my chickens without hesitations and not even say thank you.

It is so delicious to be outside and seeing such things.

The dogs cannot get enough of being outside as well.  Charlie never wants to come inside and I believe his barks are translated to something like, "Thank you for getting me out of the desert at last and back to heaven"...Jewel has found that digging holes in the moist, unfrozen ground is fun and eating grass interesting.  There are so many birds flying around that Jewel has forgotten she used to chase them out of our scrappy desert subdivision yard as intruders and Scout the cat is diving out the window and through the screen after them...really.

There are flowers showing up in the ground along the sidewalks in town and the greenhouses are putting out signs and brimming with eager customers.  I sometimes have to shake myself to believe I'm actually here in Minnesota in the springtime--something I've wished for and hoped for for many, many years.  I'm getting a plot for myself again at the community garden and my sister has gotten one too and said I can plant whatever I want in her's as long as I share just a little, especially the okra if it grows {and help her make baby food--an unexplored art I'm sure I can figure out}.

Most of this year's garden will be at the cabin where I'll most likely be tilling this weekend and strategizing to keep the deer out.  I have so many tomato seedlings growing that I could probably supply all of Bemidji with ketchup if I was so inclined.  All of the tomatoes I decide to plant will go in at the house and most of the winter squash too.  The community garden really isn't that big, but a perfect spot for putting in beans and okra and my fussy eggplant and a few other things.  Last year I didn't get to plant okra and so I'm eager to see how it does this summer here in zone 3b.  I'll be planting Louisiana 16" again.  I originally bought seeds for it just because Baker Creek said it was from Evangeline Parish and Evangeline Parish holds a special place in my memory--I was almost eaten by an alligator when I was six in Evangeline Parish {but cousin Beau saved me...another story some of you know} so I've kind of felt connected to that particular spot.  It turns out that this okra is what I deem to be perfect okra and probably the only kind I'll ever grow from now on.  If you remember, I raved about it back in 2012-3013.  I have so many seeds saved and waiting from said okra that I should have probably looked into selling some back to Baker Creek and can't wait to get them into the soil once again.  What will I do if okra doesn't grown in this area, I don't know.  Please pray it does grow, because if it doesn't I may have to move {again}...I suppose before that I could try to make okra into a house plant.

 It's been a long September through May getting used to a new job and probably taking on things I shouldn't have making much of the school year go by in a blur.  Things do look good ahead.  After two not so nice horse injuries I'm felling ready to move and shed some excess pounds I've acquired {more than I've ever acquired!}.  Gillian Welch is coming to Minnesota in July, Mike will be home this coming week on Tuesday, and I'm in Northern Minnesota when the lilacs will be blooming.  How close to heaven can one get really?

It's hard to believe planting time has finally come.  This weekend will be big.....  What are you guys doing in your gardens?!

Kale and Egg Fanatic

Recently there are a few things I've found I really, really love.  Versatile, all purpose, good beyond belief food.

I've liked kale in that I would have it a few dozen times a year in the past--but after growing it last year {and freezing loads of it} I've found I like to eat it as often as possible.  A few weeks ago I ran out of my own stash and broke down and bought some from the store not being able to wait until my own started growing sometime in late June.  I'll be planting about twice as much for this season.

There will be ragged jack and dwarf Siberian this year {I couldn't go with the curly Scottish since its sold at practically every grocery store in the country}.  I loved the way ragged jack grew last year, but also want the curly variety for pasta and such for its texture.  Kale will be planted at the house this year so that I can keep it going longer--the community garden closes for the year before kale season ends and I had to pull my beautiful kale too early last year.

Then there are eggs, which I have decided I can't live without--I would barely go through a dozen in two months in the past unless I got on a baking kick.  The bowl above represents 3 days worth of eggy splendor from my girls. I can't stand to waste Pansy, Ida, and Eva's contributions so I decided to get creative and start trying some different ways to eat them {Just one look at Ashley's post gave me countless ideas}.  I've found I love them boiled--I haven't eaten a boiled egg since high school--and sometimes add a sprinkling of salt and dill or with some sharp cheddar cheese...sometimes with a bit of crumbled bacon if I want to go overboard.  There's poached, which I've finally mastered.

And then there's the beautiful medley of kale and eggs.  You have to taste it to believe how good it really is!

Eggs and Kale

*saute sliced or diced onions and garlic {to taste} in a bit of olive oil and salt
*add about 1/2 cup of cut-up kale for each egg to the skillet and wilt
*whip egg(s) and add to skillet--scramble or go omelet style
*eat just as is or with freshly diced tomatoes, shredded sharp cheddar {or bacon crumbles}

Stocks are running low...no more raspberry preserves left, two more jars of blueberry, frozen summer squash and pumpkin all that's left in the freezer with one last bag of rhubarb.  The goal this year is to carry supplies through all the way to next June versus February.  I do believe I can pull it off as long as insects and hail storms stay at bay.

As for chickens, there will continue to be just the three this year--they give me all I need!

From right to left...Irish Cobbler, Dakota Pearl, Yukon Gold, Red La Soda

Today was so warm and wonderful.  There's been a huge to-do-list hanging up on the fridge and today was nice enough to make a dent in many outside things and have fun doing them.  But a trip down to the local greenhouse {that was packed to the gills with other like-minded people} was a must.  I had not gotten seed potatoes yet and honestly didn't know which ones I wanted to go with this season.  Last year only the red la soda did well.  You might say I went with a variety pack this year.  I've never tried Irish Cobbler or Dakota Pearl and am eager to do a comparison.  It's still be decided if I add one more variety--a purple that I may pick up down at the co-op.  My purple vikings didn't produce a single potato last year and it would be nice to have some trendy color in the potato patch.

It's so wonderful to be up here right as the greenhouse gets out their stock--I've never been in Minnesota in May, usually I've arrived in June.  It was tempting to pick up some flowers as well, but I'm holding off a few more weeks.  Most of my flowers are usually seeded zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, and such, and my sister is supplying me with petunias and geraniums.

Rabbit Update: Unplanned Pregnancy

I've never had a rabbit "accident" until this spring.  Right before I sold the rest of the silver foxes one of my Californians became an escape artist and decided to rendezvou with the male adolescents.  I hoped nothing happened when I scooped her out--she was only in there maybe 10 minutes....what was I thinking!?  These are rabbits.  Of course there was some quick hanky panky--

I now have four adorable black "mutt" babies.  Their mother improvised on a nest since I didn't provided her a box--she never looked very big--and has been a stellar mom with her first batch of kits.  A few already have prospective homes as pets due to their cuteness and personality.

They do look pretty silver foxy {and act silver foxy--kind of like furry pogo sticks} and are practically as big as my Californian babies even though they're a month younger.  The silver fox is a fantastic meat rabbit, much heavier than a Californian or New Zealand when full grown, but is classified as a herritage breed and known for their  "foxy" looking fur.  It will be interesting to see if these guys turn out to be superior in size like the Californian/New Zealand cross or will they be smaller?

 

That other "planned" litter that was born at the beginning of March is doing fantastic.  At just a little over 2 months I will be separating them from mom this week.  They're all about the same size and no casualties.  Very happy with Apple's first litter.

Spring Routines

There are a few evening routines out here...going out to look at the stars {and Mars which is currently situated among the bows of one of my favorite pine trees}, feeding the rabbits and chickens and everyone else..., and usually sitting back with a book with Jewel who insists on curling up as close as possible to me on the couch.  The chickens roost in exactly the same spot each evening {and usually in the same order}, Charlie lays in the exact same spot on the floor, and the deer walk down exactly the same path to sleep in the thicket behind the house.  Now a loon is back and adding it's call to the evening routine once again.  So far it hasn't gotten an answer to its calls, but any evening now there will be a symphony once again.  It's all very comforting really.  And any day now garden routines will resume.  The frogs have woken up, the grass is growing.  It looks like temperatures will not get below freezing in the next week and beyond.  This means peas and lettuce--planting to begin this weekend!

Waiting Around

Check out my sister's set up.  She's the flower person where I'm the veggie fanatic.  I can't wait to see these baskets overflowing by late June.  All of the flowers minus the super bells were planted by seed way back around New Years.  She has quite the production going, but everything is in a state of waiting until things are completely cozy enough to take off outside.

I'm also eagerly waiting around for my new niece.  She's got quite the room waiting for her!