A Wild and Windy Week

We've had a wild and windy week done on the Funny Farm. A big late fall storm decided to make an early appearance at the end of August! It brought down many trees, including several in our neighborhood and took out power to over 100 thousand people in our state. On the good side, it also brought some much needed rain! Good for our veggies and helpful to the fires still raging in Eastern Washington.

Speaking of veggies, today we harvested zucchini, lemon and English cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, tomatillos, leeks, zucchini blossoms, green beans, eggplants, jalapeno, habanero, and gypsy peppers. Yesterday, we cooked up a huge pot of green salsa base using lots of tomatillos. Can you say enchiladas?

To help reduce the frightening overload of veggies in the fridge, tonight was use your veggies pizza night. A prize was awarded to the pizza with the most veggies. I won.  I'd planned on photoing the winning pizza, but alas, the winning pie was eaten before the camera could be retrieved.  So, instead of a veggilicious pizza, here's another pic from our June vacation.

The Future Farmers at Medicine Wheel, Wyoming.

This is a really cool Native American site, closest to Lovell, Wyoming and within the Bighorn Mountains. It a mile hike straight up to reach it. The Medicine Wheel is a bit of a mystery. No one knows exactly when it was built, but it is sacred to many tribes who still hold ceremonies at the site. The cloths and trinkets tied to the fence are offerings and remembrances. From this site at the top of the mountain, you can see 60 miles in all directions. It was quite the view. 

We were also impressed by this little critter at Medicine Wheel

This is a marmot, and this one was particularly friendly. I think it wanted a snack.

 Unfortunately for him (or her), Anni was not about to give up her granola bar!

August on the Funny Farm

It's really getting  Veggilicious around here!

 

The backyard funny farm is a sea of green. The vines of the pumpkins and squashes are so thick, you have to carefully thread your way through all the leafage.








The potting table can no longer be used for potting as it is currently the home of two large tomato plants and a ghost pumpkin.







The green house is housing a sea of cucumbers, a watermelon plant, and various peppers and eggplants. We are growing jalepeno peppers, wickedly hot Thai red chilis and habeneros, and mild wax peppers. We have two times of eggplants, tiny egg sized ones and lovely lavender and cream mottled ones.



Evidence of the recent bounty: tomatoes, blackberries, eggplants, English cuke, lemon cuke, zucchini, tomatillos, wax peppers, and beans.







 This day, we harvested kale, blackberries, a lemon cuke, beans, fennel, eggplant, and tomatoes. You may notice the tomatoes look orange. Yep, you're right! Most of the small ones are golden orbs and ripe at orange. The larger ones have to be brought in early or Barkley the wonder doodle dog will eat them!



Blueberries, an onion, lemon cuke, peas and beans, tomatoes, eggplant, and a Lakota heirloom squash. We're trying the Lakota squash for the first time this year. It's delish with a sweet nutty flesh.






Onions, tomatoes, beans, eggplants, wax peppers, cucumbers, blueberries, Thai basil, zucchini, and nasturtium flowers.







 Thai basil, tomatoes, wax and jalepeno peppers, zucchini, a tiny carrot, beans, chives, black berries, English and lemon cukes.

An artistic arrangement of cucumbers, zucchini, beans, eggplant, berries, and tomatoes.

Well, what to do will all those veggies? 

Make something. Quick!

So, here's my favorite recipe for that rare cooler summer day.

Super Veggie Ministrone

2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 onion finely chopped, 1 carrot finely chopped, 1 large clove of garlic minced

Heat oil in large stock pot. Saute onion for 3 minutes, add carrot and cook another 2 minutes. Add Garlic and cook 1 more minute, until garlic is turning golden.

1 Tbsp mixed Italian herbs (or more if fresh from the garden), 2-4 cups of chopped tomotoes (more if you like them, less if you don't), 8 cups of veggie, chicken, or beef stock (chose the one you like).

Add herbs to hot sauted veggies and stir through. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and return to medium heat until tomatoes begin to break down. Add stock. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer,  cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Here's where it gets fun. Add 2-4 cups of whatever veggies you need to use. In my last batch, I added 2 whole zucchinis, 2 potatoes, 1 cup of fresh green beans,  3 chopped wax peppers, and 1 cup of shelled beans. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes. Turn off heat, add 1/2 cup of your favorite grated Italian cheese. Personally, I like Romano, but Parmesan is good too. Now, eat your soup with some crusty bread, or cover and refrigerate and eat tomorrow. (It will be even better!)  Enjoy!

Besides the garden news, the news of the day around here is the Washington State forest fires that have burned over 500,000 acres on the Eastern side of our state. It's an indication of just how hot and dry our summer has been this year. Normally, Canadian and Washington firefighters help each other out during summer forest fires, but this year both are busy battling their own set of fires. The governor has declared a state of emergency and sent the National Guard to help, as well as sent out a call for volunteers. President Obama declared the entire Eastern side a disaster area as well. Today the winds were blowing from the East and the entire sky was a smokey haze, even on our side of the mountains. Our thoughts are will those that live on the Eastern side, especially folks that have had to evacuate their homes. We are thinking thoughts of cool rain.

It's back!!!

Me at the top of the Rocky Mountains!

Well, It's really about time to restart the blog. We've been really busy this summer with all our eco travels, but we still have the backyard funny farm. The chickens have gone from single, lonely Henrietta to a coop full of six, the B girls: Bunny, Basket (both of whom are Easter Eggers, laying beautiful pastel colored eggs). Bumble, Bee (both of whom are Americunas, laying blue green eggs) Blush (a very smart and super friendly red x-linked, laying brown eggs) and Buffy the Bug Slayer (a buff orpington. laying brown speckled eggs). The future farmers raised the chicks from a week old, and they are all super tame. We love them all (Except for when they spot a rummaging raccoon at 5 am and begin to squack at the top of their little birdie lungs!)

The Future Farmers at Snake River Canyon, Idaho

The backyard farm patch is bigger than ever this year, probably due to the extremely warm weather we've had. Today, I harvested a 20 pound pumpkin! And it's only August! We've also already had corn, lots of other squashes, and bean. The kitchen table has it annual bounty of tomatoes, currently amounting to seven bowls worth, and this seems to be the year of the prolific cucumbers. We've had 43 English cucumbers so far, and 17 lemon ones. Ah, I love cuke sarnies!

The Future Farmers and myself at Cliff Palace, 

Mesa Verde, Colorado.

How high up the cliff we were standing!!!

More tomorrow! Until then, keep on farming!

Hoppy almost Easter

It's been a busy time down on the funny farm. So far, we've started 12 trays of seedlings and managed to plant 14 of the raised beds with a combination of seeds and starter. So, what are we growing? Here's the starting line-up:

Outside:

Bed 1                 4/7/14                   sweet onion       4/9/14                   marigold, spinach

Between             Continued           Alpine strawberry pot

Bed 2                 Continued           Sage, flower       4/10/14 Collards, carrots

Between             Continued           bunching onions

Bed 3                 Continued           Lily,                     4/10/14 Carrots, cabbage, Chinese cabbage

Between             Continued           Rosemary bush

Bed 4                4/5/14                  sweet onion, marigold, carrot

Bed 5                Continued           Ital. & Curly parsley   4/12/14      Carrots, radish, cauliflower,    broccoli, Brussel sprouts.

Between             4/5/14                   Artichokes

Bed 6                 Continued           Choc. mint,         4/12/14 beans, carrots, radishes, marigolds

Bed 7                  4/12/14                pumpkin, zucchini, carrot, radish, marigolds, lettuce

Bed 8                  Continued           Lavender             4/10                       Carrots, peas

Between              Continued           Black currant bush

Bed 9                 Continued           Strawberries      4/914                     spinach, marigold

Between             Continued           Calendula, thyme pots                                                 

Front of bed 9   4/5/14                   English thyme, French lavender pots

Between             4/7/14                   Tomato Plants   4/10/14 Radishes w/tomatoes

Bed 10               Continued           Chives,                 4/9/14                   cilantro

Between             Continued           Jostaberry bush                                                              

Bed 11               Continued           Rhubarb, lemon balm                  

Bed 12               Continued           Purple & green sage, poppy, lily 4/10/14    Shallots

Between             Continued           Marionberry bush          

Bed 13                Continued           Chives, leek        4/12/14 radish, marigold, lettuce, sunflowers

Porch                  Continued           Grape pot

                            4/5/14                   lettuce, lettuce seed, radish

                            4/5/14                   chard, lettuce, radish

                            4/7/14                   spinach, marigold

Between             Continued           Raspberries bush                     Lower, side GH

Between             Continued           Lettuce, radish pot                   Lower, side GH

Between             Continued           4 Blueberry bushes                  Upper, front GH

Between             Continued           Loganberry                              Upper, side GH

Between             Continued           Blackberry                               Upper, side GH

Greenhouse seed starts:

                           4/5/14             Tomatoes (3 varieties), Pumpkin,Zucchini,  Peas, Italian beans, Green Beans, Rabe, Broccoli,  Cauliflower, Cabbage, Chives, Cilantro, Basil,  Peppers,  Marigolds, Sunflowers, Nasturtium.

Greenhouse continued:                   Tangerine, aloe vera plants

Greenhouse purchased starts:          Shallots, snap dragons, sweet peas.

When the rain returned to the beautiful Pacific Northwest  (it wasn't unexpected), we turned to repair work; overhauling the compost, fixing the trellis for the berry bushes, and getting the worm bin ready for a new batch of residents. It was also a great time to replenish the soil around the continuing plants and nonedibles on the funny farm.

But all work and no play makes the funny farmers way too funny. So, this week we've been having lots of fun. We've had our bunny ears and tails on all week! Today, took a field trip to the Ballard Locks. We only saw two tiny fish, but we did get to see to the very bottom of the smaller lock as it was empty for maintenance. Then we came home and decided to cook  up something delicious. Since, it was National Garlic Day (yes, there is such a thing.), we opted for a rustic butternut squash and roasted garlic (3 whole bulbs worth!) tart with goat cheese and tarragon in a multi-nut crust (gluten free, even). It was more than delish!

Back in the Garden!

 Our fearless leader said it was time to restart the family blog. I love this pic of David!

 It's early days for the backyard farm as spring returns to Western Washington. There great blue herons have returns to their nesting roosts all around us. We counted a hundred yesterday!

The western pond turtles were out sunning themselves on submerged logs at
Juanita Bay Wildlife Refuge on Monday afternoon. Our official turtle count was 63!

And not to be left out of the action, the frogs were visible for the first time this spring. We caught sight of three. We think these are an invasive species not our small native pond frongs.

And not to be outdone by the critters, our star magnolia decided to burst into blossom today despite the cloudy morning. (The soccer balls are Anni's!)

To kick off the start of the official back to gardening season, I copresented an evening talk about backyard farming at the King County Library last Monday. It was lots of fun, with many, many questions and lots of enthusiasm.

And how does our garden grow? Well, so far, we've potted garden peas, basil, cilantro, lettuce, marigolds, radishes, and rainbow chard. I dug over the first raised bed this afternoon and planted onions, carrots, and marigolds. I've turned the compost and done lots of garden maintennance. My goal for tomorrow is to dig another raised bed and seed more flowers. My green thumb is in full motion!

Our last remaining chicken, Henrietta, Anni's clucker, has the run of the farm most days. She back to laying an  egg a day now the weather is brighter. We hope to add a couple more hens to the pen later this month. We like our lovely fresh eggs.

And speaking of broods, ours is doing well. Ari completed her degree at Bellevue College and is now on to the University of Washington, studying archeological sciences. Last quarter, she analyzed stone tool flakes as part of an undergraduate research project. Alex is a senior in high school and will be starting college this summer. Anni is doing well in her program and is now a high tech gal with her digital hearing aides, which are greatly helping her communication.

Until tomorrow, farm on!

Harvest season is well underway!

Harvest season is well underway on the Funny Farm. We still have lots of zucchini, patty pan squash, cukes, green beans, and tomatoes. The greens herbs, peppers, and edible flowers are also still producing. Below, are pumpkin # 3 and 4. We're also harvesting loves of raspberry leaf for tea and the dominant garden berry are black berries. After verbally insulting my two eggplants for only turning out 1 eggplant all season, they promptly spit out the lovely one above, and now 7 more are growing! I shall have to remember to speak sternly to them from now on. (Although, I did remember to thank them for the one they made)

As summer winds down, we are taking advantage of the last of the sunshine. Last weekend, we went across the mountains for a musicfest in Leavenworth. We heard some great Northwest talent. One of the musicians was Anni's physical therapist. Great music Hunter! On Sunday, I went hiking with my pal Lisa on Tiger Mountain and then to Snoqualmie Falls. I also learned how to do track lighting installation. Today, we hit our local farmers' market for tree fruits and spicy peppers (which we don't grow) I also found some lovely handmade soaps and beautiful handcrafted cards by our friend and local artist , Danielle, The Crazy Card Lady. Tomorrow, we are off to our favorite apple farm, Jones Creek Farm, to pick apples for apple butter. Anni has been learning about apple in her home school programs and has her basket all ready to go!

And speaking of school, Alex is once again a mighty viking of Inglemoor. He and David went to the football games last night. Unfortunately, the mighty vikings were trounced by the more mighty and less brainy rebels. Ari is gearing up for the University of Washington to start, but she still has a couple of weeks of vacation time which she is using to check out all the student life activities. So far, she's thinking activity clubs and yoga. Anni has been very busy with her home school program and therapy activities. She's doing awesome!

David is busy tacking the honey-do-it list. This week's task: fix the washing machine, which starting groaning, then whining, and finally spun to its death. A family of five can not be long separated from a working washer. I'm busy as ever with the teaching, writing, chauffeuring of future farmers, yoga, dance, and figuring out what to do with all this wonderful funny farm produce. At this very moment, I'm baking a low-fat chocolate zucchini cake, another entrant in the Zucchini 100. It smells divine. Hmm, I think I need to go see if it's done. Laters!

Preservation Day!

What do you do when you have this:

going on on a daily basis, or even more?

And then you decide to go pick blueberries at the Mercer Slough?

 Ari looking for a choice blueberry bush.

 Julie Ann picking berries.

Well, the fridge and freezer are rapidly filling up with berries, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, peppers, herbs, and did I mention zucchini? All the kitchen counters are sporting baskets of tomatoes.

It's time for Preservation Day! No, not Presidents' Day or Native American Reservation Day, but preservation day! First, we made 10 jars of mixed berry jam and 2 apple blackberry pies. Then it was time for 2 big jars of bread and butter pickles, and 5 jars of tomato salsa. We also roasted 3 lbs of green beans and froze another 3 lbs after blanching. The kitchen was steamy!

 And because of the aforementioned zucchini abundance, it's also time for the Zucchini Challenge!

 Today's contenders are savory zucchini basil parmesan corn mini muffins and spicy sweet zucchini muffin cakes with orange and almond. Both were delish!

And in other news, Anni has finished up her summer cooking camps. She loved all of them! Last week's was the Science of Cooking.  She learned all about yeast, eggs, dairy, flour, and made lots of very calorie dense goodies! The gym is calling! Alex is halfway through his summer tennis lessons, and getting ready to restart the IB program at high school. When not fighting evil doers on his gaming rig, he takes care of the family computers maintenance. Go geek boy!

Adventures and Vegetables

It's that time again when the family has a multitude of both adventures and vegetables.

We started our August adventures with a trip to Snoqualmie Falls. The lodge at the fall was the one of the sites of the Twin Peaks tv show. The falls themselves are part of a historic hydroelectric plant.

 Here was our first view of the falls.

 Here's a close up. The roar of the water was amazing!

 Ari happily sipping her coffee and admiring the view.

 The view!

 Alex being uber cool with his sunspecs and i-pod.

 The falls with the electric plant in the background.

A beautiful blooming thistle.

A fabulous twisted root tree on the grounds of the fall.

Our next adventure, featured Anni and myself. We were off to gourmet cooking camp again. This one was at the PCC Market Cooking School. Anni made cuisine from Brazil, Italy, the Southern USA, India, and Thailand. It was all delicious and lots of fun!

Alex and me went on our next adventure with family friend, Lisa, and her nephew, Stu, visiting from Indiana. We spend a beautiful warm day exploring the Washington beaches near Ocean Shores where we saw sand dollars, foraging deer along the side of the roadway, a Japanese fishing god statue that washed up after the big earthquake and now resides the Ocean Shores Interpretive Center. We explored tide pools, spying hermit crabs, tiny fish, and lots of sea stars. At night, we got a look at a single shooter from the meteor showers before the evening clouds moved in. Fun, saltwater, and sand were experienced by all.

The next day of our adventure took us to Mount Rainier. It's been so long since I last visited that I'd forgot how truly majestic the 14K+ peak really is. We stood on a log bridge over the rushing Nisqually River and visited the 176 ft drop Narada Falls before checking out the new visitors center at Paradise. It was evening when we began our hike up the mountain. My goal was to see a marmot. Lisa spotted the first. I found two more, and Stu found a pair whistling away to the twilight. We all took a turn standing at the base of a glacier before it was time to head back down before we got lost in the dark. Our only mountain casualty was a mosquito bite on Alex's forearm that turned narly giving him a Popeye arm for the next few days.

Marmot

Our final adventure (thus far) was a visit to the Ballard Locks to see the salmon running, the boats passing, and the flowers in full view. 

After all that fun, it was time to take care of the garden:

 The garden is in full swing turning out gobs of zucchini, patty pan squash, beans, cukes, berries, chives, herbs, and tomatoes.

It's time for tri tomato balsamic salad with feta cheese and basil, my absolute favorite summer salad! Here's the recipe:

1 large heirloom tomato, sliced

5 golden pear tomatoes, halved

5-7 cherry tomatoes, halved

Arrange on plate in spirals.

Dressing:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 teasp balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Mix and pour over tomatoes.

Top with 1 teasp. minced basil and 1 Tbsp. feta cheese

Excellent with crusty bread and a glass of wine. Enjoy!

Violet Beauregard's Favorite

Why is Anni smiling?

Because this morning, she, David and I all headed over to the Mercer Slough for two hours of blueberry picking bliss. We picked lots and lots of berries!

 What did we do with all these berries? Well 12 cups worth immediately into pies! 2 cups worth went into lemon blueberry muffins. 2 cups went to a friend. 1 cups is destined for a salad tomorrow and another cup into the dressing. That leaves 12 cups for freezing! We had so much picking them that we can't wait to go back to the slough.

The pies prior to the tasting of the pies!

Can you spot all the gypsy peppers on this plant?

What are these strange orbs? Why, there the beginnings of this year's pumpkin crop! Yea!

And just to end with something pretty, the Asiatic lilies are blooming. The hummingbirds love them!