Boys and their Super Capes

From the country...

Here is a brief rundown of a typical day with 2 lil' farm boys.

#1 super capes give boys xtra climbing abilities- I have been pulling boys out of trees all day (and just recently my youngest Lucas, off the top of his play house only wearing a shirt!)

#2 when doing chores with two boys, one must constantly remember to follow through with the task untill the end. Today in particular, we collected eggs and moments later all of todays eggs were smashed on the ground much to the dog's delight.

#3 You must tell them something and wait until they listen because once your back is turned, they continue to do what they were doing before you told them to stop. Hence the chickens all over the yard and me running to get my coldframes and greenhouse closed up so they don't end up all over my newly germinated greens beds.

#4 They constantly need something. I have had 2 requests for food and drink since sitting down to the computer....ah wait....make that 3.

#5 Laundry and spring thaw. Mud + lil' boys + puddles = a ridiculous amount of laundry and dirty finger nails.

Now that my voice is hoarse and my afternoon project debunked, I will settle in to dinner, bath and hopefully early bedtime. I could be mad but what's the point. You are only a kid once and running around naked with the chickens sounds like fun right? Maybe I should just join the party, rip the couch cushions off and bounce up and down for half of an hour.

Full Worm Moon Tonight

From the country...

Welcome worms to your garden. They do wonders for your soil-improving aeration, moisture retention, and strucrure. - The Old Farmer's Almanac 2010 Calendar

Meet our City Dog!

From the City:

This is our Ruby; the city dweller. In her pastime she enjoys playing at the dog park, cuddling, sleeping 23 hrs of the day and stealing socks.

What's so great about my Ruby dog is that she adapts so perfectly to any situation. Like most young people, Simon and I have moved a lot. We bought Ruby when we were both living in Peterborough working on our undergrads. She was a spontaneous purchase but one that to this day, we couldn't imagine our life without.

Making Noodles

From the City:

So on Saturday my friend Amanda and I took a drive out to Scarborough to visit her Grandma and Grandpa and to learn how to make some real italian cuisine. Now there is more to this trip than just learning to cook, Amanda is writing a cookbook/ biography based on the life of her incredible grandmother and Amanda has invited me along to document the whole adventure through photography. Needless to say, I am totally ecstatic. I love photography and I love food and therefore it's fair to say that I love food photography so this project has literally lit a fire inside of me.

Our first cooking class began with the most basic yet most integral part of an italian meal: the pasta. To begin, Amanda's grandma doesn't measure anything, everything is done with a handful of this or a pile of that and a drizzle of this. So in order to make a recipe that people could recreate we had to slow everything down and (attempt) to measure everything.

This....

...becomes this...

...with a lot of this! (Note: this is the only picture I could get where Amanda's grandma's hands were somewhat still. My camera just was not fast enough for these hands!)

The Pasta Machine.

Flattened sheets of pasta

Heaven.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 lb of flour
3 eggs
1 tbsp water

Directions:

• Make a pile with the flour. Make a well in the middle of the flour pile.
• Crack all three eggs right in the well.
• Mix eggs and flour with a fork working in from the middle
• Knead dough until very hard. Scrape dough from table to use all of it.
• If dough looks like it is separating, add water to your hands than mix it.
• You need the knead it to remove excess water so that it does not get stuck in the machine.
• You have kneaded enough when the dough is soft but not moist and it is not lumpy.
• If making more than 1 dough, cover the second with a bowl to keep it from drying out while you use the machine.
• With a sharp knife, cut dough into sections (long strips) Roll out dough.
• Using the pasta flattener piece, roll out dough to make smoother. Then fold over. Then repeat. Do this 4-5 times. Each time, vary the thickness to get it thinner/smoother. For spaghetti, you want to get it to #3 on the pasta machine.
• With thin stripes, cut the edges with a pizza slicer. Thin pasta strips should be 25 cm long and all the same length.
• Flour each pasta strip to avoid it from sticking. Sprinkle flour on front/back of each piece.
• Cut the pasta. Then sprinkle flour on top of freshly cut pasta!
• To package the fresh pasta use wax paper.
• Pasta can be stored in freezer for months or eaten immediately. Do not put in fridge.

Meet Arlo!

From the country...

Meet our farm dog Arlo! He likes long walks in the forest, a good ear tug, barking all night long, and howling along with the harmonica. His dislikes are red squirrels, coyotes, and the sound of harmonicas (I can't tell whether he loves or loathes the sound...)

The Perfect Salad

From the country…

Lately we have been enjoying greens with our meals. After a long monotonous winter of storage vegetables (potatoes, squash, potatoes, turnip, potatoes, beets and more potatoes) a fresh bowl of anything green is more than welcomed. Most of the greens in this salad however, are grown indoors without the help of Mother Nature. The greenhouse hasn’t started pumping out the lettuce and the cold frames (although seeded) are just sitting around waiting for that lovely warmth to come back.

Our springish salad consists of baby raddichio (over wintered in the cold frames), pea shoots, sunflower greens, rapini sprouts, arugula sprouts, China rose radish sprouts, red clover sprouts and lettuce micro greens (all grown in house). The combination of different tastes and textures make for a tasty, crisp mix. The sunflower sprouts have a nutty edge to them, the raddichio has a slight bitterness, the pea shoots are so tender with a really fresh pea taste, the arugula gives the salad some edge, rapini adds a cabbage zing and the radish brings the kick.

For the salad in the picture(below) I made a raspberry vinaigrette. Salad dressings are fairly easy to make and once you start, buying salad dressing will be a thing of the past.

Raspberry Vinaigrette.

So the thing with this recipe is I really don’t measure. Just slap stuff together until it tastes good. Start with some good quality olive oil in a mason jar(jar size depends on how much you are making), add some white (or black) balsamic vinegar (more olive oil, less viniger), Add some raspberries (I thawed out some frozen ones, fresh would do fine too) and honey for sweetness. Now the trick to a really voluminous dressing is a submersion (or stick) blender. Place the blender in the jar and blend away. Now taste the science experiment and add any more of the above ingredients until you reach your dressing nirvana. Some may like it sweeter, while others may like it a bit more tart. Enjoy!

Gratuitous Turkey Shot

From the country...
I know, I should really stop with the turkey pictures, but you gotta admit he is just sooo fascinating... maybe it is just me.

Running a 10k race, with a pitchfork.

From the country…

So yesterday we wore make shift dust masks and ratty clothes. With torn shirts around our mouths and noses, Mark told the kids we were robbing a bank. The sad truth was we were getting ready to clean the ol’ chicken coop (although robbing a bank sounds much more entertaining…).

I prepared myself mentally the night before; going over the hours we would spend shovelling shit (literally), the arguments we would have stemming from the fact that I wanted to bail half way through, the stench of 1 years worth of ripe chicken poop, and the sore achy muscles I would have the next day.

What kept me going were the feelings of satisfaction I would have and the reward of not having to do it again (until next spring anyway) and a gleaming chicken coop just waiting for new life.

Today I wore wear my achy muscles like a badge. I might have been a bit whiny and a midday bath was needed, but we did the dirty deed and it’s done. We have happy chickens (although Turkey Tom hasn’t changed his demeanour…), a clean coop that smells of pine, an impressive pile of manure waiting to turn itself into usable compost and an amazing sense of accomplishment. I would compare this barnyard feat to running a 10k race, with a pitchfork

What’s next? Well, I am gonna stumble up the stairs like a drunken sailor, pile the quilt on top of my sore bones, snuggle right down (yep, I am an avid snuggler) and get some shut eye.

Marmalade for Gran

From the City, in the country:

Last weekend Laura and I made a trip into town and found a whole whack of citrus on sale. We decided to make a mess of marmalade mainly because of the sale on citrus, the fact that Laura and I both like it but also because our Gran love love loves it.

Note: On Day 2, Laura and I pureed a quarter of the citrus mixture so that it would be less jelly like and have a little more texture. This is totally optional and not necessary if you like jellyness.

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs. Meyer Lemons, Grapefruit and Oranges

8 cups Water

6-6.5 Cups Sugar

Steps:

Day 1.

• Halve the lemons crosswise and cut out the centers.


• Holding the citrus over a bowl, run your finger down the middle of the lemon to remove all the seeds. Do this for each fruit. Retain the juice and seeds and set aside.


• Slice the citrus into thin slices.


• Strain the retained juice and seeds from #3 and add to a large bowl.


• Combine the juice and the lemons into the large bowl, cover them with the 8 cups of water, and let stand overnight in a cool place (refrigerator, garage, etc).

Day 2.

• Wash the jars, lids, and rings in hot soapy water.


• Sterilize. Place the jars upright in the canner, cover them with hot water 2” above the top of the jars, and boil vigorously for 10 minutes. (Add one additional minute for each 1,000 feet you are higher than sea level.) I generally place my rings and all other utensils in the bath as well – doesn’t hurt. Just don’t boil the lids as the rubber may melt. Leave them in the hot water until you’re ready to use them.
  
• Simmer the citrus and water in a large pot until the peels are tender. A good test is to try to cut them with a wooden or plastic spoon: if they break apart effortlessly, it’s done. This takes me about 20-25 minutes.


• Add the sugar (6 cups for a little less sweet, 6.5 for a little more sweet).


• Boil rapidly, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches the jelling point.


• Skim off any foam.


• Ladle into hot, sterile jars. Use the funnel so that you avoid getting marmalade on the rim of the jar. Fill to 1/4” below the top of the jar (ie, 1/4” headspace).


• Before putting on the lids, stir slowly and push the liquid down to remove any air pockets. Then carefully wipe the top of the jars with a clean towel. (I dip the towel in the boiling water first, as the liquid can be sticky.)


• Dunk the lids into the boiling water, or pour boiling water over them in a bowl to soften and sterilize them. Set the lids on the jars, and screw on the rings firmly, but stop when you feel resistance.


• Place each of the jars into the jar rack in the water canner. Make sure they have at least 2” between one another so that water can circulate between them.


• Lower the rack into the canner. Top the water in the canner so that water is at least 2” above the top jar. Cover, and boil.


• After it reaches a full boil, set a timer and boil the jars in the water for 10 minutes. (At 1,000-3,000’ above sea level, add 5 minutes; at 3,001-6,000’ add 10 minutes, and so on.)


• Immediately remove jars with a jar lifter, and place them on a drying rack or clean towel. Make sure they are spaced at least 1” apart for air circulation, but don’t put them in front of an open window or in any kind of draft. Also don’t tighten the metal rings. Very soon you’ll hear a popping sound as the jars cool.


• Cool the jars at room temperature for 12-24 hours.

Day 3.

• Test the Seals. Remove the metal rings and check to see that the lids have curved down slightly in the center. Then press the center of the lid. It should not move.


• Jars that did not seal properly should be reprocessed (within 24 hours), frozen, or used in the next few days.


• With metal rings still removed, wipe the jars clean with a damp cloth. If you see food caught between the lid and the rim, note this on the jar and use this jar soon. Replace the metal ring.


• Label your jars with the contents and date. You can do this with a label or mark the top of the lid with a Sharpie.


• Store in a cool, dark place between 45F and 60F. Use within one year.

I really recommend trying this recipe out if you have a hankering for some marmalade. It was surprisingly easy and totally do-able for the novice jelly maker.

Amelia

Lurkey Turkey

From the country...This is what happens when there is a jail break on the farm...

See for yourself!

To market, to market…

From the country in the city!

On Saturday Amy and I packed up the boys and ventured into the big smoke to spend an otherwise dreary day at the always-busy Green barns Market. It was nice to be around the bustle of city happenings and I enjoyed watching the kids out of their element. They really are quite social (and super cute!).

Mark was already at the market doing his usual Saturday sales so we just hung around the table and had a picnic. I had made bagels the night before

(http://recipe.groups.vox.com/library/post/6a0100a7f8a70c000e0110162c7380860c.html for the recipe), packed up some pickles, a jar of nuts, sunflower sprouts and some sliced apple wood smoked sausage. At the market I picked up some Mutsu apples, some fig cream cheese from Montforte Dairy (http://www.monfortedairy.com/), and some beautiful smoked white fish from Akiwenzies Fish and More(http://akiwenziesfish.blogspot.com/)

We dressed up the fresh bagels with the sweet fig cheese; added chunks of whitefish and a sprinkling of sunflower sprouts finished the deal. It was a tasty and fun picnic!

After our meal we checked out the Sarah Elton’s book signing (also at the market) and collectively bought her new novel, Locavore.

We then played in the park and officially said goodbye to March break! Now it is back to real life with lists upon lists of tasks to accomplish now. Cleaning the chicken coop is top of the list….yeach!

My Trip To Cookstown Greens

From the country...

On Sunday, Mark and I took a day trip (sans kids…) to see the farm of Cookstown Greens(check out www.cookstowngreens.com). We met with the farmer/genius David Cohlmeyer and took a look at his operation. Let’s just say I was floored and it gave me a new perspective on all year farming. Since growing greens is something I would like to specialize in, we spent the day picking David’s brain (literally question after question it was almost embarrassing…) and touring his vast operation.
We started in one of his large greenhouses, where he grows greens from September to Juneish and marvelled at his ingenious (and expensive) set up. I salivated looking at all the delicate greens with their vibrant colours, resisting the urge to pluck and eat. In these large greenhouses, greens grow from the fall to the spring (then grown in the field) and in the late spring through the summer, heirloom tomatoes take their turn. We then set out to see the fields and the impressive rotational green cropping that David implements on his land. He works and grows one part of his land and the other sections are parcelled off and grow a mixture of peas, oats, sorghum, rye grass etc. to feed the soil. The factual meaning of organic has been so skewed in today’s terms. Often people relate the word ‘ORGANIC” to being grown without chemical inputs. But to a farmer, it should mean to add organic matter to your soil. In layman’s terms, the soil needs to eat too, and if you have healthy soil, there is no need for synthetic components. Anyway after the walk we checked out the facilities were the greens are washed, spun and packaged. We envied the cold storage were root vegetables are stored from harvest to early spring and sold throughout the winter. We ventured into the coolers where harvested greens etc. stay fresh, and went out into the greenhouse where micro greens and edible flowers grow all winter long. The perfect amendments to salad greens. Trays of pea shoots, beet tops, red cabbage and amaranth. Plantings of Swiss chard, borage in flower, and marigolds. My face was flush with inspiration. We thanked David for his time with a care package of eggs, homemade corn relish, hot sauce and wild applesauce. It was our way of saying thanks for a truly amazing trip. I left feeling so green and new to farming and the realization that there was so much more to learn, and so much more growth stretched out ahead of me. I lay in bed last night going over my own farming plans and putting my new found knowledge to work (in my head at least…) and although I feel a tad overwhelmed, I am eager to get my hands dirty.

This is what you wake up to at the farm...

From the City: in the country

So I went to the farm for a couple of days to get out of the bustle and noise of the city and spent my days cooking, eating and taking pictures. My three favorite things combined.

Mark made these incredible Blueberry Bran muffins for breakfast one morning and I couldn't not take pictures and blog the recipe. So here it is, make 'em and enjoy 'em.

Extra-Easy, Extra Moist Bran Muffins

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 4 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
• 1 cup wheat bran
• 1 tsp baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup blueberries (raisins, cranberries etc etc)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease muffin tins thoroughly and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine first four ingredients.

In a medium sized bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, adding the blueberries if desired.

In a cup or small bowl, combine the yogurt and milk.

Add dry ingredients alternately with the yogurt/milk to the first ingredients, stirring JUST to combine, don't overmix! (Overmixing kills good muffins and they don't deserve that)

Pour into prepared muffin pans.

Bake 15-20 min until done.

Enjoy with butter, jam, jelly, honey or just on their own .

A Green Shot of Spring

From the City: in the Country

Bonfire pictures

From the country...

Happy Vernal Equinox on Saturday!

Onion: the ticking time bomb.

From the country...

Spring has sprung!

Early Evening Dust Bath

From the country...

A Spring Treasure. Overwintered Baby Radicchio!

From the country...

and into the salad bowl tonight!

Sunday Soup Series

From the City:

It's been cold and rainy in Toronto for the past three days. Simon and I have literally been hibernating all weekend just so we can avoid going out into the wind and the cold rain, because of this I have been cooking all weekend.

I'm a big fan of my freezer. I love spending a Sunday cooking large batches of soups, stews, lasagnas, casseroles and burritos for those nights during the week when you get home and don't feel like cooking but totally feel like eating.

This is another recipe that I came across at work. It's a crockpot recipe so it requires a little planning because it takes about 8-10 hrs. What I like to do with these long crockpot recipes is I prep the whole thing the night before and then just start it in the morning when I get up.

Beef and Barley Soup:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb stewing beef
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 carrots
• 5 cups mushrooms (whatever you like)
• 6 cups stock
• 1/2 cup pot barley
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf

Heat oil in a pot. Sprinkle beef with salt, pepper and thyme. When the oil is hot, braise beef. Add to crockpot.

Add onions, carrots and garlic to pot and cook until onions are translucent. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 min. Add vegetable mixture to crockpot.

Add stock, barley, 1 cup of water, barley, tomato paste and bay leaf. Cook on low for 8-10 hrs.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Marble Cake with a Sour Cherry Glaze

From the country...

So today I succumbed to my sweet tooth and decided to make a cake. My Step Son, Eli (I know, another boy right?) is coming to the farm for March break and what can be better than a nice welcome cake? (if we don’t devour it before he arrives…)

I decided on a marble cake with a white chocolate glaze, except I didn’t have white chocolate. I did however, have a surplus of sour cherries in the freezer beckoning me to use them and so the switch was made. A sour cherry glaze is a perfect companion for a chocolate and vanilla marble cake.

I get excited when I find that recipe calls for the paddle attachment on the mixer. To me it means butter and sugar will be fluffin’ it up and all my fav recipes get a good paddling. Butter always equals love.

I found this recipe in my favourite baking book, The Martha Stewart Baking Book (I love the book, Martha not so much). Recipe as follows:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 3/4 – cup cake flour (not self rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1-cup sugar
3 large eggs room temp
1-teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3-cup buttermilk, room temp (I used watered down yoghurt)
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan; set aside. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside In the bowl of the electric mixer with the paddle attachment beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time beating until combined. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour. Set aside one-third the batter. In a bowl, mix the cocoa with the hot water with a spatula until smooth. Add the cocoa mixture to the reserved cake batter; stir until combined.

Spoon the batters into the prepared pan in two layers, alternating with spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate to simulate a checkerboard pattern. (Mine was more freeform..) To create a marble pattern, run a knife through the batter in a swirling pattern.

Bake rotating the pan half way through, until a cake tester comes clean, 40- 50 minutes. Cool on rack for ten minutes. Turn cake out and let cool completely. Pour glaze over cake, letting it drip own the sides.

Sour Cherry Glaze

Thaw cherries (I had approx. 2 cups) keep liquid.
In a small pot bring cherries to a slow boil and add sugar (to taste)
When boiling spoon out some liquid into a cup (about a half cup) and whisk in tapioca flour 2 tablespoons (I use it instead of cornstarch)
Slowly add mixture to cherries in pot a little at a time until a soft gel forms.
Let cool slightly and pour over cake. A beautiful cake for a windy, wet Saturday dinner

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Dinner Last Night

From the country...

Here is a trick to make a roast chicken dinner super yummy. Take a couple cloves of garlic and smash em, add butter (I know right?), sea salt and whatever dried herb you have (I used rosemary) Then smear the butter concoction between the skin and the breast of the bird. Pan sear on all sides and place into the oven. The garlic infuses through the meat of the bird and the butter (aside from being buttery deliciousness...) really crisps the skin. Try it out!

East has the bugs and the west has the rats...

From the City:

One of the worst things about Toronto is the vermin and the bugs. When we lived in Peterborough I never once worried about my dog getting carried away by huge snarling city rats nor did I predict that one day I would be tearing my apartment apart hunting for bed bugs. But alas, this is the reality in Toronto. I was told very nonchalantly by a superintendent once that the east end has the bed bugs and the west end has the rats and mice. Gross.

What the city also has is a bunch of skunks and raccoons with no where to go. Yesterday when I was walking home from work I just happened to walk past a huge skunk passing his time rooting around in the neighbors front yard and don't even get me started on that damn raccoon who rips into my green compost once a week. Now you may be asking yourself; she was raised on a farm, she must have befriended a couple of skunks and raccoons in her day, but again this is not the case. In the country you never see these suckers first hand, you may see their aftermath (ripped garbage and a dog that reeks) but rarely do they come right out and greet you on your way home from work.

This morning I awoke to Simon standing over me (at 7 am I might add) informing me that Ruby (my sweet, harmless, angel of a dog) had, in the night, stalked and (sorta) killed a mouse and left it for us to find this lovely morning. Ruby has never killed anything and up until this point we thought that any good terrier trait had been bred out of her but alas we were wrong, she is in fact still a dog, a hunting dog at that.

Farm Boy Couture

From the country...

I think the greatest thing about being a farm boy is you get to wear plaid, a lot. Since I am outnumbered 3 to 1 in my house I often envy the lives of boys. They look good all the time, have the greatest eyelashes, and when they don a plaid shirt with jeans my face turns a little green.I love plaid but I just can’t wear it with the same gusto as farm boys.

Basking in the sun...

A False Spring Day.

From the country…

Apparently, according to the local Amish community we are having a false spring day and the warm and fuzzy thoughts running through my head as the sun shines down, will be slapped out by the frozen hand of Momma Nature. I’ll take it anyway. It was a beauty today and I spent the afternoon with the boys playing in the dirt. The dirt in the greenhouse, mind you but I’ll take what I can get. It was downright balmy in there; we stripped down to our t shirts and dawned baseball caps. It was luxurious basking in the warmth. A farmer’s vacation you could say…

Nate and I dumped 3 feedbags of compost into the bed in the greenhouse, worked it in with shovels, levelled it with garden rakes, and when Lucas woke up we watered it. It didn’t bug me that we had to lug the water from across the lawn in buckets. It didn’t bother me that we then had to pour water from the buckets into small watering cans (I usually have a more sophisticated watering system, but hey it’s spring right?), and it certainly didn’t infuriate me that I could only find one water sprinkler piece for all three cans. I embraced just spending a warm and fuzzy afternoon with my boys. The exciting end to our greenhouse afternoon was tiny seed made their way into the fluffy fertile soil! We planted some cold hardy greens seeds (due to the impending cold snap) into nice and neat furrows. I also tried my shiny, new super red, wheely scooter. I was a gift given to me last fall by my great pal, Jacob. I hadn’t even sat on it. It will help my aching bones during those long days of spring, cutting greens. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children
-Native American Proverb

Happy False Spring!