snapshots from the weekend

that's my shadow...

that grassy looking bed is full of garlic we planted last fall.

so grateful for my husband who pretty much did everything in the garden that day: turning, composting and amending four beds.

i love our front yard garden.

gigi and i planted many, many sugar snap peas. it will be so delicious in a few months!

saturday was the first nice day where none of us were sick this year! we had a good time getting outside and waking up the garden. there is still so much to do. in addition to snap peas i intend to plant some shelling peas and french breakfast radishes this week. fingers crossed! it really is amazing how long it takes to get anything done with a preschooler and an infant...

picnic in the camper van! 

enjoying life in the driver's seat

braised beef short ribs with beef bacon, broccoli, and creamy mashed potatoes.

on sunday our plans were simple: get the ribs in the crock pot, make burritos for our picnic, and take a drive out to the farm to pick up our beef share. that sounds easy, right? well, we managed to do it all, but it ended up taking almost all day. first, it was the switch to daylight savings time, so we lost an hour before we had even woken up. then i realized we didn't have all of the ingredients for the crock pot, so my husband ran to the store. once he returned i started to fix the food, only to have a screaming hungry baby. so i had to stop and nurse. my husband picked up where i left off while also trying to keep gigi's hands off the raw bacon and out of the olive oil garlic paste and the raw onions... then i finally got to take a shower, then it was time to make our lunch. by this time we all were almost feeling hungry for lunch, but no we were going to eat it in the van! for our picnic! even if it killed us. and in my quest for us to eliminate white flour, i bought whole wheat and corn tortillas. i couldn't find just plain whole wheat tortillas. (i love and hate trader joe's.) so there i am starting to make the burritos, when dino starts crying because he is hungry again! so i put him in the sling and roll up the burritos, with him screaming and the tortillas splitting and falling apart. so stressful. i get them wrapped and held together with foil. then sit down to nurse him again. finally we all get in the van and head out to the farm. both kids fall asleep and we are able to enjoy the next 40 minutes in peace as we drive into the country.
visiting the farm was great. as a courtesy for making us drive out to pick up the beef, (usually we get it at the farmers' market but it is too early in the season still) we were given a complimentary carton of gorgeous eggs and a bottle of their kombucha. i'm not a usually a big kombucha fan, but i like theirs. i also picked up some ingredients to make some cheese at home. whenever i have time for that, ha ha ha!
finally we went to a park, had a picnic in the car (no one liked the whole grain tortillas) and gigi and vincent played at the playground while i nursed and nursed. we didn't make it home until 3:30, which gave us a little time to relax (or nurse) before mashing potatoes and steaming broccoli. so glad that dinner was mainly already made. the house sure did smell good!
lastly, today dino is three months old! while life is harder now, we are all really glad he is here.

this and that

yesterday we woke up (very, very early, i'm sure due to sleeping in the Big Girl Bed) to more snow. it was fun to watch it swirl around and even better when it had turned into a dry, sunny afternoon. now it is just raining, raining, raining. the poor chickens are ankle deep in water and mud in their run. good thing they have a nice coop to escape into.

i made these, recipe here. they are based on lara bars, which i really like, but are quite expensive. these only have four ingredients (almonds, cashews, dates, and apricots), were really easy to make, and are a hit with everyone in the house. i call them gigi bars.

recently i realized that our freezer is almost empty! last fall we purchased half a pig and 1/8 of a cow. i am amazed that it is almost all gone! we got it all from kookoolan farms, and it was so good that we are going to do it again. they have a few different varieties of pork now, which is great. we have decided that we are going to get more beef and pork, which means in addition to figuring out how we want the pork cut up like last time, we are also going to get to decide how the beef is cut. i'm looking forward to that a lot! i have realized lately that one of my favorite things about a project is doing the research ahead of time. does anyone have a favorite cut of beef that i should consider?

dark days challenge, weeks five and six

between the holidays, various sicknesses, and some technical difficulties, i didn't manage to post my week five wrap up last week. i promise that i ate it last week though!

for week five, last week, i made a hash of leftovers with a fried egg on top. one of my all-time favorite meals. the ham is leftover from our christmas ham from kookoolan farms, the potatoes are also from christmas and from washington (possibly more than 100 miles away), the cauliflower was leftover from the previous night's dinner and came from happy harvest farm, the eggs came from our backyard hens, and i fried it all in lard that i rendered from the pig we got from kookoolan farms. 

my cup of tea is not local, but the bread is made with stone-buhr flour. the secret aardvark sauce is a local company, but i have no idea where their ingredients come from. it is really good hot sauce though... my little one wasn't interested in the hash, but was happy with her toast and scrambled eggs from our chickens.

week six is a really simple meal. butterflied roast chicken, just like in my previous post, with roasted acorn squash and track town 200 meter ale made by rogue brewing.

the beer is brewed in eugene, which breaks the 100 mile rule.  the chicken is from kookoolan farms, of course, and the squash is from the last csa bin we got from groundwork organics in november.

as i sliced into that squash last night it got me thinking about planning my garden. i recently received the new territorial seed catalog and have been thoroughly enjoying it, when i'm not wiping my nose or chasing a small child around. i also just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. so inspiring! anyway, i had planned on only growing delicatas in the winter squash category because they're our favorite. so sweet and delicious. however, i know they aren't the best storage variety. i was thinking about all of this as i sliced into that acorn squash, thinking maybe i should plant some acorn too but then thinking that i wouldn't plant enough to necessitate buying a whole packet of seeds (my frugality is really strange sometimes). as i stood there scraping the seeds into a bowl for the chickens i realized that maybe i could just plant these seeds. they're from an organic farm so i'm guessing they're not monsanto seeds that would get me arrested for saving and planting them. so they're drying on a rack in the kitchen. next fall i'll let you know if it works!

dark days challenge, week three: roast chicken

our dark days challenge dinner: butterflied roast chicken, roasted carrots and salad.

this week's meal started in our garden. this is our first year growing a year-round garden. i planted these carrots in september and have really enjoyed having them to harvest in december. half of them are still in the ground. i'm thinking about leaving a couple alone just to see how big they'll get.

we grew an assortment of parmex and little finger varieties. they are earthy and sweet. the parmex carrots are round like little orange golf balls.

my little helper sorting the carrots. then they were washed, chopped roughly and tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper. i roasted them at 400 degrees and then put them back in the oven when i pulled the chicken out...and then they burned. fortunately they still tasted good.

this is a pasture-raised chicken from kookoolan farms. i adapted a cook's illustrated recipe for this. i pretty much follow their recommendations, although i brine the chicken for up to 4 hours instead of one. it helps tenderize the chicken. otherwise i find that pasture-raised birds, that actually used to walk around outside, can be a bit tougher than what most people are accustomed to eating. the brining tenderizes them while also helping retain their juices and gives a nice flavor.

local: chicken from kookoolan farms, carrots from our front yard garden, lettuce, garlic and beets from groundwork organics, mushrooms from oregon (according to our local grocery store)

not local: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, parmesan cheese (i grated the cheese on the salad without even thinking about it. i'm going to look for a local replacement as soon as we finish this stuff.)

i'd give you a recipe for the salad dressing, but i really just eyeball it. i put a small fork full of mustard in a large bowl. then i pour in a gulg of olive oil, add a splash of vinegar and a minced garlic clove. i whisk it all together and taste it and adjust it if i need to.

here's the chicken recipe. i put sliced potato in the bottom of the broiler pan, but i don't eat it afterward. it is just too greasy. but you have to put it down there to absorb all of the grease, otherwise your house will fill up with smoke. i made the mistake once of using bread instead because i didn't have a potato, and of course the bread burned and smoked before the chicken started to smoke. it was smokey night. so always keep a potato on hand! also, i keep the backbone and the leftover bones in the freezer to make broth with.

CRISP-SKIN HIGH-ROAST BUTTERFLIED CHICKEN WITH POTATOES

SERVES 4

If you prefer not to brine, use a kosher chicken - it is salted and has a taste and texture similar to a brined bird. For extracrisp skin, after applying the flavored butter (if using -- see related recipes), let the chicken dry uncovered in the refrigerator 8 to 24 hours. Russet potatoes have the best potato flavor, but Yukon Golds have beautiful color and better retain their shape after cooking. Either works well in this recipe. A food processor makes quick and easy work of slicing the potatoes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1cup kosher salt (or 1/2 cup table salt), for brine
• 1/2cup granulated sugar
• 1whole chicken , 3 1/2 to 4 lbs, preferably free-range or other high-quality chicken such as Bell and Evans, giblets removed and reserved for another use, fat around cavity removed and discarded
• 2 1/2pounds russet potatoes (4 to 5 medium), or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
• Vegetable cooking spray (nonstick)
• 1 1/2tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4teaspoon table salt (for potatoes)
• Ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Dissolve salt and sugar in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Immerse chicken and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Line bottom of broiler pan with foil and spray with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Remove chicken from brine and rinse thoroughly under cold running water. Following illustrations 1 through 6, butterfly chicken, flatten breastbone, apply flavored butter (if using), and position chicken on broiler pan rack; thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.
2. 2. Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper to taste in medium bowl. Spread potatoes in even layer in foil-lined broiler pan bottom. Place broiler pan rack with chicken on top. Rub chicken with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle with pepper.
3. 3. Roast chicken until spotty brown, about 20 minutes. Rotate pan and continue to roast until skin has crisped and turned a deep brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees in thickest part of breast, 20 to 25 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board. With potholders, remove broiler pan rack; soak up excess grease from potatoes with several sheets paper towels. Remove foil liner with potatoes from broiler pan bottom and invert foil and potatoes onto cookie sheet or second cutting board. Carefully peel back foil, using a metal spatula to help scrape potatoes off foil as needed. With additional paper towels, pat off remaining grease. Cut chicken into serving pieces and serve with potatoes.

STEP-BY-STEP

PREPARING TO ROAST

• 
  1. Cut through bones on either side of backbone, then remove and discard backbone.
• 
  2. Flip chicken over as shown and use the heel of your hand to flatten breastbone.
• 
  3. If using a compound butter, slip your fingers between skin and breast, loosening the membrane.
• 
  4. Scoop some of the butter onto a spoon, slide it under breast skin, and push off with your fingers.
• 
  5. Work butter under skin to cover breast evenly. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with each drumstick and thigh.
• 
  6. Transfer to broiling rack and push legs up to rest between thighs and the breast.

dark days challenge, week two

i think simple food is easier with the dark days challenge meals. this is a meal i would prepare regardless of whether i was trying to source my food locally or not. when the ingredients are good you really don't need to do much to it. this week i made pan seared, oven roasted pork chops from kookoolan farms, steamed cauliflower from happy harvest farm, and kale from gee creek farm. it's pretty much a guarantee that every one of my dark days meals, really every home cooked meal, that i'm going to make is going to have meat from kookoolan farms in it. this summer we got serious about eating good, pasture-raised meat and bought 1/2 of a pig, 1/8 of a cow and 20 chickens from kookoolan farms. so now instead of going to the grocery store, or the farmer's market, i just walk down to the basement, open the freezer and pull out what i want to make the night before to let it thaw in the fridge. sure, there are times that life gets crazy and i forget to defrost something and then we eat beans and rice for dinner, but that's really just a matter of planning. it is the best meat i've ever eaten. i was really worried that the beef would be gamey because it grazed on the pasture instead of eating corn, but it isn't gamey at all! the chickens have a richer flavor than super market chicken and also a denser texture that, i think, requires brining before roasting. there was a bit of a learning curve with the chickens, but now i can make an amazingly good pasture-raised roast chicken. i'm sure it will be one of our dark days meals soon. my favorite meat though is the pork. in fact i think my favorite meal overall is pork. these kookoolan pork chops are so good. so simple and juicy. my husband used to request applesauce with his pork chops until he realized that these weren't dry and didn't need it.

the steamed cauliflower was topped with tillamook butter. i used this recipe for the kale. the red wine vinegar for the kale isn't local, but i'm hoping to make my own soon! pork chops and greens are one of my favorite combinations. once i have finished searing the pork chops i like to wilt the greens in the pork chop skillet. so yummy!

below is the pork chop recipe from cook's illustrated. i typically only make two chops, but use the same amount of brine. i pepper one side of the chops when they are in the pan searing. i also lessen the amount of time they spend in the oven since my chops are 3/4" thick.

Oven-Roasted Thick-Cut Pork Chops from Cook's Illustrated 

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4cup dark brown sugar (lightly packed)
• 1/4cup kosher salt (or 1/4 cup table salt)
• 4 bone-in rib loin pork chops (12-ounces each), 1 1/2-inches-thick
• 2tablespoons vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. In gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag, dissolve sugar and salt in 6 cups  water. Add pork chops, then seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible; refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour, turning bag once. Remove chops from brine and dry thoroughly with paper towels.
2. 2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place shallow roasting pan or jelly-roll pan on oven rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. When oven reaches 450 degrees, heat oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Place chops in skillet; cook until well-browned and nice crust has formed on surface, about 2 minutes. Turn chops over with tongs; cook until well-browned and a nice crust has formed on second side, about 2 minutes longer. Using tongs, transfer chops to preheated pan in oven. Roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of each chop registers 125–127 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes, turning chops over once halfway through cooking time. Transfer each chop to platter; cover loosely with foil (be sure not to wrap foil tightly around meat), and let rest about 5 minutes. (Check internal temperature; it should register about 145 degrees).
   
   
   
   

dark days challenge, week one: an 'all american' meal

i am really excited to be participating in the dark days challenge for the first time! the goal of the challenge is to eat at least one meal a week that is SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) and grown not further than 100 miles away. at first i thought it would be really easy, but then i really started thinking about every ingredient that goes into our food. for example, i thought that flour and grains would be easy because the wonderful Bob's Red Mill is really close, but after doing a little research i realized that they get their grains from all over the country, not right here. i'll be visiting my little local farmer's market tomorrow to see if anyone has any ideas about locally grown wheat.

so for our first meal i went with simple ingredients: T-bone steaks from Kookoolan Farms, baked potatoes and bok choi from our CSA at Groundwork Organics, and mushrooms from an unspecified farm in oregon.

the butter and sour cream are Tillamook and the beer is the seasonal Ebenezer from Bridgeport Brewing. the bok choi and mushrooms have a sauce on them comprised of sesame oil, peanut oil, chicken broth (homemade from Kookoolan chickens) and soy sauce that wasn't local at all. it was delicious and made even more so knowing that nothing traveled too far to get to our plates.

mozzarella!

last sunday i tried my hand at cheese making for the first time. my mother-in-law was visiting. she hadn't been able to tolerate any dairy products for the last six years, until she tried some raw milk cheese and discovered it didn't cause her any trouble. her visit was just the excuse i needed to enter the world of raw milk. i've been curious about it, but worried that it would taste too different from what i was accustomed to. also, the laws in oregon mandate that raw milk must be purchased at the farm and nowhere else. i probably would have tried it sooner if i could have picked some up at the farmer's market instead of taking a 50 minute drive to the farm, but that's the way it is here and it was totally worth it. we all tried sips of the milk before we made the cheese. it was so good! it was what i was used to tasting, just a richer, yummier version. i fear i'll find myself making that drive again and again. 

i wish i had gotten some photos of the Kookoolan Farms farm store. it was stocked with all sorts of wonderful things and had a lovely wooden barn and toy animal set that gigi had fun playing with. we picked up one gallon of milk, a quart of kombucha, a dozen eggs, and rennet and citric acid for cheese making. 

mozzarella is surprisingly easy to make. i used the recipe from Home Dairy by Ashley English. in the recipe she says to watch the thermometer so you don't overheat your milk. she wasn't kidding. 88 degrees really isn't as warm as you think it's going to be. i didn't test it until it was already at 93 and then spent the next 30 minutes waiting for it to cool back down. i was so sure i'd already ruined it. 

after adding the citric acid and rennet it changes into curds really quickly. its amazing to watch it transform before your eyes. 

then the heating and kneading process begins. we passed the cheese around, each kneading it for a bit. here's my mom kneading away. it's quite a workout for your hands. 

eventually most of the watery whey has left the curd and you're left with a smooth ball of lovely cheese.

combine with home grown tomatoes for the best caprese ever! 

if you're interested in finding some raw milk in your area, click here. always research where your milk is coming from. while raw milk is full of beneficial microbes that pasteurized milk doesn't have, it also can have not-so-nice microbes too. make sure that your farm is crazy-diligent about cleanliness!

breakfast, lunch & dinner

a fried egg from my favorite farm, Kookoolan Farms, wild boar bacon, and toast with homemade raspberry jam

rice noodles with beet greens and purple snap peas from the garden

bbq! cheeseburgers, grilled corn and a tossed salad eaten in our backyard

weekend recap

our soil delivery came bright and early saturday morning. my wonderful husband filled up and emptied the wheelbarrow 22 times to fill our raised beds! that afternoon i planted pole snap beans - Kew Blue (a purple variety!), cucumbers - Mideast Peace, beets - Chioggia, tomatoes - White Stripe Roma and San Marzano, dill, calendula mix and a mix of sunflower seeds from my favorite nursery Naomi's Organic Farm Supply. feels so good to have seeds in the ground!

our csa season began last friday! we got our first bin and weren't disappointed. here are some tips for getting the most out of your csa bin.

a lovely belated birthday package for our little one arrived from my sister-in-law and her kids. she made that adorable waldorf doll! and the dress in the background is so cute it hurts. aren't handmade cards the best?

the weather was perfect so we had to grill. i decided to try Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken from this summer's edition of Cook's Illustrated Summer Grilling. it was crazy good. look at that bird! it is marinaded in a mix of water, soy sauce and oil that has been infused with garlic and ginger. then it is slowly cooked and smoked on the grill. finally it is glazed with a sauce made of many things, including pineapple juice, brown sugar and more garlic and ginger. we (really just my husband) had done a bunch of physical labor that morning and sometime while we were getting this meal ready we both kind of felt like we might just drop. i was hot and tired and really ready to throw in the towel and order a pizza, but we pushed through and we were so happy we did. i highly urge you to run out, buy the summer grilling issue and make this! i made the Hawaiian Macaroni Salad that went with it too. yum.

the best deal of the weekend was running to the farmer's market 30 minutes before closing and finding a sale on frozen pastured chickens from Kookoolan Farms! i've been reading Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal by Joel Salatin and it really has me thinking about local food systems.

i can hear thunder which means i don't have to water my garden tonight, nature will do it for me...