fun farm day

1 weeks old chicks

after not really having much in the way of festivals or events going on around here, it was nice to venture out to sharon rose farm today for their family fun farm day. and fun it was, even though ray didn't get to pet anything. but we did get to see some baby chicks, pigs, some sheep, laying chickens, a few cows, and two geese. i wish i had more pictures to share with you, but i forgot to charge my camera and my battery died on me half way through the farm tour. we also picked up another pound of really good bacon and a pork roast to cook for thanksgiving dinner. that's right folks. i have decided to forgo the turkey. i must say we are really not the biggest fans of turkey. but don't worry we are planning on having a good bit of the other traditional fare..... garlic buttermilk mashed potatoes, sage cornbread dressing, onion cheddar biscuits, and a cranapple cobbler. now i just gotta figure out how i'm gonna to cook the pork roast. boil vs. braise vs. roast. what to do, what to do??

more baby chicks

little piggies enjoying life in the great open pasture..... just as they should.

berkshire pigs

hey big mama

here's also a quick look as to what has been harvested from the garden so far this fall and some recent pictures from the garden taken the other night.

the little radish patch didn't turn out so well. this is all that grew for me.

i did get a few nice size turnip though. i made a mash out of these with some potatoes and carrots.

i also got some leeks from the crazy leek section and used them in a red wine sauce for some venison cubed steak.

chinese cabbage. i steamed these with some mustard greens.

sink full of mustard greens.


the fall garden at night

mustard greens

lettuce

cilantro

looks like the sage survived the cold nights, but the basil is dead.

last of the basil harvested about a week or two ago.
as you can see, it is now really dark out by the time i get home.

the peas are blooming and not at all bothered by the chilly and cold nights. i went and looked at the peas this morning and quite a few pods are growing out there. can't wait to eat some fresh peas from the garden soon.

and now friends i must leave you to go get a nap in before my movie date with the pig girl.

i got it. now time to use it and loose it.

(warning: this blog post discusses the one of the most basic human functions. pooping. stop now if having or reading about a bowel movement, or in my case, lack there of, offends you. if you continue, don't say i didn't warn you. but never fear, the picture of the bee pollen will be my only visual aid for this post....... carry on.)

oh dear trusty blog. i am so sorry i have neglected you again for nearly an entire month. i have missed you, but i have also been pretty busy. but now i am back with a new plan of action and a confession. i have strayed. i have been bad. i have eaten bad bad things. i have purchased bad bad food. i have driven thru. i have partaken in small individually wrapped holiday treats. and for that, i have dearly paid. i have been tired. i have been sad. i have been hyper then cranky. and most importantly of all, i have been constipated. yes, you heard me. i have been sans a proper poop for, well, for about 5 days. i think it's been 5 days. the last one was so long ago i really can't remember. but i come armed with a new plan. a plan i have been preparing for since the birth of this blog in august on 2008. a plan i have research for but some reason have failed to carry out. but in light of recent events, or again lack there of, i am ready. i am committed. (we'll see about that - will power is NOT my strong point.) i am paying for a gym membership. (that's good motivation for me folks. nothing like the threat of ray yelling at me for spending money on a YMCA membership that i don't use to get me to the treadmill.) i am, i am, well folks let's admit it......i am fat. not grossly obese or anything, but i definitely fall under the pleasantly plump category. a regular chunky monkey. and not to mention getting older by the minute. but what is really scary is the list i found the other day of what sugar does to your body. now we all know that sugar, especially the refined kind, is bad for you. it makes you moody, fat, kills your teeth, causes disease, etc..... but did you know that it does this......

• Sugar can suppress the immune system.
• Sugar can upset the body's mineral balance.
• Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
• Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
• Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
• Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs).
• Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
• Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
• Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
• Sugar can cause kidney damage.
• Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
• Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.
• Sugar can cause copper deficiency.
• Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
• Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
• Sugar can promote tooth decay.
• Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.
• Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.
• Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
• Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair.
• Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
• Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
• High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
• Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
• Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
• Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
• Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
• Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
• Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.
• Sugar causes food allergies.
• Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream.
• Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
• Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
• Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
• Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
• Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
• Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver.
• Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
• Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
• Sugar can cause depression.
• Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
• Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
• Sugar can cause hypertension.
• Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
• Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind's ability to think clearly.
• Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness which increases risk of blood clots and strokes.
• Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
• Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!

so folks, while i get my plan of action together, here are a few of my favorite good for you food sites for you to look at till i return. enjoy!

http://www.101cookbooks.com/build_a_natural/
http://www.foodrenegade.com/
http://www.localharvest.org/ (for a farm nearest you)
http://realmilk.com/
http://www.michaelpollan.com/link.htm

p.s. dinner is being declared a success. i had a homemade mueslix blend of oats, raw almonds and walnuts, raw pumpkin and sunflower seeds, organic dried cranberries (oops those had some sugar in them), and raisins with some local whole milk, low temp pasteurized but non-homogenized. (i failed to make it to the raw dairy this week.....bad bad me.)

p.s.s. three hours after partaking in a herbal laxative treatment i finally had a decent BM.

thank goodness..... bout time.

p.s.s.s. the aforementioned RAY is really a sweet and supportive guy. the best in fact. and lately has been a great clean up help in the kitchen. SWEET BOY!!

good bye number five

yeah! there is now a bin at the food mart to recycle #5 plastics. and believe me i have quite the collection. unfortunately, here in tiny town, the plastic recycle program is limited to plastic bottles whose openings are smaller than the bottle body. and even though i saved my large yogurt containers for possible starter planting pots, as well as, homemade stock containers for the freezer, i have an excess that is frighting. but now i can say good bye number five and sleep tight at night knowing that at least i tried.

drivin' n cryin' over radishes

radishes at day 30ish

so the radishes should be ready, right? well crap. mature in 25 days my arse. and i was all ready for a seedling salad with radishes and buttermilk herb dressing. but no, this is what i get......

yummy roots?
well let's look a little harder.....

3 very small peppery tasty treats.

so i've been letting the radishes hibernate a little longer in the ground and i'm going to pull them up this weekend at 47 dyas and see what i get. i don't know what went wrong. did i not sow my seeds deep enough? hopefully it will just be that i picked them to soon and this weekend will prove to be more productive. but all in all, the north garden is looking really pretty. and even if i don't get around to eating anything from the fall garden, it sure has been fun watching everything grow. and if nothing else, i always have my swiss chard. i mean really, you can't kill this plant. i cut back some more leaves and pulled up a few sad looking plants that were getting shaded out by the bigger ones, and threw it all in a little pile underneath the garden hose and look what happened......

IT'S GROWING OUT OF THE TRASH HEAP!!!!!!!

and not just in one spot, but 3 separate spots.
CRAZY!!!!!

and it's hard to be too sad about the radishes when i still have the cutest puppies in the world....

sweet babies enjoying the sun.

and i finally got around to cooking up some more of the "ass load of deer meat" in the freezer....

what started out as a roast, turned into more of a stew.

and i had a little extra time last week to finally organize my cooking cabinet.....

can anyone say "sleeping with the enemy?"

and in fun stuff news, ray and i were able to catch a free in store appearance by my long time favorite band from atlanta, drivin n cryin. see that groovy dude in the back banging on the drums, that's my old friend dave. ah, brings back memories.....

hey what a minute.... i thought this amp went up to eleven??!!??

my new hair cut

it's been rain here for days and days. and while the rain is great for my garden and water bill, it doesn't leave me much time to hang with the veggies. so until i can get a good garden update going, here is a quick look at my new haircut. for 37 years i have been fighting with my hair on a daily basis to get it to wake up and do something. and for about 37 years i have failed. long, medium, short, shaved, brown, red, blond, and multi colored, time and time again it has been a losing battle. so the other day i chopped it all off. and, surprisingly, for the first time ever, my hair looks better when i don't blow it dry. so even though my new short short hair might make me look like i have a pumpkin head, i think it's a keeper. because after 37 years, i am over it. i'm over dealing with my baby fine, super straight, paper thin, boring brown greasy hair. salute!!

the hair is gone and gone for good!
and yes i hate having my picture taken, so of course i look goofy.
this is my interpretation of a shy garden pixie.
oh that gives me an idea.
perhaps i'll make myself a garden apron with some fairy wings so i can look like a rollie pollie pixie fluttering around my garden in the morning dew.
(ok, i definitely had too much coffee this morning.)

fixing it with physics

whoo hoo, the beam's yellow pear tomatoes are ripening and tasting delicious.

looks like the fall garden is promising to make the spring/summer garden look just pitiful. so while the planning for next year's tomatoes seems to have found a permanent home in the front of my brain, the rest has been working on sowing and thinning seeds. i tried to space out my seeds appropriately when sowing, but since some them are so darn small and come a billion to a packet, i found that generally it's easier to just toss some seeds in the little rows and worry about carefully thinning them out later. now if your like me, and are always surprised and amazed when the little guys start poking their heads out of the soil, it hurts my heart to rip them from the life giving soil. BUT, today i realized that thinning can be a good thing. and that good thing is what i now call seedling salad. that's right folks, eat those seedlings. we did. and they were darn tasty. so let's take a look around the garden and see what's growing.

i headed out this morning with my notebook so i knew exactly how much spacing each veggie patch needed to be thinned.

here's the new pea patch where the in ground tomatoes used to be.
they're not sprouting yet.

a new lettuce patch. let's hope i do better at eating the fall salad greens before they bolt and turn bitter.

herb garden of basil and one sage plant.

the cilantro is sprouting!!!

the radishes are about 1/2 way to maturity.

more seeds a sprouting. these are either chinese cabbage or more lettuce.

swiss chard and some more chinese cabbage seedlings prior to today's thinning.

this thyme plant is over a year old and getting a little woody on the inside. not sure what i'm going to do with it. drying it and trying to separate the little leaves from the stems is a bitch. maybe i can dig it up and split it somehow.

even more seeds a sprouting.

leeks gone wild!!!!

can't cut from and eat this swiss chard fast enough. it just keeps growing and growing. at the top right of the picture are the mustard greens before i thinned them out a bit. the little mustard seedlings had a really nice peppery taste to them.

collecting the seedlings for the salad. who knew thinning could be so tasty.

i was doing good till the stupid piece of shit salad spinner decided not to work. i've only used the damn unfixable thing a handful of times. so i had to fix the problem with some physics. attach a coat hanger to the basket and go out to the front stoop and spin the basket in a big circle round and round really really fast so the salad doesn't fall out. see there, done. dried seedling salad. well at least the basket and bowl from the spinner will make a decent container to store the leftover greens in the frig.
(of course i had to find a way to sneak in a pic of the puppies)

so this week we did a pretty good job of eating out of the garden. and it only took me till the end of the tomato season to remember the beauty of the blt. seriously, where is my brain sometimes!!??!!.

BLT
organic bread
homemade mayo
homegrown basil
homegrown swiss chard standing in for the lettuce
homegrown HBPL tomato
bacon

and of course, today's seedling salad. seedlings dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar topped with tuna salad made with homemade basil mayo, farmer's market butter pickles, and capers. paired with a homegrown HBPL tomato and organic bread and butter.

hopefully next week i find some time to tell you about the grand labor day tomato take down and review a little canning i did this summer. but for now i leave you with the one picture i took at the william christenberry lecture we went to yesterday in augusta.

it's been a month.... really?

buddha belly breaks the bench!!

seriously, it's been a month since my last post? where does the time go? more importantly, where did my "free time" go? i guess it went the way of the tomato. who knew that such a small garden, a couple of puppies, a wonderful hubbykins, a kitchen, a week of yucky sickness, and an extra hour at work each day could suck up so much of my time that i haven't sat in my office chair for over a month. and let's face it, i really don't have time to do it now. but i thought a super quick post to let everyone know that the tomatoes and i are still here was in order. so while i haven't much time to talk, i decided to post, again, a few pictures of the cutest baby in the world... pig girl's nephew colby. cause who doesn't like a super cute baby??

yeah baby!!

and really what kind post would this be if i didn't at least include one picture containing tomatoes. so here is the last of the tomatoes prior to last weekends tomato take down. but more on that later as i am being called to bed by hubby and the pups. later gators.

last of the 2009 tomatoes.
(well almost the last. we still have three plants in large containers that were started super late and are just now starting to ripen.)