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My garden life typifies the battle between flesh and spirit. Late winter and early spring I think about how I need to plan out my garden, I marvel when I hear that people planted lettuce and onions in March, and I am certain! to have the beautiful, blossoming, tamed wilderness in my own backyard. Then July hits. I wither in the heat. I crawl into my basement and dream of dewey, windy, blustery and beautiful Oregon Coast.

Now? It's June and unseasonably wet and cold. Everyone's complaining but I'm still in my honeymoon phase of gardening. The excitement began back in April when I found some recycled composite raised garden beds. No deteriorating! No staining! I was sold! The Mister of the House brought home 6 boxes (essentially twelve 3.5X3.5 foot squares), and I was left to configure them on the lawn. I pored over these suggestions of stacking and staggering the boxes.

I officially purchased 12 squares, but I longed to have a stacked look. By redirecting the middle support beam OUT instead of IN on the bottom row, we were able to butterfly 4 boxes out from the main line. Does that even make sense? By pulling out the support centers (with the exception of the row 2) I was able to have 11 squares intact for planting, and still keep the easy to reach and mighty-perty stacked center.



Boxes 3 and 4 we planted perennial crops asparagus and strawberries. Because they are proficient spreaders, we put them in the box that is enclosed on all sides. For asparagus, you dig down 8 inches and then plant. As they shoot through the dirt, you pile more dirt on them. Look how they have already taken off (box 3)! It will be two more years until we start harvesting them. Be excited!



We tilled up the grass, put down weed barrier, and halfway enclosed the garden with 6 cedar posts. The posts are 8 feet apart and in the middle are some newly planted grapevines. These vines will be trained along the wires at 2 and 4 feet, and include table grapes and raisin grapes, all seedless. In the above pic you will see the fake owl that is supposed to scare the birds away from my garden. Not quite sure if it is really working yet.



This butterflied box is on the east side, so in the afternoon it is a little shaded by the middle stack. I planted lettuce there because it prefers colder temps, and I knew it wouldn't mind. It was just yesterday that I had my FIRST salad cut fresh from the garden. Delish!



Here is a picture showing the full configuration. 5 rows long with 4 butterflies, and a regular 2 square at the edge. Filled with compost, peat moss, vermiculite and poop...we're ready to roll!

From June2010

So I have to admit, I was pushing for the raised beds because A)my buff neighbor Katrina grows a killer garden and has them ....and B) I have been LooooOoving this book "The Backyard Homestead" and it talks about how great raised beds are to have warm dirt in the spring, plant things closer and utilize space, and keep weeds out. The full title of the book is "The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre". Here's a snippet.

Another tip I got from this book was a teepee trellis for vining crops. So when I found some 10 foot tree limbs in the canyon, I brought them home and made this makeshift play-place for the kids. Here is our teepee that we planted pole beans and melons around the base.



I am totally a novice gardener. It was just yesterday I found out that if you grow melons and squash next to each other, they become cross-dressing transvestites. By that I mean you will have a disgusting pumpkin flavored watermelon. No thanks! So we just transplanted squash (i.e. pumpkins) away from the melons and we'll see if we get any crop from these heat-loving crops that need 100+ days to mature. Yikes!



The pole beans are already starting to do their work.

In the main old-fashioned garden bed we are planting potatoes and corn. Since we have animals, we used the old hay and straw to keep weeds down and mark pathways in the garden.



So all I have to say is CHICKENS! They have kicked out all my straw searching for bugs. I was excited to have chickens to eat bugs in the garden, but am wondering if they will do more harm than good (i.e. pecking new buds on my baby grapevines and stories of chickens pecking ripe delicious produce). One peck is all it takes for the floodgates to open.

So considering keeping the chickens out of the entire yard. Hmmmm.



Here we are at Old Faithful last week. While we were vacationing, the chickens were busy scattering my straw. Argh.

In our kitchen, we picked up the pace around March. Picking up the pace meant that we tried to avoid processed foods containing high fructose corn syrup as well as other ingredients that you can't read or understand. So one March Morning the mutts woke up and our standard honey-nut cheerios was out. The kids sat at the table with empty bowls and excited smiles after The Mister of the House stated he was off to the store to buy more cereal.

They wept bitter tears.

This isn't breakfast of course, but you get the idea.

Another fallout from our food revolution was fruit snacks. I'm not sure why I got on that bandwagon to begin with, perhaps because it's an integral mormon ritual every Sacrament Meeting to keep your kids quiet.

After reading the amazing book "In Defense of Food", The Mister and I now joke about whether something is food or "food-flavored product". I like to think of how the food came to be, and if someone was wearing goggles and a labcoat, then maybe it's a scientific product instead of a food one.

So like most of those kid-loving cereals, fruit snacks got the axe at our house. No wonder when the ingredient list for Wal-Mart's Great Value Fruit Snacks is this:

Corn Syrup, Sugar, Fruit Juice Concentrate (Apple, Grape, Strawberry, Orange, Lemon), Modified Cornstarch, Canola Oil, Malic Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Natural And Artificial Flavors, Mineral Oil, Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Carnauba Wax.

And so it was, with the onslaught of lemons from our food co-ops, I decided to try my hand at candied lemon slices. Still sweet, and still a treat. But I don't need a lab-coat to make them, and neither will you.



Ingredients: Lemons, Sugar, Water. You will also need ice water for the recipe.





So here's the deal with lemon slices. The white rim is called pith, and it keeps your treat bitter and gross unless you boil it out. I digress, you don't actively boil. You throw them in water that was just boiling, but that has been pulled off the heat source. So still pretty hot. I used Martha's recipe as a guide, but keep in mind some basic citrus rules! If you are doing a BIG BATCH, consider doing a couple rounds of the boiling water, changing the water in between. Got it?


This picture has 3 or 4 lemons in it. Prepare boiling water, pull it off, throw in your lemons and let them sit for 2-3 minutes. If you want to be safe, throw out the water and do it one more time. (I just did it for one round by the way, and they turned out good...but they were better when I did a smaller batch. You get the citrus rules applying here right?)



So you "boil" them, and then plunge them in the ice-water bath. This is what they look like after this step.

Let those lemons enjoy their ice-bath while you prepare the syrup. Equal parts sugar to water. I went 2 cups of each, and heated over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved. YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR SYRUP TO BOIL. Just get your sugar dissolved, and then throw your slices in there to simmer for a complete hour. Going an extra 15 or 20 minutes isn't a big deal AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T BOIL.





So during the cooling process, you have some options. Roll in more sugar for a grainy treat, or dip in melted semi-sweet chocolate.



And yes my kids eat them! They are a bit chewy, but a little work with a sweet treat does a kid good. Here's Rainbow Girl after eating a chocolate one, and I snapped this pic before she had any idea she had choco-lips.



Oh and in case you're wondering, my kids all have these happy faces when eating their granola as well. Boo-yah!



I'm thinking cupcake toppers! What do you think?

Last week our two goats had their kids. During the month prior, The Mister of the House purchased a goat care book, watched disturbing YouTube videos, and checked on the expectant mothers several times a day. When some experienced farmer friends indicated that the goats could go any day now, The Mister of the House officially shifted into hyperdrive. He turned to me after they left and stated: I don't even have my birthing kit ready yet!

As for me, I generally snored like a lion while The Mister wrested the sheets worrying about the having to turn a baby goat for delivery. When it comes to his paternal-like worry patterns in comparison with my seeming indifference, I'd like to chalk it up to the fact that I have birthed three kids of my own, that I trust the female species to get the job down, and my inner sense of keeping it cool. Yet, I have to admit that my husband is a Man of Action who gets the job done. So I thanked him by nodding off mid-sentence and sleeping like a baby, all the while smiling sweet lover's dream of worried husbands scrambling to assemble a birthing kit.

As for my own part in the bringing of new life to the farm, I was excited! I have sweat, bled, and cried while bringing my kids into the world, and have never been afforded the birds-eye view of the process. To say I was curious is putting it lightly. And to calm The Mister's fears, and because I have smaller hands, I agreed to turn the baby goat if the delivery went amiss.

So last Wednesday I got birth on my hands. Okay just a second, how cool is that sentence: Last Wednesday I got birth on my hands.

Alright alright...I wasn't up to my elbows in the ooey-gooey. As my female senses detected (that's what it was right?) the baby goats arrived without any complication with no mid-birthing canal transitions. But apparently the curse of Eve and the consequential increase of sorrow while bringing life into the world attends all female counterparts, not just the human ones. So as it happened, the mama goat scrambled and jolted with her pains and practically birthed her kid into the wall. So after the crowning, and an exclamation of joy! I pulled the baby onto a towel so we could gargle the guck from his nose and throat.

It was truly precious to see. Mama licked her baby clean, licked my hands clean, then ate her afterbirth.

These things happen in nature people.

And I am left to ponder: Should I really be getting this attached to farm animals? Why does *most* life begin awash in blood and water?



And again and again, this scripture kept tumbling through my brain:

For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;

Blood and water keeps working again and again: to bring life, to renew life, to atone.



Ready for some pictures folks?

I know I know! I honestly look like a new mother. Kindof cheesy, but here I am with one of Matilda's twins.



And here's the REAL farmer bob with the goats. To say that this man is finding his purpose in life here on the farm, is to say that everyone loves ice cream. Tis true. Tis true.


Poor little Rainbow Girl is the #1 help on the farm. After watching her second goat birth, she stated: I don't want to be a girl. But with her female-ness comes the innate love and nurturing that is a gift to all daughters of Eve, be they mothers or not.



Behold the seed of Agamemnon!



My poop boots are cooler than your poop boots.



The end.

Remember this post and my little boy's obsession with all things pink?

Since Mrs. Olsen has been yapping SaladThis and SaladThat I thought I should try to lighten up a little. Although I think it's an excellent idea, I am not completely off of sugar. My family is enjoying our little food revolution with whole foods and fruits & veggies, and so I'm feeling good about the occasional splurge. When my co-op baskets included avocados and limes recently, I decided to dig up an old ice cream recipe in this fabulous recipe book.

I'll be honest, this ice cream is not loved by The Mister of the House. So I only make it every couple of years, and try it out on fresh palettes so I can feel like a gourmet chef. So that book inspired me, but I changed it up a little to see if I could tone down some flavors and hopefully win over some new lovers of this beautiful green ice cream.

So yeah, there are eggs in this recipe. It's a common thing in ice cream, and totally freaks my mother out.







Get it back to 160 (with the eggs), then the food freaks can chill out.

This was a basic alteration of the recipe. Some ice cream recipes want you to heat up the cream with granulated sugar. I have found that sweetened condensed milk saves you the trouble of messing with cream that could get too hot while allowing your sugar to be perfectly dissolved. It makes a perfect flavor base for other ice creams like chocolate or peppermint. Anyway, back to our green dream...

Pull that pan off when it hits 160, then let it cool down to room temp. Then throw it in the fridge to chill. While that's happening, you can get your flavors ready.



After the custard base is cooled down, mix it in with your avocados, lime, and cream. Here's a picture of all of it together in my ice cream machine canister. I gave it one last stir before I rigged my old school machine up.



So my ice cream machine uses ice and rock salt. There are lots of newer and more expensive and cooler machines you can use. The good thing is, it's not even necessary to own an ice cream machine to make this recipe. I'll spill it out in the end when I give the actual recipe. Deal?



So then my moment of yearning for approval was upon us. I decided to let some tasters in on my gourmet ice cream with these simple rules:

Rule #1) You must take 3 bites before you decide how you feel about it.

Rule #2) You must use only 2 words to describe this ice cream.

Here's my tasters:

Aahhh. Dangit!

Sheesh. I thought the female would pull through for me. She said she liked it, but "guacamole-ey" didn't really convince me. It's okay Sara, keep feeding me every week and I'll get over it.

Mr. Gourmet Ice Cream Lover wasn't a huge fan. His word choice was....hmmmm, polite. We'll just say that much.

Aw crap. But alas, some of my blood came through for me!



So since toddlers are sugar freaks and will eat sugar granules if it's available, I wasn't feeling too gourmet-like when The Buddha Baby was the only one who really "yiked it".

Fortunately, the next day I played volleyball. My friend Toshia had asked me for this recipe, so I said "Hey, come over and taste it for yourself. But I have some rules while you eat it" and she said Deal!

So my last and final taster was Toshia.



Phew! So maybe I'm not completely nuts. This ice cream isn't for everybody obviously, but I think it's fun! Here's the recipe:

AVOCADO LIME ICE CREAM

3 RIPE AVOCADOS
4 SMALL LIMES (or 2 REGULAR LIMES)
1 (14oz) CAN SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK
4 EGG YOLKS (save the egg whites if you do not own an ice cream machine)
2 1/2 CUPS HEAVY CREAM

Put yolks in a bowl and beat until runny. Set aside. Heat up milk on medium heat until it reaches 160 degrees. Slowly drizzle egg yolks into milk and whisk while doing so. Get temp back up to 160 and then pull off to cool. Stir it up every once in a while.

Meanwhile, mash your avocados and grate the rind off of your limes. Then squeeze the juice from the limes as well.

Once your egg base is cooled, mix it together with your mash as well as your cream. Stir together in your canister and let the machine go to work!

VARIATION: If you don't have a machine, mix all the stuff and then put in freezer safe container. Pull out ever 15-25 minutes and beat up so ice crystals don't form. In one of your pulls, stir in reserved egg whites that are beaten stiff. Continue to pull out and beat until the entire mixture is at least soft-set (all frozen, but still soft). At this point, just let it continue to freeze and harden in your freezer.

Enjoy!

This recipe title includes "side" in it because it is a perfect compliment to a meal. It is flavorful and doesn't require heavy sauces. Yet it is mild enough to marry lots of flavors on your plate. Last night we ate it with salmon and mango relish, and it blended all the flavors wonderfully. I keep cold leftovers and use them other ways as well: with stir-fry veggies rolled up in tortillas, or warmed up and thrown on a cool, crisp green salad. I'm using leftovers for another Citrus Week Recipe later this week (or next?...where did this week go).

Here we go!


Throw these portions together in your rice cooker:

2 cups brown rice
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup water
full bunch green onions chopped, green to white...use all of it!
1 TBL of olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
After zested, cut up that lemon and throw in the pot as well (feel free to squeeze the juice out of some or all of them)
1 tsp. lemon pepper



Here's the deal with rice. If using brown rice, double the water at least. I added an extra 1/2 cup of water because of all the extra stuff in there and wanted to make sure the rice got done. Also, expect it to take around one hour for the water to cook out and the rice to be done. If using white rice (I recommend Jasmine) then you could 150% the liquid and it should cook up quicker for you.



When it's done, you have just a little more work to do.