Jam it, pickle it, cure it

I first discovered this book in September while we were killing time in a little book store in Orcas Island. It was featured in a section all about canning and preserving food. But what's different about this book is that it's not really about canning. Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it by Karen Solomon does have some classic canning recipes, like strawberry jam, but it primarily features tons of recipes for typical processed foods. It also gives you storage information for each food. Since I've been avoiding buying processed foods, I was thrilled to find this book. I can't wait to try the recipes for DIY mustard and ketchup, graham crackers, and butter. Does anyone wonder what I'll be doing during my summer vacation this year?

Chard Pie

I love to cook one-pot meals. I love dishes that put to use a big surplus of vegetables, like the spinach that is billowing out of my garden right now! During the fall and winter, I cook big pots of soup pretty much every weekend. But once spring comes around, I'm usually ready for a change. I think that's why I just can't get enough of Maria's savory vegetable pie.

The beauty of this recipe is how versatile it is – you can pretty much make it with whatever veggies you have on hand. I've made it with lacinato kale, chard, spinach, and roasted asparagus – each one in a separate pie, although I'm sure a combination would work out just fine. I bet broccoli pie would be delicious! The one recommendation I have is to use a lot of greens, especially greens like spinach that cook down significantly. It's the best when you fill up the pie pan almost completely with the greens so that the egg mixture simply holds it together. That way, when you slice into the pie, the delicious vegetables are the stars rather than the egg, like a quiche.

Chard Pie

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

I make this pie completely dairy-free, but I'm sure that some cheese would be a delicious addition.

The Crust:

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix the following ingredients with a fork until thoroughly blended:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup milk or water (I use almond milk)

The dough will be difficult to roll, so press it evenly into a 9 inch deep dish pie pan or 11-inch tart pan. Bake until the crust is set and lightly golden, about 15 minutes, pricking once or twice if it bubbles. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

The Greens:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 - 3 shallots, thinly sliced

1 lb. + chard leaves or other greens, stems removed*, washed and chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp. fresh oregano or basil, minced

salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste

In a large skillet, cook the shallots in the olive oil over medium-low heat until softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the oregano, salt and peppers. Increase the heat to medium and add the greens and garlic to the pan. Cook until tender, about 8 - 10 minutes (less for spinach).

* If you're using chard or kale, don't throw out the stems! Chop them up and saute them with the shallots. They take a little longer to cook than the greens, but are very nutritious and delicious!

The Filling:

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup almond milk

a little salt and pepper

Combine the ingredients above in a bowl and then add the greens. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pie crust and spread evenly. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake until the filling is golden and firm, about 25 - 35 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

Enjoy!

Now that's what I'm talking about!

You may remember me saying (here) that I probably wouldn't be growing broccoli again after my first stab at it last year. I grew broccoli from seed last year, which I started inside, and for all the time I put into nurturing them, they just didn't seem to give me enough bang for my buck. But then, this April, my neighbor offered me a pack of nine broccoli starts (Packman variety) because she bought too many. Since I would never turn down a free plant, I graciously accepted them and put them into a few open squares in my raised beds. Well, besides two plants, which I lost to cabbage maggots, the plants have really thrived, surprising me with several large heads! I harvested a few for the first time this season and they were delicious! I prepared them by cutting them up into small florets, tossing them with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasting them on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. I served them on a bed of Jake's fresh pasta with a little olive oil that I warmed and flavored in a saute pan with some fresh, slivered sage leaves. Needless to say, after tonight's meal, I may need to reconsider my decision. This vegetable is just too good to abandon.

It ain't easy being green

I'm beginning to notice a trend. I can't speak for others, but I'm noticing that for me, being a sassy, city girl gardener means getting comments from random people that question my farming abilities. Like when I was in the feed store buying my chicks and the farmer behind me in line, purchasing 25 of each of several breeds compared to my three, asked if I had named them already. The same farmer wrapped up our conversation by saying that it'd be just a matter of time before I started painting their toenails. And then today, when my neighbor leaned over the fence to check out the progress we've made on our incredible coop (pictures to come soon!), he asked if I was building a coop or an apartment. These off-the-cuff comments don't faze me much, but I'm wondering if they come with the urban farming territory. I was never in 4-H, I didn't grow up with chickens, I don't live in a rural environment, nor have I ever. I wear artsy galoshes, dangly earrings and a bohemian fabric garden tool belt, and just in general, probably don't look much like a farmer besides the dirt under my nails and stains on my jeans. But, there is more to me than meets the eye. I've done my homework – I've accumulated enough gardening and chicken books to start a library. Plus, enthusiasm goes a long way. An expert I am not, but I'm not as green as I look.

Honey Bee Mosaic

After I got the flagstone path installed for my wild flower garden, I discovered that we needed one more stone to make for a smoother transition across the grass. So to fill the space and honor the pollinators that I hope to attract, I made a honey bee mosaic stepping stone with tumbled stained glass. Here is the stone from start to finish.

Cutlery Plant Markers

If you read my blog, you've heard me say before that I've been known to enjoy instant gratification. But my garden is teaching me to slow it down and be patient. There is nothing better than sowing seeds and discovering a little green sprout pushing up through the soil.

Right now, I'm being patient with my wild flower path garden. Since I gave all of the new plants the space they need for their future growth, a lush flower bed it is not...yet! I have visions of this garden being dense and bursting with blooms. In fact, I left the little colored picture plant markers next to a few of the plants, so when I walk down the path, I'm reminded of the beauty that is yet to come. Many were recommended by GreatPlant Picks, so I have high hopes. So far, I've planted:

• Six purple artichoke plants
• Two English lavender plants
• One Spanish lavender plant
• Three different types of Echinacea (Great Plant Pick)
• Shasta Daisy (Great Plant Pick)
• Rudbeckia
• Two varieties of Coreopsis
• Marigolds
• Several mounds of Blue Oat Grass (Great Plant Pick)

To keep myself busy while I wait for everything to fill in and look beautiful, I've taken to make cutlery plant markers. I was first inspired when I saw this post on Willi's blog. But like most crafty things I see, I think to myself, I can make that! A trip to the Goodwill left me with a bag full of old forks, knives, and spoons for under $5. Of course, they're not all actually vintage, but it's the overall look that really appealed to me anyway, not the fact that they were actually antique.

Since I tend to be a pretty artsy girl, I sat down and hand-painted a bunch of the spoons and knives. A little acrylic paint, a thin paint brush, and some clear sealer will go a long way.

The forks are really my favorite though and are very easy to make. I found a thin sheet of aluminum at my local hardware store for around $10. I cut it into thin strips by scoring the metal with an Exacto knife and snapping the strips off the main piece of metal. Make sure to wear gloves to protect your fingers from the raw edge. Then, I wrote the name of each plant on a strip with a sharpie and wedged it in between the tines of a fork. The perfect afternoon project for an antsy girl, waiting for her flowers to bloom.

Buyer Beware

It's week seven and the girls are getting plump, feathered out, and seem generally content. But at this point, I am almost literally counting down the hours until we get the coop constructed and get the chicks outside. Jake and I thought that it would probably be a good idea for me to write a post about what life is like living with chicks in your spare bath tub when they're seven weeks old so that those of you who might be considering getting chickens really know what you're getting into. Don't get me wrong, the experience is delightful and I would make the same decision in a heartbeat. Chickens have very unique and charming personalities and I look forward to seeing them everyday. But it has its downsides, which I think you should know.

Chicks are typically raised inside or in a brooder with a heat lamp until the chicks or pullets (young hens) are about eight weeks old or are fully feathered out. The cardboard-box-in-a-tub setup has worked out really well as far as the brooder size to chick size ratio is concerned. But when they hit about five and a half to six weeks, I began spending a lot of time fretting about the chicks' growing lack of space and about where I could transport them if I decided to try and find a bigger space. Create a bigger brooder (where, I don't know) for one more week?

Because they're bigger and more active, they do an incredible job tearing up the new clean newspaper and bedding I lay down. At this point, I clean out the brooder every day. And as soon as I get everything nice and cleaned up, I hear their feet happily scratching it all up again. I can't blame them – that's what chickens do. But as long as they're in such tight quarters, with so much energy to spare, it's what I have to do and it's starting to get old.

Jake and I will be furiously working to finish the coop this weekend and next week, I will start gradually easing them into their new digs. To help get them prepared, I've been turning the light off in the brooder at night. They are a little frantic at first being in the dark, but they eventually settle in to sleep for the night. Like I said, I've enjoyed many aspects of hosting these house guests, but I can't wait to take back my space. I'm sure my little hens will be much happier as well.

*Thanks to my student, Maddy, for the hand-drawn chicks and bees. She knows me well!