Adventures In Grainland: Part 2- Quinoa

The quinoa we planted a few months back did tremendously well.  I have to say I am amazed by this plant.  Everything about it leaves me in love, from the high protein and nutrition content of the grain (16-23%) to the shockingly delicious green leaves (you can eat them raw in salad or saute them).  We barely tilled the soil, barely watered, and still got more than an abundant harvest.  And I know I don't have to say much about the beauty of this plant.  It is breathtaking.  You can be sure I will be planting this every year. A lot of it!

ready to harvest

I harvested the seed heads that had turned a variety of rainbow colors leaving the greenish heads to mature a bit longer.  I noticed that it looks like each plant produces a seed head that will make about one meal depending on how many people you are feeding.  This is convenient...you can plan out approximately the number of days you want to feed your family by the number of seeds you put in the ground.  For our four person family I could see having enough grain on one plant for  a dinner and a bit left for breakfast as a warm porridge with honey and milk.  Yum. 

still a bit green

this grain is very versatile:  cook like rice, grind into flour, eat as a porridge, or pop like popcorn

After cutting off the heads it was time to hang them to dry.  (I am choosing to hang them on a drying rack with a cloth underneath to catch anything that falls.  You can also hang them in paper bags or over a large bin.)  I will leave them for a couple of weeks (I am estimating) and then remove the grain from the plant.  Quinoa must be rinsed many times before cooking due to the saponins in the outer seed coat. The rinsing water will be foamy almost like soapy water.  After rinsing well until the water runs clean, I will put them in my dehydrator on a low setting to dry then store in airtight glass jars.  You can also just leave the grain out to dry but be sure to leave it for several days at the same temperature it will be stored, before you put it into the containers. It is important to make sure the seeds are not damp. 

I'm so excited about this grain, I hope you get to experiment with growing some quinoa it in the future.

An Early Harvest

It's looking like October around here.  We harvested some of the winter squash and have begun planting favas, potatoes, pole beans, lettuce, and all sorts of brassicas (we snuck in a little more corn too).  This being our first season of planting winter squash at this location, I started all the pumpkins, banana squash, kabocha, and butternut in early march.  Seeing that most were ready to harvest at the end of July, I think we could have even planted two consecutive crops. 

Our Gravenstein apple tree is laden with fruit and has started dropping apples.  We have just been collecting the fruit off of the ground but yesterday I gave her a couple of good shakes and this was the result. 

 

We are canning quart after quart of apple sauce and apple butter.  I don't add much to the apples just wash, cut, (I leave the skins on) and cook them down in a little water, my  favorite secret ingredient being organic brown rice syrup and maybe a bit of cinnamon.   I recently discovered Sorghum molasses which I find to be very tasty (and much cheaper than other natural sweeteners). 

Of course you can just process the apples plain, they are delicious that way too.  Another great tip that a friend taught me is when making an apple pie or crisp, pour a generous amount of homemade apple sauce or apple butter over the apple slices before adding the topping/crust.  The result is 100% yummier and very moist.

Much of the rest of the fruit here is still growing and ripening.  Here are some images of what we are looking forward to...

...happy August!

A Wonderful Day

A big thanks to the Richmond Garden Club for coming out to our place yesterday.  The skies were blue and there was lots of interesting conversation, (so much so I did not even take one picture!)  We had a great time sharing our ideas, passions, and progress with everyone.  Hearing all of your feedback and suggestions is so valuable.  It feels good to have the local support of a like minded community.  We are eagerly awaiting future RGC events. 

A Little Cuteness To Go Around

Two new rabbits:  here's how the story goes. 

Mom really wants some (or even one) cute rabbit for a pet.  Dad says, "No way, too many animals already.  Let's not get in over our heads!"  In the process of convincing herself that pet rabbits are a good thing, she remembers the permaculture rule that every element of the environment must serve at least three purposes.  Hmmmm.

#1 Manure, of course. 

#2 Entertainment and companionship.

#3 Umm, cuteness factor?  (does that count?)

Yes, that is definitely good enough.  Being of the scheming sort, Mom devises a plan.  She finds a couple of beautiful American Blue rabbits and decides they would make a wonderful 8th birthday present for their son (who, by the way, is not very interested in adopting bunnies, he really wants a rock polisher, which he later receives).  She gets the rabbits, picks up an old hutch from a friend...



hutch before (thanks M!)

a little paint and voila...a new home for said bunnies now named Marshmallow and Sassafras.  After homemade baking and some extra kisses, Dad isn't really that mad.  And the boys are now quite fond of their new cuddly friends. 

Sassafras

Marshmallow

First tub of manure I will add to the tomatoes and zucchini.
Rabbit manure doesn't have to compost before adding it to garden plants making it a great fertilizer.
This being the first time I have used rabbit manure, we shall see how it goes.

P.S.  Just in case you were wondering the bunnies don't spend all day in that little cage.  We let them out to run in the chicken tractor where they seem to delight in doing flips and eating grass. 

Blackberries and Beets

After a very busy weekend, I had a rare Sunday afternoon of down time.  Instead of taking a much needed nap I decided to dive into making some more of the fermented recipes I have been itching to experiment with.  I can't get enough of making these lacto-fermented foods.  They are just so yummy and easy!  Not to mention beneficial for our digestion.  So after a stroll around the orchard, some deep inhales-exhales, and a visit to the garden, I came back to the house with a big bowl of warm juicy blackberries, a whole bunch of mint (several kinds) and one gigantic red beet.  Did I say gigantic?
And yes, I usually do have better things to do than take pictures of over sized vegetables but I needed proof.  I've never seen a beet this big before. 

So in to the kitchen I go to begin my experimentation...

...which resulted in five pint jars of raw beet kraut (click here for basic kraut recipe) and two gallons of fermented soda, one blackberry and one green tea/mint.  Yummmm!  You really do have to try these...

Fermented Blackberry Soda
about 6 cups of blackberries (freshly picked or frozen)
1 gallon filtered water
2 cups whey
1 cup agave or sugar (haven't had very good results with honey)

Wash berries if fresh and add to pot with 1/2 gallon of water.  Add sweetener and simmer until sweet and berries are pretty much broken down, about 15 minutes.  Taste for sweetness.
(If not sweet enough either simmer longer or add more sweetener.)
Pour berry syrup into gallon glass jar and let cool.  Add whey and rest of water until jar is full.  Stir well, cap and let sit in a warm place for a couple of days.  Taste after a day and a half to monitor the fermentation process.  The soda should become bubbly.  I have found that 2 days tends to be plenty in warm weather, I monitor mine closely because I don't want my soda to turn alcoholic. 
Once the bubbles form, strain the soda, put into bottles and refrigerate.  Enjoy chilled on hot days.

Moroccan Mint and Green Tea Soda (adapted from suddenly sauer)
A huge handful of fresh mint (about 1/2 lb)
1 gallon filtered water
2 tbls. green tea (preferably gunpowder but I have used sencha too)
1 cup agave
2 cups whey

Wash mint.  Bring water to a boil, add sweetener, then add fresh mint and green tea.  Remove from heat, stir, cover, and let steep for 20 minutes.  Pour into a gallon glass jar (leaving room for the whey) and let cool.  Cap and let sit for a couple of days to a week in a warm place until bubbles start to form.  Strain and bottle then refrigerate.

Digging in the Dirt

"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance,

 the wise grows it under his feet."
-  James Oppenheim

Lately we've been eating LOTS of potatoes.  So versatile, comforting, and nutritious, these red potatoes were harvested a few days ago.  We had planted only one pound but the harvest was a full milk crate, I think I could have even left them in the ground a bit longer. 

My favorite way to use potatoes these days is to make a crust with them-for quiche, fritata or any savory pie. To do this, thinly slice several potatoes, add a generous amout of olive oil to a pie plate and arrange the slices in an overlapping spiral covering the whole dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper then bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes while you assemble other ingredients.  (This crust is also tasty made with yams.)

For a yummy, summer, vegetable pie:
1.  chop and saute any fresh garden vegi  (chard, zucchini, etc.)
2.  grate or crumble your favorite cheese over the browned potato crust (my favorite is feta)
3.  add sauted vegis on top 
4.  in a seperate bowl combine 4 eggs with 1.5 cups of half and half, whisking together.  Season egg mixture with your favorite seasoning and pour over the cheese and vegis
5.  if you're a cheese lover like mysef, grate a little more cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes in a 425 degree oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean
Serve with a salad and enjoy an easy, delicious meal.

harvesting the goods

Magic of Many Hands

"The softest thing in the universe overcomes

the hardest thing in the universe."

-Tao Te Ching

This week we had a little garden work party.  Only our second but I am still amazed at how fast work gets done with more help.  A few friends built raised beds in the former location of the chicken coop with hog fencing, filling them with composted manure, straw and soil.  Meanwhile many little hands (about 8 kidos) weeded the garden, thinned carrots, and played hide and seek.  We concluded with a meal and lots of laughter.  What can be better than that?  Thanks again you guys!

The pumpkin patch is now complete, we just have to decide what to plant in the new beds.  More potatoes?