Harvesting Summer Squash

Yesterday we began harvesting our first tromboccini squash. Harvesting summer squash can sometimes be tricky because there always seems to be a few that get overlooked and grow to baseball bat size overnight. Harvesting Tromboccini is no exception. Yesterday I harvested 6 nice size tromboccini squash and today I noticed another one in the garden that was larger than any of the others I harvested yesterday. Tromboccini is a very long heirloom summer squash that grows in a curled shape and looks like a trombone. I thought my kids would get a kick out of the novelty of the squash. What I wasn't prepared for, however, was the sprawling vines of the plant. It truly grows more like a winter squash plant than a bushing zucchini or yellow squash. It's a good thing I left quite a bit of room for them, but they are invading everything around them!You can see that a few of the squash were growing through my fence along the garden. Again, I didn't know that the plant was vining, so this surprised me, but I have a pretty vertical garden already so it's no big deal!

My sister-in-law shared an incredible zucchini pickle recipe with me. I didn't think I would enjoy those pickles and was quite shocked by how delicious they were. I plan to make some of those pickles after I harvest more summer squash. I'll post the recipe separately.

I love this time of year.....the quandary of which produce to serve for each meal....such dilemmas!

How to Make a Chicken Coop

I found a nice easy pattern for how to build a chicken coop. It is fast and easy and allows you to move the structure around for fresh grass each day for your birds. Click on the picture to check it out.

While I have permanent structures for my birds on my property, a smaller portable coop plan would be great for when I have a few new layers that I raise with my meat birds. I don't like to raise them together for long, but the layers are generally too small to incorporate into my flock until they are older. A catawbacoop would be the nice solution for those birds for a few months.

I'm hoping my dad will build me one of these for my Christmas present.

CSA Workshare

I participate in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Workshare program. It's not because I have a lot of free time or need any more vegetables than I already grow. I participate in the CSA workshare to learn. I have learned about vegetables I have never grown before. I have learned better succession planting management. I have learned how to better utilize the space in my garden to grow more veggies in a small space. I have learned SOOO MUCH!!!

Last week I helped harvest a beautiful bunch of heirloom carrots.....Atomic Reds, Whites, and Oranges. You can see the harvest here. If you are interested in gardening I can't think of a better place to start....learn from the pros by working for them and then put that knowledge to work for yourself. If you are not interested in gardening, then consider buying a membership in a CSA. You will get to taste foods that are fresh, usually grown using organic growing methods at the peak of ripeness, delicious and cannot compare to store purchased produce. You are also helping support a local farmer which helps the economy on a local level, as well as minimizing the "carbon footprint" that most food (shipped thousands of miles) requires.

Take a look at my CSA at Circle M Farms and then check out a CSA near you!

Acidophilus Milk

I have been making kefir from real Kefir grains that I bought from the Kefir Lady. I bought these grains because I wanted to add more probiotics and acidophilus products to my diet. Milk lends itself well to probiotic and acidophilus cultures.

I ordered my kefir grains and after they came in the mail, I put them into milk to get them working again. It only took a day to get them working. It was interesting to see how long they needed to work in a quart of milk and how often I would need to change the milk. Occassionally I eat a few of the grains because the kefir grains grow and then need more milk or a shorter time to sit in the milk to get a good probiotic product. Sometimes I end up with more kefir than I can use and then I put the grains in a frig for a week or two. I do use the kefir like buttermilk in baking so it is great in my rhubarb coffee cake recipe or in biscuits or pancakes.

I think it is interesting that so many of the things that Americans have given up in their diets in favor of highly refined and processed foods are simple natural items that really boost the immune system. Fermentation was largely used in food preservation up until electricity made it possible to store food in a refrigerated or frozen state very easily and conveniently. However, the loss of fermented food from our diet has really had detrimental effects on our health. Wild Fermentation is a website that has a lot of great information about fermation. Even though I haven't read the entire book, I did sneak a preview at the book, The Revolution will not be Microwaved. It looks like a very interesting read and it is reviewed by a number of well-known, well respected individuals.

Acidophilus Milk, Probiotic Milk, Fermented Milk......all natural healthy ways to boost your immune system!

Fresh Cabbage for Coleslaw

We just harvested our first fresh cabbage for coleslaw. It's fourth of July and we are going to a picnic. I can't think of a nicer way to celebrate than eating fresh coleslaw. I usually only use recipes as guides and I rarely measure so I will tell you how I make my most requested recipe. I use about 1 cup of miracle whip (mayonnaise works too, but you have to up the amounts of vinegar and sugar), 3/4 - 1 cup of milk, 1 T of vinegar, 2 T sugar (or to taste...I like it a little more sweet), 1 pound of shredded cabbage with a little grated carrot for color. When you use fresh cabbage for coleslaw, you may not need to add so much milk because the fresh cabbage has more juice in it. If you have a few hours before you serve, then add less milk initially and add more if you need it later. This variety is the Early Jersey Wakefield variety. I love growing this cabbage in the spring. I plan to grow the Brunswick and another variety for fall. I'd better get those seeds started!