Too Much of a Good Thing

As you can see from previous posts, we had a lot of snow. Now we have a lot of water, everywhere. We literally cannot get out. We thought we could use our canoe, but found a skunk and a mink were living in it!!! I may want to get out, but not bad enough to fight a skunk for it...yet!

On the plus side, the plants that the FFA kids have started look WONDERFUL! When I can get over there, I think a pan of brownies are in order for those kids! About two weeks ago I had a crisis, basically freaking out that I had put all my preverbial eggs in their basket. No need for worry, the plants look great and healthy and not too big! The gardens are not under water and are drying out nicely. The potatoes should go in soon, but we may have to wait on them another week or two or three.

Here are some photos of our water problems:





This last photo is of a muskrat taunting me from across the water. He is sitting on a branch floating about a foot and a half above our road/driveway! I wonder if he's moved into the canoe-condo too??

All the way with FFA!

I spent a most enjoyable day yesterday. I served as a judge for the State FFA Ag Sales Contest. What a great way to spend about 4 hours! For those of you who think that teenagers today don't know/do anything, I'm here to tell you that is certainly not true. I listened to 11 young people sell me various agriculture-related products: from an electric greasegun to a battery booster (I didn't know what one was until yesterday) to a greenhouse (you bet I listened up on that one!) to a goose decoy. The goose decoy salesman was fabulous! I told him when he finished, "I don't hunt but you made me want to buy a decoy!"

So I have a challenge for all of you...get involved in your local 4-H clubs and FFA Chapters. Serve as a judge or mentor for these awesome kids. You can't complain about the state of the next generation when you do nothing to help them learn and grow. I have these two organizations to thank for teaching me a lot of life skills that I use every day, helping for a couple hours here and there is a small way of saying thank you. If you don't know your local FFA advisor, call the school and ask his or her name and tell them you want to help...you will make their day!

This leads me to an update about the gardens. It's time to start the seedlings, but as I do not have a greenhouse and my local FFA chapter does...can you see where this is going? Yup! I'm donating all the seeds, pots, trays, and starting medium to the school and they will be working on a horticulture unit the remainder of the spring STARTING MY PLANTS! I have to admit that this arrangement is beneficial for all involved. The kids get a chance to start seeds and monitor their progress and it doesn't cost the school anything by way of supplies. And I don't have to start seeds, admittedly my least favorite part of gardening. Come May, I'll gather up the plants from the kids and put them in the ground. Then when they come back to school in August, I hope to have them come out to our farm and see how their plants did over the summer and sample the produce.

Get out there, find some kids and teach 'em something!

Is it STILL winter?

First, I must apologize for not posting the entire month of January. But it was really hard to get excited about gardening when we were snowbound for days on end. Here are some photos of our farm, mid-January:

This is a picture of our backyard. These drifts are between 3 and 5 feet high.


This is a side view of the "bad" section of our driveway.


This is the head-on view of the same section. Notice the vehicles parked out there. When this blows shut (at least once a week), we have to walk out to the vehicles and then drive anywhere. The drifts on the left are about 6 feet high.



This is a view of the creek. The windbreak is doing a great job catching snow before it goes into the yard. That's about 20 vertical feet of snow!

So, as you can see, it's been hard to think about the garden when I was a prisoner in what amounts to a Siberian prison!

Things are looking up, we hit 40 degrees the other day and melting did occur! That means spring is just around the corner...RIGHT?

Going Local At Restaurants!!

Thanksgiving

In the words of my beloved 7 year old nephew, "I'm S-T-U-F-F-T!!" That about sums up my Thanksgiving experience, I'm full to the brim of delicious food. We spent a few days with my parents eating, visiting and doing some odd jobs...but mostly eating! Wednesday night we had oven potatoes with a cream sauce, ham and baked beans. Thursday was the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, relish tray, bread, pumpkin and cherry pies. My mom makes stuffing, not dressing, STUFFING! Be gone with you food safety experts! The stuffing, containing raw eggs, gets stuffed into that turkey and roasted to a "fair thee well". And it's loaded with onions, too. It's tradition around here. One year I dared to make "dressing" in a pan next to the turkey ...SCANDAL!!! Nope, it's not a real turkey unless that baby is stuffed.

Friday we had Fleishkuchle day. If you are not of German-Russian ancestry, this might throw you for a loop. It literally means "meat dough". You take browned hamburger and onions and wrap it in a soft dough and then deep fry it until golden crispy brown. OH MY GOODNESS! I haven't had them in two years, because it just isn't a meal you can make for two people. It was just as good, or even better, than I remembered it! One thing you can say about us German-Russians...we sure love our doughs, boiled, fried, baked, smothered in cream...it's all good!

Happy Eating to Everyone! May you enjoy wonderful food and even better company!

How do you solve a problem like tomatoes?

My tomatoes didn't begin to ripen until September 15th, almost a month behind schedule. We were into October and I still was waiting for the majority of my tomato crop to approach ripe. Then frost warnings were issued and I knew I had to take action! So the dear husband joined me in a tomato picking frenzy. We picked only the paste tomatos. Good-bye Brandywines!! (sniff, sniff) We had 18, count 'em 18, flats of green tomatoes packed at least 2 deep. I set up shop in the garage, right in there with all the engine parts, and let nature take its course.




Then once a week, I go through each flat gathering the ripened tomatoes.



What does one do with all these tomatoes? Well, for starters there is a wonderful bruschetta...



Annie's Best Bruschetta
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups diced fresh tomatoes
1 bunch (or 4 packed TBSP) chopped fresh basil
10 cloves minced garlic - yes, it's a lot of garlic so you can cut back if you need to
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Toss gently and refrigerate at least 1 hour for flavors to blend. Serve on piping hot, fresh from the broiler, sliced French bread. Taste, and then weep as the flavor explodes in your mouth.

My Local Foods Support Group

A couple of weeks ago I attended a Local Foods Initiative meeting. On the drive, I wasn't sure who (if anyone) I would know or what exactly we would be doing. WOW! It was a great day! I came away inspired to grow more food. I couldn't wait to get back home and get some more ground ready to go for next spring. Which is just how a gardener should feel at the end of the season, rather than "Thank goodness that's over!" The seed catalogs start arriving in December, the perfect time to pour over them with a hot cider or chocolate, some Christmas goodies and a pen! I can honestly say that it is more exciting than when the Sears Toy Book came in the mail to old RR1 Box 42.

It was wonderful to be sitting next to people who have the same passion for food that I do. To hear what they are doing, how they are doing it, and how it is working for them. These weren't 10,000 acre farmers. They were simple people like my husband and I, with a small acreage, trying to make it profitable, sustainable, and an asset to the community. There is already another meeting scheduled for January...I can't wait!