spring greetings

First on the agenda, I'd like to share with everyone in the joys of Spring! We've survived the winter, the darkness, the blistering cold temps, the wind, the snow, the sleet ... the cabin fever!

Second, FOOD> Eating wise, we made it through on frozen goods from our Summer CSA. We also moved to a town that offers a winter farmers market. This is a trend I really hope builds in other communities. It really is a nice treat to have access to produce that is grown nearby and not shipped by mega farms from parts unknown...in the WINTER. in the Northeast. We joined a full year CSA that allows you to select whatever items they have available that week in the quantities you want. There's a lot less stress involved in getting through the week's bounty and little worry of wasting precious greenery. My faves from the winter - tat soi (lovely), mustard greens (bitterific), and a farmers blend of baby greens for ultimate salad enjoyment (a must try for taste and testing your leafy green ID skills). While I like the flexibility in this farm's CSA program, I do foresee the possibility of a less empty freezer and fewer canned goods. But that's easily rectified by going to a pick your own once the growing season gets a-hopping.

Third>> what has that chef been up to? He's been active in the blogosphere, much more than my slacking self. Check it. If you are in our area ... please stay tuned for a formal date.
http://buildabakery.blogspot.com/

anyone with a juice-stache invited to this party??

this has been the summer of the veggie-frui juice.

hydration is essential. and since i've been a sluggard with this blog, don't expect full sentences in this post. ...ok, ok, starting now...

          beets, carrots, apple. a great base for any freshly juiced juice

 celery, parsley/cilantro. whoa, what??

           grapes. yay! bring on the grapes!

       kale, spinach. youre kidding, right?

       garlic. ok....

       fennel! i'm not joking.

                         
tomato: well sure

          radish. yes, of course, radish!

    apple cider vinegar. shh, a secret, or not so much anymore.

and the finale, a delicious, refreshing tonic of wedgetables.

when we couldn't keep up with the bounty of the csa, we - what do i mean 'we' - the chef juiced that sh&t.

the heat is coming!

Seems like a good time for a minor update.

i/we have been hydrating. with produce (in time for London olympics, i hope you read that as prah-doose, as i intended it to be read/said, pronounced). if i had had the foresight, i would have taken pictures. but it is time to re-stock, so pictures to follow.

We have moved to a new state, with it comes a new CSA and an exciting new season of 'what will we get this week?' Talk about suspense! It's been a few weeks and we have been flush with greens, radish, beets, carrots, and even fresh garlic BULBs. Plus garlic scapes, you know the garlic 'flower.' (that was news to me.) And what do you do with garlic scapes? You eat them! HA! Please enjoy the photo of early June strawberries below.

to be continueed

Hi,
how are you? Please, do not ask me how I am doing. Though, I do respect your good graciousness and manners. But, please do not ask. Its not like I am suffering from some artistic incantation, its just pure i hate society sh&t. Stay tuned, I'll be back. (yes, i do hope you said that with an ahhnold accennt). Please think of me when you purchase your firsts of the season, ie. asparagus, strawberry, etc.

Spring a Leek

Spring vegetable couscous, lentils, and braised CSA leeks (with a little white wine, woohooo!).

Spring vegetable couscous - a friendly gathering of little pasta pieces, asparagus, and fava. Nice and simple, nothing beats it.


Lentils = bliss. Chef added cumin to the pot, thanks for that Chef!


Now, to the leeks. If I haven't already mentioned this, I am a huge supporter of the leek. I like leeks. It is my favorite onion. And in case you are unfamiliar with the leek, it looks like a giant green onion, as in scallion green onion. The edible part is white and the green stalk is thick and even almost blue. When you buy it, look for it tied to together as a pair with all its green-blue-ery still attached - just a little tip for not getting hustled. Now (April) is the time for leeks, too, by the way. You should be able to find it at the early farmer's markets. We got ours with our weekly CSA basket. Once you get it home, don't clean it until you are ready to cook it up. There might be some grit in between the stalks > just a head's. And as for cooking it up, the first thing you probably think of when you hear 'leek' is potato and leek soup. Sure, go for it. It's great in soup, especially potato soup. You can also roast these onion cousins (see Conquering meat and other tales posted in March), or even eat it raw. The onion flavor is very mild and does not linger on the breath. It is the easiest onion on the breath in that respect! As for the preparation for this particular meal, Chef BRAISED the leeks. Oh yeah, if you want to chomp on a stalk of leek, braise it my friend, braise it. Braise it with white wine and some broth. Braising has been a game changer. A game changer. In fact, I think it has contributed to my leek obsession. I checked the LocalHarvest website in order to provide additional ideas on preparing leeks - they suggest to pair it with potato at all costs, gratins are good. Chef, here's one: potato, leek, chervil, and crouton. Interested?? And the website also says there is a famous Scottish recipe called cock-a-leekie soup. There you go,  I guess you can put it in your chicken soup, too, if you're into souping on chickens..

get your udon on

Udon: a thick, round, filling noodle hailing from the Far East. Udon is made of wheat flour, water, and salt. After mixing the ingredients, the dough is kneaded, takes a break, gets rolled out, and then cut into strips. Udon is usually served as a soup, or at least with a little broth. Haven't had it? It is quite a noodle and I heartily recommend you bump this up on the to-do list.

Tonight's udon was brothed in a spicy miso and joined by quite the array of veg, and included tofu cubes. We're talkin' carrot, edamme, leeks, sa-weet potatoes(!), cilantro, and. AND! et ready. First of the season ASPARAGUS!! Yes, the peepee perfumier! {And, yes, from our CSA, thanks George!} Chef garnished the bowl with a sheet of spicy seaweed. It like disintegrates in your mouth and then zzzing, the burn.  We bought special spoons and chopsticks for our souping pleasure :)

Satur-bee

Today we completed a 6-week short course in beginning beekeeping.  We received handsome certificates with our names on it. It was a proud day.

We also stood among 60,000 + bees buzzing, above our heads, past our heads, next to our bare arms (it was warm today), and sometimes landing on our shoulders to bzzz in our ears. WHOA! A totally new experience for me. I've been out in 'the field' and exposed to insects before, but NOT 60,000 at once! It was totally awesome!

a 'package' of bees = 10,000 bees = 3 lbs

Though we will not be starting a hive this year, it has been an informative 6 weeks and what we have learned will help us plan for when we are settled enough somewhere to get a hobby operation in motion. Especially after seeing the live demo today. The apiarist took a little box of 10,000 bees, squirted them with sugar water, then shook the box so that all the bees fell into a pile, and then poured - literally poured - at least 9,000 of those bees into a hive box. WHOA! They poured in, a stream of bees. It was amazing!

installing/pouring of the bees 

The initial installation of a brand new hive with brand new bees is like no worries. You spritz those babies good enough with the sugar water, and they won't bother you. Why: 1. they are fed and 2. they aren't technically a colony or in a hive just yet, so they are not protective. This goes back to bee basics - when bees are full of nectar, pollen, or honey their stingers can't pop out and bees sting when they feel they are being physically threatened or when they are protecting their colony. So check and check on the no stinging criterion ... so far.

On the other hand.... when you check an active hive, its another story. And for new-bees (heehee) like us, checking in on that established hive was a test of our bee tolerance! Yes, you use the smoker thing but its not like a bee tranquilizer. The bees remain active! They will still take to the air and buzz around. I think three people got stung during the demo. One guy had a bee in his hair and then started shaking his head. The apiarist actually picked the bee out of the guy's hair with his bare hands! That part was amusing but the guy was borderline freaking out and that was a little uncomfortable. For the mens, I think this is a time when sparseness of the melon is to your advantage. Please watch the video to the right, you will notice that most of the crazy wackos are not donning the notorious bee suit.