Buttermilk, Ginger, Lilac Flower Cake

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Buttermilk Ginger Lilac Flower Cake

  • 1/4th cup butter
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup dried lilac flowers
  • 2 tsps. of fresh grated ginger (or 1 tsp fried powdered ginger)
  • 2 cups flower
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp. of baking powder

Cream butter an sugar together, them cream in eggs, add buttermilk and dried lilac flowers, mix together, grate the fresh ginger in. add flour, salt and baking powder, mix gentle till done, into a 8 by 8 cake pan, bake approx. 45 min at 350

Serve as is or make a glaze topping if you want a touch more sweet, if serving fancy with tea, consider a dollop of whip cream with just a touch of sugared candied lilac flowers as a dressing

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Early Spring Garden-Farm Gate Garden and Front Garden G

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Well, the rain came and melted, the flood waters are here but in my own area not doing badly, I have a number of flooded fields around me but not on my own land. Granted my land is soaked at the moment. At least I can see the pretty start of a few of my rhubarb plants, many are still under snow cover.

The temps are all climbing over the weekend and next week, into the double digits, they say, we are going to be 21 on Monday..

The Farm gate garden got a clean up, a rake out, and a turning with a few things needing to be pulled out and then the hardest spring sugar pea’s went into the wet cold soil..  Tomorrow or Monday, a row of early sow (as soon as grown worked) Rutabaga will go in and then a second row on the outside of Early White Vienna Kohlrabi will go in

The Kohlrabi will be harvested and used by the time the Rutabaga’s need more room and on the edges I will be planting Margolds, that I have started inside.

This garden bed in 2015 had melon’s and pea’s in it two years, Last year it grew spring greens, green onions Salad Greens and Broad Beans, In the summer it grew Peppers, tomato’s and dry beans.

This year it will grow Sugar Pea’s, Turnips, Kohlarbi, Spring green onions, marigolds and Cucumbers (I will be starting the cucumbers and transplanting them out and growing them as climbers that will slowly replace the pea’s as they are taken out.

Garden G the covered area is my expanded and with much hope my Skirrt overwinter program, the plastic covered area is pre-warming the soil up and helping it dry out for lots of early spring green plantings and the back bell are covering Early Golden acre cabbage spring seeded out.

Its worth noting that my last frost date is not until May long weekend and for sweet potato’s and such, the soil will not be warm enough normally till first week of June..

Which is why there are raised beds (which melt and heat faster), Straw Covers, Plastic covers to increase heating and the bells to create mico zones.

Now to show what it really looks like yet.. here is my front house bed.. before I start cleaning it up 🙂 Grey, drying and yes that is bit of snow still on back end of the photo.

Mud o the mud.. I swear I did groom them.. sheesh! Mud pigs!  Roll, Roll, and become grey horses..

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Cranberry Coconut Cake Recipe

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Moist cake with bits of tart cranberry an hints of coconut blend perfectly together on this one. Dear Hubby said, winner, make again an blog this one 🙂

Cranberry Coconut Cake

  • 1/4th cup butter
  • half cup sugar
  • 8 0z of chunky cranberry jam (or chunky canned cranberry from the can)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 cup long sweetened coconut shredded
  • 1 an half cups of flour
  • 1 tbsp. of baking powder
  • 1/2 a tsp of salt

8 by 8 cake pan baked at 350 approx. 40 min till knife comes out clean.

Mix butter with sugar till well creamed, then mix in eggs, then add jam, coconut and water, mix together, then put flour, salt and baking powder, dry on the wet, mix though and into your pan.

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Overflowing the banks an rain on the way

Posted on April 6, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

They say we have a whole lotta rain coming our way in the next few days.. hmm These photo were all taken within walking distance of the farm.. but we still have a field or two that is not flooded out yet

Considering the fields are flooded now

The Creek is over flowing into the fields

And the big River is running very high already..

it could get interesting..

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New Plant Starting Shelves in my new sunroom porch

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

This section is two full 72 cell trays wide and deep, there is room for shoes and smaller boots under the bottom shelf and then two shelf’s are for early starting, two are for middle growing and one is for taller growing.. each shelf is rated at least a hundred pounds per.The top wrap around shelf is above our head height so to not take up room for when we are loading and unloading things onto the porch in or out. Three full trays could fit on the longer side but I expect that it will be single larger pots in a custom tray that will end up there.

Such a great project that got done today and wow when the sun shined does it get warm in there already.. This will be a very good thing as I move things from the house out into here.

 

 

 

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Give away plants for a coming Speaking Event..

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Its exciting to be working on a number of projects for the coming spring for different groups and people.  While I do have limited dates available at this time, if you want to consider working with me, check out my “for hire” page

In this case we are starting Good King Henry. Seeds came from Aster Lane Edibles

Three full trays of these little guys are prepared and started for a Permaculture Speaking Event on Mother’s Day Weekend, gifts for the public that will be attending the event.

http://tcpermaculture.blogspot.ca/2012/02/permaculture-plants-good-king-henry.html

USING THIS PLANT
Primary Uses:

  • Raw Leaves – Raw leaves are bitter and contain oxalic acid, so they should only be eaten in moderation. Best in Spring and early Summer and used in a mixed green salad to vary the salad’s flavor.
  • Cooked Leaves – Cooking destroys the oxalic acid. Makes a good spinach substitute. Often used with a mixed cooked green meal (kale, spinach, chard, sorrel, dandelion, etc.). Older leaves become tough and bitter, so cooking is needed; however, after flowering the leaves become larger and more succulent. Younger leaves just need to be steamed for a few minutes. 
  • Shoots – Very popular, harvested and prepared just like asparagus (cut when about 5 inches (12 cm)).
  • Flower Buds – Prepared and cooked like broccoli, but much smaller and a little tedious to harvest.
  • Seed – A decent supplementary grain source. Needs to be soaked overnight and rinsed to remove the saponins (soap-like chemicals) much like its relative, quinoa. Ground and usually mixed with other flours.
    Secondary Uses:
  • Decent groundcover plant – clumping, plant at 1 foot (30 cm) spacing for groundcover
  • Green/gold dye obtained from the whole plant
  • Reportedly considered a gentle laxative that can be used with children
  • Reportedly used to weaken parasitic worms (vermifuge) in the human body
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Creamy Pasta Yoke an Roe Recipe

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

My research shows that Italy is the place to find all kinds of recipes that use Salt Dried Fish Roe  Now its done a bit different, they take the whole pouch from certain fish that have small eggs but still bigger then what I was working with and they salt-air dry them whole for seven to ten days and then they keep them dried and intact till they grate and use them.

This is called Bottarga and it can be held for a full year and served thinly sliced and or grated and its tradionally used on pasta as the most common way.

Given this information, I made the most basic version of this and its delightful, and I did make it four times in total to try and get a percent figured out for you..  if you have the touch, then feel free to wing it, but if you want a starting place, I have one for you..

If you are local fisher or you know one.. get your fresh roe and cure and dry it yourself or you can head to your local store that sells fancy things from  Italy and or the net and order in a package of Bottarga (it will come dried and with two or four pieces to it). * yes I included a link, no I do not get anything back for doing so 🙂

In a nut shell, its pasta, butter and grated Bottarga with cracked Black pepper.. and go..

Here is my Version

Creamy Pasta Yoke and Roe

Cooked a 4 person portion of pasta till just done

  • melt 1/4th cup of butter
  • 1 tbsp. of heavy cream (if you want or not)
  • 2 tbsp. of grated or cured Salted Dried Fish Roe
  • 1 grated salt cured Egg Yolk
  • 1/2th tsp  Cracked Black Pepper
  • 1/2th Tsp Hot pepper Flakes.

Take about half a tsp of the grated Yoke and the Fish Roe an set it to the side..  Once your pasta is done, drain well, then put into a bowl with two bigger wooden spoons to toss it well.. Melt your butter and cream till warm and pour over the pasta, adding the main portions of the Dried grated Yoke and Roe, the cracked black pepper and the hot pepper flakes, Toss it gently till its covered though in little bits, then sprinkle the top with the remaining yoke and roe and serve hot

The joy of this dish is that you could serve it to anyone and it will be enjoyed by them.. Its rich, buttery, with a hint of the sea-salt and fish but its not overpowering in any way.. a great blend of flavours.

 

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Hatch 1- Fertile Check

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Life is blooming in Hatch 1! Man is it hard to be quick and try to get a photo of a back-lit egg that shows  those babies.. I was not able to show the veins that I could see with the naked egg but I am pretty sure you can see the basic “bloom” that shows the wee chick starting and I think this is the best photo I have at this stage to show the baby itself, it’s that little darker spot in the bloom..

I will continue to use the same egg on our amazing weekly checks to show how it is developing and hopefully a wee chick at the end..

When I am doing the eggs, I am moving fast.. pick, cup, light under and check and back into their spot, hubby has the paper all written out and he does the info impute, I don’t want to stop to do so as I want the least cooling of the eggs as possible.

I am pleased to say that out of our bought hatching eggs, we only had two infertile, and we have ten that are good, and in our self collected, sorted eggs, we have 100 percent fertility which is great but uncommon, I was aiming for 95% as a great mark.

So we started with 42 eggs and on our first fertile check, we are heading into week two with 40 eggs..

In keeping with egg news, we have a big old nest of Goose eggs that are being set on at this time.. so if all goes well we will have chicks and goslings at the end of the month, I hope to set a mix of chicks and ducklings or just all ducklings into Hatch 2, it’s still flexible at this point. I would really like my new pair to start laying.. but so far either she is very good at hiding where she is laying or she is taking her time getting use to the new digs

 

 

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Sunday Garden Walk Around..

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

There are some spots that are melting out.. they are few and far between but they are there..

The front gardens are melting first as always..

The main garden is still under a goodly amount of snow cover that for sure. but as you can see from the fields its a honest cover. and its till everywhere yet.

but in the front on a higher spot and with drainage on either side, raised bed for the win 🙂 This one has covered today to create a heat sink and next week I will give a flat topping of soil and then it will get a hoop cover and be seeded out into spring greens, its three feet wide and 12 feet long.   Yes, that’s snow beside it on the low side.

The winter’s compost pile that will be worked on over the weeks and planted into a massive pumpkin planting area end of may is melted out with both the solar heating and the internal.. its edged to a water sink so that it will soak up the water from below and speed the composting process.

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Introducing Red..

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Our Little Helper Pig for 2017 has arrived on the farm, and with a little help of some grain tossed in the right area of the pen..  Red got to work already.

First things first, we need to train Pig, Pig means come to me and you will get a treat, and soon enough a scratch..  Such a cute weaner, a mix of Red wattle and Hampshire is what I have been told.

Only then will we start other standard basic command training..  I have lots of plans to put Red to work for me on the farm, the good thing is all I am asking for is all natural pig behavior.. win-win for both us.

And tonight, we start collecting the pig slop bucket and any extra milk will go to growing that wee babe.. I have to admit that I find the Pig trace tag to be quite ugly on such a little babe.

Its been years since I have only had one pig at a time, I know they prefer to have at least two but this year, I have so much pork in the freezers, that while I want the help of my farm pig, I just can’t justify raising two this year.

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