Harvest

It was harvest weekend at Sleeping Cougar Acres.  We picked whites yesterday in the sun, and reds today in the rain.  Both days were perfect.  Looking forward to next year all ready.  By then my achy, grape-picking muscles may have recovered.

Meal Plan - August 30 - September 5

I planned this week's meals around all the produce in the house. I still had veggies left from my August 6th visit to Sleeping Cougar Acres and I came home with more veggies on Thursday.  My fridge is bursting.  

For the most part, I'm using tried-and-true recipes that I've had for years.  They've been in my repertoire for so long I can't even find them on the internet.  I've included pictures below.  Click on the photos for larger images.

This week's recipes:

Zucchini soup: I think this is the only new recipe this week.  I selected it because I have everything in the house, though I will be subbing veggie broth for the chicken broth. I'll serve it with home-made sourdough bread and a tomato and basil salad. Hubby has started making bread!  We were gifted some sourdough starter two weeks ago.  He made his second loaf yesterday.  Mmmm.  

Couscous salad: The recipe is below.  I cut it from an Overwaitea flyer back in the days before grocery stores had websites.  I usually use about 1/2 the couscous the recipe calls for, and I omit the ham.  I'll serve the salad with steamed broccoli, mostly because I have broccoli that needs to be used up.  

Beef and Cucumber Stir-Fry:  I did actually get this Urban Peasant recipe from the internet, but I can no longer find it online.  Glad I thought to print it out.  It's very handy when I have an abundance of cucumber in the house.  Right now there are four cukes in my fridge.  It reminds me of the days when my aunt and uncle had a cucumber farm.  They'd send me home with free "ugly" cukes.  

Burgers with red cabbage:  I've been buying pasture-raised beef from a local farm.  They sell it frozen in one pound packages.  The burgers will use the rest of the beef from the package I thaw for the stir fry.  I made and froze the red cabbage a while ago. It's great on burgers.  (The recipe came from the aunt who had the cucumber farm.  Hi Auntie P!)  The salad will be made from whatever is in the fridge. 

(Note:  I don't get anything for the links above.  They're there for your information.  Hope you find them useful.)

Pomegranate

On Thursday I visited L at Sleeping Cougar Acres.  I suppose that's another reason Throwback Thursday didn't happen.  I was AFK for most of the day, and when I returned home I was overwhelmed with produce and consumed with jealousy.  Not only is L able to grow apples, melons, kale, zucchini, tomatoes, onions and crook-neck squash (all of which followed me home), she's managed to grow pomegranates.  Pomegranates!  Damn!  I can't even grow zucchini!

Farm Life

Spent the morning out at Sleeping Cougar Acres.  Hope to see you here tomorrow for a slightly delayed Throwback Thursday.

Meal Plan - August 2 - 8

It's BC Day Long Weekend.  I don't actually know what we are celebrating, but an extra day off is always appreciated.  

Simple meals again this week.  Lots of salads.  A few mystery meals.  L at Sleeping Cougar Acres has invited me out to "shop" in her garden.  I don't know what I'll be bringing home, so a few meals are up-in-the-air until after my visit.

This week's recipes:

Tuna Melt: This will be the first recipe I try from The Tinned Fish Cookbook.  I pre-ordered it from our local bookstore months ago.  It arrived just in time to go back to work, so I haven't spent a lot of time with it.  Tuna melt seems like a good place to start, though I won't be making the home-made ketchup to go with it.  

Cauliflower Salad: I'm using this recipe, though I will likely substitute green onion for the pickled red onion.  And no, it's not because of the recent salmonella outbreak.  It's because I have green onions that need to be used up.

Pasta with Butternut Squash Pesto: There are still a couple of jars of squash pesto left in my freezer from last fall.  Time to use it up before this year's squash are ready.

Chili Dogs:  I was able to freeze two small jars of chili after last Sunday's meal.  Just enough for chili dogs!  Veggies will depend on what follows me home from Sleeping Cougar Acres.

??:  This meal will also depend on the what's in season out at Sleeping Cougar Acres.  

(Note:  I don't get anything for the links above.  They're there for your information.  Hope you find them useful.)

Meal Plan July 12 - 18

In spite of our October-esque weather, summer produce is at its peak. (Seriously, our furnace is still kicking in most mornings.) That means lots of salads and vegetable-heavy meals this week.

This Week's Recipes:

Stir-fry Chicken and Summer Squash: I'll be using this recipe as a guide, though our version will be lighter on the chicken and much heavier on the zucchini/summer squash.  Don't want to let any of my Sleeping Cougar Acres produce go to waste.  

Quinoa with Grilled Veggies and Pesto:  Tomorrow I'll be making a fresh batch of pesto with the kale and garlic scapes from my Sleeping Cougar Acres haul.  I'll use the recipes below as guidelines.  I found them on the internet years ago, but I can't seem to find them again.  Good thing I jotted them down.  I'll make the biggest batch I can.  Most of it will get tucked into the freezer for future use.  

Sloppy Joes:  Another freezer meal from this recipe.  Almost time to make another batch.

Pasta with Beet Pesto:  This stuff, also rescued from the freezer, is so good.  Pink pasta for the win. I'll definitely make this again.

Potato Salad with Tuna and Green Beans: Something like this, with sliced tomatoes on the side.

I'm beginning to see some patterns in my meal planning now that I'm back at work.  Pasta on Wednesdays.  Meatless Mondays.  Lots of salads and veggies. Simple, mostly-made-from-scratch meals to keep us well-fed even on the stressful days.

(*Note:  I don't get anything for the links above.  They're there for your information.  Hope you find them useful.)

Sharing Summer's Bounty

When I got home from work the other day I discovered that Hubby had harvested some of our potatoes.  It was our second attempt at growing potatoes.  Our first try failed quite miserably.  We were quite excited that this time we got...potatoes!

Our two small containers yielded just over three pounds of Austrian Crescents.  Not a lot, but enough to share, so I took a few over to my friends at Sleeping Cougar Acres.  I was going there anyway, and I knew that they weren't growing their own potatoes.  It felt good to have something to bring them for a change.

After an appropriately distanced visit, L and I toured the garden.  So much has changed since last year!  This is partly due to L's big plans, and partly due to the fact the K has retired, so L has an accomplice to help carry out those plans.  The garden is amazing!   As we strolled through the raised beds, we filled a shopping bag with veggies.  A few green onions, a couple  zucchini, as several summer squash, some kale, some garlic scapes.  Soon I was heading home with a mountain of produce.

A more than fair trade for 3/4 pounds of potatoes!

Reaping in the Rain

This year the stars (and schedules) aligned to allow me to help with the grape harvest at Sleeping Cougar Acres.

It was a great year for grapes. In some cases we were able to fill an entire bucket with grapes from a single plant. It was a less-than-ideal day for working in the vineyard.  There was rain, and there was the knowledge that not all the neighbourhood cougars were sleeping. Reports of sightings in the area added a little extra excitement to the day.

Petite milo grapes, the ones we were harvesting, are considered whites even though they are a lovely pink when ripe. There are 350 of these plants at Sleeping Cougar Acres. There were six of us picking. You do the math.

In previous years they managed to pick the whites in about three hours. This year there were so many grapes it took more than seven. We did take a brief break for a delicious picnic lunch that L prepared for us volunteers. Yep, I work for sandwiches. And cookies.

By the end of they day we were all wet, exhausted, achy...

... and in some cases silly.

The grapes were purchased by Southend Winery on Quadra Island.  They don't have a final weight for this harvest, but the winery's truck was practically groaning under the load. A bumper crop! Or rather a bumper-to-bumper crop. We filled four of the winery's transport containers. I understand that in past years they only filled one. And we haven't even started the reds.

Yes, I said "we". In spite of the rain, the aching muscles and the possibility of being eaten by a mountain lion, I'd definitely invite myself back to help harvest the reds. A bad day in the vineyard is better than a good day at work. And that's before we've tested the fermented fruits of our labour. So much to look forward to!

Confessions and Mushrooms

Let's start the day with some confessions, shall we? 

I have a poor sense of direction. I often struggle to find my way home from places I've managed to find my way to. This happens where there are roads, street signs and landmarks. I'm completely hopeless when "off road".

I'm not a big fan of spiders. At this time of year they become very visible, and this year there seems to be a whole heck of a lot more of them than normal. I've been told they are beneficial in many ways, but that knowledge has not seeped from my conscious awareness to the part of my brain that controls automatic and irrational reactions. 

I live in a place where there are cougars and bears. I have learned some basic "bear aware" strategies over the years, yet I have a sneaking suspicion that if I were confronted by one of these large, local mammals I'd panic. 

Hmmmm. Having read those last two confessions I'm beginning to wonder if the connection from the "knowledge" part of my brain to the "reaction" part of my brain is faulty. 

Because of these shortcomings, I'm particularly grateful when brave friends are willing to roam through the forest with sweat running down their necks, spiders dripping from their hat brims, and pine needles in their underwear, to forage for chanterelle mushrooms. I'm even more grateful when they share those mushrooms with me. 

Of course, the fact that chanterelles are delicious may also have something to do with my gratitude.  Thanks to our brave friends T and R we had a particularly awesome lunch last Sunday. 

I know it doesn't look like much. Blame my amateur photography skills. And my desire to sit down and eat!
 

Usually, when we are lucky enough to acquire chanterelles, we make pizza. Sadly, there wasn't time this week for pizza-making. Still, I'm particularly pleased with the meal we made with our gift of mushrooms. It satisfied on so many levels. 

First it was economical, as it allowed me to use up the ends of many items lingering in the fridge. The salad was leftover from dinner the night before, as was the home-made honey-mustard dressing. The sandwich allowed me to use the last bit of an onion and the remains of a wedge of cheese leftover from earlier meals.

The meal also included a number of locally grown and prepared ingredients. That always makes me happy. On our small plates we managed to squeeze in the following local stuff:

• Bread from Vassili's Denman Island Bakery
• Chanterelles (a gift from foraging friends T and R)
• Smoked salt from Vancouver Island Salt Co.
• Smoked Boerenkaas cheese from Natural Pastures
• Honey from Big D's Bees
• Sweet pepper from Fiesta Greenhouses
• Tomatoes from our garden
• Cucumber & onion from Sleeping Cougar Acres (gifts from L)
• Lettuce from Whole Hog Farm
• Garlic from our garden

In addition, the open-faced sandwich was much easier to prepare than pizza, and it came together quickly. Here's the recipe, if you can call it that.

Sauted Chanterelle Mushrooms on Toast

• chanterelle mushrooms (as many as your friends are willing to part with)
• 1/4 medium onion - chopped
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• butter
• olive oil
• sea salt
• smoked salt
• bread - toasted
• cheese - sliced, grated, whatever.

Preheat broiler.

Clean and slice chanterelles.

Heat oil and butter in a frying pan.

Add onion and garlic.

Add chanterelles.

Add a small sprinkle of sea salt.

Cook until onions and garlic are translucent and mushrooms are tender.

Sprinkle with a wee bit of smoked salt. 

Top toast with mushroom mixture.

Top all that goodness with cheese.

Pop under the broiler until the cheese is melty, gooey and delicious.

Lastly, our lunch was darned yummy. Seriously, you need to find some brave friends willing share some chanterelles and try it yourself!

Sleeping Cougar Acres Circa 2010

It is a miserable, windy, rainy day. Just the kind of weather to make me appreciate the sunny photos in this previously unpublished post. I have no idea what I originally wanted to say with the pictures.  All I found when tidying up the blog was an untitled draft with these pictures. They were taken in August of 2010 on what was obviously a beautiful day.  As we can all use some sunshine, I'm sharing them now.  Better late than never.

I think this was the first year L tried carrots at Sleeping Cougar Acres.  I remember her being rather pleased with the crop.

Ahh, yes.  The tomato cube. Tomatoes are a challenge to grow here, so when L planted this
6 x 6 bed she placed the seedlings quite close together.  Neither of us expected the plants to take off like they did. The result was a bed of tomatoes that was
6 x 6 x 6.  The plants were so tightly packed that we had to fight our way into the centre to get at the tomatoes growing there.

L allowed me to plant an experimental bed.  I tried edamame, corn and amaranth.  You can just  see the edamame at either side of this photo.  In spite of the lush plants, the pods they produced were empty.  On the other hand, amaranth grew like crazy.

These plants grew to be about 6 feet tall. I knew I wouldn't run out of leaves, particularly when we discovered that, when cut back, amaranth puts out new shoots. I had more greens than I could use.

The amaranth flowers are just starting in this picture.   A few weeks later the little red buds grew into gorgeous burgundy plumes.  Veggies that delight the eye and the palate.  Gotta love that.

The corn plants grew to incredible heights.  They were well over 6 feet tall by the end of the season. 

Sadly, the season was too short for the few cobs to develop fully.  They plants were awesome to look at though.

One!

One veggie bed built!  Muahahaha!

Thanks to Hubby we have our first veggie bed.  I assisted somewhat.  Mostly by staying out of the way.  As my eighth grade shop teacher could tell you, I'm not the handiest person in the woodshop.  (Sorry about your thumb Mr. Lee!)  Sadly, my skills haven't improved much over the years.  This was quite apparent when I helped L at Sleeping Cougar Acres construct her veggie beds a few years ago.  I'm pretty sure this not how the finished product should look. 

Fortunately there were no injuries, so I guess there's been some improvement since my middle-school disasters.  Still, I'm lucky L lets me come back to play in the vineyard.  I will admit, though she was an excellent sport about my ineptitude that day,  she's never asked me to help with another construction project.  That's alright.  I'd rather drive the tractor anyway.

New Beginnings

There.  I did it.  I hit the "new post" tab.  I'm so proud of myself!

Now, what to say...

I think I'm going to go easy on myself today and let my pictures do the talking for me.  Both are evocative of spring and new beginnings.  Sounds like a good way to start after a lengthy absence, doesn't it?

Tomatoes in the greenhouse at Sleeping Cougar Acres...

...and garlic in the garden.  Dreaming of pasta already! 

 

Garlic Stylists

Last week L harvested the garlic at Sleeping Cougar Acres.  When I found out she would be braiding it this week, I invited myself over to play hairdresser.  

My sister and I liked to play hairdresser when we were kids.  Such sessions often ended in tears.  No such problems when styling garlic.  It didn't matter how much we pulled and tugged there were no complaints.  

L and I had to be rather rough with our clients, as we were working with hardneck garlic.  It isn't, technically, supposed to be braidable, but L never lets such technicalities stop her.  It took both of us to complete each braid.  One person held the bulbs in place and the other braided the leaves and stems.

The most surprising thing about the project was how relaxing it was.  I thoroughly enjoyed my morning, which I expected, but I didn't expect to leave feeling so energized and contented.  Now I'm looking about our yard for a suitable spot for my own stinking rose garden.

Our clients.

Needs cleaning...

...and the roots need touching up.

Brushed, trimmed and ready for styling.

Divide strands into sections and start twisting.

The first attempt.  Lovely.

That's some chic produce.

Down on the Farm

Can you guess where I was today?  Rubber boots. Dirty knees.  They can only mean one thing.  Spring is here and I spent my morning at Sleeping Cougar Acres.  It was my first working visit in a while, and I was thrilled to be back.

It was perfect weather for working outside.  Sunny, but not too hot. It felt wonderful to be back.

The greenhouse was full of exciting things for this year's garden.

The mason bees were busy being bees.  This house just went up, and already there are new tenants.  If you look closely at the lower hole of the first "E", you can see where they've moved in.

L and I decided we'd better get busy too.  First we emptied all the weed-filled buckets in the vineyard.  I got to drive the tractor. That's always fun; particularly when I can't quite remember what I learned last year.  

We then worked on refilling the same buckets with more weeds.  It's a never-ending job, but at least I know there will always be something for me to do.  Today we worked to the accompaniment of ravens quorking in the trees and Snowbirds zooming overhead.  There's always someone or something flying over or wandering by as we work.

Above is the site supervisor making sure we both stayed on track.  When we had completed our work to his satisfaction we headed to the house.  L served homemade grape sorbet, made with juice from last year's harvest, and homemade pizzelles. You can understand why I keep going back!

On the way home I stopped at Brambles to see what was new.  I timed it perfectly.  They had just received Island-grown strawberries.  First of the season.  We'll have those with whipped cream for dinner tonight.  Between the appetite I worked up at the farm and the promise of fresh, local strawberries I can hardly wait to eat!

International House of Oatcakes

Most years, just before Christmas,  my friend L from Sleeping Cougar Acres and I get together to do our holiday baking.  This year, in addition to the customary chocolate gingerbread and butter tarts, we added honey bun bread and Scottish oatcakes to our repertoire.

Though we did use a recipe for the oatcakes, there wasn't much Scottish about them by the time we finished. 

We used a cookie-dough scoop to ensure our oatcakes were a uniform size.  Somehow I can't imagine my Scottish ancestors needing a cookie-dough scoop to make their oatcakes.  The German-made scoop was the first touch of global flair.

 

Our oatcakes drifted even further from their Scottish roots when we ditched the rolling pin recommended in the recipe.  Instead, we flattened the dough in a tortilla press - a tortilla press made in Taiwan no less.  These were becoming rather cosmopolitan oatcakes.

Once out of the tortilla press, L cut the rounds into wedges with a pizza cutter. I don't know where the pizza cutter was made, but it certainly added an Italian feel to an already international experience.  

,

If you consider that the whole process was carried out by two Canadian women, I think it's safe to say that these oatcakes couldn't be considered Scottish any more.  They were more of a Scottish-Canadian-Italian-Taiwanese-Mexican-German oatcake.  They were the United Nations of oatcakes.  And they were yummy.  In fact, I liked them so much I asked Santa Hubby for my own tortilla press.  Lucky for me the man takes a hint well, and there was a shiny new tortilla press under the tree for me.  

Oatcakes have since become a staple in our house.  I make them regularly to replace store-bought crackers.  Each time I make them they stray a little bit further from their Scottish roots.  I made some this morning that included olive oil, ground flax seeds, whole flax seeds and cumin.  I topped them with some coarse kosher salt, and once they were baked L came over and helped me eat them with homemade hummus.   I have the feeling we're not in Scotland anymore!



Note:  Today's post was fueled by Smokehead Islay Single Malt Scotch Whiskey.  I don't usually drink while I'm writing, as it seems rather clichéd, but today each time I wrote "Scottish" my brain heard "scotch". When I couldn't stand it any more I went and poured myself a wee dram.