The only cookbook I really need.

You know how you have many (ahem) cookbooks and then there's the Web, and blogs, and the old wooden recipe card holder?  And when it all boils down to it, there's one source that you go to, again and again?  (You, meaning Me).  I seriously could rehome all of my collection (once numbered at 253 volumes - it was a Condition) and keep just one.  Simply in Season has everything I need.  And it is arranged in the most convenient way - by season.  This is perfect for someone who lives out of their garden.  I keep forgetting about it, then, when I am stymied by an abundance of some vege, my little dim bulb flickers on and, HEY!  What about that cookbook - Simply Something?!

That is where the past three meals have come from (or, grammatically better - from whence cameth my last three meals...)  This is my favorite one of the three:

Corn Quiche with Tortilla Crust
(from Simply in Season)

3 corn tortillas
Place one tortilla in middle of 9" pie plate.  Cut remaining tortillas in half and overlap to mostly cover pan sides.

1/2 onion or 2 shallots (chopped)
1/2 green pepper (chopped)
Saute in 2 tsps oil until onion is translucent, 2 mins.  Transfer to large bowl.

1 cup milk
1 cup cottage cheese
3 eggs (beaten)
Add and mix well.

2 cups corn (fresh or canned -drained)
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Stir in.  Pour into tortilla-lined pan.  Bake in preheated 425 oven for 10 mins.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, 30-35 mins.  Recipe may be doubled (use 8 tortillas) and baked in a 9x13 baking pan; increase baking time to 50-60 mins.

I used fresh corn (almost 3-1/2 cups) and skipped the green pepper.  One, they don't really agree with me and two, I refuse to sacrifice one of my unripe poblanos.  I used Colby/jack cheese - cheddar would be nice, too.  This was absolutely delicious - with sweet, slightly crunchy bursts of corn in every bite.  YUM!

I am seriously thinking of making every recipe in the book - I haven't found one that doesn't sound like I must try it.  Next up is crustless broccoli pie (using my copious amounts of broccoli - poor me - and chopped kale).  This healthy eating business is great!

Resurrected. Sort of.

After the storm (and a bit of clearing
so I could get to the coop).



Patched together under Bleu's
supervision.

What a mess.  I was going to take a picture of the collapse right after I discovered it, but it was pouring.  Then I had to partically clear it so I could reach the Nuggets.  The bottom pic was taken this morning - after a feverish couple hours spent after work last night, in between more rain and darkness.  Pardon the fact that there is not a level or square inch in the thing.  I was lucky to cobble it together.  It's amazing what you can do with a pair of quick-release clamps and a 18W Makita drill/screwdriver...  If you click on the bottom pic, you will see the Fiberglas pole used to prop up the tarp has been bent to a 45 degree angle.  The Nuggets were very happy to lumber out into the fresh air.  This will suffice for a couple of days - but there is more rain forecast and they are outgrowing their quarters.  Next stop will be the hoop house - once I get the electronet around it.  Then it's off to Freezer Camp.

Downpours, dog pee, recipe overload and more chaos.

I had taken Thursday and Friday off - parental doctor appointments and such - so I had a nice, long weekend.  At the conclusion of which I have decided that I am not allowed to have another until I have a good, long talk with myself and actually listen this time. 

I did get to meet a fascinating woman who lives fairly close to me - she generously shared her kefir grains with me (Don't ask me about mine.  Don't.)  She also gave me a tour.  I follow her on FB, as much as I follow anything on FB.  She is a terrific writer - great, dry sense of humor and a clever way with words.  She is an ex-Canadian opera singer who now raises chickens and dairy goats.  It doesn't get better than that.

I also decided that, having all this free time (hahahaha), I would tackle some recipes that I've been dying to try.  Here's the recap:

Homemade corn tortillas - I've been dragging my virginal tortilla press around with me for years.  I found an easy recipe and gave them a shot.  Result:  dough too wet; no fun standing next to a hot stove with a hot griddle in the summer.  This will be a Fall/Winter project.  The tortillas were pretty tasty, though.

Vegan Coconut, Almond, Chocolate Ice Cream - I believe I am going through my coconut phase right now, having discovered no less than six coconut-milk-based recipes in my "must try" file.  Result:  Meh. 

Stuffed Zucchini - Made in honor of Kay on her birthday (Friday), as she was always asking me to "let one go" in my garden so she could stuff it.  Result:  I loved the recipe and then discovered that I had only half of the ingredients.  So, I can't really say if it was good.  The 'recipe' I used was great.

Fresh Corn Quiche with a Tortilla Crust - Hey!  I just happened to have corn tortillas... :)  Result:  I think I overdid it with the corn.  The center seemed to be done, but was too liquid-y.  The rest of it was delish! 

I also made another batch of kombucha and got my new kefir going.  All in all, it was way too much activity - even for me.  I was beating myself with a damp buckwheat noodle all day on Sunday. 

Sunday - it POURED.  And thundered.  And lightninged.  A tiny, dim bulb went off in my head about mid-way through the day that I had not propped up the tarp over the Nuggets' encampment.  I high-stepped out and was just in time to prop my old Fiberglas clothesline pole under the mid-point.  Saved!!  Not.  This morning, after 3+ inches of rain, the pole bent in half, the tarp filled with water and it pulled down the enclosure, snapping boards in half.  I managed to clear it enough to get into the coop to feed and water them.  Another little surprise item to add to my to-do list.  Sigh.

With all this rain, no one of the canine species was much interested in relieving themselves outside.  However, Scrappy and Lovey would rather cross their knees than go inside - especially when they know I could catch them.  Pepper, however, being a doxie, has no qualms.  He peed three times.  He is settling in very nicely and loves to play 'fierce' with Lovey.  Lovey, as her name suggests, is a dear and is very gentle with him.  When he has had enough, he yelps at her and she stops.  I have been trying to get a video of the process - it's a hoot.

I put the electronet up so that the sheep could enjoy the regrowth on the hillside.  This was great for Saturday, but I pulled the plug on them on Sunday - too much lightning.  And rain.  I did managed to scoot out and pick three quarts of beans and discovered a giant cucumber.  How does that happen?? Every year - no matter how often and thoroughly I check the vines - one drops under my radar.  And why are the cukes ripening and the tomatoes not?  What wacky misfire of nature is this?  Get it together, Ma Nature!

Let the canning begin!

I'm now trying to come up with new recipes for preserving the abundaces.  I figure this way I can justify my canning mania every year.  Last year: peaches in light syrup.  This year: spiced pickled peaches.  Every year: no matter how fully packed I make the peaches in the jars, they are always floaters by the end.

The Green Report.

This has been a pretty amazing gardening year - other than the usual onslaught of slugs, snails, Japanese beetles, potato bugs, and assorted rodent overruns - everything, except the summer squash, dammit - has been doing well.

When I ran out of room and all my whining couldn't loosen up another spot in my neighbor's garden, I stuck my remaining Hubbard squash plant, along with a couple of butternut seedlings, in my cow manure pile.  I leave this pile where it's delivered, untouched, for two years.  Then I mine it!  I think the squash likes its location.

 

This close up shows the squash
vining right up the tree!

A first for me this year, fennel, is coming along nicely.  This is the first one to bulb out.  Out of the six I planted, five formed bulbs, while one did it's own thing. 

I should be able to take the garlic off their rope hangers this weekend to make room for the Big Daddys.  Which are harvesting themselves, apparently.  I have green and yellow beans coming on, while all five hundred cukes are plotting to grow to usable size at the same moment.  Time to dust off the canner!

I'll take a small Pepperoni to go, please...

There are two things in this world that I cannot resist - a man in a kilt and a dachshund.  Or any dog, for that matter.  Should a kilted man arrive at my door bearing a dachshund (or any dog), I would be putty in his hands.  While no kilted man figures into my story, my favorite rescue group contacted me last week about a dog that needed placing.  Yes, it was a dachshund.  A 13 year old, 13 pound male, long-haired dachshund to be exact.  (Did I ever mention that 13 is my lucky number?  No?)  His name was --- Pepperoni.  I will admit that very few rescue groups come up with good names for their charges (Lovey is an exception), but his name is a real clinker.  It was NOT created by my rescue group - he was surrendered to a shelter where someone creatively (read: not) laid that moniker on him.

In my own defense, I did hesitate.  Then I agreed to meet him and, well, my heart lurched this way and that, a large, pink cloud of maternal warmth rose up around me, my melatonin levels elevated and it was over in a second.

It is a foster doomed to failure.

I'm going to call him Schatzie (roughly translated from the German for "Little Treasure" or "Little Sweetheart"). 

Ain't he cute?

Seeing as my life seems to be open to continual chaos (so my friend, Jane says, and it's true), I brought him home Friday, after a brief but busy stay at the vet's - raging UTI, neuter, 11 teeth extracted - to meet the crew.  As is always my custom, we first introduced everyone by taking a nice, long, smell-infused walk down my road.  It went well.  Then we came inside and Schatzie began his introductions by humping both dogs whenever and wherever he could.  He apparently was brought up in a monastery.  Scrappy was not amused, Lovey thought he was kidding.  No one got much sleep that night.  Things calmed down exponentially the next day, and we are gradually working into our slightly revised routine.  Did I also mention that I had to move the Nuggets from my laundry room (hallelujah!) to the small coop, and get ready for overnight guests?  Chaos is my middle name.

It was a very fun-filled weekend, chaos or not.  Friends from Central NY, who I have not seen in ages, were wonderful.  They were the breeders of my original Icelandic sheep, and are dog whisperers.  That turned out to be very helpful.  We had a ball - non-stop talking, dinner out, more talking.  Then Schatzie met my parents (giving Scrappy and Lovey a rest), my two tweenie chicks learned to put themselves to bed at night (hallelujah again!), Lovey was left out of her crate multiple times when I drove off and nothing got shredded (hallelujah yet again!), I got my currants picked, grape vines covered in netting, chicks all sorted, laundry done, and harvested my first broccoli from my plants in my garden extension (a corner of my neighbor's garden).  It was a very satisfying weekend.

G-G-G-Gooseberries!

I have had the good fortune to fall into (not literally, as they have thorns and it would make me cry) about 8 cups of gooseberries!  I have never worked with them before, but I would like to make something (or things) with them - jam?  jelly?  pie?

Do you have any gooseberry advice for me?  Recipes?  I will invite you all over for dessert!

(She says, confident in the fact that no one will show up and she will not have to share....)