#100HappyDays :: Day 25

We finished our first canning of the season, and tried a new rhubarb bread recipe yesterday.   I always make and freeze several loves of zucchini bread to pull out at various times after the garden season ends.  I believe that the rhubarb bread was a winner and a couple of batches will also be heading to the deep freeze.  We doubled our rhubarb chutney recipe from last year, which I am thrilled with, we will see what other tasks need to be done for next weeks gardening, we may just have to re-visit this recipe again as not to risk running out!  It is a wonderful feeling to begin to enjoy the produce from the garden and preserve it so that we can taste the flavors of early spring in the darker and colder days of winter.

#100HappyDays :: Day 23

We have a lot of rhubarb, and I am looking forward to spending part of this weekend baking with it and canning a wonderful spicy chutney.  Our main plant is very well established, predates our tenure here as caretakers, and is enormous.  When we established our berry beds six years ago, we headed each one with another rhubarb plant.  Interestingly, those plants all ended up being female and send up extraordinary flowers.  When they are still in their bulb form, much like a zucchini flower, you can stuff and fry them into a tasty treat.  If let go, they become these fern like flowers that look oh so beautiful in the late afternoon sun.

#100HappyDays :: Day 20

Whenever we travel even for short stints whether it be the beginning, middle or end of the growing season, we are always overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks that need to be done upon our return.  Not doing little bits daily on the farm is surprisingly noticeable, especially if there has been rain, which of course there was.  We returned to a jungle of tall grass despite mowing last week, and the garden beds that have been planted needed some serious weeding.  What is the reason that we do all of this?  Just look at our mammoth rhubarb!  It has only just begun to grow and we can begin processing it this week.  With stalks as big and wide as B's forearm, we will can large volumes of the Rhubarb Chutney that we did last year, and satisfy a sweet tooth with rhubarb crumbles this week.  We did our first rhubarb canning June 2nd last year so our season is a little ahead of schedule, a happy thought amongst being a bit overwhelmed :)

First Canning of the Season

Many times as the summer progresses, Sunday's become our main day for canning.  Yesterday among all of the farm tasks that had to get done, especially those important things at the beginning stages of garden growth, we added our first canning of the season to the mix.  The question is always what to do with the rhubarb.  We have a couple of smaller plants and this mammoth one that is so good to us.  I love to make cakes and crumbles with it fresh, but I tend not to be in the mood for the flavor later on when I crave the stone fruits of summer or heavier winter confections.  Our favorite jellies are the red currents and berries, so I really do not use the rhubarb there.  Last year we pressure canned a lot of rhubarb, and it is still waiting to be used, so it will be added to our next batch of wine.

As I brain-stormed ways to utilize it I began looking for savory recipes.  When I came across the Rhubarb Chutney I began to see the perfect way to use it year round and store volumes of it.  Needless to say the savory spice with the tart rhubarb leads to a perfect chutney to serve as an accompaniment for chicken or pork, puree into a BBQ sauce, or simple pour over a block of soften cream cheese and serve with sesame crackers (must try that this week)!  I think that this recipe will be utilized at least once more this season, maybe twice.  I want to hold onto this tasty stuff for as long as I can this year!

Spicy Rhubarb Chutney

based on a recipe from Accidental locavore

4 lbs rhubarb, chopped 1/2" dice

3 C red onion, diced

8  cloves garlic, minced

5 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced

3 C golden raisins

3 C brown sugar

2 Tbsp kosher salt

2 tsp allspice

2 tsp coriander

4 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

2 C cider vinegar

Place all of the ingredients except the cider vinegar into a large stock pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until onions and rhubarb very soft.  Add cider vinegar and cook for another 30 minutes until the chutney is very thick and will mound on a spoon.  Place into hot jars with 2 part lids and water bath 15 minutes for pints.  Yield 9 pints.

The Promise of This Year's Garden

The cool damp weather has been perfect for beginning to harden off all of this year's garden babies.  Even the wind is helpful giving them some exposure and allowing them to strengthen.  We seeded the peppers and tomatoes four to a pot and they are now ready to transplant into their own pots for a couple of weeks when they will be put in the ground.  If the weather remains moderate then they will take up permanent residence here in the cold frame, on colder days or if there is a chance of frost, they will be tucked into the warmth of the grow room in the basement.   The broad leafed plants in the immediate front of the photo are our first succession of Kaleidoscope (Kale Brussels) and as they are cold tolerant, they are headed directly to the ground in the next week.

The cool weather crops are all growing nicely.  We pulled the covers back from our little hoop houses yesterday so that we could weed and everything looks wonderful.  The beets have sprouted in another bed, but are much smaller.  When they are about the size of these radishes, then we will plant the next batch.  Based on how these have grown in the last week, it looks like it may be time for our next seeding of radishes.  One of our challenges this year is staying on top of succession plantings so that we can have volumes of one time harvests regularly.

The mammoth rhubarb plant that we inherited with the farm is emerging beautifully this year.  This plant gives tender stalks the size of B's arm and is prolific long into the season.  The mound of dirt that it is pushing up this year as it comes through is quite impressive.  It is an almost cathartic feeling, after a week of such gray, to finally see some beautiful color and the promise of this years garden.

Epic Struggle

 As much as we are aching for warm weather and sunshine, winter is attempting to hang on.  The temperatures for the week are still forecast to be ten degrees below normal with a few possibilities for sloppy snow through the mid and end of the week. 

We did manage to have a couple of warmer days over the weekend.  Saturday afternoon and Sunday shown with crystal blue skies.  The chickens scattered happily about to scratch as we cleaned out their digs from the long winter.  A win, win.... happy chickens and happy compost.

If Mother Nature is reluctant to bring spring, then we will help it along.  We built two small hoop houses over raised beds.  A perfect spot for starting cool weather seeds, while it is still a bit too cool, and they will function perfectly as a place to harden off plants that we start in-doors. 

Even though we are only getting hints of spring, it is energizing.  You can feel the struggle of the life on the farm right now.  The life around us wanting to stretch and bloom, yet not sure if it is quite safe to do so.  As you can see we are all a bit like this rhubarb, poking our heads up and wondering when Spring will win the epic struggle between seasons.

New Homes and the Farm Weekend

Two of our not so little anymore little ones went to there forever home yesterday afternoon.  Brothers, Blue is the spitting image of dad, while Cluster has some of mama's finer qualities.  Dot (mama) also has a smiley face on both sides.  Fitting that the largest and the runt of the litter go home together. 

The kids spent some time primping them in preparation.  They got one last romp in the garden, and then a pedicure and a dry bath.  One of the best parts is that they went home with some friends of ours, so there will be visitations.

Aside from two traveling soccer games, a house full of 10 year old boys slumber partying, and 4H picnicking, we managed to get some more planting done in the garden, and some more envisioning for its future.  I am not sure if it is the fact that the weather has finally warmed, the possibility that we may soon finally be rid of the other house, or that our little farm is the site for a wedding this fall, but we feel a little lighter and better able to envision simple, sustainable changes that will move us forward. 

This morning, I processed the rest of the rhubarb that we have picked so far into 2 gorgeous Quarts of Rhubarb Vanilla cordial.  After much hemming and hawing about it, and the fact that Charles and Sidney now love soda water as much as B and I do, we are finally going to invest in a soda stream to cut down on our can waste, and to compliment the variety of cordials this seasons garden will offer.

This season we are also upping the ante with the purchase of a pressure caner.  We will be able to process a much wider variety of items to fill our pantry.  By later this summer, look for some new canning tips!

And, Another Rhubarb Post

The rhubarb picking over the weekend has left me in a frenzied mood to cook it.  One thing about eating seasonally, you are so excited to see the delicacies of each part of the season, that you eat them like crazy while you can, almost like you are trying to overdose on the memories of the flavors to hold you over until the next time.  I read this article this morning and I really love the idea of a living protest, and making your life a sign for your beliefs.

I already mentioned the Rhubarb Cordial that we started on Sunday.  I have decided that most batch recipes handle rhubarb in two pound increments....at least the ones that I am making.  I measured carefully the two pounds for the cordial, but when you have loads of chopping ahead of you, eyeballing is just good enough!  Yesterday I made a rhubarb lavender crumble.  I cheat a little, because I use Cracker Barrels apple crumble topping.  It is the best one that I've found, and have been yet to replicate it.  I always pick up a few bags of it when we pass by one.  hmmm maybe I should pinterest it, and see if anyone else has cracked the code to this oatmeal cinnamon goodness.  And, yes I did just use pinterest as a verb.

I also took 2 1/2 pounds of rhubarb and simmered it on the stove with 3/4 cup of water, 1 1/4 cups of sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla for about 45 minutes.  This produced a lovely rhubarb compote that gave me three full pints.  It is wonderful on toast, or my personal favorite swirled in oatmeal.

I am almost half through this first batch, and am searching for more new and interesting uses.  How do you use rhubarb??

My Rhubarb Agenda

This weekend was the traditional start to the gardening weekend in Wisconsin.  Normally we push the envelope and have most everything planted well before now, but that was not in the cards this year, and as it turns out that is ok.  We had patchy frost Friday morning!

We took our time this weekend, and got better than half of the seasons plantings in the ground before the rain began.  Thankfully, B had diligently prepared and covered many of the beds last fall, so there was not the prep work to be done.  We covered the beds that we are rotating out this season, and laid drip line as we planted. 

Our deep urge to get the season started sparked lots of conversation and brainstorming.  I love these sessions.  We can develop and fine tune our vision, and search out sustainable ways to make it happen.  As you can see from above, this weekend also gave us our first rhubarb harvest.  Thirty-four stalks as big as my arm and as wide as my wrist.  Oh there are so many things on my rhubarb agenda, so I began yesterday with a new recipe for an alcoholic rhubarb cordial.

So simple!  Two pounds chopped rhubarb, 1 Cup sugar and 1 liter of good vodka.  It needs to sit for a month, stirring it daily until the sugar is completely dissolved and the rhubarb breaks down.  Then we will strain it and bottle it.  I can't wait to see how it tastes!

We had a cold misty rain all day yesterday, perfect for watering in the new tender plants and allowing for farm dreams.  This morning, as thunderstorms and warmer air are rolling in, everything is foggy like London street corner at twilight.  I almost expect Sherlock Holmes to emerge out of the mist.  Not too bad a start to a Tuesday morning after a long holiday weekend;  warmer weather on the way and an air of mystery about the week. 

Homemade Hooch

The last couple of days have been all things fermented.  We did our final racking of the 9 gallons of wine we put down last fall.  The remnants of the wild grape wine made a fine sangria, and the little taste of the elderberry/rhubarb did not disappoint.  I cannot wait until this fall!

Last year I made homemade vanilla extract, which has a rather large vodka component.  This year in the spirit of the cordials that I have learned to love, I found a recipe on pinterest for  rhubarb gin. 

 

Well 'tis the season, rhubarb season that is.  So the rhubarb gin is steeping.  Such a simple recipe and process, I cannot wait to taste the rewards in just about a month!  By the way, I have a new favorite word....macerat.. the act of allowing the rhubarb, in its natural form, to just steep in it's juices with sugar...and get oh so happy!

I have also begun my first homemade sourdough starter, but that fermented diddy will be for it's own post once I get further into the process...and process it is!  I'm looking forward to our pending homemade hooch.  There is after all, more to come.   What do you think a good chunk of that honey is going towards in the fall???  Why mead, another little venture into homemade hooch.

Breakfast of Champions

We take such pleasure when the true eating season begins.  The baby plants that we set out early in the Spring are beginning to flourish, and eating commences with thinnings, then moves onto baby plants.  As we await for full harvests, we graze as we go.  We have no shortage of eggs from our girls right now, so we have been having an egg on toast each morning.  Yesterday, I was given this little sandwich and it was such a treat.  Thinly sliced baby radishes carefully placed on buttered toast with tender arugula greens and a sprinkle of sea salt.  I demanded a repeat performance this morning, and B was more than happy to oblige.  That my friends is a true breakfast of champions! 

Tomorrow, oatmeal swirled with Rhubarb Compote.  Ambrosia!

4 Stalks of Rhubarb

1/4 C Brown Sugar

1/4 C Honey

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Chop rhubarb, place in sauce pan with remaining ingredients and cook until mushy and reduced (about 10 minutes).  Enjoy!

And The Kale Has Returned

 What is this?  Just when we dream at night of sowing seeds, we receive a week of unseasonably warm weather, and the extended forecast promises more of the same.  Not that it will not change, but after this amazingly warm winter, I allow myself to grin in contemplation. 

We spent a little time weeding in the garden tonight.  Yes weeding!  It is hard to believe.  Even harder?  Well the last minute greens that we harvested, late last fall, down to their stumps and left in the ground to deal with during our spring preparations......They. Are. All. Growing. Again!

So though I have not voiced it, in fear of being a jinx to myself.....I declare this garden season open!!  Yes, yes, we may get an errant March snow, but it promises to melt immediately and I'm OK with that!  I am so happy that the spontaneous greens have been re-awakened, and the kale has returned!

 Kale Returning

Salad Greens & Spinach 

Rhubarb Crowning