Right Place, Right Time

One challenge that anyone who gardens faces is how to get organic material for your growing space. One of the many gifts my husband Tom has is being in the right place at the right time. So two days ago this ASPLUNDH truck was doing work on our street. (Yes, the answer to your question can be found here.) Tom disappears and before I know it this load of goodness is being dumped on the curb in front of our house. The resulting pile was enough to cover a Mac truck. Needless to say we've got our work cut out for us. This will be spread over any area that is currently unplanted in our Fall garden and between rows of crops and cover crops. The next morning when I left to take our children to school the pile was steaming from the top, evidence that the organic material has already began decomposing. That's really exciting stuff around these parts.

In other news around the digs, I started a kombucha mother from scratch and she's growing beautifully. I'll post soon about that. Our children are salivating just waiting for the first batch to be ready. I hope to be doing a class for some friends from our Holistic Moms organization on fermented foods soon so this new batch will be perfect to show them.

Things have been busy and I have a new website up and running called Feeding Families Well. Please stop by and check it out, like it on Facebook, and follow on Twitter if you please.

Thanks for visiting our digs,

C

Early Saturday Morning

There is nothing like getting to the farmer's market when it opens. I never get tired of seeing tomatoes in September. They are always a reminder that the Summer may have left us, but the Sun still has gifts to give. 

Saturday morning passenger seat in my car.

Beginnings of chicken stock. I just love this time of year.

Thanks for visiting our digs,

C

Red and Green

I love it when we are all wrapping up with Summer and the tomatoes and peppers are like, 

"Wait, wait! We're not done yet! The best is yet to come."

Art For the Digs

I don't know the first thing about art, let me say that. So when it comes to choosing decor for the digs I go with my gut (perhaps at the peril of our friends, family, and other visitors.) In any case, I choose what feels good and has a story behind it (always.) We have a very dear friend that painted a piece of artwork for our living room when we moved into the digs. She, like most of our close friends, know what a journey we have been on to get to this place and so the painting has a great deal of significance to us. Let me tell you, we are blessed with the best of friends. 

I adore Etsy for handmade items and cool prints and one day I'll be organized enough to start browsing Etsy in September for Christmas items. Until then I just peruse in my free time. Recently a friend on Facebook shared a post about an artist that collaborated with her four year old. I absolutely loved her her drawings and the way they came together with the help of her daughter. Some of her prints are available on the website Society 6 and I hopped right on over there to get these two prints: The Pink Mermaid and Mr. Beaver. Here they are:

I can't get enough of Mr. Beaver's expression.

I'd love to know what cool things make up the story of your life and your home. Please share below!

Thanks for visiting our digs, 

C

September: Planting and Preserving

Sorry for being absent for so long. As I alluded to in previous posts, we have some personal family stuff going on right now. But with all four of our children in school we have a bit more time to devote to things like blogging, so thanks for tuning back in to our humble home. As the title of this post suggests, this time at the end of the Summer is all about the crops that are giving one final push, the clearing of dead plants, amending of the soil, and planting for the Fall. We are still harvesting plenty of eggplant, okra, tomatoes, basil, and a few cantaloupe. Even though it's really very warm (hot) here the Fall plants needs this initial burst of heat to get started. Then the cool air will give them time to grow slowly as the seasons change. It is also a time to harvest plentiful herbs for drying, save seeds, and dry flowers, so there is a lot of that going on as well. I mentioned in the previous post what I'd been drying but here are some pictures:

Here is some anise hyssop and lemon verbena. Both are dried for tea.

Figs and blackberries. The blackberries are cleaned and frozen, the figs are dehydrated.

 Dried seeds and herbs from top to bottom: lettuce seeds, cilantro seeds (coriander), dried chives, dill seeds.

Since the last massive chive harvest they have all grown back so I harvested, cleaned, chopped, and dried chives again today. I love this time of year. As much as I resist mainstream anything, I look forward to the busyness and routine of September. I love that first morning when the air smells differently than it has in months. It will be a pleasure to work in the garden when the air is cool and crisp. We will not truly have a grasp of our garden, our property, until we have lived here through all four seasons and taken note of what happens in each. Right now it's hard to walk barefoot on the back path and driveway because the squirrels are eating the seeds of the berries in the dogwood tree and tossing the rest on the ground. The okra has reached a particularly itchy stage and you HAVE to wear long sleeves and gloves to harvest it (or go insane like I did last week.) The gorgeous purple flowers on the Italian dandelion plant lose their color about thirty minutes after being cut and the color only returns half as bright once they are put in water. Volunteer cilantro, dill, and lettuce plants are popping up in several places, a pleasant surprise. Roses are blooming again. You can't help but be overwhelmed y all the beauty.

Thanks for visiting our digs, 

C

A Mid-Summer's Harvest

A bountiful one-day harvest from the garden, starting at the bottom left and going around to the center:

cucumbers

garlic chives

chives

radish seed pods dried out and ready for saving

sunflowers

zinnias

a huge bowl of okra and a tomato

three ripe figs-yay!

peppers

purslane

I have been harvesting and drying lots of herbs from the garden. Last week I picked, washed and dried lemon verbena and anise hyssop for teas. After today's harvest I will wash, chop, and dry the chives and garlic chives and use them for spreads or dips in the Winter. As the figs begin to ripen more and more we will harvest and dry them as well. I adore the sight of all these things being preserved at their freshest point and I know that when the dark and gloomy days of Winter come we will relish in the bright flavors of our Summer garden.


uses for lemon verbena

info on anise hyssop

Thanks for visiting our digs, 

C

Checking In

I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three. - Unknown

I apologize for being absent. As with any family we are going through a bit of a difficult time right now. I am reminded that I should never take for granted the gifts that I have, especially my family, especially our children. I had a dream the other night that all was forgiven, that life was to begin again, and that the strife was put aside so that they could be happy.

And then I woke up to see that none of it was true.

For now I am truly thankful that we have these moments when are children are together, truly together. And I pray for more and more and more of them.

Thanks for visiting the family digs,

C

Cucumber Agua Fresca

photo courtesy of www.caroactually.com 


If you've never had the pleasure of sipping an agua fresca on a hot Summer day then you may be missing out. With the abundance of cucumbers in our garden we are always looking for ways to enjoy them so this is one I made today. I did not write down the recipe but here is a link to a recipe you could use. I made a couple of modifications:

1. Instead of water I used coconut water because I had some on hand and coconut water is far better at helping you rehydrate after strenuous work than plain water or worse, a sports drink.

2. Across the board and with few exceptions my top two sweeteners of choice are local raw honey and grade B maple syrup. So with this recipe I used raw honey instead of agave syrup.

Another thing to remember with agua fresca is that since you use the entire fruit it will separate a few minutes after being poured into the glass so drink up!

Hope you are able to enjoy Summer's abundance. Thanks for visiting our digs.

-C

Peanut Butter Banana Chia Pudding-Super Fast and Easy

If you follow my holistic health coaching page on Facebook you may remember my feature a while back on the Paleo Parents website. We're big fans of chia seeds in pretty much any form around our house. So when I was craving a snack today I whipped up some peanut butter banana chia pudding. Most of the time I forget to take pictures of what I'm doing but not today, so here it is!

I started with these ingredients: organic crunchy peanut butter (if you are Paleo or have an allergy, substitute almond or sunflower seed butter), chia seeds, a frozen banana (the thing in the white bowl that looks like bacon), and coconut milk. Soak the chia seeds in water for ten minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.

Then add everything else to the soaked chia seeds and stir, mashing the banana.

I tasted it and decided to add cinnamon and vanilla. Then I measured out a 1/2 cup so I didn't inhale the whole thing.

Delicious!

Here's a recipe:

Peanut Butter Banana Chia Pudding

2 T chia seeds soaked in 6 T water

1/4 cup coconut milk (we use Native Forest because the cans are BPA-free)

1 frozen banana, or 1 fresh banana if that's all you have

1 T peanut, almond, or sunflower butter

2 dashes ground cinnamon

1 dash of vanilla extract or paste

Soak the chia in the water in a bowl for 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.

Add the coconut milk, banana, nut butter, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir until combined.

Eat.

Well, split it up then eat.

I like it better cold.

Health Benefits of Chia Seeds

-full of omega-3 fatty acids (anti-inflammatory)

-high in fiber (anti-inflammatory, helps you poop, this recipe has 10g of fiber)

-lots of antioxidants (these fight aging and cancer)

-very filling (better than eating a bag of Doritos and still not feeling full)

-convenient (do not need to be ground like flax seeds)

-help regulate blood sugar (by regulating insulin)

-high in protein (in case you're tired of bacon)

Thanks for visiting our digs.

-C

Cape May: A Visit To Beach Plum Farm

I grew up going to Cape May, New Jersey every Summer with my family. Cape May is a lovely beach town full of old Victorian homes and eclectic culture. It has yet to be overcome by throngs of people like other local beaches and it is even more beautiful in the off-season. Eventually my parents bought a home there that they rent out over the Summer. Our trips up to Cape May usually happen in the off season but recently the house became available so we went up for a few days. Last Fall we discovered a beautiful farm where we went on a hay ride and decorated pumpkins with our children. So it was definitely on our list to visit again this time.

Beach Plum Farm is a sustainable farm in West Cape New Jersey that is owned by Cape Resorts Group and supplies produce, flowers, eggs, meat, and honey to its restaurants. The farm is also open to the public and has a beautiful farm stand. Visitors may tour the farm for free or choose an in-depth guided tour for $3 a person for adults, $2 for children. Here are some pictures from our visit a couple of weeks ago.

Here is a beautiful hand drawn map of the farm.

An example of planting and growing crops amongst native weeds like clover that act as a ground cover and mulch for the plants.

Rows and rows of horseradish for Bloody Mary's!

Chamomile and hydrangeas. 

I even spotted some purslane growing amongst the plants. I'll write a whole post on that later.

More hydrangeas. Such a beautiful throwback flower.

This our tour guide Erisa Ann telling us about the bean pole teepees they have.

The chicken run. They produce about 250-300 eggs a day!

The farm sits on a wetlands area that has been preserved. Amelie found a muskrat hiding in the water.

Berkshire pigs for the restaurants. They are purposely not named.

A number of these beautiful ferns have come back around the wetlands after all the care that has been put into the farm.

All of the fallen or cleared wood is chopped and used for firewood in the fireplaces of the group's hotels and restaurants.

Horse manure is collected from the Cape May Carriage Company and used as fertilizer.

This large greenhouse allows them to extend the growing season to grow produce throughout the year.

One of a few stops to remove rocks from the shoes:)

Cabbage growing in the back fields. Oh the sauerkraut you could make with this!

Harper counts the quarts of blueberries as they are picked.

A spot to rest.

Sunflowers for the restaurants and hotels and beyond that honey bees!

Harper waits to buy honey at the farm stand.

Freshly picked greens being washed for the restaurants.

Italian and purple basil.

Piglets!

Feeding the piglets.

Tour lasts a little over an hour (maybe more with little ones) so do plan on bringing lots of water and wear hats if it's a sunny day. What a wonderful farm that manages to truly execute its mission. We certainly learned a great deal that day.

Oh, and we were so hot we delayed lunch and went straight to Bliss for homemade ice cream. Harper chose lemon-basil-mint sorbet, Tom got vegan coconut, Amelie chose honey, and I ordered this masterpiece:

An avogatto. God's gift to the hot and tired. One shot of espresso over creamy homemade vanilla ice cream. Pure heaven.

Bliss has locations in both Cape May and West Cape May and they sell at the West Cape May Farmer's Market on Tuesdays after June 26.

Thanks for checking out our home away from home. See you back at the digs soon!

-C

More info on Beach Plum Farm.

Cape Resorts Group

The Blue Pig Tavern (where we had dinner that night)

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Waiting for Blackberries

Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.

-Aristotle

Our blackberries as of July 2, 2013. We can't wait to go Blackberry Picking.

Cucumber Salad for Dinner

I love the smell of cucumbers. That unmistakable subtle and yet heady scent when you walk into a room as someone is slicing them. Right now we are leaving the leafy salad-a-day stage with the garden because the weather has gotten really hot and the lettuces are bolting, going to seed. We will leave a few heads in the garden and collect the seeds for replanting in the cooler weather. Play your cards right and could never have to buy some seeds ever again!

So now it's the cucumber salad-a-day stage. Yum.

Here is the larger of two cucumber patches we have. You'll see that we have put down some boxes on one side to keep weeds at bay. Until our mulch delivery arrives we use boxes as a quick and easy weed deterrent.

Here's what we found after three days away in Cape May.

Ingredients for last night's salad: cucumbers, radishes, dill, and julienned lemon sorrel from the garden. Tossed with thinly sliced red onion, fresh lime juice, and sea salt.

Delicious.

 We can tell by the numbers at the bottom of the page that lots of you are visiting so thank you! Please leave a comment if you can!

Thanks for visiting our digs.

-C