Ok, maybe calling this post Appliance Arsenal is a bit strong, but I'm a sucker for alliteration. My appliance purchasing from the spring continued today with the Breville Ikon 900-Watt Variable-Speed Juice Extractor. The ratings were excellent and it came highly recommended from Chile of Chile Juice Reboot and other fabulous blogs. Her juices sound fabulous and I have the Juicing Bible on hold at the library. Between those I think we'll be off to a good start. When the temperature is close to 100 degrees, anything but chilled juice sounds too heavy. I'll let you know how it goes with my new, shiny nutrition machine!
If anyone has any juice recipes you'd like to share, leave a comment and I'll give it a whirl. I have to admit, though that the only thing I will not add to juices is banana. There's just something about them....
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
The End of the Apricots
Today marked the end of apricot season at the Lean-To. It was lovely while it lasted. I juiced the last 14 apricots into a thick nectar. What I will do with that, I have no idea. As you can see in the picture below, they were looking pretty haggard and there was only one that I ate out of hand. Many had succumbed to ants and birds, but that's part of the deal when you sign up to garden. At least in my opinion.
Inspired by Chile and her juice fast, I pulled out our juicer today. It is not a very good model as it doesn't juice greens or ginger--two of the things I'd love to be able to juice. I picked it up about a year ago from our former neighbors who were downsizing to travel this great land of ours and live in a fifth wheel with their two children ages 6 and 11. I haven't heard from them in some time and wonder how their adventure turned out. I knew their juicer wasn't going to be perfect for our needs, but for $20 I was willing to help out a neighbor and gain a mediocre juicer.
I harvested these carrots from the garden, threw in some cucumber and some ginger in the hope that this time it would get juiced. The results were pretty delicious. Whenever I drink fresh juice I get a little zing that lasts for a while. The pulp goes to the chicken and we are all very happy.
I would love to juice more but am unwilling to shell out $400 for a great juicer. Does anyone know of a model between $100-$200 that will juice greens like kale, ginger, the usual suspects (carrots, fruit) and, possibly, wheatgrass? Links would be much appreciated
Inspired by Chile and her juice fast, I pulled out our juicer today. It is not a very good model as it doesn't juice greens or ginger--two of the things I'd love to be able to juice. I picked it up about a year ago from our former neighbors who were downsizing to travel this great land of ours and live in a fifth wheel with their two children ages 6 and 11. I haven't heard from them in some time and wonder how their adventure turned out. I knew their juicer wasn't going to be perfect for our needs, but for $20 I was willing to help out a neighbor and gain a mediocre juicer.
I harvested these carrots from the garden, threw in some cucumber and some ginger in the hope that this time it would get juiced. The results were pretty delicious. Whenever I drink fresh juice I get a little zing that lasts for a while. The pulp goes to the chicken and we are all very happy.
I would love to juice more but am unwilling to shell out $400 for a great juicer. Does anyone know of a model between $100-$200 that will juice greens like kale, ginger, the usual suspects (carrots, fruit) and, possibly, wheatgrass? Links would be much appreciated
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Stone Fruit
The apricot tree has been providing us with plenty of fruit to eat out of hand. I think it will be a few years yet before we'll get enough to go through the effort of putting it up.
If you have more stone fruit than you know what to do with, this week's New York Times Magazine has a great interactive from Mark Bittman about several ways to prepare stone fruit. Many of them use plenty of sugar and some a fair amount of butter. You can find it here.
I hope you are enjoying the bounty of summer wherever you may be!
If you have more stone fruit than you know what to do with, this week's New York Times Magazine has a great interactive from Mark Bittman about several ways to prepare stone fruit. Many of them use plenty of sugar and some a fair amount of butter. You can find it here.
I hope you are enjoying the bounty of summer wherever you may be!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Out of Control!
The garden and yard have really gotten away from me this year. Luckily the native grass seed we planted last year came back easily. What also had no issue taking hold again is the vetch, which is good if it's used for its intended purpose, a nitrogen rich cover crop. It is not so good when you let it grow, and grow, and grow then go to flower and seed. I think I'll be battling the vetch in the veggie beds next season.
Things could be much worse. We could have to rely on rain to irrigate our crops, rather than the acequia which would be miserable as we haven't had any rain in a very long time. Right now I hear thunder and a few stray drops have hit the window. If it really opens up I'll have to go outside and enjoy it while it lasts.
A fire started on our beloved Bosque yesterday, jumped the river and seems to be fairly under control today. It is so difficult to see New Mexico burn. We love its wild places and national forest to escape the city and enjoy the beauty of this beautiful state. I hope the monsoons arrive with a vengeance and soon.
Because of our access to the acequia, we've been flooding once a week. This is what things are looking like these days. It is such a relief to walk through our gate and see the lushness that is our yard.
Things are definitely going well in the growth department. The weeding and maintenance departments are suffering from some busyness on our parts, but there is something really great about the chaos of it all.
Things could be much worse. We could have to rely on rain to irrigate our crops, rather than the acequia which would be miserable as we haven't had any rain in a very long time. Right now I hear thunder and a few stray drops have hit the window. If it really opens up I'll have to go outside and enjoy it while it lasts.
A fire started on our beloved Bosque yesterday, jumped the river and seems to be fairly under control today. It is so difficult to see New Mexico burn. We love its wild places and national forest to escape the city and enjoy the beauty of this beautiful state. I hope the monsoons arrive with a vengeance and soon.
Because of our access to the acequia, we've been flooding once a week. This is what things are looking like these days. It is such a relief to walk through our gate and see the lushness that is our yard.
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| The plum and vetch is in the foreground with the peach looking lovely in the back. Behind the peach you might be able to make out the porch structure that is awaiting a roof. Behind the wheelbarrow is a massive weed (I think). I've been hesitant to do anything about it because the pollinators absolutely love its little white flowers. |
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| We've been eating apricots daily from this tree. They are so delicious and their season is so fleeting. I'm afraid we might have a borer issue as there is a sticky sap-like substance oozing from the trunk. Darn. Chipper is enjoying all of her free-ranging. |
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| The veggie garden. The vetch is growing up the fence which has provided shade for the plants inside during the hottest time of the day. Bumblebees also love the flowers. I'm looking forward to the giant sunflower flowering. |
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| The peach regained all of its leaves and then some after the brief, but fruit-killing, aphid invasion of the spring. |
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| I really dislike flash-induced washed-out pictures, but here is the best I could do today with this pic of an apricot. |
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| The garden contains 2 beds-one that is cultivated with intentional seeding of carrots, lettuces, turnips and rutabagas (which I roasted in the solar oven for a work potluck today). This bed, however, is mostly volunteers with a few nursery-purchased seedlings. The volunteers are tomatoes from last year and squash/melons from having left the seeds in the compost. This plant is reminiscent of a pumpkin. Another looks to have either a watermelon or a Hubbard Squash. I'll try to snap some pics tomorrow for some id-ing. |
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The End is Near...
of the school year that is.
With just 2 weeks and 2 days left in the school year, things have really been busy. That isn't to say that things on the homefront are being totally ignored, because the lean-to is looking rather spiffy these days, or at least on the way to looking spiffy. The garden is growing lettuces, turnips, rutabaga, carrots, beans and lots and lots of sunflowers. We also have some volunteer mystery squash and tomatoes from last year coming in nicely. The grapes and apricot are also doing well. Our guerrilla garden missed out on a good watering during fruiting, so we won't have cherries this season. The peach also got attacked by aphids and won't be producing much fruit. The plum didn't flower at all and the apple's one flower produced one sad fruit that has already been eaten by pests. I'm trying to look on the bright side-at least these trees will put their energy into becoming established.
In the kitchen I added to the gadget arsenal with a SoyaJoy soymilk/raw nut milk maker. We were consuming about a gallon of soymilk a week and that was starting to add up both financially and in terms of packaging waste. I picked up a 25 lb bag of organic soybeans from the co-op and now we're having homemade soymilk daily. I've also made raw almond milk which was really good. With almonds at at least $11 per pound and soybeans at $1.29/lb we'll primarily be sticking with soymilk.
At school my outdoor ed students have really enjoyed solar cooking. They've been working on a blog and I'll post the link soon. Last Friday we made 16 batches of brownies for our school's Spring Festival. They were a success and some families learned about the ease, joy and deliciousness of solar cooking.
In the yard we have some other additions--a chicken-proof fence has been added to the garden so Chipper is roaming free yet again. Lane has also built a porch so we can have some shade in the summer. It will be a storage spot for the commuter bikes, an outdoor dining area and a spot for some tool storage. I'm so excited to be able to sit outside to read or enjoy an iced tea when the mercury rises!
Next week we have an adventure awaiting us in Arizona. For our next Westfalia project we need to pick up an engine in Flagstaff. Since we have to be there anyway we''re going to do some mountain biking in the area, which will be really great. Hopefully I'll remember to snap some pics and I can post them.
Summer break is just around the corner!
With just 2 weeks and 2 days left in the school year, things have really been busy. That isn't to say that things on the homefront are being totally ignored, because the lean-to is looking rather spiffy these days, or at least on the way to looking spiffy. The garden is growing lettuces, turnips, rutabaga, carrots, beans and lots and lots of sunflowers. We also have some volunteer mystery squash and tomatoes from last year coming in nicely. The grapes and apricot are also doing well. Our guerrilla garden missed out on a good watering during fruiting, so we won't have cherries this season. The peach also got attacked by aphids and won't be producing much fruit. The plum didn't flower at all and the apple's one flower produced one sad fruit that has already been eaten by pests. I'm trying to look on the bright side-at least these trees will put their energy into becoming established.
In the kitchen I added to the gadget arsenal with a SoyaJoy soymilk/raw nut milk maker. We were consuming about a gallon of soymilk a week and that was starting to add up both financially and in terms of packaging waste. I picked up a 25 lb bag of organic soybeans from the co-op and now we're having homemade soymilk daily. I've also made raw almond milk which was really good. With almonds at at least $11 per pound and soybeans at $1.29/lb we'll primarily be sticking with soymilk.
At school my outdoor ed students have really enjoyed solar cooking. They've been working on a blog and I'll post the link soon. Last Friday we made 16 batches of brownies for our school's Spring Festival. They were a success and some families learned about the ease, joy and deliciousness of solar cooking.
In the yard we have some other additions--a chicken-proof fence has been added to the garden so Chipper is roaming free yet again. Lane has also built a porch so we can have some shade in the summer. It will be a storage spot for the commuter bikes, an outdoor dining area and a spot for some tool storage. I'm so excited to be able to sit outside to read or enjoy an iced tea when the mercury rises!
Next week we have an adventure awaiting us in Arizona. For our next Westfalia project we need to pick up an engine in Flagstaff. Since we have to be there anyway we''re going to do some mountain biking in the area, which will be really great. Hopefully I'll remember to snap some pics and I can post them.
Summer break is just around the corner!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Gadgets
I generally eschew small appliances in the kitchen, figuring I can do most things a food processor could do by just spending a little more time with the chef's knife, mortar and pestle, and some elbow grease. Now that we've added an immersion blender and an 11 cup food processor, I can't believe I ever lived without them. Here is just a sampling of what I've made with the food processor in the past week:
The immersion blender has also helped puree a couple of soups (a red lentil and a curried red kuri squash soup) and blend some walnut-miso dressings. I tried making mayonnaise with it, too, but was not successful. I may have added the olive oil too quickly.
All in all I am very satisfied with our two new appliances. They are broadening my recipe repertoire helping alleviate some of the ho-hum of stand by meals.
*Recipes from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
- Bread dough--sandwich and two rustic loaves*
- Tofu-Tempeh "meat"balls*
- Carrot-miso dipping sauce for above meatballs*
- A gluten free salty pecan crust for a vegan pumpkin pie (which was amazing!)
- Arugula-cilantro pesto
- Coconut milk from shredded, unsweetened coconut*
- Chopping and slicing of veggies
The immersion blender has also helped puree a couple of soups (a red lentil and a curried red kuri squash soup) and blend some walnut-miso dressings. I tried making mayonnaise with it, too, but was not successful. I may have added the olive oil too quickly.
All in all I am very satisfied with our two new appliances. They are broadening my recipe repertoire helping alleviate some of the ho-hum of stand by meals.
*Recipes from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Finding Calm in the Kitchen
After a rather tumultuous week in the classroom, I am so glad to be spending some time with Lane both in and out of doors. After a decadent morning of sleeping in and brunch at Annapurna's we went for a hike in the foothills of Sandia mountain. Although we didn't have the blue New Mexico sky above us, it was a very pleasant hike in the wilderness area. Part of the trail wound through a cholla cactus "forest" and we saw many pinon jays and an especially lovely red-tailed hawk perched on a granite boulder. We found a trail new to us that weaves its way along a canyon and perhaps we'll be able to try it soon.
On the way home we picked up a few kitchen appliances I've been coveting for some time: an immersion blender and a food processor. Thanks to the food processor I already have two loaves of bread rising and am planning for some large batches of soup to be made tomorrow to put the immersion blender to use. While most consumerism really depresses me, buying two products that will ease food prep just seems to make sense. And although I have a mountain of grading and planning also on schedule for tomorrow, I envision a good part of the day in the kitchen filling the house with delicious smells and making nourishing food for our family. I feel fairly calm when I'm in the kitchen, especially when I know something fantastic is on the way. I hope that these new gadgets will add to, not detract from, that calm feeling and the enjoyment that cooking gives me.
On the way home we picked up a few kitchen appliances I've been coveting for some time: an immersion blender and a food processor. Thanks to the food processor I already have two loaves of bread rising and am planning for some large batches of soup to be made tomorrow to put the immersion blender to use. While most consumerism really depresses me, buying two products that will ease food prep just seems to make sense. And although I have a mountain of grading and planning also on schedule for tomorrow, I envision a good part of the day in the kitchen filling the house with delicious smells and making nourishing food for our family. I feel fairly calm when I'm in the kitchen, especially when I know something fantastic is on the way. I hope that these new gadgets will add to, not detract from, that calm feeling and the enjoyment that cooking gives me.
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