Where are we at now that spring looks like it’s really here?
Planted: Oh yeah! Planting time, finally! Today I put out beet seeds, carrot seeds, and leeks and cabbage. Watered everything that is outside, and continue to care for the indoor seedlings. Just 4 weeks to ‘Official Last Frost’!
Harvested: Lots and lots of eggs, and some fleece from the sheep.
Preserved: Nothing that I can think of here …
Waste Not: The usual feeding-leftovers-to-other-creatures (including putting my apple cores in a ziplock and bringing them home for the chickens, instead of just tossing them in the garbage at work). Made fresh pasta as an ‘egg saving experiment’ (see below)
Want Not (Preparations): Tried home made pasta and posted about the experiment on Facebook … and a friend offered me an unwanted pasta machine! Traded some lamb chops for said pasta machine and have made wonderful fresh pasta (doubles as entertainment for small children who think pulling noodles out of the machine is really cool).
Community Food Systems: Lamb sales have been so successful we are down to just sausage in the freezer! Have a couple more ready to go to the butcher, and will be restocked soon. Set up a Facebook page for the Apple Jack Creek Family Farm.
Eat the Food: More fruit in the WECAN basket this month, and cauliflower and potatoes. Have ‘cowboy pie’ in the oven right now – ground beef cooked with spices & HP sauce, mixed with a tin of mushrooms, topped with mashed potatoes and baked. Baked with the bulk flour purchased at the mill – nice bread! The flour is a different shade, not quite as white as the ‘store stuff’, and the bread has more flavour. Yum.
Now I'm really behind. I haven't planned where anything will go, my seedlings are tiny yet, and I've got a yard to fill with soil and then have to level it. Lots of work to do! Good for you for getting some seeds in the ground. Hopefully there will be a bit of wet weather for you now.
ReplyDeleteI made pasta this year. How did yours turn out? I didn't have a machine. It was pretty quick to roll out and cut with a pizza wheel, but I've been eyeing machines.
Don't feel bad, Ev. Being ahead of the game here doesn't seem to be doing me any good - Sharon Astyk has mentioned that stuff started too early doesn't really outdo stuff planted more 'on time'. I'm just impatient, that's all! And I'm watering ... it's SOOO DRY here. We had a few spits of rain but we need a good soaking. There are clouds that look promising, so I'm hopeful!
ReplyDeleteThe pasta turned out well, although one batch that I dried tasted a bit off when subsequently cooked, and I'm not sure what was up with that. A friend of mine suggested winding the noodles into 'nests' about the size of one person's serving, then freezing them on a cookie sheet (and ziplocking once frozen). When it's time to cook them, you just pull out a nest for each person, boil quickly, and voila - fresh-ish pasta. I think I'll give that a shot.
For the machine, just keep an eye out at garage sales etc - or put out the word that you are looking! They are costly new, but a lot of people seem to have used ones available.