omnivore's dilemma

alright people, you all know what a big food snob i am, but after a long day of working/playing in the sun i've been caught putting some unlikely morsels in my mouth. at dinner time the kids get fed first and sometimes i just can't help myself - a fishstick here a bite of kraft mac n' cheese there. one night i took a corndog from my niece's hand and took a bite to prove to her she could finish eating it. more like a hidden urge to satisfy a naughty taste for kiddy food!

horsin' around

must share

last night i made a really kick ass dinner: savoy cabbage wrapped talapia over a mix of brown & wild rice

ingredients for 2:

4 cabbage leaves
2 talapia fillets
6 sprigs of fresh thyme (leaves removed and stems discarded)
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 of a lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup rice

begin by removing the stiff stem of each leaf (this makes the leaf open up and become more flexible) then steam the leaves until tender. cut the two fillets in half length wise so that there is 1/2 a fillet for each leaf. starting from the cut end of each leaf, lay the fillet horizontally so that when rolled the cut end is hidden. before rolling, add 1/2 table spoon of butter, a generous pinch of thyme and then salt and pepper to taste. to wrap it up, start from the cut end of the leaf, roll and then close it off with two toothpicks. be sure the fish, butter, thyme etc. are rolled together so that the fish absorbs the flavors.

to your saute pan, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom and set the stove on medium. once the oil is hot, add the 4 wraps, squeeze in the lemon juice (near the end i added the lemon rinds for more flavor), lower the temp and cover the pan. after about 5-7 minutes flip the wraps and cook for another 5-7 minutes.

for each serving, place two wraps over a bed of rice and pour on the juice.

bon appetit!

on the farm

i got soil on my mind

i've been staring at dirt for the past two weeks now; shovelling it, combing through it, tamping it, planting in it, boxing it out, importing it. after the rain past and the dirt settled earlier this week, the garden revealed a landscape of rocks. and what i've come to realize (with the help of a soil test and empirical observation) is that what i'm working with is some seriously nutrient deficient dirt, can't really call it soil.

the area the garden sits is atop a recently formed hill, below which the land was leveled to build the barn. so my thought is that in fact, the topsoil has been bulldozed over further revealing a cross-section of the earth below. wierd thing is, there is tons of limestone which is supposed to keep the ph level down. maybe the amount of quartz (does not hold nutrients) in the sand out-figures the limestone. so i've added limestone and manure, but i really think i need to import soil still. any thoughts?

last night katie and i were talking about getting some topsoil and she said i should first look at the soil around the tree stumps they burned awhile back. she said one day she noticed the horses pawing at it and rolling around in it. of course, slash and burn, the charcoal is super good for soil, i thought. after briefly reading up on charcoal as a soil supplement, i learned that in the ancient amazon basin indiginous farmers would charcoalize waste, grind it to a powder and mix it into their soil. thus the mystery of the best potting soil in the world was solved. the now highly fertile area the indians had once inhabited is full of charcoal. and the area surrounding? infertile. the only difference between the the soils, down to the molecular level - charcoal. am i crazy to think that is awesome?

i walked around the stumps today. they are down below the barn in the flood zone near the matta river. there is tons of charcoal bits all over and the soil is actually undisturbed and lush. i think this is where i'm getting my topsoil, to which i'll add ground charcoal. man i wish i'd done this a month ago! despite the setback, everything is sprouting nicely and i've got several beds to make still. we're thinking of devoting half the garden to corn for the horses. time to start some more corn i guess!

week one

rain has been falling for the past 4 days and this morning i woke to see one of the paddocks flooded. yesterday alone we got 3 inches. needless to say, we didn't do any riding this weekend. and katie and i, well our mouths are watering to start training faith, her 3 year old paint mare. she is just beautiful, with perfect confirmation and a friendly disposition.

the garden is shaping up pretty well. kenny had tilled a nice 1/4 acre plot earlier this spring so now we just need to figure out what goes where and when. so far they've planted some starters: green beans, tomatoes, summer squash, jalapenos, cauliflower, broccoli, and there is lettuce which is ready for harvesting. yesterday we started mint, basil, dill, two varieties of radish, two varities of lettuce, and swiss chard. i want to sun-dry some tomatoes so i have to plant romas, and i also have a beautiful heirloom variety for fresh moz.

the other day i picked some lettuce and made a mixed green pesto [romaine & red leaf, parsley, raw pumkin seeds, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper - food processor]. simply spread it on a baguette or mix it into some tunafish - just add some lemon, extra salt and olive oil. it's versatile and so good. today i'm going to toss it with chopped tomato into some whole wheat capellini.

katie, kenny and i have discussed the possiblity and we've decided i will be staying through the summer to help with the farm and the kids. instead of sending them off to the Y for day camp, they'll be staying home with me. but before the school year ends the barnes family is going to the beach for a week, which means i get the farm to myself. they'll be taking the camper so if weather permits i'll be staying in my tent. i vacationed on the farm last summer while they were away and i gotta tell ya that trip has to have something to do with the wanderlust that drove me out of nyc.

i believe my stay here will be a nice detour through the south before heading to who knows where.

day one

yesterday morning i woke to the footsteps of my niece approaching my tent. "aunt thea are you awake?" i can't think of a more pleasant way of waking up - those eyes of admiration. then the dogs came and barked and scratched at the tent, so it was time to get up. we went up to the house for breakfast, i had some coffee and my sister and i decided the kids wouldn't go to the Y for daycare after school, i would pick them up at the bus stop.

before everyone left for the day my niece told me that griffin, my cat, had gotten out in the night and when she let him back in his eyes looked all pink like the fur had fallen off. i looked around and found him under the bed. eventually he came out and sure enough it looked like the fur around his eyes had fallen off. that, or he went through some primitive right of passage: there are now identical slashes on either cheekbone. but the likely senario, griffin got out and the dogs got him. the country is a violent place for a city kitty.

after a morning walk with the dogs my day progressed into a combination of indoor and outdoor chores, and set my things up in the plush camper i'll be inhabiting. later in the afternoon i jumped on gloree (18 year old arabian mare) bareback but quickly realized i'm not strong enough for that yet. she gets/ acts spooked sometimes so if she leaps i'm flyin'. so the highlight of my day was cleaning up my saddle. i look forward to some riding.