Surprise on the Kitchen Counter

From the whole family!  Awwwwh, how nice.  I received a belated birthday card from the Son, Trisha and our friendly felines.  Wow, talk about a card with real texture.  I got a good laugh when I saw this card sitting on the kitchen counter.  Enjoyed a nice weekend with the kids.  No real plan for food or meals, but our son ended up charcoal grilling pork ribs, while I made a foil dinner of potatoes, mushrooms, red peppers and lots of onions and oil olive.  It's so easy.  The kids headed back to St. Paul by mid afternoon today, so Bike man and I decided to hop on the road bikes.

 

Jumping on Ruby was like riding a feather.  Really.  After our ten-day bicycle trip, all loaded down with our gear, the road bikes today felt amazingly light and carefree.  With temperatures hanging around the 73-74 degree mark, the ride was very nice and comfortable.  Hoping this next band of rainfall will hit us tonight, but so far all the rain has been in northern Wisconsin this afternoon.  We now have been classified in an extreme drought.  Anyone who has a vegetable garden or flowers in their yard are watering several times a week.  Keeping our fingers crossed.......20 miles.

End of Week

Beautiful sunset tonight and a great night to spend around our outdoor fire.

 

 

Our friend Jill and her dog, Bosco, came over tonight for a visit.   We were doing pretty good until the mosquitoes came out.  We cut our night short, too many blood sucking mosquitoes!

More Harvest Time

Work and no play, that was our Labor Day holiday.  I didn't mind, however, because this is my favorite time of year.  It's become routine for Bike man and I to preserve our garden treats.  Then, add in my generous friend Joan who like to share her beautiful tomatoes!  Yesterday morning was the time to pick our fresh basil from the garden.  My favorite way to grow basil is in the Topsy Turvy upside down planters.  No weeds, no dirt and no bugs!

 

And what do I do with eight cups of fresh basil?  Make pesto.  I didn't have pine nuts on hand this time, so I used silvered almonds.  Add plenty of olive oil, fresh garlic, salt and pepper....that's it.  Blend, blend, blend and until smooth.

 

My yield of pesto was five one-cup containers, which I topped off with more olive oil.  I won't add the freshly grated parmesan cheese until ready to use from the freezer.  Because we make almost all our meals from scratch, pesto can be added to everything from pasta dishes, casseroles, homemade pizza, sandwich spread and lots more. 

Did you know basil is considered an a antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and good liver health food?  Supposedly, bacteria fears basil and basil slows the growth of disease causing bacteria....wow.  Basil extract has also been shown to protect the liver, and we all know the liver filters toxins from our bodies.  Good stuff my friends and you can grow basil yourself for pennies.  Just a little tip for the day.

Are Those Wild Grapes?

On our way to Dave's Brewfarm yesterday, we discovered wild grapes along the rustic #4 country road in St. Croix county....we've never driven that road.  Along the way, we stopped at Glen Lake reservoir and that's where we spotted the grapes.  Wild grapevines were everywhere.  We weren't in any big hurry, so we spent an hour picking grapes along the road.

After waking up this morning and spending some lazy time drinking coffee and relaxing, we decided it was time to get to work.  Our first chore of the day was to go into our garden and pick basil, beans, cucumbers and tomatoes.  I'll blog more about that tomorrow.  Then came the wild grapes.  We didn't realize how many grapes we had picked until we brought them into the house for a good washing with water.  Wholly smokes, they took up one entire kitchen sink.  Nice!

We decided to de-stem the grapes because of cooking space.  I know you can cook them with the stems on, but we decided to make it a less messy job, however, it was still messy regardless.  It was well worth the time picking off the grapes as Bike man and I chatted about all the worlds problems while listening to Russian techno music!  Last weekend we listened to Hawaiian rap music while making our tomato salsa.  I didn't even know rap music existed in Hawaii.

So, we finally got all the grapes in the big stock pot to cook.  While the grapes were heating up, Bike man roasted a batch of fresh coffee beans.  I love that smell of roasted coffee beans.  I guess if you're going to make a workday, you may as well multitask tasks.  

Here's the grape juice.  After a second straining to collect all the seeds and skins, we bottled about a gallon of juice.  I guess it's enough juice to make about 5-6 bottles of wine.  I called the Son and he volunteered to make wine for us.  For now, the juice will go in the freezer.

Ok, it was now time to makeG black bean vegetable lasagna with zucchinis, onions, garlic, red & yellow peppers, mushrooms, kale, tomatoes and fresh basil.  We discovered our ricotta cheese had spoiled in the container, so we ended up just using mozzarella cheese.  Bike man always uses the no-cook lasagna noodles, which is super easy.  Just remember to use a little extra sauce and cover with tin foil.  Sorry, no picture......we were hungry after five hours of working so we eagerly cut into our lasagna and gobbled it up like two starving adults....HA.

As for the eight cups of fresh basil we picked from our garden?  I'll fill you in tomorrow.........

Off To The Farm

Off to the farm today, I'm talkin Dave's Brewfarm

 near Wilson, Wisconsin.

 

Dave and his wife live a simple life and make a sustainable living brewing beer from hops, yeast, botanicals, herbs and vegetables!  As you can see, they also use a wind turbine for their brewing operation.

 

I found their living space above the brewhouse quite interesting and so convenient.  Very rustic.

 

Bike man and I tasted all eight of their featured brews.  Out of the eight, there was only one that I did not like....too bitter for me.  The most unique beer (SOB) was made with orange and basil.  I also enjoyed the Columbus Sasion.....French for pale ale. We ended up bringing home a growler of Roggen Lager. 

 

Before leaving the Brewfarm, Bike man and I walked around outside to look at the gardens.  Dave is now growing his own hops, and his wife takes care of the botanical and vegetable gardens.  I did over hear her say she will begin a CSA next summer.  We really admire this couple for making a modest living, doing what they love......brewing micro beer and gardening.  It was nice to just relax this afternoon and have fun.  Tomorrow, I'll tell you about our adventure on our way to the Brewfarm and picking wild.........

Buzzed Up

Little black kitty was all buzzed up on happiness......someone came to visit her and that someone was me!  I think you can tell by her eyes and ears pulled back that she was in playful mode.  Bike man and I are kitty and house sitting for a friend.  I'm trying to go over to our friend's house every day or every other day.  Unfortunately, I can't remember kitty's name, so I just call her black kitty!  She doesn't care, she just wants someone to play with her.  Yesterday, she attacked my ankle with excitement, so today I took over a long piece of fleece (see on the table) and played with her for about 30 minutes.  She was in kitty heaven.

One funny note, every time I go over to check on her, she finds her little pretend mouse and places it in her food bowl for me.....how sweet.  Today, she placed her squishy little ball in her water bowl!  I wonder what I'll find tomorrow?

Special treat today for little Blackie.  I gave her soft canned food and she gobbled it right up.  Could be another week or two before our friend returns, so for now, it will be short little visits to check on black kitty.  I wonder how she would do with our four monster cats......just a thought.

Summer Kitchen

Awwwh, the summer kitchen.  Spent eight hours last Sunday with Bike man working in our outdoor kitchen.  We decided to devote the entire day to preparing sweet corn & green beans to freeze, and also spent the rest of the day preparing salsa.

 

We French-cut the green beans, then blanched them, followed by an a ice water bath..... then packed the beans into ziplock bags.

 

Next, we blanched the corn, also followed by the ice water bath.  We then cut the cobs of corn and packed the corn in ziplock bags.

 

Now came time to begin the tomato processing.  Dipped the tomatoes in hot water, followed by another ice water bath to remove the skins and seeds.  By this time, it was nearing 90 degrees outdoors and we began to sweat.

 

Ok, time for a cold beer while Bike man and I prepared the tomatoes.  We worked and we worked till early evening.

 

Ended up with three batches of salsa (16 pints) and one batch of hot-packed tomato quarters.. We finished up when the sun was setting and we were exhausted, tired and hungry.  Thanks to my friend Joan for giving us all the tomatoes and green beans.  Wouldn't trade my summer kitchen for anything.  We love working outdoors, heat and all....