Redesigning the garden. Part 1.

On Halloween we moved to our “new to us” home. The house was built in 1950 of concrete blocks and sits on a 10^th acre in a peaceful neighborhood.

We were smitten with the house on the first viewing, totally sucked in by the coved ceiling, fireplace and built in bookcase, not to mention a large eat in kitchen with ceramic tile counter tops and plenty of storage. The attached garage and fenced yard were added blessings and we immediately said “yes!”.

In the passing days we observed the neighborhood and saw raised beds, espaliered fruit trees, and patios in front yards so we felt we would fit in.

Spring has finally come to the northwest with rain, wind, sun, landslides and flowers. Now the time has come to get all the plants that have lived in pots for four years into the ground.

We have watched the pattern of sun and shadow to try to access the best location for sun hungry plants and have begun the planting out process.

When we left our former home, a 1950's duplex we brought with us: four blueberry plants, five currant plants, two hazelnut trees, one dwarf cherry tree, three dwarf apple trees, one bay tree, thirteen lavender plants, one comfrey plant, one grape vine, three culinary sage plants,one hydrangea, two rosemary plants,one oregano plant and two thyme plants – all in pots of various sizes. Happily, most of them made it through the winter and we are now hurrying to get them into the ground.

During an unusually dry and chilly winter there was some time for inspirational reading. I thoroughly enjoyed “The Quarter Acre Farm” by Spring Warren, “Gaia's Garden A guide to home-scale permaculture” by Toby Hemenway, and “How to Pick a Peach” By Russ Parsons and many others; keeping the public library and Amazon busy. Then, of course there are the seed catalogs. Page upon page of lovely veggies and fruits. My favorites are: Territorial Seed at http://www.territorialseed.com, Botanical Interests at https://botanicalinterests.com, and Raintree Nursery at http://www.raintreenursery.com, all of which offer free catalogs, newsletters, blogs and advice and are at least some what local to us.

One challenge is that our home was previously a rental for many years. Different people put things in the ground and left them. Some of this ground is needed for the previously mentioned “sun hungry”plants so we are removing and re-homing them as much as possible.

For some unknown reason we have begun with the front yard and will then move around to the back. Rhododendrons, and unidentified roses have moved to make way for blooming blueberries in a sunny area, with another “Rhody” moved from a shady bed that is home to a green, fuzzy carpet of baby lettuces. The western fence line houses the currant bushes, while on the east the bay tree, thyme and lavender cozy up to the front gate, with an unknown “table grape” in the corner and the hydrangea to the south. We are prepping a tomato bed by the front walk and in the attached, giant flower box tulips are blooming where we intend to plant peppers in the full sun.

 



Tomato bed



 

Currants



Front gate, Bay tree, lavender and thyme



 

Thanks to craigslist, and our Facebook friends we have acquired quite a bit of hardscaping – concrete edgers, and stepping stones, which we are placing as we go along. Luckily we have a small pickup truck and I have a patient and willing husband to help with all this.

Today we are expecting “showers” and we have two more large plants to remove, two more blueberries and nine or ten lavender plants to get into the ground. We now have enough edgers to finish lining the tomato bed and our usual workdays to contend with: teaching music, hosting open mics, managing a farmers market, completing a photo assignment, and final preparations for a concert at the “Historic Old Church” this Saturday. Busy week? Yes and it is all good.

The Historic Old Church Portland, Oregon

The Story of a Turkey.

Several years ago we bought a small,chest freezer from a craigslist ad. It has been very useful in our food storage plan.

After Christmas 2013, when frozen turkeys were on sale we ventured to our local grocery store. After choosing a 12 pound turkey we took it to the meat department where we were assured the turkey would be cut in half (while frozen) and we could pick it up the next day (still frozen).

The next day my husband, Eric, went to the store after work. The turkey was not cut in half, the next day the same. Day three the turkey was cut in half but completely thawed which defeated the purpose of getting a frozen turkey. We choose another turkey from the freezer and day four still no turkey. After speaking with management my husband was leaving the store in disgust when he heard over the store speaker system “Eric, with the turkey, please return to the meat department.” Victory at last!

Safely tucked in the freezer the turkey waited for several weeks. Eventually we thawed one half in the refrigerator and roasted it in our stainless steel roaster (thank you Value Village). It was tender and delicious. The leftovers became turkey salad and the bones went into the crockpot with ham bones and scraps from the Christmas ham yielding 10 pints of luscious broth. Labeled “meat juice” by my wonderful Master Food Preserver, Wacko husband, this will go into pots of wild rice soup and other good things.

 

How to Roast ½ a Turkey

6 lb half turkey
sea salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
Rinse the turkey and pat it dry with paper towels.
Lightly rub salt into the bird on both sides.
Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
Place the bird skin side up on a rack in a roasting pan.
Cover and roast at 350F for 1 hour.
Remove the cover and reduce heat to 325F.
Baste bird with its own juices every 15 minutes
Roast for 1-1/2 hours longer. Remove from oven when thermometer in breast registers 170F. Remove turkey from the roasting pan and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Serve with roasted root vegetables and enjoy!

He also made his fab Turkey Salad spread.

Turkey Salad Sammich Spread

Keep all chopped ingredients a consistent size

4 cups chopped left over turkey meat – both light and dark

3 regular size kosher dill pickles chopped

3 celery ribs chopped

4 green onion chopped

4 ounces black olives chopped

Stir chopped ingredients before adding the following spices

½ tsp ground pepper

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp ground cloves

Stir in enough olive oil based mayonnaise to make the mixture moist put not sloppy.

This is a great sandwich spread on home made sourdough bread and is good on crackers. Fine tune the spices to your personal taste.

Growing a garden, farmers markets, preserving seasonal food for later use. All these lead to a more sustainable, creative way of thinking about food. My husband, Master Photographer Eric Tworivers, is on a journey to help build a transition to local, fresh food.  https://www.facebook.com/E2RPhoto


Why did you become a Master Food Preserver?

I became a Master Food Preserver mostly to make sure that I could save our food in the safest way possible. My wife encouraged me to look into the Master Food Preserver Certification after I realized the fun I have preserving foods. She (Deanna, my wife), is a Certified Master Composter, and directed me to the right place to begin the process, in this case it is Washington State University Extension Services.

What was the process?

The process is really pretty simple; I contacted the Extension office and signed-up, my application was approved and I took a very intensive, hands-on course over two months and received my Certification.  http://clark.wsu.edu/

In exchange I give volunteer time during the growing season to others via the Extension Hotline and our own website.

How does this relate to your interest in farmers markets?

My interest in Farmer's Markets comes more from my early life, in that I loved going to 'Flea' markets and such, and when Farmer's Markets began to flourish I just kinda went right along with them. I grew to check-out any markets I could back in my younger days, when I was doing a lot of touring playing music.

Today, my interest in Farmer's Markets is driven very much by the concept of 'Farm to Table to Pantry' with our food. The food thats presented today in our stores is most often harvested WAY before it should be, to allow for travel of long distances, and many, many things are created and sold to us that are Genetically Modified, and that's NOT good news for anybody except the corporations controlling the bottom-line. As long as the stockholders make a profit, to hell with the people, seems to be the common thread.

Farmer's Markets fight this trend by bringing the LOCAL farmer's products to the LOCAL consumer, and in so doing the quality of the food is MUCH better, allergens are reduced (we are eating foods from our own area, not across the world, we are used to the local allergens), nutrients are higher in quantity and quality, and you can learn from the Farmer/Rancher EXACTLY what went in to creating the food you are about to enjoy.

What experience do you have, professionally, with farmers markets?

I have worked in booths at Farmer's Markets, selling on the Craft side (stained glass, many years ago), and on the Farmer's side, most recently I spent last summer working Farmer's Markets selling Organic Pork products and Organic Eggs.  http://sweet-briar-farms.com/

I also have many year's of experience performing music at Farmer's Markets, giving me yet another take on how they work.

Today, I am Market Manager of Battle Ground Village Outdoor Market in Battle Ground, Washington, and this Market (which has been largely a Craft Market),will transition to a Farmer's Market beginning this season (2014). http://www.bgvillage.com/#!outdoor_market/cjd6

 

Do you see farmers markets as part of a sustainable food movement?

ABSOLUTELY! As a matter of fact, now that you have me thinking about it, I see Farmer's Markets as one of the main tools we have to get people weaned away from the over-processed, GMO foods we are offered in the stores. Through the Markets we can not only bring fresh, healthy foods to the consumer, but we can also teach the consumer (remind them, really), what to do with the foods they have just gotten at the Markets. We (Markets) bring demonstrations, answers to questions, help in many ways, and it's ALL about creating and maintaining a healthy, sustainable food supply.

Tell us a little about the Food Ambassador program and how it relates to farmers markets.

The Food Ambassador Program (of which I am a Member), created by Chef Jamie Oliver, is primarily designed to help improve the quality of food served in our nation's schools. Within the framework of helping the schools, we refer to the Market's and the associated Farmers and Ranchers, to educate parents, students and school administration that LOCAL and HEALTHY are the best way to go when it comes to feeding our kids.  https://www.jamieoliver.com/us/foundation/jamies-food-revolution/news-content/the-food-revolution-community-ambassador

When we can succeed in getting fresh local foods into the schools, everyone benefits; the kids (eating better), the school (providing better nutrition), the community (local dollars spent seeding, growing, harvesting, distributing are all kept local), it becomes a win-win for all involved.

In search of the perfect loaf.

About eleven years ago I became aware that my mother was sensitive to products made with wheat flour. She had several symptoms including bruising and digestive difficulties. At that time I began making baked goods with locally grown Spelt flour. As long as we kept away from modern wheat things went well.

As time and my mother passed I began to learn about sourdough bread and began the adventure of Spelt sourdough baking. We had great results with cookies, pancakes, cake and crackers but bread remained...a problem. I churned out doorstop. Handsome weighty loaves that often became bread crumbs for meat loaf and meat balls. Useful but not what I was hoping for.

Last month I came across a wonderful recipe at http://gnowfglins.com/2014/01/14/not-so-dense-sourdough-bread/#comment-88085. This recipe became the jumping off place for our Spelt sourdough bread.

During the last baking session I was unexpectedly called away to work during the last rise. So popped the loaves in the refrigerator and hoped for the best. When I got home I set them on the counter. Three hours later they were ready for the oven and turned out very well.

Following the recipe reflecting the changes we have made. As husband is allergic to honey we went to sugar, olive oil instead of coconut and only Spelt flour. I have used the both the milk or water options and melted butter instead of or half and half with olive oil. All of which have worked.

Thank you Tracy Vierra and Wardee!

Photograph by Eric Donaldson Tworivers

Sourdough Bread, Vierra-Style

Sponge ingredients:

• 1 cup (active state and fed 2 to 3 times before use — this will lessen the sour taste)
• 1 cup milk or water
• 2-1/4 cups spelt

Soaked dough ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups water or milk
• 1/4 cup olive oil or melted butter
• ½ cup sugar brown or white
• 5 1/2 cups spelt flour
  
  

Additional ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 3-1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• butter or olive oil
  

Makes 2 loaves.

The night before, mix the sponge ingredients together in a bowl. Loosely cover with a cloth to sit overnight. In a separate bowl, mix the soaked dough ingredients together, and also loosely cover to sit overnight.

The next morning, add 2 eggs to the soaked dough mixture and incorporate well. Put both the soaked dough and sponge in a stand mixer of your choice (I use a Kitchen Aid) and mix for 2 to 3 minutes, until well incorporated. Let the dough sit in the mixer for around 30 minutes. Add the sea salt to the dough and mix for 3 to 4 minutes. Depending on the temperature, let dough rise for about an hour. Turn on mixer for 20 seconds. Let dough rise again for an hour, and then mix again for 20 seconds.

After dough has risen for the second time, remove from mixer, knead on a floured surface, and separate the dough into two separate halves. Knead each half just enough to remove excess air, and form each half into a loaf to fit your bread pan. With a knife, slash the loaves of bread with a few marks down the center. Brush each loaf with butter or coconut oil. Cover both of the loaves and let rise in a warm spot. In the winter in our kitchen, this last rise takes a couple of hours. It may be only an hour in the summertime.

I have found that if I put the loaves in the refrigerator over night the loaves continue to rise very slowly. Then I set them out and bring to room temperature (this takes a couple of hours) before baking. This creates a much better crumb.


Once the loaves have risen satisfactorily, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake loaves for 40 to 45 minutes until they sound hollow if you tap them. Remove bread from oven and cool out of pans. Do not slice the bread until it is cooled!!



2013 and Forward

2013 has been a year of "hurry up and wait" followed by whirl wind changes.

After four years in a rented duplex in the historic Hudson's Bay neighborhood of Vancouver USA we moved house and garden to a 10th acre in a quiet neighborhood a bit to the north. Less train, airport and freeway noise.

Thanksgiving day we awoke to raccoon damage to our roof. Our amazing friends were there in a flash to patch the hole. We are incredibly blessed to have wonderful, skilled and generous friends.

We survived the yearly "Winter Holiday Music Party" (recital) with 65 people in attendance. They ate all the Spelt Snicker Doodles and Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies, played and sang beautifully and had a good time. Now I have to plan for the spring 2014 event.

My husband, Eric Tworivers is working at the Oregon Soap Company. Eric is truly a renaissance man. Master photographer, professional multi instrumental musician, singer/songwriter, and master food preserver, now learning about and creating an array of wonderful, organic products. He really makes my heart sing and is my reason for waking up every morning.

We were bitten by someone in our lives who is less than truthful and does not have our best interests at heart but we are heading into the New Year with hope.

I welcome your thoughts and comments. Have a very Happy and Productive New Year!

Free at the time of posting

This kindle book is free at the time of posting. Be certain that you check the price before you click as it does change, sometimes without warning.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DFPWIN4/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00DFPWIN4&linkCode=as2&tag=indocquent-20

Part of seasonal living is preserving the best of your harvest. This is a very handy book to help you get started.  Enjoy!!

Knitting today

What are you knitting today?
I'm working to complete Christmas projects and a couple of "just because" things like this adorable Torti Cat. Just right for little hands, the kittie can be made of scrap yarn from other projects. I found the pattern and complete instructions at http://www.naturalsuburbia.com/2012/06/cat-knitting-pattern-and-tutorial.html I just realized I still have to make their tails!