Rolling Along

Summer is rolling along, and with it the kind of daily chores that mostly involve putting up food for winter. I'm so glad I've had this month off of work, as it really helps to have extra time to process the harvest. 

a type of coreopsis, I think

I'm doing lots of odd jobs that, by themselves, don't really make for an entire blog post. For instance, I noticed almond trees blooming this past spring up the street near our neighborhood pool, so I put a note in my calendar to check them again this time of year and see if I could harvest some. Sure enough, I was able to reach a dozen or so and bring them home. They haven't cracked open yet. As I understand it, on big farms, they wait until the outer shell cracks open, then use a specialized piece of equipment to shake the almonds out of the tree. I didn't want to wait until they cracked, because by then the squirrels would have gotten them all. So I brought them home and put them in our outdoor drying rack and we'll see what happens.

I've been using this same drying rack to dry hot peppers (Piccante Calabrese), almost constantly. As soon as a handful of peppers become ripe, I slice them in half and pop them in the dryer. The jar of dried peppers is growing. Unfortunately these peppers are about the size of quarters, so it's going to take a lot of peppers to fill up this jar. Oh well. We don't eat all that many red pepper flakes. (Except for Adam, he really likes them on pizza.)

It's been quite warm, and I decided I wanted to protect the tomatoes from the late-afternoon, western sun pounding on them. So I clipped up some row covers to give them just a bit of shade on that side. These particular row covers block out 10% of light, so the tomatoes are getting plenty of sun. I've noticed the leaves looking a little crispy, which isn't unusual this time of year, but anything I can do to help the tomatoes keep producing is a priority.

There are always a lot of tomatoes ripening on the piano. This batch is going to be made into tomato paste, or BBQ sauce, I haven't decided yet.

I took out my food mill in order to start on this project...

... and promptly broke the plastic thingy that torques the base down to the counter and suctions it, so that it won't move when you crank it. It is unfixable. I was pretty mad. So I have to wait until the new one I ordered arrives (hopefully tomorrow). I decided to go with the old kind, you know with a crank at the top, the kind that's been used for a hundred years. Hope that one lasts longer than one year.

phacelia

I've been saving some tomato seed. I don't know why I was so intimidated by this in the past, it's really quite straightforward. You just squeeze the tomato into a jar, juice and pulp and seeds all together, then let that sit on your counter for 4-5 days until mold grows on it. That means the seeds have fermented a bit (which removes an anti-germination coating) and are ready for drying. Scrape off the mold and carefully drain the liquid. Good seeds sink to the bottom. Give them several rinses of water and then spread them on to a paper towel to dry. Easy.

It's also time to start thinking about the winter garden. I won't be actually putting anything into the ground until October, or even early November, depending on the weather (our first average frost date is December 15). I've got the seed packets and plans out and it's fun to figure out what will go where.

You may remember that last year I had a little trouble with 'heading' vegetables, like broccoli and cabbage. I think what I'll do this year is start those seeds indoors (or maybe even outdoors under the shade structure) in early September. Then they'll be ready to go in the ground in October.

found this in the local open space while the kids were hunting Pokemon

So, yes, trucking along here, just preserving as things come ripe - tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers. Our first ripe cantaloupe went to a pregnant friend who is craving melon. :) The next one is mine, though. Watermelons are not far behind! 

Kitchen Projects

Winter certainly seems to be a time more for the kitchen than the garden. I spend very little time in the yard, with only a cursory weeding every few days and a check on the growing things and maybe a thought such as 'time to put out beer for the slugs.' Mostly, I find myself trying new things and perfecting processes in the kitchen. I don't mind a hot oven (we can turn down the central heat!) and the early evenings seem to call for indoor projects. I realize that we often write about projects that we begin, but never write again about how it turned out. Let me see if I can update you on a few things.

I'm getting better at bread baking. I've done copious amounts of research where whole grain bread is concerned - to knead or not to knead? Wild yeast or a bought culture for sourdough? Part whole grain versus 100%? Hydration ratios? all that stuff. And I've tried different ways of making bread. We don't really want the soft, square sandwich bread you can buy at any store. We want a nice artisan boule or batard that can be used for fresh eating, crusty sandwiches, or hearty toast. Leftovers of course will be bread crumbs or croutons. We also knew that a good loaf of bread really lasts only two days. I keep a loaf of Orowheat whole wheat bread in the freezer for Kate's lunches - she prefers it for sandwiches. But she loves home baked bread with butter, and the rest of us are content with homemade bread for any use. Here is what I've decided works best for me and my kitchen.

First off, I knew I wanted to bake only whole grain bread (why eat bread that has all the nutrition stripped out of it?) but it presents many interesting difficulties. Whole wheat flour contains all parts of the wheat berry; the endosperm (this is the part that is used to make white flour), the bran, and the germ (for more information on this, see this good definition). Having present all parts of the berry can affect yeast production and the rise of the bread. The bits of bran are somewhat sharp, cutting the strands of gluten as the bread is kneaded and risen. That's why so many whole wheat loaves are dense bricks, not the light and airy loaves we all love. I had to find a way to work around this problem. The recipe I've been using lately (from The Perfect Loaf) calls for sifting the flour so that you take out the large particles of bran. The bran is then soaked in boiling water and added in after the majority of the kneading. This really seems to solve the bran problem. I also think kneading really helps develop the flavor of the bread, and the gluten that helps it rise - so for me, no-knead methods are out (they didn't really work any time I ever tried them). By the way, I've been kneading by hand, not with the Kitchen Aid mixer, and I think it makes a difference.

The second problem is that once the wheat berry is ground, the flour (if kept whole, like I want it) can go rancid very quickly. This is because the germ of the berry contains oil, and oil spoils fast. If you have very fresh flour, you can keep it in the fridge or in the freezer. But there is often no way to know how long commercial flour has been sitting on the shelf at the market. I have solved this problem by grinding my own wheat. A grain mill is a large investment, so for me I could only justify this expense by knowing that I was going to bake bread regularly. I had to make a commitment to doing it and getting better at it. I was lucky enough to receive a mill as a birthday present, but that only increases my desire to make good use of it and not waste this gift. I have found a family-owned company in the state of Washington from whom I buy my bulk wheat berries; but locally-milled grain would be another option (I just haven't found a good source near here). I grind the flour the day before I mix up my bread dough and keep it in the fridge until I'm ready to use it. Extra flour is put in to the freezer.

The third problem is that whole grain dough requires quite a bit of hydration, which results in a heavy, wet, shaggy dough. It seems to me, after all the research that I've done, that 100% hydration is best; but incorporating an autolyse period is the way to do it. So now I give my flour a two-hour autolyse. This allows the flour to absorb quite a bit of the water. Also I add water in at different stages of the bread-making. Something else that has really made a difference to my baking is using non-chlorinated water. You can buy filtered water or use a filter at home; but for me, I just boil the water in my electric kettle, then let it sit with the lid off for an hour or so. That way the chlorine evaporates with the steam. This has really helped to keep my ferments alive. After all, chlorine is added to water precisely to kill the sort of bacteria we are hoping to grow.

The fourth problem is time. Making a decent loaf of bread literally takes days. I know that the longer I do this and the more I practice, the more streamlined the process will be. But it still takes time. I've solved this by doing it on the weekends. On Thursday night, I take the starter out of the fridge and leave it on the counter overnight. Friday morning, afternoon, and late evening, I feed the starter until it is alive and bubbling. Friday afternoon or evening I mill the flour. Saturday morning I make the levain and soak the bran. Late morning I do my autolyse. Saturday afternoon is for kneading and bulk fermentation. Then the bread gets shaped and put in to the fridge Saturday night. Sunday morning I heat up the oven, one loaf gets baked and we have it with dinner that night. The other loaf stays in the fridge and gets baked later in the week (usually Wednesday). The second loaf tastes different and needs a little less time in the oven - and it doesn't rise quite as high.

If we are gone, or busy during a particular weekend, then bread just won't get baked. Right now I generally spend Saturdays doing the house-work that gets neglected during the week (cleaning, laundry, organizing for the week ahead), so I'm home anyway and available to go through all these stages of bread-making.

Anyway, this whole process yields a beautiful, high, airy loaf, with great flavor. The crumb is moist while the crust is crunchy. The sourdough tang is just right.

One last note: collecting the 'wild' yeasts that live in the air and in our houses and on our bodies, to make sourdough, didn't really work for me. I never got to a place where I had a sweet-smelling, bubbly starter. What did work for me was buying a starter culture specifically made for whole wheat bread from Cultures for Health. It was about $12, but I figure I'll never need another one, as long as I keep my starter alive. 

Okay, on to other projects.

The olives are doing great. I've had to change the water every morning, and it's very purple as I pour it out! Another week of daily water changes and soakings, and then the toxic and bitter oleuropein will be leached out, and we can start to brine.

Tom's limoncello has been sitting on the counter for many weeks now. I think we have one more week and then he'll make a simple syrup to add to it, along with more vodka, and then it will be bottled. 

Meyer Limoncello

I made more vanilla extract. I don't know why we haven't been doing this for years, it's so easy. I order vanilla pods from Mountain Rose Herbs and then split them and steep them for six months in vodka. 

The hard cider is finished and bottled. Tom is also planning to brew beer tomorrow. He brews about every two months.

I have a new project in mind for the coming weekend. I've written before about our pepper tree, the one I planted when I moved in, which has grown very quickly in the last 10 years and now entirely shades our front yard and porch, which was the goal (it's the west side of our property, so it's quite hot in the summer when the sun is going down, and this has helped tremendously). We planted a woodland garden under it, completely native, and it is doing wonderfully. I once researched the seeds that come from this tree - they look like those pink peppercorns you see for sale in gourmet pepper blends. At the time, I thought our tree was a Brazilian pepper tree; the seeds are quite toxic from that tree and shouldn't be eaten. But I stumbled across a blog recently (Garden Betty) where she explains the difference between the Brazilian pepper tree and the Peruvian pepper tree. After more research, I've decided I have the Peruvian variety. So that means the peppercorns can be harvested, dried, and used in cooking and eating. It's actually not pepper; the tree is a member of the cashew family, but it does have a mild pepper taste. Our son Adam is a pepper fanatic and loves pepper of any kind, fresh or dried or pickled. So I might harvest and cure some of the corns from our tree (of which there are MILLIONS) and grind them for him. And of course, use some in my own cooking and pickling.

Our Peruvian pepper tree

I'll let you know how that turns out. 

I'd love to know about any projects you've got going in your kitchen!

Planting, Harvesting, Curing Olives

Today I planted the two Arbequina olive trees I ordered from Peaceful Valley. I planted them in very large pots, and plan to prune them to keep them on the small side. They are next to the chicken coop, so the birds can clean up any fallen fruit, and so that the small trees will provide some shade for the birds in high summer. Olives like good drainage, and dry, sunny, hot conditions. I don't have spectacular drainage in my yard, as it is flat; but I've always wanted to grow olive trees. I could have created a sort of berm, but I decided to try it this way instead - a pot should provide good drainage. We'll see how they do.

We also took a trip to the olive tree I found on one of my walks with Joe. Kate and I harvested about a half gallon of small black olives. After picking through them, Tom and I followed Sandor Katz's advice and cracked the skin on each one, then put them in a jar of water to soak. We'll change the water every day (this is a good project for a rainy California winter, otherwise I'd feel very guilty about the amount of water this process entails), and after about two weeks, we'll change the water to a 5% brine. The olives will stay in the brine, fermenting on the counter, for at least two weeks. Then we'll see how they taste!

Go ahead, google 'preserving olives' and see what kind of headache you get. This method was the first one I read that made sense and didn't require a ton of salt and several months (or a year). I hope it works! 

Interesting finds

Just a quick post to show you some cool things I've found in the garden and woods lately.

Our watermelon plants are coming up. The variety I planted is called 'Moon and Stars.' I expected to see this pattern on the fruit, but isn't it neat that it's also on the leaves?

I noticed this 'bouquet' of Lysurus mokusin (or Lantern stinkhorns) coming up by the train shed. Click the link for other fun pictures of stinkhorns. The more I learn about these fungi, the more I'm intrigued. This particular kind comes up quite frequently in my garden, on the wood chips.

I found this beautiful caterpillar this morning, not ON the carrots, but near them in another plant (apparently it likes carrots and carrot-like food and blossoms). It's a papilio polyxenes, or Black Swallowtail. I'll be curious to see if it sticks around and pupates.

And finally, while walking with the dog this morning, I found several kinds of ripe plums on wild plum trees. I usually bring home some to eat, but I was feeling generous and gave them to the chickens, who adore any fruit (I've been giving them all the fallen peaches and apples from my trees, and they eat it all up, including the pits). Since I'm a little short on greens in the garden at the moment (although it's nearly time to rip up the peas), I'm feeding the chickens whatever I can find. They do get regular chicken food (grains), but I really prefer to heavily supplement their diet with plant forage. This way, the eggs will have superior nutrition. And, it can only help keep the chickens healthy. Besides, in the wild, they would eat all this stuff.

Tom and I are gearing up for the Urban Farm Tour, which is coming up in two days. I have an insider tip about discount tickets - so if you're on the fence, and need an incentive, leave a comment here and I'll give you the scoop. Meanwhile, regular readers can look for a post about it Saturday night, with pictures! We're extremely excited about having a lot of folks over to look at the garden!

Foraging for Poo?

There are times on my urban farm journey where I don't recognize myself. Slicing jalepenos to add them to almost every dish? Breaking my back using an ax to take out a stump? Opening a bee hive and studying the comb? These are all things I didn't do two years ago. Sometimes I say to myself, who ARE you?

Today, the answer to that question was quite clear: "Oh, you're THAT lady. The weird one."

This morning I took Joe into a part of the open space near our house, and I saw that the cattle were back. Seasonally, some farmer who has some contract with the city brings his steers here to graze; we see them every year. I like seeing them, though I think after the cattle leave, someone should bring goats in, because the cows don't eat the thistle, and it's taking over. But I digress.

As I was walking Joe, I noticed very many fresh piles of manure. "Hm," I said to myself. "I wonder if I could bring the wheelbarrow up here?"

So that's precisely what I did this afternoon. Except, the wheelbarrow wouldn't fit in the back of the Honda, so instead I brought two garden Trugs (I use these for nearly everything, they are worth every penny) and my trusty shovel. And Joe. Who basically sat himself under a tree far, far away from me, as if even he was embarrassed by my behavior.

I filled up the trugs, hoping no hapless hiker would come by, and rehearsing my explanations just in case. The cows hung out in a shady thicket near the nearly-dry pond. Three turkeys with a rafter of chicks strolled by, probably themselves eating bugs from the patties. A darkling beetle eyed me warily, probably pissed I was taking something from him. I wondered what a ranger might say to me? Was I removing precious resources from the open space? My two small buckets surely wouldn't count for much, surely there were plenty of 'resources' left to improve the soil and feed native wildlife.

None of my internal arguments mattered; no one came by to question my actions. I put the buckets in the car and got outta dodge, feeling slightly criminal.

I upended the buckets in my compost  - hopefully it'll speed up the decomposition of the pile of straw there. Then I washed my hands real, real good.

This patty was the size of a small dog

You can't see them, but the cows are chilling in this thicket of willows

Hard to see, but three turkeys and their babies were checking me out

Darkling Beetle

My haul. The poo looks dry, but when broken, was nice and fresh inside

break down that straw!