Skip to content

Category: Gardening

2

Published on 2 Comments on Elderberry Syrup

Hard to believe that my last blog post was from March of 2021! A new managerial role at my day job - while a great career opportunity - certainly took its toll on my available time for pleasure writing. Didn't COVID-19 seem to wreak havoc on our habits as well?

Anyhoo, I'm thrilled to get back to some nature musings and restore a little of that important work/life balance we all need.

And fortuitously, the post I happened to be working on last - before earning a paycheck rudely interrupted my farmgirl scribbles - was on elderberry syrup. Which is timely as we'll be coming up on the elderflower season in June and the subsequent elderberry season in July. Perfect excuse to get prepared for their harvest. Hey, it's all good!

...continue reading "Elderberry Syrup"

7

Published on 7 Comments on The Tale of the Farmer’s Daughter

As I sit in my garden quietly content after checking on the upcoming bounty of fresh veg, nibbling away at a few plucked snap peas and cherry tomatoes, I wonder about my ties to soil and the urge to have my hands in the dirt.  Where does this come from? Why such a strong sense of connection to this voluntary toil I do with willingness, hope, and joy every year when so often the effort is way more than the output?

I know it's partly because I want my kids to learn where food comes from and the difference between home-grown and store-bought.  But also, is it just because my parents showed me the same?  My father an expert farmer who knew how to make magic with seeds, soil, and water.  My mom having a prolific green thumb as well.

Or is it something deeper in us?  Some cellular level DNA thing that is built in over time?

I recently had reason to ponder this further when, out of the blue, an unserious web search looking at my family's genealogy produced some surprising but reaffirming revelations. What I found makes for a great story and ties into what this blog is all about despite the fact that I'm not talking about food this time.

I have to provide a bit of historical background along the way but stay with me, it will be worth it.

Per this blog's namesake, I hail from the farmlands of the great state of North Dakota where the buffalo (used to) roam.

For those who've never been there and noticed that 90% of the population is blond, North Dakota is a state of primarily 2 types of peoples - Scandinavians and Germans, with the great majority of Germans then being of 2 types who arrived in America from Germany by way of Russia.

 

The Dakotas are full of what we call the 'Odessa or Black Sea Germans' or the 'Volga (river) Germans' depending on which body of water was closest to their point of origin in Russia.  I'm from the Black Sea bunch. To give context to this story, I need to give you the cliff notes version of the historical landscape. Promise it's 200 years in just 2 paragraphs.

...continue reading "The Tale of the Farmer’s Daughter"

3

Published on 3 Comments on Summer Daze

I don't know what happened this Spring but was time on hyperspeed??  Some job changes, a load of kids' school projects and activities ranging from creating 3-D DNA models to piano recitals to soccer matches, and maybe stress over my own expectations about what I 'should' be getting done seemed to take over the days.

It really didn't help that I left completing 30 pharmacy continuing ed credits (which you have 2 years to do) to the last month this May.
Adult procrastination fail!
(and yes, I did buckle down and finish on time so still legal =)

But I am SO glad that Summer has begun - ready for a fresh season start - to chill, watch my garden grow, and hopefully see things slow down a bit.  And glad to finally get to writing a post on all things growing: summer flowers, gardening, and chickens!

...continue reading "Summer Daze"

Published on Leave a comment on Herbs and ‘The Hugo’

IMG_0258As the tops of my basil plants start to flower, I'm reminded that summer is soon over and the kids will be back to school routines and soccer games next week.  I'm not ready yet, but will make the most of the last weekend of pool & play before going back to the demands of that 4-kid, color-coded, whiteboard activity calendar!

My sad basil plants need answers now so I thought it would be good to do a refresher on what you can do with all your herbs for the season. Since you can find a thousand recipes for pesto on the interwebs right now, we're going to skip that suggestion here and cover things in general.

herbsHowever, as a reward for the hard work of cleaning up your summer garden, I'll share the recipe for the trendy drink of the summer from Europe (and a new way to use some of that peppermint that has spread across your garden over the summer).  Hubby's cousin introduced us to this drink (thanks Gertrud!) and it was a popular new offering at his hometown's wine festival we attended while visiting family in Germany this past month.

It's called the Hugo and I am officially importing the recipe from Germany to Philly right here in this post. Serve it for your Labor Day get-together this weekend and get ready for rave reviews. You're welcome =)

...continue reading "Herbs and ‘The Hugo’"

10

Published on 10 Comments on Stirum: Summer Supper Solved

enhance (3)Too hot outside to be standing too long in front of the stove or grill?  Maybe it's time for a Stirum dinner. Stirum is a traditional prairie supper as old as the days of the sod shanty - a meal that could fill you up to work long hours without being too heavy and one that was easy to make in times of few resources.

enhance (8)
And now that I have more fresh lettuce than I know what to do with, it's an excellent time to make it the main meal!  Stirum is basically salad with little pieces of broken-up thick pancake on top served with a light dressing - a  perfect fast easy meal for days when no one wants a big dinner.

...continue reading "Stirum: Summer Supper Solved"

Published on Leave a comment on Seeding the Dream
beets

Oh, is there anything that inspires green dreams more than a beautifully photographed seed catalog arriving in your mailbox when there's still snow outside???

Yes, I'm that kinda nerd.

IMG_7795I'm waiting for just a hint, a sign, a whisper that Spring is coming. I just read in my Omlet newsletter (Omlet being the company that makes my yuppy chicken coop), that Valentines Day is typically the date that chickens begin to lay again after their winter protest. How romantic you say! (and yes, I'm also the kind of nerd who reads company newsletters.)

However, March has now arrived and egg production is pretty spotty so maybe this is one old wives tale not so accurate (or maybe just true for Chickens of the Commonwealth since Omlet is a British brand.)

...continue reading "Seeding the Dream"

Published on Leave a comment on Green Reads
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
― Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

Don't get me wrong, I still love a great bacon cheeseburger or juicy grilled steak.....that's not going to change.  But I have been trying to switch around the portions in our household and make meat more of a 'side dish' and the veggies and other stuff the main deal.

It's a slow process trying to build more vegetarian dishes into the repertoire over time but hopefully one that changes habits for good going forward.  It also helps that the kids are past that preschool picky stage and are actually starting to enjoy a wider variety of foods.  I'm a no drama mama......my least favorite thing about cooking is hearing from diminutive food critics.

So I'm constantly on the lookout for good, easy - not too crazy - vegetarian recipes to add for variety.  Plus I need inspirational pictures to motivate me and also prevent me from standing in front of the fridge after getting home from work with that blank stare of 'what should I make today?'.  (and for all of you out there that do meal plans, good for you - you probably don't stand in front of your fridge doing that.  But for all my organizational skills, meal plans are something I've never been able to get on board with - too restrictive or something about it - can't do it.)

Of course, now we have Pinterest which does help somewhat - providing recipe eye candy for inspiration.  I do use Pinterest sometimes, but I guess I still like grabbing a well-loved book down from the shelf.

Here are my go-to vegetarian books.........would love to hear if you have some tried and true books you'd like to share......

And below, I've added a recipe I just made the other week to accommodate the couple eggplants I got in my CSA delivery.  Personally, I'm not so big on eggplant but I have found that I like it as Baba Ghanoush.......plus I just like saying that ........Baba Ghanoush (come on, admit it, it just sounds fun).

...continue reading "Green Reads"

4

Published on 4 Comments on The ABC’s of CSA’s

CSA? You've maybe heard the acronym before but weren't quite sure what it meant....maybe a new criminal investigative show set in rural America???

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is a way for consumers to buy local seasonal food directly from a farm. Farms typically sell 'shares' to the public - you pay a price ahead of time like a subscription or membership and then fresh food is delivered directly to you or to a location near you for pick up on a regular basis.

farm-fresh-food-background_23-2147516967

 

There are many different types of CSA programs depending on what farms are in your area. They may be able to provide not just vegetables but a wide variety of foods including fruit, meat, yogurt, cheese, honey, bread, or eggs.

...continue reading "The ABC’s of CSA’s"