September Harvests

This week the skeptic in me was proved wrong. For the past couple of years Doug has been itching to grow corn in our garden. Every other year space was a big issue. Now that we have our own "squat-stead" he finally got his wish. Now I've heard stories about organically grown corn and half expected ears measuring the size of my pinkey finger with dozens of worms holes. So when we picked our first ears for dinner this week I was absolutely amazed to see that it was perfect.


The proud gardener














While not as sweet as some corn we've eaten in the past, the whole "from garden to table in less than 20 minutes" thing was more than worth it.














A sample from that day's harvest














On a separate note I tried a new bread recipe yesterday. You make a large batch of it and store the remaining dough in the fridge for up to two weeks. At any point, cut off a piece and bake it for some of the most amazing bread ever. I used half unbleached all-purpose flour and half bread flour. Made it a bit chewier which I love! Here's the link: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx

Also made a spectaculor beet and spinach salad with feta:

4 large beets

6 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 large garlic clove

2 Tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 2 teaspoons dried
1-1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 small red onion, diced small

Fresh salad greens, enough to make a nice bed on a large platter

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (cow's milk feta is milder than sheep's milk)

1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the tops off the beets, leaving 2 inches of the stems. Wrap beets in foil. Roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cool, peel and slice the beets. (Ormicrowave without foil).


While beets are roasting, you can roast the walnuts and make up the salad dressing. I put the walnuts in a toaster oven, at around 250 degrees for about 10-15 minutes (if you do it in too hot an oven, the walnuts can burn). To prepare the dressing, blend oil, honey, vinegar, garlic, oregano and mustard in blender until thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Wash and dry salad greens, and keep them fresh in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the salad. Arrange the greens on a serving platter. Top with sliced beets, feta, walnuts and red onion. Spoon dressing over.


Even Althea can't resist fresh baked bread. This was how she sat all during dinner.

BLTs are A-OK!

We've all had that craving. You know.... the one that occurs in about mid-March when the only thing you want is a BLT with crunchy lettuce and juicy red tomatoes? Sometimes, in a fit of desperation we may have even gone to the store to get the ingredients to make one, only to find a pile of wilted greens and a bin of pinkish-orange monstrosities labeled "fresh tomatoes". I decided to hold off on this summer treat until it that season actually arrived.

Last night we indulged. With our own home-grown lettuce and the very first full size tomato from the garden as the star ingredients, this sandwich was worth the wait!














Despite the fact that my plants look like crap they have still managed to produce a decent amount of smaller tomatoes.

August is the Healthiest Month....

I love this time of year. Aside from the fact that it aligns with school, there are just so many things that excite me about late August. For starters we are now in the height of Adirondack gardening season (which pretty much means we are finally getting everything that all other zones were havesting a month ago). This week's accomplishments have included:

-making pickles (both zucchini and bread and butter)
-freezing lots of beans
-discovering a superb patch of raspberries and freezing a few quarts
-planting fall crops of spinach, turnips, and radishes
-Making 3 batches of pesto and freezing it in ice cube trays

Other than that I'm simply cooking most of our meals from the garden, which is just such a great feeling.

My other major accomplishment of the week has been getting back onto my running schedule. I was doing really great until right before the wedding. I think it was because Doug was training for the half marathon and I just kind of tagged along. But after the wedding we both kind of took a break. Now I'm right back on track doing about 3 short runs a week (2.5 or 3 mi.) and one long (4+). This week's long run was the Trudeau Rd. loop which for those of you not from the area is a 5 mile course consisting of roughly a 1.5 mile gradual incline right in the middle of the run. I was definitely feeling the burn by the end of the run.

This week will be dedicated to getting my library ready for the start of school and enjoying every last minute of the nice weather. I'm sure we'll be back to the cold before we know it.

Recipes used:

Basil Pesto

2 c. basil
1/4 c. pine nuts (walnuts are good too)
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Food process into a thick, smooth paste

Bread and Butter Pickles

1 1/2 lb. pickling cucumbers
1 lb. onions (sliced 1/4 in. thick)
3/4 lb. red or yellow peppers (sliced 1/4 in. thick)
3 tbsp. salt
4 c. cider vinegar
2 c. light brown sugar (or white)
2 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tbsp. mustard seed
2 tsp. dill seed

Put cucumbers in bowl and pour boiling water over them. Drain and refresh under cold water. Slice 1/2 in. thick. Place all veggies into a glass bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Mix well, cover and let stand overnight.

Drain off veggies and rinse with cold water.

Put vinegar, sugar, turmeric, mustard seed, and dill in a non corrosive saucepan. Boil rapidly for 10 min. Add vegetables and bring back to boil. Remove from heat.

Pack into sterilized jars and seal. Process for 5-10 min.

New computer!

So my first official business as proud owner of a new computer is posting a blog entry, of course. I am very excited about this new purchase as the last computer I bought was a Dell (ugh!) back in 2003. Said computer currently runs for about 15 minutes at tortoise speed, while burning your lap, before promptly overheating. Oh and not to mention, the 30 GB of memory (which I was assured by the sales person was more than most people would never need) is full.

So an upgrade has come at last. I am now sporting a Sony VAIO (in my signature color- brown) which with any luck will last me another 6 years.

Hey a person can dream can't they?

Beans, blueberries and the sad state of our tomatoes...

We're officially up to our ears in blueberries and green beans (two of my personal favorites). Today I spent the morning making a blueberry tart and canning dilly beans. I've never had them before, but here is the recipe I used.

4 lbs green beans

7 garlic cloves

7 heads of dill

5 c. of vinegar

5 c. water

2 tsp. of crushed red pepper

Put garlic, dill and beans in pint jars. Bring other ingredients to a boil. Pour in pints, leaving 1/4 in. head space. Process 10 min.

Yields: 7 pints

My blueberry creation in the works.

Freshly picked summer squash

I wish I could say my tomatoes were doing as well as everything else seems to be. Many of you living in the Northeast are well aware of the massive case of late blight that has been killing potato and tomato crops. My tomatoes are still alive, but not looking so great. Not sure if they in fact have late blight, but I'm open to suggestions as to what is causing the leaves to turn yellow with brown spots. Any solutions?

We Own a Wenonah!

Last week Doug and I picked up our new super fast, ultra light, totally fun kevlar canoe. For those of you who know canoes it's an Escape (a 17 1/2 ft canoe). We registered for this canoe for our wedding and are just so grateful to all those people who helped contribute to this fabulous boat. We've already taken it for a couple of spins on Lower Saranac, but tonight we get to use it for a camping trip we've been wanting to do for years. We're heading out to Lake Lila in a few hours!

Here's our sleek new ride!

Route 3 Session

One of the perks of traveling to Michigan for family visits is that Watertown, NY - more specifically the Black River is on the way. Last Thursday, Kat and I hit up the Route 3 wave for an early morning session before making the rest of the nine hour drive to Jason's house in Clarkston.

My college buddys always know I'm in town when there's a Subaru in the driveway with smelly paddling gear draped all over it.

I ended up bringing my longer playboat because I thought the wave would be a little flat. Thankfully it wasn't. The longer boat doesn't have as much bounce as my new playboat, but she can still throw down.

Here's a quick vid from the session. Kat is always so cool about hanging out with the camera while I surf my brains out.

Dougie rocking the old school Dagger Id