This weeks Garden, Studio and Kitchen update

I seem to be running late on everything the last couple weeks. My excuse is getting ready for the trip this weekend. And I'm sticking to it :)

The greenhouse is all planted for the Winter: Mesclun lettuce, Tyee Spinach and a mix of orange, yellow and red Carrots. I transplanted the 3 Celery and 4 of the 8 Artichokes. I left 4 of the latter in the garden as I'm told by a friend in N.VT that sometimes they will over winter outside. And the ones I transplanted didn't seem to like it much. I'm hoping they will revive.

I put a layer compost and composted manure down, seeded and then a shallow layer of chopped straw on the seeds and a couple inches around the plants.

You'll also see in the above picture that there is now a drip irrigation system which is great. I just have to remember to turn it on and off. I'll get a timer set up at some point. I'll have to remove it in a few weeks so it doesn't freeze but for now it makes life easier.

Studio update:
I got 3 8"x10" canvases finished and a fourth drying. The fourth I'm trying out crackle paste and it needs to dry a couple days in this weather. I'll post it when I'm done. Below are the two I did Tuesday and Wednesday. The first is in the previous post to this one.

Both of them I was just "messing around" with color as well as gluing duck cloth torn to fit the canvas; then painted. The first I then glued tissue paper over that and continued to paint and embellish with oil pastels and crumbled gold leaf. Then I varnished it with Satin Varnish which seems a bit shiny to me for Satin.

I'm going to try experimenting with different varnishes now to see.

The second one I like a lot. Done the same as above only I stretched and glued cheese cloth under the tissue paper and then collaged. And instead of varnish I used a faux bees wax acrylic formula over the top. This gives it a very nice, soft look. Much better then the shiny varnish.

Here are the images:

Kitchen update:
Big thing out of the kitchen this week was Coq au Vin. Chicken cooked in wine. I've tried it a few times and not been satisfied but this time it came out great, if I may say so. (others do too :) )
I'll post the recipe sometime I promise. There are a lot of recipes out there: beware the really complicated ones. It's basically chicken cooked in a wine/broth reduction. Here is an image (beans are from The Garden):

All in all a fun week. Again: I'm off until Tuesday. Back to Maine (yay!)

Updates on last weeks and this weeks Art Challenges

I'm a bit off schedule this week.
I didn't report on last week's Art Challenge finale on Friday as I'd planned; which was simply I had to do something creative for 5 days of the work week.

What I did was mostly “rusted” some of the paper mache prints I'd done in the past few weeks. I explain where I got the idea and how I was doing it in 'my last post's Studio update.

I really like the way they turned out. The image above and the next two are the rusting experiments:

This week's Art Challenge I'm going back to my first challenge: an 8” x 10” canvas frame a day for 4 days. (I'm heading back to Maine for the long weekend! So 4 paintings instead of 5). Any medium I want but it will probably be acrylic and either/or mixed media.

Here is the first canvas this week (yes, I'm still on my Raven kick :) ):

As stated in the past I'm trying to avoid spamming those that read this (and the Face Book posts) so I'll report back on the challenge on Thursday. I'll try to post a garden update on Wednesday too.

Updates for my trip, The Garden and Studio

I'm back!. Here are the updates for my trip, the Garden and Studio:

I had a wonderful time in Maine. I didn't do much creatively. A few photos, a bit of journaling. I'm looking at the whole week as an “Artist's Date” (see Julia Cameron's Artist's Way book).

The photo above is sun set on our pond.

I went to the Common Ground Fair in Unity Maine. I had a great time. If you're ever in Maine I can't say enough about going there. There was a wonderful lecture on no digging gardening, which is something I started a few years back now. The speaker was right on about both the positive and negative issues of gardening this way.

So far though: the only negatives were slugs the first couple years; which as she pointed out, were followed by frogs, toads and snakes to eat the slugs. Emphasizing that working with and trusting the ecosystem works out in the end. Those first couple years of using this method, I had a million slugs; all testing my resolve for working co-creatively. But it's balancing out again out there.

I also, for the first time, went to the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. It was one of the best I've been through; and I've been through a lot of gardens in my life. The children's garden alone is worth the trip. Check it out even if you have no kids but if you do I'd say it's a must to go.

Garden update:
Before I left I harvested a ton of tomatoes. Froze some and will be freezing more as they ripen on the shelves. (another use for the growing shelves I made last Winter). Also froze at least 6 meals of green beans and hope to get a few more. I got three Acorn Squash (Burgess of course :) ). Not a huge harvest, like last years Butternut but it will do.

(picked up some fresh crab meat and Maine shrimp whilst I was there; froze them, packed them in ice and they are waiting to be made into cakes, chowder, stir fry and tempura)

It's time to start cleaning up the beds and getting them ready for Winter's sleep. As well as get the soil in the greenhouse ready for winter. While I was at the above mentioned fair I got seeds from the High Mowing Farm and Fedco booths. Lettuce, greens and carrots. I need to plant them this week.

The carrots I harvested a couple weeks ago are still being eaten and I have never had such sweet yummy carrots. I've had them almost every night I've cooked since harvest and I'm not sick of them yet. I even took some to Maine, with some beans and had them with my crab cakes (recipe below).

Studio update:
I've decided to go easy on myself this week in terms of an Art Challenge. As long as I do something creative then I'm on track. Yesterday I worked on both a canvas as well as three of the paper mache prints. The latter I'm trying out “rusting”. Painting with iron paint and using a rusting compound once it's dry. I saw Darlene Olivia McElroy use it in her Fiber Paste You Tube video and thought it might work great on the prints. I'll report back here when I'm done. They have to dry 24 hours between coats of paint then another 24 hours before you can put the rust on; so 48 hours total.

I finished the Artist's Way book/workshop while I was there. I have to say it was very enlightening and liberating. Not just for my artistic life but it also trickled into all the other aspects of life. I can't recommend this book enough to help kick start a creative life; not just for artistic types either. Creativity is a part of all of our lives and letting it free can only enhance our lives and lifestyles.

Next week I'll do a full Challenge; maybe canvases again. I really had a great time with those. Actually, I've had a great time with all of them. :)

And here is Tephyr's Crab Cake recipe:
(all ingredients are assumed organic; do your best)

one pound of crab meat
¾ to 1 cup crunched up crackers (saltine types are best as they absorb some moisture). Use a heavy bottomed glass or mug to crunch them in a bowl. Don't worry about some chunks.
1 egg; beaten well.
Salt and pepper,
Paprika if you like (hot to taste) Try ½ teaspoon at first. (you can sprinkle it on top at serving if you want too)
Panko bread crumbs (you'll need more or less a cup; probably more. Pour it on a plate and put to the side)

mix the first 4/5 ingredients well.
Form into patties about 2” across and 1/2 to ¾ inches thick.
You should get about 8 cakes from a pound.

Place the patties gently into the panko, gently press. Gently flip over and press again. Get as much of the bread crumbs to stick as you can but some will fall off again. Whilst you are doing this try and keep the patties together; they'll try to fall apart a bit.

Either broil until brown on one side and flip gently (5 – 10 minutes: keep an eye on them).
Or pan fry them in a small amount of oil; flipping gently.

Broiling them works well but they tend to be a bit dry.

Mix a couple tablespoons of lime or lemon juice into a cup of mayonnaise and serve on the side of the Crab Cakes. Lemon or Lime wedges work too.

You can double or divide in half.

This evolved from just making them and reading different recipes over the years.

October 26, 2010

Garden update: The arugula in the greenhouse is sprouted and the lettuce is just starting. No sign of the spinach yet but that usually takes a bit more time.


Worked on the path some more. Not much is needed in the outside garden right now. Aside from eat the kale, swiss chard and leeks.

Picture above is of red carrots from my garden. The one below this are the beets I used for the Borscht disaster I discuss on Facebook.

Kitchen update: One of the things that makes cooking interesting for me is, for various health reasons, I'm on a low carbohydrate diet. And one of the things I miss a lot is Leek and Potato Soup. 


So.... Last Sunday I thought I'd try making it with Turnips. I'd always been told that in the British Isles before the "New World" brought over potatoes, amongst other goodies... like chocolate... (can't imagine life before chocolate) people used and ate turnips like we do potatoes. Supposedly it was one of my Grandfather's on the English side of the family's favorite veggie.


I've not had many encounters with them actually. I've put them in soup I think back when I was in a CSA and turnips were on that weeks list. (One thing about joining CSA's is you get a lot of exposure to vegetables that you might not explore otherwise).


Looking them up I found that turnips; boiled with no salt, have 5.0609 grams of carbohydrates.
Potatoes cooked the same way have 17.2109.  Seems like good numbers to me.


Now if they tasted good and didn't over power the gentle flavored leeks I was in business.

I've never grown turnips: yet, so I bought one at my green grocers in the Organic department that was about the size of a soft ball.

First I went out and picked about eight leeks: they are skinnier then the ones I usually bought so thought I'd need more. I'd guess it was about 3 cups of chopped leeks.

I chopped up the turnip  and put it in a bowl of water.


Then I chopped up the leeks and a fat clove of garlic, sauteed them over medium flame in a little olive oil and when they were at that "limp" stage (don't let them brown) I put in the turnips and their water. Added a small bit of salt and pepper to taste.


The water just  covered it all and I brought it to a boil. Once it gently boiled for about ten minutes I put a lid on it, turned off the flame (I prefer gas cooking) and took a nap. The latter in an important step :)


When I woke up I put the mix in my food processor and pureed it. You can leave it with some chunks if you want but I like mine smooth. You can use a blender too if that is all you have or one of those hand crank mills for pureeing.

I then took 1/2 of it and froze it; this was about 3 cups. Don't freeze it with the milk in it as it will curdle. 



The other half I added some 2% milk; though you could use 1/2 and 1/2 or cream... warmed it up (don't boil milk; it will go sour). If you want to be fancy you could put some chopped chives or other herbs on top. 


It was not only good but great. I didn't miss it wasn't potatoes at all though I could tell the difference in taste: it was very good in it's own right.

I followed this with a salad and all in all it was a great meal.

Also this week plans are: Kale and white bean soup, stuffed (organic local) cabbage with (local naturally raised) spicy Italian sausage and brown rice; froze half of all that as well. 

One thing I like to do is to try, usually on a Sunday, to make as much food as I can. Not only for the week ahead but to freeze some for up to 6 months or so for nights when it's not convenient or I'm too lazy to do a lot of cooking.