Fall Doings

Let's get caught up. Much has happened since Rooster Day. It's pepper time! Rick made this lovely salsa presentation:

 These red Biker Billys are very hot!

But just to be on the safe side, Rick C. brought over his habaneros to share. 

We also had the first of the Bidwell melons. They look all creepy on the outside, more like a winter squash.

But on the inside they are a beautiful orange, and they are very sweet and tender, with none of the grainiess that cantelopes sometimes get.

 When they get extra ripe (or maybe just natural variation?) they look like these.

Jane and Melinda came over to visit.

We also racked the wine with Karen and Glen's help. We tasted some at this stage, and it's going to be delicious. 

The tomatoes and basil are still providing lots to eat, and the black eyed peas are producing wonderfully right now. We've eaten them several times this week. And there are still a few zucchinis, but I've already stuck cabbage starts around where the zucchinis will come out soon,

Isn't this a funny pepper? Its from the Red Peters, but it isn't ripe yet. Still....

Rick and Buddy check the corn. This is just the tiny transplanted stuff. The main crop is starting to corn up.

And we even cleaned out the privy. It wasn't actually dirty, it was just totally overgrown with grapes.

 

And of course, we spent a lot of time doing what we do best:

Not Gone...

...just super busy. I got a big project, and although we're still having fun at the Farm, I haven't had time to post in ages. I'll try to get some pics up soon.

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Weather Note:
It's been very nice, but distinctly Fall weather this last few weeks. We had one big deluge of rain that had the water up over the curbs. Our whole street was flooded, all the way across. Looks like rain this weekend too.

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Katinka, how does your garden grow? Drop us a line here.

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What We're Eating

I've been too busy to cook in any kind of serious way so all we've managed to eat is things like:
Homemade flatbread with pesto made from our basil and garlic.
Fresh black-eyed peas with onions, capers, parmesan and vinagrette.
Sweet ripe Bidwell melons
Fresh eggs doused in homemade salsa and locally produced cheeses.

And for today, I'm making homemade Bloody Mary mix from our tomatoes.
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Rooster

Here's Mr. Rooster, strutting around.

And playing tallest chicken. But this was his last day. He'd been injuring the hens, and he had to go. As Joel Salatin says, he had a good life and just one bad day.

Rick brought over the stove, and we put a big pot of water on to heat.

Rick C. wrung his neck, and we bled him out. Here he is, dipped in hot water, and ready to be plucked.

Catherine helps with the plucking. She and I are official cock pluckers!

Here he is half plucked.

And here he is all ready to roast. I brined him for about 8 hours first, then rubbed him with olive oil and a mix of oregano, pepper, salt, sage, curry powder, and cumin. I put a few sprigs of rosemary in the cavity.

I didn't truss him properly earlier, so his legs stuck out. I put foil on to shield them, and popped him in the oven.

Here he is all nicely roasted.

We brought him to the farm to share with everyone.

Unfortunately, it ended up being the hottest day of the year. It was 107 degrees! Rick C. couldn't stand to come out after working in that heat all day, but the rest of us enjoyed a hot, but delicious feast. Catherine brought bread and cucumbers, and I made some pesto pasta and roasted garlic. Rene and Cindy came over and had a bite also.

And today, he's in the soup pot.

Last Week

Ok I know I'm waaaaaaay behind on posting. Katinka, I apologize! We'll raise a glass to you today :) Here's the catchup, and I'll post the newest stuff soon.
The beans are going crazy, putting out lots of beans that we're trying to pick daily. These are the dragon tongue.

These are the baby Maxibel, which are perfect for making dilly beans.

So Ricky's been making and canning dilly beans! Here's a test jar next to the tomato harvest.

The sink is all finished out, at least for now. It works great! We just have the hose hanging in it with a nozzle that turns on and off. Farm grade!

Rick wanted to arrange the perfect shot of the day's harvest. This was from last Wednesday.

Doesn't it all look lovely? Those are zucchini muffins, which are delicious. And that little book that Sarah and Gen gave us is just perfect. It's become a really nice resource.

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What We're Eating

Jalapenos stuffed with shrimp and cream cheese! Mmmmm!

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The first Tigger melon ripened.

Rick takes a bite.

And the rooster shows off. Take a good look....

Deviled Eggs

The girls are going nuts with the eggs, so I made deviled eggs, liberally laced with jalapenos!. I'll be serving them today (Friday) at the farm, so don't miss it!

More Sinkage

On Tuesday, Rene and Cindy came over. Rene helped Rick with the sink.

After they got the legs put on the framework, they moved it into place, then brought the sink over.

And lifted it into place.

Voila!

The beans are just starting to bean up. These are the Baby Maxibels. They are the thin filet style beans, so we need to make sure to pick them frequently.

The Tigger melon is setting more fruit.

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Weather Note

It's continued to be unseasonably cool, and even cloudy. My sunflowers look more like cloudflowers.

We've had temperatures in the mid 80s, which is unheard of for August in Chico. We've even had the AC off, although that didn't last long. It's slated to be in the mid 90s the rest of the week.

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Sink and Sunflowers

I feel like I'm behind at getting seeds started, but I put in 14 more starts of broccoli, all Belstar Hybrid, on 8-6.

My yard is totally taken over by squash. I put my foot here for scale. This Boston Marrow is 19 inches long and 33 inches around. It's not even the biggest one!

And my crazy triamble pumpkins are climbing the fence.

We got some more work done on the big sink. Rick works on the framework. We're using old fence boards of course.

Rick and Buddy carry it into the shade for fitting.

It's going to work just fine.

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What We're Eating

Chile Relleno Quiche!

I singed the Anaheims and Big Jims over an open flame, and then steamed them. Then I peeled and seeded them, chopped them, and added them to a regular quiche recipe along with some fresh mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Delicious! Rick and I ate one pie, and I took the other to the farm.

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Our sunflowers have just started to bloom. These are our Mammoths and Tarahumara whites.

 If you look closely, you can see a bee heading for the flower on the right.

The carrots in the box are finally starting to fill out. I hit them with fish emulsion a couple of times, and it really helped.