Sidedressing the Corn

Roosters Aren't City Dwellers

Last night as we were starting to pick blueberries and strawberries, a car drove up and a woman got out, asking, "Do you still want a rooster?"

Q forgot that I was out of town for the Tour de Coop so he turned and repeated the question to me. I continued to stare blankly. After asserting that I had no opinion on a rooster, I left them to work it out.

What had transpired at the Tour de Coop was that Q had gotten into a conversation about the meat birds with this lady who feared that one of the layers she was raising was actually a rooster. Q had offered to take it off her hands and put it into our soup pot if this turned out to be the case.

The denouement is that "Chuck" (the rooster) is quarantined in a large cat carrier in our guest bathroom for the next day or two until we harvest this weekend. The two Rhode Island Reds are also destined for the freezer and "Lacey" (the Silver Laced Wyandotte) is getting upgraded to layer status.

Chuck is very clearly a rooster. A few minutes after we turned on the bathroom light for him this morning (no windows) we were startled by a very loud crow. He's been doing it intermittently ever since. I kind of like it but won't miss it as an "inside sound". The cats won't miss it at all and keep giving me dirty looks which seem to clearly translate into , "Why do you keep putting chickens in the bathroom?"

Q promised to prepare one of the fresh birds butterflied on the grill this weekend - doesn't this look yummy?

How to Make Paneer

I've had spinach in the freezer since late last summer but never got around to making saag paneer, so here is a little paneer making and Indian cooking tutorial. Making paneer is so easy that I did it with my Waldorf 8th Graders as part of the organic chemistry block.

Heat 2 quarts of milk to boiling, stirring constantly, then remove from heat and drizzle in 1/4 c lemon juice as you continue to stir. Curd will immediately begin to form.

Line a colander with cheesecloth and pour the curds/whey mixture in. This picture is after the liquid has been pressed out.

Sorry about the fuzzy picture. Cube the paneer and pan fry it in a little butter (or ghee if you're after authenticity). In the picture it is already dumped on top of the "saag" (spinach) mixture.

My saag paneer recipe...

paneer, fried (see above)

12 oz. spinach, chopped

1 medium onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T Penzey's garam masala

salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cumin to taste

1 T canned green chiles

2 T buttermilk powder mixed into 1/2 c water

After frying the paneer, add the onion and garlic back to the pan and use the remaining oil to saute. When the onion start to become translucent, add the spinach, chiles, and spices and simmer it until it looks well-cooked. Use a hand blender to puree the entire mixture. Add the buttermilk mixture and simmer until it reaches the desired consistency, tasting and adding additional spices as necessary. Stir in the paneer and serve over rice or with naan.

Q doesn't like saag paneer so I threw together a chicken curry for him. It turned out pretty yummy and was really easy. This was enough for his dinner after adding about 1/2 c. of rice.

4 oz. grilled chicken

1 1/2 c peas (I used frozen)

1 medium onion

1 clove garlic

2 T canned green chiles

1 T curry powder

salt to taste

2 T buttermilk powder mixed into 1/2 c water

1/2 t cornstarch

Cook the onion and garlic in a little oil until the onions begin to become translucent. Add the chicken, peas, chiles, and spices. Heat through, sprinkle with cornstarch and mix to coat then add the buttermilk mixture. After the sauce thickens, remove from heat and serve over rice or with naan.

Today's Harvest

Almost 7 lbs. all together! I still only managed to get about half the strawberry bed though; thank heavens they'll still be there tomorrow.

Oatmeal Pancakes

I realized this morning that I haven't ever shared this link here - Dee's Oatmeal Pancakes. They are phenomenal. I keep buttermilk powder in the freezer so it's easy to have all the ingredients on hand. I up the flour to 1 c. because otherwise they have trouble getting good form in the pan. Whole wheat flour substitutes easily into this recipe and it ends up being quite a good source of whole grains. The trickiest part is remembering to start soaking the oats the night before.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

I don't know where it originally came from but this salad is really delicious. It's especially nice because spinach and strawberries are in season at the same time. For the amount of dressing below, the original recipe calls for "2 bunches of spinach" and "1 pt. strawberries". My guess is that I tend to use more strawberries than that and that the dressing probably covers about 2 lbs. of spinach.

Sweet and Sour "Seedy" Dressing

I think it's better if it's made a little in advance and allowed to sit for a few hours before it's used to dress the salad.

2 T sesame seeds

1 T poppy seeds

1/2 t onion powder (or 1 1/2 t finely minced onion)

1/4 t paprika

1/4 t Worchestershire sauce

1/2 c salad oil

1/4 c sugar (I halve it from the original 1/2 c and it's plenty sweet)

1/4 c apple cider vinegar

Happy 4th of July!

Wool Soakers

I got four soakers made using the Little Turtle Knits Hybrid Rib Soaker pattern and yarn from my stash. All are the newborn size and two are daytime weight and two are nighttime weight. They're really easy to knit so if they work out it should be easy to make larger sizes after baby gets here.

To lanolize them, I soaked them in some lukewarm water that had a tiny bit of Woolite and some lanolin thoroughly mixed in. After they soaked, I just drained them, pressed as much water out as possible, then rolled them in a towel and squeezed. They're air drying on a drying rack now. It's pretty easy so I hope they work.

I got another 12 1/2 lbs. of strawberries picked today and only picked about half the bed. We invited a neighbor over tomorrow morning to pick some for herself. I'm sure we've got enough to share. ;)