The Glaring's Limoncello Dedication

Every year we dedicate our limoncello to a special dog, but this year the cats took over the house and the dedication goes to The Glaring. If you want to make your own limoncello follow this link.

2017 -- The Glaring's Limoncello

It’s 3 a.m. and five month old Sprite is pacing between the pillows mewing and purring. It’s time to eat, but she is being ignored. Tommy Lee, the all-occasion-cat, is waiting at the bedroom door, saying nothing. The humans will not stir for another hour, but when they do Tommy Lee will add her short, delicate “Me!” to the Sprite’s call for breakfast.
The soprano is warming up.
When the kitchen light turns on it’s time for Richard Parker to come upstairs. “Meh,” she yawns. The cat flap clacks as Lucy returns from the morning hunt, dropping her spoils at the door in anticipation of breakfast. She announces herself with a “Maaw!”
As coffee is made the kitchen comes to life. The cat dancers glide around and away from one another in an intricate quadrille. Their tails swish and eyes flash. Their distinctive voices sing rounds with a common chorus until at last the dishes are dropped in their separate corners. One by one the choir rests.

And the dogs? Where are the dogs? This is too much chaos for dogs. They will stay in bed until the coast is clear. The cats have taken over.

2017 -- The Glaring

2016 -- Tallulah

2015 -- Ratchet (No photograph available)

2014 -- Calicocoa

2013 -- Griffen

2012 -- Zamboni

2011 -- Milo

2010 -- Maggie

2009 -- Parker

2008 -- Rocket

2007 -- Zero

2006 -- Roland

Farm Diva's Braised Rosemary Chicken

This is one of my go to recipes for nights that I don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner. I make variations on it, depending upon what I have in the house. Sometimes I use Zinfandel for a little spicier flavor. Sometimes I use white wine, because that is what I have open. Sometimes I use yellow onions for a sweeter flavor. More tomatoes will make it sweeter too. Adding extra rosemary makes it more fragrant. I've used turkey broth and goose broth, because that was what I had in the freezer. Sometimes I throw all of the ingredients in a crock pot and forget about it for the day.

It's such a versatile (and forgiving) combination that I don't even measure anymore. Nonetheless, this version with the red onions and Cabernet Sauvignon is by far my favorite. I hope you like it too.

4 Servings

Ingredients:

1 medium red onion, chopped

4 chicken thighs

2-2.5 cups of fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped (1.5-2 cups Canned or frozen tomatoes will work also. The more tomatoes are used the thinner and sweeter the sauce will be.)

2 tablespoons of minced fresh rosemary

4 tablespoons rosemary olive oil (You can infuse your own by combining fresh rosemary sprigs and olive oil over low heat for 15-30 minutes.)

1.5 cups of chicken broth

1 cup of Cabernet Sauvignon

Flour

Pepper to taste

Salt (optional)

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Heat two tablespoons of rosemary olive oil in a cast iron pan or dutch oven on the stove top. Dredge chicken thighs in flour and place in the pan. Salt and pepper the chicken to taste. Brown on each side. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside when the skin is just crispy.

Wipe the pan and add two tablespoons of rosemary olive oil. Heat the oil and add the chopped onion. When the onion becomes translucent stir in the rosemary, tomatoes, broth, and wine. Once it reaches a simmer, place the chicken back in the pan and scoop some of the sauce over the top.

Place the cover on the pan and move the pan to the oven. Bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes.

Per Serving:

351 Calories

17.4 g Total Fat

3.8 g Saturated Fat

0 g Trans Fat

60 mg Cholesterol

351 mg Sodium

17.9 g Total Carb

2.9 g Dietary Fiber

4.9 g Sugar

Grilled Cobb Salad with Asparagus and Prosciutto

This recipe is adapted from one that appeared in Sunset Magazine in May 2017.  The original can be found on myrecipes.com or you can try this version with jammy grilled eggs.

6 servings

Salad without Dressing has 391 calories per serving
Dressing has about 107 calories for two tablespoons


Dressing ingredients:

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper 
• 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped or pressed
• 2 tablespoons green onion leaves or chives
• 2 tablespoons Italian parsley

Salad ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of pepper
• 3 bunches green onions
• 2 pounds asparagus
• 2 heads butter lettuce
• 6 large eggs (older eggs will peel more easily)
• 5 ounces prosciutto
• 2 avocados
• 5 ounces Gorgonzola crumbles

Preparing the dressing:

• Finely chop the green onion leaves and parsley in a food processor. Add the remaining dressing ingredients and process until blended. 
• Set aside at room temperature.

Preparing the salad ingredients:

• Place one tablespoon of olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper in a large plastic bag or container.
• Rinse and trim the green onions and place them in the bag.
• Trim the asparagus and add it to the bag.
• Toss the onions and asparagus in the oil mixture to coat.
• Slice the avocados into eighths or bite size pieces as you prefer.
• To save time at the grill, lay out the prosciutto slices on baking trays so they do not stick together.
• Separate the butter lettuce and wash. Then lay out the leaves on the bottom of a large platter.

Grilling the salad ingredients:
(You may want to grill the eggs while you are preparing the other ingredients for the salad in order to save time.)

• Place a grilling tray on your grill and heat the grill to 450. The allow to cool to 350 degrees.
• Once heated, place the asparagus and green onions on the grilling tray. Close your grill cover and bake for 2-4 minutes to soften slightly. 
• Turn the vegetables and lay the prosciutto and eggs over the vegetables. Close your grill cover.
• Cook for ten minutes at 350, checking occasionally. The asparagus and green onions are done when soft and slightly braised.  The prosciutto should be brown.  When ready, these can be removed from the grill and set aside in a foil wrapper to keep them warm.
• Slightly jammy eggs will take ten minutes, but if you want a harder yolk leave them in for an extra four minutes. Plunge the eggs in cold water after grilling.

Putting it all together:

• Arrange the asparagus and onions on top of the lettuce bed. 
• Add the prosciutto and avocado.
• Peel the eggs and add slices to the salad.
• Sprinkle with Gorgonzola. 
• Serve the dressing on the side.

#farmdiva

Doorstep Delivery

One of our neighbors has some mobility problems making it a big hassle for them to pick up the morning paper at the end of the drive. They requested that the delivery person bring it to the front steps. For years our carrier could be seen around 3:00 a.m. tossing our paper at the edge of our property then driving at break neck speeds down the neighbors' driveway and back before disappearing down the road in under two minutes.

When a new carrier took over, the doorstep delivery stopped, and a number of phone calls to the newspaper went unheeded. Day after day our neighbor's newspaper would wait in the snow until one of them could manage the trip down to the end of the drive.

Always thoughtful, Salt began picking up their newspaper and walking it to their doorstep. He had to walk to the end of our drive to pick up our paper anyway and walking the driveway is about the only leisure time we have.

My neighbor had recently prepaid for some eggs this weekend. Usually, she stops by late in the day, but I thought to save her the trip and deliver the eggs with the paper. When I told Salt that I would walk the newspaper over with the eggs, he said, "You should take the bike like I did yesterday. I delivered it like a real paperboy."

I had misgivings about the idea. "I haven't been on a bike in years," I said. "I don't think I want my first time on a bike to be with eggs in a basket."

We may not have a basket on any of the bikes, because he said, "Who needs a basket?"

"You want me to try doing it with just one hand?" This sounded like an even worse idea given the fact I am so out of practice.

"You need a hand to throw anyway." He explained.

"You want me to throw the eggs too?" It took me a moment to figure out he was joking. We had a nice chuckle about it.

Needless to say the eggs and paper were safely delivered on foot.

#farmdiva

Watermelon Agua Fresca -- Country Style

Step One: Cut a watermelon into slices and separate from the rind. Set aside the rind.

Step Two: Puree the watermelon pieces and strain the puree.

Step Three: Pour the watermelon juice into a glass of ice and cut with water or soda, to taste.

Step Four: Pick a spring of mint, for garnish.

Step Five: Toss the rinds to the chickens.

Step Six: Put your feet up and enjoy the chicken mayhem in the yard while sipping a cool drink.

Follow the Farm Diva on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PonderosaPlains/

#farmdiva

Homestead Tourists

At Home in the Spring

It seems like just yesterday we were taking down the Christmas tree for kindling and placing orders from seed catalogs.  Then I got sick and struggled through a very snowy spring to put in the garden before we left for vacation.  There were a million things to do before vacation and being flat on my back or snowed in did not help. There were seedlings to nurture and plant, beds to prepare, repairs to make and an irrigation system to reset. In a flurry of activity, we managed to get everything ready the night before we hopped on a plane to get away from it all.  

It was a busy spring indeed, and a vacation was well deserved. So where does a diva farmer and her dashing handyman go for vacation?  Of course, we chose a homestead in Alaska. Before I go much further I need to explain that “homestead” has a specific legal meaning and then there is a more colloquial sense of a self-sustaining farm. I am referring to the latter.

View from the Homestead

While I don't know how tourists find a homestead to play at sustainable living for a week in Alaska,  I just visit my family and add in some hiking and horseback riding*. 

Yes, I have family in Alaska; and yes, that is a fantastic conversation starter at cocktail parties. I often stand around sipping pear martinis telling droll stories about the amazing things people do without wireless internet access. As you know I am not and have never been a self-sufficient frontierswoman despite my familial link to the quintessential pioneer experience, so much of my life was spent hotfooting it away from such foolishness.  I come by my ineptitude at all farm related activities honestly.  The rural communities of my youth were by far more civilized than Alaska. Even though I was frequently at my grand parents’ farm growing up, I considered myself a visitor, proprio.

Now that I am by far more impressed by sustainable living than I was at sixteen, I am quite keen to go somewhere out of cell phone range and dig around in a garden.  Fortunately, my step-mother, a proper homesteader, lets me express my new found zeal by watering her plants between excursions.  I would honestly have been content to spend the whole vacation tending her garden and fishing had I not been intent on giving Salt his first real Alaskan experience.  

We hiked, we watched birds, we rode horses, and we drove a four-wheeler on what we think was the guide's hunting trip.  We caught halibut and collected rocks.

My Halibut

Our rock collecting was certainly a great amusement to the Alaskans.  Being used to the Outside -- the Alaskan term for the lower 48 -- and all of its rules about not collecting rocks in parks or reservations we were continuously asking with trepid curiosity, "Can we take a rock?" At first the Alaskans wouldn't understand the question.  They would look across the vast expanse of rock beach, then back to our innocent faces, before it occurred to them that we were dead serious. They refrained from openly laughing at us, but the mirth was in their eyes as they explained that we could take as many rocks as we wanted.  I am sure that they are still slapping their knees over those tourists who paid to ship back two boxes of rocks.  Rocks! But the joke is on them, because we would have gladly paid good money for those rocks.

On one night of our vacation, my indomitable relatives gathered for a party.  Alaskans are a special kind of people, whom I won't pretend to know well enough to characterize here.  But they know they are different and they know how they are special.  If you want to get a real look behind the rhubarb thicket into their lives, I suggest a memoir written by my Aunt Joan called "Cow Woman of Akutan," about homesteading in the Aleutians in the 1960s.  (Understand there was no indoor plumbing.) Unlike many memoirs I have read, it doesn't bore the reader with navel gazing.  It's a real page turner with every chapter leaving the reader wondering, "What will happen next?"  Obviously she survived, which is one of the unifying traits of Alaskans, but I will not spoil the book further other than to say that indoor plumbing is much more common now.

Head of the Bay

Another highlight of our trip was horseback riding to the head of the bay.  We watch a lot of "Alaska the Last Frontier" here, because the subjects of this reality show live a few miles from my family.  On the television show they are always riding to the head of the bay to tend their cattle and having to swim the horses across the tidal rivers because someone neglected to check the tide charts.  We did both of these things.  Riding a swimming horse was not on my bucket list, but it should have been, because it was fun... for me, but not for the horse.

Ultimately, though we had to pack up our halibut and fly home to catch up on our own chores at home. Over a month later, we have not caught up on our chores... but then I somehow doubt we ever will. We need a vacation.

Places to Stay in Homer, Alaska:
Katchemak Bay Cabin on Airbnb
Glacier View Cabin on Airbnb

Things to Do:
Trails End Horse Adventure --(907) 235-6393
Alaska Adventure 4-Wheeler Tour -- (907) 235-6393 (Read the signs. Don't touch the dog.)
Rainbow Tours -- (Ferry to Seldovia, wildlife tour, and halibut fishing.)
Grewynk Glacier Hiking Trails -- You'll need to book a water taxi round trip, so try Mako's Water Taxi.

Read Before You Go:
Cow Woman of Akutan by Joan Brown Dodd on Amazon

The Easter Blues

A typical Easter up on the Palmer Divide includes snow. It's difficult to believe that a week ago the grass was green, the trees were starting to bud and I was closing up the chicken coop at night without even bothering to don a jacket.  That was the day before the blizzard dumped 18 inches of snow on us. The subsequent four days of overcast and snow have finally given way to the sun, which is why I bundled up and headed out to the paddocks to dig a path for the chickens.

I looked great, by the way, wearing my fancy galoshes, my burgundy barn coat and my new brown felt slouch hat. Admittedly, I can still be seen in the yard wearing some highly unfashionable get-ups that result from a single mindedness to get to work that makes me all too absent minded about my appearance.  On those days I appear as a diminutive, firebrand hauling my cumbersome wheelbarrow to and fro with great determination, while dressed as a wild eyed bohemian. Most likely my attire is what I pulled out of the laundry that morning so I wouldn't get my good clothes dirty.  Often, I realize half way through the morning that I really should do Salt the favor of reminding him that I am still the fashionable sophisticate he married.

Fashion aside, I need not have bundled up this morning, despite the fact it was 29 degrees out as I chipped away at the densely frozen snow. The plastic snow shovel wouldn't cut the icy pack, so I cut small blocks with a garden spade and pulled up blocks that would have been excellent material for an igloo.  This was a hot and sweaty job laboring in the sun.  I took frequent breaks to catch my breath, enjoying the sparkling glint of the eastern sun reflecting off of the crystalline lake that is a pasture in warmer weather. The ponderosas were still tufted with snow, and the sky was bright blue and cloudless.  The crisp air smelled faintly of mesquite, which is how I knew that Salt had put a brisket on the smoker. 

After freeing the chickens and airing out their coop, I headed inside to reflect a little on the day and, obviously, to blog.  Salt, who could make a profession of reflection if he chose to publish his writing, had already concluded the sitting silently portion of his contemplation time. He had moved on to practicing the harmonica. And so, my appreciation of life continues as he plays the blues with the dogs sleeping nearby and watches the temperature of his brisket.  It feels a little like Easter in a roadhouse, which has its charm.

So here is wishing you all a happy Easter. We are having a day most worthy of celebrating with gratitude: warm sun on our faces, cool breezes in the smoke scented mountain air, dogs at our feet, dinner and family on the way and music all around. Happy Easter!