Fish Encounter

Fish Encounter - ptg by Susan Waughtal

I'm off to learn everything I can glean about Aquaponics - the symbiotic  raising of fish and plants for food - at Growing Power in Milwaukee! I'll tell you all about it when I return.

A Tisket a Tasket

We just had a delightful guest: Bethany, one of our interns from last summer, was passing through the area and stayed over last night.  We made supper comprised of salad from the greenhouse she helped build last fall, Vietnamese duck soup from one of the ducks she raised last summer, and a loaf of  incredible chocolate-apricot sourdough bread she made.  Bethany also presented us with her very first hand-woven basket.

The basket is made from red dogwood and green willow stems she cut from the camp she is working at near Lake Superior and is intended for collecting eggs.  It is beautiful and was obviously made with love and we will treasure it!
Thanks, Bethany!

WordlessWednesday: February Mornings

Dark Duck Days of Winter Challenge

Despite my dearth of Dark Days local  food postings, we have indeed been feasting on primarily local foods this winter. The majority of our meals feature food grown on our farm, and since the New Year a surprising percentage of them have involved duck.  It is surprising to me, at least, because until now I had never eaten duck.

The ducks were also raised on our farm. Last summer when we picked up our turkey poults from the feed store, there was a kiddie-pool full of  ducklings that somebody had ordered but failed to collect, so they needed homes.  Ducklings are irresistibly cute, so on impulse I bought two. They were Pekin ducks, a meat breed, and they grew astoundingly fast.  After Christmas, when we harvested the surplus roosters,  Sara and Cadence persuaded me to also harvest the ducks.  It was the prime time if we were ever going to do it: according to our research, late fall to early winter is optimum because ducks have a lot of fat on their bodies then and after they are more than a year old they become tough.  It was not an easy decision, but we did it.

Sara loves duck meat, so she was put in charge of preparing our first duck.  We take our chickens to a great poultry processor and  feel it is definitely worth it to pay them to do it, but because ducks are much more labor-intensive to clean than chickens, it turns out they cost a lot more.  Instead of $3.50 per bird, processing the ducks cost $15 each, and there was still considerable work required by us to get out every feather. After completing the detail work, Sara rubbed the bird with olive oil so the herbs would stick, smothered it in rosemary and sprinkled salt and pepper inside and out. She roasted it at 450 F for a couple hours, turning it over after an hour. In the photo above it is still in the oven, not done yet, and you can see how much duck fat is already in the pan. Apparently duck fat is highly prized for cooking - I have some duck-fat cooking adventures ahead.

To accompany the duck Sara  made mashed potatoes (using our garden potatoes from the root cellar),

baked delicata squash (also from our garden)

and steamed brussels sprouts drizzled with the duck drippings.  (We don't know where the brussels sprouts were grown but we had them on hand and couldn't resist including them.)

The next night, Sara made a fantastic duck-vegetable saute over pasta with the leftovers and we made stock from the carcass. That was my first duck ever and it was incredibly delicious.

Duck #2
On Sunday, we invited our neighbors Betsy and Don for dinner in appreciation for all they do. I decided to try Sara's technique for preparing the second duck. I made it exactly the same way, except for squeezing the juice of an orange (not local) over the duck and placing the rinds inside the  cavity during roasting.

This duck was served with a colorful salad of fresh greens, carrots, radishes and pansies from the high tunnel (yes, it's still producing!!) served with honey-mustard dressing (made with our honey and scallions, organic mayo, mustard and balsamic vinegar), a loaf of Rog's freshly-baked sourdough bread, and a heart-shaped chocolate cheesecake garnished with fresh strawberries.  The eggs for the cheesecake were provided by our chickens, and the Organic Valley cream cheese was from regional dairy farmers but the chocolate and strawberries were very un-local. It was a tasty meal (if I do say so myself) with wonderful friends, and was made with plenty of heart and soul, if not 100% SOLE.

A Marvelous Morn for a Moonset

We were just sitting down into our window chairs to enjoy our morning coffee and noticed that the nearly full moon was setting through the trees.

So, we abandoned our coffee, slipped into our boots and jackets and ran out to the prairie to watch the moon set.

Bushwhacking through the brush to the road, I just caught the early morning moon sinking over Douglas before the sky became too bright.  Too bad all those folks driving to work couldn't see the beautiful moon behind them.

February is for "F"

Food.  Amazingly, we are still harvesting veggies from the high tunnel! Tonight, in fact, our supper was a wonderful salad made from our own, spinach, chard, kale, scallions, carrots, and pansies, plus hard boiled eggs courtesy of our chickens and roasted beets purchased from the farmers market. Localvore galore!

Today was sunny but it has been  quite foggy lately, the air as thick as pea soup... which put me in the mood for split pea soup. So last weekend, I made a huge pot of split pea soup and Rog made several loaves of multigrain sourdough bread. Winter comfort food.

The chickens are up to about 15 eggs per day production now, so we have been making deviled eggs,  quiches, French toast, omelets...

When we were blessed with abundant cream from  LaFonda we  often indulged in creme brulee, but since we have store-bought milk these days, we invented "pudding brulee." On top of a delicious homemade vanilla pudding (another egg-using  strategy) we sprinkle brown sugar and a drizzle of brandy, then caramelize with the torch. A darn tasty, comparatively guilt-free version of creme brulee.

Flowers
Last week I called Rog at work to tell him all my paintings were finally finished, varnished,  wired and delivered for my art exhibit. When he came home from work, he surprised me with a bouquet of fiery, celebratory  roses!
What a sweetheart!

The art opening was Friday night.  We greatly appreciate the support of  everyone who attended and made it such a fun evening. Both Vera and I even sold some works.  My designated photographer forgot the camera, so I don't have photos, but it was a wonderful crowd and great food. Thank you, Marie and the Crossings gang!

Folk Music
While I have been painting like crazy, Rog has been doing some serious singing.  The Volunteer Tomatoes had their debut  performance at Daniel's in Kasson

and The Nodding Wild Onions  performed at a Quarry Hill Nature Center event.

Here is a view of the band through the native fish aquarium at Quarry  Hill.  Both bands have a few more gigs coming up- I'll try  to get some video clips with actual music.

Fowl
Meanwhile, back at the farm, the chickens and guineas have been reveling in the unseasonably warm February weather. The duck especially loves the melting snow puddles.

Fine feathers.

Feline
Orange basking in the late afternoon sun streaming through the windows.

Wordless Wednesday: Painting Up a Storm!

You can see all my new paintings and  wonderful watercolors and papercuts by Vera Ming Wong during February at Crossings in Zumbrota!