Day of Darkness

Seriously, everyone slept in due to the extremely dark, rainy weather. My photos have dark shadows no matter where I take them (nope, no lightbox, sorry...I'm lucky I can keep track of the camera). Outdoors I could snap lovely photos of giant mushrooms and mold and slugs and mosquito breeding pits. I don't recall "tropical rain forest" in the description of our property when we bought it seven years ago! Soon we'll be able to call it waterfront property if this rain doesn't let up.

Nevertheless, the boys went to farm camp amidst thunder and downpour, spending most of the day on blankets doing projects under the big share pickup tent. They went out briefly in between storm cells to hunt for worms.

They used their new
Wrap-N-Mats for their
sandwiches today. A bit
steep at $5.99 a piece from
Stop & Shop, but a really
neat idea. They're just a
cotton print on one side
with a velcro tab attached,
and a layer of plastic inside.
Just wipe it off if it's just
got a few crumbs, or give it
a rinse if it's messy. And
best of all, when it's unfolded
you have an automatic
placemat for your food. I'm
sure those who sew could
make these in a jiffy.
Ryan & AJ's lunches: smoked Tofurky, soy cheese, lettuce, mustard, Vegannaise sandwiches on 12-grain bread; empty bowls for Stone Soup; red lentils to add to Stone Soup; a sidecar bento for sharing of snap pea crisps, new pickles, & black raspberries.

At home I spent much of the day cooking up farm food. I also made this quick dish for lunch while stuff was cooking. It's a recipe that easy to pull out of the pantry when pressed for time, and a favourite for potlucks...

Black Bean & Corn Salad

2 cans black beans, rinsed
& drained
1 can corn (or 2 cups fresh
or frozen corn), drained
1/2 of a green bell pepper,
diced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced
1/2 a seedless cucumber (or remove seeds), chopped
2 green onions, chopped

1/8 cup olive oil
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. sugar
1/2-1 tsp. hot sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Mix first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.
In a small measuring cup, mix remaining ingredients. Pour into bowl & toss well. Chill.

Worm for a week

The weekend:

A yummy lunch of pea shoots
with an asian sauce over ramen
noodles & a little cold tofu....and
some sorrel leaves, which are
an herb by the way, so do not
cook them like I did or they
turn brown! Don't make my
mistake! Slice and add as a
garnish.

I need to learn more
about the less popular herbs.
I need to stroll the herb gardens at our CSA and pay closer attention to those lesser known varieties. But until then, can any of you out there suggest a good website with photos of different culinary herbs?
Popsicles on the porch steps: frozen layers of soy yogurt & fresh strawberry puree.

Tuesday:
Ryan had his first day of
"Farm Camp" at our CSA.
He brought a snack, lunch,
and contribution to the
farm's daily Stone Soup.
Each day all of the farm
employees, work-for-
sharers, regular
shareholders fulfilling
their work hours, volunteers, and kids are welcome to share lunch at the big picnic tables under the apple tree. Everyone contributes something for the vegan soup, or brings along something to accompany the meal such as bread, cookies, etc.

Ryan brought a can of
organic black beans and
some barley for the soup.
And he brought his own
bowl and spoon, since
everyone either brings
their own dishes or uses
the big wooden bowls that
belong to the farm.

In addition to Stone Soup, Ryan brought a bento with Alton Brown's Cold-Fashioned Potato Salad, tofu salad sandwiches, an orange slice, cucumbers, & carrots. He had an organic juice box, which I had frozen beforehand to use in place of an ice pack in his lunchbox.
For his snack he had an Odwalla bar, and of course a big bottle of water.

The kids harvested baby carrots, drew pictures, and made their own wormeries to take home. So we now have a pet worm living in the dining room for the week.

Our CSA share is starting to grow:
- basil, thyme, oregano...and a few other's I'm not sure of! (that's what happens when I'm not there to pick them and my husband takes over.)
- 3 quarts of strawberries
- 1 head green leaf lettuce
- 2 quarts sugar snap peas
- 1 large zucchini
- 1/2 lb. mixed baby greens
- baby beets with greens
- 1/2 lb. spinach
- a dozen garlic scapes
- 18 stems rainbow swiss
chard
- a bunch of baby carrots
with greens

Dinner was whole grain
spaghetti with zucchini,
garlic & garlic scapes,
oregano, & capers. So
delicious.



Thursday:
Ryan's lunch for farm camp: strawberries; almonds; fresh peas; mini-corn muffin; carrots; crescent roll sandwich with smoked Tofurky slices, soy cheese, & lettuce. Not shown: juice box, Luna bar, water.

Lunch at home: pasta
with leftover zucchini
sauce mixed with a
marinara sauce & sliced
green olives. Oh man
was this good!




From the local
Farmer's Market:
- 1 loaf white bread
- 1 loaf wheat bread
- red new potatoes
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper

What makes these local
greenhouse grown tomatoes
so tasty is that they are
sown right into the ground inside the greenhouse.

Ryan shows off his wormery.