Here are some recent pictures of the pups. The bigger they get, the more I suspect they are not Great Pyrenees. They look more sheep dog, or wolf hound to me. But we will never know and it really doesn't matter. We made the pony/donkey enclosure into a dog wonderland. The big animals have found a new home. We miss them terribly but their owners had a lot going on and didn't have enough time for them. Any way, the dogs really love it out there. It's great. gives them and me a break. They have a barn to go in and a huge pen to run and play in. If they are inside for too long, they "politely ask" to go out to their pen. The boys are still walking them twice a day for 45 minutes each time. The morning walk is now at 5:30am and in the pitch dark because of our new schedule. I bought them headlamps so they could see. My boys are so hardcore. unfortunately, dogs don't understand that it's not a school day or that its the weekend so the latest they will sleep till is 6:00. Just think what great training this is for my boys for their future.






Sarah and Andy came this weekend for our first annual Garlic Shucking/Movie Night. We watched Monsters Vs Aliens and shucked all of the garlic to be planted at Marble Family Farms this fall. We then, of course, ate yummy food and had plenty of desert including cowboy cookies and mocha cake.






This is my very first time "putting food up" for winter. I have over 30 cups of shredded zucchini, 12 cups of frozen corn kernels, a ton of chopped celery, processed basil, chopped kale and so far, 12 cups of pumpkin (more to come this week). Then in the pantry I have a quart of condensed tomato soup and a quart of salsa, a bunch of honey spiced peaches, apple sauce and apple butter. None of the jam actually lasted long enough, we ate it all right up. But any way, I'm feeling pretty proud. I should mention none of it would have happened without Sarah. Sarah totally rocks! and she can do anything. We processed most everything together. A good portion coming from her farm. She also showed me how to can. I was always too scared to try. Thought I would screw it up. It's really not hard if you have the right equipment, and a good teacher of course. The apple butter recipe is for the crock pot, super easy and you can find it here. If you don't want to can it, put it in the fridge. I doubt you will have any problem eating it all right up.







Its a big weekend in our little corner of Maine. Last year we rode the lift up Sugarloaf Mountain and hiked down. Way harder than you think! The view was amazing but the little kids didn't love it. This year we are doing something just for them. Down the rode from us is and old Narrow Gauge Railroad. They are having a "Ghost Train" this weekend so we are going for a ride. You may know, my little boys are obsessed with trains and are going to have a great time! We are working on a little late-fall festival to have here at our home. I'm thinking bonfire, luminaries, making music and telling stories. Any other suggestions?

Next weekend is my big vacation to Boston. That really sound so weird. Me, vacationing in the city I grew up 30 minutes from. But seriously I can't wait! Imagine how much knitting I am going to do on my 4+ hour car ride with.......NO CHILDREN!!!!

Have a great weekend!

mmmmmm what to do with all that zucchini

Even in my weed riddled garden I had tons of zucchini. Sarah helped me shred and freeze it in 4 cup portions. Now I can make these all winter long. Oh, did i mention i got about 3 gallons of wild blueberries, ya, they are in the freezer too. I made almost 3 dozen muffins yesterday and there are 4 left!

Banana Zucchini Blueberry Muffins

or

Blue-Ban-Zuke muffins

this will make about 1 1/2 dozen big muffins

2 very ripe bananas, smooshed well
2 cups zucchini shredded (you can use carrots and zucchini too)
1 cup oil
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsps vanilla
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1-2 cups blueberries (we like lots)
mix oil and bananas together, add sugar, zucchini, vanilla then the dry ingredients

bake 350 degrees for 12-18 minutes, I use a stoneware muffin tin so its about 18 minutes, just check the center with a knife

i sprinkle raw sugar on the top before baking
you can also add craisins, raisins, nuts etc if you like

muffins freeze well. If you can hold off the vultures, make a double batch (or triple) and freeze some.

Black Bean Burgers and Sweet Potatoe Fries

Here is a recipe for black bean burgers. I modified the original from Veganomicon.

This recipe makes enough for 6 with plenty of left overs for lunches (about 12 burgers). you can freeze the cooked burgers as well. you can 1/2 pretty easily if you are not feeding an army.


4 cups cooked black beans (or two 15 oz cans drained and rinsed)
1 cup wheat gluten (or vital wheat gluten)
2 tsps cumin
4 tsps chili powder
2 tsps ground coriander (optional)
1 small onion chopped fine
1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup water
4 tbls canola oil (plus more for frying)
4 cloves garlic pressed

mash the beans with a fork until no whole beans are left don't go crazy, just no whole beans, add oats, gluten, spices, onion and garlic, mix with a fork. add ketchup and water, and oil, mix again, then knead with hands until thoroughly mixed. the gluten will start to form strings. put aside while you make the yummy fries

make patties, you can divide into 12 equal parts first if you want. squish it into a good ball and then flatten to a patty.
now heat a cast iorn or non stick skillet over medium heat. i use below medium with a cast iorn because of smoking. when hot, add thin layer of oil to pan. fry burgers about 5 minutes on each side. press down with spatula before flipping and again after.
we serve them on wheat toast

these are great any way
mexi style with sliced avocado, salsa, lettuce tomato and onion
or straight up, ketchup, mayo (veganaise) mustard, pickles, lettuce, tomato onion
my boys like to put sweet fries right on the burgers



these fries are a top ten food with everyone here especially indigo! he eats more than anyone else.


sweet potato fries

2-5 sweet potatoes
garlic powder or granulated garlic
salt
black pepper
canola or olive or grape seed oil

peel and cut sweet potatoes in half and then into basic fry shapes, don't be too picky
place in a bowl
douse with a good amount of oil you want them to be well coated, fat is good for you! and especially good for growing children.
sprinkle with liberal amounts of spices (to taste i guess, we like a lot)
if bowl has a good lid, lid it and shake and swirl until well coated
or just stir it but way less fun.
place fries into glass baking dish and bake a 500 degrees until tender stir every 10 minutes or so. I like to see some browned edges but they are quite soft at that point. just test them. you can't really do it wrong. these are great heated the next day too.

let me know if you make these and what you think

A recipe to ensure my entire family eats until they can't move

and then even fight over left overs. Yes, literally. We got the recipe for Cheesy Bean Enchiladas on vegweb and have had it almost weekly ever since. it is so delicious. We had some friends over (not vegetarian) and had this for dinner. A week later One told me he was still thinking about this yummy meal. yes it is that good! I use canned beans and even let myself buy tortillas and enchilada sauce at the store...YIKES! The fact is i need a few meals that don't take hours to make. We very often eat this on shopping day. I hate cooking on shopping day! Ortega makes an enchilada sauce with no MSG. We use 4 bottles and add 1 cup of hot salsa to the beans as the sauce is mild. I serve it with my yummy coriander rice.

in a sauce pan saute one med onion chopped in oil until soft
add 2-4 cloves garlic and 1-2 tbls whole coriander seeds crushed. You need to use the whole seeds and crush it yourself or it does not have the same flavor. I just wrap it in a cloth napkin and beat it with an ice cream scoop. saute for one more minute add 2 cups brown long grain rice and 4 cups water. bring to boil, cover and simmer until done about 40 mins.

I am currently stuffed from leftovers of this meal. sooo good! we also use the cheese sauce recipe for nachos! good stuff!

Yummy happy Weekend!

We ran into our farmer friends, Sarah and Andy at the grocery store on Thursday. It was really kind of weird. I had just said to Mike that I wanted to have them over for dinner again. We were walking in as they were walking out. It was fate. Really! What are the chances of us being there at exactly the right time. Anywho, We invited, and they came for dinner Friday. We always have a great time. Sarah made the chocolate zucchini cake (the kids request) with the peanut butter frosting on the side this time so i could have some. yumma! They are so super helpful too. We have so much to learn about this farming thing and we definitely need all the help we can get. They brought lots of seeds to share. Tons of varieties of tomatoes plus carrots and kale and lettuce. I am thrilled. Andy also said he would help us find our maples so we can tap them. Normally you identify them by the leaves, except, um its winter, no leaves. This is really exciting. Yummy maple syrup. We also discussed some other really exciting ideas. As usual, we were having such a good time gabbing that the time got away from us. They left around midnight. If this was a few years ago, that would be pretty early for me. But, alas, I am old now! So Saturday consisted of us lounging around all day. Honestly, aside from the mess. It was wonderful. After breakfast we broke out into a full-on drum circle jam. The sun was beaming in the windows, it was so fun. The kids loved it! The baby thought it was the greatest thing. He was playing his maracas.
We then watched Penelope, gotta love instant netflix, I made a big lunch/dinner. I made tofu scramble and These Delicious Sweet Potato Pancakes. They were sooo very yummy. It took forever to shred the sweet potatoes by hand. I need a new food processor! But so worth it in the long run. We omitted the eggs and added 1/4 cup arrow root powder and 1/4 cup water. I think you could use cornstarch or potato starch as well. I also used sweet onion instead of red because that is what we had. They were so darn good! Some ate them with salsa, some with ketchup, I ate them with just a little salt. They were a huge hit here with all six of us and I'm sure we will be having them again soon!




I am sharing these photos with you on the basis that you will promise not to notice how horrible i look(never looked in the mirror or got dressed) or how messy it is while we are cooking. It does not normally look that bad.


We were so stuffed we immediately sat down to watch Beverly Hills 90210 the original pilot. So fun! the kids were frightened by the style! Then we listened to Eragon on CD and I worked on my knitting. I'm making these. It was a lovely day. Even if it did mean tons of cleaning to catch up on Sunday, all worth it. Yes this has officially thrown our TV limits right out the window.
On a side note, Mike and I watched "The Future of Food" last night. It was truly disturbing and eye opening. Honestly if you have even the slightest concern about GMO's , or I guess especially if you don't, you need to see this film. It is available for instant viewing on Netflix. The boys will be watching it as their science assignment today. You should really check it out.