Backyard Farmgals

I had leftover Ginger Grapefruit Curd...perish the thought!  What to do with it?  Too divine to let it go to waste, and an irritating reminder of my lack of motivation every time I opened the refrigerator (if only there were 36 hours in a day, right?).  I had a wonderful idea to use it in a braided bread that I have made a few times before, and it turned out beautifully... This would be a great Easter brunch bread.  It is light and the citrus and ginger are very refreshing and bright.  I borrowed the idea of this bread from Smitten Kitchen , a fabulous site based in New York.  Mrs. Smitten Kitchen has a much more exciting life than I do... but then, she doesn't have a mini horse, so I guess we are even!  Really, she is a very sophisticated cook and her site is beautiful, check it out, you will probably fall head over heels for it, just like I did a few years ago. This is a simple recipe, don't let yourself get intimidated by the braiding and ...

Spring, how I have missed you!  I have missed being barefoot in the grass and the feel of dirt between my toes.  I love you because you make me realize that light is so much more penetrating than darkness.  I feel relief lift me to my feet and point me in the direction of sunshine, green bits edging their way up through brown crusty dirt, and warmth wrapped around bare skin. Isn't it exhilarating that spring is finally here?  I find myself unable to stand a single minute indoors.  I have to be outside.  I crave it, like chocolate... one moment, like one bite, is never enough. With the coming of spring, my seedlings were ready to be transplanted to bigger 4-inch containers.  The first day of spring was spent with a fork, gently persuading tiny roots and soil into larger real estate.  It was easier than I thought.  I was terrified of losing a few of my precious tomato starts to transplant shock. Lucky for me only two wilted slightly, bu...

Seeing as I had a pile of grapefruit calling to me this morning, and I was feeling a little adventurous, I thought I would combine a ginger grapefruit curd with thumbprint cookies.  Yum!  The fabulous curd recipe comes from 101 Cookbooks.  It is, in one word, AWESOME!  I love the idea of the ginger combined with the reduced grapefruit juice.  It gives a rich undertone of flavors.  Plus, curd is a favorite Sunday treat here at our house.  It has oodles of butter... so limited to Sunday... but worth the wait during the week! I used a paté sucrée for the cookie base and coated it with grapefruit zested sugar before baking.  It adds one more layer of flavor and a pretty little sparkle to the cookies.  These would be a darling early spring treat for a baby shower or bookclub, or even Easter... after all, they look like eggs!  They are feminine and dainty, and the brightness of the grapefruit just makes you smile when you pop one in...

I thought it would be fun to introduce you to the cats that run the farm!  There are six of them, all with different jobs and personalities.  Some are inside cats, others wouldn't come in the house if you laid out a cat food smorgasbord for them to dine on.  They are a peculiar bunch, but they bring a lot of great energy to the farm.  There is something about the energy of a cat that is indescribable.  They have an uncanny ability to take the negative away and replace it with a calm reassurance that everything will be okay.  It's true, with a cat on my lap, I have a peaceful feeling that cannot be found anywhere else.  I know that there will be some dissenting feelings about the cat love, and that's okay.  Some love cats, others dogs, some love hedgehogs...to each their own.  I happen to love them all, and that is okay too! GEORGE: From a surprise batch of kittens at the house next door, he was the only one that stayed, the rest sad...

I need Spring.  We had a particularly tragic weekend, two children from two different friends unexpectedly died this weekend.  If I ever needed sunshine and dirt it was Saturday.  Thank the heavens, dirt and sunshine were exactly what I was given.  Between moments of tears and sadness, there was glorious home-grown compost to be spread, green tips of garlic pushing through the mulch, and strawberries pushing out their first leaves reaching for the sun.  While cleaning the asparagus patch, I cried almost uncontrollably.  But, as the day went on and the dirt therapy continued, I was able to deal with some of the endless emotion attached to the loss of these two children. I cannot imagine losing a child.  The empty hole that is left behind is impossible to fill.  I have lost a parent and I know the kind of emptiness that brings.  I can only imagine that life would never again feel the same...that something would forever be missing.  Th...

I love this time of the year, my first moments running my hands through thick composted soil, dirt under my fingernails, and the smell of hummus in the Earth puts my mind at ease; Spring is just around the corner.  I can feel it.  I can smell it.  All of my senses go crazy with the first awakenings of the Earth after a cold, dark Winter. As I opened up my potting mix for my seeds, I sank into a comfort of knowing that the sun is coming back to me.  Three more weeks of official Winter.  Three more weeks of muttering nasty things about the groundhog and his insanely accurate predictions.  (When he makes me mad I really enjoy calling him names like "gopher" and "fat little ground rat".  I'm not saying name calling is okay...only when it involves a nasty, little, long-Winter-inviting, overweight squirrel.  Okay...I am done...love you Phil...sometimes...) Sunday I planted tomatoes.  Lots and lots of tomatoes!  The list is very ...

Our peeps are now a week plus a few days old.  Looking at them throughout the week, you would think that they haven't grown or changed much.  However, I brought home some day old Australorps to add to the flock, and the difference between the week olds and newbies is remarkable.  The week old chicks are starting to feather, they are considerably larger and a lot more active.  The newbies spend more time under the light and sleep quite a bit more.  It is amazing how fast they grow! A week old Ameraucana next to a day old Australorp... these girls get big fast! A little bit about Australorps: they are the Australian take on the Orpington (get it...Austral + Orps), and they are HUGE!!!  These have long been one of my favorite heritage breeds, but I have never been able to get any where I live without ordering them direct.  A new farm store opened by us and they brought some Australorps in, and I immediately took twelve.  These lay brown eggs...