Backyard Farmgals

We had a great Halloween, and hope the same for all of you out there.  We hope you found that Halloween spirit and ran with it, because we ran a Marathon with our Halloween spirit this week.  I love Halloween, and I have since I was a kid.  My mom always made it so much fun.  We had pizza parties at the Rancher's house next door and carved out our creations on pumpkins all night long, we won face painting contests, costume contests, pumpkin contests, you name it, we won it.  We had the most creative costumes... one year I was a mailbox with a mail door that opened to my face.  It was always the best holiday.  Now as a mom, I am trying to bring that same love to my children, and I hope that it rubs off!   This year, we did a lot of carving just as a family... no huge party (which was relaxing and easy...).  It was refreshing to spend time just the four of us carving away, just like how we used to before we had kids.  However, this year the kids did their own pumpkins and

Seriously... This is our FAVORITE holiday of the year.  We get a little nuts!!!  We had a mini carving party for the neighborhood kids on Saturday, decorated a pumpkin for a school contest, and got dressed up for the first time this weekend.  I had to give y'all a little sneak peek! I still have a 200 pound pumpkin to carve, and a few glitches to iron out on halloween costumes, and I am not revealing my costume until Halloween...  I'll give you a hint: yee-haw meets tiara!!! Just a few pictures... Enjoy!!! My minions... "Dave" and "Steve" "Steve"  looking really  green... Is that the evil eye I see???  Farmgal Julie looking her best... she makes a fabulous witch! "Dave" carving a chicken in a pumpkin...  Chicken in a pumpkin... What can I say? The "Back" in Backyard Farmgals gets into the fun! Helen, our blind chicken, even got into the party... Will's pumpkin for the school contes

I had to do this for a fun little assignment for school and thought I would share with y'all.  This is super easy, really fun, and a great science experiment for kids to watch.  Plus, if you have some plants that you would like to propagate or save for next spring, this is an easy and cheap way to get them! Taking cuttings is fairly simple, but you will need a few things: A good sharp knife Transplanting pots (plastic cells with seed starting mix work well) Rooting hormone (available at good nurseries/garden stores) Plant labels (popsicle sticks and tongue depressors work well) Waterproof pen for labeling Pencil or screwdriver to make holes in the potting medium Drinking straws Clear plastic wrap or large clear plastic bags Rooting medium               - low in nutrients, well draining, water-retaining               - soilless is best               - commercial propagation mixes are available               - You can try a mix of 2 parts quartz sand and 1 part

I had beets on my mind today, and pickled seemed to be the preparation of choice.  I have a few jars of sweet pickled beets that I put up and tucked away earlier in the season.  I also whipped up a quick batch of raw pickled beets to keep in the refrigerator to tuck into sandwiches or make a quick snack of.  Think refrigerator pickles but red and extra crunchy.  YUM! With beets on the brain, I set out to make something fast, easy, and delicious for a quick weeknight meal.  What evolved was this creamy egg with a little quinoa and a fresh beet and tomato "relish".  Drizzled with a bit of really good olive oil and Slide Ridge Honey Wine Vinegar, and sprinkled with sea salt, this hit the spot... I topped the whole thing with a little bacon from Clifford Family Farm.  Heaven, in pig form!!!  Sometimes a girl needs a little protein, and sometimes a girl needs just a little crumble of pig on her dinner... My little farmhands ate a deconstructed version for

Autumn is finally fully here, and its cold rainy days put me in the mood for soup.  I transform into a soup making nut through the cold winter months, I think it is because I can never seem to get warm.  Bundled with layers of socks and sweaters, with my warmest blanket, I wrap my hands around a warm bowl of soup and sink into comfort. We harvested pounds and pounds of potatoes this fall (I got a little excited when I planted last spring), so I thought I would start with a vegan potato and leek soup.  I picked up some gorgeous heavy leeks this morning at the market and a bag of some of the most beautiful yellow onions I have laid eyes on.  With some garlic from the farm and a few of the Yukon Gold potatoes that I dug, I made a glorious thick soup, just right for warming up on a chilly autumn night. There are a lot of alliums in this soup: leek, onion, garlic.  There is evidence that alliums are capable of keeping us healthy.  They ward of viruses and significantly reduce t