Heidi's Visit

My sister Heidi and her son Atticus arrived in St. Louis last Thursday where Alice and I picked them up kinda late. Curse you, Google Maps! We largely filled the week with mundane tasks and regular life:

but threw in a few twists as we could :)

The best twist, I feel, was the perfect evening when Heidi and I took off to Prairie Fruits Farm for one of their "Dinners on the Farm." It couldn't have been a more perfect evening, nor could I have imagined a better dining companion (sorry, Bobby, but you kinda have to be into the whole "small farm" thing to REALLY appreciate this experience)! Here's the menu. We arrived at 5 for appetizers only to learn that appetizers started at 4. Oh well. We enjoyed a few appetizers, selected our dinner seats, and caught up with everyone taking a tour of the barn. No biggie. Heidi and I had toured this exact farm a few years ago and we knew our way around.

The newest baby goat, only 2 weeks old, was eager to be loved so we got to hold him a bit.

He had just pressed his hairy, milky lips into my neck when Heidi took this picture.

I was surprised by how much joy I felt overlooking the green pasture and alfalfa fields. There's just something about self-sufficiency and hard work and green land that brings me joy. Doing it without packaged fertilizers and pesticides makes it all the more satisfying. Satisfying enough to do it myself? I don't know that yet.

When it was time for dinner, we took our seats. Turns out we were sitting next to the ranchers who raised the cow we were about to eat. I thought this dinner would be filled with hippies and yuppies, but I was wrong. Pleasantly wrong. One of our hosts, the goat cheese entrepreneur herself, sat across from us and I knew then that this was going to be an unforgetable night. I could barely keep seated!

We pestered that poor woman about everything. We asked her about cheese-making, raising chickens, and how she found her way into this profession. We marveled how she happened into this perfectly situated parcel of land and networked her way into selling her goat cheeses all over Illinois. We discussed the sad state of fruit trees this year, the seasonal qualities of honey, harvesting alfalfa, and leasing land from neighbors. I hung on every word. This was fascinating to both of us, of course, because Heidi and I have secretly had this shared dream of owning farm land and turning it into something not unlike this woman and her husband have. I remember a few boring speakers at church that got me to doodling the ideal farm for Heidi and me. I wish I still had those drawings. Heidi balked at the pool on her house's roof, but I think the rest of the plan was satisfactory. She would handle portions of the garden and the animals (goats, chickens, maybe alpacas) and I would handle the rest of the garden and any orchards, vineyards, and brambles I could manage to squeeze onto the land. Later versions of the plan included beehives, wildflowers, and children running barefoot in green pastures. We haven't yet figured out how our spouses' own careers and dreams factor into this ;)

Back to the reality. The veggies were phenomenal. The beef, the goat cheese, the fresh herbs and veggies. I loved it all. The good news was, each course was timed and presented in just such a way that we didn't get overfull, just gleefully satisfied.

Between the main course and the cheese plate, Heidi and I scouted out the veggie garden. Rows and rows of REAL food were just ready to be picked and dug. There were weeds, a few rotting veggies, bugs, and everything else that happens in a REAL garden. Awesome! The herb garden was pristine, though we could see where they had plucked and cut back the herbs that went into our meal that night.


May I never forget that "salsa verde" they served: cilantro, basil, flat leaf parsley, olive oil, fresh garlic, salt, and a splash of red wine vinegar. Finely chop/puree the ingredients and serve at room temperature. They served it with the beef, but I'm willing to try it on ANYTHING.

After our sweet corn gelato and blackberry cobbler, we all applauded the chef and our hosts. Heidi, who is far more brave and impulsive than I am, actually asked our hostess to take a picture with us. Woo hoo!

We drove home at dusk and the fireflies were out full force all the way home. I was glowing all evening. What a treat!

CSA Share---July 22nd and July 29th

My sister was in town until recently, so I will blame her for my late CSA share posting :)

July 22nd
1 medium red cabbage
1 small eggplant
5 small summer squash
2 broccoli / cauliflower
1 large romaine lettuce
9 tomatoes (3 slicers, and 6 others)
1 full size cucumber,
3 mini sweet corn ears

I would have made moussaka, but Heidi declared baba ganoush would be a much better use for the eggplant. She was right! Think of a smokey hummus with the bright flavor of fresh parsley.

The summer squash, broccoli, and cauliflower were lightly sauteed with mushrooms and broccoli in butter, fresh basil, fresh parsley, and a hint of pesto. I was inspired to try this technique after sampling an amazing dinner 'on the farm.' More details to come.

The romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and cukes were chopped and thrown into a taco salad. Heidi and I agree that taco salad is best served with ranch dressing...handmade, if you've got it :)

The sweet corn ears were eaten raw. Very sweet. They said we would get larger corn later.

I'm saving the red cabbage for their recommended "freezer slaw" recipe...I'm curious enough to try it at least once.


July 29th
10 summer squash
2 brocccoli / cauliflower
1 freakishly huge bunch of green onions
1 large cucumber
2 skinny Asian eggplants
12 medium tomatoes
2 cubanella peppers
1.5 pounds of green beans

I'm sharing a few tomatoes and summer squash with a friend, then baking most of the rest in layers with swiss cheese (Heidi tells me it's a grand combination). These farmers pick their summer squash very small. I haven't received one yet that is longer than my hand. They are tender and don't have a strong squashy flavor, which means I'm happy to eat more for a longer period of time.

Cucumber and tomatoes were also used in our haystacks tonight. It's a dish I crave in the summer when you have all those fresh garden flavors and textures at once. There's just something about crunchy, tart, and fragrant veggies in the middle of a pile of saucy rice that hits the spot.

Not enough eggplant to roast (these are far too long and skinny to "scoop" anything out) for baba ganoush, not ready for more Indian curry just yet, so I think I'll take a stab at ratatouille. The CSA gave us a cookbook in the beginning of the season and their recipe for ratatouille appeals to me.

Green beans, broccoli, and cauliflower will probably be eaten lightly steamed and salted. I generally like those veggies served simply.

Bobby's Sunday Summary

This week was a good one. It was fairly usual. Wake up, go to work, come home... On Thursday Susan's Sister showed up with her son. Since she spent most of her time with Susan, I will not expound too much on it. Saturday night they went out to a dinner and I got to watch the kids. I was fine with it, because both of the kids are really rather mild. Susan was joking with me that if I put on a movie for Alice that I could do what ever I want. Boy was she wrong. Our nephew started out just fine. He ate and played with Alice and everything was going nicely. Then he started to explore the house a bit more, and slowly he came to the realization that his mommy just wasn't there. Once that happened there was nothing that I could do. Sadly he cried himself to sleep. Luckily Alice was so enthralled by the movie that it was only after it had ended and she remembered all of the crying that she cried sympathetically herself.

Weed Eater

Our dinky, cordless weed eater finally kicked the bucket beyond anything we could repair with wire or duct tape ("Murder is easy as long as no one thinks it's murder!"). So, Alice and I took a trip to the hardware store for a new model.

I wanted something electric, but not cordless, because I hate the hassle surrounding recharge times and dying batteries and such. Alice was very patient while I carefully selected the one that would fit our needs, then we went to play on the riding lawn mowers and "tractors." She sat in every one. She prefers the yellow seat of a John Deere, but REALLY loves the zero-turn version with handles instead of a steering wheel.

When we got home, I realized I had picked up the wrong box from the shelf. I thought a 5HP motor would be PLENTY, but I had purchased and brought home the 7HP motor instead. I decided that our yard will not be this small, nor this tame, for the rest of our lives, and the extra horsepower may come in handy down the line. I put it together in no time and took it for a test drive.

Whoa!! It was pulling me around! I played with the trimming feature and the adjustable arm a bit. Then I admired the self-extending carriage that would no longer require me to bump the machine on the ground every time I needed more line. I took it around to a few "problem spots" in the yard that I've quietly resented for some time: that monster of an herb bush in the front yard, those creeping ground covers that gush over all my sidewalk, and that weedy patch of spider homes behind the garbage can. Dreamy! They were all gone! Alice cowered in the car.

Then I took it to the overgrown grass and weeds surrounding my garden beds. In a matter of minutes, the weeds were pureed into a green pesto that smelled a little like bananas. Victory!

Of course, I made a number of mistakes as well...

I'll need new shoes, for one :(

Some parts of the lawn were whacked down to the dirt as I learned to control all 7 horses.

I sucked the extension cord into the rotating whacker a couple times. Oops.

Soooo, there's a bit of a learning curve. I'm pretty happy with the purchase overall, though I am most excited for the opportunity to hack down a few more of the "problem areas" around here. Sweet, sweet revenge. Mwah ha ha haaaaa!

Bobby's Sunday Summary

This week was a good one, but a busy one. We have been finishing up a project at work. We are very close to being done, but just about everyone else that I work with took Friday off so I had to work by myself that day and didn't quite have enough time to finish everything. Life at hame has been fairly good. This week end has been unseasonably cool. We were able to take a bike ride Saturday Morning to go to some garage sales close by. Alice got a new little bike this week and rode while we walked to the closest one. She rode in the trailer to the other one. Her bike doesn't have any peddles so it is more of a push toy, but she really likes to ride it. She loves to go over "Bumpity Bumps" with it.

CSA Share---July 15th and Produce Stand

Will and Alice both came along to pick up our CSA share this week. They were both so excited that they were fighting about whose CSA it really was..."Awice's CSA!" "No, it's not your CSA." "Awice's CSA!!" "Hey guys, it's called Prairieland CSA." *silence*

Great fun this week!

1 large bunch of beets with tops
1 large Napa cabbage
3 small summer squash
2 small broccoli
2 small cauliflower
1 medium head red romaine lettuce
1 medium eggplant
1 pickle-sized cucumber
1 large tomato

The cuke and the tomato were consumed within seconds of arriving home. Will and Alice would have eaten them at the CSA pick-up site if I hadn't been fast enough.

The beets will be pickled with spices as soon as I manage to get to the store for whole mustard seed, whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, and apple cider vinegar. I have ALL my garden beets and previous CSA beets waiting in the fridge for those items to arrive.

Napa cabbage went straight into that delicious Asian-themed coleslaw again that I took to a potluck birthday party. I was delighted to see it wasn't all eaten, then crushed when I dropped the bowl and spilled it all over the floor :( Is it too much to hope for ONE more Napa cabbage this growing season?

Squash and broccoli are on hold for now.

I might be able to enjoy a salad again this week...we'll see.

The cauliflower and eggplant went into a brilliant Indian-themed curry that I found through the America's Test Kitchen website and modified slightly to include the veggies I had on-hand. By far, it's the best way I've ever had eggplant. Alice ate half a can of chickpeas and a quarter cup of coconut milk while she was "helping" me prepare dinner.

Alice and I stopped at a produce stand this morning, too. It's the only one in town, as far as I can tell, and it's very close to where many of our friends live, so I pass it a couple times a week. We picked up 3# of fresh green beans, a little seedless watermelon, and 1.5# of ugly tomatoes. Another customer of the stand rolled her eyes at Alice's fatigue-induced fit regarding the "wrong" watermelon going into our car. I still can't decide which bothered me more: Alice's tantrum or the woman's reaction :)

Biking Adventure

Ashley and I threw the kids in the bike trailer and took a ride to the Urbana Free Library for their "Babies Lap Time" program Tuesday morning. Both kids were ready for a nap in the end. Many thanks to Ashley for snapping the photos and posting them to her blog so I could yank them and post them here.

Alice's hand is still in her snack cup, dear girl. By the way, she did manage to stay asleep as I unbuckled her and took her to bed.

"See? I warm!"

Alice prefers to be naked. We've discussed the benefits of clothing with her several times, and sometimes that is enough to convince her to dress...

"No shirt."
"Your shirt helps keep you warm, and safe from the sun."
"Okay, shirt."

"No shoes."
"Shoes protect your feet so you don't step on pokeys."
"Okay, shoes."

The other day, I'm helping her change out of her pajamas into play clothes. She's happy to strip down but becomes resistant when it's time to dress. Before I can say a word, she bounces over to her teddy bear:

"Baby! Look I warm! I warm?" and she clutches him to her bare chest. Then she lowers her voice into a grumbly squeak and has her bear reply, "Oh. You warm. Yaaaaaaaay!"

Then she turns to me, beaming, and holds outs her teddy, "See? I warm! No shirt, Mommy!"

Midway through summer, with sweltering heat in the forecast that day, I find teddy's testimony convincing and I allow her to play topless in her room for a while. Secretly, though, I am devising ways to teach and demonstrate 'modesty' in terms that a 2-year-old can grasp.

Bobby's Sunday Summary

This week was really just had two big things with it. The first was work. Some big wigs were in town from CA this last week. It really wasn’t anything too critical, but there were a lot of meetings, which made it difficult to finish up all of the work that we needed to get done.

Yesterday we went to the temple. It was a rather fun adventure. We let our friends that went with us borrow one of our cars, because they don’t feel that their car is reliable enough to make the trip to St. Louis, and we didn’t want to force them to rent a car. The trip down was rather exciting. We gave them the big car because they have 2 kids and we took the little one. We went down straight through a medium sized storm. I did not realize until today how big the side profile is on our little car. There were several times that a gust grabbed the car and it felt like we might fly off the road. We never got close to doing so, but all the same I never remembered feeling it so bad. Once we got to St Louis it had mostly cleared up. On the ride back we stopped for dinner in Effingham, and switched up cars a bit.

Our friends have just graduated and are moving away. So Susan decided that she wanted to spend the rest of the trip with her friend. So I got to have a great conversation about abstract algebra, and the Rubik’s Cube.

CSA Share---July 8th

Woo hoo! I am so pleased with this CSA that I may never leave it :) If all the exclamation points below don't make it obvious, you should know I skipped with joy bringing the following home:

1 head of green cabbage the size of a croquet ball (perfect size!)
1 medium bunch of curly leaf kale (one of my favorite veggies!)
1 small bunch of green onions
3 yellow squash, about the length of my hand but skinny
5 small heads of broccoli (Woo hoo!!!)
1 small head of cauliflower
1 small head green leaf lettuce (ugh, ready for the lettuce to stop)
2 pickle-sized cucumbers
2 Alice hands full of rocks

We get rocks every week, actually. Alice collects them from the gravel driveway at the pick-up location. I suspect those rocks are the only reason Alice chooses to come with me.

The cabbage will keep for several weeks in the fridge. I'm hoping for a cold snap soon that will warrant soup, or I might go a little wild and stuff some cabbage leaves. There's always slaw, of course.

Kale, kale, kale. How I love thee! Flavorful, but not overpowering. Remains firm when cooked, but not tough. Kale is the best cooked leafy green I know! It's another one of those great soup veggies, but we're not exactly in soupy weather. I like it sauteed with garlic and a little oil, then eaten with fingers. Some veggies just taste better when you skip the fork. Really.

We have enough broccoli this week to freeze some of it. Nothing compares to the freshly-steamed flavor, but it's nice to have a pound or two in the freezer for those last-minute veggie additions to meals.

Cauliflower will go into a curry. Oh yes.

Cukes, lettuce, squash, and green onions are ideal for leafy green salads. Now if I could only bear eating one more leafy green salad!

Blog issues

Our blog provider, powweb, is being difficult. Apparently "unlimited storage" actually means "less than 500MB."

Ha ha haaaaaa!

We're in the market for a new offsite digital storage provider that also provides website/blog service...I'm sure there's an official name for that sort of thing. Any suggestions?

A note from Alice's Nursery (i.e. Kids' Church) teacher:

Hello Susan,

I've been meaning to share this with you but Sundays are so hectic that I haven't had a chance. Almost every Sunday when we get the toys out, Alice finds a baby, (doll or stuffed animal) and she often carries it through out the toy time. She is a very good mommy and always makes sure her baby has a snack. Sometimes it's a block, or a small pail or bucket but when I ask her about her baby she tells me that the other toy in hand is the baby's snack.

I thought you should know that she is very thoughtful and considerate and ALWAYS is prepared with the essentials that every mommy needs to carry!

Sharon

Bobby's Sunday Summary (via Susan)

Bobby is not feeling well this evening so I thought I would do his Sunday Summary for him. For tradition's sake I should start with,"Not much happened out of the ordinary this week..." but the rest is pure Susan.

Bobby's parents have been in town since Thursday and will be leaving early tomorrow. They came for Kayla's baby blessing* and it's been a great visit! Thursday night, we all got together with Bill and Kristin and Will and Kayla for some of Bobby's BBQ pork sandwiches. Alice loves Grandma and Grandpa. When they drove up, she ran out front to meet them and then ran into Grandma's arms for a big hug. Her welcome for Grandpa was a little less enthusiastic at first, but she warmed up pretty quickly. She showed off for them all evening demonstrating some new dance moves, telling stories, and sharing toys. Grandpa took Will and Alice out back to play for a long time. I love to see Alice love her family. (P.S. My Asian-themed coleslaw was a hit and I look forward to more Napa cabbage.)

Friday was July 3rd and Bobby had it off of work. Grandma, Grandpa, Bobby, Alice, and I drove out to Pontious Farm to pick blueberries. I was expecting mud and mosquitoes but it was a PERFECT morning for berry picking. Alice REALLY liked the idea of picking berries, but lacked the hunting skills necessary for consistent success. She asked to go potty and shrieked when I lifted the lid on the port-a-potty. She wouldn't sit on it, even when informed that this was the ONLY potty on the whole property. She decided to hold it. Her bladder finally won out in the end while playing with Bobby on the playground. Thank goodness for spare clothes in the car trunk, even if they don't match her flowery hot pink shirt. Speaking of which, Farmer Pontious was taking pictures while we were there and snapped the following one for their website. Alice's hair wasn't done yet and it was still frizzy-crimped from her ponytails the previous day. I hadn't showered or bothered to put in my contacts or anything. Call me vain, but I was a bit embarrassed of the photo-op and chose not to look at the camera. Alice was obviously having a great time in her uninhibited 2-year-old way:

Then we visited Busey Woods and their fantastic boardwalk in the woods.

Later that afternoon, we visited the library to stock up on new reading material, then had a fantastic dinner at Bill and Kristin's house. Saturday went a little slower. Bobby made pies in the morning (strawberry-rhubarb crisp, blueberry pie, and a crust for chocolate cream pie) and Grandma and Grandpa helped us can blueberries in the evening. Alice asked Grandma to read her several stories, then both Grandma and Grandpa were integrated into the bedtime routine.

Sunday morning was pretty typical. I really enjoy that casual time with Alice when I'm not bugged by all the work I could/should be doing instead. It's liberating, in a way, to restrict oneself from routine work once a week. Alice and I played "Wiggles and Giggles" several times this morning. She directed me into the living room where we put on music and ran/danced around while performing magnificent feats like kicks, stop-and-go, arms flapping, feet marching, singing, swinging baby animals around, etc. I literally laughed out loud at her imaginative antics. That motherly awe and joy takes me by surprise every once in a while and I can't help but scoop her up and kiss that little face again and again.

She pulled a funny "mom" move on me this morning, too. I was putting some socks away (okay, okay, it's hard to give up ALL my work on Sundays when it's sitting right in front of me!) in the bedroom when she pops her head in from the hall. She has a grocery sack of crayons on her shoulder, a paper crown on her head, and a shopping cart full of random little toys. She says, "I'm going to Wiggles and Giggles. Want to come with me?" How could I resist such a fine invitation?! I said 'yes' and she quickly replied, "Okay, laundry stays here." That babe knows how her mommy works her :)

Kayla's baby blessing was beautiful. I was grateful to be a part of it. Afterwards, everyone came to our house for dinner. I wondered again at why I have grown so attached to Kayla. I hypothesized that maybe she reminds me of baby Alice...comparing their 4-month-old pictures shows me it's not much of a physical likeness:

It must simply be Kayla's excellent social skills that make her so instantly lovable! She's a smiley girl with lots to say, quite comfortable in private conversations and larger groups alike. I'm glad she's here.

Well, that's my summary of the weekend. Probably more here than you might get from Bobby, especially in the areas of Alice and food. If you've made it this far in the entry, you must be my mom. Here's hoping Bobby isn't sick again next week ;)

*An infant is given a "name and a blessing" in church. It's not a required ordinance, but most families choose do it.

CSA Share---June 24th and July 1st

I have been remiss in my CSA reporting. I'll admit I've been a little overwhelmed with their offerings. It's embarrassing not to know what to do with these things I've had romantic dreams of growing some day...like turnips.

June 24th

1 large bunch of HUGE green onions (wow!)
1 large bunch of turnips with greens
1 medium bunch of beets with greens
1 medium kohlrabi
1 large bunch radishes
1 small head green leaf lettuce
1 small bag of HUGE snow peas
3 small bunches of broccoli...like 3 serving sizes
1 pickle-sized cucumber (Alice's choice, again)

The green onions are currently wilting in my fridge until I get around to freezing them. Turnips are waiting, too, for some cruciferous miracle that changes their odd taste into something palatable. The beets were shredded raw with last weeks beets into a delicious beet salad that Alice fought me for. Funny thing about beets...they put a red tint into your urine and excrement. Alice thought she was bleeding the next day. The beet greens were just composted because they are MUCH more acidic than spinach and I don't like how that messes with my teeth. Kohlrabi was sliced thin and eaten with salad from the PREVIOUS week's lettuce haul. Not bad. Radishes were left in the box at the pick-up site. The green leaf lettuce is half frozen in my fridge right now. The snow peas were eaten fresh straight from the bag. The broccoli remained untouched in the fridge until we could gather more.

Alice used to like frozen peas. Now, the only peas she eats are the fresh garden ones you peel from their shell. The joy of homegrown produce is a blessing AND a curse. I think I'll try to squeeze another crop of peas out of my garden before winter hits :)


July 1st (Happy Birthday Erin!)

1 beautiful head of Napa cabbage
1 huge bunch of green onions
1 small sack of snow peas
3 little bunches of broccoli
3 teeny yellow squash (Alice picked these over the baby cukes with a squeal of delight...let's hope she eats them as gleefully)
1 kohlrabi
1 turnip (no greens)
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 sprig of basil (heavenly scent!)

Napa cabbage! That thin and crisp-leaved veggie used in Chinese food. It's beautiful AND delicious raw or cooked. I'm fancying a little slaw. We left the kohlrabi and turnip in the box this week. I just don't feel like experimenting with them right now.

Fresh basil makes me think of Italian food and Thai food. If my week isn't too crazy, I think I'll go the Thai route.