A Room With A View - Fall Slipping Into Winter

 

The other day, I was channel surfing on NetFlix and watched one of my favorite movies, A Room With A View.  I love "Period" movies - Mike makes fun of "Period" movies - emphasizing "Period". 

 

So, after watching the movie, it inspired me to take a few pictures of the views from the family room and also outside in the backyard. 

 

Christmas is less than a month away - our yard is transitioning from fall to winter - the leaves are beginning to turn yet our bouganvillea thinks it's still summer.   I think it's the best of both seasons . . . la dolce vita

 



November 18

Sunday, November 18, 2012

 

 

What an absolutely gorgeous day!   The sky is so clear and there's just a light breeze.  Enough that it kept us comfortable while walking.  We talked about visiting the Wetlands Park on the east side of Las Vegas in the spring, but decided to wait until cooler weather and schedules permitting.

 

The new visitor center just opened about 2 weeks ago and they are still unpacking boxes.  It is a gorgeous building.  We were told that a gift shop, coffee shop and theater will open soon. 

 

More pictures to be posted and more info to be shared . . . . just had to put these up  . .

 



Thankful

 

Thankful . . . . . .

 

 

for Mike, family, friends, cats, freedom, health,

 

What are you thankful for?



Cowboy Trail Farm - Harvest Open House and Potluck

Save the date for this event.  Cowboy Trail Farms will be having and open house, potluck and artisan fair on November 10th.  Tour the hoop houses, herb and vegetable growing beds and purchase fresh organic vegetables, shop for the holidays from local artisans and food  purveyors.

 

Bring a friend and enjoy the day.   go to www.organicedibles.org for more info.  Hope to see you there.

 

 

Sat, November 10, 9:30am – 3:00pm

Where

Cowboy Trail Farm - 6550 Cowboy Trail 215 frwy; exit Jones; North to Mello, Rt to Bradley, Rt to Ano to 6550 Cowboy Trl - Las Vegas, NV 89131map Saturday, November 10, 2012 9:30 AM to 3:00 Cowboy Trail Farm 6550 Cowboy Trail 215 frwy; exit Jones; North to Mello, Rt to Bradley, Rt to Ano to 6550 Cowboy Trl, Las Vegas, NV(edit map) Look for the Cowboy out front with address - Drive thru to the backyard gardens   Come join us for a full day of sharing food, fun, and entertainment at our Cowboy Trail Farm. This is a Meet and Greet affair where you can mingle with your fellow gardeners. We'll also have fellow crafters showing off their talents of jewelry, artwork, and much more. We'll have our Farm Stand open too! This is a FREE event and we would appreciate everyone bringing a dish to share and enjoy. Let us know what you would like to bring so we don't have too many duplicates. NOTE : If you would like to be a vendor and sell your wares, let us know. We are looking for at least 12 talented crafters and hobbyists

Squash & Carrot Fritters

Somehow, the summer slipped by and fall appeared.   The garden was very demanding and after spending hours in the hot sun, driving 100 miles every day, my blogging energy just disappeared. 

 

Well, the good and bad news is the garden is on the downturn and I have a little more time to play catch up on blogging, house cleaning, crafting, organizing,  .  . . the list goes on.

 

This weekend a dear friend  hosted a party for her newly married sister and her sister's new husband.  I made the squash and carrot patties or fritters to take.  I must admit, I liked they  much better than just plain squash fritters.  There are so many variations on the internet, this is my variation.  All the vegetable ingredients were from our farm with the exception of the round onion.

 Squash Carrot Zucchini Patties

 

3 medium zucchini, grated

2 large rainbow carrots, grated

1/2 round onion, diced

3 leeks, white parts only diced

3 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese - add some other cheese too if you like

1/2 cup flour

1/4 oat bran

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

 

Place grated zucchini in colander and lightly sprinkle with salt.  Let sit for about 15 minutes and squeeze moisture out.  Combine with remaining ingredients.  Heat griddle to 400 degrees, add olive oil.  Drop mixture by rounded teaspoons (appetizer size servings) on ti griddle.  Fry on one side for about 3 minutes or till brown, flip and finish cooking.

 

Serve warm with sour cream, applesauce or even hot sauce.

 

I eat these cold too.  Try your own variations - add herbs, curry, or even coat with panko and bake in oven. 

 

 

 



Faux Sun Dried Tomatoes aka Tomato Chips

                                     

                                          Faux Sun Dried Tomatoes aka Tomato Chips

 

I love tomatoes - especially fresh picked and perfectly ripe.  But sometimes you just don't have the time to pick them  - timing is everything.  We harvested several bunches and some were cracked, had some imperfections, a little soft and so on.  And you can only make so much salsa, sauce, etc.

 

So, I decided to use the dehydrator Mike got a a garage sale.  And voila!  yummy!  dehydrator "faux" sun dried tomatoes.  I squeezed out the seeds, flattened the skin and put them in the dehydrator for about 2 days.

 

They are thin skinned and crisp - like a potato chip with out the salt and a sweet tomato flavor.

 

We eat them plain, with goat cheese on crackers, on homemade pizza and in sauces. 

 

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

                                                               Chocolate Zucchini Bread

 

 

This recipe is from one of our customers at the Fresh 52 Farmers and Artisan Market at Tivoli Village on Saturdays.  She was so sweet to bring me a copy of it and it is delicious.

 

Here it is:

 

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup unsweented cocoa powder

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups unpeeled, grated zucchini - about 1 pound

Wise Advice - Share With Others

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile.

Pickled Daikon Radish

We grew these just to see what they would be like - and were surprised.  They took a long time to come up but then took off. 

There are so many recipes for pickled daikon.  This is just one variation.

1 cup rice vinegar

1 cup water

1 cup sugar or to your preference

1/4 teaspoon tumeric - for color

1 pound daikon radish, sliced thinly or julienned

1/4 cup kosher salt

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add vinegar, water, sugar and tumeric,  Bring to boil until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and cool.

Thinly slice daikon into rounds or if it is large, half-rounds or strips.  You can use food processor.  Place in colander and sprinkle salt and mix.  Put colander over bowl or sink and let sit for about 1 hour, Rinse off all salt and dry daikon.  Put daikon into clean sterilized jar or container and pour cooled liquid over daikon.  It's best to let it sit overnight to develop flavors if you can wait that long.

Variations - instead of tumeric, add pickled plums or ume to turn slices pink, or grated ginger for flavoring.  Great on a relish tray or in sandwiches. 

Detox Remedy

My friend Darlene (or fondly called Big D) sent me this.

Many of you who have been involved in holistic health may very well already know this recipe as it has been around since Dr. Henry Bieler developed it. He was the author of Food is Your Best Medicine and he was quite controversial in his day, but his ideas agree with the principles of Ancient Chinese Medicine where food was and still is the first and best medicine. I learned this recipe from Eileen Poole, an amazing nutritionist in LA and it has saved me on more than one occasion. It is a wonderful detoxifying concoction composed of 5 simple ingredients: zucchini, celery, green beans, parsley and water. The amounts can vary and it can be made thicker or thinner. It increases alkalinity in the body, restores optimal liver function and balances the adrenal glands. It's also full of potassium and cell salts and helps the pancreas excrete excess sugar. What's not to like about it? It can be used after overindulgence in food or alcohol or when you are feeling run down. I swear by it and so do many of my friends. I forget to make it as often as I need to have it.

Once you start drinking it on a regular basis, you will start to notice how much better your skin looks and how much more energy you have. I hope you make this part of your regular diet. Your body will thank you!

Bieler's Healing Broth

2 - 3 zucchini, ends removed and cut into chunks

3 - 4 stalks of celery, ends removed and cut into chunks

2 handfuls of parsley leaves

2 handfuls of green beans, ends removed and cut into smaller pieces

4 or more cups water

Put the water in a soup pot and add all the vegetables. Water should cover the vegetables (if you push them down by at least one inch). Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes or until all the vegetables are soft. Puree with a stick blender or if using a food processor or a blender, put in 1/2 of the vegetables with about a cup of liquid and puree until slightly chunky. Serve immediately and refrigerate the remainder. Reheat to serve.

Five Element Analysis

Both celery and green beans belong to the Wood Element so that element is represented. Zucchini belong to the Earth Element and parsley contributes the Metal Element. The fact that this is a soup brings in the Water Element so only the Fire Element is missing and having some tea some time in the day is enough to create balance.

Turkey, Tofu, Summer Squash Patties - So Many Squash, So Little Time

                                                  Turkey, Tofu, Zucchini Patties

Here's another summer squash recipe

1 1/4 lb. 93% lean ground turkey
2 medium summer squash grated- I used italian zucchinni
1 egg
1/2  cup oat bran
1 onion, diced
1 slice whole wheat bread, crumbled
1 tsp. salt & pepper or to taste
1 tbsp. hot sauce or pepper flakes
1/2 block silken tofu, drained

Mix all ingredients together and form into patties. Mixture a bit messy  Add 1 tbsp. oil to frying pan and fry patties till brown on both sides- approx. 15-20 minutes.

Great for sandwiches, with brown rice,

I'm sure everyone has a recipe like this.  You could use carrots instead of squash, add diced green peppers, mushrooms, etc.  Seasonings like basil, cumin, garlic are great too with this recipe.  It's sort of everything and the kitchen sink type of recipe.

Tofu and Zucchinni Thai Curry

                                                                Green Zucchinni

We went to Basil and Lime on Saturday night with some good friends.  There was a curry with zucchini and tofu on their menu so we ordered it.  It was delicious!   So today,
since we had a few left over squash from the Farmers Market, I decided to make a similar dish.   I got the basic recipe from Allrecipes.com and tweaked it.  Here's my version.

1 tbsp. canola oil
1 12 ounce package extra firm tofu, drained and cubed
1 tbsp. seasoned salt
1 small onion, sliced
2 zucchinni, cut in half lengthwise and sliced  1/2" thick(I removed some of skin with peeler)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 10 oz. can coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp. green curry paste
2 tbsp. fish sauce
2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, chopped fine
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat.  Add tofu cubes, sprinkle with seasoned salt and fry till golden on all sides, stirring occassionaly - approx. 15 minutes.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

Add zucchini, onions and minced garlic to same pan and saute until tender.  Add coconut milk, curry paste, lemongrass, cilantro and fish sauce.  Return tofu to pan. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Serve with white, brown, or jasmine rice.

Variations:  Add mushrooms, carrots, green peppers, water chestnuts, chicken, shrimp.
Adjust seasonings to your taste.  You can also add fresh basil.

Makes approx. 6 servings. 

Daikon Radish Pictures

I  spotted this daikon radish sticking out of the ground so I pulled it.  I was amazed at how large it was!  About 12 inches long and 4 inches round - and there are more like it!  

The seeds were all planted at the same time  - and the radishes are various sizes.  The humongous ones like these you can tell by their huge tops and how far out the protrude from the soil.

This will make great pickles, Korean kimchi, great for sandwiches and salads, sliced thinly.

Tondo Scuro Di Piacenza - Stuffed Squash

I thought these squashes would be perfect for stuffing.  First I cut them in half, scooped out some of the flesh and diced it.  In a pan, I had three Polish sausages  with casings removed, one yellow onion diced and a stalk of celery cubed to which I added the diced squash.  A drizzle of olive oil, and cooked everything together.  The sausage should be crumbly ?  (is that a real word?). 

Put the cooked filling into the hollowed out squash shells, put in a baking dish with a little water, broth or sauce, top with cheese and bake for about 30 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Yum.  This is just my variation of stuffed squash.  You could use ground meat - beef, turkey, chicken and seasonings, mushrooms, bread crumbs, rice . . . lots of variations.

Do you have one?  I'd love to post it on this blog.

Lemon Verbena Pound Cake - Total Eclipse of the Sun Picnic

Lemon Verbena Pound Cake

 aka Darlene's Birthday Cake

The pound cake recipe is from my father-in-law, Wilson Hackney who was an awesome cook.  We would request that he bake this for us every  Christmas.  And he always did, packed it carefully and sent it in the mail which we would promply consume with ice cream, fruit and just plain.  I actually think the flavors improve when its a few days old but somehow it never seemed to last that long.

In celebration of the total eclipse of the sun and our friend Darlene's b-day (and Mike wanting me to make this again - it's been years) I whipped this up.  The recipe is for a buttermilk pound cake and I lined the bundt cake pan with the lemon verbena leaves.

                                                                Wilson's Buttermilk Pound Cake

3 sticks soft butter                                                        1/4 tsp. baking soda

3 c. sugar                                                                      1 c. buttermilk

6 eggs - room temerature                                             1 tsp. vanilla or lemon extract

3 1/2 c. flour

Cream butter and sugar well, gradually add eggs one at a time.  Cream all until smooth.  Sift flour and soda together.  Add flour and buttermilk alternately,  ending with flour and flavoring.  Pour into greased  bundt pan, 10" tube pan or 2 loaf pans.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.  Check at 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Cool and remove from pans.

For lemon verbena leaves, after spraying pans with cooking spray, I added the leaves at the large segements of the bundt pan and then poured batter into pan.

As you can see by the pics, a little of the cake stuck to the pan - oh, but what a delicious excuse to clean the pan with my fingers!  Yum!

Here's some pics of our total eclipse picnic. 

Pos, our trip guru furnished our special eclipse sun glasses,  everyone brought food, drinks.  Mike A.

our "alway be prepared" friend, brought tables, chairs and even snake bite anti-venom just in case.

What an incredible day!

Off To A Good Start

                                              

                                         Fresh apricots, multi-grain Cheerios and 1% Milk
                                         can breakfast be any better than this?

Spring Slipping Into Summer

Spring is quickly slipping away and we are facing warmer days ahead.  I mowed the grass in the backyard today and noticed our apricots are almost ready to pick - actually some had already fallen from the tree and the birds are beginning to peck at the perfectly ripe ones.  We will be picking apricots this weekend and feasting on them, maybe put them on cereal or ice cream.

I took pics of the changing palette of the yard.  The irises are done, the roses need to be pruned of spent blooms.  The volunteer pomegranate tree is blooming so we will have some fruit in the late fall, the figs are beginning to flush out - another thing we have to compete the birds with, and my niembergia is blooming.  I love these purple flowers.  They are a little hard to find in the nurseries.  A beautiful trailing plant to cascade down a planter, this plant is about 4 years old.  It blooms profusely for a few weeks.  It dies back in the winter and needs to be cut back in the spring but what a nice reward. 

Girlfriends

They Teach This at Stanford

In an evening class at Stanford, the last lecture was on the mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman, whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality “girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being.

Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But their feelings? Rarely.

Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.

There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged—not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!

So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. Sooooo… let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it’s very good for our health.

Life isn't about surviving the storm; but how you dance in the rain.

Spring Returns to The Desert

                                             Antique French Rose

                                        
                                           Minature Roses

                                        
                                          Bearded Irises

                                        
                                         Perennial Geraniums

                                         
                                          Ivy Geranims


Can you guess I love flowers?   My backyard as it transforms itself.  Spring flowers . . . wait till summer and the palette changes . . . .

Government corruption: Authorities kill farm pigs in Michigan

The reality about where government stands and small farmers.

Government corruption: Authorities kill farm pigs in Michigan

Build a Greener Block - April 28th & 29th - Be There and Bring a Friend

Build a Greener (PopUP) Block Party - WE NEED VOLUNTEERS

Saturday, April 28, 2012, 10:00 AM

 

The Entire Block

1042 S Main Street Las Vegas, Nevada, 89101 , Las Vegas, NV (map)

36.159801 -115.153473

LOOK FOR OUR "FARM STAND"

Selected By: Marilyn

This is going to be an amazing Event!
For the weekend of the 28th & 29th, a Group of Community Volunteers, including Cowboy Trail Farm/Organic Edibles, are taking over a run down, depressed block on Main Street (right off of Charleston where the Attic used to be) and we're creating a pop up community full of art, music, food, wellness, and more. This EVENT is to bring the community together It's like nothing Vegas has ever seen.
Come and check it out. Here's a link to find out more -- http://vimeo.com/39251729
COWBOY TRAIL FARMS IS HAVING A VEGETABLE STAND TO SUPPORT THIS CAUSE AND WE NEED A FEW PEOPLE TO HELP "MAN" OUR STAND FOR AN HOUR OR TWO.
Hours of the Event : Saturday - 10am til 11pm Sunday - 10am til 4pm
*** IF YOU CAN HELP US AT OUR VEGETABLE STAND, PLEASE CONTACT MARILYN AT 604-3165 ASAP. WE NEED 3 OR 4 PEOPLE EACH DAY FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS
THANK YOU

Can You Hear Them?

Can you hear the happy bees?   They are busy buzzing on the flowers of our Majestic Beauty tree.  We have been listening to them  and enjoying their music for several weeks now . . the lavender, the roses, the euphorbia, lemon and lime blossoms have all been visited by these wonderful creatures.

Cowboy Trail Farm CSA

Join Marilyn Yamamoto and other organic gardeners every Saturday

at Cowboy Trails Farm for fresh veggies and to learn all about organic

gardening.  Cowboy Trails Farms is a beautiful facility with raised beds, hoop houses

and more.  Please contact her at organicedibles@gmail.com.  

www.organicedibles.org

Whole Kids Foundation 5K Run, 1K Walk - April 28, 2012

Bianca's At It Again

Come to my window . . . .

Bianca was in a trance . . . a pigeon on our neighbor's roof.  If you have a cat, you know they talk to birds.  It's like a cooing - trying to lure the birds closer.

Now that the weather is warmer, I'm sure we'll have more bird watching sessions.