Garden & Herbs
Studying caterpillars and butterflies is part of our summer science. A beautiful part of summer science. (You may have noticed monarch photos showing up in posts this month).
Each summer for the past few years the kids, predominantly Laurent, have collected and identified caterpillars. The kids keep the larvae in jars, determine their diet and feed them until they develop into a chrysalis or cocoon (chrysalis for butterfly, cocoon for moth). Alternately, the kids will keep a critter for a short time, research its natural habitat and observe its behavior then return it to our backyard.
We have had the most success with studying monarch caterpillars and keeping them till they emerge as beautiful butterflies. Two years ago Laurent wrote How to Keep Monarch Caterpillars and How to Feed Them. That same year I wrote Raising Monarchs with photos of the complete life cycle, minus the egg stage which is minute and could not be photographed with my camera.
Each summer we are inspired by these beautiful creatures and their marvelous transformation, not to mention epic migration.
If you'd like to read more about these amazing insects and butterflies/caterpillars in general we recommend the following books:
An Extraordinary Life: The Story of a Monarch Butterfly
The Journey: Stories Of Migration
Now if you'll indulge me a bit here's some photos from this month of monarchs flitting through our backyard, doing what appears to be a dance. Perhaps mating?
Some days there have been three at a time sucking nectar from the butterfly bush (Buddleia), a plant I highly recommend for it's intoxicating fragrance that attracts beautiful butterflies.
I've taken hundreds of photos trying to get a clear, crisp flight shot but I think these soft movements are beautiful and tell the story just as well.
This has been an incredibly difficult week for me. And to add insult to injury I can't talk too much about it here and that's hard. I like writing out my angst. You should see the scrawl in my journals these days.
I briefly considered not taking my camera to the farm yesterday. Truth be told, I didn't even want to go to the farm to pick up our veggies. I wanted to just lay in bed or maybe write. But the veggies were waiting, the kids needed time outdoors and the day was just so beautiful.
That fact alone was another source of grief for me. I heap guilt on myself for not appreciating beautiful summer days. So when I'm in a funk on a such a day and not appreciating the gorgeous weather, I beat myself up for it. I'm pathetic and I'd like to some day get over my guilt complex.
Anyway we went to the farm and spent time swinging (Brienne and Laurent), reading (Celine), picking flowers (Brienne and I) and just hanging out. It was good.
Time at the farm didn't solve my problems and because Brienne forgot her shoes (only children forget shoes) I was late getting home for starting supper which added minor complication to our day. But it did get me out of the house, removed me from my (mostly in my head) problems, guilt, and exhaustion for an hour or so.
And now I have these photos. Lovely photos. Photos that remind me of beauty not problems.
I love flowers and photography. And the farm.
(I hadn't intended or planned this post but it seems to be an unofficial Friday's Flowers post.)
This summer has been a fabulous growing season, unlike last year's disappointing months of rain. Simply fabulous.
I am loving summer. And I am loving our share at the farm. With a csa you share the risk but you also share the bounty, and what a bounty it is. August pick ups have included zucchini, kale, chard, beets, onions, garlic, tomatoes, basil, potatoes, carrots, cucumbers and green beans. Lots and lots of green beans.
On a recent Saturday I spent most of the day in the kitchen dealing with this bounty. But lucky for me it was a gorgeous day and as I cooked I was serenaded by crickets, watched butterflies and laundry dance in the backyard and smelled the nectar sweet fragrance of the butterfly bush wafting through the open windows. It was wonderful.
Beans, butterflies... where was I? Ah, cooking in the kitchen. The reality of a having a full farm share during a bounteous season is that you have to do some preserving.
Thing is, I don't really can. I don't see the point because of all the nutrition that is lost in the process.
Right now I don't have the mental energy or time to invest in fermented foods which proponents say is a more nutritious preservation method. Also, we are blessed with reliable electricity (please don't burst my bubble by telling me the carbon footprint of this little dependency) so the freezer and fridge are what I use for the small amount of preserving I do.
One thing I'm freezing this month are blanched green beans. I've even been making ice so I can quickly cool them after their dip in boiling water, hoping to preserve them well for fall eating. If I had time I might have made dilly beans but that was simply not a priority this year.
Also preserved are a whack of fridge pickles. Not the most nutritious (salt, sugar, vinegar) but easy and tasty. I have no other clever ideas for preserving cucs. I use my personal fridge pickle recipe but if I had been braver I might have tried a variation of this live fermented pickle recipe from Clean.
Couple questions for you:
- Can anyone recommend a tasty vegan one pot meal featuring green beans? I'd love to add more ideas to my limited green bean repetoire. Remember I'm a one pot wonder cook. I make one thing - that's supper. Unless it's a birthday or something special like that.
- Has anyone experimented with live fermented cucs, green beans or beets (the other veggie we get that is hard to put into a one pot meal)? I'd love some tried, true and easy recipes. I fear spoilage and wasting good vegetables.
An August Menu
I know this has been a lot of rambling to read. Kitchen work is kind of like that. To thank you for sticking with me here's my menu from the past week in which I used large quantities of zucchini, green beans and added cucumbers to every salad.
- Monday - spaghetti with Newman's own jar sauce, sauteed onions, garlic, summer squash and basil
- Tuesday - new native potatoes with green bean casserole, loosely based on this recipe (I skipped the topping and doubled the recipe to use 3 lbs of beans and was rewarded with lots of leftovers!)
- Wednesday - enchiladas with leftover potato and black bean filling. Enchilada sauce recipe found here.
- Thursday - kidney beans with sauteed zucchini, tomato and basil
- Friday - stirfry made with leftover green bean casserole, fresh farm kale and tofu
- Saturday - wraps with beans, zucchini, tomatos, salsa, guacamole
For lunches we ate farmer's market corn-on-the cob, tabouleh salad (with lots of cucs), leftovers, green salads with shredded beets and a bunch of other veggie additions.
I am pleased to report that my summer menu plan has been working beautifully. This has been an active season for our family and I just don't have much time to devote to menu planning. My regular rotation takes most of the mental energy out of the planning process.
early farm apples
What fresh garden/farm/market meals are you eating these days?
