Tag Archives: weather

And So It is Fall

Posted on November 7, 2013 by AnnieRie

Fall CSA season, that is. The seven week fall extension of our Sandy Spring CSA began today. And not a squash or a potato in sight.

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This is what we got.

White Kohlrabi
Leeks
Napa Cabbage
Bok Choy
White Cauliflower
White Radishes
Purple Top Turnips
Frisee (I swapped for Jerusalem artichokes)
Lacinato Kale
Broccoli Raab
Arugula

The kohlrabi is the largest I have ever seen.

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As for the add ons, I chose this fall to get free range heritage chickens, two every other week, for a total of eight over the season.

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One will get roasted this weekend. The other will be put in the freezer for later this winter.

We also decided to try the bread from “A Loaf of Bread“. An organic bakery in Lancaster. They have a large number of specialties. Today we got a sourdough boule. Just the right size for us.

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There are other add ons. Eggs, cheese. We passed on those. I like my eggs to come from Breezy Willow, and to buy local cheese when I go there or to England Acres.

As for some intended uses of my goodies this week, I have to dig out the recipe for the turnip, Jerusalem artichoke and apple soup I made a few years back. Found the blog entry.

Fall is soup season, and chili season, and stew season. The veggies we get work perfectly to create satisfying warm meals. Glad we got the thirty CSA members, to keep our site going until Christmas week.

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One Hot Commodity

Posted on November 6, 2013 by AnnieRie

Dry leaves and pine needles. “Who’da thunk it?”

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We certainly have enough of both of them.

When I wrote my leaf raking post a few weeks back, I didn’t expect to find out my pine needles and dry leaves were such sought after items.

Two friends asked to be included in the distribution. One, we could easily handle. The other, we may be able to work into the rotation.

Currently, we put some yard waste on our own pile of composting material, but we haven’t gotten serious about it. We have two Rake and Take partners. One permanent, the other a fill in when our first partner isn’t around.

A good friend wants dry leaves for their chicken coop enclosure. The chickens love to scratch and peck at what they can find in that treasure trove of leaves. They also have blueberry bushes. One of the types of plants that loves pine needles as mulch.

We use some of our pine needles for our azaleas and rhododendron. The Master Gardeners that take our pine needles use them for the same acid loving plants. Azaleas, berry bushes, do well with that covering of needles.

Another friend just started composting, and doesn’t have adequate “brown” material, so is also interested in leaves. We hope to have enough around later to help them out.

What does all this mean? It means with just a little effort, you too can provide material to help a friend or neighbor.

Rake and Take is here.

Don’t put your yard waste in a trash bag and let it go to “waste”. Lots of people out there would be happy to take it from you.

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Leaf Peeping Weekend

Posted on November 4, 2013 by AnnieRie

This has been the best week when it comes to the fall colors around here. We headed out with friends for a leaf peeping trip through the back roads of VA.

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I think most of the DC area also had the same idea. On our way through Front Royal the traffic was crazy. Skyline Drive was absolutely lovely above us as we sat outside at Glen Manor Vineyards.

we also took them to Linden to have some cheese, sausage and baguette while sipping some 2009 Avenius red.

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The colors of the vines in the vineyard brought back memories of our trip years ago to Sonoma and Napa in November. Those same deep red vines.

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All in all, we had one relaxing sunny afternoon. The clouds seemed to come and go, revealing shadows, highlights and patterns across the Shenandoah mountains.

Around here, we still have lots of leaves to come down. We can see some similar sights just up the road. We really need to head out for a lunch or maybe a picnic at Black Ankle. After all, it is just up the road west of us.

Or, we can hang out on the porch. Maryland is certainly showing our colors of fall.

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Want to enjoy the colors on a leisurely hike. Come join us at the Conservancy Saturday morning to hike to the Patapsco River. More on that tomorrow.

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Personal Pan Pizza

Posted on October 30, 2013 by AnnieRie

My Way.

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On one of those days that the foodie and the locavore collide. It all started with sending my husband to the store to get oranges and grapeseed oil. Oranges to use with the CSA fennel for a salad. A neutral oil so I can bake butternut squash to make hummus. He comes home with figs, which he decided would be perfect in a pizza.

The first fig, prosciutto, arugula and goat cheese pizza we ever had was in Napa Valley about five years ago. We have been attempting to duplicate it since then.

This time I went with grilling them.

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Served with a local wine, using local goat cheese, arugula, scallions and garlic, I got a decent crispy thin pizza.

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Early Mountain 2011 Petit Manseng, a very crisp version of a lesser grown grape. Early Mountain is north of Charlottesville VA. A fairly new winery that we visited on our weekend trip. We picked up a mix of their current wines. A young winery, under this ownership, we expect to see real growth in their offerings as their vines mature.

This dinner was really simple to put together. Spread some garlic and oil on crust from COSTCO. Add a few figs, some goat cheese, some prosciutto, some scallions. Drizzle some lemon infused olive oil over it. Put it on a screaming hot grill for a few minutes (500 degrees). Turn off the end burners (or use indirect placement over charcoal). Let it crisp up, and let the cheese melt. Some pepper ground over it. Arugula put on after removal from the grill.

Excellent meal on a very pleasant evening. We took it outside on the patio to enjoy the view. Leaves are getting close to peak around here.

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Great al fresco dinner.

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The Week Ahead

Posted on October 27, 2013 by AnnieRie

Another busy week ahead. Not so much out of the area (or out of the house for that matter) but just enough to keep busy.

If you are looking for something meaningful and fun to do next weekend, consider coming out to the Conservancy for Come Get Dirty! Day
Here are some facts about it. 9 am until 1 pm on November 2nd.

— Conservancy patch for all scouts that participate
— Native plant seed giveaways
— Helps meet requirements of Soil and Water Conservation badge and Flowers and Gardens scout badges
— Come for some or all of the day
— Bring a picnic lunch and stay for the day

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I still have to complete my photographing and manipulating photos to create my husband’s QSL card. We are looking for really great fall foliage shots from the local area. Here is a sample card similar to what he wants me to design.

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I want to use the Dayton post office in his card. We have a few shots, but are looking for better light.

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I want to also get the trees in full color. We are close this week to having those conditions.

I also was considering running up to England Acres later this week to get a chicken for the crockpot. Their latest batch of fresh chickens will be ready after the 28th. They are usually open Friday through Sunday.

Add to that Halloween (we never get trick or treaters if I buy candy). I bought one bag, which guarantees no one will drive up our long dark driveway.

Plus, the last of the ripening yellow tomatoes need to be roasted and processed.

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I have ten of them sitting on the windowsill. The beets are done. The apples are done. I do have a boatload of broccoli, so I was considering breaking out the food saver and freezing some.

Who knows what our last week of the CSA will bring, on Thursday? I do hope we get a good sized cooking pumpkin as I want to make hummus.

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Sweatshirt Weather

Posted on October 26, 2013 by AnnieRie

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That’s what my husband calls it. The first frost of the season. Although it will warm up again, and today was lovely. It was cold overnight.

Today we headed out on errands, and a picture taking mission. I needed to get rid of some old pain meds at the county take back prescription drug program, at the site of our Saturday market. Unfortunately, TLV was out of eggs, but I knew if I was lucky I could get them at England Acres.

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My husband wanted farm scenery pictures to use for his postcard design that highlights living in farm country in Maryland. The “QSL” card is what is exchanged by radio amateurs to confirm contacts. He wants one that highlights farmland, so we have been taking pictures, like these.

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The fields that are part of the farm west of Mt. Airy. The farm where I love to get meat, dairy, eggs, and love to see the new animals.

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Like their guinea hens who were checking out their reflections in the hub caps of our truck. Interesting animals.

We came home to see our newly resident black squirrel checking out the bird bath. The heating element is in. Getting ready for winter.

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Finally, in the end of a busy day, I did manage to make a frittata using techniques learned from Marcella Hazan, to participate in a web based tribute, where bloggers and others cooked Marcella’s recipes and either tweeted or blogged about it.

Hashtag — #dinnerwithmarcella

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Spaghetti frittata with parm and pepper.

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Confessions of a Leaf Raker

Posted on October 23, 2013 by AnnieRie

In response to HoCoConnect’s post this morning.

I admit. We are leaf rakers. Of course, some of it becomes compost. Some of it is given away to our Rake and Take partners, and some of it (occasionally) goes to the landfill in the pickup truck.

It is easy to say “let it stay on the lawn”. Until it gets to be 4-6 inches deep and it is killing the green stuff that grows in our yard. I hesitate to call it grass, since we have all sorts of unconventional green things growing out there. Like clover, chickweed, buttercups, dandelions, crabgrass, moss, purslane, parsley. Whatever. Oh, and corn, from what the squirrels bury.

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We do have resourceful squirrels out here. Smart, too.

Our grass isn’t fertilized, treated, cultivated, manicured. The deer love it.

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We do have to deal with it taking off in strange directions, and unless we want mud out there, we have to pick up the leaves. When you have 150+ trees on the property, some of them 50 feet high, and many of them 40+ feet high, you can drown in leaves. They smother the green stuff and make it die.

We do a mulching leaf vacuuming every week. It results in 15-20 bags each time. Our Rake and Take partners take some for their compost piles. We put some out by our shed in our compost pile.

If we didn’t have a Rake and Take partner, we would head off to Alpha Ridge and put it in the yard waste piles that will become compost to sell by the county.

Until we came here, from a town house in Columbia, we had no idea how much work a large property can be. It does keep us in shape, all that raking, leaf blowing, vacuuming, mowing, mulching, snow blowing, tree cutting, pruning, gardening, weeding.

Actually, we like what we have out here. Particularly with sunsets like this.

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Enough Already!

Posted on October 11, 2013 by AnnieRie

OK, we needed rain but not this deluge. We have a lake in the back yard and I can’t get into one of the cars in the driveway without wading through puddles 4-5 inches deep.

I can’t get to the garden to check on the heirloom pumpkin squash and I am crossing my fingers that it will survive being drenched and laying in standing water.

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If the reports are correct, we should have erased the rain deficit for the year. They say six inches have fallen at the airport.

Last week I took the last tomatoes off the vines. They have been slowly ripening in a paper bag, and on the windowsill once they start to turn from green.

Most lunches have included one or two of the small pineapple heirloom tomatoes. This year they were much later ripening, and are pretty much all that is left.

Fall is definitely here. I have been doing crockpot cooking almost everyday. Chili yesterday. Lamb stew today, and there will be chicken soup Sunday.

So, rain, rain go away. You made your point and the trees should be in better shape.

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Release Party at RdV

Posted on October 5, 2013 by AnnieRie

What a picture perfect day!

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RdV Vineyards held their 2010 release party for their “ambassadors” today. A little different than a case club. You can become an ambassador by subscribing to buying at least a 3-pack of their vintage red blends, yearly.

According to their staff, there are at least 700 ambassadors. 300 or more of them came down today to pick up the new release, and to savor tasty tapas prepared by Jaleo.

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Figs and Serrano. Wedges of Manchego. A classic tortilla. Marcona almonds. Bowls of olives. All complimenting a big beautiful 2010 vintage. They were pouring Rendezvous. If you wanted Lost Mountain, you could buy a bottle, but no tastes of that today.

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These wines are luscious. There are no other words for them. You can not believe they come from Virginia. Seriously. Big, bold, beautiful, and this isn’t even their flagship blend. Worth every penny to buy a few.

They only made 500 cases of Lost Mountain and 1000 of Rendezvous. The roughly 700 ambassadors will make a large dent in that. The rest will make its way mostly into restaurants around DC.

Add to that, what they use in their winery events, and it will mean again that they sell out of most of their wines.

Today was even more interesting as they were sorting grapes below us, while we were up in the lobby having our party.

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Rutger was working most of the day. He did pop in, but you could see him out with his picking team as they were bringing in grapes, taking advantage of this lovely weather.

If you love big, classic Bordeaux styled wines, these are exquisite.

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Debating whose birthday will be the occasion to pop open this bottle.

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Nothing like ripe red grapes, heavy on the vines, to make our Saturday special. If you love good wine, take the time to make an appointment and visit. Only 2 hours by the back roads, and about an hour and a half using I-66. You would think you went to France.

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A Mess of Mustard Greens

Posted on October 2, 2013 by AnnieRie

I wanted something fairly easy for dinner tonight. Like store bought chicken. Picked up after my morning stint with an elementary field trip out at the Conservancy.

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I was on “Owl Observation” duty.

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Describing habitats and running back and forth from meadow to forest. It was a fun exhausting 4 hours, from arrival and set up to clean up. Still a great deal of fun. But I didn’t want to do much cooking when I came home at 2 pm and collapsed with a huge glass of iced water. It is still warm out there, even if it is October.

CSA veggies to the rescue. I had leftover spaghetti squash, chicken from Harris Teeter, and it was simple to cook up a mess of mustard greens. Like ten minutes simple.

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The layering of the flavors first. Start with any sort of fat. Butter, chicken fat, olive oil, whatever makes you happy, and that is hanging around. Add onions and/or scallions. I had both in the fridge. Add some “porky” flavor. For me, that last 3-4 ounces of Italian sausage from Breezy Willow. The other day, I roasted all the sweet and hot peppers from the CSA. They are in the fridge too. Three of them went in the pan. Three cloves of my roasted garlic (always in the fridge too). Let it all get soft and simmering. Add some grated ginger, some cayenne flakes, some salt. Maybe if you have it, some sesame oil. A bit more liquid, like a few tablespoons of olive oil, then pour in a mess of greens.

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I forgot to do the after picture, once all the greens cooked down, but it surely tasted great. I never used to eat mustard greens when I was younger. Now, I am loving them.

Easy dinner, earlier than normal, but I will be propping up my sore feet and having a glass of wine while watching TV.

Here’s to many more easy meals, after sunny days running around outdoors.

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