Author Archives: stacy

I’m One of Seattle’s “Top 25″ Urban Farms!

CoopTourHomePage2013I am beyond excited to announce that I have been selected to be a stop on Seattle Tilth’s Chicken Coop tour! It will be my third year as a stop, but this time was extra special. This year, Seattle Tilth got together a panel of judges to select tour participants. The panel included many urban farm and gardening experts who I respect very much! They were tasked with the difficult job of narrowing it down to just 25 stops on the tour and I made the list!

chickensIf you’ve never gone on the tour before, I highly recommend it! I went on the tour as a visitor four years ago and it’s because of that experience that I got the nerve to finally get started with chickens. Seeing it in action was priceless! I can hardly wait to open up my little urban farm for the tour this summer! I hope you’ll stop by and see me!

Click here to buy tickets!

Check out these posts from coop tours past:

 

Cardamom-spiced Pickled Rhubarb: Spice Up Your Salads

Ask me what I’ve been eating for lunch (and dinner) for the past month and you’ll get this response: Salad. And the day before? Salad. How about the day before that? Salad.

When you grow this:carpet_of_lettuce

You get this:salad_lunch

It’s all salad, all the time. And I’m not complaining. I’ve been looking forward to this time all year. But as to be expected when you’re eating basically the same thing everyday, it can get a little old. I’ve been super creative, mixing up different vinaigrettes and tossing in all kinds of different legumes, nuts and seeds for protein. But nothing made me smile like the first bite of salad I ate with pickled rhubarb sprinkled in. I ’bout lost my mind.

I’m not exaggerating when I say I found myself accidentally tuning out the conversation around me for a few moments when I started eating yesterday’s rhubarb-spiked salad at work. I almost lifted my eyes from my big bowl of greens and swooned, “this pickled rhubarb is so good. It’s just so, so good!” I thought better of it and kept the rhubarb raving to myself…until now.

040912-201101-finished-rhubarb-pickles-610-1I pretty much followed Marisa McClellan’s recipe, but swapped out the star anise for one cardamom pod (one pod per jar). If you don’t like cardamom, don’t add it to the jar. The cardamom ends up being the dominant flavor here, which is fine by me. Also, the final stalks end up a little on the soft side, but with a pair of kitchen shears, it cuts up just fine.

Marisa also mentions saving the pickling liquid to use as a drinking vinegar. Uh, seriously? Shrub and rhubarb vinaigrette, here I come! As if I needed another reason to love this canning project. Seriously, dust off your water bath canner and put up some rhubarb! It’ll have you looking forward to your salads again.

Check out my post, 20 Salad Suggestions, for more salad inspiration!

Image of the jar of pickled rhubarb stalks from Serious Eats

Overalls Are Making a Comeback!

I was browsing the Carhartt website for some more sensible gardening pants to add to my collection and I stumbled upon these. carhartts

It was like a light bulb went off in my head. Overalls! Why aren’t I gardening in these? I’ve ruined the knees of many a pair of nice-ish jeans and though I don’t want to admit it, plumbers butt is inevitable in this line of work. Unless, of course, you’ve got the full coverage that comes with wearing a good pair of overalls.

overallsI’m not going to lie, when I actually broke down and bought a pair, which I found second-hand for a steal, I was hesitant. Really, Stace, I thought to myself, are the 90s making a comeback? Well, apparently they are!

Overalls are making a comeback – look at this link my bff sent me! I can’t help but giggle knowing that she saw this and thought of me. I don’t know if I’m ready to wear them out and about like a fashion statement, but you will find me in my new denim pair from now on. I’m sure I’ll snag a pair of those water-resistant Carhartt varieties for my fall and winter gardening activities. Overalls have definitely made a comeback around my yard and I’m rocking them with pride.

Carhartt overall image from here

Homemade Vegan Roasted Beet Burgers

I don’t know how many beet burgers I ordered at the pub near my house before I decided to officially make it my mission to recreate it at home. But now, I think I can consider my mission accomplished.

beet_SliderThe burger I came up with is a little bit fragile, but delicious. They require a gentle hand when gathering them into patties and transferring them from a pan to a plate. But trust me, they’re worth the TLC. This burger is completely vegetarian and dairy-free. It could be gluten-free without the farro I added for texture and deliciousness. This burger is a three-part equation: roasted beets for flavor and nutrients, farro for added texture, and walnuts and cashews for protein and as a binder.

Be warned, this is not date food. They have a tendency to squish out of the back side of the bun like the fixings in a taco. I’ve taken to putting a burger in a whole wheat pita, filled with fresh salad greens, just so I don’t miss a bite. They also freeze beautifully. Make all the patties at once, let cool and then lay out in a single layer on a baking sheet and put in the freezer. When they are frozen completely, pack them up in an air tight container and thaw them out when you need something yummy for lunch or dinner. Like I said, mission accomplished.

beet_pitaVegan Beet Burgers

Make about 10 – 12 slider-size burgers

~ 1 – 1 1/4 lb. (a little under would be better than over) beets, roasted*, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 cup each, walnuts and cashews soaked in water for 4 – 6 hours
~ 1/2 cup cooked farro
1 Tsp. kosher salt
1/4 Tsp. each, black pepper and ground coriander
generous 1/2 Tsp. dried thyme
juice of 1/2 lemon
olive oil

Drain the nuts of their soaking water and place them in the bowl of a food processor. Add all of the other ingredients to the food processor except for the farro. Combine until smooth, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides. Add the farro at one of these intervals so that it gets combined, but not pulverized. Do not over mix – you want the mixture mostly smooth, but with a little texture.

Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat (enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan). These burgers work better as slider-size burgers. Form a small handful of the mixture into a ball and gently flatten with the spatula as you place the burger in the pan. Don’t overcrowd the pan and resist the urge to nudge and move them once you put them in the pan. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until a nice crust forms. Be extra careful when flipping and moving them. When finished cooking on the last side, transfer to a cooling rack for freezing or a bun, dressed for the occasion. Enjoy!

*To roast beets, I follow the simple technique I learned from Tamara Murphy in her cookbook, Tender. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Meanwhile, wash and trim the beets.  Place a large piece of foil on a baking sheet. Place the beets in the center of the sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Use your hands to make sure the oil coats the beets. Gather the foil up around the beets, creating a seal. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until a fork pierces through easily. When cool enough to handle, use the roasting foil to peel the skin off the beets by rubbing the foil along the outside of the beets. As long as you don’t let them cool down too much, this works like a charm!