A Cozy Lunch

It is rainy, foggy, extremely windy, and 45 degrees here today. My solution to the chill?

I warmed myself up with a spicy bowl of Tarka dahl for lunch. Dhal is served at almost every meal in India. It is a staple food and there are many versions of this dish. It is such an easy, delicious and relatively fast meal to make. I used some of my dried Red Cayenne peppers leftover from last year's garden which made it extra delicious.

Wrapped Long-Stitch Book

I am teaching the final class in a three-week bookbinding course tonight at UAF. I made a new version of one of my favorite bindings: the wrapped long-stitch, to provide a visual sample for the students while teaching how to bind their books. This version is a hardcover and is sewn onto tapes with a completely open spine. Typically for the wrapped long-stitch I use a thick soft-cover wrap and do not sew on tapes.

Oaxacan Delights

A couple of weeks ago I finally made a feast for some good friends using the ingredients that I smuggled back from Oaxaca to Alaska this January.

Menu:
Red Mole Turkey Tamales (using our own harvested turkey-meat)
Jicama and Avocado Green Salad
Chips and Authentic Oaxacan Salsa (using dried chiles)
Coconut-Pineapple Tamales (for dessert)
Margaritas

Matt and I sat down together for the tamale-making marathon and it actually did not take too long. It really helps to have a second person for that part! I think we made about 35 tamales.

While in Oaxaca City, Matt and I took a cooking class at La Casa de los Sabores from Pilar along with a group of other people and we learned so much. It was an excellent way to learn the real way to make good tamales. We went along with Pilar to the market to purchase all the ingredients fresh for the meal. Most importantly we were able to learn about the chiles used in Oaxacan cuisine and which ones we should bring home with us to cook with. Matt and I also purchased chepil, avocado leaves, and jamaica and they all successfully make the trip through the airports!

I did not make the agua de jamaica for the dinner with friends simply because I was focusing on the margaritas! But, because a recipe showed up in two food magazines this past month, I made it just the other day to enjoy with Matt and it was a very refreshing and beautiful summer drink. I also came across a variation of the recipe on a website I enjoy that looks delicious and I intend on trying with my next batch.

Cascade Farm Update

Whew, it has been a busy month! Between tending to the garden and greenhouse, learning about worm composting, acquiring our meat chicks and turkey poults, and enjoying the sunshine I have been taking photographs to share once I finally got around to posting again.

The garden is doing excellent and we've been eating our salad greens for the past week. It is always such a treat when we can start eating out of the garden each day. Last night we had a delicious Arugula salad with heirloom tomatoes from the farmers market. Our tomato plants have numerous flowers on them but we will not have our own for at least another month, longer for the full-size ones.

A few days ago I released a couple thousand lady bugs in and around the garden and greenhouse to combat the aphids that I do not want around this year. Last year we had an aphid infestation in our greenhouse that never really went away. Another goal of mine is to prevent the holes throughout my mesclun which always seem to appear on the spicier greens. I'll get those little buggers! Currently my baby mesclun mix is healthy and growing rapidly.

Our five Bourbon Red turkey poults are doing well (after a few sad unexplained losses) and the Delaware chicks are just so cute and fluffy. We think they are all enjoying their new home. These little ones are enjoying the warmth of a heated brooder right now but soon we will move them outside when their feathers have filled out.

Two curious chicks
(a red light bulb inside a black box is not great for photos, hence the BW photo)

A tiny Bourbon Red turkey poult!

Mmm...kale

Brussel Sprouts enjoying the sun

A couple of our happy cucumber plants

As I sat here writing, a wicked storm approached our house. I ran out to take a short video in the middle of it of the hail-rain-thunderstorm equipped with very close lightening. The loud thunder almost made me drop my bowl of popcorn and Canute is snuggled up against me not knowing what to think of the noise. I suppose my garden needed a good soaking after a few weeks of dry heat, but let's hope it wasn't too much force!

Cookbook Repair

Below are a couple of photographs documenting the repair of the cookbook I posted about earlier. Because the book did not need restoration (great, because I am not trained in that!) and the owner only requested a patch-job, I simply stabilized the binding with new scrim and glue, applied a new headband, and salvaged half of the great endpapers to use when reattaching the book to the cover.