Merry Spring!

It is rather embarrassing that it's been about 7 months since my last blog! I don't know where the time went but I do know that my mind has been preoccupied for most of it as I am now thirty-seven weeks pregnant with a little baby girl. Needless to say, there has been a lot of preparation and energy put into her imminent arrival ever since late summer. My husband, Matt, and I feel as ready as we can possibly be at this point as we begin the wait.

I decided that today would be a good day to update my blog as a celebration of Spring, new life and growth. Today as I started my first flower seeds for the garden this summer, I day-dreamed about planting the garden, weeding and harvesting the vegetables with my baby and how absolutely wonderful that will be. I hope that she will enjoy it too. 

I don't normally start many flower seeds, if any at all, but today I sowed lupins, oriental poppies, and cosmos to brighten up the vegetable beds this year. Perhaps I thought Baby Kasvinsky would enjoy the colorful flowers amongst all the shades of green. I have always loved oriental poppies and I am hoping to get these to bloom during our short growing season since I started them so early. Lupins tend to do pretty well as perennials in gardens here and the cosmos do help keep ladybugs in the vicinity of the garden which is a bonus to their beauty. 

Sunday Morning Brunch

At precisely 5am this morning I found myself wide awake. This being a very unusual occurrence, I decided to take advantage of it and make something deliciously decadent to go along with last night's leftovers that I planned on using for breakfast. Why not make it brunch?

I scanned my recipe books and magazines, coming across Cranberry Sticky Buns and deciding these sounded perfect since I still have wild cranberries in my freezer from last Fall. The three+ hours of prep and cook time did not phase me since that would mean an 8:30am hearty breakfast/brunch for Matt and I.


Last night I made French scalloped potatoes to go with some ham, perhaps being inspired by the movie Julie and Julia that I saw on Friday to make something classic with butter. The movie was just absolutely enchanting and mouth-watering to me and I highly recommend going to see it. Meryl Streep plays Julia Child with such perfection and I am pretty sure I smiled the entire movie.


So, scalloped potatoes, ham, cranberry sticky buns...what else? I poached an egg for each of us and laid them on some fresh steamed swiss chard from the garden. Delicious!

Recent Harvesting

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!