Smut Tuesday

Minds out of the gutter...today's topic - Corn Smut! We picked our first harvest of sweet corn the other day and cracked open a few ears to check them and most of them looked just great.

And then I heard a hushed 'whoa...' from within the cornstalks and found Rog staring down at this...

We poked at it for a bit as little fungal spores wafted into the air and somehow this triggered a memory from many late nights watching Andrew Zimmern eat weird shit. 'Wait' I exclaimed, 'I think its edible', remembering that in Mexico it is considered a delicacy and I vaguely recall seeing someone fry it up and put it in tacos. As usual, Rog doesn't believe me, since he is the resident nature trivia guy, not me. So this prompted a little research.

Corn smut, or huitlacoche (WEET-LA-KO-CHEE) is apparently packed with unique proteins, minerals and other nutritional goodies and is far more valuable than the corn on which it grows. It translates loosely to 'devil's poo'...sound appetizing yet? With a flavor described as nutty and earthy with a hint of fruity sweetness, the fungus is loaded with lysine which helps to fight infections and strengthen bones and may play a role in building muscle and keeping our skin looking younger. 

Facts about corn smut:

1) The smut spores are blown long distances by the wind and are particularly prevalent when there is much dust in the air.Check! We live in a flat wind tunnel.

2) They will germinate readily in the drainings from barnyard manure. Check! Poop abounds here...

3) Hot dry seasons are favorable for the growth of the fungus. Check! Can you say, drought?

4) Prevented by breaking off the pods before they burst and release the black powdery spores. Check! You mean those spores we poked and prodded at and allowed to trickle into the ground?

Are we on to something here? Soon will we see quarts of smut at Walmart? Or at least Whole Foods? I've read that these 'Mexican Truffles' are popping up in upscale restaurants all over the country now, but I doubt it will reach worldwide appeal, simply based on appearances and ability to freshly preserve it. Canned it has the appearance of a slimy cancerous black lung and I've got to believe it has a serious funk to it.

So did we try it? No, not this time. Maybe next year. Kind of like our first year in goats when we refused to eat any of them. Next year may be full of huitlacoche tacos, huitlacoche quesadillas, huitlacoche stir fry, huitlacoche salads, boiled huitlacoche, broiled huitlacoche, fried huitlacoche, huitlacoche sandwiches huitlacoche at the Harvest Party... For now, we'll leave it to the experts.We did, however, decide to live on the edge and break off the affected ends and eat the rest of the corn. And we tossed some of the fungus puffs into the pig pen so they could 'hunt' them from under the straw. They seemed to enjoy it...

More new additions

Welcome to Baxter and Bettina...fitting names for turkey, we think. Turkeys, right? Never had a reason to pluralize 'turkey' before. They are adjusting well to their new pen and chowing happily on the expensive wild game bird feed. Here's to a great holiday season!

And so it goes, the rain misses us once again. Stormy in the back...

Blue skies in the front.

Back to reality

Why are vacations so short? One week, two weeks...it matters little. It seems we always come home to mounds of work and within hours it feels like we never left. A few highlights:

Rog, we aren't in Kansas anymore...

View from our bedroom. Something's off...where are the pigs? The dead apple tree? The manure pile?

Pretty certain the Ohio night sky never looks like this.

Is this even real? 

Basilica of Santa Croce (1294), otherwise known as the Temple of the Italian Glories. It contains the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Dante, among others.

Getting some redecorating ideas for our entryway while in Orvieto.

Now where is my chisel?

Bolsena, looks a little different from lakeside resort towns in the US.

Civita di Bagnoregio, one of the most beautiful places, what remains is over 2500 years old, well worth the climb.

View from the footbridge. Easy to see why wind and water have caused much of it to crumble down the mountain. Also easy to see why less than 20 people live there. A loooong walk to the bus stop.

Says Luna (goat), "Mom, I think I'd like it here!" At a Sardinian Sheep farm in Tuscany.

A visit to the creamery where we reviewed basic cheesemaking techniques with our gracious host.

A peek into one of many aging rooms. Pecorino 5 ways: fresh, tomato paste washed, wine washed, red pepper and truffle.

A light tasting. That's a lot of cheese for 7 people.

Fresh ricotta.

Vino in Montepulciano.

The Roman Colosseum at dusk.

Retracing Caesar's steps on roads that date back to the founding of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. And we still can't build a road that lasts 5 years??

Goodbye fantasy life!

A welcome home with blooming hibiscus, healthy happy goats, dogs, cats, chickens and pigs. We have the best farm sitters, for whom we are forever grateful...Thanks!

Hurry, before the inspiration wears off and post-vaca-depression sets in...homemade semolina pasta.

With fresh marinara with this year's first basket of ripe tomatoes and basil from the garden.

First Harvest

Already running out of uses for zucchini. 4 plants, 2 people...sounds reasonable, right? Our zucchini count is up above 50 already. Peppers are doing wonderfully, despite the dry weather. Tomatoes are just beginning to redden up, if we can keep Kaelyn from picking them off the vines... The cucumbers appear to be the only casualty of the 'drought', they are growing and producing, but we haven't picked a single one that isn't horribly bitter. The pigs and poultry are eating well!

14 pounds of blueberries and counting...OK so they aren't all from here. OK, a few of them are from here. OK, five of them are from my plants. We try, we try. My blueberry bushes look like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree...after the needles fell off. This is our second go-round on blueberries, on paper we do everything right, yet our plants resemble the roped off 'sick' ones at the berry patch that no one dares pick. Thank goodness for local growers with actual skill, we use Chance Creek Blues, an organic farm near Oberlin.

Is this the big one? After a day spent weed-whacking we uncovered our developing melons in the field.

Cute, but no clue what I planted or what these are...

A cantaloupe! My very first! Maybe it will ripen to coincide with the porkies...hmmmm

Decorative gourds

Again, not sure. Probably a pumpkin?

Wanted: Goat Photographer

Most goat owners have, at one time or another, been required to take photographs of their goats. For sales purposes, perhaps, for websites, for advertising. Yet others (not me) may partake in a brightly colored airbrushed T-shirt to ensure that the entire world knows that they are, in fact, the #1 Goat Mom. It seems simple, right? We spend countless hours bottle raising babies so they are well socialized clingy and easy to handle spastic. They've been shown at several regional dairy goat shows, gracefully pranced hopped like bunnies around the ring, stood still for the judge's evaluation tried to bite off his nose. So why, when we pull them out in front of the barn, mere feet from where they are born and raised, do they completely freak out, freeze up and turn immediately into uncooperative little shits??? Examples abound. . .

"There's no place like home...there's no place like home..." 

"Where are the treats? Are they up there?"

"Look in to my eyes...you cannot look away...you will let me in the garden now..."

The leaning tower of Adario

A gazelle yearning to break free

Oooooo! Ticklish...

"I believe I can fly..."

Camera shy

"Ick! A bug!"

"I'm outta here!"

"Must...Get...To...Alfalfa..."

"Was that Elvis?"

"Here I am baby..."

"Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours..."

"I love Stevie..."

Wanted: Goat Photographer. Applications accepted now! Will provide refreshments...