August

In July it started raining. In August it continued raining. We watched our lovely alfalfa fields turn into a lush green carpet, the goats salivated at the fenceline and the weather did not allow for timely hay production. So we watched it grow. And watched the mud. And thought about baling. Instead we got a kitten! And ate a lot.

No really, we got a kitten, because we didn't have enough barn cats (this makes 7) but this one is pretty exceptional. Meet Stella.

August was also fair time so we indulged in cheese curds, mmmmm..... And our less than perfect weather hay came in second place this year. I did decide to enter the silliest category I could find, which was an egg painting / decorating contest and we won! There's hope for a fallback career I guess.

We decided that since the garden was bursting with food and the freezers were practically overflowing we would 'live off the land' and have a house / pantry clean out for the month of August. We did still purchase bread, also wine but not much else. There's nothing better than 100% farm to table meals - this IS why we do what we do. Here are a few samples.

Tomatoes were NOT in short supply this year. we roasted, canned and canned some more. I mostly prefer eating a bowl of them with balsamic vinegar and salt.

Grilled then roasted herb stuffed chicken. Thank you chickens...

Tofu veggie stuffed lettuce wraps. No we don't grow soy but it was already in the fridge come August 1st. 

Fried italian sage leaves.

Margarita pizza with einkorn crust and goats milk mozzerella.

Pork ramen with soft boiled eggs. Thanks again chickens...and pigs...

Blistered lombardo and shishito peppers with sea salt and lime. Almost every night. A summer staple. For the first time ever we had more peppers than tomatoes, they stayed prolific until the first frost when I rushed out to pick about 3- 5 gallon buckets full. Then I canned some more. 

Grilled zucchini, uncured bacon and cherry tomatoes.

Homemade semolina pasta with tomatoes basil and garlic, found the olives in the pantry too.

One of my new favorites-  turkish eggs, served on whipped heated greek yogurt with red chili, cilantro and fingerlimes. 

Very tart blackberries we managed to steal from the fencerow before the birds got to them.

Goat burgers with bacon and chevre stuffed jalapeno poppers. 

And my favorites 'throw every thing on a pan and roast it' on this day it was baby potatoes, green beans, sweet corn and tomatoes drizzled with honey.

And zucchini blossoms, coated with a farina beer batter and fried in sunflower oil. The season is short but they are so, so good. Another example of staggered planting gone wrong, the second crop produced more quickly than the first and we were inundated!