Farmers' Market #13: Hula-hoopsters, Cry "Wolf"

Last Saturday, it started out gloomy and overcast, but soon heated up into the 80's.

Black Creek Preserves has started making pies; Dan had to have one to take home.

His second breakfast came from Dinky Donuts.



Dozens of people rode their bikes to the park.

The "Shady Duo" were strumming it up just outside the farmer's market; I wondered why they didn't just ask permission to set up within our perimeter.

I thought this was the biggest, tallest Siberian Husky I'd ever seen.


My, what large teeth you have! This is a wolf-hybrid - notice the lower canines; the photo below shows a dog's lower teeth (you can barely see them). I was impressed that it was calmer and more well behaved than most of the Huskies and Pit Bull types that are brought to the park. It had a hip problem, but was clearly in good condition and well taken care of by its owner.






(Hoopsters in the park; keep your eye on the girl in the melon-colored pants to the left, she just kept going and going and going.)

This weekend, it's the Festival of Fools. Come early for the farmer's market, bring a cooler for your purchases, and stay a while to take in the live performances. Hope to see you then!

Weekend Cook: St. Louis Pork Ribs

I decided it was time to start defrosting the chest freezer and found some more St. Louis pork rib racks at the bottom under some ground veal.

I coated it in Dizzy Pig's Swamp Venom rub (hot), left to mellow for an hour in the refrigerator, then brought it to the counter for about 40 minutes to take the chill off while the temperature of the smoker stabilized.

For cooks like this, 225f to 250 will get the ribs done in 6-7 hours.

On to the egg with an indirect set up and a drip pan. The egg top is down (closed) for the entire cook - the pictures are taken at each "peeking" stage.

After 3 hours, the rack was placed in a foil packet with 1/2 cup of water (we were out of beer).

After 2 hours in foil, the ribs were put back on the rack and lightly sauced. Forty minutes later, they were done! The ribs were very meaty, so it fed two people, twice.

Brown cow, black calf

This newborn heifer calf is kneeling down to have a rest next to her mom. Dan says she was all freaky and they had trouble catching her to get an ear tag in. These animals aren't in a pen at all, just hanging out loose in a green space next to the barn.

On The Side: Fusilli w/Grilled Veggies

Easy creamy pasta salad.

Remember these farmer's market veggies from yesterday's post?

I chopped up about 1 1/2 cups of previously grilled/steamed veggies.

Even though the pea pods were edible, I wanted to add the shape of the individual peas to the other "round" shapes in this salad.

A half bag of twirly pasta, cooked according to the directions.

After tossing together, I refrigerated it without a dressing because lunch was a couple of hours away - I find that especially with wheatless pasta this step keeps the noodles from going mushy or absorbing all the creamy dressing. Just dress as you wish before serving and all will be well.


I didn't have time or energy to make a dressing so I used 1/4 cup of Green Goddess. Adjust for salt and pepper; this recipe serves 4-6 depending on the mains. Enjoy!

Monday Menu: Grilled & Steamed Veggies, Beef Rib-eye

Steamed peas and carrots, grilled rib-eye, garlic scapes, spring onions, peppers, baby zucchini, and one very small eggplant over white sushi rice.

Take two handfuls of snap peas and a bunch of baby carrots from farmer's market, washed.

Lightly coated in olive oil and salt, and wrap in aluminum foil so they will steam. These will go on the grill for 40 minutes, 20 minutes each side, on a medium grill (cover down).

Steaming veggies in foil is called "camp style" around the household.

Scapes, baby zucchini, spring onions, baby peppers, all the soft-bodied delicate veggies. These will be cooked quickly direct on the grill, after cutting the zukes and eggplant in half the long way.

They were lightly coated in olive oil and salt; on to a medium grill.

It's raining.

There's the carrot/pea foil packet. After the first 5 minutes, I turned it around since I know my grill is hotter toward the front.

I cooked the direct veggies for 3-4 minutes, cover down - and I can hear a sizzle from the foil packet, so all is going according to plan.

Flipped and turned; wilted and charred items are moved to cooler spots on the grill, lesser done and thicker veggies moved to the front where it is hotter. This took an additional 5 minutes with the cover up.

Now that they are done and off the grill, I cranked the left burners up to "high" for the steaks, leaving the foil packet where it is until the meat is done.

Our own well-marbled rib-eyes, 3/4 inch thick (1.7 lbs.) ; coated in olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I kept them on for 7 minutes per side (instead of the usual 5 minutes) because they were still cold from the refrigerator.

I pulled them off the fire, put them under foil and a heavy towel on the counter for 15 minutes for a rare result. The veggie packet was brought inside, also.

It's another jumble on a plate.

I really like both styles of veggies (steamed, charred), and it's easy to do a simple grilled meat without all the fussiness of rubs, marinades, and pastes. (Though, a dish that is hotter and spicier is more to my liking; the carrots and peas were very sweet.) The 2 steaks will serve 2 * sliced over copious amounts of veggies and rice; the large amount of veggies I cooked is meant for Thai wraps or more rice bowls during the week.

*Since I don't consume very much meat; the following morning Dan ate all the leftover steak, cold, for breakfast.

"Blue" the Barred Rock Rooster

I chased after that new rooster all around the pen in 87f weather trying to capture it on video. I finally gave up and decided to watch "Big Girl" (also a rooster) and her little harem get out of the sun and into the shade. Then "Blue" popped out from behind the tree and booked it back to the shade of the mobile coop. Neither of them will "doodle-doo" while I am in the vicinity, but it has been dueling roosters at all hours for days, ever since the weather turned nice.

Weekend Cook: Steamed Veal Chops and Veggies

(Steamed veal chops, Asian flavors.)

I'm not grilling today. The only things that keep me from cooking outdoors are visible lightning and winds high enough to blow the lawn furniture off the porch.

I had defrosted two 3/4-inch veal rib chops from our farm. We raise "pink veal" which means the animals have space to walk around and socialize, with milk and dry hay to eat. We raise only four each year, so actually having some to eat instead of selling it is pretty special.

I had a bunch of colored baby carrots from Half Pint Farm.

Hon Tsai Tai from Arethusa Collective Farm.

I set the smallest carrots I had in a single layer over the meat dish.

A squeeze of vinegar-based dressing, a few drops of fish sauce and hot pepper oil, and a pinch of sugar are sprinkled over the meat. Sour, sweet, salty and hot are all represented.

The carrots and meat were set over the greens.

They all went on the preheated steamer for 12 minutes. The greens and meat were removed to the counter and covered to keep them warm. The carrots were left on the steamer for 2 more minutes, then I turned the burner off and left them over the water for a further 10 minutes to stay warm and finish cooking through.

Still steamy. It looks overdone and a bit purple from having the colored carrots drip into the dish, but it was perfectly rare with a delicious au jus that I served over sticky rice. Just like with chicken and fish, the steaming process made the meat silky soft.

No plated photos, Dan came in from chores late, and it was a great mess on a plate in the dark. This served two with some carrots left over.