Random, oh so random

Dear six people on the planet who read this blog (or is it seven? TC, are you out there?), 

We sincerely apologize for the scarcity of recent posts. Stuff happened. FQ's mom had now-I-will-be-bionic surgery, our regular jobs poked us in the eyeballs with sharp sticks, the computer decided it didn't like phone photo uploads...you get the idea.  But all is well and though it's been a month since we posted, we are still here, still doing random stuff. Thanks for checking in.

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This post was supposed to be called Harvest, and be all about our amazing haul of tomatoes. But to tell the truth, the tomatoes have been sort of puny and slow. Despite record heat all summer, lots of water, and plenty of plant-ish love.

They're lurking there, ripening EVER so slowly.

Which means that every Sunday at the farm, we pick every tomato with a hint of color on it, bring them home, and ripen them on the window sill. Sort of a tropical vibe, yes?

So. Then it was going to be about the real harvest: POTATOES. Your humble Fairy Queen dug up the two potato beds last weekend (well, given how late this post is, who knows how long ago that was?), and could not resist weighing what she found. 25 pounds! And that's not counting the ones we've been digging up and cooking a few at a time for at least 2 months now. Gorgeous Yukon Golds, little fingerlings, and this amazing variety called German Butterball, gifted from our lovely neighbors up the hill.

But really, potatoes are fantastic and all, but a whole post about potatoes? Hmm.

(Phrodaux: did you know the Yiddish word for vegetable is "grins", possibly I am making that up, but there you go. There is a point to this interruption. KALE!! don't forget the KALE BOUNTY!!! We've eaten so much KALE!! I do like kale, don't get me wrong, kale cooked in whey? you should ask.) 

So then it was going to be about all of the random cooking projects of the weekend just past (again, take the timing as a little squidgy):

* Chipotles in adobo sauce: jalapenos were on special at our fancy grocery store, so we bought a bunch, smoked them all day, and then bathed them in homemade adobo sauce. You could open a can (then use one, put the rest away, and eventually find them covered in pretty blue mold)

 or you could put a little container in the freezer so they are ready when you are (Thus spake FQ!).

 
* Smoked paprika! I think. We also bought some long, skinny, not hot peppers, smoked them forever, then dried them for a day or so. These have not been ground yet, but we are hoping that they approximate the little red can in the spice cabinet that we use all the time.

* Soup and casseroles: The FQ's mom, Empress of Everything, is having her second knee replacement surgery soon. At some point she will be bionic. But in the interim, she needs a freezer full of nice things to eat, because the FQ's dad is lovely but maybe not a chef type person. His idea of home cooking is to find a bunch of canned goods, empty them into a pan, and cook them up all together. At some point he has probably eaten creamed corn/refried beans/fruit cocktail surprise. But he's good at other stuff, honest.

But then it occurred to me that there are a million and one cooking blogs and we don't need to be a million and two. We do other stuff. Really. Or Phrodaux does at least.

The farm has not nearly enough counter space for all our projects. What little it does have is often covered in cookbooks.

 
FQ said: Could I have a shelf? Ph said, How about this little number? I'll whip it out in a couple of hours.

* Welded rebar bracket in a branchy sort of shape.

* Repurposed boards, one found in one of outbuildings, the other found IN THE CREEK.

* Perfect cookbook storage, plus a colorful reflection on the ceiling (Thanks, M, for point that out).

What is this post about, anyway? Maybe it's: What did you do this weekend? Well, we harvested and we cooked and we built things. We lived the life we like. It was nice.

(Phrodaux kibitz:  FQ's pop said "what if there is an earthquake? the shelf might edge off the moulding and fall?" to which I pointed out if there is an earthquake, the foundation is a few rocks with a couple of boards holding the whole she-bang up, come earthquake time. The shelf might be the only thing that holds the house up.)