Carding Brook Farm

I went yesterday, to all my favorite places,

gathering food for the Spring Dinner tonight

I am always so taken with the beauty of Carding Brook Farm

 and the warmth and nurturing energy that

 Jen and Jon share 

You can feel it in the soil, you can see it in the beauty of

their bounty and you can taste it in the food.

I just wanted to take a few moments to share

(my pictures really don't do it justice)

 An exciting new project made possible by

a farm initiative set up by Michelle Obama

Jen explained to me that this little beauty

will allow them to extend their growing season

and give them even more possibilities

Good news for them, even better news for us!

The remnants of maple syrup season

The real boss

I'm off and running, have a wonderful day

Kyra

Holy Chicken Batman

Yesterday I started prepping for Lily's Spring Dinner on Saturday

I made parsnip puree for the flan, buttermilk ice cream and

cut up 20 Old Ackley Farm chickens for the

braised thighs on the menu

I'll marinate and roast the legs for easy snacks in the freezer
and package up the wings in baker dozens
and the breasts in fours for future meals

I loved the work, in a quiet space, listening to music

(I hope they really couldn't see me dancing from Peter's workshop)

and cooking.  Every now and then I'd need a change of scenery

and this is what I can see from my back kitchen window

How cool is that?  I really do live in a thriving fishing village in Maine.

Dream come true - over and over -

It was late when I returned home, my kitchen aid ice cream

maker thingy just didn't work, so I had to stir the ice cream in a bowl

in the freezer intermittently for hours - thankfully I knew I could

do this after reading it on someone's blog, or I would

have panicked.

Anyway, Renee had brought home these wonderful little white

turnips that are starting to show up and I whipped up a

quick supper, using - what else - boneless chicken breasts!

It came out tasty and I thought I'd share the recipe 

Chicken Cutlets with Spring Herbs and White Turnips

2 -3 boneless chicken breasts, flatten out to 1/2 inch thickness

(I put the breasts in between plastic wrap in a single layer

and use the side of a hammer to flatten them - not a lot of kitchen gadgetry here)

Kosher salt

1 bunch of small white turnips, 

cut the turnips from the stem leaving about an half inch of stem,

 remove the little roots and cut in quarters

I used the greens too, cut the stem off and julienned them

1 T fresh chopped winter savory

This is truly an herb you should have in your garden, or yard

it is a perennial and very hardy and tastes like a cross between

rosemary and thyme

1 T fresh chopped parsley

A sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes, I love Aleppo

1 T minced preserved lemon or some fresh lemon juice

about 1/2 cup white wine

Water as needed

Heat a skillet over med high heat and add some olive oil

salt the chicken with kosher salt and when the oil is nice and hot, add to the pan 

Sear on both sides to give it some color and flavor, remove from pan 

and set aside - you don't have to cook it all the way thru -

In same hot pan, add the turnips, greens and red pepper flakes with a bit of kosher salt

Cook until greens are wilted and turnips start to take on some color

Add the chicken back to the pan, with the preserved lemon or a squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice, sprinkle the herbs on top

and pour in the white wine

Allow this to simmer gently until the chicken is cooked thru and the

turnips are crisp tender,  about 8 minutes

You may need to add a bit of water if the pan starts to dry out

taste for salt

ready to serve

I had some parsnip puree from earlier and served the chicken over that, but

mashed potato, regular or sweet, would work nicely too

You all enjoy your weekend and I'll let you know how the dinner goes

Have fun!

Kyra

Life's Demands and a Sweet Little Cottage

Cafe or no cafe, I was feeling completely overwhelmed by life's

demands on Sunday night. 

 You know, that queer feeling in your stomach

before you have to go back to work on Monday.

  

But, there was no "work" per se.

Just a lovely 10th grade girl, interested in interior design, shadowing me

in the morning, two lawns to mow, edging, mulching, 

getting our rental cottage ready for summer, shopping for my big 

spring dinner on Saturday, yadda yadda, the list

goes on

Honestly, there wasn't anything on the list that I didn't

want to do, so I spent a few moments thinking about

the self inflicted feeling of panic and pressure.

"If you focus on that which can be

demanding, that is exactly what you will get"

This was the direction of my daily affirmation.  It totally

hit home for me

I switched mental gears and viewed the tasks at

hand as opportunities not stresses, and have spent time

these past days enjoying accomplishing them

The best part was actually having three days to spend

cleaning and fluffing the house Renee grew up in, that we now

use for friends and family and rent to summer guests

She inherited it about 12 years ago.

Her father had built it in the 50's, and when we acquired it, not much

had changed since then

It was our first "redo" together and I just love the space.

It is filled with left overs, auction finds and stories.

I get to go a little "country sweet" with 

the decorating and I shift and edit things each year

The master bedroom has the bed Renee grew up with

I had just started quilting back then and made quilts for all the beds

  

That is a painting of Renee's dad, keeping him King of his castle

The couch and chair are pieces of my life in Cincinnati

See, I can do saturated color!  I just love that apricot with the

white wainscoting and old fashioned tile - we added both, along

with the pedestal sink - what a difference these things make

to a bathroom

We kept the original sink and glassed in the upper cupboards, which had

been solid doors while Renee was growing up

For the wood countertops, we used maple flooring and varnish,

it has held up really well

An old grain bin, mouse holes and all makes a great piece

(with storage) in the living room

Renee and I almost got divorced over this table.

It was bright red and in a pile - I mean pile - of junk 

at an auction.  I bought the pile for $5.00, much to Renee's dismay,

but I knew there were gems in there

Soft pillows, stacks of books, games and puzzles

 I love creating what I hope is cozy

Here's to spring and all that rushes in with it

enjoy!

Kyra

A kiss of sunshine

I am completely seduced by sunlight this morning

The way, like a lover, it lays itself over

its objects of desire

the cold side of the house,

a wooden handrail,

the glistening blades of green spring grass,

my breakfast...

I hope it lingers

and that you are enjoying your Sunday

Kyra

Spicy Black Bean Cakes

My seedlings 1 month later

About five years ago I made a commitment that the animal

products I eat be local, organic and pasture raised

 by farmers I know and trust 

Financially for me, this means that I can't afford to 

make meat my main entree every day

This is good

It opens me up to the wonderful world of 

grains, legumes and vegetables

and keeps me curious how to produce 

a tasty meal that is still

balanced with complete proteins and healthy carbs etc.

At my first cafe -The Production Line- in Cincinnati

I used to make black bean cakes and top them 

with salsa and sour cream

I was certain that I had put the recipe in my first cookbook

but just couldn't find it, so I made these up instead

and decided to add some roasted sweet potato to the mix, since I am

in love with them combined with black beans

 This recipe will make about 14 cakes, because I am all about

freezing some for later, so if you want to divide it in half

and maybe have some left for lunch the next day, feel free

Black Bean Cakes:

2 cups dried black beans cooked in salted water until tender-

let the beans cool in the cooking water and then drain

4 small sweet potatoes, roasted in a 400 degree oven until tender, 

scoop out the yummy flesh and set aside

4-5 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro - use the stems it's where the flavor is

3/4 cup almond meal -almonds processed until fine crumbs in a food processor-

up to a teaspoon of aleppo or cayenne pepper - you make the call how spicy you like things-

1 T dried oregano or 3 T chopped fresh

1 tsp onion powder

1 T cumin

2 T arrowroot or cornstarch to help hold them together

Juice of a lemon

1/2 cup diced roasted poblano peppers, or red pepper if you don't have any or none at all!

1/2 cup or more chopped fresh chives

Place everything except the roasted poblanos and chives in the bowl of a food processor

and process until nicely blended and fairly smooth

you may have to do this in two batches depending on the size of your processor

Scoop the bean mix into a bowl and fold in the peppers and chives and

taste for seasoning, adding more whatever,

I also added a few shakes of Ume vinegar at this point as well

Form into burger size patties and place in fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes

I made two salads to go with my bean cakes

a simple salsa with fresh tomatoes tossed with garlic, cilantro, diced onion,

salt, sherry vinegar and a bit of olive oil

and a kale salad where I julienned kale -tough stems removed- and

tossed it with equal parts of lemon juice and olive oil with salt and pepper

It is best if you let both of these stand at room temp for at least 30 minutes

for the flavors to meld and the kale to "cook" in the lemon juice a bit

I pan fried the cakes in coconut oil in a non stick pan until they were nice

and brown on both sides

I served them on top of the kale salad with the tomato salsa,

some sliced avocado and I used Greek style yogurt, but sour cream would be lovely too

Enjoy! And have a wonderful weekend

Kyra

Random Thoughts

My first thought of the day today was that there is

just NOTHING like a good hair cut

It is SO much easier to put that self doubt aside

when your hair is just swinging!!

I have had the pleasure of two great hair designers 

over my 15+ years in Maine

Starting with Missy in Bangor and now

with Shaina at the Alchemist in Ellsworth

Thank you, thank you , thank you

I scored this awesome quilt at an auction on Sunday

It is all hand stitched and the printed hexagons are definitely 

from old grain/feed bags 

Thankfully I was surrounded at the auction by guys looking for doors and tractors

  Now I don't have to take that hexagon class - HA!

I LOVE having TIME to spend in my home kitchen

with my cats and my weird thoughts and crazy food ideas

Someone asked me, very kindly, the other day if I was getting bored.

I think excited is more accurate

I am 5 months today, into this year of pause, and

really just able to let go about a month ago.

 I am having a blast!  Plus, I really feel like I am

repairing, and I am SO filled with gratitude 

I love being able to throw myself whole hog into my projects

and I've kept events happening about once a month - 

so I still have my feet in the mix

Speaking about projects I have been developing a new

twist on my granola.  It is gluten free and 

full of goodness and it tastes awesome!

Making a batch today, I pulled out my Mom's old nut chopper

I don't think I've used it since making Christmas cookies as

a young girl in her kitchen.  Crazy how things instantly

transport you somewhere - it was a nice trip -

One last random craziness for today is my favorite shovel

It is little, like a really tall person could wear it as a necklace.

Carol Collins, who used to garden for me long, ago had one

and she said it was her favorite tool

Not being shy I found one at a yard sale for $2.00 and decided

to give it a try.

Awesome!  Weeds, transplants, holes, shoving, shucking you name it

be on the look out during tag sale season

Enjoy~

Kyra

Room to Grow

My existing lower garden is wonderful for lettuce and peas and

greens, items that will tolerate partial shade, but I  can't grow the 

sun lovers down there.

  I learned this after my first year

of 15 rotten tomato vines and sogged out onions

So, last Spring I took out all the flowers in the beds on the back side of Lily's

so that I would have some seriously sunny space to play 

By Fall I knew I wanted to create some more beds and really 

see if I can grow some of the food that I both eat and serve

I just love the idea of making you a salad from greens out of the

back 40 with no GMO's in sight! 

But, the only other open sunny space available is on my leach field

When I was informed that raised beds would be fine, and

the fence had to be free standing so nothing was puncturing the surface

I set to work

After watching a few YouTube videos I decided the easiest thing

was to order 8' lengths of 2 x 10 boards and 

screw them together into boxes - no saw cutting etc.

I did this myself with the help of Renee's awesome screw gun

and these honking screws she likes to use

Totally not wanting to have grass coming up inside, I covered

the bottoms with three layers of this organic weed guard paper to smother

the situation

Excavator Timmy came with a truck load of loam 

and filled the boxes for me with his back hoe

I then added some composts and turned it all in

TA DA!

Now for the tricky part, the free standing fence -

Enter my very talented partner Renee

After limbing up all the spruce trees around the property

we used the trunks as supportive archways to hold the fence in place

They are attached to the fence and the raised beds

Again, not wanting anything to do with grass, I lined the paths

with more weed guard and spread a 9" layer of straw all the 

way around.  I also have some straw left over to use as

mulch on the beds, a la Ruth Stout

Come on in,

 I realize that it is my version of that peaceful

barn with the goats that I talked about

No animals (I hope),

 but hopefully those healthy seedlings inside will be very happy here

Enjoy these days!

Kyra