Monthly Archives: July 2014

Kids Eat the Darndest Things

“Ask not what you can do for your country.  Ask what’s for lunch” ~Orson Wells

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” ~ Virginia Woolf

“We have to bring children into a new relationship to food that connects them to culture and agriculture.” ~Alice Waters

I have been on the road a lot in the last couple of weeks, first riding from Bozeman, MT to Valley City, ND and then from Valley City to Minnetonka, MN.  On these long road trips, we partook in meals that my partner’s dad comically refers to as “gut bombs.”  He is referring to the salt- and sugar-laden grease feasts that are so readily available from fast food joints along the interstate.  That is exactly what they feel like after eating them: gut bombs.

At one of the stops, my attention was grabbed by the “Kids LiveWell Menu.”  The meals weren’t exactly what I’d consider healthy, but they were definitely better than fries and chicken nuggets. It’s a program run by the National Restaurant Association to help parents find “healthy” options for their children at restaurants.  I checked out the website, and one of the more notable goals of the program is to please children’s palates, and it alluded to the fact that this can be difficult to do.

So, why is it so hard?

Let's bring kids into the agricultural process early!

Let’s bring kids into the agricultural process early!

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I Doubt It

It had already been a long, hard week when my husband called me from his cell phone to tell me that he was sitting on the tractor we borrowed and it was stuck in mud. Could I come and help get him out? he asked. I laughed. Not because he was stuck, but because he actually thought I could be of some help in the situation.

Me? Help? Really?!! What in the world could I do? I wouldn’t know where to begin to get a tractor un-stuck.

Well, there was one thing to do: call a neighbor for help.

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Farmgirl Roadtrip: Family Fun and Sweet Treats

When I moved to the Northeast over twenty years ago, it was the early 1990’s.  Back then, I thought nothing of flying, even if it was a short trip for only a few days to see relatives. Nowadays, it’s not as easy just to “hop a plane” cross-country.  Lives are so busy. Taking time off with school and work schedules can be tricky. There’s fewer flights and airlines than a few decades ago, and gone are the days of carefree flying. When we do visit with family, it’s a true treat, and we want to make the most of that special time. Recently, my mom flew in for a long-overdue visit!  Here just a week, we headed to some fun destinations and indulged in some sweet treats, New England style!

Three Generations

Three Generations

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Full Blooms Ahead Flower Show

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Dear Sisters,

Oh how I wish you could all come by for a day in the garden with me! The flowers have their best smiles on right now! Despite the buckets of rain that fell on them over the last two days, they’re putting on quite a show! Since we can’t be together ” for real ” this virtual flower show will have to suffice…Kick off you’re shoes and let’s get going. You’re in Blackfoot Farmgirl territory now… Continue reading

Overwhelming Inspiration

It is fitting that I am sitting down to write this post with a long to-do list at my side, a bored baby to the other side and oatmeal slow-cooking on the stove.  I feel like I’ve been chugging along alright since Ava was born.  We have fun, I work a little bit here and there, the dog goes on regular walks or hikes, we generally have good home made food, and the house is clean sometimes.  However, a few weeks ago I was feeling VERY overwhelmed by things to do, even though it seemed like I had heaps of time and I wasn’t really doing that much.  The unfortunate thing about this was that I had many things that I should have been doing, not that I had to do.  My solution?  (This is a confession, of sorts) Do as close to nothing as possible while watching too many rerun episodes of cooking competition shows…  This is not a good solution, and I don’t suggest it.  I enjoy bouts of laziness, but it had gone too far.

My happy, friendly, little weeding buddy!  She mostly eats soil and gnaws on brassica leaves.

My happy, friendly, little weeding buddy! She mostly eats soil and gnaws on brassica leaves.

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Gifts That Don't Come Wrapped In Bows

I keep finding myself showered with gifts.

Not the kind that come in a box, or wrapped up in bows.

But the other kind. You know, the kind that matters the most.

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Gifts That Don’t Come Wrapped In Bows

I keep finding myself showered with gifts.

Not the kind that come in a box, or wrapped up in bows.

But the other kind. You know, the kind that matters the most.

Continue reading

Welcome, Pip Squeak!

Since my last blog post, we’ve added a new member to our family!  Come meet the little guy who’s captured our hearts, and has us wrapped around his tiny little paws!

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Daisies On My Doorstep

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Dear Sisters,

Whew doggies, it’s HOT!!! Hot, humid and sticky! What am I fussing about the weather for? It’s always like this come 4th of July here on the shorelines. You know what else happens this time of year? The Daisies on my doorstep are in bloom! Would ya look at how happy they look? I guess they love the heat. Me? Not so much. I think I might have to break down and get a string of Hot Girls Pearls for when I’m out communing with the garden this summer! But I digress. I’m always so happy to see the daisies arrive! I didn’t plant them there. The previous owner of our house must have planted them and the last 12 years they’ve never failed to bloom. Not even once. While other perennials in that flower bed have grown root bound and leggy the daisies look as fresh and innocent ( I’m guessing ) as the day they were planted. Why do you suppose that is? I have a theory… Wanna hear it? Continue reading

Perspicacious Pestilent Pests

 

This all started with turnips–the small, white, sweet, perfect-to-eat-like-popcorn Hakurei salad turnips. They are one of the delicious early summer treats, and they are so good in salads made of early greens like arugula and spinach. We first harvested these precious roots about four weeks ago from the glass green house. At first glance they were glorious! They were a promise of summer all wrapped up in a beautiful white package.

And then we started picking.

Minimal damage on these tasty treats!  As farm workers, we sometimes get the uglies...but we know it's what's on the inside that counts!

Minimal damage on these tasty treats! As farm workers, we sometimes get the uglies…but we know it’s what’s on the inside that counts!

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