End of Summer Berry Pie

What can I say? I love pie! My fascination with learning how to bake pies began when I was about 16 years old... and it continues today. This end of summer berry pie has a mixture of strawberries, marionberries, and boysenberries from Oregon, but you can use any berry in this recipe. I use my grandma's recipe to make the pie crust from scratch, and of course, serve it with some vanilla ice cream.

 

My Grandma Audrey's Pie Crust

(makes one 9-in pie crust) 

1 C flour

1/2 C shortening 

1/4 C ice cold water

1 t salt 

Cut shortening into the flour and salt mixture, mix with a hand held blender until crumbly. Pour water into center of dough and gently mix together with a wooden spoon. Form into a ball, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling. Double this recipe if you want a crust top to your berry pie instead of a crumble.

Berry Pie Filling

From Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

5 C berries

1 C sugar 

1/3 C flour

 (I also add the zest of one lemon and a pinch of nutmeg to the filling to bring out more flavor)

Bake the pie on 375 for 50 minutes. I would recommend placing a cookie sheet or pan underneath the pie in case any bubbling over occurs. Enjoy the last few bites of summer! 

 

Canning Tomatoes

Farm Lesson #4: All of this work will be worth it during the winter

Today Cole and I canned 20 pounds of tomatoes from the garden. Eight quart sized jars sit on our counter now, filled with a mixture of Roma, Jersey Devil and San Marzano whole tomatoes. It was a hot, sticky, messy, and somewhat exhausting endeavor, but we keep reminding ourselves how great it will feel in January to make a delicious soup or pasta sauce with vegetables grown right outside our back door. Here's some more pictures!

Blanching to loosen the skin for peeling

Boiling the jars

 Wow, all this preserving, growing food, cooking... It's almost like we're back in the 90s... The 1890s that is. Watch and laugh, another great clip from Portlandia:    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2mAs5pnA34

Meet Boots

Farm Lesson #3: Don't hang out by the barn at dusk

Upon moving here, we have inherited a barn cat. He came with the house, and his (or her) name is Boots. Boots' exact gender and age is unknown, but we usually stick with the male pronouns and the neighbors estimate he is 11 years old. He resides in a little cat home in the rafters of the old, red barn. Boots is kind of a diva. He loves to be brushed and cuddled, but only on his rug, and only when he has a dish of food. However, if no brushing ensues, he refuses to eat. As you can see, Boots is pretty darn cute, and Cole and I enjoy our daily hang out sessions with him each evening. 

I have learned to feed Boots before dark, hence the above farm lesson. Boots is not the only animal that lives in the red barn. There are about 50 bats that reside, squeak, tweet, and hang upside down in there and they like to pour out at lightning speeds around dusk, diving through the air to hunt for bugs. Creepy. Creepy vampires living in the barn. Anyway, enjoy some more pictures of Boots. 

"Does this Friskies contain artificial flavoring?"

"I WILL get down if you don't pet me."

Three Ingredient Eggplant Bake

This summer we've had two very successful eggplant plants. Having never cooked with eggplant before, I have learned to get creative by adding it to stir fry, pasta, and this tasty dish that is full of "cheesy goodness" as Cole would say. Best of all, only three main ingredients! 

Three Ingredient Eggplant Bake

(makes two 9x13 pans)

Ingredients:

-6-7 medium sized eggplants

-two jars of your favorite red pasta sauce

-one brick of fresh mozzarella cheese 

-olive oil

-salt 

-fresh basil 

Instructions:

1. Slice eggplants into 1/4 inch slices. Lay slices on a cookie sheet (no overlapping), brush the tops with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. 

2. Bake the eggplant slices at 375 for about 30 minutes until lightly browned. 

3. Starting with the sauce, then eggplant, followed by cheese, layer the ingredients in both pans. 

4. Bake pans until bubbling, about 30-40 minutes. 

5. Sprinkle with fresh basil, serve with salad and garlic bread.  

 

 

We Can Pickle That!

My first taste of pickled eggs - homemade by one of Cole's family friends who lives nearby. Sweet, spicy, and a nice texture! And, just because we are on the subject of pickling and everyone needs to have chuckle once in a while, check out this clip from Portlandia: "We Can Pickle That!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYey8ntlK_E

Oh, and a note about the show: I used to think that Portlandia was overly quirky and strange just for effect, but then I moved here. Even though it may be a bit exaggerated, I pretty sure Armisen and Brownstein base their writing off some real-life Oregon experiences... :) It cracks me up!

Oregonian Shrimp and Grits

Shrimp and grits is traditionally a southern dish, frequently called "low country cuisine." This recipe however, contains 100% Oregon ingredients, right down to the corn that was grown in the garden last year, then dried and ground to make the grits. The shrimp we used is called Oregon shrimp meat, and it is one of the most sustainable seafood options in the area. Many people add cheese to the grits, but we found that the richness from the butter, shrimp, seasonings, and vegetables was more than adequate flavor!

Oregonian Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients:

1 C dry grits 

4 C milk, water or cream (we used milk)

lard for sauteing vegetables and shrimp

2 green bell peppers, chopped

2 small yellow onions, chopped

1 clove minced garlic

1 lb small shrimp, cooked

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

2 T butter

Instructions: 

To make grits:

Heat milk (or liquid of choice) until boiling in large pot. Add grits gradually to avoid clumps, constantly stirring with a whisk. Cook and stir grits over medium heat until corn is soft, about 40 - 90 minutes, depending on the grind of the corn. 

Shrimp saute:

Heat lard in a large skillet and saute the garlic, onions, and bell peppers for about 10 minutes. Then add broth, seasonings, shrimp and butter, saute for another 5-10 minutes. Pour over a bowl of grits, squeeze lemon on top. 

Local butter and lard

 

Meet the Producers!

Yes, these chickens like to range free!

Cole started off with six chickens, three Rhode Island Reds, and three Barred Rocks. The day after I got here, a family friend donated two more chickens to the flock. They were from his daughters' class project, and the type and sex of the chickens is yet to be determined... After getting continuously bullied by the alpha females, the new kids on the block are finally getting more comfortable.

The chicken hotel, designed and constructed by Cole

The newbies and the roosting bar

New hay below, chickens laying eggs above

The daily gathering of the eggs, on average they produce about 4-6 a day

The garden in early July

 
Of course the other main producer on the farm is the garden. Its dimensions are 30 feet by 60 feet and the contents are as follows: 

-Squash (butternut, Hubbard, Howden Pumpkin, Winter Luxery, Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck, Galeux d' Eysines, Oregon Sweet Meat, and Lakota)
-Corn (Cascade Ruby Gold, Painted Mountain)
-Tomatoes (Roma, San Marzano, Brandywine, Black Krim, Jersey Devil)
-Eggplant (Black Beauty and Epic) 
-Beans (Arikara, Brightstone, Rossi de Lucca, Tepary Beans)
-Cowpeas (California Black Eye, Whip poor will)
-Peppers (Jalapeno, Poblano, Pasilla, Anaheim, Serrano, California Bell)
-Potatoes (Sangre Red and Yukon Gold, and German Butterball)
-Onions (Yellow Rock and Red Weathersfield, Australian Brown, Copra, Borretana, Jaune Paille des Vertus, Yellow de Parma)
-Shallot (yellow and red)
-Garlic (Chesnok Red, Bogatyr, and Duganski, Silver Skin Italian)
-Kale (Russian and Dinosaur)
-Collard Greens (Morris Heading, Georgia) 

The garden in late July

 

Cole, the gardener