This week on the farm

Telllll me when it' over.....Our chicken's have never seen snow.  They are tucked inside with a glowing heat lamp to keep them warm.  Talk about Frozen Eggos! Brr...

With the unexpected snow storm, a bowl of Carolina Reaper Chili hit the. spot.  Making some snow cream...just in case. 

Snowed in and nothing to do.   I love having some huge shrimp handy and a few key pantry items at the ready. Voila, and we have my first attempt at shrimp and grits.  Where have they been all my life?!

Washed and dried these guys will be processed, meaning sliced, stemmed and seeded. Wearing gloves and a mask, I did my duty, 

  Next...Reaper Rubble!  Stay Tuned.  

Check out these monsters!  Thank you Avon Seafood in Hatteras.  These guys were caught right off our little island.  I had to get the scale out and, although not all of them are as husky as this fellow, it only took eight of the big boys to make a pound.  Gotta love living by the sea!

We are so happy to become a partner with Adiós! Mo Skitos!, a local Hatteras company making the ultimate people and nature friendly mosquito and bug repellent that really works!  We are proud to offer the Adiós! Mo Skitos! Onesie!  Perfect for individual on-the-go bug protection. 

My long-growing garlic should be ready to harvest soon.  Experts say when the lower leaves begin to brown, they are ready to be pulled.  I'm no expert, but stay tuned!  

We missed our girls but sure are enjoying their company around the farm now.  I think they might be a little confused because everytime I call all my chickens in, my dear friends come a'running.  

It just doesn't get any better for a Happy Birthday/Mother's Day Dinner.  Thanks Mom for all the family  recipes and secrets you shared with me over my life.  Although I sometimes tweak those recipes, your memory stays alive with just about every meal I make.   For instance, I threw some of my King Tut Purple Peas harvested just before the frost hit last winter and what a burst of freshness they added to your pork chop with onion gravy and mashed potatoes. Miss you every day!

These collosal heads are buldging right out of the ground!  I planted early last September, so these guys should be ready to go in a week or so.  

My Cherokee Purple getting a close-up.   I have searched coast to coast more than once and these gems are the closest tomatoes I've found that can stand up to my all-time favorite...The Hanover.  

I'm suprised anything could grow in the weather we have been having down here in Hatteras but these tomatoes are going strong!

I took the largest cloves from our bulbs of Gilroy Garlic and tucked them in nice and cozy in my Phase 1 garden with some clean straw. (see above pic to see how far they have come since last fall.)

This is a close-up of 1 stalk from my garlic bed. This is a first for growing garlic for me, but I am  optimistic with the looks of this sturdy stalk.  I can't wait to dig one up in late summer.  Stay tuned!

I planted this dill seed last fall and all but gave up on if they were going to pull through.  I am happy to report they were just "Late Bloomers"

Our Big Boy always seems to find the last bit of sun at day's end.  Awe, look close and you can see his  little velvety buds starting to come right out of his lil' skull.  

Thanks to our wonderful neighbor, John, the Epic Gardner, for generously giving us a head start on some heirloom tomatoes! We can't wait to shake some salt on one or two of those Cherokee Purples!  Thanks again, John! 

Just got this baby pepper in the ground and he's already ready to go!  Slow down, Skeeter, don't grow up too fast, we got the whole summer.

These babies are on their way!  Califlower, broccoli, fennel, peas and carrots.  Fall planting is an experiment.  How will my garden grow with only Mother Nature tending to it?  I'm going to Florida, baby!  Stay tuned...

I took the largest cloves from each bulb and planted 35-40 of them in October as garlic actually needs to be planted in the fall and harvested the next summer.  Covering them with straw protects these newbies from the cold winter nights ahead.  You know, while I'm in Florida.  

Well, my califlower and broccoli had a good run until my chickens found "the garden I planted for them."  I'm so glad they don't like peas, carrot tops and garlic!   Fairwell, you guys were taken way too soon...and by the wrong species!

These guys aren't just beautiful, they are so delicious even right off the vine.

Have you ever seen such a dark purple carrot?   I chose to grow these wonders because they are off the charts when it comes to antioxidents.  Update:  they are delicious!!!

I loved the beautiful color of the pods of these peas yet the row of plump pearls inside were as green as...well, a pea.  Rumor has it these peas and their seeds were included in the Tomb of King Tut in order for him to have them in the after-life.

The name says it all and the pictures shows it all.  The lemon glaze was a great addition that adds the perfect amount of tartness to balance the sweetness of the blueberries.

I vacuum-packed pounds of pesto from last years basil harvest to be able to enjoy a taste of summer throughtout the long winter months.  I crumbled a couple of hand-made garlic croutons on top to experiment with a crunchy topping instead of those crazy- expensive pine nuts  and I LOVED the crunch the croutons added.  

Not yer momma's peas and carrots.  Bugs Bunny would be proud with all the varieties I grew, but he best keep his distance from our prized harvest.  Can you say...Hasenpheffer?  

And ah..no, this doesn't come in a can.  I upped my game for Thanksgiving and this tart stole the show.  Thanks for the recipe America's Test Kitchen!

I smoke all year long to stay on my game for our future endeavors.  The bark on these butts is just as good as it's bite.

I fire-roasted my home-grown poblanos, my jalapeños, my red, yellow and green peppers to fill this over-the-top quiche using the  gorgeous eggs from Nellie May Farms. Wish you coulda been here!

I caught this guy growing on the side of my  chicken pen.  I took a chance and picked him early...before the Bucky Brothers get to him. 

My chicken- pen-melon turned out just as sweet as he looks.  

My  new babies arrived from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.!  I can't wait to get these puppies in the ground. 

Help solve the mystery!  While reviewing my garden pics recently, I noticed a strange, smoke-like stream coming down the right side of my herb garden.  Do you know what/who it could be?   

Ok, this is a pic taken 5 seconds after the one on the left.  I would say a sun ray but I didn't notice it when I took the shot.  Anybody have a reasonable explanation or did I have a visitor?   

Last known photo of my Dear Charlotte.  She kept me company in my pepper garden.  She loved her daily shower and would swing on down every day  right into the spray of the hose and stay there at least 20-30 seconds, allowing herself to be battered around in the "rough currents of Hatteras" while I watered the garden.  She was, indeed, "Some Spider".

I love these tiny 5 Color Chinese Peppers.  I will be freezing some of these to throw into chili over the winter and making oils to bring us a lil' heat when it's chilly outside.

Five Color Chinese Peppers on a bed of combustible Habaneros on a bed of Pablaños and Jalapeños on a bed of green and yellow peppers.  I love all the colors the peppers bring us.  Crank up the flames, I be charring tonight.

Apparently, Mom feels pretty comfortable leaving them with us.  

 Let's hope jalapeños don't have feelings 'cause that grill pan is screaming hot.

These guys are going to add so much flavor to...everything.  

I am so happy to finally harvest this huge gem.  Two thumbs up!

We have been wondering when our girls would be back with their babies.  

After showing her several examples, she finally picked up on how to sign like The Donald!  I'll keep her away from the checkbooks. 

Our owl never takes his eyes off my melons.  He never takes his eyes off anything 'cause he has no eyes.  He's fake and he didn't work.  Not to worry, our Deer Friends got rid of most of those pesky melons for me. 

 After many years of trial and error, my StoneAgers Test Kitchens have finally perfected the breast. Paleo Joe says, "Ego marlf vargh." Roughly translated, "Eat meat eat vegetables... good."

The basil just keeps coming so the pesto keeps coming.  

Four more pounds of Liquid Gold  that will re-appear on an amazing plate of something over the winter when we want to have a lil' taste of summer.  

It's what's for dinner on Hatteras Island. 

My Crimson Sweet are just that.  These girls never leave each others' side. 

It's getting hot in here, so...

Well the peppers start comin' and they don't stop comin', back to the garden and I hit the ground runnin'.

We can pick figs from our porch, so we toss them on out for the boys, although it's fun watching them try to reach the fruit that's just out of their reach.

Although Big Boy had him beat by 1.7 oz., this guy was the star of our tomato sandwich.   

Am I  missing something? You can't make "Sunday Gravy" without garlic and basil, right?

My favorite Gilroy garlic arrived just in time for these tomatoes.  And, of course, with a dozen huge meatballs, we got gravy.

These collossol meatballs in my fresh tomato sauce are as good as they look.  I loaded my beef, pork and veal meatballs with Pecorino Romano and fresh parsley which permeated the garlicy sauce.  It just don't git no better an' this.

Fresh from the fields of Gilroy, CA, there is just no comparison when it comes to garlic.  To quote a line in a Seinfeld episode,  "They're real and they're spectacular".

 Sometimes size does matter.  

I  like big bulbs and I can not lie...

Just in case you thought I was using trick photography on the picture on the left. On the right in this shot is a perfectly acceptable bulb from your average grocery store.  You can see why Gilroy is considered "The Garlic Capital of the World."  

Parmigiano Reggiano is my favorite cheese and the traditional cheese used for pesto.  I mixed it up a little this year by not only using toasted pine nuts and parm, but trying out our first batch with Grana Padano and toasted almonds.  It is delicious,  but there is a reason Parmigiano Reggiano is King. 

Each batch of my pesto is vaccum-packed and ready for the freezer within 20-30 minutes of  picking my basil to ensure I get that taste of summer taste we all crave during those long winter months. Each batch takes 3 cups of basil so I pick 3 cups at a time. I made the mistake of picking all the basil at once for a couple of batches years ago, but basil does not like it.  Vacuum-packing not only keeps the pesto fresh, it's very freezer-space-friendly.  I'll get at least another 10 pounds on this one freezer shelf this summer. 

You would think it's all fun and games 'til the watermelon runs out, but on a scorching hot day,  our momma is so polite, she steps aside and lets our chickens take a turn on an ice-cold slice. She is smart enough to know that some watermelon is better than no watermelon.  

Progress is slow when you're living on an island., but you do all you can to make progress everyday. I am so happy this big step is behind me!  Now we band them and git this cabin off the ground!