tomato soup

Tomato Basil Soup (can be served warm or cold)
2 shallots, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
12-15 fresh tomatoes, I prefer heirloom types like Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, Amish Paste or Prudens Purple, and mix the varieties for complexity. Otherwise, Roma is always good as well.
4 cups chicken stock, low sodium
handful fresh basil, chopped
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
homemade croutons for garnish

Sizzle the shallots and garlic in the olive oil, add tomatoes, simmer till broken down. Add chicken broth, simmer on slow heat about 20 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and basil, stir. Lower heat, stir in cream, heat through. Watch so it doesn't scorch. Add salt and pepper to taste, garnish with homemade garlicky croutons.

Great pumpkins!! 1313 lbs and 1323 lbs

Today at the farm market Central Wisconsin Pumpkin Growers had on display two giant pumpkins. One was 1313 pounds and the other was a whopping 1323 pounds! Here are a few pictures, aren't they amazing?

Community Herbs - a project in Appleton, WI

Here in Appleton, Wisconsin there is a community project called Community Herbs. Its for at risk Appleton West high school students who run a student run business growing and selling culinary herbs. They grow the herbs in a hoop house green house and sell them at the farmers market and to area restaurants. They are learning how to grow plants, how to market them, the importance of local economy, and creating a niche market. How cool is this, to be able to learn life skills and the feeling of genuine pride.

Tonights class - herbal honey

I'm teaching a class tonight on how to make herbal honey. I use clover honey to which I add the herb of choice, for a cup of honey I use 1 -2 tablespoons herb. So far I have only experimented with using one herb at a time, but plan on experimenting with blends. For delicate tastes to spread on a biscuit or muffin or to swirl into a cup of tea, organic lavender honey is fantastic. So is citrus peel honey and cinnamon honey. For more robust flavors suitable for smearing on grilled chicken, I like to use garlic honey or for a bit of zip, cayenne honey. Once I combine the herbs and honey, it goes into the refrigerator. After about a week the flavor of the herb has permeated the honey.

Autumn tasks, looking ahead to next years garden

Last Sunday didn't find me out in the yard raking (way too windy) so this Sunday is going to be spent pulling out the remaining veggie plants from the garden and adding to the compost bins. I'm also going to gather up as many leaves from the yard as possible to top dress the gardens and add to the latest lasagna garden. I am really expanding the gardens to grow as much food as possible next year, and the leaves make a great soil amendment (and they're free!). Early this morning I pulled carrots to go in the crock pot along with celery, potatoes and a beef roast. The recent frosts have made the carrots even sweeter, they are delicious. I need to plant extra carrots next year to try to overwinter in the garden. I miss going out to harvest a "garden meal" now that frost at night is more common than not. I also need to plan for more potatoes and extra room for the acorn squash. I don't think the neighbor was too happy to see our squash vines climbing their tree. Also, more shallots! For sweet corn I will just go with the bi color, it was far superior to the all yellow. I want to plant wine grapes, and a Montmorency tart cherry tree, and more raspberries. This is fun time, planning, when there are endless possibilities.

Exchanges, barter

I am thinking of ways to set up "exchanges" here in Appleton. Kind of like a community bulletin board, where people can post needs and wants, for example "looking for someone to change the oil in my car, will provide all necessary equipment and oil, in exchange for homemade bread." Does anyone have any thoughts on this, or on bartering?

Autumn day at the beach

What a gorgeous weekend! We had high 70s both days, perfect slight breeze. We decided to take a quick trip down to Madison to enjoy one last day on the beach before colder weather sets in for good. Perfect day, the sand wasn't too hot (in July it was so hot it blistered my feet) but the water, brrrrr. Just a few ladybugs flying around, so we weren't attacked by mosquitoes either. We picnicked on the beach, read magazines, snoozed and had a blast.