Rainy Afternoon in the Kitchen on Our Tiny Farm

This time of year it can be difficult to find time to spend in the kitchen, but it is a rainy afternoon and I am working on on the computer trying to sell my book (spent too much time on that baby not to make at least a little money from it!), so it is a good time to make some Our Tiny Farm staples. First I got a batch of yogurt fermenting. My dear daughter eats my fresh yogurt every day. This evening I'll start a batch of Greek yogurt, too.

Commercial gluten-free bread is just too expensive to always have on hand, so I started a loaf of mine own using Pamela's Baking mix that I buy in bulk. Looking forward to smelling it baking.

We dug some potatoes the other day, so for dinner I'm planning to make a Spanish Tortilla with them and some fresh green onions. Last night hubby made a wonderful stew using our own pasture raised beef and potatoes. It was heavenly. Few things better than cooking wholesome food for your family using fresh ingredients that you raised yourself. We are so blessed.

 

And this is what that Spanish Tortilla looked like. It is potatoes, onions, and sweet banana peppers sauted in oil and cooked covered until the potatoes are tender. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Then topped with eight beaten eggs and cooked covered until the eggs are set. Served with sour cream and salsa.

How Scott Persons, Wild-Simulated Ginseng Expert, and I Became Co-authors

Scott Persons is known around the world as THE expert on growing ginseng in the woods. His book, American Ginseng Green Gold is a classic book on the topic.

Scott was good friends with my predecessor in my faculty position at NC State University. That is Dr. Tom Konsler. Tom did research on growing ginseng and some of that work is highlighted in the book. Tom retired in 1987 and I took over his position in 1988. I picked up research and extension responsibilities for ginseng and added other herbs, both medicinal and culinary. Scott and I became acquainted and were on several educational programs together. When it came time for him to revise the book, he asked me to read it over and help edit it. When it came time to revise the book again, he suggested to his publisher, Bright Mountain Books, that they change the format somewhat and include other woodland herbs. Scott approached me about doing that and our book, Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal, and Other Woodland Botanicals, was born.

I will always be grateful to Scott for inviting me to coauthor that book with him. What an opportunity it was for a first time author! He helped me make the transition from being a technical writer to a more personal one fairly easy. The folks at Bright Mountain Books were also incredibly helpful.  After that book was published, it too quickly developed a reputation for being the go-to authorative source for information on growing the most popular forest botanicals used in the medicinal herb industry.

When it came time to revise that book, we had some big decisions to make. Our publisher was retiring and shutting down her business. So we began the search for a new publisher. I was also interested in expanding the book to serve the growing home gardener interest in woodland botanicals. I started approaching publishers that I thought might be interested in our book and was very excited when New Society Publishers in British Columbia said they wanted it. I LOVE their books and their philosophy; they are all about sustainable, green living. What a great fit! And so, the revised, updated expanded version of Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal, and Other Woodland Medicinals was created.

Working with New Society Publishers has been a delight. They have a great team of people to help authors through the long and complicated process of writing, editing, and marketing a book. And they make it fun. So, the book is just out now and Scott and I are both very proud of it. The book is beautiful, the format is easy to read, and it feels good in your hands. It is a big book, over 500 pages, chock full of iniformation on how to grow, harvest, dry, sell, and enjoy these wonderful plants. So, if this topic is of interest to you, pick up a book. You can order one signed by me, Jeanine Davis, right here on this blog. You can order one signed by Scott Persons by contacting him at Tuckasegee Valley Ginseng, P.O. Box 236, Tuckasegee, NC 28783, (828) 293-5189. Some of your local, independent booksellers will carry it, and they all can order it for you. And the big online discount booksellers carry it, too. The suggested retail price for the book is $39.95, but it is available for a WIDE range of prices already. Hope you enjoy it!

Fourth of July was a Beautiful Day on Our Tiny Farm

We had a beautiful summer morning today! Brilliant blue sky; cool temperatures; light breeze; and dry air. It has been so humid lately; the dry air felt heavenly. It was a good morning to spend outside with the animals as we prepped for the evening festivities. Fourth of July means lots of fireworks and gunshots once it gets dark. Since we never know how the animals will respond, we take down all the portable fencing, remove the donkey toys, and take out the partition in the barn. That way, if the animals run around wildly at night, hopefully there is nothing out there for them to get hurt on.

A couple was driving by in their car today and they stopped to look at the horses and donkeys. I could overhear them from across the field. The woman was talking about the masks the animals were wearing. She was concerned that they couldn't see at all and wondered why the owners would blind their animals that way. She asked the driver if the masks were to stop them from running away or something. I wish I could have talked to them. I would have explained that those are fly masks. They keep the flies and gnats out of the animals eyes and ears. Without them, the donkeys and horses ears would be full of scabs from hundreds of bites and there would be flies gathered all around their eyes. Our animals actually like wearing their masks and they can see just fine through them; I've tested it myself. We do take them off at night and when it is raining heavily.

This is the first garlic that we have harvested from the market garden. It looks great! Hope the rest of the crop is as big and healthy looking. We have always grown beautiful garlic on this little farm. Maintaining healthy soil and following long crop rotations are key. We will finish harvesting over the next week and then it will cure for about six weeks in one of our open sheds.

We also pulled off a nice early honey crop. We will not have as much honey for sale as we usually do because we are still recovering from all the hives we have lost over the past two years. This colony collapse disorder is frightening. One day the hive looks healthy and active and the next day the bees are just gone.

We also harvested our first eggplants; fried them up in olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper for dinner tonight. Also had fresh snap peas. Yum. We aren't growing eggplant or snap peas for sale this year, but other farmers at the Mills River Farmers Market are, so check them out tomorrow. We aren't selling on the market yet; it will be late summer before we are there with garlic, honey, and popcorn. In the meantime, I will visit the market to buy berries, lettuce, and other crops we aren't growing. Hope to see you there.