The View From Here

This afternoon I am working on my porch, sorting apples and pears for tomorrow's farmers market in Bucyrus. It is a pleasant job, set to fragrant music.

A soft breeze swirls around the heavenly scents of apples and pears as it makes random music with the windchimes. Bird song drifts down from treetop choir lofts. Leaves dance in the air on their earthbound journey. 

And the view?

Well, just look!

Marcheta *basking in country glory

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

*Y*I*K*E*S*

Need I say more?

Marcheta *________________(speechless) (amazing, huh?)

It's That [Zucchini] Time Again!

Zucchinis get a bad rap. But why?

Probably because of their shear abundance...they seem to breed faster than rabbits, taking over home gardens. The gardener then has a dilemma on her hands; no one seems to want her abundance because they've all got plenty of abundance of their own!

This abundance has led to many, many recipes for using up "zukes" (as my friend and frequent OCJ guest blogger, Noel, calls zucchinis!).

Last week I got an email from Alita, sharing a recipe for zucchini cupcakes from A Taste of Home. Recipes submitted to the editors of A Taste of Home always seem to be favorite, "tried and true" recipes, making them extremely dependable and trustworthy.

Thanks, Alita, for taking time to share this recipe for zucchini cupcakes. When can I come over for my dessert?  I'll bring a "few" zucchinis with me :)

Marcheta *waiting...waiting...

A Taste of Home recipe -- http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/zucchini-cupcakes

Friends and family who've tried it have liked it.  Tastes like spice cake.  The frosting could make anything taste good.  :-)
Alita

Bag Lady

Over the holiday weekend, Jim and I went to several swap meets and festivals. The activities were as diverse as day and night. 

Saturday morning I was set up at 'Lil Farmers Market in Bucyrus. At the close, Jim came to help me pack up, then we had a nice lunch at Carle's Bratwurst before going over to Hobo Days at Bucyrus' historic train depot. The depot is in the process of being restored, and it is amazing. Back at home, I did nothing for the rest of the day. I know, right? Fruit allover the place begging to be made into sauces and jams, and I totally ignored it! 

Along with the (huge!) swap meets at Gibsonburg, on Sunday we went to the Polka, Perogie, and Perch Festival at Port Clinton, held at the same time as the Tall Ships re-enactment of Perry's victory at 'sea' (Lake Erie) during the War of 1812. We finished the day by going to Marblehead Lighthouse and driving through beautiful Ohio farmland on the way home.

On Monday we headed south and went to two swap meets in Johnstown. The swap meet at a sportsmen's club was the largest I have ever seen: a virtual sea of canopies that housed everything under the sun. At one booth I found a box of apple bags, which was a happy find. Most booths at this swap meet were hunting related, being at a sportsmen's club, it made sense. It turned out that the vendor bought the box of bags at an auction because it was combined in a lot that had other things that he wanted.   We ended our two day "staycation" by taking the long way home so that I could spend time with nature photography at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area. 

All-in-all, it was a very nice Labor Day weekend, even if we weren't able to spend it with our kids.

I am so happy that I found these bags. We are much too small to buy orchard supplies unless we want to pay big bucks for smaller quantities. My method so far has been to line quart baskets with food storage bags, and then put larger quantities in appropriate sized baskets (such as half peck, peck, half bushel, etc.).

 I had to be careful when packing the apples to take to market, to keep the varieties together in case I have a helper with me who is not familiar enough with each kind to recognize them on sight alone. 

Now, with my apple bags, that is not a problem because there is place on the bags identify the type. Even with taking time to mark each bag, my sorting time was cut in half today.

HOORAY

But, the best part is that these are bags made for storing apples (with holes in them), meaning that my customers can pop the bags right in their fridges.

So professional...I hardly know how to act.

I don't know how market customers are going to react to this new system. What was good about the basket system is that people could see the apples because the liners were folded under. Today I am taking baskets with me and when I set up, pop the new bags in them to see how they display. It will help keep the tables tidy, I know that much. Even with this extra step, I am ahead of the game because it will not take that long AND everything will fit in my car better. Gone are the worries that if I have to stop quickly all the fruit will go flying (as it has before...believe me!).

So, today I am a happy (apple sortin') camper

Marcheta *bag lady and proud of it :)

Happy Labor Day

Whether you are celebrating Labor Day with family and friends at BBQ's and/or reunions, or simply loafing around the house (or, drat it! actually working today), I hope that you are enjoying the holiday.

Right now we are putzing around the house; Jim spent part of the morning picking apples and I've been looking through photo files for images to enter into contests. I haven't been out and about for nature photography for a long time, and looking at the pictures has inspired me to spend part of the day with my camera.

Today is the auto tour at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. The self-driven tour lets people go to places on the refuge that is only open to the public during the auto tours.

Last July, during the auto tour, I saw this juvenile Bald Eagle. If we go today, I am hoping to get good pictures of Trumpeter and/or Tundra Swans.


Marcheta *nature calls

Mini Baked Pumpkin Pie Spiced Donuts

Happy First Day of September!

And so it begins....my favorite season, and I want to savor every moment of it. I especially love all the festivals that Ohio is known for...every weekend it seems that we have several choices.

We are well into our apple season now and may even make cider on Thursday...sure signs that it truly is September despite this recent heat wave which makes me feel that I am in the grip of high summer.

Leave it to Noel to have a perfect (and easy to make!) recipe for welcoming the new season! The only thing that I would change about making these tasty treats is to use Pure Ohio Maple Syrup in the maple glaze idea.

Serve these donuts with hot or cold apple cider for the ultimate taste of autumn!

Marcheta *let autumn begin!




 For more easy recipes, visit Noel at  Apron Free Cooking.


   Autumn is here and along with those cool, crisp mornings comes a craving for something warm and delicious. Enter the Mini Pumpkin Pie Spiced Donut, a sweet morning treat baked with the quintessential flavor of fall.

“You won’t believe how easy it is to make these donuts at home,” said Mary Beth Harrington of the McCormick Kitchens. “They’re perfect to mix together with your kids – no trip to the bakery required.”

For the final touch, dip the donuts in a fall-inspired glaze. Flavors like vanilla, mocha or maple complement the pumpkin spice in the donut – the ultimate autumn indulgence.


For more recipe ideas to try this fall, visit www.McCormick.com, www.Facebook.com/McCormickSpice, or www.Pinterest.com/mccormickspices.

Mini Baked Pumpkin Pie Spiced Donuts with Vanilla Glaze

Ingredients

Donuts:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice

Vanilla Glaze:

• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 11/2 teaspoons McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract

Maple Glaze:

• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon McCormick Imitation Maple Flavor

Mocha Glaze:

• 8 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon McCormick Pure Coffee Extract

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. For donuts, spray mini donut pan with no-stick cooking spray. (If you do not have mini donut pan, use mini cupcake pan to make donut holes. You may also use an electric donut maker. Prepare as directed.) Set aside. Mix all ingredients in medium bowl until well blended. Spoon batter into prepared pan, using 1 tablespoon batter for each donut.
2. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
3. Meanwhile, for glaze, mix all ingredients in large bowl until smooth. Remove donuts from pan. Immediately coat in glaze. Place donuts on wire rack set over baking sheet or waxed paper to cool.

Serves
15
SOURCE:
McCormick

Visions of Sugar Plums

Ladies and Gentlemen, Stanley is  In. The. House.

Stanley Plum, that is.

(applause)

Thank you. Thank you very much!

Naturally sweet, Stanleys are also called 'prune plums' because, well, you guessed it. When dried, they become tasty prunes.

I've never gotten that far with our Stanleys. We eat 'em up fresh, and maybe I'll make a batch or two of preserves. 

Why am I so excited about the plums? Because growing them these past few years has been a tale of woe. This is the first crop from one of several new trees that we've planted since our tried and true Stanley trees fell victim to Black Knot fungus around 12 years ago.

Our original Stanley plum trees were propagated by Arpod Kiss, himself a transplant from Hungary. Arpod was a fantastic horticulturist who could grow anything. He started our trees with cuttings from his own plum trees.

When we got our first crop, we fell in love with the plums. So did all of our friends. When the trees up and died, a sadness fell over the orchard. It's been a struggle since then to establish Stanley plum trees. When this tree finally made a crop we thought we had finally nipped the problem in the bud (so to speak), but we were wrong.

Jim found the beginnings of our arch enemy, Black Knot, on one of the branches. He amputated the diseased area and burned it. We are hoping that the operation took care of the problem. Only time will tell. But for now, FINALLY, we get to gorge ourselves with sweet plums.

Marcheta *plum excited 

The Grazin' 'n' Harmony Co-Op

I came across this lovely pastoral scene this morning and did a double take. The first animal that I noticed was a cute little kid. In a split second, a big ole beautiful cow caught my eye. Then sheep. 

HUH?

I don't ever remember seeing a mixed pasture like this before. Watching the animals wander about grazing, minding their own business,  and not butting into their neighbors' business felt peaceful to me. What a fantastic lesson in co-operation!

When I got out of the car to photograph them, the Boss Cow came over and gave me the once over with her gigantic bovine eyes. After a single bat of her long eyelashes, she gave me the stink eye and herded up the rest of the animals into a tight little group. I named her Bessie.

The other animals and cows simply began grazing again, but Bossy Bessie kept her eyes on me until I left. I had the feeling that if I had ventured closer, she would have called some sort of Bovine Hotline to get the Pasture Patrol Police after me. 

Hey, when cows talk to me, I listen, and took my pictures with my 70 -300 lens scoped clear out.

I love Bossy Bessie! Can you imagine having that kind of protection? This cow seems to know what real love is. :)

Marcheta *listening ears turned on

Bunny and Claude

These alpacas are so adorable that I can hardly believe that they are real. I mean, c'mon, dig their crazy hairdos and "deer in the headlights" expressions!

The other day I delivered apples and pears to my full-time country woman neighbor, Rachel, who live down a (very!) long lane. The alpaca yard is along the drive. On my way out I decided to stop to get pictures. I was hoping to capture the woolly creatures being natural, but they had other thoughts and began posing. Such hams!

For no particular reason, when I first saw this image after downloading files the names Bunny and Claude came to my mind. Next time I see Rachel, I'll ask her if the camelids have names, and if not, if my will do. :)

Mostly, I think that their faces are expressing curiosity. Maybe it was the camera, maybe it was the woman behind the lens...the only thing that I am sure of is that they were not going to do anything but stare into the lens!

Rachel's path from city gal to full-time country woman is an interesting story; one that I hope to record soon here at OCJ. Right now, though, both of us are busy, busy setting up at farmers markets and doing the other million things that need our attention. 

Marcheta *tilt you head a bit to the right, please

Alita's First Garlic Harvest

Alita Phillips finally has the 'luxury' of being a full-time country woman because she recently retired from her office job.

Even though she worked full-time, Alita always had a small veggie patch of 'regular' plants, such as tomatoes, but did not have the time to learn about how to raise other plants.

 Inspired by an earlier OCJ post about garlic scapes, Alita got busy working in an existing garlic patch. Today she sent me an email with this picture of her first garlic harvest. As you can see in Alita's picture, she has an impressive harvest of this savory and healthy plant!

Sadly, my own garlic patch needs attention. Maybe I'll think about it tomorrow?

Marcheta *jut like "Scarlet"



Years ago my sister, Sheree, gave me some garlic starts.  I planted them at the edge of my asparagus patch and they gradually took over.  This spring I zealously worked on clearing it because it was crowding out the asparagus.

Then Marcheta posted a blog about how to harvest garlic.  I had not known when or how to do it properly to get nicely developed heads with the papery covering like you buy on the grocery.  You can tell by the photo below, following her advice worked.

My garlic has always "volunteered," but this fall I'm going to plant some to make certain I have a crop to harvest next July.

Thanks, Sheree & Marcheta!!