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May 9, 2008

Homegrown tromboncino squash, broccoli and cheese pasta dish

Homegrown salad, snow peas and pasta

Tasty green and radish salad

Tray of homemade broccoli lasagna comes out of the earthen oven

Homemade broccoli lasagna with salad

Kale salad with broccoli cheese pasta

It’s Friday and you know what that means? Time for another weekly meal wrap up highlighting what we urban homesteaders ate this week.

This week we are enjoying homegrown strawberries, snow peas, broccoli and trombonico (from our winter squash stash)

SATURDAY (out & about Ten Thousand Villages, Pasadena)

Breakfast - homemade waffles (homeraised eggs) with fresh, homegrown strawberries
Dinner - homemade whole wheat flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (CA grown organic rice, spices) with organic black beans topped with cheese and homegrown lettuce

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade granola
Lunch - leftovers from Saturday potluck
Dinner - homegrown snow peas, homegrown broccoli with CA grown brown rice with homegrown salad

MONDAY

Breakfast - homemade granola
Lunch - homegrown snow peas, homegrown broccoli with organic whole wheat pasta and homegrown salad
Dinner - homegrown snow peas, homegrown broccoli with organic whole wheat pasta and homegrown salad

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade granola
Lunch - homegrown broccoli, homegrown green onions, homegrown celery with organic cheese pasta with homegrown kale salad (thanks Merryrose for the dressing recipe!)
Dinner - homegrown broccoli lasagna with homegrown salad

WEDNESDAY (CA Heartland filming)

Breakfast - homemade granola
Lunch - pizza topped with homegrown snow peas, homegrown broccoli, homegrown/preserved peppers with homegrown salad with homegrown radishes
Dinner - leftover homegrown broccoli lasagna with homegrown salad

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade granola
Lunch - homegrown snow peas and organic whole wheat pasta with homemade lemon butter with homegrown salad
Dinner - homegrown snow peas and organic whole wheat pasta with homemade lemon butter with homegrown salad

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade granola
Lunch - homegrown broccoli, homegrown tromboncino squash with organic cheese macaroni
Dinner - organic whole wheat pasta with homegrown broccoli and kale, homegrown baby field greens, homemade no knead bread and homegrown/homemade wine

Nod

This week’s posts joins some good company at Two Frog Home’s Friday Favorites. Thanks for the nod, Kathie!

Filed under: Homegrown Diet, Posts by Anais |

Tags: bread, celery, eggs, filming, homegrown, Homegrown Diet, Out & About, peas, potluck

May 9, 2008

RE: KVIE/Cal Heartland

Hi Jules, Nici (yours truly’s nickname… sheesh, now everyone knows!), Jordie & Justin! I can’t thank you enough for letting us into your home and giving us a wonderful story! You are truly a dedicated, inspirational and warm family and I really had a great experience getting to know you and your project. The food you served us was such a treat and so good, I want your recipes! ha ha (I’m sure everyone asks, right?)

I hope you enjoy the program when it comes out and I’ll be sure to let you know when that is and get you a copy of the show as well. Take care and please let me know if you have any questions, etc. I hope to see you again in the future! Thank you again for what you do.. it’s contagious and I hope the people that watch this show will also be inspired to take action as well.

All the best, Jennifer

Thanks for the positive comments, Jennifer, it was a pleasure working with you & your crew. We and all our California readers look forward to the new season of Public TV’s California Heartland.

:: Field Hand Appreciation :: SO $50 donation. Thanks to generous support from our readers you help keep this site growing!

Filed under: Letterbox, Posts by Anais |

Tags: california heartland, inspiration, support

May 9, 2008

The goats enjoy play time and an evening snack of greens from the garden, hay and grain

Street side view of the front yard with line filled with wildflowers that act as a beneficial border attracting loads of butterflies, birds and insects (lady bugs, praying manti and bees!).

The sun finally peeked thru yesterday. It’s been days since we’ve seen some decent sunshine. In fact it’s been downright cold and dreary. Early Wednesday AM and during for brief periods during the day, a heavy drizzle fell. A little after midnight, Jordanne was awaken by the sound of rain falling off the roof and woke me and Justin up. We had to go out and cover the earth oven and bring in the solar ovens since the perciptation was a little unexpected.

I think we’ve caught up on most of the comments left by our readers. It’s great to see reader participation and hear of others journey. The Daily Bread post is hopping with commentors - care to share your fave bread recipes?

A few of you have inquired about when the NIGHLINE piece will air. As soon as we have a definite air time, we’ll let you know! Should be interesting to see how the piece comes together since they were here filming for three days and got some interesting “behind the scenes” look at life here on the urban homestead.

Farmer D is still nursing an old ankle injury that flares up now and again. Yesterday evening Farmer D was invited for an 1 hr long telephone interview with Tera from the Raw Divas to speak to their private membership club. Thanks again Tera for the invite, we appreciated sharing our journey with your members.

The garden’s growing and the wildflowers are blooming. It’s springtime ya’ll!

Closer look at the beneficial border. A colorful display of California poppies, bachelor buttons, cosmos and scarlet flax

The lady bugs are here! Loads of ladybugs are hatching in the “beneficial border” - welcome little fellas.

Strawberry delight - homemade strawberry bars with fresh, homegrown strawberries. No artificial coloring needed.

Yesterday, we (Jordanne & I) made our first batch strawberry bars of the season. Of course by today the tray was complete demolished. We’ve been snacking on fresh strawberries for about a week now and couldn’t wait to make our first berry bars of the season.

As for the other berries growing here on the urban homestead, we harvested a first few blueberries. We are up against Mr or Mrs Mockingbird who has been spotted snatching a couple. Will have to put up some bird netting if he gets to be too much of a berry snatcher.

Coming up next - Weekly Meal Wrap Up and perhaps more!

Filed under: Homestead Life, In the Garden, In the Kitchen, Posts by Anais |

Tags: filming, in the garden, nightline, Urban Homestead

May 8, 2008

The crew smiles through the dreary, heavy mist

Farmer D show off the strawberry “fields” city style (growing in the driveway)

California Hearland, travels over the Grapevine and down into the mega car LA metropolis. Yesterday, they visited the urban farm-homestead.

With those not familar with this Public TV show, the program highlights California grown aggies. Stay tuned - this season the show plans on launching a new season this fall with an urban twist!  We will keep reader’s posted on when this particular episode will air (sometime in the Fall)

Filed under: PTF Spotlights, Posts by Anais |

Tags: california grown, california heartland, pbs, urban aggies, urban agriculture, urban farming

May 8, 2008

 Tomatoes reach over 4 feet high… and growing.  Spotted several wee little green ‘maters.

 Squashes slowing start taking over the garden

 Climbing cukes make it up a couple feet on the trellis.  Got a little ways to go there fella. 

 Beans are up.  Beans and butter are only months away.  Sheesh, my mouth is watering.  The shiny object is a metal trellis placed on the newly seeded raised bed to protect the bed from neighboring cats.

Filed under: In the Garden, Posts by Anais |

Tags: Garden, urban agriculture, urban farming