Wacky weather whiplash pattern continues.  Last week it was a scorching 95 degrees; then quicker than you can say  "summer's here?" a  few days later it's cold, overcast and raining (what a BLESSING!).

The poor plants are totally confused and so are we - sweater on, sweater off, on, off?

In the garden, the elephant garlic is just about ready to harvest and we've been digging up pounds and pounds of tasty potatoes!  Just today made a potato salad with home canned pickled carrots and homegrown celery - so yummy!  Can't beat the flavor and texture of homegrown potatoes!

The summer crops are slowly replacing the spring greens and brassicas. Justin informed me that they already spotted the hated (invasive) bagrada bug due to the heat. Bugger!

As head manager of the front porch farm stand, my duties include not only managing the operation, taking orders and such but also  filling them. Think that's my favorite part: to be out in the garden early in the morning harvesting the lovely bouquet of greens.   I do declare that one morning we all picked nearly 30 lbs of greens to fill the orders that morning!  Whew!

Bouquet of greens, indeed.  One of our customers exclaimed, "If I ever got married, this would be my bouquet."  Awwww.

APRIL HARVEST

276 lb produce

Eggs 141 (Duck) 73 (Chicken)

2011 YEAR TO DATE

939 lb produce

Eggs 486 (Duck)  190 (Chicken)

Chopping up the pickles!

Quite colorful and tasty too

Anticipating the time in the future of adding some fish into our diet (see ETHICAL EATING),  we have been adding more tuna to the menu.

Since turning vegetarian in the early 90s, we’ve occasionally eaten fish.  So fish we is what we are  used to,  but it’s been awhile since we went fishing!  Actually, on our 10 acre homestead in Florida, we had a fresh water pond filled with bass.  I used to fish "Huckleberry Finn" style with a simple pole.  Sometimes, I got lucky!    Grandpa loved to fish and  he would take us kids with him on his fishing trips to Tampa Bay.    And Grandma would make a mean snapper dish that was famous far and wide.

We aren't fishing any time soon.   Canned tuna is cheap, so we figured we’d start with that.  We bought a couple cans of "dolphin safe"  from Trader Joes. I know there's probably a better (fresh)  fish selection at Whole Foods (or 'Whole Paycheck' as one of our friend likes to call it) but we've committed not to shop at Whole Foods since it  admitted to selling GMO's

Recently,  I decided I should make an easy peasy tuna pasta salad.  But, of course, my habit is tweaking recipes to fit what we have in our home canned pantry stock.

Opening up the cupboards,  I find sweet zucchini pickles and dilly carrots.   Hmmm, this could work!

PASTA TUNA SALAD
© 2011 Cooks.com - All rights reserved.

1 1/2 c. sm. pasta
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen peas, thawed  (substituted a two handfuls of homegrown celery)
1 1/2 c. chopped carrots  (substituted chopped dilly carrots & sweet zucchini pickles)
1/4 c. finely chopped onion  (substituted homegrown green onions)
2/3 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dill weed   (too early for fresh dill in the garden yet, substituted fennel)
1 tsp. salt  (I used 'celery salt')
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 sm. can tuna

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well. Cool (rinse with cold water to cool quickly; drain well). Thaw peas completely; drain well. Combine cooled pasta, peas, carrots, onion and tuna in a large bowl; mix well. Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar, dill weed, salt and pepper in a small bowl; blend well. Pour mayonnaise dressing over macaroni mixture; toss lightly. Chill. Garnish with paprika and serve on lettuce leaves if desired.

Happy to say, everyone enjoyed it!  Even Jordanne, who's not too keen on tuna.

It's starting to FINALLY feel like FALL! To celebrate the change in season we cut open one of of our first winter squashes (Burgess Buttercup) yum!

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade/homegrown pancakes topped with homegrown strawberries
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado  and onions with raw cheese

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - leftovers from Saturday dinner
Dinner - homeraised eggs - omelet with homegrown green peppers, tomatoes, jalapenos, celery topped with raw cheese

MONDAY

OUT

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown winter squash topped with homegrown pomegranates with ca organic rice with homegrown peppers and herbs
Dinner - homegrown winter squash topped with homegrown pomegranates with ca organic rice with homegrown peppers and herbs

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown squash, limas, green beans, peppers steamed on top of organic CA grown rice
Dinner - homegrown squash, limas, green beans, peppers steamed on top of organic CA grown rice

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - summer homegrown vegetables (red & green peppers, tomatoes) mac & cheese casserole topped with homegrown herb seasoned bread crumbs
Dinner - homemade/homegrown herb pizza crust topped with homegrown roasted eggplant, peppers, basil, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch -  homegrown tomato sandwich
Dinner - homemade tomato sauce (homegrown garlic, celery, onions, peppers and tomatoes) with pasta and parmesan cheese

The ash, smoke and heat are finally gone - for now.    What a difference a week makes!  These last few mornings and evenings have been cool - cool enough for a light sweater in fact.  So much more comfortable weather wise and not to mention one is now able to breathe better.

Lots of goings on in the garden - getting ready for fall and pretty soon the change of season will result in a complete change in menu so we are enjoying summer while it lasts.

Here's what we ate last week.

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade/homegrown blueberry pancakes
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado  and onions (from Farmer S) with raw cheese

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - leftovers from Saturday dinner
Dinner - homegrown tomatoes, cucumber sandwich with homemade sauerkraut local cabbage (from Farmer S)

MONDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - left overs from potluck on Sunday
Dinner - homegrown tomatoes, cucumber sandwich with homemade sauerkraut local cabbage (from Farmer S)

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown lima beans and homegrown carrots with homegrown herb butter
Dinner - homegrown roasted eggplant, homegrown sun dried tomatoes, homegrown peppers, basil and pasta

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown green beans and homegrown carrots with homegrown herb butter
Dinner - fig tacos (homegrown figs, peppers, tomatoes, cilantro) with organic raw cheese and sour cream

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown tomatoes, cucumber sandwich with homemade sauerkraut local cabbage (from Farmer S)
Dinner  -out

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch -  homemade, homegrown herb pizza crust topped with homegrown tomatoes, peppers, roasted eggplant and basil and mozzarella cheese
Dinner - homemade tomato sauce (homegrown garlic, celery, onions, peppers and tomatoes) with pasta and parmesan cheese

The summer garden is still puttering along and providing us with a bounty of good food.

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade/homegrown blueberry pancakes
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado  and onions (from Farmer S) with raw cheese

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - leftovers from Saturday dinner
Dinner - homegrown tomatoes, cucumber sandwich with homemade sauerkraut local cabbage (from Farmer S)

MONDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - left overs from potluck on Sunday
Dinner - left overs from potluck on Sunday

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown tomatoes, cucumber sandwich with homemade sauerkraut local cabbage (from Farmer S)
Dinner - homegrown tomatoes, cucumber sandwich with homemade sauerkraut local cabbage (from Farmer S)

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown stuffed peppers (homegrown herbs, squash and organic rice) with homegrown cucumber and tomato salad
Dinner - homegrown stuffed peppers (homegrown herbs, squash and organic rice) with homegrown cucumber and tomato salad

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown stuffed peppers (homegrown herbs, squash and organic rice) with homegrown cucumber and tomato salad
Dinner  - homemade herb pizza crust topped with homegrown homegrown-preserved marinated peppers and homegrown tomatoes, roasted eggplants, basil, figs and mozerella cheese with homegrown tomato and cucumber, basil salad

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch -  homegrown avocado and tomatoes on toast with homegrown tomato and cucumber, basil salad
Dinner - homemade tomato sauce (homegrown garlic, celery, onions, peppers and tomatoes) with pasta and parmesan cheese

The meals last week were certainly very colorful and tasty.  We are still working on using up the huge bag of carrots we harvested a few weeks back so we enjoyed an easy and very delicious carrot salad with almost each one of our meals.

The tromboncino squashes are young and very tender and sweet - perfect for summer squash dishes.  We tried a new squash casserole recipe that caught our eye and it turned out really delicious.  The guys even asked for seconds and that's always a good thing!

Enjoying sweet and plump figs on sandwiches, in flour tortillas and toppings on pizza.  Figs are a very versatile food and enjoying using them in savory dishes.

Not to mention for dessert we've been devouring Jordanne's scrumptious avocado and chocolate cupcakes.  Thing is they are so good - too good in fact they are dangerous!  Dangerous to the waistline (well, for me anyway)  I'm the kind that looks at desserts and can gain 5 lbs.

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade/homegrown blueberry pancakes with homegrown strawberries
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado  and onions (from Farmer S) with raw cheese

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - leftovers from Saturday
Dinner - homegrown carrot salad (honey and orange dressing and ca grown raisins) with homegrown green bean salad with homegrown fig and cheese sandwich

MONDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown squash, basil and herbs with pasta homegrown carrot salad (honey and orange dressing & ca grown raisins)
Dinner - homegrown squash, basil, tomatoes, peppers and herbs with pasta homegrown carrot salad (honey and orange dressing)

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown green beans with homegrown carrot salad (honey and orange dressing with ca grown raisins)
Dinner - homegrown squash casserole with homegrown carrot salad (honey and orange dressing with ca grown raisins)

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown tomatoes and avocados, cilantro sandwhich with homegrown carrot (honey, orange dressing and ca grown raisins)
Dinner - homegrown squash, herbs, tomatoes, peppers pasta cheese casserole

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown fig quesadillas with homegrown cilantro, peppers, tomatoes and homemade flour tortillas and cheese
Dinner  - homemade herb pizza crust topped with homegrown homegrown-preserved marinated peppers and homegrown tomatoes, roasted eggplants, basil, figs and mozerella cheese

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch -  summer veggie pasta (homegrown tomatoes, peppers, squash) with organic cheese sauce
Dinner - homemade tomato sauce (homegrown garlic, celery, onions, peppers and tomatoes) with pasta and parmesan cheese

image courtesy of Elements kitchen weekly enewsletter

Look what was in our email box today!

"We Love Freshly Picked Dervaes Greens... We make special salads featuring them, always lightly dressed so their fresh flavors are enhanced. The unique blend of mesclun greens (which might include anything from baby celery leaves to baby arugula or mizuna to kale) is positively addictive. And their edible flowers are not only beautiful but fun to eat.

Dervaes Gardens is a small, family run, Pasadena based urban farm. Their specialty: rare and heirloom varieties of vegetables, edible flowers and fruit. The Dervaes care for their produce through natural gardening methods and low-impact preparations, including recycled water and organic fertilizers.

We are proud to support them. Visit Dervaes Gardens online, at: www.dervaesgardens.com."

Chef Onil Chibás / Elements Kitchen

Not only is the restaurant serving our salad greens but tomatoes, figs and duck eggs too.

Good news!  You can purchase some of your very own homegrown goodies.  Well, that is, all EXCEPT for the "addicting" salad greens (summer limits our supply to very few clients)

We've been growing organically since 1995 so come on by and pick up fresh from our garden for your table tonight!

Call or email us for availability

I've noticed too that there's not been many June bugs either.  Spotted only two this week, last year we had a whole army of 'em - it was like an invasion!

Well, we are just going to see how the weather plays out this year.   Certainly at the mercy of its whims and all we can do is roll with it.

Here on the urban homestead we still are harvesting blueberries, strawberries, apple and the figs are FINALLY starting to ripen (a little late if you ask me)

Guess what that means - fig quesadillas!

Fig queso's have turned out to a favorite summer meal here on the urban homestead.  I remember when I first came across this recipe a few years trying to figure out how to use up all the figs (sans desserts)  Sounded interesting but wasn't sure how it would go over with the others.  So what I did (learned this trick a long time ago - never tell people if something has an odd ingredient as it always clouds or prejudices their taste buds) served it without telling what was in the flour tortillas and waited for their reactions.  "These are good, what's in them?" they asked.  "Whew," I thought, "they like it!"  Now that they tasted it and liked it I can now spring the mystery ingredients on them.   "Figs!, I replied, proud that this new dish passed the tastebud test.  Of course, when they heard about the figs, everyone looked surprise!  Update: Since then we've used figs on cheese sandwiches, pasta and even pizza!

We had another treat this week!

Jordanne our little baker here whipped up a tasty chocolate dessert which was made with a surprising ingredient - avocados.   Since we had a lot of 'em thanks to Farmer S and one can eat so much guacamole or chopped raw we decided to try them in a dessert.   The chocolate avocado cupcakes turned out to be incredibly moist considering there were NO eggs and very delicious.   Of course, when serving it to the guys we withheld the fact that they were made with avocado (remember the little trick) till they tasted them and commented "these are good!"

Just another tasty covert way to eat those veggies!

Care to share your covert measures when it comes to using up all those extra veggies?

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade/homegrown blueberry pancakes with homegrown strawberries
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado  and onions (from Farmer S) with raw cheese

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - leftovers from Saturday
Dinner - homegrown carrot salad (honey and orange dressing) with homegrown tomato and avocado ( from Farmer S ) sandwich

MONDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown apple crisp
Lunch - homegrown green beans, carrots with organic potatoes with herb (homegrown) butter
Dinner - homegrown tomato and cucumber salad with homegrown tomato, cilantro and avocado ( from Farmer S ) sandwich topped with raw cheese

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown apple crisp
Lunch - homegrown carrot and sorrel soup
Dinner - homegrown tomato and cucumber salad with homegrown tomato, cilantro and avocado ( from Farmer S ) sandwich topped with raw cheese

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - homegrown carrot and sorrel soup
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, quesadillas homegrown figs, peppers, tomatoes, cilantro red onions (from Farmer S ) with homegrown carrot salad (honey and orange dressing)

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown fruit bowl (homegrown grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apples)
Lunch - homegrown tomato and cucumber salad with homegrown tomato, cilantro and avocado ( from Farmer S ) sandwich
Dinner  - homemade herb pizza crust topped with homegrown homegrown-preserved marinated peppers and homegrown tomatoes and basil

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown fruit bowl (homegrown grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apples)
Lunch -  summer veggie pasta (homegrown tomatoes, peppers) with organic cheese sauce
Dinner -homegrown cucumber and tomato salad, homemade tomato sauce (homegrown garlic, celery, onions, peppers and tomatoes) with pasta and parmesan cheese

What's with the weather?  Today and yesterday morning it feels like fall?  I know the coolness will burn off once the sun comes out but it really doesn't feel like the August we are so used to.

Jordanne and I were commenting on the sound - it changed.  Yeah, sounds funny but it's not.  We can hear when the weather change thanks to the 11 lane freeway just a stone's throw away from our property - it's like our ghetto weather barometer.   The freeway sound changes when the weather does.   With all the windows open (no AC) and our being outside a lot we tend to notice things like that.

I do hope this crazy weather doesn't affect the garden too much.  Still waiting for the "motherload"  -- the surplus harvest that we rely on to preserve for fall and winter.  We can only do so much after we sow the seeds and care for the plants, the rest is in God's hands.  So we are praying for a bountiful harvest this season.

Well, as you can see,  last week I really didn't do a good job at taking pictures of our meals.  My apology's to all your photo loving foodies.

I was preoccupied with other things....

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade/homegrown blueberry pancakes with homegrown strawberries
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado  and onions (from Farmer S)

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - leftovers from Saturday
Dinner - homemade herb pizza crust topped with homegrown roasted eggplant,  homegrown-preserved marinated peppers and homegrown tomatoes and basil

MONDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown apple crisp
Lunch - homegrown limas and herb butter with organic ca grown rice
Dinner - homegrown-preserved pickled squash with homegrown tomato and avocado ( from Farmer S ) sandwich

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown apple crisp
Lunch - homegrown vegetable soup (limas, green beans, carrots, and cabbage  from Farmer S
Dinner - homemade coleslaw ( cabbage from Farmer S , homegrown turnips, apples, carrots) with homegrown tomato, homegrown lettuce and local avocado (from Farmer S) sandwich

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch -homegrown vegetable soup (limas, green beans, carrots, and cabbage  from Farmer S
Dinner - homemade coleslaw ( cabbage from Farmer S , homegrown turnips, apples, carrots) with summer veggie pasta (homegrown tomatoes and peppers)

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown fruit bowl (homegrown grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apples)
Lunch - homegrown steamed carrots and cabbage from Farmer S with organic ca grown rice
Dinner  - homemade herb pizza crust topped with homegrown roasted eggplant,  homegrown-preserved marinated peppers and homegrown tomatoes and basil

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown fruit bowl (homegrown grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apples)
Lunch -  homegrown steamed limas, carrots and cabbage from Farmer S with organic ca grown rice
Dinner -homemade tomato sauce (homegrown garlic, celery, onions, peppers and tomatoes) with pasta and parmesan cheese

Really eatin' good in the neighborhood last week from our garden's bounty.  What a blessing to have food that's grown right in our backyard.... or close by!

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade/homegrown blueberry pancakes with homegrown strawberries
Dinner - homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado (from Farmer S)

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade skillet granola
Lunch - leftover pizza

Dinner - homemade coleslaw ( cabbage from Farmer S , homegrown turnips, carrots) with homegrown tomato, homegrown lettuce and local avocado (from Farmer S) sandwich

MONDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown apple crisp
Lunch - homegrown carrots, turnips, green beans and herbs over organic CA grown rice
Dinner -omelet, homeraised eggs, homegrown celery, onions, tomatoes and local avocado (from Farmer S) sandwich

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown apple crisp
Lunch - homegrown carrots, turnips, green beans and herbs over organic CA grown rice
Dinner - summer salad (homegrown cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, peppers) with local avocado (from Farmer S) sandwich

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown apple crisp
Lunch - homegrown carrots, turnips, green beans and herbs over organic CA grown rice
Dinner - summer salad (homegrown cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, peppers) with homegrown/made zucchini pickle and cheese sandwich

THURSDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown fruit bowl (homegrown grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apples)
Lunch - homegrown carrots, turnips, green beans and herbs over organic CA grown rice
Dinner - homemade pizza topped with homegrown marinated peppers, tomatoes, basil, onions, organic cheese and homegrown salad

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade homegrown fruit bowl (homegrown grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apples)
Lunch -  homegrown green beans with lemon (local (from Farmer S) herb (homegrown) with organic rice
Dinner -homemade tomato sauce (homegrown garlic, celery, onions, peppers and tomatoes) with pasta