Please Excuse Us....

From the City and theCountry....

Hey there,

We're working on our blog to make it better, and of course prettier, so please excuse the mess. We'll be continuing to post right through our blog construction so please check in regularly!

Laura & Amelia

Owls, they're so hot right now.

From the City...

I found this owl embroidery project at value village and I'm not gonna lie, I'm totally addicted. I can't wait to finish this one so I can start the next. I've been embroidering for three days straight and I'm starting to get a little rough patch of skin at the tip of my index finger of my right hand, oh my grandma would be proud.

Has anyone else noticed that owls are everywhere right now? fabric, crafts, nurseries...rightfully so, they're adorable. I'm thinking Theo's next bedroom will be a homage to the little hooting suckers.

All this from a bag of $2 bag of scraps at value village.

ab

Market Fresh Recipe #1. Frisee Salad with Bacon- Shallot Vinaigrette

From the country...

I found this tasty recipe here. It looks super tasty and I will have to try it next week (will keep you posted.. literally). I will be selling a shwack of these tasty bitter buddies at the market tomorrow and thought I would post a recipe for my customers.

Ingredients

• 3 slice(s) bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 12 ounce(s) (2 to 3 heads) frisée or 2 bags (5 to 6 oz. each) mixed baby salad greens
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoon(s) white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) pepper
• 2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 6 large eggs

---

Directions

1. In 2-quart saucepan, cook bacon on medium 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat 1 inch water to boiling on high to poach eggs in later. Trim and discard stem ends from frisée; cut leaves into bite-size pieces. Place greens in large bowl.
3. Remove saucepan from heat. With slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain; discard all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat.
4. Into bacon fat remaining in skillet, whisk shallot, vinegar, Dijon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. In slow, steady stream, whisk in oil until combined. Add warm vinaigrette to bowl with frisée and toss until evenly coated.
5. Reduce skillet heat to medium to maintain water at gentle simmer. Break eggs, one at a time, into cup. Holding cup close to surface of water, slip in each egg. Cook eggs 3 to 5 minutes or until whites are set and yolks begin to thicken. With slotted spoon, lift out each egg and quickly drain, still in spoon, on paper towels.
6. To serve, divide frisée among 6 salad plates; top with bacon and egg. Sprinkle egg with coarsely ground black pepper if you like.

Let me know how it turns out!

Friday Post

From the Country...

"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Friday Post

From the City....

"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

OUR CAMPING ADVENTURE

From the City and the Country....

Our gear:

enough delicious food to feed an army (including the ingredients to make a from scratch cherry chocolate cake)

4 tents

2 babies (a 4 and a 5 month old)

three wild country boys

2 husbands

1 old friend

1 dog

2 beach umbrellas

4 packs of playing cards

enough smores makings for three whole days (thats two bags of marshmellows, 1 large jar of chocolate hazelnut spread and two boxes of graham crackers)

1 canoe

1 camera to document it all

Wordless Wednesday Times Two

From the country...

Wordless Wednesday (Switched from a Friday Ritual)

From the City...

"Wordless Wednesday; A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Currants!

From the country...

Fresh picked currants glistening in the sun like little rubies. Just wait and see what I do with these goodies...

Pickled Garlic Scapes

From the country...





It is that time of year again when we fire up the ol' canner once a week and start putting up our winter stash of goodies. This process always starts with countless jars of rhubarb and of course garlic scapes.

Here is a brine recipe that you can apply to almost everything (it is a recipe for pickled beans that we use for everything). I like brines that are cut with water to soften the vinegar kick.

4lbs garlic scapes whole with the ends cut off
1-2 teaspoon of whatever seasonings you have (pepper flakes, whole mustard seeds, dill seeds, bay leaf, -whatever you prefer, play around with different spices!)per jar
5 cups vinegar
5 cups water
1/2 cup salt

Wash up the scapes. Pack them in the clean jars by twisting and shoving the scapes into the jars (a gentle shove that is...). Add your seasonings. Pour the boiling brine over the scapes, filling the jars but leaving a 1/4 inch head space. Seal and process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes.

Now the real trick here is to put them away out of reach and let the pickles "come together" before you devour the suckers. The longer they rest and get "pickley" the better they taste.

Life's a Beach

From the City...

Scarborough bluffs. A mere 30 minutes from our house. White sand beach. Hot summer sun. Sand in little baby rolls. Reading books. Pasta salad. Ice cold water.

best. day. ever.

Wordless Friday Times Two

From the country...

It is hard not to say anything....

Friday Post: something new I'm trying

From the City...

"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

*** this is stolen from a really great blog that I follow. You can check her out here.

A sandwich that I ate that was delicious.

From the City...

I made this sandwich for a mama picnic that I went to a while back and forgot to post it.

...prosciutto with caramelized onions, pear, greens from my balcony and dijon mayo on a baguette from the bakery near my house.

I could eat sandwiches everyday for the rest of my life and feel completely fulfilled.

My new apron:

happy friday everyone.

Turkey Poster

Just hatched…

HERITAGE

TURKEYS

Are you interested in a heritage turkey for your holiday feast??

Would you like to be part of our turkey e mail list for updates and to follow the lives of these tasty turkeys- from hatch to butcher on our blog?

(disclaimer: all turkeys enjoy the good life- completely pasture raised and supplemented with non GMO feed. No turkeys were harmed in the making of this poster…)

www.theharvestkitchensisters.blogspot.com

Chicken Butchery 101

From the City...

One of the most economical ways to buy organic chicken is to buy it whole and butcher it up yourself, it's also a very good life lesson that everyone should learn (this is almost a direct quote from my brother in law Mark and damn-it if the bugger wasn't right). This chicken cost me $11 and made three meals. Barbeque chicken on Monday night, chicken salad sandwiches on Tuesday for lunch and chicken soup for dins that night.

It really didn't take long either. The whole process of cutting the chicken took me maybe 15 minutes tops. So you can't really use that as an excuse. A whole chicken is going to take a good hour (at least ) to cook but cut up, it took me only 20 minutes on the bbq. Not too bad, not too bad at all.

Here are some pics on the process and yes, I did get chicken guts on my camera and have to wash it.

Slice down the one side of the breast bone.

Crack open and place your knife down the spine starting at the legs.

Voila, one chicken, two halves ready for the bbq.

Bowl o' chicken ready for cooking. I took the skin off but don't tell Mark, he'll think its sacrilege.

Here's a video that'll help you out.

**yes, I do realize the above pic is of a rooster Laura. Thank you for noticing.

Hot Child in the City...

From the City...

We just got home from the farm yesterday and the city is a smolderin. So so hot. We've been sitting around our apartment in our underwear for most of the day and Theo diaperless, enjoying the cool fan breeze on his buns. Aside from the puddles of pee, it's a pretty lovely way to spend a hot day.

The visit at the farm was great, as usual. Laura and I took all of the babies and kids to fireworks on Friday and while Laura was at market, I hung out with the kids and we puttered around the farm. Sunday was french toast and watching the kids run through the sprinkler.

A pretty good start to the summer.