Category Archives: Urban Homesteading

Eating Our Greens

Posted on November 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

Just a quick shot of today’s harvest. Tender rainbow chard, mustard greens, lacinto kale and red Russian kale. Papa Bird quickly sautéed them in coconut oil. Greens that fresh don’t need a lot done to them.

Not that long ago, he and his friend, Mark, built a new raised bed by the house. They used a new (to us) technique called hugelkultur, a permaculture practice of layering wood and soil “like a lasagna”.

Here’s a link to another blog with some more on hugelkultur: click here. I like that their chickens look a lot like Bebe and Butters, and that they have a toddler helping, just like Little Bird helped Papa and Mark. Plus she dug up the yard while babywearing! (And I thought I was crunchy for babywearing while composting diapers!)

Farewell to Summer Fig + Feta Salad

Posted on September 26, 2013 | 2 comments

With the fall equinox, the season finally seems to be turning in Southern California. It seems as though the rest of the country has moved past apples and onto pumpkin, but we are still picking tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. (Complaining of SoCal problems sounds like humble bragging.) I’m sharing my favorite fig and feta salad as a farewell to summer. Our tree’s fruit are in their last stages and our mint barely survived the last heat wave. I had wanted to first post my feta recipe, but at this stage of my pregnancy, I don’t have the time or focus for a long cheesemaking post, like this one on chèvre.

Little Bird thoroughly enjoyed figs straight from the tree this summer. There is something lovely about eating them slightly warm from the sun. Here she is showing one of her best buddies where to find the ripe ones:

As I wrote the recipe (below), I felt a little silly typing out the ingredient list. With only the four ingredients in the title, it seemed a little pointless. This combination is so flavorful and balanced, it doesn’t even need salt and pepper!

Fig and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Vinegar

Figs
Feta
Mint
Balsamic Vinegar

Gently rinse figs. Cut off stems and then cut in half. Arrange in a shallow bowl or plate. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and chopped, fresh mint. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar or a balsamic reduction. Gently mix and serve.

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Posted in Food, Healthy Recipes, Home Dairy, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden, Recipes to Make with the Kids, Seasonal Recipes, Urban Agriculture, Urban Homesteading

Tagged appetizers, cheese making, easy entertaining, easy farm to table, easy seasonal cooking, easy seasonal recipes, meals for the whole family, naturally gluten free, Urban Homesteading, vegetarian, victory gardens

One More Cherry Tomato

Posted on September 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

We had a glitch with the subscription service being down for a couple of days. It is back up now, but you may have missed the last post on Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes. In any case, this gives me the opportunity to share one more picture of Little Bird helping pick cherries.

Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Posted on September 22, 2013 | 2 comments

I finally got around to processing our extra tomatoes this weekend. Out of 5 pounds of heirlooms and Roma’s, I made tomato sauce with garlic, based on Alice Water’s recipe. But my absolute favorite alchemy is what happens to cherry tomatoes when they are slow roasted in the oven. If you like the taste of sun-dried tomatoes, but could do without the leathery texture, then you will love these oven roasted cherry tomatoes. And you will be surprised how easy they are!

I love having the taste of summer throughout the year, and nothing speaks to the sunshine and vitamins of summer as well as these easy tomatoes. Try using them in place of sun-dried tomatoes in recipes, such as this Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Pesto.

Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes Recipe

Cherry, Grape or small Roma Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Rinse tomatoes and cut in half. Spread, cut side up, on a silicone mat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle, lightly with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Roast in a 225°F oven for 2-3 hours or until somewhat dried, but still a little juicy. Let cool.

Enjoy as is or pack into a clean jar, cover with more olive oil, and can or freeze. If freezing, leave a little space at the top. Tip: as awesome as garlic, shallots, and fresh herbs are with tomatoes, DO NOT put them in your jars. They contain moisture and will make it mold more quickly.

Click on any picture in the gallery below to expand and see the steps.

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Posted in Food, Healthy Recipes, Preserving and Canning, Recipes from the Garden, Seasonal Recipes, Urban Agriculture, Urban Homesteading

Tagged easy farm to table, easy seasonal cooking, easy seasonal recipes, farm to table, heirloom tomatoes, homesteading, naturally gluten free, naturally paleo, Urban Homesteading, vegan, vegetarian, victory gardens

Caramel Torte with Cajeta, Chocolate and Pecans

Posted on August 21, 2013 | 6 comments

As I add photos to this post, I have to get up and grab another slice of the Caramel Torte. It is deceptively simple to make with just four ingredients: cajeta (or another form of caramel), wafers, melted dark chocolate and salted, toasted pecans.

I have been making cajeta out of our extra goat’s milk for some time in the form of a syrup. Click here to read more about cajeta and see a recipe with step by step photos and directions. But I have been wanting to experiment with making it thicker, more like candy, and when I stumbled upon torte-sized wafers in a local ethnic store, I thought they would be a perfect vehicle for cajeta. I reduced the cajeta down further than I usually do (from 2 quarts of milk to 2 cups of caramel instead of 3-4 cups of syrup) and added a pinch of salt. It was pretty delicious layered between the wafers, but I had to take the caramel torte to the next level by pouring dark chocolate and sprinkling on toasted, salted pecans on top.

Caramel Torte Recipe

2 cups of caramel, dulce de leche or cajeta
1 package of torte-sized wafers
3 oz. of dark chocolate
2 handfuls of salted pecans

Step 1:

(If making cajeta. Otherwise, store bought is fine.) Use the recipe and instructions for cajeta. Cook further until dark and thick, or reduced to approximately 2 cups, and stir in a pinch of salt.

Step 2:

Chop the chocolate and melt in a double boiler. Allow to cool. Toast the pecans in a dry pan and allow to cool. (I keep my nuts in the freezer. If yours are room temperature and roasted, you can skip toasting.)

Step 3:

Assembling. Spread the caramel or cajeta on top of a wafer. Continue to alternate layers of caramel and wafers until one or both are used up. Finish with a wafer. Spread the melted chocolate on top. Finally, sprinkle the pecans over the top. Chill in the fridge for at least one hour before cutting and serving.