Miss September

Henrietta

Broody Hen

     I know it's a little late but September's Hen of the Month is our buff orpington, Henrietta.  Yeah, I know a lot of chicken owners name a hen Henrietta and it is a bit lame, but I couldn't help myself.  She is a good girl and a very productive egg layer. Lately she has become quite broody.  You can always find her in the coop lying in the corner.  When another hen lays an egg, she rolls the egg under her and sits on it.  Sometimes we find 3-4 eggs under her.  We constantly have to pick her up and shoo her outside.  Hopefully with the cool weather coming she will calm down and snap out of her broodiness.

Getting Figgy with It

Figs quickly ripening on the tree

This isn't even half of it

simple fig crostata

     At the end of August the figs on our tree started to ripen very quickly.  This year we had hundreds of figs on our tree.  The trick is to pick them as soon as possible before the birds get them all.  Now that we started to harvest them, we have to use them as quickly as possible.  One of my favorite recipes is a simple fig crostata.  It is very easy to make and delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Crust:
     1 cup of all purpose flour
     2 tbs of sugar
     1/8 tsp of salt
    5 tbs of very cold butter
    3-4 tbs of ice water
     Put the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process the dry ingredients for a couple of seconds.  Next cut butter into 1/2 inch pieces and drop into flour.  Mix for about 10 to 12 pulses.  You should have pea size crumbs.  Now add 3 tbs of ice water and pulse about six times until the dough comes together.  If it doesn't come together then add one more tbs of water.  It shouldn't take more than that.  It is very important not to overwork the dough because it will become tough and not flaky.  Wrap dough in plastic and put in refrigerator.
Filling:
   1 1/2 lbs of figs cut in half
   zest of 1 medium lemon
   2 tbs of apricot jam
   2 tbs of butter
     Combine the figs, jam, and zest in a bowl and set aside.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out dough to about 13 inches on a piece of parchment paper.  Mix some plain bread crumbs with sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle some of the mixture in the center of the dough.  Lift the parchment paper and put it on a cookie sheet.  Now add the filling and fold the dough up about 2 inches around the sides.  Dot the middle with butter and brush the folded ends with an egg wash.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Bake for about 25 minutes, rotate pan and bake for 20 minutes more.  Check to make sure the crust isn't burning rotate once more and cook for about another 10 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling.  Cool on a rack.

           

Catching Up

      I have not posted anything in the past month because we all have been very busy with work and getting ready for school.  But now that we have settled into a routine, I am ready to tell you what has been happening on our little urban farm.

Eggplants Galore. 

We had a great year for eggplants.  I have been breading and frying them most of the summer.

Recently I decided it would be nice to marinate them for a change.  First I peel and cut the eggplants into strips.  Then I bring 1 part white vinegar and 1 part water to a boil.  Shut off the flame and put the eggplant strips in and let them soak for about 3-5 minutes.  I drain them and let cool.  Next I squeeze as much liquid as I can out of the eggplants and lay them in a paper towel.

 

     Now I chop up some garlic and oregano and mix it with the eggplant strips.  Add a little olive oil and put it in a jar.  Add a hot pepper and the top it off with more olive oil and voila we have marinated eggplant.  You can serve this in an antipasto,  put in a sandwich, or top it on a crostini.

Anyway you decide to serve it,  It tastes delicious.

Garden Notes

Kentucky Blue Pole Beans

      In May we planted pole beans.  So far the Kentucky Blue variety has been performing very well.
It is a high producer of 6-8 inch long pods and they have been producing all month long.  I have used them in salads, raw and cooked.  I also sauteed them in garlic and olive oil.  They make a great side for any meal. Hopefully I can get at least one more month out of them.  We didn't plant enough to jar them, but thats's ok.  We were just trying a new variety this year.  Next year we will plant more.

Cool Melon

The girls are enjoying a nice cool melon on a warm summer day.

Crab Season

spaghetti with crab sauce

     My family hates the dog days of August.  After all it's the end of the summer and we're tired of the hot and humid weather.  The start of school is just around the corner and we have to get our summer assignments done.  But there is one thing we all love about August.  "Blue Claw Crabs".
     August is the start of blue claw crab season in New York.  My family loves it made in a sweet tomato sauce poured over a bed of spaghetti.  I  make it every friday during the season.
     I buy about a dozen live crabs and have my fish monger take the backs off and clean them.  Its best to try and cook them as soon as possible.  I brown them in a big pot with some olive oil.  Then I add some garlic and canned plum tomatoes.  I usually put the canned tomatoes in the blender and then pass them through a sieve to remove the seeds. But you can also crush them by hand if you want a chunkier sauce.  Then I add salt pepper and fresh basil to taste.  I bring it to a boil, then let it simmer for about 2 hours.  Boil a pound of spaghetti until el dente. Pour crab sauce over spaghetti.  Enjoy!

Hen of the Month

Ginger

          Miss August is our one year old red star, Ginger.  She is very affectionate and loves to be handled. Every time we go into the coop, she follows us in. She jumps on to the perch and waits to be petted. She lays a nice deep brown egg.