The Big Project, aka The-Shed-That-Took-Me-Forever-To-Paint, is now mostly complete. We hired Russell Wightman, the force behind LA Farm Hands to design and build the basic structure of our garden shed on a pre-existent foundation on the property. ECG finished the doors and shelves, and I painted.
Eventually, we'll install a sink in the longer counter and we'll tile all of the counters. Someday I'll also have a pottery wheel here. In this building, we'll keep all of our garden and chicken tools and supplies. In this building, I'll start seeds, hang-dry garlic and shallots, make art, and find shade in the heat of the summers. Grapes will climb its front arbors and blackberries will weave up the side trellis. It is a sweet, happy place.
And, as if to celebrate Harvest Monday, the citrus are beginning to come into full swing. The only mature tree we have on the property is a Meyer lemon, and there is a bounty of the golden fruit. The other young trees are giving us the few fruit they have. Here, a Meyer lemon sits like a zeppelin above a Meiwa kumquat.
A few things I'm dreaming of making in the next few weeks with the Meyer lemons:
- homemade margarita mix
- my mama's lemon sour cream pie
- something with scallops and Meyer lemon—I can taste it in my mind, but I haven't figured out how to put it together yet
- a lemon sorbet that is even twenty times better than this one
I set the bowl of arugula and citrus down on the coop the other day so I could give the birds one of their favorite treats: caterpillars. Damn cabbage moths who nibble at my cabbage. Nibble on my cabbage, I'll have someone nibble you. Die suckers.
Our Five Color Silver Beet (rainbow chard) is now reaching harvestable size. Though I haven't been very creative with it, I have been enjoying it sauteed with garlic.
The truth is, I haven't been creative with much in the kitchen lately. I just haven't had time or energy for it. A boon to my kitchen came in the form of a large tupperware container of homemade tomatillo chili that my friend gave me the other day. I didn't make it, but boy, I enjoyed it. With it, we put together some killer cheese enchiladas.
Hopefully, the next few weeks will afford me the time to make the deliciousnesses I've been dreaming up to share with you. Even in sunny, warm Southern California, the January lack-of-daylight is getting me down, and ECG and I could use all the deliciousnesses we can get.
5 comments:
I keep waiting for time to cook -- and clean -- and knit -- but life keeps snapping at my heels like a badly-trained Jack Russell terrier.
The shed looks lovely. We should make sorbet, and soon. The trees are still bearing mightily.
Those lemons and kumquats look delicious. The caterpillars not so much, but your chickens probably loved them. If I had chickens I'd feed them my slugs.
Here on the other side of the planet I have those same little green wiggly suckers chewing their way through my garden!
I AM SO JEALOUS OF THAT SHED! It's gorgeous!! What a great excuse for not being in the kitchen :-)
Stefaneer: Tell me about it. There is just never enough time!
Daphne: We've got slugs too. The chickens are well-fed. I think you'd like the kumquats, such a nice balance of tart and sweet!
AOS: They're indefatigable. I scour every corner of every cruciferous vegetable, but they hide so well! Grrrrrr.
Ann: I can't wait to get it really up and running. It is the first BIG project of many to come at our house. Next is all the electrical work. Woohoo!
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