Last day at the farm

Day 5 was my last day at the farm. Even though we left around 8:30 a.m I still got to do a couple of last minute activities. Even though this was my last day I still had such a fun time at the farm.
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Day 5

• The Interns picked the biggest bunches of Basil.
• I got to participate in putting the Basil and ice packs in the boxes and load them into the van.
• Dropped off the boxes and myself at home

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When I got back home life was so different from the farm because there were not as many cars out at the farm. There was a dirt road but the traffic was not like the city. The nice thing about the farm is that there is always a small breeze in the air. The landscape was amazing. I got pretty lucky that there was only one day when it was raining outside. Even though the days went by really fast I still had a really fun time.

Next couple of days on the farm

I've already posted about the first couple of days. This post will be about the next couple days on the farm. Days 3 and 4.
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Day 3

• I had the chance to help harvest the Red Potatoes, Cabbage, and Onions.
• Norm let me drive the tractor which he uses the most. It is an Orange, Kubato Tractor and I got to drive the John Deere as well.
• I got to help the Farmers daughter groom one of the horses named Leo.
• We did the Chores which included feeding the horses and the chickens.
• The farmers daughter and I folded the produce boxes in the garage.
• I got to help the interns plant seeds for Red Romain, Onion, and Pac Choi.
• Helped Norm check out the Bee's.

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Wednesday which was my last full day was very successful. We completed the same tasks as we did every other day.
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Day 4

• I got to help the farmer drag the horse arena with the tractor.
• The farmers daughter and I groomed Owden then we brought him up to the arena that was dragged earlier in the day.
• Chores which included feeding the horses and taking care of the chickens.
• I got to participate in harvesting the Parsley.
• I Cooked Dinner for everyone (I will include the recipe in this post)
• At the end of the day we played some Badmitten on the front lawn.
• I got to help with filling the produce boxes.

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Stuffed Green Peppers


2 Cups Cooked White Rice
10 Green Peppers(Stem cut off and cleaned out with spoon)
2 Chopped Onions
1 Big Bunch Parsley Chopped
2 Cups of Shredded Cheese for melting
10 Slices of Bacon
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Set your oven to 350 degrees.

1. Wash off peppers with warm water then cut the steam off the pepper and clean the seeds out with a spoon.
2. Chop up the onions very fine with the parsley and put the onions and parsley in a mixing bowl.
3. Once rice is cooked mix the onions and parsley in with it.
4. Cook 1 strip of bacon for each pepper. Cook bacon until it just starts to brown. Chop bacon.
5. Once bacon is done mix the bacon into the rice, onion, and parsley.
6. Fill the pepper with filling(The peppers will get full after one scoop of filling so just push the filling down the pepper with a spoon.)
7. Sprinkle cheese on the top of the peppers.
8. Line the peppers up on a baking pan and bake until peppers are a little soft and just getting brown (about 15 - 20 minutes).

First couple of days at the farm

The first day that I was on the Farm, the interns were not with us. It was just Norm and me. Most of the stuff we did on my first day were maintenance tasks and chores.
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Day 1

• We fixed the mower tractor attachment which was tangled with irrigation tube.
• Norm let me drive the John Deer tractor/lawn mower down to the barn from the apple orchard.
• I got to participate in cleaning one of the horse stall. Then we brought the bedding to the compost pile.
• Norm and I walked the fields to see what might be in the next box for the CSA members.

• Chores, which included feeding the chickens and checking for eggs and feeding the horses once we rounded them up.

• I got to participate in bringing the house compost up to the compost pile.

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On Day 2 the interns arrived and Norm, the interns, and myself started doing more serious work on the farm.
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Day 2

• I had the chance to meet the interns and have a little Monday Morning Meeting where we talked about what we would be doing this coming week.
• I had the chance to harvest the cucumbers, summer squash, pan pan squash, zucchini, and raspberries.
• Transplanted Romaine Lettuce.
• Planted seeds for beets and carrots.
• Norm let me drive the John Deer again.
• The interns and I weeded the 300 foot Serrano Pepper bed.
• I got to help with the chores which includeds the chickens and horses.

Trip To The Farm

Me in a bee suit for the first time

Another shot of me in the bee suit

A shot of a part of the lower area based crops

Tons of onions drying out

The tractor waiting in the field
when not being used

A close up shot of the tractor in the field

A larger view of the onions drying out and some other plants
towards the back of the trailer

Another shot of the trailer

Some plants that are growing in cells towards the
back of the trailer

Recently I went down to our CSA farm for a week to do some farming. My family dropped me off on Saturday then the farmer drove me back on Thursday. Each day I woke up at 6:30 toke an hour brake for lunch and dinner and then went bake to work for a couple hour in the evening. Every day in my journal I tracked each thing I did in the day. While I was there I worked with 4 interns the farmer and myself. I was the only kid there. Most of the time meals were eaten pretty quick because we had a lot of work to do. Most of the vegetables we ate where from the farm. The farmer was helpful and taught me so much. The farm was really beautiful. There was always a little breeze which was really nice. In my next few posts I will blog about what I did each day on the farm.

First trip to the garden

A few of the broccoli plants

Some of Summer Squash plants

Some of the explosive growing herbs

Yesterday I paid my first visit to my friends garden/urban farm. We planted some Summer Squash and it is exploding! I planted some corn and some popping corn.The corn we planted will come up in September or October. My friend planted a variety of herbs that are also growing really well. One thing that I did not know, is that we ordered and planted pickling cucumbers. Our first cucumber is almost ready to be picked. The gardening season has been a little slow with all the rain and bad weather. This year we did not plant the watermelon like we did last year. This year we expanded the garden by tilling another little strip of land right next to the patch where we planted last year. I will be visiting the garden a little more than I have been. So far I have been able to water and do some weeding. I will be going up to the CSA farm around July 29. I will certainly add posts from my time on the farm at the end of the month.

Gardening 2011

Some Chives growing in a rectangular pot

A variety of herbs

Mint growing in the ground.

Some of the Chives growing in the ground

Some Basil growing in the ground

Another shot of the the Basil

Hi folks, After a long break with my blog I 
am planning on doing more posting now that school is over and it is summer. I will be posting more about family grill recipes now that I can grill outside. At home we have started growing some Oregano, Chives,Basil,Cat Grass,and some over yummy herbs. This summer I will also be doing some more farming at Patrick's and I will always post about each harvest. At Patrick's we are growing most of the same stuff that we did last year.

With 2011 starting I plan to do more gardening. This summer we have joined the CSA farm again and we are looking forward to a great summer. This summer I will be spending 6 to 7 days at Earth Dance Farms, helping out with the farming. While I am at the farm I will try to take some cool pictures and then when I get back I will post them.

If you do have a garden, or some pots with flowers or herbs I would water them every other day. If they are outside check them every day to see if you need to water them. Check to see if the soil is dry. If it is darker then it does not need to get watered or if it is lighter then the normal color then it should get watered.

Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts

On February 27, 2011 we made these Cocoa Brownies for our friends Patrick and Jessica when they came over to enjoy dinner with us. We had fun making these brownies for dessert. We topped the brownies with some homemade Banana ice cream with a homemade chocolate sauce. The brownies where one of the best kinds I have ever had. It did not take a lot of time to make this yummy brownies.


Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, chilled
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup walnut pieces

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8 x 8 x 2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1⁄4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.