bring on the comfort

I hate cold weather (which to me is anything below like, 50). My plan when the clouds roll in and the rain starts to fall (which, in Seattle, is like, October through may) is usually to get out of town or snuggle somewhere relaxing with the hubster, but when I'm alone, it's all about movies and comfort food. I must say, I love to cook. There's something that is so satisfying about being able to combine fresh ingredients in a way that just makes you warm all over.
In the spirit of this, I made one of my favorites this week: Shepard's Pie. Now, I'm sure there's a standard recipe for this dish, I'm not fully aware of it, but this is my version...

Sara's Shepard's pie
1 lb ground beef (or whatever you use)
1 onion, sliced
a handful of your favorite mushrooms, sliced
1 C + 1 C (or so) heavy cream
1 bunch of kale, coarsely chopped
1 C corn (or the corn from 1 ear, but frozen or canned is fine)
1 C peas (frozen or canned are fine)
4-5 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 C grated cheddar cheese (I used Dubliner)
& have these available for flavor:
salt
pepper
nutmeg
butter/olive oil

Brown the beef, boil and mash the potatoes (add butter, cream, salt, and/or pepper to taste), and saute the onions (I used olive oil). cover them and set aside.
In a small sauce pan, combine 1C cream, mushrooms, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a low boil, stirring continuously until it starts to thicken a bit.
in a casserole dish (9x11 or 13) spread the beef along the bottom of the dish. pour the mushroom cream evenly over the beef. layer the sauteed onions on top of that.
in a large saute pan, saute kale until bright in color. reduce heat. add 1 C cream or enough to cover the bottom of the pan evenly. dust with salt, pepper and nutmeg. cover and let simmer for 20 min. or until most of the moisture has evaporated. stir. (try not to lift the lid very much during the simmering off process)
add peas and corn on top of the onions and beef/mushroom cream while the kale is simmering.
add kale layer on top of peas and corn layer.
spread mashed potatoes on top of the kale layer.
sprinkle cheese on top of potatoes layer.
place in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 25 min. or until bubbly, and cheese has started to brown.
let cool before serving.

I was able to use fresh corn, kale and ground beef from local farms and potatoes from our own garden. score!

A week without Abbey

I decided to board Abbey for this last week before the family moves back into the remodeled house. Their dog, Stella, is back, and the small condo where they're staying is, I think, too small for both dogs all day, for a full week. The boarding place we take her to is wonderful, they will even play with her during the day so she doesn't go too crazy (being a border collie, she needs that exercise!).
I have to admit, I'm going to be a bit sad without her though! This will be the first time I've been completely alone since we got her 3 years ago. I've boarded her before, but it was always for a vacation, so I didn't have too much time to think about it.
I'm sure she'll have a great time, and I'll be so excited to see her on saturday!!

They're made out of meat

(photo courtesy of www.canningbasics.com)

I heard a reading of this really amazing science fiction short story on NPR the other day. I know that doesn't necessarily make it sound super interesting, but I think you should read it for yourself, it's totally short, and incredibly thought provoking, in my opinion. This story originally appeared in Omni April 1991 and was nominated for the Nebula Award. It is taken from the collection 'Bears Discover Fire' and was written by Terry Bisson. (You can find out more about Terry Bisson on his website.) I couldn't seem to find that recording, but I did find a print of it and you can read it here.

Another chapter closes

We've put the word out that we're going to be moving off of our farming property. I will be setting up a 'dig day' for the strawberry patch for Sunday (fingers crossed that it doesn't rain!!).

The birds have been a bit more challenging. We only have homes for 8 of the chickens so far.

I'd like to find a foster for the ducks until we can find out own place, but I'm not sure if we can make that happen. I'd just be so sad to see those 3 go! As much as they want me to just leave them alone, they were always more than just 'production' animals in my heart. :(

 I'm trying not to be too sad about it, and as much as I hate being outside when it's cold, I'm going to really miss farming full time and having the animals around, but instead of being bummed, I'm trying to focus on what we want for the future so when we're ready to start looking, we'll know exactly what we want. I'm really excited for what's to come!

coooooold

It would appear that our faux-summer is officially over. we got like, a cumulative month of 70+ weather (maybe) and only like, 5 days where we cracked 80. I have only one thing to say to that: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Seriously?! I feel gyped. but anyway....

Before Jared left for Europe, I had a chance to make a really great dinner, acorn squash with stuffed quinoa, and fortunately I was able to get the recipe down before I forgot it! so here it is:

Yellow acorn squash 
w/ quinoa& pear stuffing


Squash
1 acorn squash, I used a yellow
Maple syrup
Butter


Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and smear soft butter all over the inside and then drizzle maple syrup over that.
Bake squash cut side down in a shallow pan (w/ a little water) in 400 deg oven for 30-45 min, or until you can pierce the rind w/ a fork but BEFORE the rind burns and collapses. Let cool.

Cook quinoa according to directions.

Stuffing
1 cup quinoa
Half a pear, chopped
Half a jalapeño, diced
1/4 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts
2 med. Chantrelle mushrooms, chopped
A pinch or two (or smidgen, if you like) of the following:
Cardamom          Cinnamon
Powdered curry   Nutmeg
Pepper                Salt

Mix all this in a bowl, cover it, and set aside, or in the fridge 

Flip over the squash and spoon in stuffing. I usually kinda lean them against each other so I can mound up the quinoa. Press a pat of butter into the top. 

Put them back in the oven at 300 for another 10-15 min, then take them out and serve!

Delish!!!

Cleanse

Jared and I had an awesome night out before he left for Europe. We had dinner at an awesome farm to table restaurant called Sitka and Spruce in Seattle, and went bowling at the Garage after.

I drank a bit too much that night, so after he left, I decided to try a cleanse. I heard about it originally on Lauren Conrad's website (scoff if you like, but the girl has some gems on her site, and is incredibly real for a 'reality' star, you should check it out here). I did the Kaeng Raeng 3 day cleanse and I was pleasantly surprised. I was definitely never hungry, and only seemed to crave cheese (since its a vegan/raw cleanse, you're only allowed the shakes they provide, pure teas, juices, and raw fruits and veggies.) The shake is soy based, which I have a little bit of intolerance to, so I made sure to drink plenty of green tea and other anti-inflammatory fruits and veggies like blueberries and pomegranate. I ended it a couple of days ago and have noticed a difference in my appetite level, and I'm much more sensitive to gluten than I was before. I'm interested to see if it will have any sort of lasting effect.

Segaloween!!

Last night was my sister and her bf's annual Segaloween party. I didn't get any party pics, since it was pretty dark, but can you guess what my costume is?

here's a hint: I'm Taylor Momsen ;)