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Robin Timm Realizing Dreams Even though the winter’s chills are upon us, I am happy to see some snow on the ground. The warm days were making me very nervous. I could picture the snow waiting for our first market day in May. Luckily we can sit by the fire while we plan our gardens. You may be surprised that last week Jayne planted onions. They are an inch high today, toasty warm under the grow lights. This morning I started six trays of native flowers to sell at the Farmers Market this spring. The native flowers get started really early because they need some time in the cold. To mimic Mother Nature’s plan, I put the seeds into wet seed-starting medium and then put them into the fridge. Just like spring, the 32° to 36° cold and dampness help break the seed dormancy. In ten to 30 days (each variety has a different number of stratification days) I will take the seeds out of the fridge and put them under grow lights with some bottom heat. Once they germinate and grow a bit, they go out to the greenhouse. On my way to the greenhouse, I pass our beautiful red barn. Jayne and I are lucky to have a sturdy old dairy barn. We estimate it to be about 80 years old. About 5 years ago we put on a new metal roof and had the sides painted red. We have many dreams for the inside of our barn. I would like to have a large kitchen area to hold garden cooking classes. My idea is to start the day with garden chores. Depending on the season we may be tilling, planting or weeding. When we finish our garden chores, we will harvest the current crop and take it in to our kitchen. There we will practice cooking with the season. Jayne has visions of a work room in the lower barn. There is an extension to the barn that was used to house pigs. We took out all the dividers, cleaned up the floor, added a new overhead door and now park our cars there. The workroom would be at the end of this section of the barn so we could drive up to the workroom with our raw materials. We both are considering an office area on the south side of the barn. We want to use some add some panes of lexan to increase the light and warm up the space. Our office would overlook the prairie and pond restoration projects. My brother the carpenter says none of this is hard to do. Jayne and I snicker at this. We would love to do the work ourselves but lack a few essential skills. Until now; this winter we have an opportunity to gain some new skills. The Grant County Habitat for Humanity is offering clinics to teach women home construction basics. Women’s Build is offering 6 different clinics from how to safely use hand and power tools to framing walls and roofs and installing siding and roofing shingles. On February 5 at 7 pm there will be a Women’s Build Informational Meeting in The Lundeen lecture hall (room 103) of Doudna Hall at the University of Platteville. Call April Baker, Director, at 348-9119 or 732-6567, for more information. Jayne and I are so excited to learn some skills while helping a valuable community resource. We are lucky to have a warm, comfortable home. Volunteering with Habitat will allow us to share this with someone who isn’t as lucky as we are. Plus, once we dust off those tool belts, who knows what will happen in our barn. Just call us Dream Girls! Here are more recipes using vegetables from the freezer. Vegetable Chowder This recipe is good with frozen vegetables. It is even better with fresh. 3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion 1 cup diced Anaheim pepper 1 pound tofu, crumbled 4 cups vegetable stock or 4 cups water and 1 Tbsp soy sauce 4 cups diced potatoes 1 tsp dry mustard 1 tsp dried oregano 2 cups corn kernels Generous shakes of pepper, salt to taste Cilantro, if available Heat oil in a large pan; then add onions, celeriac, carrots, peppers and tofu and sauté until onion is soft. Add potatoes, broth, mustard and oregano; bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add corn and heat until potatoes are soft. Transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender and puree or use a stick blender and blend, leaving some chunky vegetables. Ladle into warm bowls and garnish with cilantro in the summer. Safe Home Farm kitchen PC Salad Pomegranates and Red Cabbage make this a festive holiday salad. 1 small red cabbage, grated 1/2- 1 cup pomegranate seeds 1/4 cup sesame oil 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice Dash of salt and pepper Place cabbage and pomegranate seeds in a bowl. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over cabbage and pomegranates. Chill for several hours or overnight. Serves 4 Safe Home Farm kitchen Raspberry Bread 2-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 3/4 cups sugar 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 cup canola oil 1 cup plain yogurt 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or thawed and drained frozen) Preheat oven to 400° F. Generously grease a 9-inch cake pan. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. With a fork or pastry blender, cut in oil until mixture forms fine crumbs. Stir in yogurt and vanilla until flour mixture is coated. Gently fold in raspberries. Bake for 35-45 minutes; until a toothpick comes out clean.
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