VITAMIX FRESH TOMATO SOUP WITH GRILLED CHEESE

Good old fashioned tomato soup and grilled cheese...though we do it a bit differently.

Tillamook grilled cheese

Grilled cheese sandwiches. We use two slices of sharp Tillamook cheddar on each sandwich and salted butter spread on the outside.  Of course, we cook it in a hot skillet until toasted and browned on each side. Nothing much different there.

Vitamix soup

Here is where we make this soup a bit differently.  We use our Vitamix blender.  First we put in 16 oz of cherry tomatoes, these are two varieties (sold to us like that, two mixed together).  

Then we add 1 tsp dried basil and 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp dried minced onion to the tomatoes.  We also add 1 clove of garlic for that great Italian flavor.

Cherry tomato soup Vitamix

Lastly, we add 1 TBSP olive oil and 1/4 cup water or broth (we used chicken broth) and put the lid on.  

Vitamix Tomato soup

We blend it for about 7 minutes.  Here is the thing with a Vitamix that's very unique: the longer it goes, the centrifugal force begins to heat up the contents.  Believe it or not, it comes out scorching hot.  When you take the lid off, steam actually comes off.  It's pretty crazy but also really convenient.  

Almost instant hot soup!

We pour it in a bowl, swirl in a bit of balsamic vinegar, cut the grilled cheese in half and enjoy.  It's a very "fresh" tasting soup.  You get the pure flavor of the tomatoes and of course the olive oil, basil, dried onion, garlic and vinegar all add a bright finish to it.  

It's not old fashioned Campbell's tomato but it's pretty darn good!

OKRA FLOWERS

Do you know what these beautiful flowers are?

They are okra flowers!

They only bloom and open fully for about two days before they start turning into okra pods...

Okra flowers

Aren't they beautiful?

Do they remind you of hibiscus flowers?  That's because I found out okra is in the hibiscus family.  Who knew?  It's fascinating how similar plants can be yet so completely different in use.  Hibiscus flowers, hibiscus tea, okra flowers let them become pods.  

We are growing two okra plants this year, they are starting to produce and we've missed a few and they are too big to eat but I'm saving them to dry out and use as a Christmas craft suggested by one of our blog readers.  But until then, we'll enjoy eating some as well.  Last year, I turned 2nd Man into a fried okra fan.  This year I hope to figure out some other okra dishes that might not gross him out, LOL. 

DAD'S HOMEMADE WORKBENCH

For those who missed it yesterday (since I usually post it Monday), here is the latest GARDEN UPDATE.

OK, so last weekend, we had stuff moved to the barn from a storage unit.  You can read about the other things we moved out there by CLICKING HERE.  I mentioned my Dad's workbench and promised pics so here it is, a treasure for sure.  

My Dad built this from scratch.  No plans.  He just looked at some pictures in various magazines and decided to design and build his own. He spared no expense on this either.  The best wood and hardware, even going so far as to get special wheels that cost something like $50 each so that it would roll smoothly with the total weight.  You can actually push it around with one hand (they do lock in place too).  He wasn't a woodworker or carpenter by profession, this was just a hobby that he got into and he truly enjoyed it.    

Workbench top with bench dogs

The top is 8 feet from end to end. Those holes in the top are called "bench dogs". They use brass posts that go into the holes when you need them, acting as stops or guides to handle long or oddly shaped pieces of wood or whatever you are working on.  

Workbench end with shelf

On one end, he put this shelf with heavy duty support braces to hold a small tool chest or other boxes as needed...

Workbench with pegboard end

And on the other end, just to be different, he put pegboard so he could hang small woodworking tools.

On one side of the shelf end is a clamp for holding pieces of wood or other items...

And at the pegboard end is another heavy duty clamp going the other direction for the same thing.

Workbench cabinet

There are two cabinets with magnetic latching doors and adjustable shelves...

Workbench drawers

And five drawers of varying sizes to hold tools with many of them still inside as he left them.  

Since the drawers and cabinets on this side are deep (about 2/3 of the width of the bench) and wouldn't allow for the same on the other side, he did this...

Workbench shelves

Open shelving for more storage!  No space went without purpose.

He really crafted an incredible piece of furniture, something more than "just a workbench". It was finished less than a year before he passed away and when we were selling stuff in the house before my Mom moved to her apartment, a neighbor offered us $2500 for it.  It was tempting, especially at a time of loss like that, but even my Mom said no, he put a lot of love and time into this and we needed to keep it.  

We almost used this in the kitchen at the house in town but it was a tad bit too long for the space.  It would make a great kitchen island in the right kitchen for sure but thankfully, now we have the space for it in the barn to be my very own workbench. 

It will of course be the centerpiece of the workshop/barn area.  Now we just need the weather to cool down a bit so we can get out there and work on getting things arranged and put up. 

Thank you Dad!  

We'll put it to good use!

VEGETABLES AND STORMY SKIES SUNDAY UPDATE

Well, I got things done yesterday, more on that in upcoming posts. It was overcast yesterday but hot.  Oh my it was so hot and humid...

We left at about 5pm because there were big storms moving in from the West...not to mention I was about as worn out as I think I've ever been out there.  At 5pm, the "feels like" was 99 degrees.  During the afternoon it was over 100.  No wonder I was worn out so quickly.  Have a feeling it's going to be a long and hot Summer.

Vegetable harvest

We got a great harvest.  And look, our FIRST TOMATOES OF THE SEASON!  A nice haul of jalapeños, okra (saving the big ones for a project), eggplants, and a couple of zucchini down there in the bottom.

Cucumber basket

But wait, that's not all!  

Cucumbers too!  Big ones,  small ones and everything in between!

Stormy skies

And here is today.  I asked 2nd Family to take a pic out there and "J" went up to our house and snapped this.  We've had about an inch with more coming today and possibly tomorrow.  The fruit trees and flowerbeds are getting a nice watering.

Rustic Fresh Bread

Today we are in town, it's rainy and 2nd Man is baking bread.  I may just do some canning too!

Pulled up to the farmhouse yesterday and this was laying in the grass in front of the porch stairs.  Hawk feather I presume?  I wonder if that's a sign of something?  Hopefully good luck, LOL!

SATURDAY UPDATE

Pictures were taking forever to upload for some reason but just as well, it's off to the farm day and once again, beat the rain day.  2nd Family said it's been hit and miss at the farm with no major rain the last couple of days so it should be dry-ish.

But it looks like our luck is running out. Heavy rains are in the forecast for later today and all day tomorrow and Monday.  We'll see how much we can get done before it's a washout.  

Wish us luck!

Hope your weekend is off to a better start!

BLUEBERRY HARVEST

Albeit a REALLY small one, ha.  

Couldn't resist this...

Remember late last year, I found some great deals on blueberry bushes.  Well they've been on the porch since then.  A few weeks ago, the bushes started putting on a few berries.

Ripening blueberries

Mind you, these aren't yet planted into clay pots.  We've been watering them while sitting on the porch, but they are still in their black containers and now popping out with blueberries.  Not a lot of course, there were only two that were ripe enough to eat.

Brought them back into town, washed them and popped them in the fridge for a bit.  Then we each got one, LOL.  Wow, the flavor was SO much better than from the ones we buy at the store.  

I really need to get them into the larger clay pots. There is no way we can plant them in the ground, our soil just won't ever let them grow, and they do require a more specialized soil.  But hey, if they can be in a large container and still produce berries, we're OK with that.  I think they require a more acidic soil, will need to get the details on a proper blend or maybe there is an already blended bag soil that would work.  

RUSTIC DECOR FLOWERBED INSPIRATION THURSDAY

Every Thursday we like to post a picture of something we've found online that inspires us to do something similar at the farm.  

Sort of our own blog bulletin board so that we can eventually look back and someday, hopefully anyway, recreate it...enjoy!

Rustic flowerbed, image via Pinterest.com

With the recent flowerbeds we're building around the house, we're thinking of what to put around the two outbuildings (at least on the two sides that face each other).  Seems like flowerbeds will just be more work maintaining "remotely" and with plans for others around the yard, something else and less labor intensive might be nice along the sides of the barn and shed.  We like the flowers and greenery around the house but this really piqued our interest.

Just clearing a couple of strips, putting down our weedblock fabric (which we still have plenty of) and some gravel in nice colors.  Of course then we'd need some great decor like the ones in this photo, but I but we could find all sorts of fun stuff at the local flea markets and side of the road sales.  It would be nice to look for these types of things instead of new plants and flowers.  

Be inspired!

SOMETHING ROOTING UP FLOWERBEDS

Who knew when I built the flowerbeds in front and we were so excited about the possibility, that now we'd be battling "something".  When we got to the farm yesterday we discovered that something had rooted around in them.

Whatever it was uprooted some of the new lantana I had planted just last weekend...

...and dug up the marigolds and salvia that had already been in the ground for a month or so.  Ugh

We're not sure what this could be.  Not wild hogs because they would have destroyed everything including the grass.  We're thinking either armadillo or opossum?  We asked 2nd Family and they've never had the problem, probably because they have dogs and cats roaming around that keep the other creatures away.  

I replanted everything but dang if the same thing just might be waiting for us again next weekend.  

Any suggestions/ideas?

p.s.  Will catch up on comments tonight!

WORKSHOP AT THE BARN

Here are my Dad's workshop items that I kept after his death.  I had quite a few tools I had already taken either in town or the farm but these were the big items that we kept in storage because we had no space for them.  For years.  It was time to stop paying for storage now that we have the place for it.  There were other items in this storage unit too, mostly holiday decorations, boxes of books, junk, etc.  

We donated a lot, kept some, and gave away more.  

Once we got it down to just these few large items, on Saturday we had movers come to pick them up, follow us to the farm and put them in the barn.

Tool Cabinet

First up, here is my Dad's tool chest.  I should have opened a few drawers to show you, it is full from top to bottom with all manner of saws and screwdrivers and wrenches and chisels and hammers and a few things that I honestly just don't even know what they are, ha.  But now I will have time to go through them and organize it all.  

Vintage drafting table

This is a large, very old, solid oak drafting table.  Interesting story behind this.  When I was little (like 7 or 8) we lived in Rhode Island and this was in the basement of the house we rented.  My Dad asked the owner if he could have it and the owner said sure, it was left behind by another tenant once upon a time and they didn't want it.  Dad cleaned it up and it went with us every time we moved from then on.  It's a drafting table, we believe from about the 1940's.  There are a couple of drawers, a wide shallow one and a smaller deep on on the side (this pic is from the back) and of course it moves up and down at any angle for drafting/drawing.  When I was little and liked to draw, I thought this was the coolest thing ever.  Now I'll get to draw whenever I want, ha.  

Air compressor

Dad got this from his job once upon a time.  It's a heavy duty air compressor.  They were throwing it away so he brought it home (hmm, wonder where I got that from? LOL!), painted it, fixed it up and (at the time it went into storage) it worked perfectly.  I'll have to get "R" from 2nd Family to help with this when we get electricity to the barn.  Since it sat for a few years unused, we're not sure if it will need some more work but we'll see later this Fall.

Delta Midi-Lathe

And this was one of Dad's later purchases and he was making some really cool things on it.  It's a lathe for turning wood.  He was making bowls and salt cellars and spindles and wooden cooking tools and all sorts of neat stuff.  Of all of his tools, this is the one I wanted to keep because it is something I'd love to learn someday.  He even built this wheeled stand for it with an extension arm on the side that lifts up and has places for chisels/tools.  There's even a light mounted on it to make it easier to see what you're working on.

We still have the workbench to show you but I'll make a separate post for that because I took a lot of pictures.  All of this is in the barn now.  It's a bit crowded but only because we need a taller ladder to reach the lofts and put up the storage items.  Christmas/Halloween decorations, etc.  We thought our ladder would reach the lofts in the barn but it's a tad bit short and would be a bit dangerous to stand on the top step.  Then I need to just organize things. I think we're going to need some shelving, cabinets, pegboard, etc but that will have to come when the weather cools down later this year.

One more accomplishment!

MEMORIAL DAY MONDAY UPDATE

Memorial Day wishes to the families of all who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice so that the rest of us may be free.  Never forget.

This weekend we harvested another load of veggies, lots of jalapeños, cucumbers, eggplant and now including our first squash!  Three zucchini and one yellow squash.  

Giant zucchini plant

Alas we think that will be the only yellow squash as the zucchini plant is apparently related to Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors.  She has taken over the entire 4x4 bed and the yellow squash is getting crowded out.  But this is how we learn...next year one bed for EACH squash plant. 

Bacon is my favorite flavor

Found these the other day, couldn't resist.  They are covers for bottle drinks and we agree with the words completely.  Bacon IS our favorite flavor.  

Ball half pint jars blue

When I decided to stop at the local grocery store on a whim, I found these!  Ball brand blue half pint jars.  With four per case, that's only 50 cents each.  I bought all five cases.

Last night was very stormy and today is a rainy day too.  Apparently all week will be the same.

Hope you all are having a good weekend!

BIG RACE DAY

Regular blog readers know that we are big race car fans, NASCAR mainly but when there is a race like the Indy 500, well, we have to watch that.  

It's an American institution.

Indianapolis 500 is first up, already on as this posts.  Amazing what these cars can do at 225mph.

And after that race ends, a couple hours later is one of the biggest NASCAR races of the year, the Coca-Cola 600, six hundred miles around the track.  

It's a good day for staying in, the weather is iffy and my muscles are sore.  Yesterday was a good day until the end when I dropped my phone, face down onto concrete and shattered the glass:  

Other than than this, sigh, I got the yard mowed and edged, harvested some more veggies, and most importantly, got the smaller storage unit cleared out and brought to the barn.

Update posts on all that later!  

For now we're off to the races (on TV, ha!)

I'm the one in the straw hat, LOL!

SATURDAY PLANS

Quick post up today.  The weather is HOT.  And humid.  And going to change later this weekend and then it will be rain, rain and more rain.  

Today something different is happening first...we are closing out one of our storage units (we have two, one small and one large, this is the smaller one).  We've been slowly removing stuff from it for the keep/sell/donate pile.  

Now we are down to a few large items that are going in the barn.  One is a workbench that my Dad built and finished shortly before he passed away.  It's incredible (pictures coming) like a piece of fine furniture. Then I have his tool chest full of tools, a large air compressor, an antique oak drafting table and a woodworking machine that I hope to take up someday and utilize my creative side.  Anyway, we have a box truck and some movers coming to the storage unit and loading it up and taking it to the barn.  I'll have my work cut out for me getting the barn in shape, and in this heat that might have to wait until Fall but it will be nice once it's done.

Then after they leave the farm, it's mowing and edging since I didn't do it last weekend.  And then checking to see what harvest we'll have THIS time.

More later, hope your weekend is off to a great start!

SKY CATS FELINE FRIDAY

Here are Brisbane and Hobart, sound to sleep in the window more than 10 stories up.  

Of course, Hobart got the spot on the desk because he likes to stretch out and lay on his side, Brisbane takes the window ledge because the warmth feels good on his old bones. 

When we first moved in to the apartment, they were wary of the windows...now we can't keep them away. 

GARDEN TOTEM POLE INSPIRATION THURSDAY

Every Thursday we like to post a picture of something we've found online that inspires us to do something similar at the farm.  

Sort of our own blog bulletin board so that we can eventually look back and someday, hopefully anyway, recreate it...enjoy!

Painted garden totems, image via Pinterest

Since much of what I'd normally do outside in the Winter, getting the garden built or the fruit trees planted, is now done, I'm starting to be on the lookout for Winter projects.  These are just something random that fascinate us and something I think I could handle, artistically, ha.

We'd like some yard art to scatter around the property for some interest and something handmade would be really nice. Maybe THIS Winter I can finally relax while visiting the farm and unleash my creative side in a different way!

Be inspired!

ROASTED DUCKFAT POTATOES

We tried something new the other night.  We have seen this used on cooking shows and found some at the local grocery specialty store.

Classic rendered duck fat

Rendered duck fat.  Apparently it was something we had to try at least once.  And now we see why!

Fingerling potatoes 

We bought some purple and yellow fingerling potatoes and just sliced them in half lengthwise and put them on a foil lined baking sheet.  

2nd Man used gloves because the fat melted via body heat and he didn't want to lose half of it to moisturizing his hands (though I bet they would be nice and smooth, ha).  He scooped it out and rubbed it all over the potatoes, turning them to coat all sides and then sprinkled it all with a bit of salt.

Duck fat roasted potatoes

Then he put them in a 425 degree oven and roasted them for about 15 or 20 minutes, or until the fat started to turn them golden.

Steak with duck fat roasted potatoes 

We served them with steak and they were so delicious.  Now this isn't 100% pure duck fat like you might get from a butcher, but that's our next thing to try.  This was really really good and now we understand why "duck fat" is a magical ingredient.  

Update:  We forgot about sharing the "why".  It does add a rich flavor but it's kind of hard to describe.  It's almost like if you roasted potatoes plain and then coated them in butter and roasted them...it would be hard to describe that butter flavor.  Duck fat is rich, adds a silky texture but has a delicate flavor, more of the elusive "umami" flavor as was mentioned below.  Because it has a high smoke point you can roast at the higher temps without smoking and changing flavor and end up with the golden spots of color.   

Anyone ever used it?  

Or used fresh rendered duck fat?