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With the  nice weather for the past two weekends,  I have been able to get the garden planted.
I have added another 4×8 bed and have  plans for two more of the same size.  







The Salad and Herb Garden is coming
 along nicely…this was planted earlier in the Spring 





 



Notice the seedlings of Basil coming on
next to the Sage.
This is going to be my new perennial garden, notice the Wisteria blooming on the right…
there will be an arbor for the Wisteria vines to grow on and picket fencing in each of the four corners, a circle garden in the center with pathways cutting throughout the entire garden.
Check back for updates, I will be posting photos as things progress.
God almighty first planted a garden. And, in deed, it is the purest of human pleasures.

Francis Bacon
Enjoy your day!
The Gourmet Farm Girl

Garden Time… Read More »

Dates are thought of more often during the holidays…however while in Palm Springs we visited a local art fare and farmers market. I bought some Medjool dates from a vendor who produces dates in Coachella.
California is known for the production of Palm Dates; here are a few things about dates I have discovered.

Dates are a type of fruit, specifically a drupe, grown on date palm trees. The cultivation of dates as food began in the Middle East approximately 6,000 years ago, though records show the fruit was enjoyed about 8,000 years ago.

Despite their sweetness, medjool dates only contain about 66 calories each. Dates are a good source of fiber and contain high levels of potassium, magnesium, copper and manganese. They do have a significant amount of fruit sugar, but this can make them a perfect alternative to other forms of dessert.
I have stuffed dates as an appetizer for the holiday season, this time I decided to stuff them for a delectable little Spring time treat…the saltiness from the cheese and the nutty macadamia pairs well with the sweetness of the Medjool.    
Medjool Dates with Feta and Toasted Macadamias
By The Gourmet Farm Girl
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
1/2 pound Medjool Dates (10-12 dates)
4-5 ounces Feta cheese crumbles
2-3 tablespoons macadamia nuts (chopped)
 
With a small sharp knife cut open the date and remove the pit. Stuff each date with as much feta it will hold. Top with a few pieces of macadamia nuts and place on a cookie sheet; bake for 3-4 minutes till just warm and nuts are slightly toasted. Serve immediately
ENJOY!
Serves 4-5  

Spring Time Treat… Read More »

I had this appetizer as a meal while in Palm Springs. I really like the combination of the cucumber and seafood with Tajin Seasoning. Tajin can be found at Mexican Food Stores or in the Ethnic section of your local market.

 This appetizer will definitely be a hit, especially when the garden cucumbers come on. Here is my version of  this refreshing dish… 





Seasoned Cucumbers with Crab and Shrimp
By The Gourmet Farm Girl
2 King Crab legs (cooked)
4 Jumbo shrimp (cooked)
1 large fresh cucumber
1 lemon or lime
1 avocado  
1 teaspoon Tajin seasoning (or to taste)
(Tajin fruit seasoning is a blend of chile peppers, lime and salt)

Pull crab meat from legs and peel shrimp; set aside
Wash and peel the cucumber, cut in half lengthwise; remove the seeds by scooping out with a spoon. Cut cucumber across to create 4-5 hollowed out sections. 

Cut shrimp into bit size pieces and pull crab apart into bit size pieces. Top each cucumber section with the seafood; sprinkle with Tajin seasoning. 
Cut lemon into wedges; slice the avacado and arrange everything on a serving plate.
Squezze the lemon juice over the cucumbers and top with a slice of avacado before eating.
ENJOY!

Makes 2 appetizers

A Great Summer Appetizer… Read More »

While in Palm Springs I had the chance to see some of the local farms outside of the city.
Corn growing next to desert palms



Orange Groves





Date Palms

Photos taken near Palm Springs California by The Goumet Farm Girl 2011
  

 Let’s keep in mind the farmers arcoss this country who have yet to plant a crop this season…



The rain has these guys just waiting around…

 



God Bless the American Farmer!

Photos taken in Ohio by The Gourmet Farm Girl
 Spring 2011

California’s Agriculture… Read More »







Photos taken May 2011 Palm Springs California, Joshua Tree National Forest, Mojave Dessert
By The Gourmet Farm Girl

Desert Beauties… Read More »



God sends the rain…

 

to bring life and beauty…



It can bring disappointment to the end of a sunny day… 



Yet HIS promise still holds true…

As on the wings of the Angels…just believe…  
Have a blessed Sunday evening!
The Gourmet Farm Girl

The Rain… Read More »

When traveling we always try to visit local eateries to get a real feel for the area and its people. While in Palm Springs we ate lunch at a local Mexican restaurant owned and operated by a local family.
The smells were rich and strong and the food looked delicious. We ordered the Menudo (which I had never tried before and looking around everyone was eating) when the cook herself brought us our soup; I added the recommended spices and garnishments. I knew by the first bite this was a very unique dish.

Menudo is a traditional Mexican dish made with tripe and pigs feet. Being the farm girl that I am I was familiar with these so called delicacies…however, for my taste I knew I had to somehow capture this rich and spicy flavor without the delicacies. Below is my faux Menudo recipe, and I must admit it turned out great! 
Keep in mind this dish takes some time, so if you are in the mood to cook and spend some time in your kitchen this is a perfect recipe.

Faux Menudo
By The Gourmet Farm Girl
2 pounds smoked Pork Hocks
2 cups chopped smoked ham
1 pound traditional Bratwursts (see note below)
1 15.5 oz can white Hominy plus the liquid
1 large onion chopped
5-6 tomatillos diced
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
1/2 cup red chili powder
1 tablespoon Mendo seasoning (found at Mexican grocery)
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano (found at Mexican grocery) there is a difference
1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
Bouquet garni as follows:6 garlic cloves (bruised but not peeled)

1 tablespoon peppercorns

2 sprigs thyme
3 bay leaves
Wrap in cheesecloth and tie in a bundle with kitchen string     
Garnishes:
Lemon wedges
Dried pequin chilies
Mexican oregano
Chopped green onions
chopped fresh cilantro

In a large stock pot over high heat add 3 quarts of water, salt, bouquet garni and pork hocks; cover and bring to a boil; lower heat and cook hocks till tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove hocks (let cool) discard the bouquet garni.
Over low heat; add to the broth the onions, tomatillos, chili powder, cilantro, Menudo seasoning, oregano and pepper flakes; simmer for 20- 30 minutes.
Meanwhile pull any meat form the pork hocks and add to the broth. Cut bratwurst and smoked ham into bite size pieces; add to the broth. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Add the hominy and the liquid; continue to simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes.
  
Ladle into bowls and garnish as desired
Serve with toasted bolillos (Mexican bread made of corn flour) or tortillas.
Makes 8-10 servings
Note: Bratwurst are made of veal, pork and beef. They work well with this recipe because Menudo can also contain beef.   
ENJOY!

Menudo… Read More »

For those of you in central Ohio that would like something different to do this weekend…
May Herb Day
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2011
9am-4pm

Location: Creekside Park & Plaza at 123 Mill Street and The Ohio Herb Education Center,
 110 Mill Street, Gahanna Ohio

Admission is FREE!



The Herbal Kitchen

May Herb Day offers a variety of herbal activities and speakers relating to herbs with fantastic herbal vendors and lots of great foods to sample and purchase.

This annual celebration features:

 Daylong Herb Sales

 Herbal, garden-related, and artisan vendors

 Herb of the Year – Horseradish Info with Sampling

 Summer Kitchen Educational Display

 For Children: Plant and name an herb in the Herb Center’s kitchen garden!

Special Items of Interest

• Book Signing by Jennifer Bartley, Author of the Kitchen Gardener’s Handbook

• Meet The Gourmet Farm Girl  

• Tea Sampling by Herbal Teas Plus

• Sample Gourmet Syrups at the Simple Gourmet Syrups Booth – from Millersburg, Ohio – Syrup Varieties: Lavender, Strawberry, Lemon Verbena, Rhubarb w/ Wild Ginger & More!

• NEW for 2011 to compliment your herb gardens!! – Heirloom vegetable plants for sale by Circa Plants of Logan, Ohio. (Next to the herbs.)

 Tomatoes : Brandywine, Kentucky Beefsteak, Red Beefsteak, Yellow Pear, Sweet Pea Currant, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, Tiny Tim, Amish Paste, Hillbilly, German Grape, Oxheart

 Peppers :Sweet Banana, Anaheim Chile, Early Jalapeno, Hot Paper Lantern (a red habanero), Jefferson’s Bullnose Sweet, Hungarian Hot Wax, Mini Chocolate Bell, California Wonder Sweet Bell, Ancho Poblano, Long Cayenne, Alma Paprika

 Assortment of native Ohio, climbers, and historic ornamentals

Gahanna, the Herb Capital of Ohio since 1972, invites Central Ohioans to enjoy delicious food, daylong herb sales, herbal forums, music and more. For more information call: 614.342.4380


Herb Day is Coming… Read More »
The Salton Sea is a saline, rift located directly on the San Andreas Fault in California’s Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside Counties in Southern California. Like Death Valley, it is below sea level. The deepest area of the sea is 5 ft higher than the lowest point of Death Valley. The sea is fed by the New, Whitewater, and Alamo rivers, as well as agricultural runoff drainage systems and creeks. The surrounding area is Califorina farm land with the production of dates, oranges and I even saw a corn field (not as big as Ohio corn)
It is estimated that for 3 million years, at least through all the years of the Pleistocene glacial age, the Colorado River worked to build its delta in the southern region of the Imperial Valley. Eventually, the delta had reached the western shore of the Gulf of California (the Sea of Cortez/Cortés) creating a massive dam which excluded the Salton Sea from the northern reaches of the Gulf.

As a result, the Salton Sink or Salton Basin has long been alternately a fresh water lake and a dry desert basin, depending on random river flows and the balance between inflow and evaporative loss. A lake would exist only when it was replenished by the river and rainfall, a cycle that repeated itself countless times over hundreds of thousands of years.

The creation of the Salton Sea of today started in 1905, when heavy rainfall and snowmelt caused the Colorado River to swell, overrunning a set of head gates for the Alamo Canal. The resulting flood poured down the canal and breached an Imperial Valley dike, eroding two watercourses, the New River in the west, and the Alamo River in the east, each about 60 miles.  Over a period of approximately two years these two newly created rivers sporadically carried the entire volume of the Colorado River into the Salton Sink.
The lake covers about 376 sq miles, making it the largest in California. The lake’s salinity is greater than the waters of the Pacific Ocean but less than that of the Great Salt Lake; the concentration is increasing by about 1 percent annually. Many species of fish are no longer able to survive except the tilapia.
 North Shore was a “swinging” place, “This was a very popular place. The Beach Boys would come out. And Jerry Lewis had a boat here, and so did the Marx Brothers. There were big boat races, and parties and dances. Clubs and organizations from all over the Coachella Valley came for meetings and parties



North Shore Beach and Yacht Club, opened in 1962, was the show piece of what was to be a two million dollar marine paradise – the largest marina in Southern California

(Old Post Card from internet)





Like most of the other locations around the Salton Sea, fluctuating water levels and flooding created problems. In 1981, North Shore suffered from a severe flood which wiped out the jetty at the yacht club, making it impossible for boats to dock there. The main clubhouse was closed and has yet to reopen. The views are still spectacular and it remains to be seen whether or not a solution to the high salinity problem will bring back this once glamorous resort.

Enjoy your day…
The Gourmet Farm Girl

I Went to the Desert by The Sea… Read More »
Grilled Scallops with Pepper Citrus Salsa
By The Gourmet Farm Girl
1 pound Sea Scallops
3-4 tablespoons melted butter
salt to taste
1 lime
1 lemon
1 half of a fresh orange
1/2 cup fresh pineapple (chopped)
1 medium size ripe tomato (chopped)
1/2 cup onions (chopped)
3 tablespoons mined fresh parsley
2-3 sprigs fresh mint (optional)
1 tablespoon dried chili pepper flakes
or 1-2 tablespoons fresh chillies
1/2 teaspoon salt
Salsa is best when made ahead; store in refrigerator up to 24 hours
In a medium size mixing bowl chop onions, tomatoes and pineapple; add the juice and zest from the lemon, lime and orange. Gently stir in the parsley, add salt and peppers; toss mint sprigs into salsa; place in an airtight container and chill. Toss salsa several times while chilling and before serving.
Drizzle some of the melted butter on scallops and salt; grill scallops at 425 degrees for 3-4 minutes on both sides; brushing with the additional melted butter. Scallops should be opaque when done. 
Plate scallops on a bed of lettuce leaves or shredded cabbage and top with the Citrus Salsa. Serve immediately.
Serves 4-6
ENJOY!

Spring Time Appetizer… Read More »