From The Patch

Thoughtful Friday, May 25 2012

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! ~Maya Angelou

Memorial Day is upon us this weekend, and all through America people will spend time picnicing, barbequing, and hanging out with their friends. We truly hope that you will spend some time this Memorial Day recognizing that there are thousands of dedicated, brave, and unselfish men and women who are putting themselves in harms way to keep us safe. They have families who sacrifice so much, on a daily basis - living life away from daddy or mommy, from their lovers and their soulmates.

While you play all weekend - and play you should - think about these men and women. If you know them, or their family, make it a point to call them and tell them thank you. Tell them you appreciate them, and all they do. If you're in a position, offer to help, if they need it. Think of them often, and always remember - every day - those that protect us.

And when you play, play hard, for that is what these brave soldiers would truly want.

Many thanks to Matt Mathews Photography for the generous use of his image. We'll feature a few more of his powerful works on Monday May 28, 2012 - and in the meantime, check him out on facebook, and take a gander at his website!

Building his first birdhouse

Back in February this year we lost a dear family member when Janene's brother-in-law unexpectedly passed away due to a massive heart attack. After the funeral, Janene was able to stay down at her mother's for an extra week to process everything. This meant that Ben and I (Ben having to return to school) got some quality time with just the two of us, which I always enjoy. Upon waking one morning Ben announced that he wanted to go to My Garden Nursery - one of our favorite haunts. :) You see, he had seen a birdhouse there (by Melissa and Doug) that he had set his heart on.

So we made the trip down to see everybody there, and we ended up (of course) bringing the kit home. Ben was absolutely beside himself with excitement - he could not WAIT to get home and put this together....

And he was SO helpful. :) He mostly put the entire house together himself, only needing help with a couple of pieces that didn't quite line up right.

A few days after the house was built (and the novelty wore off) we pulled out the paints and his excitement was renewed... He had some help painting the first leaf or two with Grandma Elaine, but he finished up painting the other two leaves all by himself - and he did quite a decent job of it! He and Janene then painted the rest of the house together, and one of these days I will remember to get a picture of it...

 

 

And finally, just because. Savannah and her binky.

"Bouquet" by TAG

White bean, Sausage, and Kale Soup

White Bean, Sausage, and Kale Soup

I’ve made a rendition of this soup a few times, and keep forgetting to write it down, so this is just the most recent version I made. You can experiment a bit with the type of beans to use, sausage flavors, different greens, etc. Whether you use dried beans or not is up to you – canned are just fine, but if you have the time to use the dried, they really do taste so much better. I may never use canned beans again! Other than the beans, the whole thing comes together fairly quickly. It is also gluten free, if that is important to you (though check your sausage, to be sure). Typically I would put carrots in here, but cooked carrots are a no no for two people in our family, so I used mushrooms here instead. Do whatever sounds good to you!

Ingredients

• 1 bag dried Great Northern Beans (small white beans are OK, but we find them to be the kind that gives you a gassy tummy. I’ve used garbanzo too)
• 3-4 links sausage – pick out a really good quality tasty sausage. My favorite have been with a turkey sausage, like Adele’s, but I did a pork/beef blend once and it was fine. I like my soup to be more veggie heavy and found 3 links to be plenty, but feel free to use all 4 if you want.
• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 Onion, medium sized – chop it somewhat finely
• 1 lb Button Mushrooms – halve then slice them
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• ¾ - 1 tsp kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ½ - 1 tsp dried sage (or 2-3 tsp fresh)
• ½ - 1 tsp dried thyme (or 2-3 tsp fresh)
• 1 small bunch of Kale (or whatever your favorite dark green is – you may have to cook more/less, depending on the green) – pull the leaves off the thick ribs and tear them up. You’ll have 4-5 cups worth
• Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (optional)

 

Directions

1. If you elected to try out dried beans, yay you! You won’t be sorry. Not only are they cheaper, they taste better, and you won’t have all that extra sodium. I follow the directions on the back of the bag, only I don’t dump out the soaking water – it is full of flavor and nutrition from the beans. Basically, rinse and sort your beans, put them in a large pot and cover with water (at least 2 inches above the beans). Bring them to a boil, then remove from heat and let them soak for an hour. Put them back on the heat and bring to a simmer. They’ll soak up a bunch of the water, and so you’ll have to add more. Simmer them for 1.5-2 hours, or until they are tender. Don’t overcook them, as they’ll get cooked a tad bit more in the soup. When you’re done, drain the beans, reserving the soaking liquid. (if you’re using canned beans, just skip this part)
2. Cut sausage links in half lengthwise, then cut into half moons (however thick you’d like). Brown them for a few minute in a large soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Some people cook sausage in a tad bit of oil, but I think sausage is fatty enough – if you need a little something to keep it from browning too much, just add a bit of water. When it is browned, remove it and set aside.
3. Add 2 or so teaspoons olive oil to the pot and add onion. Saute 3-4 minutes, or until it starts to soften. Add garlic, and stir constantly for 30 seconds (don’t let it burn!). Add mushrooms, and sauté another 5-6 minutes, or until they give up their liquid and are starting to brown a little.
4. Add the sausage back in, along with 4 cups of the beans (or 2 cans of rinsed and drained canned beans), the sage and thyme, and about 6 cups of water. Stir in salt and pepper to taste – I use kosher salt, and as the grains are larger, I sometimes seem to need a bit more than if measuring out table salt. My rule of thumb is to start with half and taste it, cuz you can always add more. So, put in ½ tsp salt, and maybe ¼ tsp worth of ground pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium low heat.
5. At this point, all the ingredients are cooked, so you can simmer about as long or as little as you want. Try to give it a good 10-20 minutes for the flavors to mix and mingle and get all yummy. Taste it again, and add another ¼ go ½ tsp of salt, if needed.
6. When you get to about 5-10 minutes out from wanting to sit down to dinner, stir in the kale. Let it cook 5-10 minutes, depending on whether you like it green with a little bite to it, or dark and soft.
7. Grate some fresh Parmigiano Reggiano over each serving. It isn’t required, but it is like icing on the cake. Parmigiano Reggiano sounds extra fancy, but I just get it in the “fancy” cheese section of safeway. It is obviously pricier than your basic cheddar, but it keeps forever loosely wrapped in the fridge, has incredible flavor, and a little bit goes a long way. I find that just a tad bit of it is what makes a good dish great.

Enjoy (we sure did!)

Americana Display at The Weed Patch for Memorial Day!

With Memorial Day coming up Janene, Shauna and Donna worked their fingers to the bone getting the front of the store looking absolutely fantastic with Americana! Here's some pictures for you to enjoy, and be sure to check out the Americana category on the website! :)

Weekly Specials - May 20th

Hello!  We have some new specials this week - 10% off on these items, all this week!  Here are a few:

Ashfield Placemat, by Victorian Heart

Lady Bug or Bumble Bee, by Lori MItchell for ESC Trading Company

 

Beach accent word, by Carol Eldridge for Blossom Bucket

 

Picket Fence Tablerunners, by Park Designs

 

Happy Plate, by Donna White for The Hearthside Collection.

There are more in the Weekly Specials - click here to see them all!

Enjoy! :)

Thoughtful Friday, May 18 2012

"Gardening is not a rational act."
"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."  
~Margaret Atwood

A couple of years ago we started a little vegetable garden right out front, with the main goal of getting Ben interested in where his food came from and getting him to eat his veggies.  And then, as they say, the bug bit me.  The second year, we added a 12' bed, and a 32' x 4' bed, as well as several containers.  This year (the third year), we've added four new raised beds, and still have one more to build.  All told, we'll have almost 600sq feet of veggie garden space.  

It's addicting, that's for darn sure.  I find myself dreaming of new spaces, new plants, and new whatever.  And now, well.... now I'm finding I'm addicted to landscaping - I simply cannot WAIT to make the yard look fantastic.  On the plans?  A waterwheel, full landscaping all around the yard, a pergola with a swing (and hooks for the hammock!), a pergola with a gate, window boxes, framework for climing vines, a craftsman-style fence with a climbing hydrangea, a fire pit, a cob oven and a brick oven, a greenhouse.... yeah.  I just can't help it!  And no, I'm not interested in an intervention.

At least Ben and I get some serious quality time.  Since Janene has so much on her plate with the store, I spend most of my days with the kids so that she can work (and I work all night...).  But Ben LOVES the yard, and is talking incessently about the plans (including his "tree house").

Gardening is not a rational act - and at the end of the day, we do all pretty much smell like dirt...

 

Do you garden?  Are you a veggie gardener, a flower gardener, or both?

What's Happening On The Homestead, May 2012

Since it has been a while since we blogged - and since so many of you comment about how you love seeing what we're up to - here's a brief overview of what's happening on the homestead... I have several posts in here that will be written with more information, so this really is just a quick overview. :)

We're working to expand our veggie garden with the goal of eating out of it all summer, and putting up enough to get us through the winter. All told, we'll have almost 600sq feet of veggie garden space once it's all in place. To accomplish this, Ben and I have been building additional raised beds; we have four of the five new beds built, with three of those in and at least somewhat planted. The fourth is huge (almost 4 yards of dirt!) and isn't seated yet, and the fifth we haven't started at all - it will be 24' x 4'! These projects have been wonderful, both for the soul as well as for Ben and I - he has helped with every little project, including planting! He has his "own" bed that he (mostly) gets to plant whatever he wants in, and he is picking the most RANDOM things - it's quite fun to see what catches his eye.

We've been blessed by a friend with some fruit trees, so we have the starts of an orchard (2 pear, one of which is grafted with 5 varieties; one Italian Prune, 3 apple, one of with is grafted as well, and one existing pie cherry tree). The raspberry patch is starting to explode, and soon we're hoping to expand with some heirloom raspberries from Janene's grandmother's house. The blueberry plants are all still in pots (which may be how they stay one more year), but we have two grape plants to go on a new pergola (not yet built) that are already in the ground.

We WERE hoping to add chickens and bees this year, but that was a "little" ambitious, so we'll see if we might make that happen next year. We did manage to get some strawberries to experiment with; we're trying a Topsy Turvy Strawberry Planter - it holds 15 plants, and thus far seems to be working nicely. We'll see how it goes. :)

Ben is finishing up his first year at preschool, and BOY has he made huge progress this year! We're so incredibly excited to see what next year brings, with kindergarten....

Savannah is now 8 months old; she's started to crawl, and she's also already working on walking (with our help, of course - she's still not even standing up on her own...). She's the happiest little one ever, and she spends all her time playing and exploring her world and smiling a smile will melt many hearts in the future. Definitely time to invest in a shotgun.... ;)

Plants at the store!

Every year, we bring plants in to the store, and this year is no exception! We have an awesome supply of both annuals and perennials this year, and we thought that it would be helpful to link our "plant notebook" that we have at the store to more information here online. So we're starting a new section of the site here, called "Plant Files." We'll be putting plant profiles up with lots of great information and photos about them, including links off to other pages with more information about them. We'll be starting with plants we sell in the store, but will then be expanding over to other plants that we find interesting as well. If you haven't been in to the store, you definitely need to come in and check out the plants - we SO many to choose from, and the prices just can't be beat!

Our Mother's Day 2012

This year, Mother's Day for us fell onto a very strange weekend.  You see, Janene's uncle (Esther's brother) recently passed away, and Saturday May 12, 2012 was his funeral.  In order to attend the services, we visited Esther's home and stayed for the weekend, which allowed us to be with Janene's mom for Mother's Day (instead of working at the store), which was a wonderful change.  

Wes Johnson, Sr.

Unfortunately, Janene ended up sick (the entire clan was down the full week prior, with the flu) so while it was a nice day, it was a low key day.  We visited Hunter Farms, a local nursery and supply shop down in Union - they have some of the BEST ice cream down there....  

From there, we took a little visit out to Uncle Wes' farm in the Skokomish Valley.  It was a spectacularly beautiful day, and the drive through the countryside was as beautiful as it gets.  All in all, I believe it wasn't the day Janene had hoped for (being sick and all), but it was still a pleasant and low key mother's day.  

 

How was YOUR mother's day, and what did you do to celebrate mom?